The Triune Council (1)
When I snapped back to reality, I was sitting at the desk with my chin propped in my hand, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Lowering my gaze, I found Nella sitting across from me—just as she had been for the past several days—holding open a thick book.
“Saintess, you… you seem to be lost in thought far more often lately….”
It would be a lie to say random thoughts hadn’t been plaguing me. Ever since that day I fought the snake that used to be Marek and came face to face with the Grand Guardian Flamena, my mind had been consumed by nothing but questions about that incident.
Why had Marek become that?
Who had turned him into such a monster?
What exactly was the church hiding?
……
Whenever those thoughts linked together, they always arrived at the same destination.
‘Why did I come back to life in Lucie’s body?’
Was it truly the whim of some existence higher than anything else in this world? I had never believed in gods, never even wanted to. Yet staying in the church and picking up all sorts of stories must have rubbed off on me. These idle thoughts kept surfacing at the worst times. And when would this Three Holy Offices meeting that was supposed to answer my questions finally happen? It had already been more than five days with no word.
“Saint…ess?”
“Ah, sorry. I’ve been dragged all over the church lately, so I have rather a lot on my mind.”
Being summoned everywhere wasn’t an excuse I’d invented. The church’s upper echelons had accepted Integrida’s opinion that, as a Saint, I needed to understand the church’s structure. Thanks to that, I had been touring every corner of the church under the name of “observation,” showing my face wherever I went.
“I’ll focus now, so please continue.”
As I spoke, I subtly studied Nella’s expression. Sure enough, she seemed convinced I kept drifting off because her lessons were boring. I could tell from the bad habit she’d developed over the past few days.
Rattle rattle rattle—
“So could you stop shaking your leg? The desk is trembling like it’s in the middle of an earthquake, and I can’t read the text properly.”
“Ah! S-sorry, Saintess….”
I simply chuckled as Nella, flustered, bowed her head and accidentally slammed her face into the desk, glasses and all. Teasing this girl was turning out to be genuinely entertaining.
“W-well, the atmosphere feels refreshed now, so let’s read together about ‘The Ontological Proof of the Triune God’s Existence’ and the opinions of the theologians who criticize it. If any part is difficult, please raise your hand slightly….”
I immediately thrust my hand into the air.
Perhaps Nella herself was a major reason I kept falling into idle thoughts….
But in the end, we finished the entire reading. Nella might look like a harmless little creature—a timid rabbit that wouldn’t hurt a fly—but I was reminded once again that when it came to studying, she was the type who never compromised.
“Well, not just anyone can say ‘studying is easier than talking to people.’”
Class had ended. I was walking down the corridors of the church headquarters to get some fresh air and perhaps drop by the inquisitor training grounds to watch Milosina train with the other inquisitors.
“Hello, Lady Lucie.”
Believers coming from the opposite direction smiled and bowed their heads in greeting.
“Uh, yeah. Hello.”
I no longer panicked. I simply waved back at them naturally. Compared to the mess I’d caused in the Secret Archives on my first day, this was remarkable progress. Back then, the moment they made eye contact with me they would either flee or avert their eyes and hurry past. Yet simply wearing the clothes Integrida had given me and touring the church had noticeably improved how everyone treated me.
“Clothes really do make the woman, huh.”
“Good day to you, Lady Lucie.”
Hehe. This level of popularity might actually become a problem. Just walking a short distance down the corridor had everyone trying to acknowledge me.
“Yeah, yeah, hello. Hope you have a wonderful day!”
“……?”
Normally this would be followed by the female believers squealing or the male believers letting out heated breaths. The fact that I heard neither meant….
“Hmm.”
I cracked open the eyes I had closed while forcing a manufactured smile. Standing before me was a child much shorter than I was, wearing a large beret, light armor, and short hair.
“…First time seeing this kid.”
“Calling someone a kid the moment you meet them? I am Armand, a Holy Knight of the Sacred Condemnation Chancellery. Despite appearances, I am a fully grown adult.”
“That’s… truly unfortunate.”
“What exactly do you mean by that? Unfortunate? Why have you been hurling personal attacks since the moment we met? Have we met before? Do you know something about me?”
The kid named Armand flailed his short limbs repeatedly, insisting he wasn’t a child as he grew angry. The sight was so comical that an involuntary puff of laughter slipped out between my lips.
“Pfft. So what business do you have with me?”
The kid exhaled a sigh heavy with displeasure.
“The Three Holy Offices meeting is about to begin, so please follow me.”
“…Eh?”
The place the kid led me to was the Gospel Chancellery’s ward—the one used to house patients whenever an epidemic swept through the imperial capital of Gracion.
“We’re holding the meeting… here?”
To my question, the kid turned slightly with an expression that said ‘does that even make sense?’ before continuing forward.
“It’s simply the entrance I was assigned.”
He walked over to a certain portrait hanging on one wall of the ward. The moment I recognized the subject, I froze where I stood.
— Berius Kyrie Gracion Emperor —
It was written in the lower right corner. Though this was before his illness had worsened and ruined his face, it was unmistakably the portrait of my one and only older brother—my lord, His Majesty Emperor Berius.
“……Brother.”
Thinking of him, I lowered my head with a complicated heart. The kid shook his head with the expression of someone looking at a madwoman.
“I heard His Majesty Berius spared no support when the church built this ward. Well, it happened before I was born, so I don’t know the details.”
This guy just said “before I was born.” Yep, definitely a kid.
“Anyway, to speak plainly—you enter through here.”
“……Pardon?”
The kid’s finger was pointing directly at the mouth of my brother as depicted in the portrait.
“…Is this some kind of cruel joke?”
But the kid, as if he had expected this reaction, muttered something with a fed-up expression and circled behind me.
“Sigh, I knew it would be like this… I should have just told you to go first and shoved you from behind…”
“What are you even sayi—”
Thud—
“Eep.”
The kid’s foot lightly kicked my backside. Before I could even wonder where such strength came from that tiny body, I felt myself floating—then slammed face-first into the portrait of my brother.
Shwoooosh——
The sensation of being sucked into the painting hit me. I squeezed my eyes shut, and when I opened them again I was standing in an unfamiliar space. It resembled the stage of a grand opera house….
“She’s here! She’s here!”
A somehow familiar voice reached my now hypersensitive ears. I turned toward the sound and saw an equilateral triangular stone table. At each corner sat the heads of the Three Holy Offices, staring straight at me.
“Hehe, it is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Lucie. I am Popelan, Grand Evangelist of the Gospel Chancellery.”
“It is good to see you again, Lady Lucie.”
The white-haired elder with pale skin and Grand Inquisitor Ohen bowed politely from their seats.
“Uh, yes… Nice to meet you.”
I almost responded in the casual way I did with ordinary believers before quickly correcting my tone.
“Why so nervous? Aside from the old man, Ohen and I have seen your face before, haven’t we?”
Flamena spoke in a much gentler tone than when we had met at the Gospel building, addressing me amiably. Or rather, it felt less like friendliness and more like her voice itself had grown younger. There was a subtle difference.
“Hehe, you have already called me ‘old man’ twice in front of Lady Lucie, Flamena.”
The white-haired elder pointed it out in a tone full of wounded feelings. As expected, Flamena simply muttered “So what?” under her breath and ignored him.
‘…That elder is Popelan, head of the Gospel Chancellery?’
It made sense. Of the Three Holy Offices, the Gospel Chancellery was closest to the citizens, so it had occupied the largest portion of my church tours. Unlike the Sacred Condemnation and Secret Archives Chancelleries—whose heads were rarely mentioned—the name Popelan came up often.
‘Benevolent Popelan.’ ‘Merciful Popelan.’ ‘Model Cleric Popelan.’
He was praised with modifiers befitting a true saint—so much so that I wondered if someone like me had any right to strut around calling herself a Saint. Yet the actual elder named Popelan before me looked nothing like what I had imagined. An old prosthetic eye creaked as it moved independently of his good eye, creating an eerie effect. His skin was less white than deathly pale and translucent, giving the impression of another species mimicking humanity. I hadn’t examined him closely during my time as Agilien, but I was certain he hadn’t given off this impression back then.
“Ahem, ahem.”
As if sensing my thoughts, Ohen cleared his throat and pulled my gaze away from Popelan.
“Then….”
Now that all participants have gathered, the 26,205th Three Holy Offices Meeting shall commence.