As Planned (1)
The cardinals gathered in the grand conference hall once again. However, the attendance was far sparser than during the previous meeting. Including Yohan and Justia, there were barely ten people in the room. Previously, nearly a hundred cardinals had packed the hall, but most had since returned to their duties or traveled to various parts of the Holy Kingdom to address the administrative vacuums left in the war's wake. Currently, the Holy Kingdom was in utter chaos trying to handle the post-war aftermath, and the busiest of all were the leadership—the College of Cardinals.
"We have discovered some traces leading north from the Holy City, believed to belong to the former Pope, Angelo III. There are no signs of him using the main roads; he seems to have stuck entirely to secluded paths through mountains and forests..."
The Holy Knights and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had suffered the most devastating blows among the various organizations of the Central Church. Under normal circumstances, the Heresy Inquisitors were the most devout and duty-bound group within the Church. Naturally, this made them highly susceptible to the madness curse that inverted cognitive perception, leading to at least several hundred bloody clashes among the Inquisitors themselves. Despite the organization being half-dismantled, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had still launched a pursuit of the former Pope, Angelo III, and finally succeeded in tracking his escape route.
"Fleeing to the northern continent with the Demon King's bones? What's up north?"
Yohan, who had been listening to the briefing, tossed out the question. Although he was an outsider speaking so casually, not a single person dared to reprimand him. This was because none other than the Main God Justia herself had permitted his presence. While the "northern continent" broadly referred to the regions beyond the northernmost borders of the Empire, it usually meant the area around the Great Mountain Range.
"As Brother Yohan may know, the northern continent is climatically very inhospitable to human life, unlike the central region where our Holy Kingdom is located. Civilization is barely established south of the Great Mountain Range. The range itself and the lands to its north are, quite literally, uncharted territory."
It was Cardinal Mathias, the high-ranking clergyman serving as Justia's attendant, who answered Yohan's question.
"So, since his plan to take over the Holy Kingdom failed, and he figured we wouldn't chase him all the way to the Great Mountain Range, he ran off in that direction?"
"But... that is only if we look at it through the lens of common sense."
"Fair enough."
Circumstances suggested that Angelo III hadn't fled north out of sheer desperation. Rather, it was more accurate to assume he had chosen the north with a specific purpose in mind. The evidence supporting this was the fact that, instead of just running for his life, he had gone out of his way to steal the previous Demon King's bones from the underground vault of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Soon, everyone gathered in the conference hall arrived at the same conclusion.
"Then, the stronghold of Pandemonium is..."
"Located somewhere in the Great Mountain Range?"
The problem was that even if they knew the location of Pandemonium, the situation was far from ideal for launching a direct assault. The influence of the Holy Kingdom and the Central Church certainly spanned the entire continent. However, there was one region where the Holy Kingdom's sway was exceptionally weak, and that happened to be the northern nations near the Great Mountain Range. Due to their geographical characteristics, these nations were highly isolationist compared to other regions, and they were currently preoccupied with their own petty internal conflicts.
"Let's assume for a moment that Pandemonium's base is indeed in the Great Mountain Range." Yohan spoke up after a brief moment of contemplation. "But do you really think those northern bastards will just open their borders for us? We're not talking about a few Inquisitors passing through. We're talking about the entire army of the Holy Kingdom, including the Holy Knights."
Silence fell over the room. Pandemonium was undeniably a malevolent force threatening the entire continent. It was also true that they had stolen the previous Demon King's bones through Angelo III. However, the fact that Pandemonium was plotting evil was entirely separate from whether the northern nations would permit the Holy Kingdom's military to march through their territories.
It was one thing for a couple of Inquisitors or Yohan himself to travel the continent hunting demons. That could be chalked up to individuals traveling freely. But a nation's army entering foreign territory was an act of international diplomacy. While the nations of the central and southern regions, where the Central Church was deeply rooted, would grant permission without a second thought...
"If we lack a justification, we need only create one."
Justia, who had remained silent until now, spoke for the first time. At her words, everyone, including Yohan, turned their attention to her.
"Though I am not yet whole, my power is recovering at a rapid pace."
At Justia's declaration, everyone in the room except Yohan brightened up with immense relief.
"We shall continue to pursue the former Pope, Angelo III, and seek out the stronghold of Pandemonium as we have been. And alongside that..."
Whoosh—
In an instant, a powerful spiritual wave erupted from Justia, sweeping through the hall. Since everyone gathered was highly sensitive to divine power, they all swallowed hard under the sheer pressure she radiated.
"Hunt down and execute every last demon lurking across the continent."
"Ohh...!"
At Justia's command, the faces of all the cardinals in attendance flushed with deep emotion. Yohan, on the other hand, merely stared at her with a flat, unimpressed expression.
Wait, isn't this...
When you boiled it down, wasn't she basically just telling them to keep doing what they were already doing? Of course, Yohan understood her intentions. No matter how bad the situation was, maintaining the morale of one's forces during a war was crucial. Justia had taken a point that was actually quite mundane and delivered it at the perfect moment, effectively solidifying the faith of the cardinals in the room.
Hmm...
If played right, this could be scaled up into something much bigger.
"Now that I think about it, I heard the people in the Holy City have been holding their own little victory celebrations lately," Yohan said, smoothly changing the subject. Justia and the cardinals immediately focused their attention on him.
"A god's power ultimately stems from the steadfast hearts of the people. The reason Justia hasn't fully recovered her original strength isn't just because the number of believers decreased—it's also because the overall morale of the people in this country has hit rock bottom."
The cardinals tilted their heads in confusion at Yohan's words. Justia, however, caught his drift and let a subtle smile play on her lips.
"Since we're at it, why don't we go all out and celebrate this victory on a national scale?"
And that wasn't all. Yohan already had the perfect symbolic figure in mind to breathe life and hope back into the exhausted hearts of the Holy Kingdom's citizens. A hero who, despite being a mere Holy Knight, had played a decisive role in rescuing the Main God Justia—Judas.
Quite apart from the Church leadership uncovering Pandemonium's true objective, a grand victory festival was in full swing throughout the Holy City. The few who knew the grim truth found the celebrations frustrating, but they couldn't exactly go around dampening everyone's spirits by shouting, "The battle isn't over yet, so it's too early to celebrate!" Besides, the festival wasn't entirely pointless. It served the vital purpose of boosting the morale of the Holy Kingdom's citizens, who had been deeply traumatized by the recent series of events.
After much deliberation, the College of Cardinals decided to make the Holy Knight Judas the symbol of their victory. His contributions were far too significant to dismiss as mere propaganda, so the justification was rock-solid. There was no reason not to put him in the spotlight. Furthermore, if they were strictly measuring merit, Yohan was the true champion who had rescued the Main God. However, Yohan had flatly refused to be the star of the festival, claiming he was a devout follower of the Unnamed Goddess Church.
"Whoaaa—!"
Along the wide avenue stretching from the grand plaza in front of the Papal Palace—where the scars of destruction had not yet fully healed—to the palace balcony, at least several thousand people had gathered, erupting into deafening cheers. Standing at the edge of the balcony overlooking the crowd was the Main God Justia. The fact that she, the core of the Central Church and the ruler of the Holy Kingdom, had taken her place before the ceremony even officially began signaled that she was not the main protagonist of this stage. A few sharp-witted citizens in the plaza seemed to catch on to this immediately.
"My proud believers!" Justia's voice rang out, crystal clear and carrying perfectly across the vast distance. "Over the past few months, our Holy Kingdom fell prey to the wicked machinations of demons, suffering the tragedy of brother turning blade against brother."
At her words, the boisterous crowd fell into a hushed, reverent silence. "But we have triumphed! I have awakened from my millennia-long slumber, and the vile demon and his puppet, Angelo, have fled with their tails between their legs!"
While Justia held the crowd in the palm of her hand, Yohan, standing just behind the balcony inside, looked up at the ceiling. "You know, looking at her now, she's actually pretty good with words."
—Though she has yet to fully grasp human emotions and sorely lacks patience, Justia is still a goddess, after all.
"True, but still... her first impression was just way too intense."
A soft chuckle echoed in Yohan's mind.
"Hey. If we're talking about first impressions, you were the one crying and snotting all over me when we first met. Who are you to laugh at anyone?"
—You insolent brat!
The Unnamed Goddess flared up at Yohan's jab, but she didn't manifest physically to grab him by the collar as she usually did. They both knew better than to draw unnecessary attention by manifesting in such a critical setting.
"And to commemorate this day, I introduce to you the great hero who risked his very life to rescue me!"
The speech finally reached its climax. At that moment, the crowd's cheers, which had briefly subsided, erupted once more. Yohan turned his head to look at the star of the show, who was waiting anxiously behind the balcony.
"Phew... I'm going to lose my mind. Seriously."
"Do not worry. All you need to do is put on a bright face and wave to the believers."
Clad in spotlessly polished plate armor, Judas let out one heavy sigh after another. Standing beside him was Cardinal Mathias. Surprisingly, the uncle Judas had previously mentioned turned out to be none other than Cardinal Mathias himself. Yohan had only learned this a moment ago, which meant that despite their blood relation, Judas and Mathias kept their professional and personal lives strictly separate.
...
At this point, Yohan had to wonder why Judas had made those condescending remarks about Annie back then. But that mystery was quickly solved.
"Do you understand? I repeat, there is no need to be so tense. Ultimately, the one leading the address is the Main God."
"Y-Yes, I know. But... I'm so nervous I feel like my hair is going to fall out."
"What did you say?"
"I mean, I don't want to end up bald like you, Uncle."
That bastard. He was just naturally like that. He was the type of guy who could effortlessly grate on someone's nerves without even meaning any harm. Still, it was thanks to their rocky first meeting in Easthold that they had made it this far. All's well that ends well, right?
Thwack!
"Ow!"
Yohan wore a warm, satisfied smile as he watched Cardinal Mathias smack Judas over the head with his staff.
"Well then..."
His business in the Holy Kingdom was officially finished. Yohan turned on his heel and walked back into the depths of the Papal Palace.
Flash!
At that moment, the Unnamed Goddess materialized right beside him. The two looked at each other and shared a brief, knowing nod. It was time to return to Westania and spread the name of the Church of the Unnamed Goddess far and wide.