William's Rebellion
The existence of a Hero seemed unnecessary at this point in time.
If anything, the Saint in the Hero Party had lately done nothing but soil that title.
No matter how you looked at it, there was no answer.
What if they simply stripped the Hero of his authority in the name of the Goddess Church?
Even if the Holy Sword chose the Hero, the current one's abilities were already under suspicion.
Perhaps the entire continental situation would pivot around that one Saint alone.
Moreover, the magic weapons forged by the Empire would leave even the Demon King's army in ruins. Who knew—maybe even the Four Heavenly Kings would fall.
Anyway. The Saint. Whether Olivia would fall or continue living as she was now, there was no telling.
Honestly, I wonder if there's any point in that girl falling.
How far could she fall even if she tried? She was already being thoroughly worked over by that Emperor. If anything, it would only temper her mentally.
Just then, a presence stirred outside.
Wondering what it was, she turned her head toward the door—and the Cardinal hurriedly shoved it open and rushed in. Looking at the state of him, something had clearly gone wrong.
"Your Holiness! This is a disaster! What are we to do about this?"
What now? Another incident?
"Father? What has you in such a panic?"
"Cardinal. What is that appearance of yours?"
For the Cardinal to look like this—what on earth had happened?
"It's... Sir William is leading the Holy Knights and slaughtering the priests!"
"What in the world are you—"
So William had finally done it?
What was the papal seat worth that he would commit such an ignorant act? She truly could not understand it.
"Elias! Quickly gather the remaining Holy Knights and escort His Holiness!"
"Yes! But Father—what about you?"
"I will deal with William myself!"
With only those words, the Cardinal bolted straight outside.
"So that worthless boy has finally gone and done it."
Glacia shook her head with a hollow expression. This was a nightmare. That worthless one suddenly raising a rebellion—and in the Holy Kingdom, no less. A rebellion that had never once occurred in the entire history of the Holy Kingdom. That stupid fool had carved a brand-new record into its annals.
"Your Holiness! You must leave at once!"
"Leave? Leave where?"
When she thought about it, this was all her own fault. If she had seen through William even a little sooner—if she had looked past the blood tie and into what lay inside him—this might never have happened. What was she supposed to do now?
"The Mage Division! We still have the Mage Division, don't we?"
The Mage Division? They weren't Holy Kingdom people. They were Imperials.
"The Mage Division? The Mage Division is Ashtar. Are you telling me to lean on the Empire?"
The Pope of the Holy Kingdom, of all people, relying on the Empire. Since the founding of the Holy Kingdom, what greater humiliation could there be?
"Your Holiness is as good as a living god of the Holy Kingdom! If Sir William captures you, the Holy Kingdom will become no different from an ordinary monarchy!"
Yes. That was exactly what would happen. It was painfully obvious. That William intended to seize the Holy Kingdom and rule it like a king.
She should have just picked anyone early on and thrown the papal seat at them. Then William's followers would have had no grievances, and William himself would have had no pretext for rebellion. So what now?
"So what exactly are you proposing?"
Surely he wasn't suggesting she abandon the Holy Kingdom and flee as things stood.
"If Sir William completely seizes the Holy Kingdom here, the Goddess Church is finished. Fortunately, there is a group in the Empire claiming the name of the Goddess Church. Please go to the Mage Division and join with the Empire's Saint."
Elias did not particularly care for that Empire Saint, but there was no choice now. They had to survive somehow.
"Ugh..."
Still—considering how the Holy Kingdom had been founded, an incident within the Goddess Church could not be allowed. She had to save at least the surviving priests. If that was the only way, then so be it.
"Fine. The Mage Division. No—I'll go find the Saint myself."
That girl's face would be quite a sight, but there was no other option now. She had only herself to blame for raising such a worthless grandson.
If the Goddess Church collapsed, the Holy Kingdom collapsed. The very headquarters of the faith would fall. To undo the damage that stupid William had wrought, getting out now was the wiser course.
Mage Division Lodgings
On the outskirts of the Holy City, capital of the Holy Kingdom, there had long stood an inn maintained for foreign envoys and diplomatic missions. The Mage Division from Ashtar was currently quartered there. Acting on Olivia's request, Celia sought out Kise and relayed her instructions word for word.
"No—even if it's Lady Olivia, if we put the Mage Division kids on combat readiness right now, how will the Holy Kingdom people take it?"
True enough. Carelessly putting the Mage Division on alert would only make the Holy Kingdom people suspicious. But that was Kise's problem to handle. How could this foolish woman even think of refusing Lady Olivia's command?
"That's for you to figure out. Excuses won't cut it. If Lady Olivia says jump, you jump. If she says strip, you strip. What's with all the talking back?"
Honestly—she didn't understand the first thing about Lady Olivia, which was why she talked back like that. Celia shook her head. As expected, she simply could not stand this woman Kise.
"What did you just say? When did I refuse?"
"Oh? Looking at the complaints you just spat out, that wasn't saying you don't like it?"
Celia did not let the momentum slip. She swaggered and tore into Kise with relish. Kise's face twisted mercilessly, looking ready to leap up at any second.
"No. It's just that this is a bit—"
"So it is a complaint?"
"That's not—it's—"
Kise couldn't form a proper answer.
This fox-like bitch!
She realized too late that she had misspoken. It wasn't that she disliked the order. As the fox in front of her said, she could do it if told to—strip if told to. But Ashtar's position had to be considered as well. If she followed the order as given, Lady Olivia, as their representative, might end up looking bad.
"Let's see how long you can keep up that little act."
Act? That was harsh. She wasn't acting—she was only trying to look good for Olivia.
"What's with this attitude? I'm the next Magic Tower Master. The moment I take that seat, your position and mine will be completely reversed."
"Kh..."
That wasn't wrong either. The Magic Tower Master was virtually a king within mage society.
"Keep treating me carelessly like that and you—no, Ashtar—might find yourselves in real danger."
"What?"
This, too, was not wrong. Ashtar maintained exchanges with the Magic Tower. If Kise's blunder resulted in them slighting the next Magic Tower Master, what then?
"To speak plainly—where do you think the fundamental formulas and magic systems of the Mage Division come from? The Magic Tower. Ashtar has gained a great deal from that relationship."
Celia covered her mouth lightly and grinned. Not a single word of it was false. In the end, Kise clenched her fists tightly at Celia's words. How long was she supposed to endure this mockery?
Ignoring that she herself had been the one to pick a fight over the teddy bears first, Celia decided it was time for a counterattack.
"You made me out to be some teddy-bear-shop scout or a doll fetishist."
That was an unbearable insult. Teddy-bear shops were one thing—but making her scout locations for doll shops even after arriving in the Holy Kingdom?
"Ugh..."
"Humanly speaking, you shouldn't have a single word left to say to me, should you?"
Kise's anger boiled all the way to the top of her head. Yes—a mistake was a mistake. But she refused to admit it. This damn next Magic Tower Master had stolen the young lady who had been so close to her since childhood. That was unforgivable.
"Commander!"
While she was still gritting her teeth at Celia, a mage came looking for her.
"What is it?"
"There's chaos in the Holy City! The Pope's grandson William is leading the Holy Knights and slaughtering every priest who resists!"
As expected—exactly as expected. To think Lady Olivia's words would land this precisely.
"What kind of lunatic—!?"
"See? I told you this would happen. What are you doing just standing there? Move."
Celia seized the moment and put Kise straight to work. If not now, when else would she get the chance? This was the perfect time to drive home the difference between Kise and herself.
"Move? Move and do what?"
"We go fetch the Pope, of course. It's time for the Empire's Goddess Church to shine, don't you think?"
"......Understood."
It felt unpleasantly like taking orders from Celia, but there was no other choice.
It finally blew.
That hoodlum of a bastard had finally raised a rebellion, they said. And those Holy Knight bastards had the gall to barge all the way into the inn where I was staying. That was exactly why I hadn't planned on lingering here long.
"Wow. These crazy bastards actually came all the way out here. Tsk tsk—how the hell did that old hag raise her grandson that this is the result?"
How could Holy Knights be this arrogantly full of themselves? Leaving this alone wasn't an option. Looks like I needed to teach them some manners. First, though—I needed a justification.
The current situation was clearly that William bastard's screw-up. We might be a single house, but we were the Ashtar family, and for all practical purposes the Empire's unofficial envoys. There were diplomatic implications here. If I made the first move, it would be a problem—so I had to make these idiots touch me first.
"Our apologies, but the Empire's Saint cannot leave this place."
As if declaring that none of us were getting out, the Holy Knights sealed off the inn with sneering faces. Hmm. Yeah—followers of that guy, so of course they were spectacularly stupid. Every last one of them, uniformly ignorant and dense. Creating a pretext would be easy.
"Well, I figured as much."
"Excuse me?"
Alright then. Time for you lot to become the sacrificial lambs. Excellent little offerings for correcting that arrogant William bastard's habits.
"You think I'll just sit still because you told me to?"
"Then are you saying you'll try us?"
Isn't that obvious? The pride of the Ashtar family was on the line too. Of course I was going to fight. I was going to trample them into the dirt to my heart's content. It had been a while—time to savor the pleasure of crushing the weak.
"You're saying you'll fight us right now?"
"Is there any reason I can't?"
Their expressions were a sight. Snickering like they were watching a child's little performance. I really, truly wanted to beat the living daylights out of them.
"You'll regret it, you know. We may treat you a bit roughly."
Oh-ho. So that was how they wanted to play it. I was grateful. I'd wreck every last one of them.
From this day forward, I would rewrite the history of the Holy Kingdom myself.