Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Remaining Women's Choice 2
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Deep within the Great Cathedral lay the archbishop's office.
There, Archbishop Maxim gazed at the two people before her with a serious expression.
A few minutes earlier, Tine and her friend Nune had been bombarding her with repeated questions about the Holy Knights' quarters.
Unlike their earlier faces filled with disappointment and dissatisfaction, they now stood confidently, making her a single proposal. Maxim looked slightly intrigued as she asked them about it.
"So... you're saying you'll capture Santana yourselves?"
"Yes, that's right, Archbishop. That bastard Santana betrayed our Holy Knight Order and stabbed you in the back, didn't he?"
"As you know, we possess the greatest combat prowess among the Holy Knights in Milano. With our skills, catching that guy would be a piece of cake."
"Hmm..."
Until now, Nune and Tine had consistently shown unreliable performances in the tasks assigned to them.
However, at this moment, Archbishop Maxim judged there was reason to positively consider their proposal for various reasons.
"...Very well. I'll give you an answer as soon as possible, so wait a moment."
"Yes, Archbishop."
"We await your command, Archbishop."
Putting off her answer for the time being, Maxim first gave the two a positive gesture.
Once the two Holy Knights had left, Maxim began seriously calculating the gains and losses of this matter.
'They'll capture Santana, so give them support... With their level of skill, it's not entirely impossible.'
Though they had many shortcomings in using their heads and their personalities were spineless and frivolous, Archbishop Maxim acknowledged their combat prowess nonetheless.
They were undoubtedly top-tier among Milano's Holy Knights.
Even compared to the strongest Holy Knights guarding Rome, the holy city—the Twelve Tribes—Maxim knew their strength wasn't all that different.
However, Maxim wasn't simply considering entrusting them with this task based on those points alone.
'To be honest... even if these two bring in Santana, it'll just be for venting frustration; it won't be all that useful beyond that.'
Though they had capable abilities, she had no desire to entrust work to the man she had excommunicated with her own hands, nor was it feasible.
In other words, even if Nune and Tine successfully dragged Santana back, it would be impossible for the Holy Knights to return to their former affluent lives.
But...
Despite the lack of significant gains, the archbishop was still considering this positively.
And the reason wasn't simply the expectation of capturing Santana for some payback.
'Honestly, what happens to Santana doesn't matter... The problem isn't him; it's those two... and the Holy Knights.'
The biggest reason she might permit this mission.
It was that... by issuing the order to capture Santana and handing over just the right amount of support funds, she could send Nune and Tine—potential sources of major trouble in the future—far away to a distant foreign land.
'The others are problematic too, but those two especially have strong personal combat power on top of their reckless personalities. If the Holy Knights cause an incident, those bitches will surely be at the forefront.'
Even now, the Holy Knights were living miserably inside the Great Cathedral.
In a normal situation, as archbishop, she ought to quickly arrange new housing for those pitiful Holy Knights and adjust their salaries to a level that wouldn't breed complaints, even if not quite matching Santana's era.
But at this moment, Archbishop Maxim had no motivation whatsoever to fulfill such obligations proactively.
'Of course... I should provide some support. But that doesn't mean I can squander money like that bastard Santana did.'
It wasn't that she lacked funds.
Originally, since the Holy Knights belonged to the Papal Court in Rome, the holy city, a steady amount of support funds arrived from there each month for the archbishop's disposal. Additionally, the lord allocated and provided a certain budget to the Holy Knights, who could be reliable allies in emergencies.
If she had managed those well, the Holy Knights wouldn't have ended up rolling around on blankets inside the Great Cathedral like they were now.
Yet the situation had reached this point because of no one else but Archbishop Maxim herself.
Of the regular annual support funds for the Holy Knights, she had secretly siphoned off about 40% into her own pockets all this time. As a result of this embezzlement, the Holy Knights had struggled financially in harsh conditions throughout.
Of course, the process had been extremely secretive and flawless, so not a single Holy Knight had noticed. Consequently, they had naturally come to believe that the life of a Holy Knight was inherently this difficult.
However... once accustomed to such austerity, the Holy Knights began to change after Santana started his "business" one day, easing their financial woes.
Nearly doubled salaries, various supports flowing in from outside, and proper lodgings provided...
The Holy Knights, who had grown used to poverty and hardship, learned what an affluent life was like, and over time, they grew accustomed to it.
And the result...
With Santana gone and a return to their former impoverished lives, they no longer accepted the situation so easily.
Unlike when they had naturally accepted poverty from the start, now that they knew abundance, they were dissatisfied with the present and voicing complaints.
Right now, the reason they were eating, sleeping, and living in the Great Cathedral wasn't simply because they had nowhere else to go.
Considering that in the past, they had each found odd jobs and somehow scraped by with their own lodgings,
their current actions amounted to a kind of protest.
A silent demonstration demanding that, due to Archbishop Maxim's misjudgment, she take responsibility and restore everything to how it was.
To stop this behavior, Maxim would need to release the embezzled funds and provide normal support to the Holy Knights... but currently, she had no intention of doing so.
If she had successfully seized Santana's fortune normally, she would have gladly released the Holy Knights' support funds properly even without anyone asking.
But now, with everything in ruins thanks to the bomb Santana left behind at the end, she couldn't afford to give up one of her major funding sources—not with the foul mood still lingering.
Above all, having risen to the position of archbishop, she knew very well how to handle her subordinates.
'No need to treat underlings too well; if you do, they'll start climbing over you at some point.'
The best approach was to placate them just enough to prevent outright rebellion while skimming the maximum benefit for herself on a razor's edge.
As such, she judged that rather than spending big on immediate support, merely pretending to the bare minimum to avoid complaints was the optimal solution.
'If I send Nune and Tine out like this... and raise salaries just a bit, the Holy Knights rolling around the Great Cathedral won't rebel anymore. This way, I control the discontent, and if I'm lucky, I might even catch that bastard Santana...'
In this way, feeling a petty joy at the fact that she could always prioritize her own gains no matter the situation, a greedy smile began to spread across Archbishop Maxim's lips.