Ch.8282. Twisted Incident

The tense atmosphere was finally diffused as the clergyman somehow managed to appease Darius.

In truth, Darius had also been looking for a natural opportunity to cool his anger.

Anyway.

“You are truly remarkable.”

The clergyman clicked his tongue as he observed Darius and the Norsweden garrison.

After being defeated by Findenai and the junk dealer, Darius had pushed all family business onto Deia and devoted himself entirely to training.

Perhaps it was because he had set aside the burden of being the family head, even though not much time had passed.

The soldiers training with him had shown explosive growth in their skills.

“Those people…”

The clergyman discreetly pointed to a group dressed in rags, giggling among themselves in a corner.

Though Darius felt a drop of cold sweat running down his nape, outwardly he answered dismissively.

“They’re slaves from the Republic of Clark.”

“F-foreigners, you say?!”

The clergyman quickly turned his head to look at Darius. Darius looked down at him in return, responding as if to ask what the problem was.

“Foreign slaves know how to handle guns. Sometimes they bring them in, so we pick them up and train them.”

“I-I see.”

Though this behavior would hardly be well-received if it became known, perhaps due to Darius’s confident attitude…

The clergyman could do nothing but nod in agreement.

“They’ve become quite valuable assets to us now.”

Darius said with satisfaction as he gazed at the junk dealer. If one had to pick the biggest reason why Norsweden’s garrison had grown so strong, it would be the junk dealer.

Having someone to compete and contend with had provided great motivation for growth.

“So what is it you want from me?”

Darius casually asked the clergyman while watching his soldiers train with his hands behind his back.

The clergyman, as if he had been waiting for this, answered with his hands clasped together.

“It seems the Spiritmaster is feeling considerable fatigue while staying in the kingdom.”

“Ha, pathetic. That bastard can’t do anything properly.”

Seeing Darius’s reaction as he clicked his tongue, the clergyman smiled even more broadly.

“Also, it seems there are those who are targeting the Spiritmaster’s life.”

“…”

This time, even Darius tightly sealed his lips and glared at the clergyman. What would the giant of the north answer?

The clergyman’s expression quickly hardened as he gulped.

“I cannot allow that disgrace to the family to die just anywhere. Even his death does not belong to him.”

The straight-necked giant immediately understood what the clergyman meant and struck at the core.

The clergyman had merely alluded to the fact that they were targeting his life.

Darius answered with irritation.

“Speak honestly. You find Deus annoying and want to kill him, but you need my help. That’s it, right? He’s probably hiding in the royal palace right now.”

“Ah, well. That is…”

“What? Are you afraid your god is watching?”

Darius sneered as if finding it absurd. He clicked his tongue and folded his arms.

“I’ll send a letter to Deus telling him to return to Norsweden. It would be difficult for him to ignore an order from me, the family head.”

“…!”

“I want to kill him, but I don’t want him to die a violent death somewhere I don’t know about.”

His thick fist clenched tight with hatred and disgust.

“When the carriage arrives in Norsweden, have everything prepared to hold his funeral immediately.”

The clergyman bowed deeply at the implication that Darius would create the opportunity and leave the rest to him.

“I will send wreaths and believers to mourn his death together. The gods will surely watch over him.”

“Tsk, what useless talk.”

The clergyman slightly raised the corner of his mouth. Darius’s hatred toward the Spiritmaster was substantial.

The possibility that he was lying?

Honestly, he was confident it was extremely low.

‘What insane family head would like someone who does drugs and frequents brothels in his territory!’

Before visiting Darius, the clergyman had gathered information about Spiritmaster Deus by going around Norsweden city.

Trash.

Playboy.

Drug addict, and so on.

He was truly a madman who had lived a completely depraved life.

The clergyman was dumbfounded to see the stream of offenses that would have gotten him expelled from any other family long ago.

Now the clergyman decided not to believe that God had chosen him. He was convinced that Deus had obtained divine power through some other means.

But public opinion was already shifting toward accepting him as a saint chosen by God.

If a little more time passed, they would completely turn toward accepting the Spiritmaster.

‘If only he hadn’t claimed to be able to use divine power, we wouldn’t have had to kill him.’

Divine power holds an absolute and unchanging position that only the Saintess can wield.

The Saintess who wields it must always remain pure.

But what if Deus’s past behaviors were spread?

It could harm Deus, but conversely, it would break the absoluteness of divine power.

The church would end up denying divine power with their own hands.

Deus’s ugly past was something the church had to actively conceal.

But could they hide it forever?

Should they just wait with folded arms as doubts about divine power sprouted because of Deus’s existence?

In the end, there was only one thing they could do.

Assassinate Deus.

If they didn’t do it now, Deus would eventually become an ancient presence standing in the same position as the Saintess.

Even if they were suspected of assassination and suffered losses, Deus was someone who needed to be removed now.

Once the person was dead, they could fabricate whatever story they needed.

Of course, there were also those who took Deus’s side and advocated for accepting him. Led by the Saintess, they were known as moderates, but…

‘That’s nonsense.’

A Black Mage comforting souls?

Don’t talk rubbish.

‘Do you think we’ll dance in the palm of your wicked hand?’

This is a trial.

A trial given by God to uncover the truth and defeat the devil.

“Oh God.”

The clergyman simply closed his eyes and murmured God’s name.

“…”

Darius glared at him with his arms folded.

* * *

During my stay in Greyford, the luxurious office provided by the royal family for me as the Spiritmaster.

I had said there was no need for an office since I planned to return to Robern Academy once the situation was somewhat resolved.

But King Orpheus insisted that it was important to establish such a position in advance and gave me this lavish room.

Three people visited this office.

Saintess Lucia Saint.

My younger sister Deia Verdi.

And finally, the maid Findenai.

Lucia and Findenai were sitting on the sofa in the room, listening attentively to our conversation.

Deia was relaying to me what she had heard from Darius through communication yesterday.

“So Darius’s letter will arrive soon. Let’s prepare to depart.”

The bishops’ plan to assassinate me. The plan was to use it in reverse to catch those trying to assassinate me.

“You should return to Norsweden on this carriage.”

“…But I’m from Greyford.”

Deia folded her arms brazenly and turned her head away. She seemed to have taken quite a liking to Greyford.

“After this incident, we’ll be completely at odds with the bishops. Of course, with me around, they won’t be able to cause direct harm, but there will certainly be inconveniences.”

“…”

“There will also be pressure on Norsweden. It would be difficult for Darius to handle it alone without you.”

“Sigh, so my vacation is over.”

Deia’s shoulders drooped in disappointment. Looking at her, I added a comment.

“A female warrior from Norsweden is more beautiful than a sheltered lady from Greyford.”

“…I’m not happy to hear that from you.”

Despite saying that, Deia turned abruptly and left.

“I’ll pack my things to return to Norsweden, so get me some souvenirs.”

Watching Deia’s retreating figure, I couldn’t help but shake my head. Her irritable manner really made me feel like I was dealing with a younger sister.

“I see.”

Findenai leaned back on the sofa, looking at the ceiling and nodding in understanding.

Her sudden remark made me wonder what nonsense she would spout next, but I wasn’t curious.

“So that’s why you liked me, who survived in the wild place called the Republic of Clark.”

“Findenai, that’s a mental illness.”

“The master never gets jokes. It’s black humor.”

“Ahem.”

Lucia cleared her throat, interrupting as our conversation seemed likely to drag on.

Her face was filled with concern.

“I hope not many factions are involved.”

We didn’t know how many hardliners were attempting to assassinate me.

“That’s the opposite of what I want.”

I calmly opened a book beside me and answered.

“I hope as many of God’s messengers as possible are after my neck.”

* * *

One week later.

A carriage with no insignia leaving through Greyford’s main gate.

Spiritmaster Deus, having received a letter from Margrave Darius, reluctantly heads to Norsweden on the family head’s orders.

To move as secretly as possible, the carriage was no different from an ordinary one, and he boarded with his face covered outside the royal palace.

As a result, perhaps because the carriage was cheap, Deia’s buttocks hurt from the jolting.

“Ouch.”

Nevertheless, she kept her magic gun ready at her waist, prepared to draw it at any moment.

Just as Greyford disappeared beyond the horizon through the carriage window.

Neeeigh!

As ruffians appeared in front of the carriage, the driver pulled the reins, and the carriage came to an abrupt halt.

Masked assassins blocking the carriage’s path. Each held a dagger shaped like a cross and made the sign of the cross.

“Wicked Black Mage Deus Verdi, come out and receive divine punishment.”

The assassins approached with determined steps. They truly believed they were doing the right thing, so they didn’t even try to hide that they were from the church.

Or perhaps they intended to kill all witnesses as well.

Creak.

The carriage door opened, and Deia stepped out.

“Are you assassins from the church?”

Aware of Findenai’s presence, a large number of assassins continued to emerge from between the nearby trees.

With this many, they judged they could at least tie up Findenai’s feet, if not kill her, and assassinate Deus.

“Sister of the wicked Black Mage. It might have been a plot to destroy the Griffin Kingdom, but today, God’s punishment has arrived.”

The assassins approached with determined steps.

The carriage was completely surrounded, their daggers gleaming coldly, and mana fluctuated as if there were mages among them.

“Yawn.”

A man’s yawn from inside the carriage loosened the tightly drawn tension.

A man with his face hidden under a deeply pulled robe looked around at the assassins and replied.

“A plan to destroy the Griffin Kingdom. That sounds interesting.”

“Huh?”

One of the assassins involuntarily exclaimed, thinking the voice sounded familiar.

They naturally thought it was Deus Verdi, but up close, he appeared to have a better physique.

“But you know.”

Whoosh.

The man removed his robe, revealing brilliant golden hair to the world.

The assassins who had come with the noble cause of killing the Black Mage according to God’s will lost strength in their hands, and their daggers slowly lowered.

“From my perspective, aren’t you villains trying to assassinate me, the king of Griffin, much worse?”

The master of the Griffin’s nest.

The wise young king who was currently building absolute royal authority through cooperation with Deus Verdi.

King Orpheus grinned as he looked at each of them.

“Ah.”

The assassins only now realized that something had gone wrong.

They were no longer executioners carrying out God’s judgment.

They suddenly realized they had transformed into traitors attempting to assassinate a nation’s king.

Orpheus grinned and said.

“If you kneel now, I might show a bit of mercy.”

At this coercive attitude, the assassins began to look at each other.

They weren’t professionals paid to assassinate important figures.

They were just martyrs who believed in God and had taken up swords for their faith.

Assassinate King Orpheus instead of Spiritmaster Deus?

Even the church leaders couldn’t handle the aftermath of such an act.

Since they never had any such intention in the first place.

“W-we absolutely had no such intention!”

As one began to kneel, the others followed suit, kneeling before the king and bowing deeply.

King Orpheus smiled with satisfaction as he watched them.

“I understand your loyalty well. I was thinking that those who sent you might be the disrespectful ones still holding the noble council.”

“…Pardon?”

Noble council?

What does that mean?

The assassins wore expressions of complete incomprehension, but…

“They must be wicked ones who challenge royal authority by increasing their territory’s influence and exploiting profits among themselves.”

A profound smile appeared on Orpheus’s lips.

Watching the assassins bow deeply, he felt as if he were appreciating a work of art created by Deus Verdi.

Unfortunately.

Their martyrdom for God would lose its name and fade, being used in an intensely political manner.

Deus had no intention of ending this incident as merely an assassination attempt on the Spiritmaster.

The assassination attempt was simply a stepping stone. Directed toward nobles bloated with greed or high officials secretly negotiating with foreign countries.

The sly anger of King Orpheus, who had suddenly become a victim, would spread to nobles across the continent, and they would have no choice but to be on edge.

“No need to speak. I know everything.”

It was the moment when the motivation was created for the king’s iron fist, filled with false anger, to pour down on the vermin eating away at the kingdom.