Chapter 148: The Holy Land
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 148: The Holy Land
Living in an orphanage, you have no choice but to learn the harsh realities of the world early on.
Without fail, the other children I ate and slept with became back-alley thugs or prostitutes once they were old enough to leave.
If that were the end of it, I might have understood, thinking that’s just one way to live. But the thugs had their hands cut off for stealing, or their heads cut off after being summarily executed for picking a fight with someone of high station they failed to recognize.
The prostitutes had it better, at least at first. In the beginning, they made a decent amount of money and lived like human beings.
Of course, they soon contracted strange diseases and were cast out by their pimps. Knowing no other way to make easy money with their bodies, the prostitutes, unable to adapt to hard labor, would leave for other cities where no one knew them.
From what I heard, one of them died after being whipped to death by an enraged pimp for hiding her illness.
Cynthia knew from an early age that her future wouldn't be much different.
Still, her situation was a bit better than most. With a beauty unbefitting an orphan, she was beloved by the adults.
Though some of them looked at her with lustful eyes, she deliberately used flirtatious gestures to hold their gazes.
Her goal was to catch the eye of a high-ranking church official or a visiting noble and escape her fate.
Needless to say, for a girl who hadn't even gone through puberty to be thinking such thoughts, she was far from innocent.
In any case, her plan seemed to be succeeding when an archbishop from a certain diocese secretly summoned her to his chambers.
The problem was that he was a pervert who enjoyed trampling on those weaker than himself. That was precisely why he had chosen Cynthia, a girl who had yet to show any secondary sexual characteristics.
That night, as she was being whipped, Cynthia became aware of her ability. Her treatment changed in an instant. The archbishop began to cherish her like a treasure.
Although his perverted demand that she collect her urine for him was hard to bear, she had, in effect, achieved her goal.
But she wasn't satisfied. Humans, by nature, are a species that knows no satisfaction.
She soon felt suffocated by her new environment, like a bird in a cage. It might sound ungrateful, but she sometimes thought her days at the orphanage had been better.
Even so, she couldn't bring herself to escape the archbishop's grasp. The brothers and sisters from her orphanage days had shown her that a greater hardship awaited anyone who simply ran away.
Her un-orphan-like beauty would only skyrocket those chances. And if her ability were to be discovered, she might be locked away in a dark room and used as a tool to extract her power. Her situation would become even worse than it was now.
The problem was that the more she suppressed her yearning for freedom, the larger it grew.
It had grown to the point where she was ready to escape the hands of the archbishop—now the Pope—the moment an opportunity arose.
That was why, in the game, she had immediately followed the Star Witch when she came to invite her to the witches' assembly.
The seven witches, who could be considered the other protagonists of the game, were so significant that I even knew her personal history well. I also knew that she, who longed for freedom, would not be able to refuse my offer.
But a game can never fully represent reality. Her gaze, which had grown a degree colder, was as if she were looking at filth.
With an emotionless touch, she slowly pushed away my hand that had reached for her cheek. Then, straightening her clothes, she looked up at me again with that same cold stare.
The sharp bridge of her nose looked like it could slice me like a razor blade.
“So, you plan to seduce me with your handsome face and use my ability for free?”
“I believe I told you I don’t need your ability.”
“If you’re serious, that’s even more of a problem. It’s not as if my ability and I can be separated, so to speak of me while completely excluding the value of my power? I can only see that as a deliberate attempt to devalue me.”
As I mentioned, Cynthia, having grown up in poverty from a young age, had a tenacious side to her.
Unlike my other women, who were like flowers in a flowerbed or a garden, she was like a wildflower.
And I liked that even more.
“In return, you won’t be used as a tool for propaganda like you were under the Pope. I also won’t restrain you. I have many women, you see.”
“Are you presenting that as a merit right now?”
Does Cynthia know? That every time her gaze grows colder, the urge to pounce on her right then and there rears its head?
Perhaps she instinctively knows how to provoke me. Witches, after all, all have a talent for bewitching men.
“And among them are witches, just like you.”
For the first time, her brown eyes wavered.
Expecting this, I let out a smirk. Witches are fated to be loners because of their abilities. That’s why they all crave acceptance and love. For an orphan like Cynthia, this would be even more true.
I was mistaken.
“Witches, plural?”
Now Cynthia was looking at me as if I had transcended filth and become nuclear waste.
“So, you’re asking me to become another piece in your collection of witches? I see absolutely no reason why I should accept your offer. To me, there’s little difference between you and the Pope.”
And Cynthia was mistaken, too.
“Did this look like an offer?”
“What… What are you doing right now?”
Forcibly thrown over my shoulder, her body bent like a shrimp, she asked, patting my back.
“Can’t you tell? I’m carrying you off.”
The pilgrimage route was once again bustling on our way back. Even Cynthia, who had maintained her poker face until the end, seemed embarrassed to be slung over my shoulder in a position that accentuated her rear in front of so many people.
She buried her face in my back to hide, but tugged at my clothes, signaling for me to put her down.
“Stay still.”
“Hahk…”
When my hand, which was holding her calf, gave her bottom a light smack, her body went rigid as a stone.
There was really no need for that.
The merchants who recognized me had fled for their lives again, and the pilgrims who didn’t know me were swept up in the chaos, following along with bewildered faces.
As our surroundings instantly fell silent, she seemed to realize this and spoke up again.
“What are you really thinking?”
“I believe I said I’m carrying you off.”
“…So, you want to introduce yourself as the fool who infiltrated the Holy Land, which is no different from an enemy camp, all alone just to get one woman?”
“I came with the archbishop, though.”
“If you’re going to keep joking, I’ll just shut my mouth.”
She gritted her teeth. I wanted to test how long she could maintain her poker face, but it seemed like pushing it any further would genuinely hurt her feelings.
Hiding my disappointment, I answered her properly.
“The Pope’s forces are barely at the level of a baron. The Templar Knights were also below expectations. I can handle this much on my own.”
“That’s foolish. Are you going to make an enemy of the entire four continents just to get one woman?”
“I wasn’t talking about actually fighting.”
Just as she said, if I attacked the Pope before he revealed his true colors, I would be branded a public enemy of the four continents. It could even escalate into a true Holy War.
‘Bronx II, in particular, would seize the opportunity, accuse me of witchcraft, and take the lead in gathering forces.’
To confront the Pope, the world first needed to know his true nature. That was why I was relentlessly provoking him.
Besides, the Pope still had a large role to play. From Dresden to Duke Signir, there were many others the Pope needed to deal with.
“The Pope will not give up on me.”
“That goes for me as well.”
“This is no time for bravado. An envoy from the Alliance is currently in the Holy Land, along with dozens of guards hardened by the long war. If he decides to help the Pope, you’ll be in quite a bit of trouble yourself.”
“It seems you don’t know the purpose of his visit.”
The Alliance has deep ties with the Church, meaning it was highly likely they would side with the Pope.
The problem was that Dresden, who was for now an ally, was at a disadvantage against the Alliance. This was because of a named character who belonged to the Alliance.
I had intended to use this opportunity to deal with Dresden, but the timing was too early.
So I sent an envoy to the Alliance. No noble would simply stand by after learning they were being played like a puppet on someone else’s hand.
And the plan seemed to be a success. The front lines were likely in a lull.
“I know who came.”
Cynthia’s words implied that the identity of the visiting envoy was more important than the purpose of his visit.
I stopped in my tracks.
“Could it be… Sir Alex?”
If that named character had come in person, I would have to throw all my plans in the trash. He was an opponent I couldn't be certain of defeating.
After a moment of tension, I shook my head and answered before Cynthia could.
“It’s an exaggeration to say he’s more than half the Alliance’s strength, but would a knight like that really leave his post during a war? Even if he wanted to, those around him wouldn’t allow it.”
“Instead, Baron Babel is here, who can summon Alex at any time.”
Baron Babel was one of two people who could control the arrogant and reckless Alex. The other, of course, was Cynthia.
She had brought up his name to threaten me, but my lips just twitched into a smirk.
“So, you’re saying there’s no one left in the Alliance army to control Sir Alex?”
To prevent Dresden from collapsing completely, Duke Signir and my mercenary captain, Hodgson, were on their way to the battlefield at this very moment.
While I had given the Duke overall command, I had also strictly warned him not to engage the enemy until my messenger arrived.
A head-on clash with Alex would result in unbearable losses, even if we were lucky enough to win.
And yet, here in the Holy Land, quite far from the battlefield, another excellent piece of bait had appeared. Bait that Alex could not ignore.
“…What are you thinking?”
Cynthia seemed to have realized her slip of the tongue after watching my expression.
“If Sir Alex hears that his only family and the woman he loves are in danger at the same time, he will rush to their rescue without a second thought. He wouldn’t hesitate even if a crucial battle that could decide the Northern Continent’s throne, a conflict that has dragged on for five years, was right before him.”
“In return, Alex will use everything he has to try and kill you.”
The slight tremble in Cynthia’s voice was unexpected. In the game, didn’t she leave Alex without a backward glance the moment the Star Witch made her offer?
I thought it was just Alex’s one-sided crush. Was she not entirely without feelings for him? Or was it because of the affection built up over their long time together?
Whatever it was, I didn’t like it. I was the only man she should be looking at.
“Hmm. I’ll have to kill him, then.”
In truth, regardless of Cynthia’s feelings, I had no intention of letting Alex live. In the game, the reason Alex joined the Hero was to forcibly take Cynthia, who had abandoned him.
His betrayed love had twisted into obsession. In other words, the man would never give up on Cynthia, which meant he was fated to become my enemy.
Unaware of this, Cynthia was genuinely flustered.
“What…! You must be saying that because you’ve never met him, but he is truly a monster. He once charged into an enemy camp alone, took the commander’s head, and returned. You are clearly a formidable man, but you will never be able to defeat him.”
That was an undeniable fact. In terms of physical ability alone, he was a character who surpassed even the Hero.
That was why I couldn’t guarantee a victory, even with the system’s help.
However…
“That would be the case in a head-on confrontation.”
My specialty wasn’t brute force. Force was merely a means to achieve my goals more easily and quickly.
I kneaded her tense leg muscles and continued speaking.
“From what I hear, those who know me call me something more monstrous than an undefeated knight or a monster. But tell me, do you think one can conquer and rule a vast territory like mine with brute force alone? If that were truly the case, why does Sir Alex still possess only a tiny fiefdom and serve another?”
Perhaps because my superhuman strength was so shocking, everyone focused only on that. In reality, it was schemes and conspiracies that had made me who I am today.
Well, thanks to that, I had often profited by inducing carelessness in others. Even Cynthia had just assumed I was a typical warrior and concluded I would lose to Alex.
There was no need to even mention Alex, who was less thoughtful than she. Moreover, the only two people he would listen to were not by his side.
He would fall for my scheme with an ease that I could say was a certainty. I could guarantee it.
“…!”
Cynthia seemed to agree. She remained silent until we returned to the entrance of the pilgrimage route.
The entrance, which had been bustling with merchants and pilgrims just before we went up, had transformed into a desolate landscape with not a soul in sight.
Another strange thing was that even though a saintess had been kidnapped, there was no sign of pursuit.
I found out the reason after arriving at our lodging. An envoy from the Pope, not the archbishop, was waiting for me.
“The Archbishop is in a meeting with His Holiness the Pope. And His Holiness has invited you, my lord Baron. Here is the invitation.”
The Pope’s envoy was the gatekeeper who had been collecting the entrance fee at the Holy Land’s gate. He must have reported to the Pope when I paid the pilgrims’ fees with a massive sum of money. It was just as I had guessed.
“The meeting was set for three days from now. The Pope is quite impatient.”
The Pope might, but the archbishop was not one to break a promise to me, so it was safe to assume he had been dragged there against his will. For me, this was a good outcome.