Chapter 141: Pope Glacia

I finally arrived at the Papal State.

For my escort, I had the Mage Order and the knights of Ashtar.

The Ashtar brothers seem to care about me quite a bit.

“What kind of saintess needs the Mage Order to be deployed just to visit the Papal State? And yet, they only brought about ten knights. Even if the number isn’t that large, considering the subordinates those knights bring along, it’s easily ten times that. That means we have around a hundred people.”

“I told the Star brothers to replace half of them with nuns.”

“Of course, we compromised so that only half of those nuns would actually enter the Papal State, but that still meant there were fifty of them.”

***

“Ah, seriously, I think about this every time. Did they build the Papal State in the middle of a forest or something?”

“Once you get past the forest, it’s fairly flat, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, true. But I heard they had to clear out the forest just to build it.”

“Is that so?”

“Anyway, I’ve been here before, but nothing’s changed.”

There really isn’t much to see.

Since a high percentage of the population consists of religious people, anyone wearing priestly robes is basically considered an official.

Even ordinary nuns are no exception.

With even the lowest-ranking nuns handling state affairs, the country somehow manages to function despite its small population.

That also means the nuns of the Papal State are intelligent and highly capable.

‘Except for Syria, that is.’

The thought of that woman suddenly came to mind, making me feel a surge of irritation.

***

“At least sending William ahead was a good move.”

“Yeah.”

That bastard tried everything he could to ride in the same carriage as me, but I used the authority of Gastar to drive him away.

If he didn’t like it, he was welcome to try and break through the Mage Order and the battle nuns.

The moment he tried, my brothers would go insane and put a bounty on his head, having the adventurers in Crad hunt him down.

Thanks to that, William was sent ahead.

Maybe he got upset, since he didn’t even bother guiding us.

Not that it mattered—it wasn’t hard to find the way since we’d been here before.

As we moved deeper into the heart of the Papal State’s capital, a group of knights appeared.

It wasn’t William.

At the center of them was a woman I knew.

A woman with neatly braided blonde hair.

Elias, the vice-captain of the Papal Knights.

There are even rumors that she’s the daughter of a cardinal.

And she’s a bit of a rigid person.

Back when I stayed in the Papal State during Noah’s time, she constantly nitpicked about me being rude.

***

“Hmm. There should be an imperial shop somewhere around here.”

“Are you with the Imperial Saintess’s entourage?”

“So what if I am?”

I decided to take an aggressive approach from the start.

That meant speaking informally and bluntly.

Let her get a taste of how arrogant an imperial woman can be.

Elias seemed startled by my attitude, her face briefly showing a hint of surprise.

“Uh… I am Elias, vice-captain of the Papal Knights. Before you meet His Holiness, the cardinal wishes to welcome you.”

“No, thanks.”

I don’t need that.

“Pardon?”

‘Why does she look so dumbfounded?’

She should have expected at least this much from me.

“Even though I’m a woman, I am an Ashtar noble. I’ve even experienced war. From my perspective, meeting a cardinal, one of the pillars of the Papal State’s political world, separately is… rather inconvenient. Just find me a good inn or, better yet, arrange for me to meet the Pope today so I can make this a day trip.”

I spoke boldly, without hesitation.

“You mean… you intend to meet His Holiness and leave today?”

Of course. ‘Why would I want to stick around here?’

Honestly, this is a kind of psychological battle.

Elias is the cardinal’s daughter.

The cardinal inviting me personally was their way of testing me.

They wanted to treat me like just another noblewoman.

Basically, they were trying to handle me by catering to my pride, pretending to show me honor.

It was a trick.

***

“They claimed they recognized the Imperial Goddess Church, so they should act accordingly. Let’s not kid ourselves—you people have already finished investigating me, haven’t you?”

“Urk…”

“You’ve labeled me as a corrupt saintess who hides behind the so-called Imperial Goddess Church, exploiting the people and manipulating things from the shadows.”

“That’s correct.”

Her demeanor changed.

Until just moments ago, Elias had been forcing a smile while greeting me, but now she wore an openly displeased expression—though not outright hostile.

“But what’s the point in arguing? I only came because of the relationship between the Empire and the Papal State, but to be honest, I don’t care much. I plan to meet the Pope today and leave.”

“But… aren’t you the Lady of House Ashtar?”

‘And what of it?’

“Before being the daughter of Ashtar, I am the Imperial Saintess. I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to bring up my family name here.”

“It’s convenient how you bring up your noble house only when it suits you.”

“If you don’t like it, why don’t you try being the daughter of House Ashtar yourself?”

“Ugh…”

‘Ah, if you don’t like it, then maybe you should be an Ashtar yourself.’

“Who does this little cardinal’s daughter think she is?”

“Anyway, let’s pretend the cardinal’s invitation never happened.”

“But… even if you are not an official envoy from the Imperial Capital, you are still a saintess from a great nation. Are you sure you can refuse like this? You should consider this carefully.”

‘Consider it carefully, huh?’ What a choice of words.

Elias thought she was being clever, but that was all she had.

“The one who should think carefully isn’t me—it’s your precious Pope. He dared to send some lowlife as an envoy to Ashtar, disturbing both the heir of Ashtar and the family’s strongest warrior. And on top of that, he even had the audacity to try to lay hands on me?”

“What do you mean—”

It was about time I brought this up.

“Who would have thought that bastard William would actually come in handy in a situation like this?”

“Do you have any idea why I didn’t travel with William?”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Fine, whatever. I’ll concede, maybe there’s the matter of foreign perspectives to consider. But still, isn’t it laughable for the Cardinal’s daughter to be guiding the Empire’s Saintess to the Cardinal?”

“!!”

‘Why was she making such a dumbfounded expression?’

“I don’t know what you’re really thinking, but I’ll be staying at an inn. If you have a problem with it, call the Pope or—actually, no. Tell him to come in person.”

“Trying to test me? That old fox? She’s way out of her league.”

“Sir William may have made a mistake, but you’re being far too disrespectful to His Holiness the Pope!”

Elias shouted.

Ugh, so noisy.

‘She’s seriously on the same level as Laila, isn’t she?’

Absolute, blind loyalty to the Pope.

Makes sense.

But she picked the wrong opponent.

“What are you talking about? You don’t even recognize the Imperial Goddess Church, yet you’re summoning me in such a threatening manner? Isn’t that even more ridiculous?”

Elias couldn’t come up with a rebuttal.

She wasn’t the type to be cunning.

“So the Pope sent a fool, huh?”

“Right. That’s all you amount to. That’s why you’re just blindly following that oh-so-great Pope like a dog.”

“Are you saying I’m wrong?”

No, the problem is that you’re just plain stupid.

But I couldn’t say that outright, so I decided to let it slide.

“No. I’m just saying you’re loyal.”

“You remind me of a certain magician.”

‘Was she talking about Noah?’

‘Oh? So she actually had some intuition.’

Too bad for her, though—it’s not going to happen.

“Is that so?”

“Very well. I’ll guide you to the inn.”

That was the end of our conversation.

***

Elias led me and Syria to an inn.

Naturally, I had the bill sent to the Pope, thoroughly shocking the innkeeper.

“Is this really okay? No matter how much of a beggar he looks like, he’s still the Pope.”

“Hmm. Well, he is a beggar.”

This was a battle.

A psychological war.

A test of who would bow their head first.

When it was Noah’s situation, I had no choice but to take it because I was part of the Hero’s Party.

But now, things were different.

Let’s see them try to play mind games with me.

“What are you planning to do?”

Syria seemed unexpectedly worried.

Well, she was the next Tower Master, after all.

She was probably concerned about the relationship between the Magic Tower and the Holy Kingdom.

“I’m going to wait until the Pope comes in person. Don’t worry, the Magic Tower won’t be affected.”

The Pope isn’t that petty.

“You really think the Pope will come in person?”

“That’s why I’m holding my ground.”

I was prepared to endure.

I had plenty of time.

The Imperial Founding Festival was still a while away, and when the time came, the Emperor would summon me.

In the end, it was the Pope who would be in the weaker position.

“And what if he really refuses to acknowledge it?”

“If he does, that would actually be a problem.”

“What?”

I only realized it recently, but—

“Think about it. The Imperial Goddess Church already claims to be the official faith. But if I come all this way just to get the Pope’s acknowledgment? That would mean the Imperial Goddess Church has a flaw, and as the Empire’s Saintess, I would be admitting to it.”

“Oh… you’re right.”

“That’s why I keep saying—I came here for ‘diplomatic’ reasons. Not to seek approval. I refuse to acknowledge it. It’s not even about being disrespectful. Having a Cardinal receive me instead of the Pope is clearly a slight. A religious state showing its true intentions so blatantly? Rejecting that isn’t rude—I’m simply declining politely.”

“So, the one in a tough spot is actually the Pope.”

And since he was the one who summoned me, he’d have no choice but to come.

Besides, thanks to that idiot William, they were already the ones who looked rude.

This is going to be interesting.

Come to me.

By now, even the Pope must be realizing something.

Things were about to get fun.

I had no intention of letting myself be pushed around like Noah was.

***

Pope Glacia was speechless.

He was barely managing to suppress the intense rage bubbling up inside him.

Having the Saintess here was good.

He had assumed the girl was just another arrogant noble brat.

But this girl—she was no ordinary opponent.

Fine. That much was acceptable.

The bigger problem was—

“Your Holiness, what should we do?”

After hearing Elias’s report on her meeting with the Saintess, Glacia felt heat rising to the back of his head.

This was all that damn grandson’s fault.

“Grandfather, that is—”

That useless fool of a grandson had tried to seduce the Saintess, but it had backfired, giving her an even stronger justification for her actions.

“I am not your grandfather. I am the Pope. How dare you twist my words to make me look bad? And on top of that, you gave her the moral high ground over us.”

“But I only heard rumors that she was a villain. Even Your Holiness thought the same—”

“Do you not understand the saying, ‘seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times’? And on top of that, she’s Astar’s daughter. You dared to pull some petty trick on the Astar family’s lady?”

Say what you will about the rest, but Astar—

That family had been growing in power recently.

Even before that, they had long been an influential noble house in the Empire.

The Saintess might very well be as wicked as the rumors said.

But treating Astar’s daughter with such disrespect?

His foolish grandson needed to be disciplined for this.

And more importantly, the Saintess was sharp.

He knew how to take full advantage of his position.

A cunning fox of a woman was the Empire’s Saintess.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Your heart is no different from that heretic leader of the Imperial Goddess Church.”

“Grandfather, that’s—”

‘Did he think that was too harsh?’

If anything, she had been evaluating the Imperial Church leader rather highly.

In terms of raw capability, that person was even more formidable.

It seemed Pope Glacia held an unexpectedly high opinion of the Imperial Goddess Church’s leader.