William's Rebellion (4)
The Empire was not so frail that the Four Heavenly Kings could bring it down. Still, it was a nuisance.
The same kind of nuisance as a mosquito buzzing around your ear.
“Without me, they’ll chip away at things from the bottom up. And in the middle of all this, the Holy Kingdom falls into the hands of William—who’s allied with Clanis instead of you?”
“From the Empire’s point of view, that would certainly be a problem.”
With the Goddess Church still unrecognized, William—the little bastard who had quietly joined hands with Clanis—turning the Holy Kingdom hostile would be a serious blow to the Empire all by itself.
Which meant a certain amount of cleanup was required right now.
Take care of William. Rough Clanis up if I got the chance. And this time, I absolutely had to grab that bitch by the tail.
“So a great deal rests on you.”
“What do you intend to do?”
If she wanted to know what I intended, the answer was simple.
In the end, what mattered was that this was William’s show.
“It’ll be William’s lead either way. Plenty of the rest are just following because they’re scared, aren’t they?”
As obvious as it got.
“That’s right. They don’t want the Holy Kingdom to collapse, so some of them grabbed onto William once he looked like he had the upper hand—just to keep the system intact.”
“Then there’s your answer. Cut that William bastard’s head off and it’s over.”
All I had to do was charge into the Papal Palace and drag him out.
Do that, and this whole mess ends. Then dig into his backtrail and smash Clanis. Perfect.
“Even so, he is still my grandson.”
“So what if he’s your grandson? Has he ever done a single decent thing for you?”
The Pope’s face twisted; she shook her head.
Exactly. There it was. Nothing. That worthless brat had never done a single good thing for his own grandmother.
One look at how he usually behaved told you everything.
“That isn’t it, but… hnn.”
When you can’t argue back, the smartest move is to keep quiet.
No matter how you looked at it, the boy had never done anything useful. He’d just been having the time of his life tormenting his grandmother.
“Then shut up and listen. I’m not actually going to go so far as to take his head, anyway.”
Even so, he was the Pope’s grandson. Killing him would be a little much. Beat him senseless just enough to wring the information on Clanis out of him, and that would be that.
The Pope shook her head and heaved a long sigh.
A sigh. Did this woman even understand her present situation?
“Very well. Without the Hero Party’s shackles, there is nothing you cannot do.”
“Obviously. Moments like this, I’m honestly grateful for the Emperor. I’m the Taesa, after all.”
Being Taesa was extremely convenient at times like these.
“A scoundrel granting another scoundrel a title far beyond her station.”
“What was that, you old hag?”
Beyond my station? If anything, the title was too small for me.
I was the one dealing with that Emperor. And now I’d gotten dragged into this annoying mess on top of it. That was the point.
“I understand. We need to finish this quickly. Drag things out against that foolish boy and word will reach the Empire—and in the end—”
“I hate political complications too. Don’t worry about it.”
Looking at it now, the old woman had been right to call me in.
This was the perfect chance to crush Clanis.
Better get to it. Crush him, shake Clanis down, and head back to the Empire.
Ah. Before that, though.
“Speaking of which.”
“What? Trying to mock me again? Isn’t it about time you stopped teasing this old woman?”
Only playing the frail elder when it suited her.
“Only acting like a senior citizen when it’s convenient is seriously irritating. I’ve agreed to help for now, but I should still get compensated. That’s all I’m saying.”
Nothing wrong with that, was there? For this much work, I deserved payment.
“What? Hey. Catching a Heavenly King is the whole point.”
“That’s one thing. As for doing free charity work on the surface—my value is a little too high for that.”
Princess of Ashtar. Saint of the Empire. Taesa.
If she had a problem with it, she could go be the lord of Ashtar herself.
Or the Emperor of the Empire. I had options.
“Becoming a princess has turned you into a complete fox. You fox of a girl.”
“Fox? I’m only asking for fair compensation for my labor. Like it or not, word will get out that the Empire’s Saint helped. And the Pope sends her home without a single reward? Doesn’t that seem strange?”
She could consider my position a little too. Purely selfish.
“So what do you want?”
“Hmm. What do I want?”
I crossed my legs and stared straight at her.
“Even if your tastes have grown as extravagant as that body of yours since becoming the lady of Ashtar, money shouldn’t be an issue. And I can hardly hand you the position of the Holy Kingdom’s Saint.”
“Exactly. The Holy Kingdom already has that fallen bitch as its Saint. Besides, the Holy Kingdom and the Kingdom may be practically brothers, but the Empire is still in religious opposition.”
Meaning she was juggling a lot of problems.
And since she knew me well enough, she could probably sense, however vaguely, what I actually wanted.
“Wait—that’s rich, coming from you.”
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind. Fine. You want recognition for the Empire’s Goddess Church?”
“That would be nice.”
But that wasn’t all I wanted.
I was, after all, hauling the Holy Kingdom up out of the mire.
“Speak plainly. That’s your problem—you always talk as if you want people to guess.”
“I have a range of conditions. I can’t guarantee we’ll catch Clanis. But the threat that’s coming soon definitely has the Four Heavenly Kings behind it. The Kingdom is busy putting its own house in order right now. In the end, the only power that can take down the Heavenly Kings’ forces is the Empire.”
Clanis and Seto knew that too—which was why they were laying groundwork.
“I suppose so.”
“And yet in that little nation called Atlan, some fool calling himself the White King is running wild without knowing his place, like a horse that’s slipped its reins. He might even march on the Empire.”
The Imperial family could handle the war itself; I had no intention of opposing that. But at the very least, the Pope needed to make her support for the Empire unmistakable so that other tiresome complications didn’t spill over from outside.
Like other nations joining the White King’s side, for instance.
“Recognition of the Empire’s Goddess Church—and at the same time.”
The Pope’s face twisted.
See? This woman and I understood each other perfectly. Ideal.
“Exactly. Unconditional support for the Empire. Your population is small, your military is small, but with the Goddess Church title alone you wield influence across the world. That’s more than enough, isn’t it?”
If the Holy Kingdom backed only the Empire in a war, a two-bit backwater like Atlan would get kicked from every direction.
And in that opening, we crush any of the Four Heavenly Kings who try to slip in.
That was the picture I had in mind.
“You really are a fox of a girl. So you’ve decided to learn politics.”
The deep sigh she let out suggested it wasn’t impossible. Politics, though? I was the last person who had any interest in learning that sort of thing.
“I’m not trying to learn politics. This is just obvious. Because I absolutely have to catch Seto.”
“Seto, hmm. That strange one, is it.”
“Right. And I’d also like the Holy Kingdom’s historical records.”
At that, the Pope’s face twisted even further.
“Records related to Seto? I’m sorry, but the Holy Kingdom has no records of Set—”
“No, there will be some. That bastard seems to have lived a very long time. They probably won’t be under the name Seto specifically. But the Holy Kingdom is tied to the Goddess Church, so you ought to have more on the Four Heavenly Kings than other countries, don’t you?”
Same as the Imperial Library. The Holy Kingdom’s archives would be no different.
I could visit the Imperial Library later, but opportunities to enter the Holy Kingdom’s archives were rare.
If anything, the Holy Kingdom’s scribes would be more thorough.
“You can’t mean he’s still alive after all this time?”
I had my own doubts about that—which was why I was rooting through records everywhere I went.
“Which is exactly why I need them. There are far too few records.”
“Hmm. I’ve heard the names of the Four Heavenly Kings—Pector, Berna, Clanis—often enough. Clanis, at least, has been around for quite a long time.”
“Clanis has?”
“Yes. That much is certain. I believe I heard the name even when I was a child.”
She hadn’t even aged to death? Looking at how she never grew old, she seemed like the same breed as the Pope.
By that measure, Berna was the same. Demons had bodies built differently from humans, which was how they’d managed so well all this time despite their smaller numbers.
But wait—why was she only telling me this now?
“Why are you only saying this now?”
Unbelievable. She should have spelled that out clearly back when I was still Noah.
At my words, the Pope curved her wrinkle-free eyes into a pleasant smile.
“Did you ever ask? Go catch William first. We can talk about the rest after that.”
“Ah. Fine. Fine.”
No choice. First I’d take William’s head.
“Don’t take the head. Moderately. Understood?”
“I know, I know.”
As long as the neck stayed attached, it was fine.
I needed information too, so I wouldn’t kill him. For now, at least.
Around that same time, William sat in the Papal Palace upon the golden chair engraved with all manner of patterns and ornaments—the seat his grandmother had occupied until only recently.
At last he occupied the place where only the Pope, who was effectively the Holy Kingdom’s emperor, was meant to sit.
His heart swelled. How long had he yearned for this seat?
“So this seat is mine now.”
A smile rose unbidden to his lips.
He had always intended to claim it someday. In the end, he had gotten it like this.
Shwaaaak—
Then darkness ate into the space behind him, and a silver-haired woman appeared there.
“You fool. Of all the ways to make a mess—”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
The very fact that he was asking what it meant was proof he’d already done something stupid.
He should have known his opponent before he acted.
“I made a deal with you because I judged you would firmly seize the papal seat and draw a clear line against the Empire.”
Clanis snarled at William, who was acting on his own.
A man driven by nothing but lust for power, and far too short on thought.
“You’re the one who approached me first. And you’re the one who needs this more, aren’t you? I’m not some subordinate who takes your orders—we’re equals. I don’t see that you have any right to lecture me.”
Back when he’d been planning how to take the papal seat, Clanis had definitely appeared first and proposed the deal.
And now she had the nerve to talk like this.
William had bargained with a Heavenly King, but he had no intention whatsoever of handing her the initiative.
“A man who never would have sat in that chair for the rest of his life without me certainly talks a fine game. Do you not understand that cutting your head off and tossing it aside right here would be nothing to me?”
As if to say she could take William’s head whenever she pleased, Clanis clenched and unclenched one hand.
“So what’s the problem supposed to be? Weren’t you the one who said to finish this as quickly as possible?”
“Even the presence of the mage corps alone would be a burden. And now the Empire’s Saint is here as well. You should have chosen your moment more carefully.”
Ashtar’s mage corps was strong.
Berna’s Third Legion had taken heavy losses from their attacks.
“For one of the Four Heavenly Kings, are you afraid of that Empire Saint who’s all rumor and no substance? It’s not as if the person herself has changed. The fact that she reacted that way even after looking at me is worth some praise, I’ll grant—but in the end, isn’t she just a woman with too much pride?”
Clanis shook her head.
She herself lost her composure at the mere mention of the Demon King or the Empire—but an enemy still had to be properly recognized.
The Saint had retaken Crad Castle with only the nuns she herself had raised, and she had even beaten Berna into the ground.
That was not something that could be ignored.
Of course, at first I thought she was just some ordinary girl too.
Still, what this power-drunk fool was saying had a point.
Nobles, men and women alike, were all the same—nothing but pride, endlessly elevating themselves.
And Olivia Rafa Ashtar, the Empire’s Saint, had until only a few months ago been called a villainess.
From the Holy Kingdom’s perspective rather than the Empire’s, the Empire’s Saint would have looked like just another woman.
Even if they sensed she was no ordinary person, deep down they would still have looked down on her.
Could this man actually defeat the Empire’s Saint?
“A man who let the Pope slip away certainly talks a fine game. You would have had to see that battlefield yourself to understand. Well, fine. Go on, then—show me what you can do.”
Whether he could win was another matter.
She was, after all, the one they even called the reincarnation of Eldacrad.
If the people of Ashtar, who deified Eldacrad, said as much, that said everything.
“Grandmother has nowhere left to run in the Holy Kingdom. She’ll be caught.”
He certainly talked a good game.
Did he not understand that a Pope on the run was a wild card? If the Pope went to the Saint and asked for support, the mage corps might well try to overturn the Holy Kingdom.
“You’re leaving?”
Leaving? A man who had seen the Empire’s Saint’s arrival as an opportunity was asking that?
Apparently he disliked being used and had only half-heartedly chosen his moment.
“Prove your usefulness properly. Capture even that Saint, and I’ll give you everything you beg for.”
If he truly could subdue the Saint who had taken Berna, that much would not be too much to grant.
Even if she did grant it, given William’s condition, the Holy Kingdom was bound to fall anyway.
Dealing with a Heavenly King—humanity’s enemy—just to seize power? Once he’d let demons into the Holy Kingdom, the rest was obvious.
“You’ll keep that promise.”
“When you’ve become capable enough to make me keep it, then we’ll talk.”
Where did this unqualified fool get the nerve to give her orders?
She was already frantic searching for that bastard Noah. She had no time to coddle a man like this.
Just use him moderately, then throw him away.