Multi-Species, Multi-Faith - 4
Just before departing for the Holy Kingdom.
"Wow, look at the Chief, ditching his lovers to run off alone!"
"If you must, call it a business trip, not running away…"
I headed to the Inspectorate Ministry headquarters to soothe Eri and Phine, who had suddenly found themselves on the brink of abandonment.
Roaming around right before leaving the country was a bit of a burden, but this was a step I absolutely had to take. If I'd had to leave that very moment, I would have postponed the departure somehow.
Of all the times for something like this.
It left a bitter taste. Mar lived at the mansion full-time, Trixie commuted with me, and I could see Rory during club hours—unlike them, Eri and Phine were buried in work and rarely got to meet me.
That was why they must have been waiting for the break—more precisely, for the honeymoon leave that would let me stay at the mansion around the clock. Instead of taking that leave, I was leaving the Empire entirely. From the perspective of someone who had endured everything just for this day, it went beyond absurd into pure injustice.
"And I'm not going alone. Trixie's coming with me."
"That's even worse! You leave us hanging and only take care of Sister Trixie!"
Eri planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks. Anyone could see she was deliberately exaggerating, but I had enough sins on my ledger that I couldn't laugh it off.
Joke or exaggeration—what did it matter? I really was ditching the two of them and bolting.
"Eri, Master isn't going on a pleasure trip."
What hurt even more was Phine, still defending me even in this situation. If she had just voiced her complaints like Eri, I could have accepted them without limit—but she wouldn't even show her disappointment, so there was nothing I could do.
Don't they say friends start to resemble each other? If Phine could pick up even a tenth of Eri's temperament, I'd have no regrets. She'd express her feelings more honestly and stand up for herself when she was wronged.
Of course, any higher than a tenth and things would get complicated.
"Even if it's for work, the time I get to spend with you two is still gone. You have every right to be angry."
I carefully contradicted Phine and drew Eri into a hug, patting her back.
If an argument broke out between them because of clashing opinions, I'd look even worse. I was the one at fault, yet they'd be the ones taking the damage. This wasn't divide-and-rule; I had no intention of stirring trouble between my lovers just to escape the crisis.
Technically, it was the Holy Kingdom kicking up a fuss with an Ecumenical Council and whatnot that had put us here—but if I traced the cause of that council back far enough, I was involved, so I couldn't even pin all the blame on the Holy Kingdom alone.
"I'm sorry. Still, from next year on I'll be able to stay with you both, so cut me some slack."
"Then from next year on, overtime with me every single day."
At those words, the hand patting Eri's back froze.
Overtime every day? Wasn't that a little too cruel? It felt about as violent as asking a college student on the brink of graduation, "You sure you don't want to study a bit more?"
"Right after the ministry's founded, the Minister will be busy anyway! You can at least pull overtime with me!"
Hearing the title that had somehow upgraded from Chief to Minister, I shut my eyes in bleak silence.
I admitted I was the guilty party, but those were still vicious words. After calling me "Chief" so faithfully all this time, she was suddenly switching to "Minister." It felt like she was showing me the future where I'd be cheerfully ground into dust starting next year, and I almost teared up.
Even the Audit Department executives who had always called me Chief were now using the title of Minister—it truly felt like I had crossed a river of no return. Never mind that I had crossed several such rivers long ago.
"Wouldn't it be better to clock out early and play at home instead of working overtime?"
I forced my trembling hands to steady and spoke.
"Really? Fine, then. Whatever."
Eri nodded coolly.
It was a little disorienting. One moment she was dangling a nightmare future in front of my face and scrambling my nerves; the next she was breezing past it without a fight.
"I'm letting you off because you actually look sorry!"
As if she'd read my mind, Eri giggled and slipped out of my arms.
"Normally I'd have smacked you upside the head for that nonsense, but you tried to talk me down with words, so…"
The baseless slander left me speechless.
When had I ever hit her on the head? I'd gritted my teeth and held back even the urge to give her a noogie, terrified she'd explode if I touched her wrong.
"Thanks…"
Still, I'd been forgiven, so I let it go. From next year there wouldn't be anything left to apologize for—we'd see about that.
"Um… Master."
The instant I received Eri's forgiveness, Phine—who had been watching quietly—tugged lightly at my sleeve and spoke.
I really was about to cry. Not only had she understood my situation and defended me, she had patiently waited while I soothed Eri's anger. After all that endurance and consideration, all she did was tug my sleeve? If I had a soft spot among my fingers, it was Phine.
"I can work overtime with you, Phine."
With a joke that was half-serious, I pulled her into a fierce hug. Phine was sturdier than Eri, so this much should be fine.
"……"
"Phine?"
Something was off. Phine, who usually reacted enormously even to the smallest bit of skinship, gave no response at all.
Through constant effort she had built up a tolerance for contact, true—but she hadn't grown so numb that a hug left her completely unmoved. Could she be angry—
"Hup!"
A bold, adorable little cry of effort, and something soft pressed against my lips.
Only after a long moment did it pull away, leaving a thin thread behind.
"M-Master said… we had every right to be angry, so…"
Her face had flushed red enough to give Mar's hair a real run for its money; her eyes darted about and trembled faintly.
"I thought… this much… would be all right…"
"Whoa…"
Eri's quiet murmur of awe spoke for my own heart.
Good heavens.
Of all people, Phine launching such an aggressive offensive. All that effort hadn't been wasted after all.
"Of course it's all right."
So I answered with the brightest smile I could manage.
Well done, my Phine. Keep showing me more of this side from now on.
"Me! I want to do it too!"
At that, Eri launched a full-body tackle from behind.
I nearly threw my back out right before the business trip.
We traveled to the Holy Kingdom by comfortable, safe teleportation.
A holy barrier blocking teleportation was in effect over the Holy Kingdom's central district, so we had to set the destination as a nearby port—but the distance from the port to the center was walkable, so it was no real bother.
"Welcome. We are honored by your visit to the Holy Kingdom."
The greeting party that had come out to meet us, however, looked like it was about to become a bother.
"I never expected the Next Saint himself to welcome us."
"When an Apostle arrives accompanied by his wife, how could I greet them with a light heart?"
Seeing Tanian's gentle smile drew a wry one of my own. Since the Pope had formally invited us as witnesses for the Ecumenical Council, I had expected a high-ranking figure to meet us—but dispatching the Next Saint outright felt like excessive protocol.
Tanian might show me his side as my assigned student and hopeless club member, but the prestige of a Saint was immense even across the continent, let alone within the Holy Kingdom. After all, by custom the Pope and the Saint stood not in a strict superior-subordinate relationship but in mutual respect. The "Next" label might still be attached, yet Tanian's becoming Saint was already a settled matter.
Witnesses, they said.
Instinctive unease prickled at me. I had been told they summoned me as a witness because I had seen the World Tree revive with my own eyes—but the reception suggested they wanted more from me than simple testimony.
Of course, it was possible they had assigned Tanian out of pure goodwill. I could spin the happy theory that they had attached someone I was at least somewhat close to out of consideration for me, a man who had suddenly arrived in a foreign land.
But this was the Pope who had detonated a massive event like an Ecumenical Council. Would a Pope who had to thriftily use every card in his hand assign the Saint card to me merely out of kindness?
Impossible.
Anyone that pure could never become Pope. There was definitely something else at work.
"Please board the carriage first. His Holiness the Pope has also expressed a desire to see you both, Brother and Sister."
"I'm honored. How many nobles ever receive a papal invitation and an audience?"
For now, I followed Tanian's guidance and climbed into the carriage.
I still didn't know the Pope's intentions—which was exactly why I needed to keep quiet and avoid drawing attention.
I set down the communication crystal with a sigh.
Advisor Brother and Magic Lord Sister have arrived.
Tanian, who had gone out to receive the two witnesses, had confirmed their entry.
Now it begins.
The Ecumenical Council had not yet been officially convened, but the moment the two witnesses—more precisely, the Apostle, Count Tailglehen—set foot in the country, the council might as well have begun. The cardinals who had already entered the Holy Kingdom would hear the news and start spinning their schemes at once.
Count Tailglehen was no mere witness; he was an Apostle of the Dawn Church. Even a cardinal was obliged to show respect to a living Apostle, and no one could deny that he enjoyed the Lord's favor.
And that man had personally witnessed the revival of the World Tree, and he was also the leader of the northern nomadic-born nobility. His ties ran deep with gods other than the Lord as well.
His very existence is a variable.
Yes—a man whose very existence was a variable. Discuss faith, and you would inevitably have to mention him; and yet no one could draw a clear conclusion about him.
And such a man was living in this age. He served as advisor to Tanian's club. How exquisite and coincidental it all was.
…The Lord's arrangement.
I sighed again and picked up the next document. As senior cardinal I had failed to persuade His Holiness the Pope, so as head of the Secretariat I had to realize His Holiness's will.
That was why I had even mobilized my disciple Tanian. Of course it had been possible only with His Holiness's tacit consent—but if this Ecumenical Council failed, the repercussions would reach Tanian as well.
"If it is right, why should one worry over personal safety?"
Insolent brat.
The words Tanian had spoken rose in my mind, and a dry chuckle escaped me. The young, immature boy had grown a little and was now comforting his teacher. How insolent was that?
What adult in this world received comfort from a child? What teacher in this world stood by and watched his disciple be sacrificed?
Unthinkable.
If the council failed, the harm would fall on Tanian, who had moved at my request. That was the natural order of things.
But had this Ecumenical Council been convened in order to follow the natural order? It had been convened to shatter what people thought of as the natural order, for the sake of what was truly right.
If so, then it was truly right that I bear the damage that would otherwise fall on Tanian. It was right that a teacher become the shield for his disciple.
If the natural order demanded that the Next Saint absorb political harm, then I too would shatter that natural order and do so myself.
…Though the best outcome would still be the council's success.
Regrettably, it was easier to assume the worst than to assume the best.