198. Holy Empire
198. Holy Empire
"...Whoa."
"Hee! Hee! Hee!"
[Everything in sight is white! I've never seen scenery like this before!! It's incredible!!!]
"Ugh, just looking at it from a distance is enough to drive you insane."
"You can't say stuff like that once we're inside, okay? What if you get branded a heretic for no reason?"
"What are they gonna do."
The Holy Kingdom's atmosphere was the same as it had been four hundred years ago, and even as I clicked my tongue, I felt a sense of fondness.
Unlike the Imperial Capital, which sat at the center of the Empire's territory, the Holy Kingdom's capital lay at the far edge of its lands.
There was no helping that, since the Holy Kingdom's territory stretched long and northward, forming the border region connected to Ge Vihenum.
And so, the Holy Kingdom's history recorded that the Holy Capital had been built at the very rear of the territory in order to protect the capital.
The capital of the Holy Kingdom. Its name was Ness.
Pure white buildings. Pure white pillars. Pure white streets.
At the center of all that whiteness flowed the platinum-glinting Ansio River, and where the river arrived stood two Grand Temples.
The one on the left was the temple where the Patriarch resided.
The one on the right was the temple where Luna had stayed.
At a glance, their exteriors looked exactly alike, but examined piece by piece, they differed little by little.
And among those differences, the decisive one was the pattern carved at the center of each temple.
The sun and the moon.
And so their names differed as well.
The left was Boker, meaning morning.
The right was Laila, meaning night.
According to the Holy Kingdom's original history, Boker was the Grand Temple where the Saintess resided, and Laila was the Grand Temple where the Patriarch, who served as the Saintess's guide, resided.
But Luna, claiming she was right-handed, had swung the Saintess's authority around as she pleased and moved her residence to Laila.
Well, anyway.
There were those two Grand Temples.
And behind those two Grand Temples stood a cathedral as massive as the Imperial Palace and Red Cherry Palace combined—'Shamaim.'
They say Shamaim is a word meaning sky, and seeing it planted squarely at the center of the sun and moon, that Shamaim seemed to be the building representing Yurphia.
So what was that pointlessly enormous cathedral for? It was both the place where the large-scale worship service held once a month took place, and the Sanctum where the Sacred Relics resided.
Among those, while anyone could enter the worship hall, 'no one' could enter the Sanctum.
Even the Patriarch was said to enter alone only once a year, taking on all manner of cleaning duties.
That might raise the question of how the process of becoming a Hero worked, but there was no such process.
The Sacred Relic just suddenly appeared.
It had been the same for Paulo.
Completely out of nowhere, a Sacred Sword had appeared in Paulo's hand.
-Hey, Paulo. What's that in your hand?
-Huh?! Wh-What is this? Why is it in my hand?
-How should I know? You're the one who should know. What, did you steal it without realizing?
-...Did I? It does seem that way.
-If you were gonna steal something, you should've stolen something shiny. Why'd you steal some shitty-looking sword like that?
-As you say, Ronan, it might have been better to steal something a bit more expensive... So, in your eyes, does this sword look like it has any substance?
-Substance, my ass. Looks like it wouldn't even fetch two silver coins. Tch... Bring it here for now. Let's polish it up and sell it.
We sold it that day for four silver coins.
-Paulo. Are you actual trash? What kind of nonsense is stealing back what you stole and sold?
-Don't talk nonsense. Ronan, weren't you the one who stole it and put it back? I was in Mirinae all day today.
-Huh... Really? Did I steal it?
-Ah, so you too have finally reached the realm of the unconscious.
-Tch... Uh... I guess so.
-Good. Since it's come to this, how about we sell it again?
-That's a given. But this time let's sell it in a different village. I heard there's an old guy in the next village who only deals in antiques. Let's bullshit him and say we dug this up from some ruins.
-How exactly do you plan to bullshit someone who only deals in antiques? Are you an idiot?
-Hey, dumbass. Just look at it. You carve a few squiggly letters into the blade like this, right? Then it instantly becomes an artifact.
-Huh, you really are a vicious and despicable son of a bitch. I'm starting to wonder if you're even actually human.
-Thanks for the glowing praise.
We sold it again.
And the next day, it appeared in Paulo's hand once more.
After we'd sold it a total of five times, people came from the Holy Kingdom.
-Ronan. Those pale bastards are calling me a Hero.
-What the fuck. What do they think they can squeeze out of beggar shits like us by running a scam?
-You think so too.
-Yeah. It pisses me off, so let's beat them up and run.
We subdued them and ran.
A week later, the Blood Heaven Knight Order and the Saintess came looking for us.
-Ronan. Did that pasty-faced woman just call us crazy beggar shits?
-How'd she know we're beggars? We dressed up pretty decently.
-She said we reek of beggar.
-I'm real good at hitting women. Even better at hitting bitches.
I couldn't hit her.
-Shall we make a bet?
-What the hell are you suddenly on about? Apologize if you don't want to get smacked.
-I'll flip this coin. If it lands on heads, I'll give you all these gold coins. But if it lands on tails, without any complaints—
-Deal. Heads.
Luna had been skilled at swindling from a young age.
And so Paulo and I got roped in and ended up going to the Holy Kingdom, and as time passed, we came to be called Heroes.
"My lady. We've arrived. From here, you'll have to walk in."
Sara's voice came through the side door of the carriage.
"Yeah. Thanks for the hard work. We got here comfortably thanks to you."
"I'm glad you traveled comfortably. Then, I'll open the door for you."
The sound of the horse snorting came a couple of times, and then the swaying sensation disappeared. Soon after, with the sound of Sara's footsteps—clomp, clomp—the door clicked open.
"...Oh, it's really seamless."
"It's embarrassing, but it's my specialty."
Sara's face was different.
She said it was one of her Unique Magics—a body-transformation magic—and I was starting to get a sense of what Sara had specialized in.
"...The Sara face I know is the real one, right?"
"You don't need to worry. The face you know is my real face."
"That's a relief."
Giggling—I hopped down from the carriage, following Sara's guidance. Stella and Pina hopped down after me, one after another.
"Tch—whoa... The smell is different...!"
"Hee!"
[The smell really is different, just as Stella said!]
Does it really smell different? I sniffed the air—sniff sniff—but I couldn't tell the difference.
"Thank you... Oh, S-Sa... Sara, right?"
"That's right. If it's enough to surprise Stella, who's renowned as a genius, the magic must have worked quite well."
"Oh... Oh, I-I'm not really all that... Hehe. You seem amazing too, Sara... Heehee."
"It's an honor."
[May I ask Sara one question?]
"Please, ask as freely as you like."
[Does Sara do the same kind of work as the spies in novels?]
"That's a state secret."
"Hee...!"
[That's exactly the kind of line a spy would say...!!]
Stella, squirming at the compliment, and Pina, eyes sparkling at the romantic answer.
Sara smiled softly at the two girls, then adjusted my cloak and whispered.
"We plan to enter the country late tonight. So if you happen to be planning anything major, please do it after we've entered."
"What major thing. I didn't come all the way here to cause trouble. And today, well... The kids seem tired, so I'll probably just work on the club activity report."
"...Please promise me."
"What am I, a kid? You need me to pinky swear?"
"If I may be so bold, from my seventeen years of watching you, my lady, you are still quite young."
"...You sound like my mom."
"I can't be your mother, but I'd like to think I could at least be an older sister."
"...Ugh."
I didn't bother denying it.
There was no need to deny it, and I didn't want to either.
Even if she wasn't an older sister, well, anyway—Sara was family too.
So in the end, I hooked my pinky around hers.
At that, Sara smiled brightly and gently wrapped her finger around mine.
"Thank you."
"Yeah. Stay safe until tonight, and once you're in, just leave a note at our room saying you made it."
"Yes. Don't worry, and rest well."
*****
"...S-So, do I take this out now?"
"Don't take it out now. Take it out when we get up front."
We were currently standing in line in front of the Holy Kingdom's city gate for over an hour.
Actually, if we used the identification Leona had given us, we wouldn't need to stand in line, but doing that would inevitably draw attention, so we had no choice but to join the queue.
"N-Now?"
"I said take it out when we get up front."
"Ugh... Ugh, I'm so nervous. It feels like we're sneaking into the country..."
[My heart is pounding...! I feel like I've become a spy from the novel Stella showed me!]
"Pina. Isn't your heart pounding because you're scared?"
"Hee?"
[No! This trembling is definitely the trembling of excitement! Spy! Disguise! Infiltration! Information gathering!]
What kind of book did Pina read to get so obsessed with spies? She shouldn't be looking at weird stuff at such an impressionable age...
I tucked the squirrel tail poking out from under her cloak back in and wiped the cream from the corner of her mouth.
"From now on, be careful not to let your tail show. Got it?"
Nod nod—
"Stella, you too. Don't get all shaky and drop your ID and show it off to the whole world. Be careful."
"O-Okay..."
Huff huff—haah... Huff huff—haah...
When Stella's deep breaths had gone on for a total of five times.
"Next visitor, come forward."
It was our turn.
Swish swish—Stella reached into her coat and glanced around. Pina, making excited little noises, trotted along after me.
"Remove your hood and prove your identity."
At the center was a shining star, and around it were carved clouds and feathers. The engraving was so soft it evoked the free flow of air, and on either side of the star were a round sun and a thin crescent moon.
The symbol of Yurphia.
Two knights wearing pure white armor emblazoned with that symbol blocked our path.
Seeing the white armor, they weren't from the Blood Heaven Knight Order.
Just an ordinary Pnasensia knight order.
The first thing I'd been worried about was resolved.
"Remove your hood. If you do not heed my words this time as well, entry will be—"
The moment I took out the identification Leona had given us, the lanky knight's words stopped.
Blink blink—the knight, who had been blinking with a stiff expression, went pale in an instant.
His eyes widened to the size of lanterns, and his jaw trembled hard enough for his teeth to chatter.
"...Uh, uhm..."
The other knight beside him rolled his eyes this way and that, as if wondering how on earth to handle this situation.
And so, to the knights who had lost their words, I whispered quietly.
"My being here is a secret."
"...Y-Yes. Un-Understood."
"I've memorized your faces. If word gets out, you know what happens?"
"...May I ask, who... you are..."
"If you hear it, can you handle it?"
With a gasp, the two knights stiffened their backs ramrod straight.
"I'll be going in now?"
"G-Go... Go right... Go right ahead..."
Just as I was about to move my feet, I stopped and looked up at the knight once more.
"Don't tell me I need to show you the rest of my party behind me too?"
"Th-That's fine..."
Shake shake—the lanky knight shook his head in a way that didn't match his large frame.
"He says it's fine. Let's go."
Grinning, I squeezed Pina's and Stella's hands in both of mine and stepped forward.