The festival lasts one week. I thought I would go this far just to complete a statue, but the Pope’s presence was that great and important within the Holy Kingdom.
‘If it spreads that I killed the Pope and was the culprit, it would be a big problem.’
As such, the image the Pope had built up externally was very strong.
“This is a gift from God… … !”
“It will become a representative statue symbolizing Bastian.”
“Holy relic… , it is a holy relic! “Overflowing with sacredness!”
The reaction of the citizens was great, but the reaction of the priests with divine power was even more intense.
After checking the system messages that were floating around, I could understand the reason.
[You have sculpted a masterpiece.]
[「Sub Quest – Gemma’s Sculpting II」 has been completed successfully.]
[「Reward – Yin-Yang Sculpture」]
[Yin-Yang Sculpting]
It is sculpted using yin and yang energies.
# Engrave a curse with negative energy.
# Engrave a blessing with the energy of sheep.
Why people go crazy looking at statues. It was because of the positive energy that had been engraved on the statue without my knowledge.
[Sculpture of Procopius Doukas]
This is a statue created by Ren Argen. The energy of the sheep is engraved on it, inspiring faith. In particular, the gun-filled eyes are impressive.
# Increased faith in Procopius Doukas
# As the number of people praying toward the statue increases, Procopius Doukas’ divine power increases slightly.
The statue’s information appeared before my eyes. This was a little surprising. Normally, no information about other magic tools or artifacts appeared, but information about the sculptor did appear.
‘Is it because it’s a statue I made?’
That wasn’t what mattered now. Unexpectedly, he made a nice statue for Procopius Doukas.
Numerous people are praying towards the statue in real time. I continued to look at the Pope’s status window with a nervous mind, but the sacred power level did not increase.
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‘Thank goodness, at this rate, leaving it for a couple of days won’t be that big of a problem.’
Once the statue was completed, access to the statue was strictly controlled by the paladins and priests.
Since I am the one who created the statue, I can access it at any time, but it is too risky to damage the statue.
“Re… , Paul!”
At that time, the sunlight shining on the bald head from behind stung my eyes. Acro was calling me urgently.
‘ah.’
Only then did I remember that I had been invited here as a musician and secretly left the celebration.
A concert celebrating the completion of the statue will soon begin. It is said that in addition to the musicians invited from the Holy Kingdom, other outside musicians also came.
I quickly changed my mask and changed my clothes. When I went outside, I saw several musicians gathered together and playing various instruments brilliantly. The atmosphere of the celebration became even more heated.
“I am Ren… , Paul… , um, what should I call you?”
“Let’s do it Andrew.”
“Oh, yes. Andrew’s performance was postponed to the very end. Honestly, the musicians in front are great, but they are disappointing compared to Andrew.”
Acro said with a hearty smile. By bringing in a sculptor named Paul, the Full Gather Merchant Marine has already made a lasting impression on the Holy Kingdom.
I heard that there is talk that regular trade between Brilliant and the Holy Kingdom may be entrusted to Full Gather in the future.
At this level, Full Gather has gained the opportunity to go beyond becoming a large merchant on the scale of Red Pill and become a very large merchant that manages several cities.
That’s why Acro was so excited. If I finish this musician’s work well, I will be able to prove my abilities as the only merchant that brought in outstanding sculptors and musicians.
‘I’m sorry to Acro, but Full Gather may make it difficult to enter or leave the Holy Kingdom for the time being.’
If the Pope dies, there will be chaos inside and people will start suspecting all sorts of places to find the culprit.
Then, Full Gather will also be on the line of interest. Of course, the same goes for Sculptor Paul and Musician Andrew, but since those two don’t exist anyway, there’s no need to worry about them.
“Oh, Andrew, it’s your turn.”
Acro smiles brightly at the cheers of the gathered people and pushes me away.
This time, I slowly walked up to the stage holding the harp I had custom-made and received from Acro.
I can feel the stinging gaze of the musicians who played earlier. They seemed to be curious about who the musician was who would push them out and take the final turn.
Can you meet the expectations of so many audiences with a solo performance rather than an ensemble?
The musicians were laughing as if that would never happen, but I didn’t care at all and just stood there and listened to the harp.
♬♪♬ ♩♬♪―.
The evil image that comes to mind is clearly drawn.
The magnificent and splendid music that Bliss was playing flowed from my fingertips.
A beautiful melody is heard every time the harp strings are plucked.
♩♪… … .
Not only the people but also the high-ranking priests who were leisurely enjoying the music there were unable to keep their mouths shut as they fell in love with the performance of the musician named Andrew.
The performance ended after about ten minutes.
Suddenly, a huge cheer came like a wave in a space that was filled with silence.
“What just happened? “What did I hear?”
“How many minutes have passed? 1 min? “2 minutes?”
“What are you talking about! “More than 10 minutes have passed!”
“I lost track of time… … .”
The audience started chanting like crazy for musician Andrew.
It wasn’t just them. The expressions on the faces of the high-ranking priests who were listening to the music at a closer distance were as relaxed as if they had seen their first love.
“You said Andrew, right? Where did you say you brought it from?”
“They said they brought it from the top of Full Gather.”
“Didn’t you bring Paul from Full Gather too?”
“Right.”
The name Full Gather was strongly engraved in Rem’s mind. Justin had already organized the information about the person named Acro one step ahead of him.
“it’s crazy. If it weren’t for the Pope, I’d just do it! “They’re going to take it away.”
Osilia looks at Andrew and mutters. However, eyes full of regret soon turned to where the Pope was.
“That’s amazing.”
A satisfied smile appeared on the Pope’s face.
“thank you. “His Holiness the Pope.”
“Let’s enjoy the festival more.”
“All right.”
After saying hello, I came down from the stage.
“Whoa… … .”
Fortunately, there was no need to take off the mask like before. All my surface-level work is over.
Now it’s time to carry out the real purpose.
“Acro.”
“yes.”
“Stay away from the city center tomorrow night. As naturally as possible. If possible, hang out with high-ranking executives.”
“Why all of a sudden… … , All right.”
As he was about to ask a question, he shook his head and answered with determination in his eyes.
“There must be a reason why Ren said that.”
“There will be a big commotion in the center of Bastian. “If you don’t want to get involved, you need an alibi.”
“All right. You don’t have to worry about me. “I will try to avoid it as naturally as possible.”
If you tell Acro just this much, he will take care of himself.
‘It’s tomorrow night.’
According to information given by Aston, tomorrow was the best time to carry out the operation. If you miss the right time, your chances of success drop drastically.
Although the time for the operation is just around the corner, the exact location where the Pope’s secret meeting takes place has not yet been identified.
‘Tsk, where the hell am I?’
Aston also said he was looking for it as secretly as possible, but seeing as there was no news yet, it seemed like he couldn’t find it.
Only cardinals and above know that the Pope regularly holds secret meetings like this.
Therefore, during the secret meeting, there are extremely few people protecting him. As long as the cardinals turn their gaze away, the Pope is almost defenseless.
‘I have to finish the Pope while Aston and Flake get the attention of the Cardinals.’
All you have to do is find the place. There are several expected points. What is important is the probability of failure, which increases as the predicted point is incorrect.
‘I’ll have to narrow it down as much as possible by tomorrow.’
When the festival was in full swing, I took off my disguise and walked around the streets wrapped in a robe.
Then, I looked around the expected location in advance and looked for a place where the secret love affair could begin.
‘It’s more detailed than I thought.’
It wasn’t feasible. No matter how you looked at it, it was just an ordinary place.
It was already night. He sneaked into Paul’s dormitory, avoiding the eyes of the guards watching his dormitory.
next day. Acro came to visit me in the morning.
“Paul.”
“yes.”
“I came here urgently to ask you to deliver an invitation.”
I opened the invitation he handed me. It was sent by the Pope.
‘her… … .’
Is heaven helping me? Or is he trying to lure me into a trap?
The content of the invitation was to invite Paul to a meeting to be held tonight.
This gathering probably refers to the pleasure-filled secret meeting he will have tonight.
“And this too… … , there is.”
Acro handed me another one. This too was an invitation.
“This… … .”
“It’s from Andrew.”
It was an invitation sent to Andrew, a musician. This too was sent by the Pope.
“It looks like you liked it quite a bit.”
“I think so.”
Acro looked at the two invitations with anxious eyes. Then he sneaks up to me and mutters something in my ear.
“I don’t know if it is appropriate to say this, but I have heard that the Pope enjoys teabaco every night. Please be careful.”
Tibaco is a type of substance that causes hallucinations and is an addictive substance that amplifies or reduces certain sensations by disrupting the body’s nerves.
‘Was the intention to poison me and make me unable to escape?’
I didn’t know they were doing this behind my back. Even Aston didn’t tell me this.
“This is information I secretly obtained while having drinks with Archbishop Harman last night. Of course it could be wrong. “You just need to keep it in mind.”
“thank you.”
Acro is back.
There is no longer an official schedule. All that’s left now is to enjoy the festival. Now that the statue has been completed and the celebration has ended without a problem, the surveillance on me has decreased significantly compared to before.
The only ones still remaining are those with impure intentions to dig up my information rather than security issues.
‘We’ll take care of everything tonight and go take on the Pope.’
After the Pope dies, there will be no interest in the disappearance of a few of these pursuers in the chaos.
‘Invitation… … , Will the location be announced separately later? ‘You’re meticulous.’
Considering that Paul and Andrew were invited, there is a possibility that there will be a few more people besides the Pope.
It would be good to know that the people who are with the Pope are probably of quite high status.
‘First of all, let’s enjoy the festival too.’
As I walked around the city center and enjoyed the festival, it was already the appointed time.
A man approached me in the midst of the countless crowds, handed me a note and disappeared. When I opened it, the time and place of this secret meeting were written down.
‘you’re close,’
They intentionally told us the time and place just in time to prevent them from doing anything else in the middle.
Before we knew it, the sun had set and darkness had come. Most of the people who filled the streets have gone home. Since Seongguk does not encourage walking around at night, the streets quickly became quiet.
‘There are two people watching the dorm and three people tracking me separately.’
The level doesn’t seem to be very high. After taking my first marriage and a blood test, I put on my mask, and came out through the window of another room in the dorm.
“Wow!”
“town!”
The two guards waiting nearby rolled around.
“Who, who-.”
“Huh!”
“Ugh.”
The remaining three pursuers also finished processing. After hiding those who had fainted in a corner, they ran to the secret meeting place.
‘I can’t believe it wasn’t inside the palace.’
The location is on the outskirts of the city center, which is completely different from what I thought of Aston. It was a neighborhood where vagabonds gathered.
‘What are we doing here?’
The street looks completely different from the inside of Bastian. Garbage is rolling around and it is full of stench.
Everything that is called a house looks like it is about to collapse, and the walls are broken and not functioning at all.
‘Is this place?’
A house that looks like a ghost might come out of it. It doesn’t look much different from other buildings, but if you look closely, the inside is surprisingly neat and tidy.
‘I don’t see any children on the streets. Even though it’s night, this is strange.’
When I entered the house, someone dressed in black was standing guard there.
“who-.”
puck!
The prosecutor who was hit by my fist fell to the floor. The wide eyes are shaking.
“Where is the entrance?”
“How on earth do you know about this place?”
When I infused energy into his body with sculpting, he started shaking all over and fainted with foam at the mouth, but I forced him to wake up again and asked him again.
“Entrance.”
“If you look at the gaps in the floor, there are grooves.”
Fear appeared on the prosecutor’s face as he experienced pain for the first time in his life.
“What were you doing here?”
“… … Ma, I’ll tell you!”
After hesitating for a moment, the man looks at my hand and speaks urgently.
“The children here are fed T-Baeko and played with it like toys.”
“This is crazy.”
A swear word came out without me even realizing it. I thought it couldn’t be possible because there were no children, but he was really playing around with them.
‘He was a crazier person than I thought.’
After stunning the swordsman and severing the nerves in his body so that he could not move using sculpting, he went inside.
As the man said, I looked closely at the floor and found that there were grooves.
Squeak-
I put my finger into the groove, opened the door, and went inside. The stairs extended quite deep.
There is a Pope in this. Will I really be able to win?
gulp.
Without realizing it, dry saliva went down my throat.
I quietly picked up my first marriage and walked into the basement where a fishy scent was coming from.