Ch.366Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

After the excitement had subsided, the parties involved gathered once more, having regained their composure.

Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna, who wanted to take on her first disciple. Camilla, who refused to learn anything other than transformation magic.

There was some friction due to their conflicting opinions, but surely there would be a compromise that would satisfy everyone.

“The Grand Duchess wishes to take Miss Camilla as her disciple, and Miss Camilla has her own desires. With the northern situation to consider as well, the conversation should be straightforward.”

The Grand Duchess had promised to reward Camilla and our group for resolving the northern conflict.

As the Grand Duchess who established the foundation of modern magical society, she must have plenty to offer. Even if not transformation magic, there should be something to tempt Camilla.

And the same goes for me, of course.

I brought the two into conversation and quickly set the stage before either could escape.

“How much were you thinking of offering?”

Time to extort the Grand Duchess.

Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

Turning back the clock to recall the past, the plan to extort the Grand Duchess did indeed originate from my mind.

But I wasn’t the one who provided the initial idea.

“Why do you think the Hero is refusing the Grandmother’s offer?”

It all started with a conversation with Francesca.

The Magic Tower represents magical society, and the Secretariat is the group that assists the Oracle at its pinnacle. Francesca, as a high-ranking official in that Secretariat, was one of the closest people to the apex of magical society.

Francesca couldn’t understand why Camilla was adamantly refusing the Grand Duchess’s offer of a master-disciple relationship.

“Being a Grand Magician’s disciple is a position everyone would envy…”

It was an offer no magician could refuse, so why was Camilla rejecting it?

That’s precisely what Francesca was suspicious about. It was the product of quintessentially magical thinking.

She approached me directly and asked if I knew why Camilla had refused the Grand Duchess’s offer. This stemmed from her judgment that I was the closest to Camilla among our group.

“Well, I wonder.”

But I couldn’t provide a clear answer either. I was just as curious about why Camilla was being so stubborn.

So I put our heads together with Francesca.

Watching Camilla and the Grand Duchess bicker, we had an in-depth conversation about how to resolve this situation.

“Officer, do you know what the Hero likes?”

“Somewhat. But could the Grand Duchess offer something that would appeal to Camilla?”

“Grandmother is a Grand Magician. She’s the Empire’s Grand Duchess. Someone with that much power could probably get anything.”

I thought about the things Camilla likes.

“Sweet foods?”

“Delicacies can be tasted elsewhere, not just at the imperial court. It’s an attractive option, but not distinctive. What about magic books? I’ve heard the imperial archives contain many rare volumes.”

“Couldn’t she get magic books from the Magic Tower too? Even if there are special books that only the imperial family possesses, there’s no guarantee they would capture Camilla’s interest. If that were the case, she would have accepted when the Grand Duchess mentioned the Ivory Tower’s grand library.”

“True, the Hero doesn’t even know what magic books are in the library…”

But as someone once said, if you don’t have teeth, you can still manage with your gums.

Among countless options, we succeeded in finding one that could capture Camilla’s interest.

“Ah, that reminds me…”

“Have you thought of something good?”

“Recently, a diplomat from the Moritani continent gave Camilla a magical artifact. It was a dragon statue that moved with magical power.”

“Dragon…”

“I heard they said they could show her a living dragon if she visited their country. Wouldn’t that be a distinctive enough offer?”

Becoming the Grand Duchess’s disciple in exchange for meeting a living dragon. That seems like a decent option.

Of course, there was the minor issue that dragons are an endangered species, so even renowned scholars can only find dragons in encyclopedias or field guides, and there might not be any living dragons left on the entire continent, but that doesn’t matter.

Finding a dragon would be the Grand Duchess’s responsibility anyway.

Francesca pondered my words with a serious expression.

“I’ve heard the imperial family possesses dead dragons. There’s a rumor that when the Emperor or imperial family members fall ill, the Empire’s Magic Department grinds dragon bones into potions to present to them.”

“I know that too. And it’s not a rumor, it’s a fact.”

“But there wouldn’t be any living dragons in the Empire, would there? Could the Grand Duchess really show a living dragon to the Hero?”

I shrugged and replied.

“What does that matter? Finding a dragon would be the Grand Duchess’s job anyway. If she’s upset about it, the imperial family should have been breeding dragons in the first place.”

“That’s quite an irresponsible thought. But an attractive proposal nonetheless.”

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be a dragon.”

“For example?”

“Like a talking cat or an intelligent monkey?”

I have no way of knowing if creatures like the Cheshire Cat or Caesar exist in this world, but to capture Camilla’s interest, it would need to be at least something like that.

The important thing is to present something Camilla is interested in. That’s a problem the Grand Duchess has to solve herself.

“After all the trouble we went through fighting demons, this much is only fair. Come to think of it, didn’t the Grand Duchess say she’d give us rewards too?”

“She did mention that.”

“Then let’s make some wishes too. You must have something you want as well, right?”

“…”

There was no answer, but the outcome was as good as decided.

“Let’s calm the situation first. Go give the Grand Duchess a hint. I’ll talk to Camilla.”

Francesca separated the Grand Duchess and Camilla, and I casually made the proposal to Camilla.

That’s how the Grand Duchess Extortion Team was formed.

*

The negotiation concluded successfully.

Despite some minor issues—Camilla adamantly refusing to become a disciple and the Grand Duchess expressing reluctance saying it was a difficult request—ultimately, everyone who participated in the conversation achieved their goals.

“Camilla has accepted the Grand Duchess’s offer. Though there hasn’t been an official announcement yet, she’s agreed to attend the Grand Duchess’s magic lessons starting tomorrow. Of course, she’ll receive compensation in exchange for being educated in magic.”

I proudly announced our victory.

-‘You extorted that old woman?’

“Yes.”

-‘…’

Leoni maintained silence for a while. She was being woken up at 2 AM in her quarters to receive this report.

The formal report would be submitted once day broke, but I wanted to brief her on the general situation first.

Leoni seemed dumbfounded that Camilla had not only become the Grand Magician’s disciple without having to pay, but had actually received compensation in return, but what’s done was done.

Through negotiation, I had extracted substantial rewards from the Grand Duchess. Mostly items that could be immediately converted to cash.

I had acquired enough money to buy a mansion in the capital of Abas, purchase property in a resort area for a villa, and still have plenty left over, but I wasn’t fazed at all.

I boldly confessed to Leoni that I had accepted bribes, and promptly converted the goods into money.

Surprisingly, this entire process was approved by the Military Intelligence Agency.

It was possible because the money came from a verified source.

“…Ah, good.”

Having successfully extorted the Grand Duchess, we gathered at the hotel to celebrate.

The sweetness of orange juice harmonized with grenadine syrup, and taking a big sip after tilting the glass, I couldn’t help but exclaim in delight.

“This is amazing.”

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course I am. I just received several times my retirement fund in a lump sum.”

“Oh my…”

Camilla, who had received a martini, shook her head as if I was hopeless. A vodka martini, shaken not stirred. It was a cocktail that frequently appeared in her favorite movie.

The bar of the hotel provided by the Order. For security reasons, no one but us was staying at the hotel, so the bar was empty of other guests.

I finished my tequila-based cocktail cleanly and ordered a new one.

Meanwhile, Camilla leaned against the bar, sipping her half-finished martini.

“Oh, by the way, where did Francesca go?”

“She went up to her room, saying she wanted to rest first.”

Camilla and Francesca had also obtained a lot from the Grand Duchess. I received material goods, but the two of them received something other than money.

“Still, didn’t it all work out well? The Grand Duchess is happy to have a disciple, you’re happy to receive and learn things from her. And I’m happy to get some crumbs in between.”

“Aren’t those crumbs quite substantial?”

“This or that, it’s all the same.”

“I swear I can’t live with this… You’re really something else.”

“Look who’s talking.”

In Francesca’s case, she received all sorts of rare materials and magical tools needed for alchemy.

These were items that would be difficult to obtain even for a Secretariat official like her who could put in the legwork, and if converted to money, they would be worth the annual budget of a decent-sized city.

But among the three of us, the person who secured the largest share was none other than Camilla.

“But the one who got the most spoils is Camilla, isn’t it?”

“Don’t call them spoils! It sounds like we actually plundered something!”

Among the three people gathered there, the one who secured the largest share was Camilla.

The Grand Duchess gave her so many gifts that it would be exhausting to enumerate all the spoils she received.

“Let’s see… Access rights to the imperial archives, magical artifacts stored in the Magic Tower’s central bank vault, ancient magician’s relics, elixirs that help enhance magical power, and even a pass to the Ivory Tower’s grand library.”

Camilla received most of the items the Grand Duchess offered. To be precise, the Grand Duchess practically dumped them on her as gifts.

They were too numerous to be considered mere gifts, and each one held tremendous value, but it was a natural outcome.

After all, Camilla was British.

Isn’t extorting gold and treasures from other countries a British specialty?

“Wow… truly befitting a Brit. At this rate, you’ll soon establish a British Museum here too.”

Camilla grabbed the back of her neck and shuddered with anger. Having heard the jab about the world’s largest repository of stolen goods, she trembled with rising indignation.

The reason she couldn’t retort with her usual sharp remarks, despite being in a situation where it would be understandable to burst with anger, was because the gifts she had received were indeed stolen goods.

“‘The Sun’s Teardrop,’ a 7th-century treasure of the Nurman family, ‘Arak,’ harvested from the World Tree by an eastern royal family during their expedition to the great forest, and even ‘The Laws of Oikos,’ compiled by the necromancers of the Kuam Dynasty.”

“…”

“Did you specifically choose artifacts that the Empire plundered from other countries? I really don’t understand.”

Out of dozens of options presented by the Grand Duchess, Camilla selected only a few. Surprisingly, when we checked the actual items, a significant number of the gifts Camilla had chosen were foreign artifacts.

Ancient relics that the Empire had plundered through conquests over thousands of years.

Whether by coincidence or a twist of fate, those relics ended up in the hands of a British person.

“Camilla. Be honest with me. Did you know they were plundered goods?”

“I didn’t know! If I had known, I wouldn’t have chosen them in the first place!”

Camilla made a pitiful expression, looking utterly wronged. She even went so far as to slump over the bar.

“No! Who in the world gives plundered goods as gifts?! If that was the case, she should have told me from the beginning!”

“Why? Were you planning to specifically collect stolen goods?”

“Gaaah!”

I sipped my Pimm’s ordered from the bar and chuckled at Camilla’s outburst.

“I know, Camilla. You didn’t originally intend to receive objects. You wanted animals, right?”

“…Yes.”

From the beginning, Camilla had requested animals, not objects, from the Grand Duchess.

Things like talking cats, flying fairies, living dragons. When Camilla asked if she could show her a dragon, Alexandra Petrovna initially expressed reluctance, but after pondering something, she replied that she would inquire about it.

Of course, this process wasn’t entirely smooth. Many of the special animals in this world were so dangerous that even skilled magicians found them difficult to handle.

But who is the Grand Duchess? She’s one of only two Grand Magicians in the world.

Requests that ordinary magicians would refuse, the Grand Duchess accepted without much deliberation. She even went so far as to ask, “Is that enough?” and tried to give her more things.

The problem was that the items she gave happened to be artifacts plundered from foreign countries.

Anyway, with the Grand Duchess being so generous, Camilla’s heart softened. No, it wasn’t just softened—she was genuinely pleased.

Especially when the Grand Duchess mentioned using owls instead of carrier pigeons, that was the decisive factor. Camilla caused a commotion, saying she would learn anything if given just one owl after seeing an owl carrying a letter.

In the end, she received that owl and took the other gifts the Grand Duchess gave as well.

“She said she’ll send other animals as she finds them. For now, she has a few that she owns and told me to come by tomorrow… Sigh… I have no idea how I’m going to raise all those animals.”

“Then next time, ask for land.”

“To let them roam and raise them there? That’s not a bad idea.”

“No, I meant to grow opium there and sell it for silver. Do you think your ancestors will cover the breeding costs?”

“Stop teasing me!”

*

“Ah, Camilla. There’s something I’ve been curious about. May I ask?”

“What is it?”

“When the Grand Duchess asked if you’d consider learning magic from her, why did you adamantly refuse at that time?”

I put down my cocktail glass and asked the question. It was something I had wanted to ask her for a while.

Camilla fell silent, staring at her martini. She seemed to be carefully choosing her answer.

After contemplating for a while, she drank her martini in one gulp and replied in a rather serious voice.

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“Just, everything.”

Camilla continued her answer.

“Offering to teach magic when we’ve just met, giving so many gifts… It’s not common for someone to be this nice to a stranger, is it?”

“That’s true. There’s no such thing as kindness without a price.”

There’s no such thing as kindness without a price in this world.

Even clergy sell God’s grace for donations, so who would go out of their way to provide for Camilla, someone with no prior connection?

All the benefits Camilla receives are based on complex interests. She wasn’t unaware of this fact.

“So I was a bit worried. I do want to learn magic, but someone suddenly approaching with gifts and offering to teach magic seems suspicious.”

“Oh.”

“What do you mean, ‘oh’?”

“I didn’t know you were this cautious.”

It’s a joke.

Camilla was the one who noticed and investigated that I was from Earth, so how could I say she’s not cautious?

However.

“But whatever the Grand Duchess’s ulterior motives might be, figuring that out isn’t your job. It’s mine.”

Handling problems that arise for Camilla is my job, and preventing problems from occurring is also my job.

“So, Camilla, don’t worry about anything and just focus on practicing magic. If any problems arise, I’ll take care of them.”

Camilla silently looked down at the martini in her glass.

After a long silence, she smiled and raised her glass.

“Then I’ll accept your help without hesitation.”

I raised my glass.

“In return, if something goes wrong with me, you take responsibility. I don’t know anything about magic.”

“When have I ever not helped you?”

“That’s true.”

The two glasses clinked, and a clear sound echoed through the bar.

It was the night when fireworks filled the night sky of the holy land, celebrating the birth of a new saint.

*

After drinking with Camilla for a while, I returned to my room.

Not long after, I received a message from someone sent by the Order.

“Officer, the Saint is calling for you.”

It was a summons from the Saint.