It’s Strictly the Truth

As I mentioned before, we could have just ignored the church’s petty quibble.

But with Sirr’s matter, I didn’t want to leave any element of anxiety.

Therefore, regarding church issues, it was best to consult someone who knew the church well.

“I see, so the Central Church did such a thing…”

“Yes. So I was wondering if we could get help from Lady Alicia…”

Alicia Melrot.

A priestess of the church, and a figure at odds with the current Central Church.

And currently the only person of church origin who knows the truth about the World Tree and also knows about Sirr.

She was trustworthy.

And conveniently, she had come to the royal capital following Lord Andrew, who had business at the royal palace.

Meeting her wasn’t that difficult.

“If it’s something like that… I don’t think there will be a big problem.”

“Pardon?”

“Please wait a moment.”

She stood up from her seat, rummaged through her belongings, and took out a bundle of papers.

The paper was a rather luxurious one with quite classic decorations printed on it.

Then she picked up a pen and began writing on the paper.

“This paper is used by high-ranking priests of the church for official document preparation when they are away.”

Saying that, Priestess Alicia handed over the paper.

‘Certificate.’

‘This church certifies that the blessing and permission of the great World Tree has been granted for the engagement of Kyo Wentos and Riel Ignis.’

‘First Priest Alicia Melrot.’

“This is…”

“I’m also relatively high-ranking among priests, although I couldn’t rise higher due to checks and balances.”

Saying that, Priestess Alicia neatly folded the paper and put it in an envelope.

“Now I’m going to use our contact line to send this document directly to His Holiness the Pope.”

“What? To the Pope?”

Think about who the Pope is.

For the church, he is an emperor-like figure.

I have heard that the church is currently divided into two factions, and the Pope’s faction is being pushed back, causing his emperor-like authority to diminish significantly…

Still, it was quite surprising that she would directly send an official document to such a Pope.

“Haha… despite how I look, I do have a certain friendship with His Holiness.”

Priestess Alicia laughed awkwardly.

“I see… since it’s a ceremony that’s virtually defunct anyway, you’re saying it’s fine to write it as a false fact?”

“Oh my, this isn’t false, it’s strictly the truth?”

“What?”

I turned to look at Priestess Alicia at her words.

“I attended the engagement reception, and Lord Sirr was present, right?”

“That’s… true?”

“Wherever Lord Sirr is present is the church, and since the engagement proceeded smoothly in front of Lord Sirr, what else could it be but blessing and permission being granted?”

……

Does it work like that?

“So this document is strictly the truth.”

Priestess Alicia smiled sweetly and put the envelope in her bosom.

…Well, whatever the case, if the Pope directly approves an official document written by a high-ranking priest like Priestess Alicia, the church side won’t be able to make any more trouble over this matter.

In the first place, nitpicking over a ceremony that has openly become meaningless would only ruin the church’s image if they persisted too much.

Setting aside whether they have any image left to ruin domestically.

“By the way, how is Lord Sirr doing?”

“Ah, Riel is taking her around, sightseeing various places in the royal capital.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“It should be fine. Lilu is always accompanying them.”

Sirr was almost always clinging to Riel, and Lilu was secretly escorting them from behind.

Honestly, I was a bit anxious after hearing that fairies had been spread throughout the royal capital, but that turned out to be an unfounded worry.

Lilu had expressed confusion, saying she couldn’t see any fairies now.

This was because, although Lilu had killed many fairies before leaving the royal capital, a few had remained.

“If Lilu is with them, there shouldn’t be any major problems.”

As an aside, Lilu’s skill level became known in detail when she attended Princess Aine’s training.

Lilu had skills that even Princess Aine coveted.

Her archery skills were so good that no one in the knight order could match her, and her martial arts skills were also excellent.

Regarding martial arts, she demonstrated a fighting style never seen before, and while Princess Aine seemed to recognize it, she didn’t say anything.

Naturally, Princess Aine tried to scout Lilu, but Lilu refused, saying she had something to do.

That “something to do” is, of course, protecting Sirr, the new World Tree.

“Hmm… but…”

Priestess Alicia began speaking with some hesitation.

“Yes. What is it?”

“Um… if it’s not too presumptuous… could I go see Lord Sirr?”

“I don’t see why not? She seemed to like you, Lady Alicia.”

This wasn’t just lip service; Sirr actually did quite like Priestess Alicia.

I speculated that it might be because Priestess Alicia had managed the seed from which Sirr was born for a while, but I don’t know the exact reason.

Anyway, while Sirr would show interest before quickly turning her attention elsewhere, Priestess Alicia was someone she maintained interest in until the end.

“Th-then let’s go right away! Where might she be now…”

“She’s probably out on the streets with Riel by now.”

Priestess Alicia stood up as if she couldn’t wait any longer.

The petty quibble to block the engagement came to nothing, and in the end, the engagement was processed without any problems within the kingdom.

When Cardinal Gerald was sitting in his office in a bad mood, a female priestess knocked and entered his office.

“Cardinal, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“Ah, Priestess Remia. Are you back now?”

She was Remia Blanc.

A high-ranking priestess holding the position of first priestess of the Central Church, and also a battle priestess who normally performed missions following the holy knight order.

With considerable holy power at a young age and powerful combat abilities, she had already gone on missions with the First Holy Knight Order.

This time, she had gone out with the First Holy Knight Order for training, and it seemed she had just returned.

“Cardinal, the church seems very chaotic, has something happened?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Priestess Remia, there’s no need for you to worry about it.”

In reality, the main cause was the recent discovery of four human heads in a bloody state, but he didn’t specifically mention that to Priestess Remia.

If it were Priestess Remia, she would dig into this matter persistently, and that might reveal that they were members of the covert unit that Cardinal Gerald was using.

And if the missions that the covert unit was performing were revealed, it was obvious things would get troublesome.

Even if Priestess Remia belongs to the Cardinal faction, she is not someone who is involved in these behind-the-scenes activities.

If she discovered the assassination and kidnapping missions of the covert unit, there was a high possibility she would turn her back on them.

Even if she rivalizes and antagonizes Alicia Melrot.

“More importantly, Priestess Remia, did the training go smoothly?”

“Yes, there were no major problems.”

“I see, and how is he?”

“By ‘he’, do you mean… Allen Ludwigh?”

Cardinal Gerald nodded.

Priestess Remia contemplated for a moment before opening her mouth.

“His skills are truly improving by leaps and bounds. Compared to when he first entered, it’s remarkable.”

“Oh, that’s very pleasing news. Archbishop Marconi, who scouted him, will be delighted.”

“Even so, it will still take several years for him to reach the level of a first-class holy knight.”

Allen Ludwigh’s innate skill level wasn’t that good.

He was just wildly wielding his monstrous stamina and physical abilities.

“And… apart from his skills, it’s hard to give a good score to his personal character.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“A self-centered and dogmatic personality… that’s how I would describe it. He frequently clashed with other members within the knight order.”

“Hmm…”

“Above all, I would say he has a major issue with being unable to acknowledge when he’s wrong.”

Cardinal Gerald sighed.

Well, he had heard about his personality from Archbishop Marconi too.

“I’ll leave that to the commander and Priestess Remia, to both of you.”

“…Honestly, there’s a limit to how much we can cover for him.”

“Then when that limit is reached, you may do as you please.”

“…Is that all right?”

Priestess Remia looked straight into Cardinal Gerald’s eyes as if asking if it was really okay.

Priestess Remia also knew that Allen Ludwigh had entered the holy knight order as a hero candidate.

That’s why they had been letting his problems slide to some extent…

“…I thought that a hero might inevitably have some flaws, but the current situation of the church isn’t that good.”

Cardinal Gerald opened his mouth with a serious face.

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we create a hero who is at least outwardly exemplary?”

At Cardinal Gerald’s words, Priestess Remia nodded with a firm expression.