Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Holy Nation (7)
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Heinkel was furious after seeing the underground laboratory with his own eyes.
"...Such an outrage against heaven and earth cannot be tolerated."
Kwak—
He clenched his fist, his body trembling. Right now, Heinkel's emotions were filled entirely with rage.
Rage at the experiment mixing holy power—practically proof of faith—with demonic energy.
Rage at the fact that powerless innocents had been subjected to unwanted experiments.
Rage at his own ignorance that the Pope, whom he had loyally followed, was now in critical condition.
And... rage at the fact that Cardinal Rozan had been behind the experiments of these Pandemonium cultists.
"...May you find peace in the afterlife."
He suppressed his fury and disgust toward Cardinal Rozan and prayed for the victims.
They were innocent, merely caught up in the mess.
It was all the Holy Nation's failing. How could a cardinal, tasked with leading the Holy Nation, commit such acts...
"Well, now that you've confirmed it yourself, what will you do? Publicly exposing this and condemning Cardinal Rozan right now isn't feasible."
"...Yes. It could spark a civil war. Of course, with the greater good on our side, our chances of victory would be high, but..."
"Cardinal Rozan's accumulated influence won't vanish overnight."
"Exactly."
"Moreover, Cardinal Rozan allying with Pandemonium is a problem. She's undoubtedly joined hands with one of the Seven Deadly Sins Seats. So opposing her would mean facing the Sins Seats and their demon forces as well."
We'd need proper preparations.
So far, I'd encountered the Sins Seats three times, including Jane. Excluding Greed, none of them were pushovers. Of course, I still won decisively each time.
"I see."
"Yes. So we should choose the path that minimizes damage."
Heinkel nodded and looked at Sena.
"We're fortunate to have the Saintess on our side."
"Me?"
"Yes. You are one sent by the Goddess herself. Surely, you can wisely overcome any hardship or threat."
Sena flinched at Heinkel's words.
She had never thought of herself as someone sent by the Goddess. She was just... lucky to become the Saintess, an utterly ordinary person.
An ordinary human who had committed wrongs and couldn't even apologize properly.
...Of course, she couldn't voice that.
"In any case, we'll gather more evidence of Cardinal Rozan's heresy beyond this, and further separate the heretics from the faithful. And if the Duke could provide testimony later...?"
"I'll testify as much as needed."
"Thank you."
Testimony was nothing.
"Then we'll proceed that way for now. I trust the cardinal will handle controlling and preserving this site?"
"Of course. What will you do now, Duke?"
"Hmm..."
For now, I'm an imperial citizen.
Sena was imperial too, but as Saintess, she held a sort of dual status.
Thus, Yujin the imperial had limits to his involvement, and it could invite scrutiny for meddling in Holy Nation affairs...
"I'll go see the Pope first."
"Understood."
All I needed was to visit the Pope at the pinnacle of the Holy Nation.
'I need to hear his side.'
Whether he knew all this, or what he was hiding.
And the very next day.
Yujin did not go to meet Pope Rua.
...
An uninvited guest had arrived before the Pope.
"Hmm."
Yujin looked at the middle-aged woman before him: Cardinal Rozan.
He had planned to meet the Pope today, but the reason he was meeting Cardinal Rozan instead was simple.
Not that he was defecting to her side, of course—she had just shown up unannounced.
And then she asked to talk...
"Have some tea."
Slurp—
"Not bad."
It was just plain green tea.
"I'm glad. I wanted to properly host my guest."
Guest...?
Strictly speaking, he was the guest, and she the intruder. Cardinal Rozan had come without invitation.
...Or as an imperial, maybe he was the guest?
"You're wondering why I've come, Duke."
He nodded for now.
What reason could Cardinal Rozan have to visit suddenly? The Saintess was already canonized, and alliance negotiations between the Empire and Holy Nation were being handled by the accompanying Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and staff.
Logically, there was no reason for her to come.
'Which means it's not logical.'
And that illogical reason could only be Cardinal Rozan's own betrayal.
'She caught on.'
Faster than expected.
Yujin feigned calm while raising his guard. But the topic Cardinal Rozan brought up was rather out of left field.
"Duke. Do you believe humans can unite as one for peace?"
"What's this sudden question?"
"Just what I asked. Do you think humans can unite for beautiful peace?"
He couldn't grasp the intent.
"...No, I don't."
"As expected. I think the same."
"Is that so? But it seems contrary to doctrine for a cardinal to say."
The Solar Church doctrine probably preached humans cooperating toward peace.
Whether realistic or not, that was the ideal.
Yet denying it outright...
'Practically a confession.'
"Perhaps. But the world is ever-changing, isn't it? In this turbulent era, I don't believe humans can unite for peace."
"Hmm."
Cardinal Rozan gazed at the ceiling, reminiscing as she continued.
"The world holds many stories. Everyone living on this land has their own, and so do I."
Cardinal Rozan recalled her days in her twenties.
Meeting her husband, marrying, having a child—her happiest times.
"I met my husband at church. He was a truly devout man. He genuinely wanted to help the weak and bring a happy, peaceful world to all."
"A cleric couple, then."
"Yes, that's right."
Cardinal Rozan had been part of a cleric couple.
More precisely, she had been.
"...Something happened."
"Yes. Our child went missing one day."
Her baby couldn't even crawl yet.
"My husband and I searched desperately. But no matter where we looked, the child was gone. We spent day after day in despair, searching."
It had been nearly a week.
"That's when we found them."
"Where was the child?"
"The people from the slums we had been helping had kidnapped him."
But the baby was already dead.
"I screamed in rage. Why kidnap and kill our child?"
The answer was shocking.
"They said it started with stealing food. Then they saw our child and envied his life in a good home. So they kidnapped and killed him."
Truly absurd, isn't it?
"......"
"I wanted to kill them right then. But my husband stopped me."
Her husband, with a sad face, urged forgiveness. They must have been desperate too, and doctrine called to protect and love the weak.
Forgiving and reforming them was the right path, and only then would peace come.
"I, devout back then, accepted his words. My heart was shattered inside, but I chose forgiveness."
But it meant nothing.
They had forgiven them, yet the slum dwellers, fearing report to the guards, tried to kill her husband and her.
And in the end, her husband died at the hands of those he had tried so hard to forgive.
"Foolish. Utterly foolish. Doctrine isn't absolute—it's just an ideal—yet I believed it was. That's why such a foolish me met tragedy."
Yujin listened coldly, eyes fixed on Cardinal Rozan.
"...So, what are you getting at?"
"Look the other way."
"On what?"
"My alliance with Pandemonium."
...Ha.
So brazen.
"...Why?"
"I need them."
In that instant, overwhelming killing intent poured toward Cardinal Rozan. Her lungs burned, crushed by the sheer pressure, as if she'd die on the spot.
Kugugugugugung———!!!
"Watch your mouth."
She barely endured the killing intent that made even breathing impossible.
"...A necessary evil."
She gripped her trembling hands and spoke.
"Humanity is ugly and greedy. To lead such humanity to peace and unity, a necessary evil is required."
"And you're claiming Pandemonium is that necessary evil?"
"Yes."
...Ha.
"Ridiculous. Then what of the innocents sacrificed to Pandemonium?"
"Sacrifice of the few for the many."
...?
"The few's sacrifice will enrage the many, and that rage will naturally focus on Pandemonium. Creating a common enemy solves everything."
Insane.
She was utterly mad, nothing else explained it.
"The trash will flock to Pandemonium naturally, and we'll advance toward peace feeding on them. Their 'output' becomes civilization's fuel. Swallow the sweet, spit the bitter."
The cardinal before him was a true lunatic.
"...And this benefits the Empire more, doesn't it?"
"...What?"
"I'll unite the Holy Nation and forge a strong alliance with the Empire. Then, step by step, toward humanity's unification—with the Empire at the center."
She was sincere.
Her resolute eyes turned to Yujin.
"So pretend you saw nothing. The Empire gains by standing aside. Simple as that."
"......"
Yujin left without responding to Cardinal Rozan's plea for complicity. His head spun.
'Pandemonium as a necessary evil...?'
Ridiculous.
She mentioned the unjust victims of Pandemonium inside, but Yujin didn't particularly care about such sacrifices.
He might feel a twinge of pity seeing them firsthand, but that was it.
He focused more on Pandemonium growing stronger on those sacrifices, threatening the Empire.
If the Empire was threatened, his precious people would be too.
Lucia, and Irene.
He didn't want to see them end up like Jane.
'...Someday, I'll clash with Jane too.'
...Maybe even end her life myself.
The woman he once promised a future with, whom he still loved—pierce her heart with his own hand...
'Damn...'
...
Lost in grim thought as he walked quietly, he soon reached the Pope's residence.
"Halt."
"Even as an imperial guest, you cannot enter."
Holy Knights blocked Yujin's path.
"...I came to speak with the Pope."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No."
"Then no. Procedure must be followed, guest or not—"
At that moment, Rua's voice came from inside.
—Let him in.
"...My apologies."
The Holy Knights bowed and stepped aside.
Entering, a small garden appeared. In its center sat Rua.
"You look troubled, righteous one."