Sacred Honeymoon - 1
Morning of the second day of the Ecumenical Council.
Put another way, the first morning of my honeymoon with Trixie.
"Good morning, Brother."
That pleasant morning greeted us with an unwelcome visitor right from the start.
"Brother. Closing the door again would put me in a rather awkward position."
"Sorry. The wind caught it."
I had reflexively shut the door at the uninvited guest's appearance, but at the sound of Tanian's voice from outside I bit back tears and opened it again.
Pathetic. My work was done; I'd planned to enjoy the sightseeing with a light heart. Yet if the next Saint himself was showing up first thing in the morning, something urgent must have come up. Otherwise that guy would never have come in person.
What now?
No matter how hard I thought, though, I couldn't find a single reason they would need to summon me. Constantina's recognition was already settled, and Eternal Blue Sky had only been postponed until today because night fell before they finished. There was nothing left that required my involvement.
Cold sweat was already sliding down my back. Taking a hit you see coming and taking one you don't are entirely different problems.
"Haha, forgive me for calling so early. If I came at a leisurely hour I was afraid the two of you would already be gone."
Whether he sensed my dread or not, Tanian gave a small laugh and drew something from his robes.
"I came to deliver this. A modest token of the Church's goodwill. Please accept it."
"Token of goodwill?"
At those words I quickly scanned the object Tanian had produced.
A plaque small enough to fit in one hand, silver in appearance, the papal crest engraved in its center.
"…What is that?"
Anyone could tell it was no ordinary trinket, so I demanded an explanation.
A crest is the symbol of an individual, a house, an organization, or a nation. An object bearing a particular crest is therefore guaranteed by the party that uses that crest, which in turn vouchsafes the identity of whoever holds it. Stretch the metaphor a little and you could call it the mild version of a full guarantee.
But a plaque stamped with the Pope's own crest—not even a cardinal's? Even if the thing had been carved from rotten wood instead of silver, it would still have to be treated like a national treasure.
"I heard that you and Sister intend to enjoy the sights of Enestiye."
When I asked for clarification, Tanian continued in the same unruffled tone.
"Enestiye is truly a beautiful and devout city—the purest white city on this continent, second to none. I am confident your tour will leave you with no regrets."
For a moment I nearly snapped at the hometown bragging that had nothing to do with the object, but I held it in. Tanian was the sort who pulled eccentric stunts; he was not brainless. If he wandered off-topic, it was surely build-up for the real point.
"However, the pilgrims who come to take in this pure white city fill Enestiye every single day. And for the past few days, word of the Ecumenical Council has only swelled their numbers further. If you step outside now you will find it hard even to walk about, let alone sightsee."
With that he smiled and pressed the silver plaque directly into my hand.
"Which is why I am giving you this plaque. Should you wish to enter somewhere and find the crowds too thick, simply show the plaque to the attendant. They will escort you inside at once."
Oh.
It was a milder item than I had feared, and my heart settled.
Yes—if that was all, I could accept it gladly. Something of enormous value would have been a burden, but a free-pass ticket for the amusement park? That I could handle.
"Ah, and anyone who carries this plaque is to be treated as equal to His Holiness the Pope, so you may freely enter even places normally closed to civilians."
?
"What?"
I thought I had misheard. Equal to whom?
"Well then, I shall take my leave. May your journey be a joyful one."
"No, wait—"
Despite my desperate call, Tanian left without so much as a glance back.
Damn him.
"What a curious object you've received."
After Tanian departed, Trixie—now awake—showed interest in the plaque I was still holding in a daze.
"Small as it is, it's packed with holy power. The silver itself looks to have been refined under the blessings of high-ranking priests, and countless hands must have shaped it into a plaque. Calling it a sacred relic would not be an exaggeration."
Watching Trixie turn the plaque over with genuine curiosity eased my bitter mood a little.
Equal to the Pope or not—what did it matter? Once the honeymoon ended I would never set foot in the Holy Kingdom again, and I was already Enen's Apostle, honorary high priest of the Eternal Blue Sky, and benefactor of Constantina. Even without this plaque my religious standing was sky-high.
So I shouldn't dwell on it. Was it really such a big deal to pour another bucket into a cup that was already overflowing?
Damn it.
If I kept coping like this it would become a habit.
Seeing Karl already awake before me brought a smile unbidden to my lips. I myself had risen rather early, yet he had beaten even that—proof he was looking forward to today's sightseeing as well.
"What a curious object you've received."
While I slept someone had clearly come by; Karl was holding something I was certain had not been there yesterday.
A quick look told me it was nothing harmful—in fact, rather useful. The people of the Holy Kingdom were not so lacking in courtesy that they would hand a guest invited by the Pope anything dangerous. So I examined it only lightly and returned it to him.
"Shall we head out? We got up this early—staying cooped up in the room would be a waste."
"Heh. Let's do that."
Ordinarily I would have studied a new object at leisure, but this was time meant to be spent with Karl. I could not squander it on a mere trinket.
"Have you decided where we're going?"
"Not really. I figured we'd wander and decide as we go. Everything is new to us, so being spontaneous should be fine."
Declaring that he intended to spend quiet time with a lady without any plan at all might have sounded careless, yet I felt no disappointment.
When else would I be able to stroll the streets at a leisurely pace with Karl, weaving about like ordinary citizens? Even if this place had been a sleepy country village instead of Enestiye, I would still have been happy.
"We should also look for things worth buying as souvenirs."
"Ah—yeah. Let's do that."
At my words Karl looked briefly flustered, then nodded.
He must have been surprised that I had voiced the very thought he was keeping to himself. Karl always pretended otherwise, yet his consideration ran deep; throughout our honeymoon he had been carefully avoiding any remark that might make me think of the other children.
A kindness I appreciated—yet I had beaten him to the punch. Treating all his wives fairly and without favoritism was Karl's will. As his wife, helping him uphold that will was only right.
…And tucked into that calculation was the faint hope that, even when I was not present, Karl would still think of me. Using my head a little between husband and wife was embarrassing, but a scheme of this modest scale was surely allowed.
It isn't a dirty or underhanded method, after all.
Indeed, the look Karl gave me afterward was even brighter than before.
I realized that even a holy city is, in the end, just another place where people live.
"M-Magic Lord! It is a true honor to meet you like this!"
"To think I would behold Your Grace in the place closest to the gods—truly the Lord watches over us. I could die without regret."
Among the tourists we happened to pass on the street, some blinked blankly the moment they saw me, then quickly bowed at the waist and poured out every form of praise imaginable.
A familiar sensation. I had endured the same every time I stepped outside in the Empire. I had thought Enestiye would be safer—more devout believers than mages—but I had failed to account for the hybrid possibility of a devout mage.
"Yet, Your Grace… this humble junior is already honored beyond measure simply to stand before you, but why are you here in the holy land rather than the Imperial Capital…?"
At last one of the mages recovered a shred of reason and voiced a perfectly reasonable question.
As he said, I had always remained within the Imperial Capital—or at most the Empire. For me to appear in a foreign country was naturally startling. Our invitation to the Ecumenical Council as reference witnesses had not yet been made public.
"That is—"
"I petitioned His Majesty the Emperor and brought her here on our honeymoon. When else would the pillar of the Empire have the chance to visit the holy land?"
Karl spoke before I could answer.
"My lord husband?"
At the sound of Karl's voice, the attention that had been fixed entirely on me began to scatter toward him as well.
"Our apologies! We failed to greet Your Lordship properly!"
"It's fine. I know perfectly well what my wife means to mages. If I couldn't understand even that, I wouldn't last as the Magic Lord's husband."
His answer, laced with laughter, let the tense mages relax one by one.
It was a little novel. Mages, of all people, watching someone else's face instead of mine. Clearly, even among them, my husband Karl had become a person of rare value.
"Still, as I just said, we are on our honeymoon. My wife would gladly accept a junior's greeting, but anything more would take time we can't spare."
"Of course!"
"How could a junior dare interrupt the time of a senior he so deeply respects!"
"Thank you for understanding."
With those final words Karl patted each mage on the shoulder in turn and walked on.
The gesture was so natural that the mages could only bow, overwhelmed. To any onlooker the hierarchy was crystal clear.
"We nearly ended up on a group tour with a pack of mages."
Yet the man who had just displayed such superior poise simply gave a short laugh and slipped an arm around my waist.
"I did well, didn't I?"
At the playful tone I burst out laughing myself.
"Of course. The only one who ever thinks of me is my husband."
I pressed my lips to Karl's cheek and smiled.
Still, it was a little disappointing. If fewer eyes had been watching, I would have aimed for somewhere better than his cheek.
"Let's duck into a café for a bit. Too many people staring—we should get out of sight."
Thanks to Karl's suggestion, the disappointment vanished in an instant.
As always, the only one who truly understands my heart is my husband.