Chapter 78

Chapter 78

11. War of Faith -9

The hearing chamber was heavily guarded by holy knights, and its structure looked like a colosseum scaled down and moved indoors. It meant the bishops sat in a ring, looking down upon the subject of the hearing.

As I looked up at them, I committed each face to memory one by one.

Seldicto, representative of the Binder Faction; Savidero, representative of the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord Faction; and Bento, representative of the Moon-Shadow Faction⋯⋯

Even their expressions were different from Savidero, who had been flustered by a few obvious word games. These two exuded composure.

From the one called Bishop Bento, I couldn't read even a trace of hostility toward me. That was some serious expression management. Judging by his face alone, he looked no different from a kindly grandfather out for a neighborhood stroll, as if he'd spent decades living as a sound-stage actor.

But that tongue of his would not be kind. The old man with his luxuriantly grown hair and beard, Bishop Bento, was the first to speak.

"Welcome, Holy Knight Noah. I have heard much about you. You punished those who dared to pilfer a holy knight's belongings and returned them, did you not? You must have been busy upholding your duty to guard the Saintess, yet you still took the time to devote yourself to the Church. I am nothing but grateful."

"The Saintess has her heart set on the glory of the Church of the Holy God. Since you bishops are too busy preparing for the conclave to attend to minor matters, she wished to smooth over that part. My stepping away from my escort duty to come here is for that reason as well."

"That intention is truly most welcome. We have been advancing the great undertaking of the conclave for the sake of the many, yet we worried the Saintess might feel slighted—and here she is, looking after these old bones even amid her busy schedule. At last, she has recognized the sincerity of the bishops who wish only to make everything better!"

"⋯⋯⋯⋯"

Tch.

What I'd meant was that I came because you lot weren't doing your jobs and everything had gone to hell thanks to the conclave.

Bishop Bento had swallowed it whole as, "So the Saintess doesn't oppose the conclave and actually approves of it, yes?" I could nitpick if I wanted to, but⋯⋯ it didn't seem like that would let me get a grip on him. These were wily old foxes, after all.

The bishop pressed in, striking at the part I couldn't cover.

"The reason we summoned you today is that the process by which the Saintess selected a holy knight was far too abrupt. A new holy knight appeared without our hearing or seeing anything of it, and so a small misunderstanding arose, and Bishop Savidero ended up committing an error."

"A misunderstanding, you say. The Saintess does have the authority to appoint holy knights, does she not?"

"Yes. The Saintess certainly possesses such authority⋯⋯ but she has not exercised it in nearly three years, so we grew concerned that there might be some error. And if it concerns a personal holy knight who will attend the Saintess, then it must be verified all the more meticulously. I trust you agree that prudence is warranted."

"I agree with prudence, but then I must ask, Bishop—do you intend to raise objections to the entirety of the Saintess's personnel authority? Will you apply the same rigor to each and every nun who attends the Saintess?"

I was mounting my own defense when Bishop Seldicto cut in, fluttering his fan.

"Hahaha! It's not about rigor—it's about living with a bit of communication between us! Moreover, a personal holy knight is as good as a right arm, and if we'd been told in advance whose right arm this was, we could have avoided misunderstandings like Bishop Savidero's! When I first received the report, I was startled—could some scoundrel falsely claiming to be the Saintess's holy knight have appeared?!"

"In that case, Bishop, shouldn't you also submit the roster of holy knights directly under your command to the Saintess? For both sides to recognize each other's faces, both sides must do the recognizing—then the 'misunderstanding' you speak of would not occur."

"Hm? Haha! What a strange thing to say! We bishops already do so!"

"⋯⋯⋯⋯Excuse me?"

What was that supposed to mean? They'd handed over information on their own underlings to Andersen? No—if something like that had happened, Andersen would have shown me the documents.

Bishop Bento smiled benignly and looked toward one corner.

"There is an order to all things in this world. Just as one does not skip over His Imperial Majesty to offer tribute to a baron first, we report all personnel transfer documents to His Holiness the Pope, not to the Saintess. We are keeping faith, so to speak, in order to resolve misunderstandings. Is that not so?"

"⋯⋯Th-that is, so."

In the corner Bishop Bento had looked toward sat an old man with no presence whatsoever, his shoulders hunched up tightly. Hidden by the imposing air of the twelve bishops, I had honestly assumed he was a scribe or an attendant.

That haggard old man was the Pope?

If he was the Pope, he was surely the head of this Church of the Holy God, yet that figure looked like nothing more than a paper scarecrow. Right—this was why Saintess Andersen had been smuggling firearms and reaching into the underworld.

"Holy Knight Noah. I made brief inquiries about your remarkable martial prowess, and despite your conspicuous features, there was not a single rumor to be found. So I must ask⋯⋯ might we hear where you were born?"

"Hahaha! Remarkable, isn't it? White hair is a rare trait. And martial prowess enough to subdue ten holy knights would have made you famous from childhood!"

There were no allies inside. I was surrounded by nothing but enemies.

No matter how much more I ran my mouth, I was running out of things to say, and if I bluffed about being born unknown in some mountain village, these people would turn me into a criminal slash-and-burn farmer in an instant.

But hadn't I said it? I'd come here precisely to crack some joints.

[⋯⋯⋯⋯]

"Why so silent? You're dragging things out excessively over a matter that could be settled by simply showing an identification plaque. Could it be that you possess some status you cannot proudly reveal?"

Ding!

[Communication connected.]

And just now⋯⋯ that groundwork had been laid.

While I'd been toying with Bishop Savidero of the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord Faction, I'd felt a strange sensation, as if someone below was looking up at me. And I'd known by instinct: this was the gaze of the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子).

I didn't quite understand why the gaze was looking up at me⋯⋯ but from that moment on, I'd had only one play in mind.

Geumjeokgeumwang (擒賊擒王)—capture the bandits, capture their king!

The art of war says: if you want to win a war, aim for the head first.

[Noah Won : Hello.]

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : ⋯⋯⋯⋯]

The 『Rite of Order』 (制度禮)—a Heaven Path (天上道) first-rung ascension method that strengthens one's connection by offering tribute to the System. Through it, I had been able to communicate with the Glass Sword Lord across the dimensional barrier.

Of course, the connection only held because the Glass Sword Lord was footing the entire communication bill. But thinking about it the other way, it meant that as long as someone paid the international call charges, communication was possible somehow.

In that case, what reason was there for me not to be able to communicate with the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord?

[Noah Won : Thank you for taking my call. And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thank you for covering the Credits as well. Since you probably don't want a long call, I'll get straight to the point.]

[Noah Won : Let's negotiate. We can both benefit.]

I prepared my persuasion while listening to the bishop's scolding with one ear and letting it flow out the other. Truthfully, it wasn't even registering. The Serpent-Subduing Young Lord's presence was growing moment by moment, as if pressing down on me.

The silence was crushing. But I endured it.

As long as he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠engaged with the negotiation in some form, I had plenty of cards to play.

"That mouth that was yapping so arrogantly in front of me—go on, open it. How can there not be a single person who knows you?!"

Amid the bishop's shouting, at the end of a silence that felt exceptionally long—

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : Ignore that primitive yapping and say a bit more. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠want to hear more about what our junior here is scheming.]

The Serpent-Subduing Young Lord finally opened his mouth. I wiped away the cold sweat and grinned at the bishops.

See you in exactly five minutes.

If I persuade "God" directly instead of the factions, what the hell can you people even do?

This negotiation table had to be cleared as fast as possible. The Glass Sword Lord had poured Credits into the communication fees, but the odds that the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord—whom I'd met from a rival position—would go that far for me were extremely low.

The longer I talked, the more I drained the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord's account balance, so I judged that bluntly hammering in nothing but frank words without reading the room would actually have a higher persuasion rate.

I cut the flowery rhetoric and spoke cleanly.

[Noah Won : You can't compete on cost-effectiveness.]

[Noah Won : Our clan is quite large even among D-ranks. Even if you brought ten times what you've scattered so far, we'd win.]

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : And if I raise by more than ten times, as you say? I'm several times wealthier than you think, you know.]

[Noah Won : Then you'd win, but it would be a victory of pure loss—rather, a victory where losses keep accumulating from here on. Our goal is the stabilization of this planet, so even if we lose, we have no intention of cleanly washing our hands and walking away.]

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : You're going to live in D-rank for a thousand, ten thousand years?]

Ssssk—

An auditory hallucination like a snake slithering echoed in my ears. It seemed to be asking whether I was confident enough to keep up that posturing. I massaged the back of my neck, which had gone cold, and continued.

[Noah Won : I'm planning to reach C-rank before long, actually. Thanks to the Glass Sword Lord looking favorably on me, I got a promotion opportunity less than half a year after receiving the System.]

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : A promising prospect with connections, is that it? So?]

[Noah Won : Isn't it burdensome for you anyway, with two B-rank hunters already in the game? Why not yield gracefully here and hang a debt on me? If it's a rice cake you can't eat, isn't that the better option?]

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : Let me ask one thing. How did you contact me? Did that Glass Sword Lord fellow grant you a communicator? Honestly, that's what I was so curious about that I took the call.]

[Noah Won : I felt your gaze, so I applied the Rite of Order a bit.]

It was half a lie. I wanted the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord to think of me as just a reasonably promising prospect, so I glossed over the details and only said the obvious parts.

[-> Download Slot 1 : 『Serpent-Subduing Young Lord's Gaze』 (Download complete / 100%)]

The method of contacting the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord was simple. While arguing with Savidero earlier, I had downloaded his gaze itself, and I'd loaded it intact into the Rite of Order and fired it off.

I deliberately didn't explain "『Download -2』." It wasn't even certain whether the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord would become an enemy or an ally, and it was always better to keep an ability like this hidden as a habit.

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : If some back-alley pauper cobbled together a disposable communicator in a junkyard and sent you a text, even you'd be amazed, wouldn't you? I'll admit it. You're no joke of a prospect.]

But that alone seemed more than enough to capture the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord's interest.

Now came the next part. I had to close this deal. If I only threatened, even if the negotiation succeeded, bad feelings would pile up. No matter how much of an acquaintance the Glass Sword Lord was, there was nothing good about making more enemies.

So I had to offer at least a sliver of tangible benefit, not some vague promissory note. Ultimately, the Holy-God Faction wanted the planet's stability, so as long as that was preserved, it didn't matter if the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord's influence remained.

I didn't know what the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord and other high-ranking hunters wanted, but⋯⋯

[Noah Won : If you're reluctant to let go, we could make some concessions if you'd observe a few conditions.]

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : No, I'll step back this time. If I'm going to give up, it's better to let go completely. But remember this debt. I'm conceding a lot.]

[Noah Won : ⋯⋯Thank you for being so generous.]

Done. The Serpent-Subduing Young Lord had accepted more generously than I'd expected.

The moment I inwardly sighed in relief and let the tension out of my shoulders, the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord spoke.

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : Hey, but let's settle one thing before we go. I'm telling you this as your senior, so listen carefully. You asked if it wasn't burdensome because there were two B-rank hunters in the game, right?]

Sssk- sk-

A sound like scales scraping, almost like laughter, rang out softly. The more it echoed, the sharper it grew, as if piercing the eardrums, and the volume swelled too.

Faintly, I could almost see the shape of a massive snake pressed flat against the ground.

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : A B-rank hunter can split their consciousness into thousands of fragments. The energy staying on this planet is just one of their feelers. It's like a pinky finger automatically carrying out work on its own.]

[Noah Won : ⋯⋯Excuse me?]

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : So actually, no matter how much you thrash around, these petty planet campaigns rarely offend a B-rank's sensibilities. Even if I took over the planet, it'd be the same. Because from their perspective, it's far too trivial a matter.]

I felt my mouth go completely dry. So that meant⋯⋯ the Binder Faction and the Moon-Shadow Faction, these two groups that had seized control of this planet—they were raising their voices because they'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been bewitched by a single speck of a B-rank hunter.

Sssk- sk-

The sound of scales made my head throb. But I shook off the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord's growing presence and pressure and asked once more. This was information I needed to hear in detail.

[Noah Won : Hold on. Then conversely—there must be cases where they seriously throw themselves in. How do you tell whether this gaze is a fingertip or the head?]

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : Speech. Uttering language means the main body's consciousness is focused here. When I entered this planet, no B-rank gave me a verbal warning. So I pushed my luck.]

[Noah Won : So if they speak to you, you should avoid them.]

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : Honestly, you should get out of the way before they even speak to you to be safe. Once you've heard the voice, you've already been marked⋯⋯ So you get it, right?]

Drip.

When that clamorous sound stopped, the Serpent-Subduing Young Lord's voice was suddenly resonating from the nape of my neck. It felt like a snake's fangs grazing my skin.

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : I didn't step aside because I'm scared of B-ranks. I stepped aside because I saw your potential.]

[Noah Won : ⋯⋯⋯⋯]

[Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子) : Anyway, come up to C-rank later and buy me a meal. Make sure to accept my friend request.]

Beep.

[Communication ended.]

That was three minutes up to here.

The negotiation⋯⋯ a negotiation that had been nearly half intimidation—had just concluded successfully. The bishops' voices, which had sounded distant because of my focus, now finally came through properly.

"Seeing how you remain utterly silent, I can guess where you're from. I've heard the Saintess has been squandering her assets caring for useless nobodies, but surely you're from the back alleys of⋯⋯ uh, er, eh⋯⋯"

And then.

Savidero, who had been raising his voice at the very front, spittle flying, suddenly wore a dumb expression like someone struck by lightning from the sky. Then he shouted with a look of great alarm.

"D-do not touch Holy Knight Noah! From now on, I shall regard that holy knight as one body with myself! What does his origin matter? If he is devout and serves the Church, we must all embrace him warmly!"

"?"

"??"

The abrupt about-face was so devoid of plausibility that Bishop Seldicto, representative of the Binder Faction, blurted out without any decorum.

"Savidero, have you lost your mind?"

"I said don't touch him! Th-the bishops who share my views—I'll explain later, so just agree. Anyway, holy knight, you may leave now. Please leave. As for the rudeness up to now⋯⋯ h-hah. Yes. Go on⋯⋯"

"Yes. I'll take my leave now."

Savidero kept fidgeting with the back of his neck as if someone were strangling him. The Serpent-Subduing Young Lord was probably making his will known clearly and forcefully.

I'd felt this much pressure myself, so for Savidero, who wasn't even a hunter, it must have been dizzying.

I wiped a trickle of cold sweat with the back of my hand and, in the hearing chamber where confusion was spreading, looked around at the bishops one last time and spoke. I fixed my gaze especially on Bishop Bento of the Moon-Shadow Faction.

"Many gods have descended to save this planet, but in this world, the only god who is not fickle was the Holy God alone. You bishops know this as well. Where there is a benevolent god, there is also the opposite—and there are cases of beings utterly unworthy of faith and service."

Don't you know it too? That the god you serve is a strange one.

"⋯⋯⋯⋯"

"The Holy God has resolved, in that sacrilege, to carve away His own flesh and feed His followers to fullness. So think on it once more."

It was, in effect, a declaration of all-out war.

They wavered, little by little, at my words. I could see it. The bishops weren't fools, so they must have known of the god's unsettling nature long ago. If there were a better alternative, why would they choose Master Binder or Moon Shadow?

But one person.

Bishop Bento of the Moon-Shadow Faction alone did not waver in the slightest. In this war of faith that would end within days⋯⋯ I had a premonition that this Bishop Bento would be the biggest stumbling block.

I fixed that image firmly in my memory as I left the hearing chamber.

On the way out.

"A-a message⋯⋯ Three days hence, His Holiness the Pope invites the holy knight to the Sanctuary (聖所)."

I received an invitation from the Pope for a secret private audience.