Ch.7474. The Great Debate

The Royal Family and the Church.

The grand debate between the two sides was just a day away.

The topic would naturally begin with the necessity of Deus Verdi as a Spiritmaster, and whether he was a heretic, among other things.

So many religious orders had risen up with numerous accusations that it was difficult to properly list them all.

In this situation, the church side had split into moderates and hardliners.

The moderates, to which the Saintess belonged, took the position of refuting through the grand debate.

Conversely, the hardliners were the faction that rose up strongly, insisting that Deus should be brought down immediately.

But of course, not only was the position of the fierce hardliners narrow, but there was also no need to go that far in the current situation.

No matter how difficult it was to see a Black Mage nestled within the royal family, the hardliners’ stance was tantamount to half-suggesting treason.

‘That’s absurd.’

What era are we living in?

The grand debate was open to the public, allowing citizens to watch.

This was the church’s proposal, and they hadn’t expected the royal family to accept it.

Anyway, Lucia was examining each and every move of the man called the Spiritmaster.

She intended not only to stop there but also to clearly expound on what she had seen of Black Mages.

The eerie atmosphere that felt like a different species from selfish humans who only knew themselves.

Of course, not all Black Mages were the same, but the existence of Black Mages was still too early for citizens to accept.

‘If only they had spoken to the church side in advance, we wouldn’t have this public confrontation.’

She found that regrettable, but then again, maybe not.

‘Hmm, the stubborn bishops would have absolutely refused anyway.’

Such a proposal might have been dismissed before it even came up. Thinking that way, it seemed like the royal family’s strategy to suddenly establish a Spiritmaster might have been their own plan.

If so, could they at least persuade the citizens to accept it?

In the end, a debate is a battle to convince the public rather than the opponent.

For now, she was confident because the church had the citizens behind them, but the current situation where the royal side was excessively accommodating made her a bit uneasy.

“Hmm.”

Tilting her head, Lucia tapped her chin with her finger.

No matter how much she pondered, she wondered how the royal family would persuade not only the bishops but also the citizens with their deeply ingrained prejudices.

“Whoever it is, once their face is known, it’ll be hard to live in the kingdom.”

Spiritmaster Deus Verdi.

The younger brother of a count living in Norsweden. Rumors that he was a professor at Robern Academy had already spread widely.

“Hmmmm.”

As Lucia was making a complicated expression and stretching her neck this way and that—

“Saintess, I’ve brought additional materials.”

A stack of papers filled the arms of the believer who opened the door. It was a testament to how serious the church was about this matter.

“Oh my.”

But from the standpoint of having to read it all, it was dreadful.

At this rate, she would end up knowing more about Deus Verdi than the gospel.

“Here is the resume he submitted to Robern Academy.”

“Resume?”

Realizing she hadn’t even seen his face, Lucia immediately took it.

Ignoring the strangely empty credentials that made her wonder if this was acceptable, the moment she saw the photo attached at the top—

“Huh…?”

Lucia’s expression contorted grotesquely.

* * *

“Whoa! This is no joke!”

Findenai clicked her tongue as she watched citizens who had already pushed their way to the royal entrance.

They were all waving placards with aggressive language, criticizing the royal family’s foolishness and stubbornness.

“Don’t look at them. It’ll just upset you.”

As Deia grumbled while sitting half-lying on the sofa, Findenai answered with a grin.

“Griffin is really a good country to live in.”

Deia raised her head slightly, wondering what that random comment meant. Findenai’s blood-red eyes held a strange skepticism.

“They can act like that, and the king doesn’t draw his sword. In the Republic of Clark, their tongues would have been cut out, fingers and legs severed, and they’d be displayed alive in the city.”

“Ugh, do they really do that?”

Deia responded in disbelief to the cruel iron-fisted rule of the Republic of Clark, which was passed down almost like a ghost story, but Findenai just shrugged.

The Republic was portrayed as a cruel place even in the game but didn’t have much significance, so it was a place I didn’t know well either.

But the more I learned about it, the less I wanted to go there.

I removed the gauze attached to my cheek. The throbbing pain I had felt until a few days ago was now gone.

“Are you feeling better now?”

Deia asked, pretending not to care while looking elsewhere. I nodded and told her not to worry.

Findenai giggled, saying it was fun.

“He hit you quite cleanly, didn’t he? While apologizing, he must have been secretly delighted?”

“…”

That wasn’t wrong.

I saw the corners of Darius’s mouth slightly rise as he punched my cheek.

Darius, who couldn’t leave Norsweden for long, had already left several days ago.

Before that, he had hit me hard enough with his fist to leave a wound on my cheek.

It was out of necessity.

“It’s good that it healed before the debate.”

If I had gone to the debate with gauze on, I would have started with a damaged first impression.

By the way, Aria had also left for the academy.

I sent her away after she insisted on staying with me. I promised to join her at the academy and told her that a student is most beautiful when acting like a student, and she soon left.

Normally, Deia should have left with Darius, but…

She stayed in Greyford, saying she wanted to enjoy a long-overdue vacation.

Honestly, it could be dangerous, so I wanted her to leave if possible. But, well, it couldn’t be helped.

“Man, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s debate.”

Findenai hummed. In truth, what she was looking forward to wasn’t the debate but what would come after.

Perhaps from then on, assassins would come from all directions?

Even in the royal palace, there would be many who would leap in the name of martyrdom, risking their lives for their faith.

That’s how much tomorrow’s debate would be a feast of chaos and distrust.

“…”

Suddenly, I thought of the Saintess, Lucia.

She was kind and fresh, as well as innocent but firm in her beliefs, just as I had seen her in the game.

By now, she must have realized that I would be her debate opponent.

I needed to meet her in advance.

She had met me before making any judgments, without any preconceptions.

Since she had a sufficiently good impression of me, she couldn’t simply judge me as evil just because I was a Black Mage.

‘I’m sorry, but I’m going to win.’

It might be called cowardly, but the Saintess’s position was that important in this matter.

The moment she took even a slightly ambivalent position instead of unconditionally opposing me—

I intended to secure victory.

* * *

The next day.

The venue for the grand debate between the royal family and the church was, amusingly, a place I had already visited once.

It was the Greyford execution ground.

People packed tightly into seats modeled after a colosseum. They had put considerable effort into preparation, as a large stage and a round table had been placed in the center of what was once simply an execution ground for the debate.

“Phew, that was intense.”

“I didn’t expect them to block us like that.”

Findenai and Deia wiped away cold sweat. There had been quite a few citizens trying to obstruct our carriage journey from the royal palace to the execution ground, and clearing them away had caused significant delay.

King Orpheus and Archmage Alfredo were already waiting for the debate in the VIP area.

Even among the nobles, sides had been taken, and a battle of nerves was unfolding among those in the VIP seats.

The king and the archmage chose to remain silent despite all the commotion and critical gazes.

They wouldn’t raise their voices or punish anyone for being disrespectful at this point.

Because after today’s grand debate, everyone would become mute and just carefully watch the king’s reactions.

The wise king was waiting silently for the moment of reversal, but in his mind, he was likely compiling a list of names of those who spoke loudly.

“They’re already out there?”

Deia pointed toward the debate area. Bishops serving various gods.

And in the center, Saintess Lucia Saint.

The atmosphere was clearly different from when I saw her at the Märchen restaurant.

At that time, she had her silver hair braided, but now it was loose as she prayed with her hands clasped together.

I gathered the stack of papers I had prepared and a metal water bottle to drink during the debate.

Glancing back, I saw Findenai and Deia smiling at me.

“Go crush them all.”

“Honestly, antagonizing the church isn’t a great idea, but if you have to do it, completely demolish them.”

After receiving their encouragement, I nodded and headed outside.

“Boooo!”

“Get out!”

“There’s no place for a Black Mage in the Griffin Kingdom!”

“Execute him! Execute!”

A shower of jeers.

Some people even threw garbage or food, but the protective magic of the Magic Judges naturally shielded me from them.

Finally standing before the debate venue, amid the cold gazes of the bishops—

I met the eyes of Lucia, who seemed unable to find her bearings as she looked at me.