Archbishop Marconi’s Despair
That day, the priest who had trailed after Marconi the Archbishop to serve as his attendant came dashing breathlessly to the archbishop, who stood waiting for Alan in front of the dormitory.
Marconi the Archbishop, seeing the priest arrive with a face drained of all color, spoke with alarm.
"What's the matter? Speak up."
"C-Crisis! It's a huge problem, Archbishop Marconi!!"
"What in the world...?"
Marconi the Archbishop felt a chill when he saw the priest gasping desperately, his voice cracking with urgency, his face deathly pale.
And the words that followed hit him like a bolt from the blue.
"T-The hero candidate has just been arrested by the punitive unit!"
"What?!"
It had been mere moments since he had seen Alan stride out with such swagger, only to be seen off.
Now the hero was in police custody?
Marconi could not grasp the situation.
"How... How did this happen?!"
"Th-That is..."
The priest could not finish his sentence.
The man chosen as the most likely candidate for the hero had tried to attack a noblewoman from behind and been arrested?
If word spread, it would become the world's greatest joke, and there would be nothing to do but accept it.
"Th-Then... you should go quickly, Archbishop...!"
"You're right... I'll head to the punitive unit myself!"
Marconi's heart raced with urgency.
'Damn... What kind of stupid thing did that brat do...!'
Of course Marconi was not that worried.
Minor offenses could be swept under the rug with his authority.
But it infuriated him that the man he was supposed to handle as the hero had acted so recklessly.
He had thought Alan was a fool for casually dismissing his words.
He had even harbored doubts whether this fool truly belonged to the World Tree's chosen, but he had buried the thought deep, convinced it would be blasphemy against the World Tree's will.
Yes, that was what he believed.
"Ah... If that's the case, he has been taken to the royal palace."
"...What?"
"Given the severity of the crime, it seems the punitive unit could not handle it, so the punishment will likely be decided directly at the palace."
Deciding punishment at the palace?
Marconi's mind went blank.
"What crime did he commit?"
"H-Hmm... Excuse me, but what relation do you have with the suspect...?"
"Ah, I am this person."
Marconi the Archbishop produced his silver badge, the only one only the Archbishop of the World Tree Church could wear.
"I am Marconi, the Archbishop of the World Tree Church. ...I had taken Alan-kun into our church..."
"Ah, you're from the church. Is this some form of guidance for wayward youth?"
"Haha... Something like that."
Marconi deflected smoothly.
Well, his conduct had not been proper, and bringing the boy to the church to educate him was not a lie.
"Then it is fine. He is being accused of attempted assault on a noble."
"What?!"
I had thought he was a fool, but to this extent?
Even attempted noble assault was a heavy crime, and being taken to the palace suggested he had touched a high-ranking noble.
With this level of offense, it was impossible to extract him with my power.
Even considering it was only an attempt, it could mean death, imprisonment, or at best permanent exile.
If exile was decreed, the church could simply take him, but the problem was what had happened that morning.
Especially, the king's suspicion had arisen because the attempt to kidnap the nun had failed.
They had tried to hush it up somehow, but the king's suspicious gaze that had fixed on him had not left his mind.
And the king knew the church wanted Alan Ludwig.
He could not imagine the church would happily hand over Alan if the king easily gave him exile.
"Should I give up...?"
For a brief moment Marconi considered the thought, then discarded it.
From Cardinal Gerald he had received the assurance that the hero must be secured at all costs.
But instead of securing him, the hero had become a criminal.
If this failed, it would be as if he had no standing in the church that Cardinal Gerald held tightly.
'I absolutely cannot allow that!'
In the end Marconi had to secure Alan Ludwig no matter what.
What about using the covert unit to extract him?
He immediately rejected the idea.
The palace's security was incomparably tighter than the academy dormitory.
No matter how specialized the covert unit was in stealth operations, infiltrating the palace was impossible.
Moreover, more than half their members had died in yesterday's ambush, leaving them too few.
No matter how you looked at it, secretly taking him out was absolutely impossible.
In the end the only option was to formally request him.
But would King Galarus hand him over easily?
Perhaps he would have to yield some of the church's privileges in Pallazinia.
The Pallazinia royal family already had poor relations with the church, so the church could not exert much power within the kingdom, and now even that little influence would be lost.
But it would be better than failing the mission and falling out of the Cardinal's eyes.
'It's unavoidable... Damn kid... I have to show more than what I've lost!'
Marconi spat out curses and ran toward the palace.
"Is that guy the hero the archbishop was talking about?"
"Looking at the name and appearance, it seems so."
Hearing the judge's words, King Galarus looked at Alan, who stood dazed in the prison staring out the window.
He was definitely handsome, but he lacked intelligence and seemed like a reckless youth without pride.
That was King Galarus's first impression of Alan.
Moreover, seeing him stirred a sense of revulsion that made the king feel unpleasant.
"So what did this guy do?"
"According to the witness's testimony, he tried to attack a woman from behind while they were arguing. He was stopped midway and it ended as an attempt..."
"An attempt doesn't make it a problem the punitive unit can handle."
"H-Hmm... That's..."
The judge looked at the punitive unit's investigation report attached to the testimony.
He widened his eyes in surprise, then said with a satisfied expression.
"Two nobles were among the targets he was trying to attack. And they were quite high-ranking nobles."
"Indeed. Then it makes sense."
"But among those nobles..."
The judge hesitated for a moment as if he did not want to say it, but King Galarus urged him.
"Say it. Don't hesitate."
"Th-There was a noblewoman named Riel Ignis from the Ignis Duchy."
King Galarus's eyes widened at those words.
"...He must have gone crazy trying to kill her."
"H-Hmm... According to the punitive unit's interrogation, it seems he claimed he was not trying to attack the Ignis daughter but was trying to protect her from those who were trying to take her away."
"It's even harder to understand."
"Yes. Rather, according to the witness statements, the people with the daughter were her maid and a friend, so it's unbelievable."
The testimonies the judge had included names: Aria Owen and Phelis Valtreia.
They were acquaintances of the suspect, and they had followed him because he was armed and seemed suspicious, and witnessed the incident.
The suspect, Alan Ludwig, had surprised them when he tried to attack, and they had used magic to subdue him and intervened, but instead got attacked themselves, so both were shocked.
Somehow the punitive soldiers had calmed them down and obtained their testimonies.
"Well, it doesn't matter. What matters more to me is that I want this guy for the church and that he committed a big crime."
When King Galarus said that, a soldier ran over at the perfect timing and reported with proper etiquette.
"Your Majesty! Archbishop Marconi has come to see Your Majesty!"
"Crhuh, that damn brat couldn't hold back and jumped in. I look forward to how much I can squeeze out of him using this as an excuse?"
"Your Majesty, even if so, saying that in front of the judge..."
Seeing the king smile wickedly as if he had found an opportunity, the judge broke into a cold sweat.
"Everyone seems to have gathered in the waiting room."
The inside of the stadium, secretly viewed from the waiting room, was packed with spectators.
In addition to the audience that did not discriminate by gender or age, there were merchants selling snacks while walking around the seats.
It felt like seeing the stadium itself that I knew.
"This year seems to have more than last year."
"Ah, senior."
At some point, Iris, the senior, approached and waved happily.
"By the way, did you participate in the Martial God Festival last year too?"
"Yeah. I ended up with runner-up, but I had a great time."
To beat the senior and win the championship, how strong must that person be?
Honestly, among the people I know, only Princess Aine is stronger than the senior, and that person was not even an academy student.
"Ah, you got a new sword."
A new one hung at Iris's waist, swaying.
"Yeah. Well, compared to the one I was using before, the feel isn't great..."
Iris, holding the sword and assuming a stance.
"But I chose one that feels roughly similar, so I won't lose my skill due to the weapon. Don't worry."
"Haha..."
No, honestly, I had a somewhat cowardly thought that it would be better if it was a bit worse.
Right after seeing Alan get beaten up so badly yesterday, how could I think that?
"By the way, I heard the story. There must have been a big incident last night... Did you get hurt anywhere?"
"Haha, luckily, there wasn't a single injury."
Answering with a smile like that, Iris also smiled as if relieved.
"Understood. Then, no need to hold back, let's go all out."
"Ah."
Well, without saying more, I lost to the senior.
The senior was a slow starter type who got more fired up as the match progressed, making the sword faster and more fierce, so I had been careless at first.
As a result, I got hit quite a bit here and there, though not as much as Alan.
"Huff... Huff... I surrender."
"With Kyou Ventos's surrender, the winner is Iris Reiknear! Congratulations!!"
[WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]
[Iris! Iris! Iris!]
Amid the cheers of countless spectators filling the stadium, Iris the senior was led by the announcer giving her victory speech.
I, touching my sore shoulder as if I had been mistaken, looked at the seat where Riel was supposed to sit.
But Riel wasn't there.
What had happened?
"Haa... Speaking is more tiring than swinging a sword..."
After finishing her victory speech, Iris the senior came over.
"The award ceremony will be held all at once after all other matches are over... What's going on?"
"Ah, that's... Riel isn't here."
When I told the senior the seat where Riel was supposed to sit, the senior looked there and said.
"Really? I didn't think she'd come without saying anything to watch your match."
"Is something wrong?"
"Hmm... It's worrying me."
While talking to the senior, the voice of the one I was looking for came from nearby.
"Kyou! Here!!"
In the corridor leading to the player waiting room visible from the stage, Riel was waving her hand.
With a joyful heart, I ran to her, and the senior followed behind.
Beside Riel were Phyllis and Emilia. In addition...
"Eh...?"
Aria Owen and Phelis Valtreia.
Those two stood behind her with uneasy expressions.
Why are you two here again?