Chapter 30
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The Colorless Pope
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Meanwhile, at the Papal Palace located within the Holy Church's southern branch.
"Hmm..."
Pope Escabaor III's voice broke the silence of the opulent office.
His aged, wrinkled eyes seemed considerably flustered as he pondered the words he'd just heard.
"A trial instead of summary execution... That's some rather novel news."
He murmured, clad in his resplendent priestly robes.
"Didn't you assure me that it would be handled cleanly, Your Majesty?"
From beyond the crystal orb, a woman with an exceedingly voluptuous figure replied.
- That's right. But there were interlopers.
Helena Castor, Queen of the Crossroad Kingdom.
The sensuous woman with ruby-red eyes raised her voice, unable to hide her anger from across the orb.
- Traitors who defied my will—no, the national benefactor's will—cast votes against it at the council of state!
"Who dared to defy Her Majesty and King Rio?"
- ...The Foreign Affairs Minister and his subordinates.
At her words, the Pope quickly recalled the retainers of the Crossroad Kingdom.
'The Foreign Affairs Minister... That would be Carton Grayson.'
A man as aged and gaunt as himself.
He remembered. Before becoming minister, he had been the head of intelligence.
He knew the man to be incredibly stubborn.
To the point where, during the Church's discreet overtures, he hadn't yielded to any temptations or proposals.
'And those under him would include the Immigration Control Director, along with figures from the Foreign Affairs Ministry and intelligence bureau.'
All were appointees handpicked by Carton himself.
In other words, there was an opposition faction composed solely of those aligned with the minister.
No matter how much the Queen raged with the King's favor at her back, she couldn't arbitrarily decree punishment if nearly half her retainers opposed it.
That was likely why it had shifted from summary execution to a trial.
Having grasped the full situation, Escabaor nodded.
"It's fine. If anything, we're the ones who burdened Your Majesty unnecessarily. My deepest apologies."
- Spare me such words.
She spoke in a subtly coaxing tone.
- But... there is a way Your Holiness could assist us.
"What help do you require?"
- Could you attend the trial as a witness?
The Pope raised an eyebrow.
"...A witness."
- You wouldn't even need to come all the way to the Crossroad Kingdom. If you could just spare some time, you could testify via crystal orb.
They both knew exactly what testimony was meant, without her needing to spell it out.
It was a request to lend weight to the trial against the Central Officer responsible for the southern border.
[I took the Central Officer's words as an insult.]
That single statement would render any impeccable evidence from their side useless.
For the Pope's words carried the weight of the entire Church.
And even with opposition, a formal statement from the recipient of the protest letter would wield tremendous influence.
That was what the Queen was aiming for.
Some might call it the entanglement of religion and politics.
But to the Pope, this was merely an act in service of the righteous path.
The path to the grand undertaking.
A slight detour for the sake of his own long-cherished wish.
There was no reason to refuse.
Not when they shared the same goal.
"I would be glad to help. No—please allow me to."
- Truly? It would be a tremendous boon at the trial!
Watching the delighted Queen, Escabaor shifted the topic with another question.
"How fares His Majesty the King these days?"
The Pope probed gently.
Helena hesitated for a moment, then blushed.
- He's still quite distraught, but he visits me often.
Escabaor gave a kindly smile.
"Haha, I stand corrected. At least it's a relief that someone who can offer solace is by his side."
Internally, he felt relieved.
'At least the King won't grab at my ankles again.'
A father who had buried his son, a king who had once obstructed the Church's grand undertaking.
[Choose! Will you violate the treaty and cross the Collapsed Valley, or return to your lands!]
The little beast slumbered on with eyes closed.
Indulging in the pleasures of the flesh offered by the Queen.
There was no longer any worry that he might regain his spirit.
It was an ideal situation.
'It won't be like fifteen years ago.'
Just recalling that time made his blood boil.
Mastering his anger with practiced ease, the Pope posed yet another question.
"And how is the Princess faring? I haven't heard any news."
- Elaine.
The Queen's voice suddenly turned icy.
- You know full well. The people dispatched by the Church are managing her.
Elaine Castor.
The Princess, who like the King, had secluded herself.
As the Queen said, the Pope received weekly reports on the Princess's condition.
- She still bears heavy guilt over that incident.
- She only wanders the Royal Archives and the inner gardens; nothing out of the ordinary.
There was only one reason he received reports on a Princess he barely knew.
Elaine was the Crossroad Kingdom's Talent Manifestor,
And the one responsible for slaying her own older brother, Rassen Castor.
It had been an accident.
Everyone knew that.
But the cause was undeniably Elaine.
A power she couldn't control.
The Talent Manifestation gone berserk.
It was the Crossroad Kingdom's greatest tragedy.
'And simultaneously, the worst and best accident that toppled King Rio.'
Lost in thought, the Queen—perhaps embarrassed to ask outright—hesitated before speaking.
- That... once this matter is resolved, the blessing you promised...
Ah, right.
The Pope recalled the promise he'd momentarily forgotten, made with the Queen.
The blessing to be bestowed in exchange for dealing with the Central Officer.
"Of course. The Lord withholds no love from those who follow heaven's will."
With those words, Escabaor spread both arms high toward the sky and focused his spirit.
"The Lord sees your efforts, Your Majesty."
- Ohhh.
A radiant golden light, comparable to Saintess Erzena's holy power, illuminated the office.
Helena clasped her hands in ecstasy, trembling.
- Aaaah... Then we shall purify body and soul here and await it.
"May His protection and grace be with you."
With that, the crystal orb went dark.
'What an easy woman.'
It was an exceedingly rude thought, but the Pope sneered inwardly at her.
Her becoming Queen of the Crossroad Kingdom had been a great stroke of luck for the Church.
"Is there anything easier than moving the faithful?"
Especially one clinging so desperately.
A woman who had fallen into the Church because her daughter was a Talent Manifestor,
And believed her daughter's accident that killed her son stemmed from defying divine will despite being a Talent Manifestor.
Thanks to her, the Holy Church had effortlessly slipped into the cracks the moment King Rio crumbled.
Escabaor wiped the sociable smile from his face.
- Thud.
He removed his priestly robes.
The moment the ornate vestments adorned with all manner of decorations fell from his body, the holy power filling the room vanished in an instant.
The warm aura evaporated, and the light abruptly extinguished.
What remained was the eerie dusk-like chill and the gray atmosphere of the room, deprived of the setting sun's rays.
The Pope erased the smile from his expression.
From beneath the robes, he retrieved the holy relics he'd secretly clutched and placed them on the table.
"Bell of Batara."
"Necklace of Seryukofsky."
"Ring of Saint Dinst."
Each time he touched one, a faint golden holy power emanated into the gray room before fading.
But the moment he let go, the holy power vanished again.
And once the last relic had been removed from his body, no color manifested from him at all.
He was without color.
Just like this room after sunset.
He knelt and offered a prayer to the Lord.
"O Lord, your faithful servant seeks once more to accomplish the great undertaking."
The Lord did not answer.
The one closest to the Lord. The Church's highest leader, who should be the most devout and blessed with divine favor—
"Grant that this holy war be fulfilled wholly, that victory purify all the world's evil."
There was no response to the prayer.
But Escabaor was not dismayed.
Instead, he calmly finished his prayer and sat expressionless.
It was only natural.
It had been fifteen years since the Lord had withdrawn holy power from him.
After the first Great Holy War failed, the holy power vanished.
This feeling was all too familiar.
Disconnection, emptiness, silence.
These had become his essence.
For fifteen long years, he'd armored himself with myriad relics and blessings from priests loyal only to him, concealing the loss.
To the masses and believers, he shone with dazzling golden light, but alone, he existed in black and white.
The Colorless Pope.
That was the name that suited Escabaor.
Weary, he leaned back in his chair.
And murmured quietly.
"Nathan Kell..."
Just thinking of him twisted his guts.
An impudent young man.
He resembled one person too closely.
King Rio Castor of the Crossroad Kingdom.
Unpleasantly upright in character.
Looking back, it was because of that man that his holy power had vanished.
Because of King Rio.
Escabaor still remembered that time vividly.
"The Lord delivered punishment."
He had been disappointed.
You are no longer the one closest to receiving My will—thus He took the holy power.
A truly horrific and agonizing truth.
But he had not broken.
The Pope murmured lowly.
"Even if You abandoned me, I have not abandoned You."
The Lord did not answer.
No matter.
Soon, the whole world would cry out Your name.
When that time came, You would never abandon me again.
The completion of the holy war was the completion of the Church.
Thus, for fifteen years, he had not shunned any intrigue or dirty deeds.
All for the Lord's will.
And to reclaim holy power, the foundation of authority in this Church.
If he could regain holy power, he would do anything.
"No one understands the Lord's will better than I."
The seat of Pope was for him alone, by him alone.
Thus, this was a trial.
The greatest trial for the Church's greatness.
'The final obstacle for the holy war.'
And just as Rio Castor had crumbled, so too would Nathan Kell.
To that end, no carelessness could be afforded.
"A witness, hmm..."
He pondered briefly.
The Central Officer was insignificant compared to him.
But since he had stood in the way once, he had to be thoroughly eliminated.
'If one such as him can be crushed alone, what of three?'
The Pope smirked faintly.
Among the pilgrimage group were two others whose words carried weight equal to his own.
As he touched the crystal orb, a familiar face appeared.
"Captain of the 1st Paladin Order."
- Yes, Your Holiness. You called?
Mohaim knelt on one knee.
"Summon Erzena for me."
Even if they fled to a trial, their fate wouldn't change.
With that thought, the Pope spoke gravely.
"The three of us have work to do."
But there was something he didn't know.
The fact that the Saintess was in the Crossroad Kingdom.
And that Erzena had been reborn.
As a being without holy power, just like him.