Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Can We Do It Again? - 2
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It was standard for the Pope to be the mastermind behind something like this, so I wasn't particularly surprised. But Claire and Leventia stared at me with wide eyes.
Well, it made sense. From their perspective, it would be puzzling. Why would the Pope, of all people, want to resurrect the Demon King?
"The Pope... why?"
"Crisis drives people to seek out God."
With a powerful enemy like the Demon King threatening people's lives, it was an existence that couldn't be overcome by human strength alone. As such, people turned against the Demon King and sought out God.
But that Demon King had fallen to the Hero, and peace had returned to the continent.
In that peace, people were starting to change their lives of relying on the church.
That must have been quite irritating from the Pope's standpoint.
"A great enemy unites people. The Pope is using that to expand the church's influence."
"...I didn't think he was the type to do that..."
As if recalling her memory of meeting the Pope while carrying out a church request, Claire bit her lip slightly. But Tau had said it, and in the game, the Pope often belonged to the Black Rebels, so there was nothing strange about it.
"Well, if not, then not. That's why we're leaving it to Evangeline. If there's no alliance document, just come out."
But there probably was one.
In that secret space I'd seen in the game.
Evangeline nodded vigorously over and over.
"You sure it'll be okay?"
"I'll use the blessing... it'll be fine!"
Evangeline showed the back of her hand. The blessing received from God as a Hero party member.
The Covert Guardian blessing provided its bearer with a powerful stealth skill. One that even the Pope wouldn't easily detect.
As such, Evangeline should be able to gather information on the Black Rebels from the Pope's chambers without issue.
If the opponent weren't the Pope, I could've just beaten them down like with Tau and made them spill it themselves.
"So, what about you, Hyunwoo...?"
At Leventia's question, I patted Evangeline's back.
The Covert Guardian was a powerful stealth skill, but it wasn't without weaknesses. It was just stealth, not erasing one's form entirely.
If the path itself was blocked, you'd have to use physical or magical force to break through.
And in that process, the stealth would be revealed.
Of course, if you took the right route, it wouldn't be blocked, but in the worst case, Evangeline might make a mistake and get caught while escaping from a dead end. So, to prepare for that, I needed to wait near the city.
"Um, wait... Uh... Th-that... for me?"
Evangeline looked up at me earnestly and asked. What was she on about? But thinking about it, it could sound that way, so I cut it off sharply.
"Huh? No."
"..."
It was for the mission's success, so I hoped she wouldn't misunderstand.
"Um... Hyunwoo. If something goes wrong, can I come to you?"
Claire pulled a small necklace from her bosom. It was something we'd gotten after defeating one of the Demon King's subordinates during the main story. The pair of necklaces sent a signal to the other wearer if the equipper's health dropped below a certain level.
At her proposal to provide support via portal in case of emergency, I nodded.
It probably wouldn't be needed, but since the necklace also boosted bonus stats, it would be helpful to have.
Of course, since it had location tracking like a dog collar, I had no intention of keeping it forever.
"Anyway, let's meet up after it's done."
We arrived at the church headquarters using the portal Claire opened. I'd been there several times before, so it didn't excite me much.
"...It's been a while... here."
But apparently not for Evangeline. She stared blankly at the church and murmured softly. Come to think of it, Evangeline and I had come to the church together once. Well, that was in the past, so no need to dwell on it.
"Yeah. Well then, shall we get right to business?"
"...Okay."
I took Evangeline to an inn near the church headquarters. As soon as we entered the quietest room in the back, I pulled out a sheet of paper from my bag.
It was a blank white sheet.
While Evangeline tilted her head, I took out a ruler, quill, and ink and started drawing.
"Huh? Wha...?"
Lines met lines, surfaces met surfaces, forming a map. Evangeline's eyes grew wider, and her drooping ears perked up in excitement.
And with that, my drawing was steadily completing.
"This is...?"
"The church's main building map. The route you need to infiltrate is..."
"You... memorized all this?"
"Huh? This much is basic."
"...As expected... you're... amazing."
I could've used it during the Demon King subjugation journey too, but in maze-like situations, I usually moved with the party.
So there just hadn't been a chance to show it.
But Evangeline kept admiring me with sparkling eyes. That was really burdensome.
"No matter how top-tier the Covert Guardian stealth skill is... breaking through completely blocked paths will be tough. And the Pope's chambers are on basement level 3, so infiltrating from outside is hard."
So, we had to use shift changes or routes only for church members. I explained the path she needed to take using red ink.
"This is the path nuns take for cleaning. If there's a mop or a laundry cart, the door opens. You don't have lockpicking, right?"
"...Yeah. That stuff... you always did it when we were together."
"You should've learned it."
Lockpicking wasn't exclusive to thieves. Rangers and hunters could use it alongside trap setting, so I'd told Evangeline to learn it before, but she'd just snorted.
What a waste. It was perfect for making full use of the Covert Guardian stealth skill.
"S-Sorry. Sorry..."
What good was saying that now? The important thing was the present.
"And this staircase has holy law traps. Even with Covert Guardian, trap evasion isn't guaranteed, right?"
Nod. Evangeline listened intently, as if not missing a single word. This was excellent.
"And here..."
I marked the map and explained the route to her. After a few hours like that, having finished explaining all paths to the Pope's chambers, I looked at Evangeline.
"Got it memorized?"
"...Yes."
"Recite it."
I cleared the map and laid out a new sheet of paper. Elves really did have good heads; it was true. It was a bit rough, but she accurately redrew the map and grasped the route I'd taught her.
This was good enough.
"Then let's infiltrate tonight."
"...Okay. B-But... there's still... some time left..."
"Yeah, there is."
"What... are we gonna do?"
"Me?"
I stood up immediately.
"Information gathering."
"...Can I... come too?"
Evangeline looked up at me pleadingly like an abandoned puppy. That reminded me of the old days.
- Ha! What? Can't do it alone? Totally useless~ Fine. This great Elf Evangeline will graciously accompany the human out of pity for your desperate plea... Think I'd cry? Hmph. Why would I go there? If you really want me to, why don't you kneel and beg? No, isn't it weird that this noble Elf would grant a mere human's request with just a few words? Beg more desperately~!
There had been times when I needed her Covert Guardian to easily achieve certain accomplishments, so I'd asked for her help. Each time, Evangeline ignored, teased, and toyed with me, sometimes refusing to go altogether.
Back then, with the Wall of the Heart up, I wasn't hurt, and Evangeline seemed to enjoy venting her stress by tormenting me.
It had been good for both of us.
"Reminds me of the old days."
"Eek! Th-That... th-then... um... s-sor... sorry... I was... wrooong... Eek...!"
Then she pulled out a dagger and brought it to her ear. As she tried to self-harm by cutting off her newly healed long ear, I grabbed her wrist.
We had work soon; what was she doing injuring herself?
"Ahh... sor... ry..."
"Taking you along... hmm..."
After weighing the pros and cons of bringing Evangeline, I nodded.
"No. Stay here obediently."
Just having an elf around made other races wary.
That was a big risk when gathering information.
I took off my robe, left it hanging, and headed to the door in just my armor.
"Order whatever you want to eat, but don't go out."
Nod. Evangeline looked at me wistfully, then glanced at the robe I'd left. Did she think I'd come back? Her expression softened a bit, but I didn't need to worry about her now.
Leaving the inn, I recalled the game's memories. If the Pope was colluding with the Black Rebels, there was only one place here to get information.
And that was where I was headed now.
The Mage Guild.
"What brings you here?"
On the third floor of a building with a bakery, in a small structure on the rooftop, there was an old man in a black robe and...
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
A silver-haired beauty in a black nun's habit. Veronica was standing there. Why was she here again?
"Why are you here?"
"Me? Well... no, more importantly, you?"
Veronica greeted the black-robed mage and pulled me outside. She closed her eyes as if thinking for a moment, then parted her plump lips.
"The atmosphere inside the church felt off. Um... remember when Claire tried to hunt that Mine Demon before?"
"Yeah. Right?"
"I looked into it too... and there were quite a few Mine Demon subjugation requests besides Claire's."
"Hm."
"Most were from cardinals or priests other than the Pope, which was suspicious, so I investigated. But they were mostly requests from the Pope's faction priests."
"So that means..."
"Maybe the Pope put out all those requests himself."
"Oho. And?"
Veronica hesitated. Even for a cardinal, voicing suspicion of the Pope must be tough.
But she let out a heavy sigh and explained her investigation.
"In... one of the church's very old records, it said that the lives of Mine Demons on the continent could serve as a trigger to summon a great evil, and that using numerous lives could resurrect that evil."
"So?"
"It's such a rare record that hardly anyone knows about it. Even in the church, it's high-access only... not something anyone below cardinal rank would know."
Veronica bit her lip.
"So I came to the Mage Guild to check, just in case."
And as a result, she learned it was true.
And one more thing.
"I heard someone else recently came investigating that record. And that someone was..."
It was flowing just like the game's event. When the Pope was with the Black Rebels, it was definitely that name.
"Elka Chotran?"
"As expected of you. You know everything?"
Elka Chotran.
That was the fake identity the Pope used when sneaking out.
It was a top church secret.
"Not even most priests or historians know that record. In the Mage Guild, it's practically discarded ancient history, known only to a few mages specializing in lore."
It was suspicious that the Pope himself had come to consult the Mage Guild on such rare info.
Black Rebels.
Demon King resurrection.
Overlapping with those two keywords made it even more suspect.
Nothing was certain yet, so I couldn't say much, but Veronica was investigating using her inquisitor instincts.
Sharp senses.
"But why were you looking for that record?"
She wasn't a historian; an inquisitor had no reason to dig into such records.
It felt like she'd stumbled upon it while looking for something else.
At my question, Veronica whistled innocently.
"Uh, yeah?"
Author's Note (Afterword)
Hello! It's Malmulmalmul! Another day flew by so quickly... Why are holidays so short...
Sigh.
See you tomorrow! Bye~