210. Secret Engagement (1)
“Huh. These guys are so funny.”
Arya looked at her correspondence and was dumbfounded. She laughed.
The pope was making absurd excuses that the attempted assassination of the saint was just a simple deviation of the two heretic inquisitors.
Then they say that the recently appointed cardinal ordered everything, and that he was charged with the crime and imprisoned.
Anyway, he must have prepared in advance to take all the blame.
“Did the liver protrude out of the stomach…”
It was an act that I can only think of as crazy because I was bold.
The saintess belonging to the Vatican is also one of the citizens of the N Empire, and she tried to assassinate her in broad daylight and failed, and then she handled her shamelessly.
At this point, I wondered if she might be crying out for a battle.
However, as the emperor of the empire, she could not order to trample on the Papal States, the center of faith.
Even tearing down Sophia Cathedral and expelling all the cardinals will never be the solution for her.
They are a tribe whose power grows stronger the more oppressed they are.
“I can’t help it. I didn’t want to use my cunning tricks.”
Then the only option left was to divide the Holy See.
To mobilize internal collaborators to bring down the current pope and elect a new one.
Although it would take time and be cumbersome, that method was the least troublesome and the wisest.
“Huh…”
Arya burst into laughter as she thought of the next pope.
I remembered her amazing lumber.
A man who has always been cooperative with the imperial family and has always been in opposition to the pope, and was appointed a cardinal at an old age compared to his achievements.
And a man with the same surname as the man currently in the imperial family.
“Cardinal Branden Heinkel would be nice.”
Branden Heinkel.
Arya found his profile in a pile of papers and snapped it with her finger.
.
.
.
Dang············
“Cardinal. We must go now.”
“Heh heh. Aegis-sama doesn’t get mad at me for being a little late for mass.”
The slums of the Papal States.
Tapping the sterilized syringe, Branden Heinkel gave a gentle smile.
Hundreds of people were still in line behind the tent where he sat.
It was to receive the vaccination given by Cardinal Heinkel.
Of course, he could have left it with his attendants.
However, Branden managed to give his hand an injection with a smile on the last one.
“I don’t think there’s anything to be said about distrusting people. I feel relieved when I do things like this right in front of my eyes.”
“·······.”
When the Vatican solved the budget, subcontractors continued endlessly biting their tails, and in the end, less than 1% of the budget was scattered to poor villages.
That too in a useless way.
So the surest way, though inefficient, was to do things within the cardinal’s eyes.
This was Cardinal Branden Heinkel’s way.
“Oops. Mass is over.”
“Of course.”
Sofia Cathedral arrived late.
Looking at the priests pouring out from the inside, Branden let out a sigh.
He smiled bitterly and stepped inward, against the flow of the crowd.
An empty space with no one around.
Standing alone in front of the cross, Branden prayed quietly.
After about five minutes, Branden turned around, drank the rest of his wine glass, took a bite of bread, wiped his mouth, and walked out.
“Is that the end?”
“What is there to make a fuss about by myself in the late yard?”
“·······.”
The attendants who watched the scene shook their heads.
That’s why you get rejected by the other cardinals.
The reason Cardinal Heinkel was not removed from office has long been a mystery among priests.
Rumors circulated that he was the hidden child of the pope and that he was protected by the emperor, but all of them were weak.
“It’s a little late. Let’s hurry.”
“Yes, Cardinal.”
The attendants each carried a bag and followed Branden.
He went to a place where there were fewer and fewer people, and then he started going down the stairs endlessly.
Underground where there is only darkness.
After passing through a door guarded by unfocused soldiers, they were finally able to enter the basement.
Branden’s eyes widened when he saw a familiar figure beyond the door.
“The Pope?”
“Cardinal Heinkel. Are you here?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I was waiting for you.”
It was none other than the Pope.
He grinned and stood in front of Branden.
“I can’t help but express my regret. It was definitely Cardinal Heinkel’s independent judgment that he hired two heretic inquisitors to attempt the assassination of Saint Iris, right?”
“That’s right…”
“Disappointed.”
“·······.”
The pope was no longer laughing.
Taking a peek at the cold expression on his face, Branden couldn’t lift his head and froze on the spot.
“I’m really disappointed that the assassination failed. I didn’t expect that Cardinal Heinkel, meticulous in everything, would commit such a failure.”
“Schlus Heinkel’s intervention was much quicker than expected. I thought he must have been held captive at the Imperial University…”
“Aren’t those two Heretic Questioners familiar with the newly developed technique? It’s unlikely that it was leaked.”
“Relax. The two of them were just using the spell unconsciously, and since they are consciously unaware of the spell, there’s no possibility that they spit it out.”
The pope glared at Branden for a moment, then smiled again.
Then I slowly passed him and tapped him on the shoulder.
“A natural disaster happened. I should have provided more support… This is my fault.”
“No, Pope. It’s my fault.”
“Then I won’t hold the cardinal accountable. I’ve already prepared the sacrifices. Instead, please put more effort into your research. Since the development of the teleportation technique, the results have been poor.”
“Thank you, Pope.”
Even as he answered that, Branden felt a fire welling up inside him.
It was unbearable to talk about a new technique as if it came out overnight.
It was only after the Pope ambled away that Branden straightened his bent back.
Then he took a deep breath and stepped inside him.
“Agh!”
“aaagh!”
An underground laboratory full of bars.
The screams of people and beasts were heard from all directions.
The cardinal hummed and beckoned to his attendants.
As the bags were opened in a row, blood samples from poor villages appeared.
The tiny vials were each labeled with the names of Monarch citizens.
“Since there is an order from the pope… I guess I’ll have to overdo it today.”
“Do you increase it to five?”
“No. We’ll have to test about 10 people. Then today, let’s see whose serum is the most suitable.”
Cardinal picked up the vial and headed towards the room where he heard cries of pain.
This is where most of the secret research results of the Holy See come out.
It was the space where the most academic achievements were made on the continent.
***
Research on the teleportation technique has been ongoing for several days.
No matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t think it was a spell that I could study alone, so I had to reveal the formula to Ludwig without hesitation.
As a result of borrowing Ludwig’s state-of-the-art equipment and carrying out research, it was possible to uncover most of the secrets of the technique.
“First of all, as you expected, the spell to swap the positions of the two creatures is correct. However, the spell will not be activated unless the person being forcibly teleported is a human, not the caster. Any high-level creature like a human can It subconsciously resists interference with its internal circuitry, even when untrained.”
“That’s what prevents the spell from being activated.”
“That’s right. An animal with a fairly simple internal circuit.
The identity of the spell was none other than a spell to change the position of a person and an animal.
However, it was not omnipotent, and the range of movement was limited according to the amount of magic power used, and it had a fatal flaw that it could not be activated in an environment where communication between spells was impossible.
However, even considering all the disadvantages, the power of the teleportation spell was amazing.
If used well, it will be useful for escorting those who are vulnerable to threats.
“It’s shocking. That the Holy See developed such a technique…”
Ludwig looked quite agitated.
I’ve been sleeping for three days already, I’ve skipped all my meals, and I’ve been immersed in research.
“Please contact us if you see results.”
“Schluss Heinkel. Stop right there. You said that as soon as you saw this, you grasped its core and immediately carved it into my body. How was it possible to interpret it in such a short time?”
“That’s-“
“And again! The magical efficiency of the magic formula you engraved separately is even slightly higher than the original one! Could it be that you cut unnecessary side branches from the core of the original text only with that intuition? Schluse Heinkel, are you thinking of going to graduate school? -“
“No.”
“·······.”
Unlike Ludwig, it gave me goosebumps that the tone gradually got higher, so I cut it out and answered.
Then, Ludwig, who had been approaching me with his eyes wide open, returned to his normal posture and adjusted his clothes.
Ludwig soon became his usual solemn and cool appearance.
“Excuse me. It looks like you’ve lost your senses from working all night. Pretend I didn’t hear you.”
“I will.”
“Ah, of course the offer to graduate school was sincere-“
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that either.”
“Tsk…”
Will I be a graduate student under you even though I can clearly see the dying zombies over there?
There is also a case where a graduate student under the guidance of Ludwig went crazy and became a fanatic and caused terror.
I was afraid that if I continued to stay here, even I would be sucked out of my soul, so I hurriedly left the lab.
From noble mtl dot com.
Come to think of it, today was the day the intelligence service had a meeting.
Every time I attended, there was a risk of getting my tail trampled on, so Erwin was sent instead of me.
I borrow Erwin’s eyes and ears, and Erwin just tells me as I tell him.
I sat down in a quiet place, spread a barrier around me, and interlocked Erwin and her senses.
Then a panoramic view of a dark room lit by a single lantern appeared.
And suddenly, the disgruntled face of the Hurt Locker thrust in.
-What is it? You said you came instead of Schluse? So, is Schluss listening to all of this right now?
– Yes······. Perhaps…
-Listen then, Schluss Heinkel! The last time we met, I was so distracted that I couldn’t tell you, but I have to say it! Premarital pregnancy is never allowed, you damn bastard!
You were worrying for nothing.
Your brother’s chastity is still safe, so you don’t have to worry.
Of course, it was so funny to see Hurtlocker panicking, so I decided not to tell him.
– But can I really tell this woman everything?
– Can I trust you? Are you really connected to Schluss-sama?
Looks of suspicion came from here and there.
It seemed that she was very uneasy about having Erwin sit in her high chair and proceeding with her meeting.
“Erwin. Recite it as it is. There is no time, so proceed quickly and finish.”
-There is no time, so hurry up and finish it······! The late Schluss said…
– Mmm. That’s right, Schluss Heinkel.
-It’s clear from his careless tone and quick temper.
Everyone immediately understood, but somehow I felt a little bad.
-First, I’ll report on Asylum’s tracking. The area where it is believed to have first occurred is a desert frontier. There a doctrine similar to that of Asylum was found…
It’s a desert.
Come to think of it, you haven’t even come close to the desert yet.
I have to bring the elves into the force, so I must visit this place someday.
I thought for a moment that I should stop by to investigate the roots of Asylum.
‘No. Not now.’
If you go, it would be better to go when Celica runs rampant, or just before that.
If I can secure my place in the desert, it will be for the best.
First of all, we decided to postpone going to the desert a little longer.
-And again…
“Let me pause.”
At that time, I felt a presence from behind.
I immediately turned off the interlock and released the barrier.
It was the sound of footsteps I had never heard before.
An old man in a black suit.
It was the butler I saw at Pleshette’s mansion.
“Here you are, Schluss Heinkel.”
“·······.”
How did you know I was here?
No·······.
Isn’t that what I was looking for, wandering around the Imperial University?
The sweat on the back of the butler’s neck was proving it.
It seemed that there was something that had to be delivered directly to me.
“I have come to convey the will of Pleshet.”
“Yes······.”
I immediately opened the letter the butler gave me and checked it.
The text was as follows.
-If you want to make a secret engagement with Iris von Dem Pleschette, please accept the marriage talk.