episode_0057

Of all intelligent beings, those who love nature the most and receive the blessings of nature are, without a doubt, elves. So, if you were to choose an intelligent being with the highest affinity with spirits, which are natural phenomena imbued with will, it would of course be elves.

In fact, it was not uncommon for spirits that had not made a contract to become friendly with elves and lend them their power, and this fact had two consequences.

One is that the vast majority of spiritists are elves. Since spirits communicate freely with each other without any hesitation, even if they meet an elf who is not a good match for them, there are many cases where they can arrange a contract with another spirit and make a successful contract.

And the other thing is that it makes the elves masters of intelligence. The elves were also able to know most of what the spirits saw and heard. Since there was no place in the world where the wind did not blow and people could not live in places where there was no water or land, it was safe to say that nothing happened without the spirits’ knowledge. It didn’t take long for all that information to reach the ears of the elongated elves.

“…What?”

And here, in a forest not far from Argen’s Lair, an elf heard unbelievable words from a nearby dryad.

“It’s true! A human hero was fighting a dragon, and he got involved! But even though I was cut by the holy sword, I was still unharmed!”

Elf Ispi confirmed again the truth of what the dryad said. Of course, there was no way a spirit would lie, and an elf like himself could see through most lies, but even taking those two things into consideration, the dryad’s words were absolutely absurd.

“The holy sword didn’t work…?”

Ispi risked his life and requested an audience with Arjen. Ispi felt a shiver run down his spine when he remembered the man who was holding Arjen on his lap and had an expression on his face that he couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

‘I didn’t feel any magic, so I thought it was a stronger dragon than Arjen…!’

If you can’t detect magical power, it would be a strong person with a far difference from you, but if the holy sword doesn’t work, that’s a completely different story. The Holy Sword is a symbol of God and the power of God. The fact that he suffered no damage from the power of God, which was granted only to warriors, could only be explained by the fact that the man was a god or a being with greater authority.

‘Is he really God?’

Just as humans have gods they believe in, elves also have gods they believe in. For her, who believed in the existence of an omnipotent God in the form of the World Tree, the fact that a new God existed was quite understandable.

The problem is that no god has ever appeared in such a direct form. At least according to Ispi’s own common sense, the being that was with Arzen could not have been a god. No, it shouldn’t be God.

‘Seeing as he protected Arjen, is he the god of dragons…? No, there is no way a dragon could worship a god…!’

Ispy’s mind was confused, but one thing was clear. An unknown person whose identity cannot be determined was unharmed even after being hit by the warrior’s holy sword. At least for the gods that humans believe in and the beings who believe in him, this fact would cause greater confusion than Ispi himself felt.

‘I guess I can just pass this information on to the human priest.’

There is a saying that ignorance is medicine, but ignorance was dangerous in a situation where humans, the most powerful force on the continent, could pose a direct threat to the elves. Ispi, well aware that he would not be able to survive if he requested a second audience, decided to use humans once again.

***

If asked to name the strongest country on the continent, most people would mention Verfia. This is because it is a country that produces an overwhelming amount of food compared to other countries based on the Eletrobe area, a land so fertile that it is difficult to find a comparable place even if you search the entire continent, and maintains a strong power based on this.

However, when asked to choose the safest country, all humans say Plane. A small country located in the center of the continent. Not only was the country small in size, but 80% of it was mountainous, so it was a country located in a place where it would be difficult to properly maintain a national foundation. The reason such a country is considered the safest country in the world is because the Vatican is located here.

In this world, the existence of God is acknowledged, albeit indirectly. Just by looking at the fact that humanity’s asymmetrical power called ‘The Hero’ consistently appears whenever humanity faces a crisis, it was possible to fully guess how strong humanity’s faith in God is.

In this world, since it was a place where an institution called the Holy See existed, no one could carelessly point a knife to it, and in that sense, it was considered the safest country.

Of course, no one had ever seen God in person, and there were many people who did not believe in anything other than what they had seen in person, so not all mankind ‘believed’ in God. Moreover, there were not only humans on the continent, nor were there only nations of humans.

Nevertheless, it was a self-evident fact that the authority of the Holy See, especially the Pope, was very high. Therefore, the Pope, who was in fact the king of the nation of Plane and even had religious authority, replaced the emperor of an empire that did not exist on the continent. The difference from an empire is that it does not simply reign, rule, or demand tribute.

“Hmm….”

At the Vatican in Plane, the so-called highest place in the world, an old man with white hair was reading a report wearing a white uniform embroidered with gold stars. His expression had a sharp look in his eyes, as if he was dealing with a very serious matter. This is because the signature of the person reporting was written in red letters.

In the Vatican, red signatures are top secret. It was a fact that should not be known to anyone except the rapporteur, the Pope, and the Cardinals. And the Pope considered the contents of the report worthy of a red signature.

Except for some official information, most of the sensitive content was just speculation, and if it was written for the purpose of ‘reporting’, it would have been a report full of grounds for disqualification. This is because it was a serious enough issue that it could damage the authority itself.

“…….”

After reading the report, the Pope, who wrote the document in silence for a while, called the person outside the door in a slightly quiet voice.

“Lord Antor.”

“Yes, Pope.”

“Could you please forward this letter to Lord Heltica as soon as possible?”

In response to the Pope’s specific request, the Holy Knight who was standing guard outside opened the door and came in.

“Please leave it to me, Pope.”

Paladin Antor carefully accepted the letter sealed in wax with the Pope’s seal engraved on it. As he left the room, the Pope looked again at the most important part of the report that he had hidden to avoid being discovered by the Holy Knight.

Possibility of existence of humans impervious to holy swords

‘If that’s true…’

The Pope’s mind became increasingly confused by the cursed words that did not disappear no matter how much he closed or opened his eyes.

***

A Holy Knight literally means a knight appointed by the Holy See. Knights were appointed by the state, but Holy Knights were only eligible for those who were reviewed by the Vatican and had strong faith and a certain level of divine power, so in fact, they were a special position that could only be secured with the permission of Plane.

If you look at the original background of knighthood in the first place, it is inevitable that a knight who serves a nobler person will be stronger. Under such a proposition, the inaction of a knight who serves God would require no explanation.

Heltica was a particularly prominent figure among the Holy Knights. Among the Paladins residing in Plane, his divine power is considered the highest, and he is a veteran who has never failed a mission.

“Lord Antor?”

“I thought you were still praying. This is a letter that the Pope told me to deliver personally.”

After praying in the morning, Heltica reverently received the letter given to her by a fellow paladin. A letter written directly by the Pope was polite because it was an order from the Pope.

“I will go back then. May the blessings of the stars be with you.”

“May the blessings of the stars be with you.”

After exchanging greetings with the believers and sending Antor away, Heltica checked the Pope’s letter. The letter simply stated what needed to be done without any explanation of the circumstances. It seemed obvious that something was being hidden, but Heltica was not dissatisfied.

To him, a devout believer, there is nothing excessive or insufficient in the Pope’s words. The thought that if there was something to hide, it was not a cover-up, but just something she should not know, took root in Heltica’s mind.

“…Arjen’s rare.”

There was only one command from the Pope to Heltica: He went to Argen’s Lair and came face to face with ‘something that appeared to be a human male.’