Ch.427Easier and Simpler Than Negotiation

“I’ll tell Erich and Kurt about it. I don’t think they’ll oppose.”

Erich Rudolf of the Church of Kranus and Kurt Reicher of the Church of Imela.

Paulus volunteered to persuade them.

“Thank you, Cardinal Paulus.”

From Lacy’s perspective, there was no reason to refuse.

It was obvious which side the two cardinals would consider more important—Lacy’s words or Paulus’s.

“Then, may peaceful dreams fill you until twilight reaches the full moon.”

“Yes. You too.”

Having finished their conversation, Lacy blessed him with a gentle smile.

It wasn’t a miracle or anything, just a blessing of well-wishes.

—-

Afterward, we returned to the Elrunel Cathedral.

Lacy had no intention of meeting other cardinals before the hearing. A waste of time, she said.

All that remained was to drag out the hearing with help from the Churches of Menes, Kranus, and Imela, while finding and hanging the heretics in the meantime…

“Can we trust them? I hope you’re not offering your neck to the enemy.”

Honestly, I couldn’t hide the anxiety that kept creeping up.

The existence of an apostle of the ancient gods among the cardinals was almost a certainty in my mind.

If that person wasn’t the one who leaked information to Isabella, it meant at least two of the eleven—now ten—cardinals were our enemies.

If we excluded the Church of Vimos, which seemed unrelated to this matter, and the Church of Ausrine, which was too minor to be a mastermind, it was closer to two out of eight.

With a 25% chance of any cardinal being an enemy, bringing in three at once meant a 57-58% probability of harboring an enemy among them.

Reality doesn’t always follow probability, but how could I feel at ease with odds exceeding 50%?

“I don’t trust Cardinal Paulus. I only trust his desire to make the Menes Church’s candidate a saint, and Menes’s judgment in not taking away the stigmata from their candidate.”

Her answer was a mix of political judgment and religious belief, befitting a high-ranking official of the Holy State.

—-

The hearing to condemn Lacy was scheduled to begin in two days.

So Lacy and I stayed at the Elrunel Cathedral, gathering more detailed information about the Holy State’s current situation from the priests working there.

For example, the names and movements of each church coalition.

The Churches of Saulite, Astraea, and Ceres called themselves the Holy Sun Alliance.

The Church of Saulite had become the dominant power after the Church of Elpinel weakened. The Church of Astraea possessed numerous powerful paladins. The Church of Ceres oversaw agriculture and funerals, giving them an enormous number of lay followers.

With such powerful churches united, their influence was formidable.

They were the core faction of the current Holy State.

Their only weakness was that they hadn’t produced a saint candidate, I was told.

While it was extremely rare for multiple saint candidates to appear in the same era, their inability to present a future leader during such chaotic times was becoming a major shackle for them.

Lacy showed me portraits of the three church cardinals and explained about them.

—-

Cardinal Carnius Gustav of the Church of Saulite was a middle-aged man with a round face and distinctively sunken eyelids.

Unlike other cardinals who were nearly in their 70s, he was still relatively young, only in his 50s.

His conduct was said to be exemplary as a religious figure, beyond reproach.

“Exemplary? After openly forming factions and reducing the country to this state…”

“I find it puzzling too. He definitely wasn’t this type of person before…”

Whether his personality had changed for some reason or his true nature had been revealed—it was still unknown.

Perhaps he was simply being conveniently used by the other cardinals.

—-

The cardinal of the Church of Astraea was named Ernliter Zaisus, with an appearance that suggested not a drop of blood would come out if you stabbed him.

He was said to have returned the Church of Astraea to principled fundamentalism while advocating for strict justice.

His expression overflowed with conviction and his eyes shone with a sense of justice.

Since it was a portrait rather than the actual person, it might have been idealized, but his face gave the impression of being the model of a righteous paladin.

“He’s the most troublesome person. Being a principled fundamentalist who doesn’t accept exceptions or compromises makes him impossible to persuade.”

“That’s ridiculous. I guess forming political factions doesn’t violate his precious ‘principles’?”

A strict principled fundamentalist. I couldn’t help but sneer.

If he truly cared only about upholding principles, he should have killed all the cardinals involved in factional politics and then committed suicide.

“He probably doesn’t even realize he’s formed a faction. He likely thinks they’re maintaining the Holy State’s existing order while other churches are breaking away, causing division and conflict.”

…What nonsense. What an absurd person.

—-

The next portrait depicted Audius Rosof, the cardinal of the Church of Ceres.

He had a hooked nose with a short mustache, and a hairstyle that looked somewhere between Leopold’s and Carlos the Great’s.

“I don’t know much about Cardinal Audius. I’ve never met him, and he’s never been involved in any controversy.”

Despite his distinctive appearance that would be impossible to forget once seen, he was apparently a cardinal who had been running his church smoothly without any controversy.

—-

The faction of the Churches of Menes, Kranus, and Imela that we requested cooperation from was called the Holy Night Struggle Council.

Though the word “struggle” gave an extreme impression, in reality, they were just a faction opposing the dominant tyranny of the Holy Sun Alliance while seeking peaceful respect between churches…

Well, from my perspective, the Church of Menes had a saint candidate, so they could stand tall as the church that produced a saint just by maintaining the status quo. I wasn’t sure about the other two churches.

The Churches of Volberg and Grimnir called themselves the Free Holy Corps.

They claimed that the fundamental cause of the Holy State’s chaos was a lack of power, and that raising a strong army was the only key to ending this chaos.

While fundamentally correct, their argument for militarizing all citizens of the Holy State was considered too extreme.

—-

“So, who do you think is the enemy among them? Any suspicions?”

I was suspicious of the Free Holy Corps.

Those who advocated for military expansion using the Holy State’s chaos as justification might be willing to allow the chaos to spread to strengthen their position.

“Well, in a way, they’re all enemies. The only difference is whether they’re corrupted enemies or not. None of them would welcome the restoration of our church’s position.”

Lacy’s answer was as extreme as her usual behavior.

“My goal is to purify the corruption that has infiltrated the Holy State, and church revival is a secondary issue… but they won’t see it that way. They will undoubtedly stand in our way, regardless of right or wrong.”

Extreme, but not wrong.

“That’s why we must reveal the identity of the heretics with our own hands. If we can prove that the witch’s minions are among them, all justification will be in our hands.”

“…No, I’m asking who you think the heretic is.”

What I wanted to hear wasn’t such theoretical talk, but speculation and evidence to narrow down the suspects.

“…If I had suspicions about someone, I would have thoroughly investigated them first.”

Lacy averted her gaze slightly and muttered complainingly.

“So you don’t know either?”

“…Once the hearing begins, they will also start moving actively, and then we should be able to catch their trail.”

“Right. Let’s hope so.”

I tapped the ash from my cigarette and glared at the cardinals’ portraits.

—-

Lacy’s prediction was only half right.

As expected, unknown enemies did move actively.

What was unexpected was that they had no intention of even waiting for the hearing.

The day after we finished our behind-the-scenes negotiations.

Cardinal Paulus Eisen Hindenburg’s body was found.

There was no possibility of mistaking it for natural death.

His head had been cleanly separated from his body and stuffed into a corner of an alley.

Befitting Alhebron, the White City, the walls and floor remained spotlessly white without a single drop of blood.

Alhebron was thrown into chaos.