Ch.432Isn’t It Strange?

=====[ The Forgotten Gods’ Order ]=====

“…Things have gone awry.”

The first words uttered by the Second Apostle, who had requested a meeting with Feirus, were filled with many emotions.

The predominant ones being perplexity and bewilderment.

“What happened? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so disconcerted before.”

“I can’t help but be disconcerted. I’ve lost both my identity and position overnight, making it impossible for me to continue operating here. I still can’t believe it.”

The Second Apostle sighed and clicked his tongue.

He found it absurd how his situation had collapsed in an instant due to an unforeseen circumstance.

Though he no longer cared much about his position at this point, losing the power that came with being a Cardinal would certainly disrupt his future plans.

“…I heard that the ‘variable’ headed to the Holy State, but did you actually clash with her?”

Feirus’s voice grew slightly louder as he asked the reason, apparently not having anticipated the Second Apostle’s downfall.

If the woman who called herself Haschal—the variable of fate sent by the gods—had clashed with an apostle, that would constitute an emergency situation from Feirus’s perspective.

“That’s not it. The Aishan-Gioro I met was certainly more powerful than expected. However, she didn’t seem to have the intelligence to discern my true intentions.”

The Second Apostle recalled Haschal’s face from that day.

A monster with thousands of vengeful spirits stuffed into a human-shaped shell.

It was remarkable that she maintained her sanity despite her condition.

Whether it was the false gods showing endless interest in her that prevented her mind from collapsing, or the protection of Elpinel’s sword, he couldn’t tell.

“It wasn’t because of that woman… I was bitten in the ankle by the dog I was raising. It happened so suddenly that I had no time to respond.”

“You mean the Saint candidate… Did the Stigmata give some kind of warning…?”

The false gods who had ascended to heaven.

It was nearly impossible for their will to reach the mortal realm. At least for now.

However, it was possible to convey fragmented intentions through mediums such as the Stigmata.

Though that wasn’t easy either.

Feirus understood this well, as he too could hear the voice of the gods through such means.

“Well, I’m not sure about that. All I know for certain is that matters in the Holy State have slipped from my hands. I can still move around while concealing my identity, but taking the lead is now impossible.”

Feirus let out a quiet sigh.

Without being able to utilize his official position, the Second Apostle was merely a high priest.

Even if he could operate secretly, it wouldn’t be particularly meaningful.

“…As the variable’s range of activity expands, problems begin to arise in various ways. First the Seventh Apostle, and now you…”

“The Seventh Apostle? Wasn’t she in charge of Panam and Dane… Has something happened on her end as well?”

The Second Apostle showed slight interest.

Despite being in the same organization, the apostles didn’t know each other’s true identities.

They could only vaguely guess based on the nature of the operations they were assigned.

Of course, Feirus, who had brought them into the organization, knew the identities of all the apostles… but he had never bothered to tell them.

“It’s a similar problem to yours. She lost her original position, causing disruptions to her ongoing operations. We’re currently considering countermeasures.”

This time was no different.

Instead of providing a detailed explanation, Feirus gave a brief answer, suggesting he had no intention of saying more.

“Hmm… I understand. I’ll contact you again if any other issues arise.”

The Second Apostle found the answer somewhat displeasing.

However, having compromised his mission by getting his identity exposed, he was in no position to express dissatisfaction to Feirus… so he had no choice but to let it go.

Their conversation ended there.

==========================

The attack on the Cardinal of the Church of Kranus created a deep crack in the authority of the church’s upper echelon.

Just days after accusing the Church of Volberg of being the culprit, it was revealed that the accusation had been false.

The Church of Volberg loudly proclaimed that everyone had witnessed the lies and deception of their accusers, while the Cardinals, now in an awkward position, claimed that Wolfgang of the Church of Volberg had sent another assassin.

Not many believed this, though.

Some pointed to me as the mastermind, but when faced with the counterargument that the Cardinal would not be alive if that were the case, they couldn’t respond and their claims were dismissed as nonsense.

In any case, Alhebron fell back into a state of tension.

Although the Cardinal had not died and the city lockdown had been lifted not long ago, so no curfew was imposed.

Nevertheless, the renewed conflict between the churches, now beyond the level of mere condemnation as before, began rolling toward full-scale confrontation.

Even those who believed the church’s excuses were urging immediate action, asking if they shouldn’t punish the perpetrators right away.

Since each of these individuals was a member of their respective churches, even the Cardinals couldn’t ignore their petitions.

The summoning of the Holy Knights was drawing near.

—-

“…This is strange.”

“What is?”

I removed the cigarette from my mouth and looked at Lacy, who was busy reviewing documents.

“The fact that Cardinal Erich is still alive.”

Lacy put down her teacup and pointed to the case summary document on the desk.

Strange that he’s alive? That sounds like something a villain would say.

“The assassin who killed Cardinal Paulus without leaving a trace attempted an assassination this time without proper preparation and failed. Moreover, they managed to get close enough to wound him but couldn’t kill him… and yet they escaped safely rather than being killed in return. None of this adds up.”

…Now that I hear it, that’s true.

Even if the preparation was rushed, an incompetent assassin wouldn’t have been able to escape from high-ranking Paladins.

In fact, they probably wouldn’t have been able to kill Paulus in the first place.

Conversely, if they were skilled enough to escape the counterattack of the guard knights, it doesn’t make sense that they couldn’t kill the Cardinal when they were close enough to wound him.

“It’s definitely suspicious. It would be strange even assuming the two assassins were different people. …Perhaps they never intended to kill him in the first place?”

Though I wonder if there would be any reason for that.

If the goal was to cause discord, wouldn’t an actual assassination be more effective than an attempted one?

[Hmm… perhaps it was some kind of self-orchestrated plot.]

‘…Self-orchestrated?’

[Yes. If you think about it that way, everything fits. Why didn’t he die when the assassin’s blade reached him? Because he orchestrated it himself. Why was the incompetent assassin able to escape safely? Because they never intended to chase after them in the first place. Doesn’t that make sense?]

‘That’s a plausible theory.’

It was a reasonable explanation that I could hardly believe came from a barbarian’s intelligence.

Does her intelligence suddenly spike when contemplating matters related to murder?

—-

I explained Hersella’s reasoning to Lacy, who opened her eyes wide in amazement, as if she hadn’t considered that possibility.

“Indeed, if we assume it was his own plot, all questions are answered. Though it would be difficult to prove.”

As she said, without concrete evidence, this would remain just a plausible theory.

There wouldn’t be evidence for a self-orchestrated plot anyway.

“Even so, it’s hard to believe. A Cardinal staging his own attack to incite war between churches… this is worth investigating.”

“Investigate? How?”

He’s probably holed up in the Cathedral of Kranus by now, under the strict protection of Paladins.

“Investigating him directly would be difficult. However, his close associates aren’t under the same level of protection as the Cardinal, are they? The Cardinal couldn’t have handled everything alone, so if we trace his associates, we might find some connection. I’m thinking of monitoring their movements and, if we find decisive evidence, using your authority to invite that person here… would that be acceptable?”

“Sure, that shouldn’t be too difficult.”

If it were about kidnapping a Cardinal, that would be another matter, but bringing in one of his subordinates would just require knocking them out and carrying them here.

—-

After our conversation, Lacy buried herself back in the mountain of documents, and I asked Leonore and Nigel to guard her while I wandered around the cathedral.

I was getting restless from being cooped up in the office.

I couldn’t go outside the cathedral in case something happened while I was away, but the cathedral itself was so massive and magnificent that there was no room for boredom just exploring the interior.

Plus, Lena was with me.

While Lacy and I were discussing future plans, Lena was being looked after by the others in our group.

Our discussions weren’t exactly suitable for Lena to hear.

Given Lena’s personality, I thought she would have been exploring various parts of the cathedral, but her actual activities were surprisingly the opposite.

She spent her time at the training grounds, healing the injuries of Nigel and Leonore as they repeatedly sparred.

Perhaps concerned that healing miracles were the only thing she could do, she seemed to be using this opportunity to improve her healing skills.

That’s quite admirable.

Anyway, Lena was clearly delighted to spend time with me, holding my hand with a bright smile as we walked around the cathedral.

“This is so different from our church! I’ve only heard about ours from seniors, but I’ve never been there myself!”

“Is that so? Should we go together sometime then?”

I smiled and patted Lena’s head.

The Grand Cathedral of Saulite… I wonder what it’s like.

“Really? That’s a promise, sister!”

Lena nodded with a radiant smile.