Normal People Cannot Reach the Peak - 2
By selling Tanian, Cardinal Alexandriana had successfully left a favorable first impression. Cardinal Aldino, with whom we exchanged greetings in a relatively genial atmosphere, was much the same.
Contrary to my dread of having to endure an exhausting conversation with some pedantic hardliner, the audience with the two cardinals had started off rather well. That meant neither of them was likely to turn prickly and difficult in front of Mar and me. That was enough.
"Is the tea to your liking? It is steeped from leaves the elves cultivate themselves, so you should notice a rather distinctive flavor."
The Emperor, sensing the same amicable mood, kept smiling as he engaged the cardinals.
Even for the Empire, a cardinal of the Holy Kingdom—especially a prefect of a Congregation—could make life thoroughly miserable if they set their mind to stirring up trouble. Back in the world I came from before the possession, where the presence of gods was far thinner, the Church still wielded formidable authority. How much more so in this one? That was why the Emperor, while welcoming the prefects' visit, would also have been on his guard.
But I, who had received the blessing of God, and the prefects were projecting at least the outward appearance of goodwill. For the Emperor, whatever lingering worries he might have harbored would have evaporated in an instant.
"By His Majesty's grace, this old man has been permitted to taste something so precious. In truth, I had hoped to try it at least once before I departed this world."
The prefect, aware of the Emperor's quiet unease, answered with an exaggerated laugh.
"Haha, is that so? Then I am glad to have fulfilled a cardinal's dream."
At those words I glanced at the Emperor, then looked back down at my teacup.
He'll grant the dream of a cardinal he's only just met, but he ignores mine? If I were a man past seventy like Cardinal Aldino, would he finally grant me my dying wish of retirement...?
"Ah, yes. I was told the Ausen Archdiocese has prepared lodgings for the delegation. If it is not inconvenient, would you not stay at the Imperial Palace instead? There happen to be many empty rooms at present—more than enough for the entire party."
In the middle of all this he casually treated the Imperial Palace like an inn, but I let it slide. The Retired Emperor was already using the place as a ranch; an inn was comparatively respectable.
"We are grateful for such excessive consideration, but we intend to stay near St. Paronas Cathedral. We wished to remain as close as possible to a place graced by the Lord's blessing."
"Is that so? A pity. Still, if you change your mind, say the word at any time."
"Yes, Your Majesty. We shall keep it in mind."
The Emperor nodded at the courteous reply, then turned his gaze to me.
"Minister."
"Your command."
"The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints said she wished to discuss matters of faith with the Minister and his wife, who have received the Lord's blessing."
"I shall call on the distinguished guests at their lodgings together with my wife."
Having preemptively supplied the answer the Emperor wanted, I earned another nod.
"Discussing the faith with a prefect is an opportunity even I would covet, yet I can only regret burdening a newlywed Minister so. I shall not forget this service. For now, Minister, devote yourself to the present."
"Yes. I shall do so."
Even the Emperor, it seemed, found it a bit much to pair a newlywed groom with a foreign dignitary, and so he had obliquely promised to extend my leave in proportion to the work I was putting in now.
Then I can endure it.
My heart settled at once. Work me for free and you're a bastard—but preserve my vacation, and I'll put up with just about anything.
Keep the leave and secure the canonization. Pure profit—
"If Brother would not mind, might I come to where Brother is staying instead?"
"...Pardon?"
Cardinal Alexandriana's sudden proposal caught me completely off guard. She wanted to come all the way to our house? Not the other way around?
It could easily have sounded like an inconsiderate guest inviting herself into a newlywed home, but the Emperor had already put my leave on pause, so it was no great problem. In fact, if the other party came of their own accord, it was even more convenient for me.
But this was Cardinal Alexandriana, who had already brought the authority of canonization all the way to the Empire. Having shown the Empire the courtesy of yielding once, it was my turn to show consideration—yet having her travel to my house herself was more like the Cardinal yielding a second time in a row.
"I am the one who has interrupted Brother and Sister's time. How could I possibly summon the two of you this way and that? Besides, it is more proper for the guest to go to the host than for the host to seek out the guest."
The sincerity in her words made me glance involuntarily at the Emperor. He, too, seemed surprised by Cardinal Alexandriana's remark; he stroked his chin in silence. High officials who volunteered consideration of their own accord, rather than forcing the other party to yield, were rare.
A moment later the Emperor gave me the faintest of nods. Do as the Cardinal says.
"We can only be grateful that Your Eminence would show us such consideration. We gladly accept the kindness."
"In return, I trust you will entertain your guest with the utmost care. I am something of a gourmet, you see."
"Haha. I shall keep that firmly in mind."
It was a joke dressed as a demand, so I laughed and played along. Treating a guest well was only natural—which meant she was essentially coming empty-handed, without a single real request or condition attached.
It was so thoroughly positive that I was almost dazed. Had the effect of selling Tanian really been this large?
I should sell him hard from now on.
Whenever I have to meet someone of cardinal rank, I'll start by selling Tanian first.
My conscience twinged a little, but the results were more than worth the pain.
The day after I answered the Emperor's summons and went to the Solar Hall, Cardinal Alexandriana came to the manor.
"We meet again after only a day, Brother. I felt terrible arriving empty-handed, so I prepared a small gift... Do you like strawberries?"
She had brought a basket heaped full of them.
Watching the Cardinal lift the basket with a gentle smile left me with a peculiar feeling. At our first meeting she had been feeding a horse a carrot; now it was strawberries. Was she not the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, but of Agriculture and Fisheries?
"I do. I had been meaning to buy some soon, as it happens. I shall enjoy them gratefully."
I pushed the stray thought aside and accepted the basket. Luise was particularly fond of fruit, after all.
"They will taste like nothing you have ever had. They looked so lovely that I bestowed a blessing on them as well."
"...I see."
I looked down at the strawberries, which had abruptly evolved from "ordinary fruit" into "fruit blessed by a cardinal."
Live long enough and you even receive fruit blessed by a cardinal. Did she give me these to eat—or to sell?
Why is someone like this a prefect?
I regarded Cardinal Alexandriana with mixed feelings. It was not my place to say so, but she was young—twenty-nine—and given to eccentric behavior on top of it. By every outward measure, she was not the sort of person one expected to find in high office.
The Holy Kingdom, it seemed, had its own complicated circumstances.
Either that, or she possessed ability enough to make age and temperament irrelevant.
The Minister of the Inspectorate personally escorted me to the room where I would stay.
It was a courtesy I had no reason to refuse, so I accepted it gladly. In my heart I had already decided on beatification as Blessed as a baseline, but even so, one could not lightly determine a full canonization as Saint. A deep investigation would be difficult, but I at least needed to conduct a formal question-and-answer session for the record—and that alone could easily stretch into a long conversation. If he was offering me a room, I could only be grateful.
And above all—there was a place in this manor I absolutely had to see.
"Here it is. Brother Tanian stayed in this room."
At the Minister's words as he stopped before a certain door, I discreetly bit my lip. If I let my guard down, I would break into a foolish grin.
Yes. This was it. This was what I had wanted. This was the room I had come all the way to the Minister of the Inspectorate's manor to see.
"Brother. I heard that Brother Tanian once stayed at your manor as well. Would it be all right if I stayed in that room?"
"Ah, of course. I shall show you there."
I had even made a concrete and rather bold request for the sake of that grand objective, despite being the guest. Fortunately the Minister accepted without hesitation, but the embarrassment was unavoidable.
But what did embarrassment matter? Endure a little shame, and I could use the same room as Tanian.
It was a room he had used in the past, yes—but between Tanian and me, time was no wall at all.
"Then please rest comfortably. I shall send someone when it is time for the meal."
"Once again, I thank you for your consideration, Brother."
I smiled and bowed toward the Minister as he opened the door a little and withdrew.
One who had received the Lord's blessing, Tanian's mentor, and the benefactor who had gifted me this room. Truly, after the Lord of Heaven and His Holiness the Pope, he was the person I ought to revere most. Toward such a man, bowing a few dozen times was nothing.
Has he gone?
Of course, reverence and privacy were separate matters. Once I confirmed the Minister had moved away, I slipped quickly into the room and shut the door.
The moment my feet crossed the threshold, rapture washed over me. Savoring that rapture, I approached the bed one step at a time—
"Huuuuuuu—"
—and buried my face in it, drawing a deep breath.
This was the room where Tanian had been.
This was the bed where Tanian had lain.
...
In— out—
In— out— in— out—
In— out— in— out— in— out—
The more violently I breathed, the more violently my heart pounded.
Just until mealtime. Only until then.
Watching Cardinal Alexandriana quietly tear bread and put it into her mouth was like looking upon a devout and faithful priestess.
Is this really the same person who fed a carrot to a horse she had never met in the middle of the Imperial Palace, and who cast a blessing on strawberries of all things? Eccentricities aside, if she just keeps her mouth shut, she is a perfectly normal beauty.
No—thinking about it, I already have two of those around me. Eri and the Wise Duke are both ordinary beauties if they just keep quiet. The problem is that they don't.
Seems to suit her palate, at least.
In any case, after checking the Cardinal's expression as she chewed her bread, I took a spoonful of soup myself. Fortunately the guest appeared to have no complaints, so I could eat at ease.
As expected of the Chef I trust completely. The ability to satisfy whoever the guest may be.
Even if the master of the house nearly made a catastrophic mistake.
Even now, just thinking about it made my blood run cold. Tanian's stay at this manor had already been two years ago, and I had only the haziest recollection of which room he had used. I had wrung every scrap of memory dry to guide her—only to realize that the room right next to the one the Cardinal entered was Ryutis's.
Whether by Enen's blessing or pure luck, the room the Cardinal was staying in truly was Tanian's—but the sheer terror of how close I had come to putting a cardinal in Ryutis's room still lingered.
Making a distinguished guest share a room with that guy would have been... a bit much.
I chose to ignore the fact that, by rank alone, Ryutis himself also counted as a distinguished guest.