episode_0056

A scene fitting for the New Year, with knitting by the fireplace.

Count Kanosa received an unexpected guest.

“Why have you come at this time?”

“The Emperor, the Emperor has crossed the Alpens.”

“But isn’t that pass guarded by nobles? How could such a thing happen?”

“He literally crossed the mountain!”

Not long ago, the Pope set out on a journey with the intention of overthrowing the Emperor.

Just then, the nobles of the Empire had crowned a new Emperor and asked for his approval.

It was unexpected good news for the Pope. Not only had he regained his position, but he would also be remembered as the great Pope who replaced the Emperor!

Unable to contain his joy, the Pope, with a smile on his face, stepped out of the Papal carriage and waited for the soldiers to come and escort him.

Recently, there had been an increase in bandits near the Alpens, and the nobles had blocked the path to hinder the Emperor, so as a precaution, he had promised to send troops to escort him.

But to his surprise, a messenger arrived in a hurry and stood before him.

“Your Holiness, Your Holiness!”

“Oh, have you finally arrived? Where is the army that will greet me?”

“That’s not it. The Emperor has crossed the Alpens!”

The Pope’s mind immediately stopped. How did he manage to break through if they were supposed to stop him?

Crossed the mountain? That Emperor? How?

His thoughts tangled and twisted in his mind, and he came to a conclusion.

“So, the Emperor has come to capture me himself!”

“The purpose is not yet certain.”

“I knew this day would come.”

“….”

“Ah, I need a place to hide for a while.”

“There is Count Kanosa’s castle nearby. You can stay there for a while.”

The Pope, who had been feeling optimistic recently, hid in Count Kanosa’s castle with recurring paranoid delusions.

And every time a messenger arrived at the window, he would hold his heart as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have and exclaim, ‘That window! That window!’

He knew that things were taking a serious turn. If the Pope reacted this way, it was not a lie.

But fortunately, not long after, he received a letter from his loyal knight, Raven.

Honestly, Raven had performed exceptionally well in the Alpens.

He had managed to handle all the bandits stirred up by the Emperor’s scheme, proving that his concerns were unfounded.

A knight’s reputation is also the lord’s reputation, so the Count was very satisfied.

And now, he had prepared a wonderful gift.

“Do not worry. My knight has secured the Emperor.”

“Oh, Count! Indeed, I have no one else to trust but you. Thanks to you, the Emperor will not be able to touch a single hair on my head.”

The Count’s gaze lingered on the Pope’s head for a moment.

The hostage is quite bold. The Count thought of another witty joke, but decided it was not appropriate to say it in front of the Pope.

“Thank you, Your Holiness. What should we do now?”

“Of course. The Emperor… naturally…”

Feeling emboldened by the good news, the Pope stuttered from the start. He was not unaware of the situation in the Church’s leadership.

“Should we send him back across the Alpens?”

“That would be ideal. However… the number of monks lost in the process of crossing the mountain is uncountable.”

“Should we meet him?”

“….”

The Pope. The Pope quickly realized it.

To say that we should talk slowly later and politely send him away? It was a statement that would not be easily accepted from the perspective of being in the territory of Count Canossa, not the Papal Palace.

If someone were to ask why he was not in the Papal Palace but in a place like this, what would he answer?

It was not a position where he could honestly admit that he had tried to replace him, and there was no proper excuse for it either.

But if he were to forcefully drive him away, how would the millions of believers of the Europa Church worldwide see him?

If he doesn’t even meet him, who risked his life to cross the mountains in the dead of winter for the sake of apology? Then, they should share a goodbye kiss right away.

He thought he had finally cornered the Emperor.

Why couldn’t he deliver a decisive blow to firmly secure victory?

“Heinrich…!”

This situation was not a coincidence. This was a thoroughly calculated conversation.

The Emperor was forcing him to make a decision he had to make.

The Pope’s thoughts deepened as he realized that all he could do was to bow his head.

Searching for a nonexistent breakthrough, he found himself immersed in meaningless worries.

*****

The Count ordered me to bring the Emperor’s party to his castle once they were feeling better.

Although the reason was probably for the protection of the Emperor, the main purpose was likely to monitor them above all else.

However, if the Emperor were to get into any trouble here, the Empire would immediately plunge into civil war.

There was no reason for me not to follow the order. It could also bring trouble to me.

Fortunately, the Emperor had not caused any trouble during the past few days he spent in Alpen.

There was no behavior like demanding a good bed and food as if he were an Emperor.

I suspected that this was not because he had a polite personality even towards someone of low status, but because he understood his position well.

Coming to ask for clemency from the Pope and then causing a disturbance on the territory of his ally, Count Canossa, would only provide an excuse to be sent back across the mountains.

Anyway, the Emperor’s party’s attitude was not bad for me.

I sat on a chair in front of my house, pondering while idling. It was a rare moment of complete peace, so it seemed okay to take a break.

Shortly after, Lycia came out of the house and sat next to me. The sun was a bit high. She must have overslept.

“Lazybones! But is it okay to use such words when you wake up a little late?”

“You always say that when I wake up late.”

“Early bird catches the worm! But this is also lazybones.”

“Now you’re nitpicking.”

Since the early bird catches the worm, the worm must wake up late. Therefore, the concept of early for the worm must be different from that of the bird. That’s why it’s called an early bird.

I chatted with the girl and passed the time.

There was no particular reason for choosing this place. It was to guard the royal figures next door.

Alpen had some inns, but they were not large enough to accommodate over forty people.

So, some received treatment at the church, some stayed at inns, and some were provided with good houses to stay in.

Therefore, the Emperor and some attendants stayed right next door to me. It was a place used by the village manager.

Thanks to that, the manager had to stay in a room on the first floor of my house for a while. Apart from Lycia’s slightly bad mood due to the invasion of privacy, there were no major issues during the process.

“This is something that could have been done by blacksmiths.”

“There’s nothing to do, so it’s a good distraction. Just pretend to be busy, you know.”

“Well, now there’s no threat left in Alpen.”

I held the light sword and sharpened the pieces of iron. The materials were weapons captured from bandits I had recently defeated.

Although thick stones and metals couldn’t be cut through in an instant, with strength and patience, nothing seemed impossible.

“Could you possibly make it in the shape of a whale? Yesterday’s story left a deep impression on me.”

“It’s my first time trying, but shall we give it a go?”

The day in Alpen passed uneventfully, to the point where it was hard to believe that the emperor had arrived.

*****

The emperor glanced out the window.

There was a rare sight that couldn’t be seen anywhere else.

Square by square. The knight I had seen before was carving pieces of broken swords with my own sword.

The conclusion the emperor came to after observing it for a moment was this.

“…Is this a warning?”

What he had dismissed as idle chatter to the girl next to him was the act of sharpening the weapons spilled by the bandits.

He was recycling the unusable weapons into arrowheads and spear tips.

It wasn’t carving wood or stone. It meant that it could even cut through armor.

It was clearly a show of force. If there was any intention to flee somewhere, it was a signal to attack with that.

To the people of Alpen, it was a familiar sight by now, but to the emperor who had spent his days in the rational and sensible imperial palace, it was a strange sight.

Madness. A subtle madness was unfolding from his fingertips.

Without starting an argument, what on earth had Alpen unleashed?

If the opponent encountered by bypassing the nobles’ blocked path was like this, wasn’t it just a polite warning to turn back?

“Indeed, he is the Pope. Not an easy opponent.”

It was one challenge after another. It was time to briefly review the strategies I had planned so far.