William's Rebellion (3)
In the end, whenever something went wrong in any nation, the Four Heavenly Kings were deeply involved.
"As far as the Four Heavenly Kings go, Seto and Clanis are the real problems."
"Yes, that's true."
But why are you stepping in yourself?
Celia's eyes were saying exactly that.
Wasn't it obvious?
"Those bastards were using some kind of drug that can control Clanis. And these idiots somehow swallowed something that looked a lot like what Clanis makes."
"Then… don't tell me."
"Clanis is behind the Holy Kingdom."
In other words, an Imperial war was one thing. Holy Kingdom affairs were mine to touch.
Maybe it was even the perfect chance to slap Clanis across the face.
Besides, if war broke out in the Empire, the Four Heavenly Kings could intervene. Catching them then would be a pain, so it was better to grab them by the hair while it was still showing and beat them senseless now.
Unlike Berna, this one I absolutely had to kill.
Same went for Seto.
"But if you take down even the Four Heavenly Kings… what happens to the Hero?"
That guy? Come to think of it, that bastard was truly screwed.
"He'll become useless."
My gut said Seto was the one who had been passed down through history generation after generation.
Meaning if I caught that son of a bitch Seto, the entire history of the Four Heavenly Kings and the Demon King might finally end.
That bastard who had enjoyed every privilege under the Hero's authority… I wondered what would become of him.
He was working hard to get on my good side, but I was honestly sorry.
Even so, it was hopeless.
Once the long war with the demonkin ended, I hoped he would just go on a journey of atonement for all the shit he had pulled on his own.
"Then what kind of era will be waiting for us?"
"Probably the age of magitech weapons. The Empire already fired the first shot."
From what the Emperor had said when we talked about war, they were already developing weapons that could fire small magic rounds in rapid succession.
Honestly, I wasn't sure that even made sense.
They were probably going to make me do something. The silence was almost scary.
If the White King wanted to swallow the Empire through war, now was basically his last chance.
No matter how rotten the place was, you couldn't just take a nation that had weapons like that.
"I see."
"Why the sudden question?"
"No reason. I just got curious. You can't leave the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings out of human history up to now."
True. As unpleasant as it was, the history of coexistence between humans and demonkin—more precisely, with the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings—was extremely long.
There had been times when the Demon King held the advantage, and times when humans had overwhelming superiority.
Right now was one of those moments.
But outside was unusually noisy all of a sudden. Something was going on.
"Olivia!"
Huh? This time the Pope herself had come. Elias too.
"Your Holiness? Coming all the way here in person?"
Looks like they crossed paths with the mage division.
"You didn't see what happened to Kise, did you?"
"No. We came straight back this way. I figured she would handle it herself."
Elias, supporting the clearly exhausted Pope, spoke up.
"By now you must understand the situation. William's soldiers are everywhere!"
"This has gotten troublesome in all sorts of ways."
Things had become extremely awkward.
We had missed Kise. And the fact that the Pope had been heading for the mage division only to get diverted by William's men meant…
If they were already spread everywhere, the Holy Kingdom itself was in danger.
I couldn't just go around smashing everything alone either.
"What about the other holy knights?"
"The Pope's faction of holy knights held out at the Holy See for a while before withdrawing. We don't know if they're alive or dead."
Pope's faction? Don't know if they're alive or dead? That meant…
"If you say 'Pope's faction'…"
"Yes. There are holy knights who cooperated with the rebellion."
"Oh, for fuck's sake."
So they had something to rely on.
At this rate, just beating William down was getting dangerous.
William had decided to make a real mess of the Holy Kingdom. Once the majority seized control, even with the Empire's mage division it would turn into a brutal fight.
The Holy Kingdom was the heart of the Goddess Church. And now rebels had risen and civil war had broken out at that very heart?
If we didn't reverse this in a single day, we were screwed.
On top of that, I still had no idea where Clanis was. I needed to thrash William first if I wanted to learn Clanis's location.
"What are you going to do?"
"This will depend on the Pope's will."
After all, everything hinged on what the Pope decided.
"The Pope's will? What do you mean?"
"I'll ask Your Holiness. What do you intend to do about this?"
"What do I intend…?"
Honestly, by this point she should already know. That look in her eyes confirmed it. That intense gaze that already saw right through me.
It meant she already knew who I was.
So there was no reason to keep hiding anything from each other. I couldn't say it outright with Elias present, but my identity had probably been exposed again anyway.
"Let's just be frank. We both know each other pretty well, don't we?"
"We do."
The Pope nodded as expected.
Yes. That settled it. This woman knew me now. That was why her face twisted the moment she realized what I was about to say.
But still.
You have nothing to say for yourself this time.
"This whole affair. The fact that Your Holiness failed to see through William's true intentions is largely your fault. You know that, right?"
"I do."
At least she admitted it. That was a relief.
"What is that supposed to mean? How dare you speak so rudely!"
Elias. I was wondering when you'd jump in.
Yes. Well said. Rude? Sure, it's rude. But the rude ones aren't me—it's you people.
"Then what about me?"
"What do you mean?"
This is why holy knights are hopeless. Especially women like Elias. Anyone could see we were the victims here.
Even if the Pope felt wronged, we were still Imperials who had been harmed.
Noah of the Hero Party and I were in completely different positions.
If I were still in the Hero Party, I would have to save the Pope no matter what. But as a princess, a Saint, and the Taesa on top of that, the mere act of me moving already carried weight.
"I came here because the Pope summoned me. William's will was thick in it, of course, but Your Holiness wanted to see me once, so you intended to see it through to the end. That's why I came to this Holy Kingdom. And now I've been dragged into a civil war. What about that?"
"That's…"
This side was pure trouble. At least if they didn't stand on their pride it would be something, but Elias was the problem.
Even the Pope herself couldn't meet my eyes, as if she knew she had nothing to say.
I had told her over and over. Watch out for that idiot William.
And yet things had come to this.
This meant the fault lay squarely with the Pope.
"It's thoroughly unpleasant. Troublesome as hell. And you were clearly heading for the mage division. You obviously meant to rely on us."
"Urgh."
She couldn't deny it, so she just scowled.
"Nothing I said is even a little wrong, is it?"
"Yes. Everything you said is correct."
Good. If everything I said is correct, then you already know what you have to do next.
"Then let me ask. What do you wish us to do?"
"We must take it back, of course."
I had expected that. She was the Pope, after all.
It would have been perfect if she just came to the Empire with us.
"No intention of going to the Empire, then."
"How could I seek help from a foreign nation?"
No, that statement completely contradicts what you just did. Seeking help from a foreign nation? Isn't that exactly why you came looking for me?
From the way that bastard William was acting, he was going to grab anyone—Imperial or otherwise.
"Yes. That resolve is truly fortunate. But in the end, you still need our help, don't you? That's why you came."
"Correct."
Then this wasn't something to discuss with Elias present. Having her know my identity on top of everything else would only make things worse.
"Then first, clear the area. Ideally so they can't hear our conversation at all. Going very far away would be best."
What are you waiting for? Send them out already. Right now I was a Saint whose mouth was itching to roast the Pope alive.
"Very well. Elias, wait outside."
"Your Holiness!"
"Hurry! William could arrive at any moment. We need sentries as well."
Elias had to leave quickly so I could decide whether to listen to the Pope and help or not.
"Y-yes, understood."
"Celia, you step out for now too."
"Yes."
The moment Elias and Celia left, the atmosphere changed completely.
One side wore a triumphant grin; the other looked thoroughly cornered. Yes—the one grinning triumphantly was none other than me.
She already knew, so there was no more reason to hide anything.
"Keh-keh-keh."
"Haaah…"
Our dear Pope's sigh sounded so pitiful. But what could you do?
"Kwahahahahaha! I knew it would come to this someday! Granny Pope! That's why I told you—before you went completely senile, you should've thoroughly checked that bastard's soul! Serves you right!"
I clutched my stomach and laughed like a madwoman.
Ah, this was such a beautiful sight.
"A man who mixed with the Demon King… and even becoming a princess is ridiculous."
"Wrong. In the end I'm Olivia, so there's no problem at all. Granny. Blood relative or not, you should have handled that properly."
Really, for someone who was the Pope, how could she be like this? Even if he was family, she should have remembered she was the Pope.
"You understand what it means for me to ask for your help, don't you?"
"Yeah. You can't openly accept help from the Empire, so you want me to handle that bastard alone. That it?"
You won't take direct aid from the Empire, but you want my personal help. In other words, so the Empire wouldn't get into an awkward position for having helped the Holy Kingdom.
"You understand well."
"Not a bad deal. Sure. I could drag that bastard William by the head and smash his face into the floor right in front of you."
Right this moment I could charge into the Holy See that William had seized, grab him by the hair, and force him to kneel.
"Unexpected. You're accepting this so readily?"
"Well, I do have my reasons."
"Reasons?"
"You saw the black water outside, right? Those are the holy knights who ambushed me. More precisely, I don't know what trick William pulled, but those insects dosed themselves with some drug and came charging at me. That's more than enough justification."
Even thinking about it now was absurd.
Fine, maybe the Holy Kingdom didn't know about me. But still. Had they eaten all their manners for breakfast? And of all people, they had to hire those kinds of bastards.
The Pope stared blankly at the water on the floor, then blinked.
"Then… could it be Clanis?"
"Mm. That's right."
"Unbelievable. How did that boy even make contact with Clanis?"
It wasn't actually that unlikely.
"A power-hungry grandson of the Pope who was running around outside. Perfect target for Clanis to mess with, don't you think?"
"Hah. Even so—if she was going to touch someone, why the Holy Kingdom instead of the Empire?"
"It's the beginning, probably. Shake the Holy Kingdom from the roots, rock humanity's religion, then slowly crack the Empire as preliminary work."
That was exactly how it looked right now.
"Starting by breaking the Empire's surroundings?"
"There are plenty of people inside the Empire who follow the Holy Kingdom's Goddess Church. Well, if they got official recognition it might be different."
Many within the Empire believed in the Holy Kingdom's Goddess Church.
Who would trust the corrupt Imperial Goddess Church? People only sought out the Imperial version because the doctrine still carried the name "Goddess" and they had no choice.
"Do you think the Four Heavenly Kings can aim at the Empire with their current momentum?"
No.
"That's why they're trying to crack things bit by bit from the bottom. And if, in the middle of all this, the Holy Kingdom falls into the hands of William, who has allied with Clanis instead of you…?"
"From the Empire's perspective, that would indeed be serious."
In a situation where the Goddess Church still hadn't even received recognition, if that bastard William—who had secretly joined hands with Clanis—turned the Holy Kingdom hostile, that alone would deal the Empire a heavy blow.
So we needed to clean this up to some extent right now.