The Theological Academy (1)
The Theological Academy (1)
Dimona screamed. She seemed to sober up instantly.
"No!"
"Oh, come on. What's so bad about it?"
"No! I said no! Do you even know what you're saying right now?!"
As if trying to bring her fading buzz back, Dimona chugged straight from the bottle.
Silence hung for a while. Dimona, who had been wordlessly swishing liquor around her mouth, let out a deep sigh.
"...Look. I'll explain it to you clearly. You don't seem to know what the situation is, so I'll explain it in a way you can understand."
Dimona brought over a blank sheet of paper. She scribbled letters across it with a pen.
"The Sun God Church, also called the Church of Ra, is made up of one main faction and four independent institutions. You can think of the main faction as the ordinary hierarchy centered on His Holiness the Pope. It's also called the 'Holy See'. Archbishop Dwayne has a firm grip on it right now. You could say he is the Sun God Church itself."
Dimona drew a rough line.
"The other four are institutions that operate independently. They receive subcontracts from the Holy See, but they aren't directly entangled with it. You could say they stepped back from the Holy See's complicated political arena in exchange for independent operating rights."
"What are they?"
"First of all... here. The 'Inquisition Office'. We serve to judge heretics, and sometimes we take over the duties of other paladins. These days, we do the latter more often. Now that religion's influence has waned compared to the past, the very definition of heresy has become ambiguous."
"And the rest?"
"Another one is the 'Day Priestesses'. A military institution directly under the Pope. It's not a place just anyone can enter. Only the elite of the elite. It's said that two or three of them together can match a proper apostle. As dangerous as they are, they're a group that doesn't move unless His Holiness the Pope is in danger. And let's see... one is a commercial organization called 'Nighttime'. It manages most of the Sun God Church's financial circulation. It's what you'd call a major merchant company. A company made up of dozens of smaller companies. Even when internal strife broke out in the Sun God Church, this place has never collapsed."
Dimona drew the last line.
"The remaining one is the 'Punishment Office'. A place that manages heretics, or traitors. As much as it's a gathering place for sinners, it possesses military strength no less than the Inquisition Office. It's also a bunch that fits the term 'independent institution' perfectly, because they absolutely do not listen. In the first place, it's located far away from the church headquarters, so there's almost no interference."
"Hmm..."
"Now. Here's a question. We're an independent institution, right? So why do you think I'm trying not to take you in?"
Well, the reason was obvious at a glance.
"You said you receive subcontracts, right? Even if you're called an independent institution, you can't be completely separated. In the end, you're part of the Sun God Church, so isn't it because you're influenced by the Holy See?"
"Exactly. They call us independent institutions, but we're no different from subordinates. They say they recognize a certain degree of autonomy... but in the end, we have no choice but to obey."
Dimona scowled.
"On top of that, Archbishop Dwayne isn't on good terms with our Inquisition Office."
"What's the reason?"
"There just isn't one. Honestly, Archbishop Dwayne is competent, but he's not a good person. If you look at what he does, it's all no different from heresy. I'd love to lock him up, but he's too big to touch. And also..."
Dimona sighed.
"I'm not the only Divine Judge. There are five Divine Judges in total... and three of them have fallen under Archbishop Dwayne's influence. Do you understand? There are enemies outside and enemies inside. The only reason I can act with this much freedom right now is that I do my job well... but when I see those bribe-fed bastards pointing fingers at me, acting all high and mighty when they're incompetent, I just want to kill them... haa..."
"So what's the conclusion?"
"I'm already on their bad side. If I take you in, it's no different from declaring open war with Archbishop Dwayne. Do you know what happens then?"
Dimona tilted back the bottle.
"All sorts of hard work will get dumped on me, of course... and the inquisitors under me will all die off. The kids are already struggling because we don't have enough people... and you want me to push them into a death trap? Ugh, fuck. I'd rather hang myself."
"I didn't take you for the type, but you're kind, aren't you?"
"Hey. Do you want to die? I'm just looking after my own people. Politics is just about protecting what you have, in the end."
There was definitely a problem. If I entered as a mere inquisitor, Archbishop Dwayne would clearly interfere in one way or another.
But for me, this was the best option. Dimona, with whom I'd already built a connection, wouldn't turn me away at the door. On top of that, working as an inquisitor would let me build up achievements quickly.
Right now, when entering the Academy on time was the most important thing, that was the fastest route unless I left the church. And besides, leaving the church when I hadn't even properly built up my strength yet?
The moment I used Sacred Power outside, I'd be branded a heretic for using Ra's Sacred Power as a church deserter. I might even become Dimona's enemy. A capable ally becomes more troublesome when they turn into an enemy.
In the end, staying here was the best option.
I snatched her bottle. Dimona scowled.
"Give me back my drink."
"Drinking alone is bitter. Let's drink together."
"I have no intention of matching pace with a minor. If you don't like it, come back after you've aged another year."
"Divine Judge Dimona."
I lowered my voice. Dimona smacked both her ears with her hands.
"I can't hear you. I can't hear you. Don't use that voice. I'm not falling for it."
"I haven't even said anything yet."
"I heard everything from Radatok. He said you have a serpent's tongue? That you talked two churches into a temporary ceasefire. Why would I listen to you? You're going to try to persuade me right now, aren't you?"
"Well, that's true...?"
"Hey. I'll be blunt."
Dimona snatched the bottle back from my hand.
"Bringing you in here is a gamble. Even if I could manage something with my own discretion, it'd be no different from trampling what little future I have left with my own hands. So no. I don't want to accept you."
I stared at Dimona. It was the fastest route, but it wasn't as if there were no other paths at all.
In the first place, I was confident I could survive under Archbishop Dwayne. The reason I'd chosen her despite that was her character.
I asked. To confirm whether it was the same as the game.
"Divine Judge Dimona."
"What now?"
"Why don't you accept the bribes Archbishop Dwayne offers you, Divine Judge Dimona?"
"......"
Dimona gulped down the liquor. She shook out the last remaining drop.
"...If I took those, I could drink something fancier than what I'm drinking now."
"Then why don't you?"
"Why do you think?"
Dimona glared at me.
"It's the last bit of conscience I have left as a cleric. Happy?"
"...Pfft."
Well, it's the same.
The type who would never betray you once you had trusted her with your back. Very good.
If you were going to choose people to stand with, you had to choose well. Being capable didn't automatically make someone worth trusting.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Divine Judge Dimona. Shall we make a bet?"
"No."
"Just hear me out."
"Aaaaah. I can't hear you. I can't hear you. I'm not listening."
"It's nothing much. How about just giving me a chance?"
"...Huh?"
Dimona blinked. I grinned.
"Most of the inquisitors know about this situation too, right? So after explaining everything, ask them whether I can join. How about it?"
"......?"
Dimona tilted her head. She asked seriously.
"Do you think that'll work? My subordinates aren't children... obviously, considering the current situation, refusing would be... they're not going to be so grateful for a single favor that they'd just hand over their lives..."
"I'm just asking for a chance. You know. If I get kicked out of here, I have nowhere to go. Sob sob. Archbishop Dwayne is scary. My head would go flying because of that man. Ahh... I'm going to die... I, who saved Radatok, will die all alone without being able to put up any resistance..."
"...Tch."
Dimona snapped.
"I'll only ask! That's it! Got it?!"
Go ahead.
Well, the game's already over, basically.
You only heard about what happened in there. You had no idea!
Those guys are all on my side!
"Heh heh."
"Wow. A face I really want to punch."
. . .
Dimona came back two days later.
"No, seriously?! What the hell are you?!"
The honorifics had vanished. I leisurely drank my tea.
"What did they say?"
"What is this... it's not even child's play... what did you do?!"
"Maybe they were won over by my piety?"
"Argh, seriously!!"
Dimona pressed her forehead. She rubbed her face.
"...You were right. All the inquisitors who worked with you agreed."
"What did Radatok say?"
"Radatok... agreed too. More than anything, that bear of a man who cares about me agreed to accept you. Are you two in some kind of shared destiny? Huh?"
"It is not so much a shared destiny. They just know."
"Know what?"
"That if they follow me..."
I made a circle with my fingers.
"There's a reward?"
"...Aaaaargh!!! If I'd known it would turn out like this, I should've gone into the Snow Demon too...! I didn't see it myself, so I don't even know what it was like!"
Dimona slammed her head against the desk. Given her personality, she was agonizing because she hadn't seen for herself whether I was someone worth trusting, worth investing in.
She was essentially the leader of a pack. She had to be cautious because she couldn't recklessly shoulder risk.
Moreover, she wasn't the type to act on others' words alone. She was the type who saw things with her own two eyes before acting.
"Divine Judge Dimona."
"What now?!"
"So? Didn't we make a bet?"
"A chance?! Oh, right! The chance!"
"Surely you wouldn't go back on your word..."
"There's no way I would! I'm Dimona! I'm a Divine Judge!"
"I believed in you."
"Argh! Really! Move aside!"
Dimona stole my bed. She shoved the documents she'd brought into my face.
"Sign it!"
"What is this?"
"You've been appointed as an ordained priest, but your education isn't finished yet, right? So I've decided to enroll you directly, under my name, in the Holy See Theological Academy."
"I don't have time, and you want me to go to school?"
"You can only take accelerated courses anyway. Cases like yours are rare, so Archbishop Dwayne compressed the education period to one month. Professional instructors will work you day and night. He's planning to turn you into a fully trained ordained priest as fast as possible so he can start tormenting you."
Dimona handed me a pen.
"Sign there, and I'll tell you my condition."
"Can't you tell me first?"
"Just sign. I already had to invent an excuse to buy you one extra month of life before you started working as a priest."
I signed lightly. I did want to improve my specs. There was an overflowing amount of Holy Arts to learn, so raiding the academy once wasn't a bad idea.
"Here."
"Now. My condition is one thing."
She handed me another sheet of paper.
"You'll study twelve subjects in total. Bring back grades in all twelve that'll impress the instructors."
"Sure. Well, that much is nothing."
"I know it's absurd, but you need at least that much... what? What did you just say?"
"It's not even difficult. Isn't the condition too easy, if anything?"
Using my head was something I'd always been good at. Remembering things and pulling them out was something the old me was quite skilled at too.
And as for the martial side, that goes without saying. In terms of pure combat power alone, I'm at bishop level. I was confident I wouldn't lose even if I fought one. Learning various high-level Holy Arts would make it easier, but it was already sufficiently possible.
And well, learning new Holy Arts?
Isn't that exactly my specialty!
Dimona's expression soured.
"You seem to be seriously mistaken about something... this isn't that easy. You're essentially learning two years' worth of knowledge at once. Do you understand? And you have to get grades that would make them marvel at all of it? All A+. That's the grade I want."
"I could slack off a little and still manage."
"...Where does that confidence come from? You're just an apprentice priest. No matter how talented you are, there are limits."
"I'm an apostle, though?"
"No, apostle or whatever, the difference ultimately comes down to total Sacred Power. It has nothing to do with cramming knowledge into your head."
"You'll see."
I glanced at Dimona.
"If I pass everything, you'll let me in?"
"...Ahaha. Go ahead and try. Even I, a so-called genius, needed six months. Easy, you say? I'm curious to see what that cocky face of yours looks like a month from now."
"I'm curious about you too, Divine Judge Dimona. I wonder what kind of face you'll be making a month from now."
"...One month. Right here. I'll come back."
"Bring the appointment letter. Got it?"
Dimona growled. She was like an angry cat.
"I'm telling you in advance! If you fail, that's the end! I won't help you one bit, so don't expect anything! You've already basically defied Archbishop Dwayne, so know that! I've already taken on all the risk I can!"
"Ah. Yes. You can go now. I won't go far since I have to study."
"Argh, seriously! You always have to have the last word!"
I stretched out. Good. Let's give it a shot.
All A+?
Easy. It's easy. Let's ace them all! After all...
Something I'd already studied once in the game!