Chapter 79
Chapter: 79
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 79
>Chapter Title: Orthodox Church (3)
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After the Monster Task Force raided the capital guard without warning, the cleanup at the scene was fully complete in less than two hours.
Those who had been unjustly dragged in due to rashes and the like received food and money, departing the capital guard with fairly satisfied expressions.
There was no trace of resentment on their faces. They could have been hauled off to the Inquisition Tribunal, tortured, and died, but since it ended well, it all seemed to be regarded as nothing more than a series of mishaps.
The patients with severe illnesses were transferred to the palace-affiliated medical center for treatment.
They were slum dwellers who would normally never set foot in a doctor's clinic and would have died at home, but now they had gained a proper chance at treatment.
Some of the early-stage gray plague patients were also sent to the palace physicians to have their eggs extracted.
Now, only those who appeared beyond hope of recovery remained.
And even they were few enough that the Orthodox Church no longer needed to consider reimplementing emergency measures—perfectly trimmed down to a number manageable at the capital guard level.
Julia Meyer, who had been watching the situation unfold in real time from the spot, inwardly clicked her tongue in admiration.
Frankly, even if she had rolled up her sleeves and stepped in herself, she couldn't guarantee it would have been handled so cleanly.
“His Highness truly has remarkable decisiveness, doesn't he?”
The red-haired inquisitor standing beside her flashed a grin.
“I never imagined you'd suggest storming the capital guard from the morning. At first, I thought we were just here for consultation, but before I knew it, the entire department was moving at His Highness's command.”
“Indeed. Thanks to that, the cooperation directive that arrived at dawn seems unnecessary now.”
Julia handed the documents she was holding to a junior knight and asked,
“For now, our 7th Knight Order will fully cooperate with the Monster Task Force. By the way, Sir Valerie, are you all right with this? As an inquisitor, won't it rub the Inquisition Tribunal the wrong way?”
“Well, I'm with the Monster Task Force, after all. Besides, the Inquisition Tribunal has already requested dismissal of the review. They must be secretly relieved to have fewer cases dumped on them.”
Valerie then glanced briefly at the patients being transported into the guard's prison.
“Still, His Highness made quite the bold decision. In a way, aren't these people the imperial capital's subjects most desperately in need of help? If he hadn't gotten involved at all, that would be one thing, but now that he has, he won't escape criticism for turning a blind eye to the pitiful later on.”
“Even though it was the Orthodox Church that ordered them brought in?”
“That's why they planned to avoid hasty judgments and pass everything to the Inquisition Tribunal through the council without qualms. Who would dare challenge the Inquisition Tribunal's verdict?”
That made sense.
Julia gave a short reply and nodded.
“The Lord commanded us to love our subjects as our own children. Don't you think His Highness, who must set an example as a member of the Holy Imperial Family, was being too cold?”
“I am a soldier of Delcross before I am a defender of the imperial capital's subjects. There are times when we must strategically sacrifice even the lives of the hale and hearty—let alone cling desperately to those with no hope at all. I have no intention of blaming His Highness for that.”
“Is that so? As a ruler, it's the lesser of two evils.”
“But that choice has blocked the possibility of reimplementing the emergency measures. As a soldier, I see it as the most efficient option.”
Julia then turned her head toward Valerie. The distinctive purple eyes of House Meyer fixed on his face with a serious glint.
“And I can tell you believe His Highness was right as well. Stop beating around the bush pretending to speak for others and be honest, Sir Valerie. Are you feeling guilty now for contributing to deciding the fates of the innocent?”
Valerie shrugged.
“No, nothing like that. I just wanted to check what others might think. Watching His Highness sometimes gives me this odd feeling.”
“Odd?”
“Yes. Didn't you just say it yourself, Lady Julia? As a soldier, it's the most efficient choice.”
“…….”
“That's what's intriguing. Sometimes His Highness doesn't seem like a prince raised delicately in the palace, but more like a veteran soldier hardened on the southern front.”
“Sir Valerie!”
Just then, a youthful voice called out to him from afar.
Prince Mores was waving at them with a mischievous grin.
“The Orthodox Church says the Saint Bastian Knights are on their way. Let's bounce before we run into them!”
Puhahaha.
Valerie burst into hearty laughter and winked at Julia.
“Well then, we'll execute a strategic retreat, Lady Julia. Thank you for the enthusiastic cooperation up to now.”
The red-haired inquisitor then bounded energetically toward the prince with buoyant steps.
“We need to hurry, Your Highness! The Bastians are stubborn as mules. Running into them will definitely be a hassle.”
“No way. Not as bad as the Saint Marthias Knights, surely.”
“You can't say that in front of me! Marthias and Bastian have been famous bitter rivals forever. My seniors always griped that they won't listen to reason.”
“Then I should hear the Saint Bastian Knights' side too. Maybe they hate each other for the same reasons?”
“Puhahaha! I can't deny the possibility.”
They bantered back and forth as they hurried away. Trailing behind them were the Guard Knight Order commander, the exorcist, the plague doctor, and palace knights in a line.
What a bizarre combination, yet it somehow meshed oddly well.
Julia watched them for a moment before leading her junior knight away. At the very least, she fully agreed with Sir Valerie that meeting the Saint Bastian Knights would be exhausting.
* * *
Saint Bastian Church.
This beautiful church, constructed over 500 years ago, had upheld more than half the history of the millennium-old Holy Kingdom of Delcross alongside it, serving as the cradle of the Saint Bastian Knights and the stronghold of the Orthodox Church.
In one of the high spires, within the archbishop's office, two elderly figures clad in ornate vestments sat facing each other.
“We're getting on in years now. I really hope we never have to schedule meetings at the top of a building like this again.”
The head of the council, Cardinal Albus Meyer, removed his mitre and wiped the sweat beading on his forehead.
The elderly woman seated opposite him snorted derisively.
“Too late for complaints now. Don't you remember summoning me here constantly when you were leading the Orthodox Church and I was still a high priestess?”
“You were in your prime back then.”
“Don't whine about growing old together when we're both in the same boat. I climb to this height every day for work.”
True to the words about aging together, the woman—whose hair was mostly silver—looked even older than Cardinal Meyer depending on the angle.
Archbishop Wesker.
The current head of the Orthodox Church, she had risen to high priestess at a relatively young age and blazed through the fastest path to bishop and then archbishop.
With her eyepatch over her right eye lending her an even sterner impression, Archbishop Wesker resembled less a cleric and more a battle-scarred veteran. Despite her potent holy power, the irreparable deep wound she bore indirectly testified to the fierce life she had lived.
“I originally summoned Your Eminence regarding various considerations for the upcoming review process, but…….”
“I heard on the way. His Highness trimmed down quite a bit of our workload, didn't he?”
“Yes. That Prince Mores.”
The archbishop scowled fiercely, creasing her entire face with wrinkles.
“He pulled off quite the cheeky stunt today. By the time we heard and hurriedly dispatched the Saint Bastian Knights, fewer than forty prisoners remained.”
“The capital guard commander isn't one to be trifled with.”
“They shoved a stamped cooperation directive under his nose and whisked the people away in the blink of an eye. He didn't even have a chance to stop them.”
“Heh heh, well now.”
Cardinal Meyer stroked his beard and chuckled dryly.
“Still, he left just the right number. As you know, reviews have precedents. Even with good mediation, it would have been hard to pass more than that to the Inquisition Tribunal. With the innocents pre-screened, it's ideal.”
“That's what pisses me off more! It's a bit short, but the results aren't bad, and blaming the prince would be hard when he's tidied it up so neatly!”
The archbishop seemed irritated just thinking about it.
“What is this nonsense? Has he abandoned his claim to the throne entirely? No concern for his reputation? Getting hit from behind with some unexpected ploy means the higher-ups in the Orthodox Church and Inquisition Tribunal have turned their backs on him en masse.”
“If he cared about reputation, he wouldn't have been gallivanting around like a fool from the start.”
Cardinal Meyer wiped his forehead once more, then neatly replaced his mitre.
He met Archbishop Wesker's gaze squarely and continued in a slightly subdued tone.
“I assume you know. This time, you've truly crossed the line.”
“…….”
“Don't even think of submitting review documents babbling about Devil's Curse at this point. You're not some pigheaded fool like Benitus who charges in without regard. You know better than anyone that no demonkin can extend its claws into the imperial capital while His Majesty the Holy Emperor lives.”
“…Even without curses, it doesn't matter, Your Eminence. Gray plague patients are dangerous.”
“So you rounded up everyone, even those who might not have the plague?”
“Once early symptoms are confirmed, we couldn't afford to miss a single one. Whether they had it or not would have been sorted during the review period.”
The archbishop hadn't wanted innocents caught up in this either.
She simply had her own calculations.
Terminal gray plague patients would die waiting for review, while early ones would progress enough to reveal their condition.
Even if it meant some sacrifices, it was nothing compared to the risks of leaving them loose in the capital.
“The Inquisition Tribunal wouldn't have let this happen if they'd stuck to their duties. When we should be scrambling to catch more, they're outright ignoring the spread under the excuse of some unheard-of 'beastkin'!”
“The Inquisition Tribunal's duty is to fight heretics. Not to round up plague patients.”
“If something gravely threatens Delcross's safety, shouldn't we slap on demon worship charges even if unfounded and execute them?!”
“…Archbishop Wesker. You truly…….”
Cardinal Meyer sighed.
Though now leading the Inquisition Tribunal and Orthodox Church respectively, Benitus and Wesker were originally junior priests who had long worked under him in sync.
Benitus charging ahead heedless of fallout whenever religious lines were crossed, and Wesker willing to skirt taboos for pragmatism.
If only he could split them evenly and mix...
“I'm well aware of your spirited nature, but you're a leader now. There's a limit to acting first and cleaning up later like in your high priestess days. This incident has branded you a troublemaker among the higher-ups too, not just the prince. What standing do you have to criticize him?”
“…….”
“His Majesty seems to hold you in some regard, so I'm saying this for your sake. I don't want to lose a capable subordinate I've shared trials with for so long. Understood? Don't take His Majesty's granting of that stamped cooperation directive to the prince lightly.”
Archbishop Wesker fell silent.
She stared at Cardinal Meyer with sunken eyes before rising and slowly walking to a wall cabinet in the corner of the office.
“Your Eminence. I still dream of those days sometimes.”
Inside the cabinet sat a small wooden box. She picked it up, stroking it gently as she continued.
“Back when Your Eminence led the Orthodox Church, and I was still a high priestess. Following His Majesty to fight demonkin, purging underground dark cults—those days when charging forward without a shred of doubt was enough.”
“…….”
“The moment I drove a holy relic into that demon's torso with all my strength—the one that took my eye. And when His Majesty finally lopped off that fiend's head like cracking a walnut.”
The archbishop brought the box forward and slid it toward Cardinal Meyer.
As he slowly opened the lid, inside lay a translucent milky-white stone-like object.
It resembled crystal in material but formed no proper lattice, twisted into a sinister lump like old congealed oil.
“This stone is dangerous, Your Eminence.”
“This is…….”
“They turn up sporadically in the crematorium. From the heads of gray plague victims who died in the Inquisition Tribunal.”
Cardinal Meyer dredged up faint memories. He had definitely seen such stones before.
Back when Wesker was a high priestess, hadn't she shown him one right here in this office and reported it?
After hemming and hawing for a while, the cardinal's eyes suddenly widened.
“No way—the Ansa Village incident……!”
“Yes, Your Eminence. I saw it clearly that day. The sight of an entire village and the surrounding area being wholly sucked into human bodies! That's when I realized: even at some cost, we must eradicate the seed of anxiety without fail.”
In the archbishop's sole remaining eye gazing at the cardinal burned an intense flame akin to madness.
“Are you pitying the suffering of some subjects now? Leave it be, and in the end, there won't even be suffering people left.”