Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: The Cardinal Proposal
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As the building where the Pope primarily officiated, its interior was the most magnificent among all the religious structures I had seen so far.
I had visited as a tourist in the real world once, but seeing the place without modern clothing or swarming crowds truly drove home its ritual purpose.
Following the long central aisle, someone rose from the priests' seats arranged in a circle around the Throne of Saint Peter.
"You've arrived."
"It's a pleasure, Your Excellency Baresi."
The Pope, Bishop of Rome, was absent, and there were nearly twenty auxiliary bishops and priests present.
The bishop called Baresi raised an eyebrow as he spoke.
"I never imagined you'd summon the entire Roman bishopric for an honorary priest ordination on a night like this, Your Eminence."
"Haha, I was there at the scene myself, so have some leniency."
"More than that, using this place for a mere screening council is a first for me in my life. My common sense is getting thoroughly shattered—what's going on here?"
That's exactly what I wanted to ask.
Since honorary clergy exist only in the Roman diocese, calling me here wasn't unusual.
Even so, there were plenty of other places to hold an ordination screening.
Especially since this was an emergency meeting, I seemed to be the only candidate. There was no need to lend out the cathedral for just one person.
"It's His Holiness the Pope's decision."
Narke snapped his fingers, changing his attire to cardinal's colors, and said,
"Now, we have four hours until the portal closes. Has everyone arrived?"
"We just need the Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."
'...Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith?'
A hollow laugh escaped me.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was the successor to the medieval Inquisition.
In this world, not reality, the way to prove faith was obvious. They'd have me demonstrate special abilities like Narke did.
'I have no idea how they plan to verify my faith by bringing me here.'
At that moment, the amplified voice of a guardsman rang out.
"His Excellency Monsignor Clement Lorenzo has arrived!"
That must be the undersecretary.
I opened my status window while staring at the monsignor approaching from afar.
Clement Lorenzo
Favorability: 0
Title: —
Stamina: +4
Mental Strength: +7
Mana: +6.5
Technique: +8
Impression: +7
Luck: +3
Traits: Divine Power, Discernment (Lv. 9)
'A level 9 Discernment.'
Similar in nature to Narke's ability.
But in terms of quality, it couldn't compare to level 2 Insight.
Once the monsignor took his seat, Narke smiled and began.
"First, my thanks to His Holiness the Pope for permitting the use of this place, and to all of you for attending at this late hour. Cardinal Cataneo will lead the proceedings."
One of the auxiliary bishops, who also served as a cardinal, stepped forward to the podium.
"I am Baldovino Cataneo. Given the simplicity of this screening and time constraints, we'll omit the formal liturgical rite. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen."
He recited the Sign of the Cross in Latin, looking at the priests.
Much had changed, but this remained largely the same as what I knew from reality.
"We now begin discussion of candidate Nicolaus Ernst's qualifications for honorary ordination. The recommendation screening requirements have already been met, so we will address three qualifications here."
The cardinal continued.
"First, the candidate must possess a pure intent to serve. Cardinal Farnese, please begin the argument for the first qualification."
"Understood."
Narke stepped to the podium without notes.
He made eye contact with each priest.
"Dear brothers. We are living through the longest night in history. At a time when doctrines of faith and promise are twisted into tools to justify greed, the Avignon Papacy and Sack of Rome may pale in comparison to today's perils."
Narke paused, surveying the priests.
The bishops nodded, awaiting his words.
"Sir Ernst has consistently opposed Pleroma. He plunged into dangers where nobles hesitated, for the safety of all, preventing the empire from being infested by mere insects. It's not felt because he stopped the experiment before success, but you know it could have handed countless innocent lives worldwide to Pleroma."
'...He's packaging it like this.'
Less than half a day since returning from Asman's cathedral, I lacked the stamina to argue or defend, but that worry was gone.
"And today, he saved countless lives once more. Over 300 victims returned alive, and considering their plan didn't even last a month, it's clear Sir Ernst prevented innumerable future casualties."
Narke pressed on without pause.
"I dare say, in the decade-plus since Pleroma appeared, no one has thrown themselves into maintaining order. Ask anyone—they'd never say they'd drop into enemy territory to help a stranger."
Narke met the priests' eyes as he continued.
"It's something you can't do without loving your neighbor as yourself. That concludes my point."
Narke bowed silently and returned to his seat.
The cardinal at the podium spoke again.
"Any rebuttals on the first qualification?"
Someone lightly raised a hand.
From his attire, he seemed to be an honorary priest.
"Please speak."
"How long ago was Sir Ernst's Confirmation?"
"......"
A subtle smile played on his face.
A question unrelated to the prior discussion.
He clearly knew something.
Narke placed a hand toward me and answered on my behalf.
"That's an unrelated question."
"My apologies. But it's the most important issue. Is it true there's no baptismal certificate in the name of Nicolaus Ernst?"
"......"
Narke's face hardened.
—"Let's address this. There's no need for you to get prickly about the lack of a baptismal certificate first. It's ambiguous whether it even exists in the first place."
Narke continued in a cold tone.
—"He's one selected purely by divine power himself. Baptism was just something he received born into a religious family—he wields clerical authority to disgrace us."
Wary of divine power interference, he used honorifics while openly insulting the man. It reminded me of Narke's position.
—"Most honorary priests are like him. He's blocking you now because it might hinder his own bishop selection later."
The cardinal then silenced the priest.
"Father Romani, that's unrelated. If no rebuttals, we'll move on."
The room stayed silent.
No one disputed that Nicolaus had acted in line with the Church's goals.
"For the second qualification, Nicolaus must be a confirmed parishioner. Cardinal Farnese, do you have evidence of this qualification?"
Narke rose from his seat, his stern expression easing as he asked,
"Your Eminence Cataneo, may I ask first? There's no requirement for a certain period after Confirmation, correct?"
"That's right."
Then, the same priest from before raised his hand and stood.
"Your Eminence Farnese knows the Council of Trent's decision well: 'A baptism administered in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is valid even if by a heretic.' Even if Sir Ernst is Protestant, as long as he was baptized, we can recognize it through procedure."
The priest feigned gravity as he ranted.
"Yet no baptismal certificate exists—this implies Sir Ernst is a complete pagan or atheist. The Vatican Council deemed atheists heretics."
"......"
"'No time limit' you emphasized—so you might claim he can be baptized now. But should we baptize a heretic? That's worth careful thought."
The priest smirked with his oily face and sat.
'So that's how they're putting on the brakes.'
In fact, for Lucas Ascanien, Confirmation was already complete.
Here, baptism mixes long-lasting mana, so touch the body and you know if baptized.
'Strictly speaking, no qualification issue.'
But that would publicly expose Nicolaus's identity as fabricated.
They might guess with the mask, but experiencing it directly versus speculation is a vast difference.
Then, a bishop spoke.
"Indeed, Your Eminence. The absence of a baptismal certificate for Sir Ernst is quite problematic."
"Agreed."
Narke began to smile at that.
"Of course. Even baptizing him now leaves faith issues. So, let's verify divine power first. Bishop Baresi, care to demonstrate?"
Here it comes.
In a place where divine power equals faith, this proof is natural.
The bishop took the chalice from the table and lightly tapped its rim with his wand.
Whoooosh—
A pure white light like sunlight bloomed harmoniously. Unlike Narke's lethal divine power, this was cleanly different.
The bishop turned to me.
"Do it like this. It's to check if divine power is fake, real, and how pure—so relax and tap lightly."
"Yes, understood."
I took the papal wand from Narke and stepped to the podium.
'Lightly, he said.'
I'd squeezed out all power suspending Asman's death anyway, so I couldn't even if I wanted.
Tapping the rim as shown, a small sound came with a refreshing breeze rising crisply.
KABOOOOOM—!
"......"
"Hmm?!"
"W-Wait! Hold on!"
A gale burst with blinding white light spreading. The chalice had already shattered and fallen.
Several bishops scrambled up, waving wands. The shaking mana lights on the ceiling slowly stabilized under their barriers.
"Block it properly!"
"It's... done!"
"Ah, there we go."
Narke sighed yet laughed as if amused.
The bishop who recovered shouted,
"...Th-This... This building has a long history, Sir Ernst...!"
"......"
I didn't need telling—I imagined ending up in history books as the one who destroyed a world heritage site.
"It's not Sir Ernst's fault, Your Excellency Baresi. You saw him tap lightly, didn't you?"
Narke approached from the side.
"This place seems to respond well to Sir Ernst. It happens with everyone, so nothing strange. However..."
"...However?"
"Such a reaction has only occurred three times in all history post-magic."
"......"
"This should settle any doubts on divine power."
Narke glanced between me and the others, smiling as he continued.
"But theoretically, one could learn divine power without faith. So finally, the Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will conclude the proof."
"...!"
Calling him here amid all this?
He called me an atheist to my face?
At this point, I was curious how far Narke had planned.
The undersecretary stood before me reluctantly, made the Sign of the Cross gazing at me.
"......"
The hall fell deathly silent.
Finally, the undersecretary addressed the bishops.
"There is no issue with administering baptism."
"Good. So he's neither pagan nor atheist, right?"
Narke winked at me and asked leisurely with a smile.
"Of course. You knew that already, didn't you, Minister?"
'Not an atheist?'
Level 9 Discernment sees me as religious?
Quite astonishing. What kind of ability is that?
More than that, Narke clearly withheld something.
'But now another question arises...'
Is he the minister?
I gave him a baffled look, and Narke finally averted his eyes.
Narke cleared his throat and called another cardinal.
"Your Eminence Cataneo. I believe the second qualification is cleared at this point."
"Please wait a moment."
It wasn't the cardinal who replied. One bishop shook his head.
"Even with sincere faith, baptizing now for honorary ordination isn't ideal. Elevating someone unbaptized for years just for popularity risks scandal."
"Correct. Your Eminence Farnese, you're mistaken. The Church must consider public perception."
The earlier priest raised his hand again.
Narke smiled and struck back.
"Not words for honorary clergy to say. Honoraries are seen as impure externally by the Church. Weren't you all admitted solely on divine power?"
"Your Eminence, mind your words."
One bishop spoke, then voiced opposition again.
"No doubt on Sir Ernst's divine power. But... even for honorary, elevating the unbaptized after so long raises issues."
Priest ordination requires a bishop's power.
Of course, Rome's bishop is the Pope, but these auxiliaries have long proxyed authority.
But Narke's face held no shadow now.
Instead, he wore a faint smile.
'At first it puzzled me... but now I can't help laughing.'
No baptismal for Nicolaus? Just baptize him.
But the body is already baptized—that's the issue. Double baptism forbidden.
So Narke proved faith while maneuvering to avoid baptism.
Hence, he needed their opposition.
Now, what he'd say was key...
Then, Narke spoke.
"Very well. You all agree it's impossible to submit Sir Nicolaus for priest ordination to His Holiness. Correct?"
"Yes."
The bishops nodded.
Narke smiled softly and said,
"Then, if it's not ordination but appointment, there'd be no issue."
"...!"
Everyone's eyes widened.
And I had to work to keep my expression neutral.
'...Appointment... of course, no problem then.'
'Appointment' is the Pope's sole prerogative—no one can refuse.
And in reality or here, one case uses 'appointment' not 'ordination' here.
Narke raised his voice gently, smiling.
"I propose the appointment of Sir Nicolaus Ernst as cardinal."