Ch.537Conversation with Ernlitter

The conversation with Ernliter wasn’t particularly long.

It wasn’t that we had nothing to discuss, but rather that he was being considerate of me. After all, how could he trouble a Saint who was still recovering?

So instead of small talk or idle chatter, we exchanged only brief, important information.

He understood my desire to hide my identity as the Saint of Astraea, but as a devout believer, he gently suggested that I reconsider.

“I’d rather not.”

Of course, I politely declined. Both mentally and practically, I couldn’t handle the consequences of making such an announcement.

Even now, people gather around me whenever I go out as the “Sword of the Starry Sky,” and even ordinary believers who don’t know I’m a Saint show considerable favor to the point where it’s overwhelming.

What would happen if my identity as a Saint were revealed? It certainly wouldn’t end with just receiving respect from believers like Lacy does.

A life where people swarm like clouds just for stepping outside. Some might desire such attention, but for me, it was merely troublesome and awkward.

Moreover, my complicated status created many practical problems.

The Ka’har probably consider me a traitor deserving death by now, so I needn’t worry about them, but if I were recognized as a Saint, the Empire wouldn’t take it well.

Prince-Elector. Margrave. Marquis. Descendant of the Great’s Twelve Knights. Empire’s First Sword. Saint of Order.

That would be too much authority and power for an exile who wasn’t even part of the imperial family. Enough that I could potentially challenge imperial authority if I harbored such ambitions.

Think about it. A hero wielding a sword bestowed by Elpinel, receiving the goddess of justice’s protection while driving away evil to protect humanity? This was practically the second coming of Carlos the Great’s legend.

Even my feat of slicing the sky with my sword resembled Carlos’s tale of bringing down a dragon with his blade.

Leopold, who resembled Carlos only in bloodline and appearance, versus me, who resembled Carlos in every way except bloodline and appearance.

A perfect opposition to split the Empire in two.

Moreover, while other positions were imperial ranks that made me the Emperor’s subject, the position of Saint belonged to the Holy State, not the Empire.

It symbolized the authority of the goddess of order choosing me as her representative and the highest leadership position in the Church of Astraea. A position that should be completely separate from the secular power held by the Emperor.

In principle, as Saint and church leader, I should serve only the goddess, while as an imperial noble, I should be loyal to the Emperor.

Of course, I have no intention of serving Astraea, nor am I loyal to Leopold… but politically, it’s quite a complicated position.

Just announcing that I had become one of the Holy State’s Saints would surely focus desire, hostility, wariness, suspicion, controversy, and conflict on me alone.

“—So I decline that proposal. There are already too many threats to people’s peace, growing ever stronger, and I don’t want to be held back by those who lack crisis awareness and obsess over secular power. Nor do I wish to see the Empire weakened by meaningless conflicts and power struggles.”

“Hmm… if that is Astika’s will, then I have no choice.”

Ernliter nodded in understanding, though his disappointment was evident.

“…However, someday, after peace and stability return to the world, would you allow us to reveal this so that everyone may praise the holiness of Astraea and the nobility of Astika?”

Nobility? What an embarrassing thing to say.

I suppressed a laugh while granting Ernliter’s request.

From what he was saying, it seemed he planned to announce “She was actually the Saint of Order!” after I grew old and died, and I had no reason to prevent that.

—-

The next topic we discussed was about Arad.

The city had turned into chaos due to Lacy’s manifesto, Valkers’ instigation, Archbishop Wilhelm’s harsh punishments, and Archbishop Radenis’s intervention.

Though I had somehow managed to stabilize the situation, the forceful resolution meant the city’s residents would still harbor resentment toward the Church of Astraea.

I had ordered Radenis to handle the aftermath properly, so the cathedral itself would remain intact… but it would be impossible for the Church of Astraea to govern Arad again.

If Astraea’s paladins and priests returned, the citizens I had just pacified would rise up again.

Cardinal Ernliter couldn’t deny this.

He couldn’t, since he was the one who had appointed Wilhelm as archbishop there.

This man, though now following the Saint’s will because his dream Saint had appeared, was once reportedly as principled and inhuman as Wilhelm.

Apparently, he believed that strict adherence to principles was the true way to follow Astraea’s will.

“Wilhelm’s case is… truly regrettable.”

“He brought it upon himself. Someone had to take responsibility for the disaster in Arad, and from my perspective, he was the only one deserving of blame. He was excessive beyond measure.”

An archbishop killed by his own church’s Saint. Truly ironic, but I felt no need to apologize.

Wilhelm may have had his own faith and beliefs, but by my standards, he was just a madman who needed to die.

Anyway, since I would soon return to the Empire, I needed to resolve the Arad situation before leaving. Though it was a forceful seizure, I had declared it my territory.

Fortunately, Arad was just a city long governed by the Church of Astraea, not a holy site or anything similar.

If it had been a holy site, they would have tried to reclaim it by any means necessary, making compromise impossible.

Ernliter respected me because of his faith, so it would be difficult to convince him to accept orders that directly contradicted his faith, like abandoning a holy site.

Hmm… thinking about it, if it became known that I heard Astraea’s answer there, wouldn’t the place immediately be designated as a holy site even if it wasn’t one before?

…I should definitely keep that fact to myself for life.

Anyway, since Arad wasn’t yet a holy site, I could suggest to Ernliter that he abandon governance of Arad and choose another city to rule.

Though it would require consultation with other churches… some like the Church of Volberg or the Church of Grimnir had disappeared entirely, and others had been greatly weakened, so it shouldn’t be difficult.

The only issue was maintaining the cathedral remaining in Arad, which I had to leave to Radenis for now.

While icons, scriptures, and stored items could be moved out of the city, it was impossible to relocate the cathedral itself.

“The emptied cathedral… could be used as a civilian shelter. Though Astraea’s priests cannot manage it, I’m sure Astraea would be pleased if her cathedral were used to care for the miserable and pitiful.”

After several decades, the residents’ resentment would likely weaken. Eventually, even believers of the Church of Astraea might be able to visit the cathedral in Arad.

“…I will do as you wish, Astika.”

Ernliter agreed to my proposal, likely believing there was no better solution.

—-

The final topic was taking Ceylon to the Empire. Since I would be taking a core force of the Church of Astraea, I thought I should at least get his consent.

“Please do so.”

“You agree more readily than I expected. I thought you might hesitate more.”

“What could be more important than escorting the Saint?”

Ernliter agreed without hesitation.

He said that a judge’s duties mainly involved eliminating heretics and monsters, but since heretics in the Holy State were nearly eradicated, Ceylon wasn’t particularly needed there.

Rather, he expected Ceylon could judge more heretics and monsters by accompanying and protecting me.

[He’s not wrong. Setting aside judgments of good and evil, you’ve killed more people than I have.]

There you go with the sarcasm again.

‘Why set aside judgments of good and evil? That’s the most important part! You can’t compare results while ignoring motives.’

[Slaughter is slaughter no matter how you dress it up. Is there really a need to consider the reason?]

‘Of course there is. That’s common sense.’

Unless one is insane, killing requires a reason.

Whether killing by following orders, killing for beliefs, or killing to satisfy twisted desires.

That difference is the only boundary that distinguishes a soldier from a hero from a murderer.

—-

After finishing my conversation with Ernliter, I returned to Ellunel Cathedral and spent the remaining two days there.

I shared meals and chatted with Lena, or advised Nigel and Leonore, who were worried about the Empire, to further develop their skills in preparation.

“You both overflow with talent, so you can become as strong as you work to be. Even reaching the realm of heroes isn’t as far as you might think.”

“Honestly, I can’t even imagine the realm of heroes… but if you say so, it must be true.”

“I’ll train harder so as not to bring shame to Haschal!”

The two nodded at my words and headed to the training hall together with renewed determination.

…Building skills through sparring alone is difficult; they should regularly hunt opponents who can help them accumulate karma.

Well, once we return to the Empire, there will be more than enough opportunities to fight, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

—-

And finally, the day came to visit the mausoleum of the Great’s Twelve Knights.

I wore my winter armor with consecrated steel temporarily patched over the shattered black iron scales, fully armed for the journey to the mausoleum.

Throwing daggers, a composite bow, bandages, holy water, emergency rations, and even a lantern for darkness. I was equipped as if heading into a dungeon exploration.