episode_0030

‘…Life.’

The bishop wanted to hit everything.

Of course, there were thieves right in front of him, and not just any thieves, but well-armed ones who had set up a hideout overnight. That was one reason.

But the more fundamental reason was that, while he had allowed the bishop to come and deliver some good news, the news that came back from the count of Filah, after the city had been captured.

“Am I getting old and hearing things? Fine, tell me again. What happened to Filah?”

“The fallen knights and mercenaries-”

“Get to the point now!”

“The bishop will spare no support for the recapture…”

“And in the meantime, the bishop escaped? Aaah!”

And with that, the fragile household items were shattered.

The reason the Papal See had to watch out for the count was due to various entanglements.

If you pinpointed one of the Pope, the Emperor, or the Empress, you’d likely find the root cause of the strange events on this continent.

Sure enough, if you traced the chaos back to Filah, it led to a collusion between the Pope and the Emperor.

The Church and the Pope had called for a separation from the secular world.

Having seen the disastrous results of getting involved with secular rulers, they desired a medieval-style separation.

The previous emperors changed the Pope every year until they found one to their liking.

The heretics seemed to pop up periodically as if by some agreement.

And when the Emperor was quiet, the Empresses rose up and plundered.

They didn’t ask for much.

The Pope just wanted to live quietly.

“Therefore, I excommunicate Emperor Heinrich!”

“Your Holiness…”

First, he needed to regain the right to appoint clergy.

The Archbishop watching from the side couldn’t help but smirk at the thought that this person who claimed not to want to fight was saying something worthy of a fighter. It seemed more like the act of a gambler wanting to play one more round.

Filah, a city of considerable size straddling the Papal See’s borders, was a thorn in the Pope’s side.

He had excommunicated the Emperor, but what if the Empire decided to invade? And what if they plundered the Papal See? Like in the books he had read before, violently!

The Pope spent the night with chronic paranoid delusions.

As he searched for a solution, he suddenly had a good idea.

“Make the Count of Filah my vassal.”

“How is that possible?”

A vassal was a noble who received territory. But the Count of Filah was already serving the Emperor.

The Pope answered the Archbishop’s question.

“I will give him some of my land and villages near Filah.”

It was a simple solution. The Lord wouldn’t attack his vassal.

If he gave him land, he would become his vassal, and there would be no need to worry about being attacked.

As long as he could ensure the safety and peace of his territory with a little land, it was worth it.

Thus, Filah could serve as a unique buffer zone, remaining a vassal of the Emperor while also becoming a vassal of the Pope.

Satisfied, the Pope boasted to the clergy of the Papal See, “Because of my superior intelligence, I can even hear the sound of thoughts rolling in my head.”

To drive the point home, he sent a bishop to make the knights there take an oath, aiming to remove the Emperor’s influence from Filah.

And in response to the Pope’s cheeky provocation, the Emperor immediately replied.

“Just excommunicating me wasn’t enough for you to come out so boldly. But even the Count who eagerly accepted the land you gave him is annoyed…”

“What will you do?”

“The Count said that mercenaries and thieves have turned into a band nearby and requested help, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Alright, I suppose I should give a warning to the Marquis as well. Do not send reinforcements.”

The city fell into the hands of thieves as the snowball failed to stop them.

At the same time, the Pope had to take responsibility for inciting the knights’ discontent by sending bishops.

The bishop who received the Marquis’s inquiry, and the priest who received the bishop’s urging.

From below, the parishioners came to the church in anxiety, while from above, even messengers were sent to urge them to work harder.

It was the plight of middle management.

*****

“The bishop has prepared a lot of money. There are also relics and good weapons.”

“I see. And I have a little one with me.”

“The child can be protected in the church. There is a large church in the southern city, where you can stay until you finish your work…”

I looked at the priest silently. Where is the guarantee that it is safe there? One city has already exploded…

The priest seemed to have caught on to my thoughts and subtly avoided eye contact.

Perhaps he judged that as a faithful person, he would help us, regardless of the hidden motives behind the pledge made for peace.

I just needed a passport.

Ironically, the pledge made for peace, separate from the hidden motives, ended up bringing more violence.

The premise of resolving peace with violence may have been wrong from the start. In any case, it felt bitter.

I turned away from the priest. I had only taken a few steps when suddenly Lycia was by my side.

She must have followed me from the church when I left.

“Are you leaving?”

The girl looked up at me and asked. She probably didn’t hear the conversation with the priest.

“We have somewhere to go, so we need to hurry.”

I to the Papal Palace, and the girl to the university.

After hearing my answer, Lycia seemed to hesitate for a moment.

She finally spoke when we returned to the church after passing through the busy streets and leaving our belongings.

“What will happen to the people of Filah?”

“We should pray for their salvation.”

It was bitter, but that was the right answer. While it may be possible to eliminate injustice with something as sharp as my fluorescent sword, in a world where there was no Swordmaster capable of destroying an army on their own.

If the knights from the songs and novels appeared, they might have rushed out and saved them. But that was not reality, it was poetry and fiction.

There was no way to eliminate all injustice in the world with one’s own power alone.

Since I only had one body, even adults failed, and the church that shared the responsibility with us was fortunate not to do more work.

“Salvation…”

“Are you ready to leave? Breakfast… let’s skip it today and have lunch in the next village.”

We packed everything, equipped ourselves, and got dressed. If it were a short distance, we might have gone in more comfortable attire, but now it was a situation where it wouldn’t be strange to encounter thieves on the road.

If that’s the case, why did we pay the toll? We couldn’t go back for a refund.

I loaded the luggage onto the cart. After untying the rope from the fence next to the church, I reached out my hand to the girl.

“Come on, get on.”

“Um, do you have any plans to go to Filah?”

“I did consider it for the good pay, but it seems better not to go.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s too dangerous. Maybe even more than me.”

And since I had promised to take her to the university, I had to take responsibility.

It wasn’t overprotective… I had seen many humans who claimed that age was just a number in this world. Even if not, I didn’t know how many thieves were lurking around this area.

“Then why don’t we go together?”

“That would be even more dangerous. You never know when and where a blind magic or arrow might come flying.”

I had to be careful with my words up to this point.

Licia’s eyes were pleading for Filah’s help. So, what could be the reason for that?

“Licia, this is for your safety.”

“I know that. I appreciate you caring about me.”

“I don’t want you to think that I lost the opportunity to make money by sending you to college. I never had any intention of helping you anyway.”

“I understand why you don’t agree to help the church when they ask. It may seem like putting restrictions on the knights is a good idea, but I can vaguely guess what the ulterior motive is.”

I had been with Licia for a few months. I didn’t know her innermost thoughts, but at least I knew that she didn’t have a simple mindset like “I should help the church because the girl is kind.” And she would know how heavy the meaning of telling someone to go to a battlefield where life is at stake with just a momentary mistake.

With a gaze filled with such questions, the girl nodded slightly, took my hand, and silently led me into the church.

The nearby residents had all gone out to the streets due to the news of rampant thieves, so there was no one in the church. The girl headed straight to the room where we had stayed the night before.

As I entered the room, the girl closed the door and approached me.

Why was she acting like that? I looked around, and after a moment, Licia whispered softly.

“…Please don’t tell anyone else.”

“What-”

“Just promise me.”

What was she hesitating to say?

But it wouldn’t be a big secret anyway. Even if it’s a medieval fantasy world, there are no demons or devils, so it wouldn’t be that kind of revelation, and even if it’s a surprising secret, it would probably be about being a heretic.

…But what if she really is a heretic?

“Will you promise?”

“Okay.”

But I answered while nodding my head, wondering how important the secret could be.

If she really is a heretic, then I’ll think about it later.

After receiving my answer, the girl checked once again if the door was closed and if there was no one outside the window, then reached out her hand to me.

And.

– Flash!

“…Huh?”

A faint light burst from the girl’s fingertips.

It was a familiar white light. I had seen it many times, but I could never reach it because my bag strap was too short.

It was magic.

“Licia, could it be…?”

“This is, um…”

The girl who created this spectacle seemed to be not thinking about what would happen next, not knowing what to say, and awkwardly stuttered ‘Um, well, I…’ before finally, after some time, awkwardly spoke out.

“…Glow?”

“?”