81. I Come Knocking
There are times when appearances deceive.
The same goes for authority and power. From the outside looking in, one might assume a position of great power, only to discover the reality is quite different. Not as extreme as the Church of Lux Stella, which worships the starlight of humanity.
I have come to understand this all too well since Bishop Ganista’s beatification.
The truly important and valuable information within the Church is shared only with the inner circle of Stigmata wielders. And joining that inner circle is a ridiculously difficult task.
Perform a miracle while being observed by other Stigmata wielders.
It’s beginning to sound like a conspiracy theory cult. I couldn’t help but frown upon the secretive and ritualistic practices that contradicted their public image of guiding the masses.
It was through Bishop Ganista and Karina’s stories that I began to understand the reasons for the Church’s paranoia.
Enjoying a rare tea time in my splendid office, decorated with beautiful flower arrangements, far removed from the dark and dingy basement.
“Ugh. What kind of weeds are we drinking?”
“Tsk, tsk.”
I couldn’t help but sigh as Karina stuck out her tongue and made a face.
To think she would dare insult the pride of our nation, barley tea. Truly, a medieval savage with an uncultured palate. They’re so picky about what they eat, it’s a wonder they don’t starve to death.
Besides, barley is a staple food even for ordinary serfs… Perhaps it’s because she was raised in luxury that the princess can’t stomach the thought of drinking boiled barley water.
In contrast, Bishop Ganista, who was indeed born a poor serf, was happily sipping away.
“There were times when we couldn’t drink the water because of animal dung or blood from slaughterhouses flowing into the river. We had no choice but to boil it. I remember searching for fragrant herbs to mask the stench, and when even those couldn ‘t be found, I would gather barley grains scattered in the fields.’
Bishop Ganista always carried an air of ease and relaxation.
Unlike the solemn expression he wore when he declared the beatification in the basement where the Otherworld relic was sealed, his demeanor now was one of tranquility. Yet the information he had just shared with me was far from comforting.
I finished my tea and set the empty cup down on the far corner of my desk, opening my mouth to speak.
“Beatified blessed or canonized saints are not publicly revealed. Their identities are only disclosed after their deaths.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“And the reason for that is because of the remnants of the Otherworld who are still at large, causing havoc?”
Up to this point, they might have seemed like a group suffering from delusions of persecution, but there was an unexpected witness.
Princess Karina, a native of the mainland who had grown up in luxury, as her noble appearance and erudition suggested, silent in agreement.
“The Bishop is correct. It’s something that all of us from the Tribunus knows. The remnants of the Otherworld operate an organized assassination force, targeting influential figures.”
“An assassination force…”
I couldn’t help but think of an organization that set up a base, trained by diving into haystacks and drawing assassination blades from their wrists. A group that was more like a paramilitary organization or a religious cult than mere assassins.
“Even in a world where humans now hold dominion, we must be wary of them? How effective are they?”
Bishop Ganista raised an eyebrow at my question and slowly lowered his teacup.
“There is a common misconception among people. That assassination requires overwhelming power.”
“…”
“On the contrary. Since they cannot win head-on due to their weakness, they resort to assassination, and the most important thing in assassination is meticulousness and tenacity. The tenacity that makes them try again and again despite knowing what will happen if they fail. Motivation is the most important competence in assassination.”
I silently agreed with this statement. It is just as the Bishop pointed out.
The reason why monarchs throughout history have eradicated the families and foundations of traitors is because they were highly likely to seek revenge. The desire for revenge does not follow reason.
The conclusion that they cannot win or survive could never persuade an opponent burning with a desire for revenge.
“And the secular lords surprisingly collude with those remnants of the Otherworld quite easily.”
“Is that possible?”
“Those who desire chaos are not necessarily enemies of mankind. It is human nature to seek profit in chaos… is it not?”
Bishop Ganista laughed hollowly, but the content of his words was extremely cynical.
The sad truth is that I am not naive enough to refute those words head-on. It was the bitter sorrow of a modern man who has become accustomed to the secular world and has become sullied by it.
I can easily picture when the remnants of the Otherworld and the secular lords will join forces.
“When they aim for the throne or seek to weaken the royal authority through a chaotic situation. Or when they want to prevent the power of the Church from becoming too strong. Humans themselves become informants for the enemy, revealing the identities of the blessed and saints who are the most powerful weapons of mankind, and having them killed.”
“hahahahaha. This is why I cannot simply hate my subordinates. Because they accept such a vile story at face value.”
To someone who considers all humans as a single community, he is the troll of trolls, but from a more local and autonomous perspective, it was a mindset that was quite understandable.
What good is it if it is not me but others who become stronger? If I cannot become stronger, I have no choice but to weaken my opponent.
It was a logic that the feudal lords who pursue decentralization and local autonomy would nod their heads to a hundred times over. It was also a clear example of the nature of humans who cannot live well alone and want others to suffer as well.
But damn it, this is a team game.
Well, it might be natural that the mainland, which is about 200 times the size of the Dawn Islands, which is currently in a 5-man bottleneck, is a cripple.
“I understand why the Church hides the blessed and saints.”
“I am glad that you understand.”
“But are the seeds of the Otherworld that strong?”
I thought of the Miracle Examination Team, a group of human weapons made up entirely of paladins.
The paladins I saw were psychos who mechanically slaughtered people without getting tired. I could not shake the thought that no matter how strong the heteroraces were, they could not be stronger than those people.
However, Bishop Ganista nodded with an indifferent expression as if he had expected that.
“Elves and orcs. I will give you an example of beings that sometimes appear as lovers and are the most familiar in some fairy tales.”
“….”
It was the moment when I recalled the novel related to the Elf Queen that I had flipped through in the library the other day.
“Elves, who are favored by the nature god, cannot be perceived by humans until the elves themselves reveal themselves. Orcs, who are favored by the war god, can never be defeated by humans one-on-one.”
“Their stealth and combat skills must be that excellent.”
Indeed. If so, it would be difficult for ordinary humans to deal with them…
“Your Grace, it is not a matter of skill. It is the result of their gods changing the laws of the world. An absolute law… a destiny determined by the gods. You must think of it that way.”
“?”
“Even if you cut down all the forests and create a wasteland to make the Obino clear, humans cannot find the elves first. Even if the greatest warrior among humans wears legendary weapons, he cannot defeat an orc one-on-one.”
This is said to be the reason why all the uprisings led by humans before the advent of Lux Stella, the starlight of mankind, have failed.
The heteroraces favored by the gods have inherited one [law] each that can give them an absolute advantage over humans. It is not necessarily aimed at humans, and it can be taken away at any time if the gods agree.
Of course, there is no way they would agree with humans who wish for the expulsion of the Otherworld, so it has been maintained.
I had no choice but to ask one question here.
“How did you win? When your opponent has such abilities.”
It was a question that arose because I only knew the abilities of the elves and orcs.
If the elves were to seriously invade during the day and cut off the commander’s testicles without any hindrance, they would be defeated as it is, and if they fought, the orcs would be their opponents, so they would never be able to win one- on-one, and they would be crushed as they were pushed back on the front line.
“The reason why Your Grace was beatified is precisely because of that.”
Bishop Ganista pointed at the back of my hand with his finger and said.
“Stigmata. A power to temporarily override the laws enforced by the ancient gods of Yiese. The bears of this stigma are the most common, yet the most dangerous, the first to step forward and the last to retreat and die. It is also a stigma that the remnants of Yiese will definitely pursue and kill regardless of the reason.”
The moment I heard those words, I remembered that Bishop Ganista had made a vow of honesty.
“By any chance, are there any members of the Tribunus or Magisterium from the mainland who have manifested the stigma of the Stigmata but are hiding it on purpose?”
As I glanced at Karina, her reaction was exquisite.
“W-well, it’s not like you have to tell everything after making a verbal vow, right?”
“…”
Next, I looked at Bishop Ganista, who was already wiping the lens of his monocle with a cloth.
“Excuse me, Bishop.”
“Yes, you should also know this.”
Bishop Ganista continued with a look that contained many mixed emotions.
“Sometimes, a single cracked vessel can do more than a single bearer of the stigma.”
“….”
***
Bishop Ganista’s story inspired me greatly.
“Your Grace, what are you talking about? You’re saying that you’ll sell a strange document that absorbs sins if you pay for it?!”
“If you pay, you’re exempt from the duties of the bearer of the stigma, so why shouldn’t your sins be absolved?”
“Your Grace, that’s another way to fulfill your duty!”
“I’ve just come up with another way to pay the price.”
The church in this world is really strange. They say that you can’t avoid the bail system, which is the cutting edge of capitalism, in an organization that is deeply rooted in capitalism anyway.
With this mindset, I huggled with Bishop Ganista for a long time.
Just as the office, which had become noisy, was bustling, someone began to knock on the door.
“Yes, Your Grace. It’s an urgent matter.”
“Is it more urgent than securing funds?”
I asked as if there was anything more important than money in the world, but the answer was always more than I expected. Suddenly, the door swung open and a soldier, drenched in sweat, fell to his knees and impressed.
“Your Grace! Sir Dener and Sir Fenate, who went to stop the pagan raiders, have been killed!”
“?”
There was a moment of silence.
I blinked and opened my mouth again.
“Th-they were the knights who went to support the Principality of Penrad, right?”
“No! They were killed fighting a horde of pagans who attacked Powys!”
“You mean they were wiped out by a few hundred?”
As expected, the knight race is just a bunch of idiots.
As this thought came to mind-.
“I-it’s not a few hundred. The number we saw was easily in the thousands…!!!”
-A certain idiom came to my mind.
Bishop Ganista, who had been arguing over the sale of indulgences a moment ago, seemed to have had a similar thought.
“It was a diversion.”
I responded to those words with silence.