episode_0072

It’s been a week since I arrived in the city. I’ve gotten used to life at the cathedral, so I haven’t had any inconveniences.

Sometimes when I walked around, priests and other people would look at me with curiosity, but it seemed like they never thought I would believe in Angela or attack her.

“The problem is the future plan”

It was good to come out of the dungeon with a good mood, but the plan didn’t progress as well as I thought.

As an orc, just being in the city had significant restrictions on one’s activities.

The only fortunate thing is that, as expected, the Pope is not rashly messing with us.

Although he had tried to force Angela into a corner and failed, it seemed that she had acted voluntarily to some extent, and was still unaware that she was hostile.

“Since he is a corrupt pope, it seems most advantageous to gather honest clergy and counterattack him head-on···”

Angela’s popularity was overwhelmingly high. Even among the followers of the Hedon Church, there were some who did not know much about the Pope.

If there was evidence of corruption, Angela’s side was in a much better position.

But after a week of research, the results were all blank.

At best, it was only a little suspicious.

“Hoo··· So the Pope wasn’t just given the position. It won’t be easy.”

Even if I think about it alone in my room, I still don’t have a good idea.

The Pope also had no choice but to remain in a state of stalemate as he watched the situation unfold. The best thing to do was to enjoy Angela’s body and gradually come up with a plan.

But while I was thinking about my future plans, the door suddenly opened wide.

bang-!

“Oh… This is a big deal!”

The one who opened the door and came in was Angela, with a look of obvious confusion on her face.

“What’s going on? Are you so flustered”

“Estelle meets Oak···”

“Estelle?”

“He is a soldier known to be capable and trusted by the kingdom. The problem is that he is here now, saying he is investigating the orc.”

“Somehow I don’t have a very good feeling.”

Soldiers and monsters. No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem like the soldiers would be kind to me.

But since a real soldier said he would come to meet me in person, it was something I couldn’t run away from.

“Uh… What should I do? Should I run away?”

“No, maybe it’s even better.”

“It went well··· What does that mean···?”

The existence of Pope Rahbe, who grew his power through corruption, was already a thorn in the eye of the kingdom.

Although they weren’t overtly hostile towards it because of the religious aspect, even a little research would tell me that they didn’t like it that much.

“You’re joining hands with that soldier named Estelle.”

“Ah···! Then it will definitely be easier to target the Pope.”

A popular saint and a soldier belonging to the kingdom joining forces would be burdensome even to the Pope.

If there had been an honest Pope, there would have been no problem, but it was different for a Pope who had actually done shady things.

“It hasn’t even been a few days since you arrived in the city, but you must be thinking about it to some extent since you came here so quickly.”

“That certainly makes sense.”

“I hope it works out as I planned.”

Angela’s worries were not unreasonable. She would likely want to join hands with the saint, but she would not want to join hands with a monster.

Still, Angela will defend you to some extent, so as long as you don’t want to become enemies, there won’t be a problem.

“By the way, when did Estelle decide to come?”

“I’m already here now.”

“··· Right now?”

A dumbfounded sound escaped my lips at Angela’s words.

I could understand why she was so surprised.

But before I could say anything, I heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

“Ah···”

For a moment, Angela and I locked eyes and as we walked out into the hallway, I saw someone walking towards me.

Red hair that seemed to quietly burn red.

A neat military uniform.

Black eyes with a proud aura.

A beauty with long hair that reached down to her waist was approaching with a confident air.

If you think back to the story from earlier, you can easily tell that she was a soldier named Estelle.

The dignified female soldier stopped in front of Angela in an instant and bowed politely.

“Nice to meet you, Your Majesty. My name is Estelle, a soldier of the Kingdom.”

Estelle’s clothes were not flashy, but the extraordinary aura she exuded indicated that she held a high position in the military.

“As I told you in advance, the reason I came here is to protect the saintess.”

“If it’s about orcs, I’ve already told you that there are no problems.”

There was a rare note of discontent in Angela’s voice.

But surprisingly, Estelle answered as if she didn’t really care.

“Ah··· You don’t have to worry about that. It was just an excuse to meet. The real reason I came here is to protect the saint from Pope Rahbe.”

As expected, the reason Estelle came here was to keep Rahbe in check.

Although some questions arose, since he was just an orc, he could only sit quietly and listen to their conversation.

“I see.”

“If you noticed, the story will be quick. I think the saintess must have realized what kind of person Rahbe is because of what happened in the forest last time. He is a person who cannot be tolerated as a religious person or as a soldier of the kingdom.”

“I think so too. Then, Estelle, what do you think about Pope Rahve?”

“If possible, I plan to catch him and put him on the death row. Of course, if the process is not easy, I will deal with him quietly, regardless of life or death.”

Despite her harsh remarks, Estelle seemed confident and showed no shame.

“We think alike, so we can join hands.”

“If the saint helps, Rahbe will be practically captured. He is a tough opponent, but there will be dissatisfied subordinates. If the news spreads that he joined hands with the saint, there will definitely be a traitor.”

As expected from a soldier, Estelle’s strategy was sharp.

Any honest clergyman would have been opposed to Rahbe. It was more likely that he was simply oppressed by the authority of the Pope.

Even if he is a greedy priest, he will judge that there is no chance of victory since the saint is joining hands with the royal army from outside the church.

Estelle’s ability to make quick decisions and take action herself shows why she is a capable soldier.

“Then I will search for as much evidence or witnesses of corruption as possible within the church.”

“Thank you. If you make an official announcement that you are trying to help people by contacting the saintess, Rahve will not be able to touch you, so there will be no problem in actively working.”

“Then the story ends here···”

Just when I thought the story was coming to a close, Estelle looked at me.

Her face, filled with curiosity, had an inexplicable ominousness about it.

“By the way, this orc understands speech, right?”

“Yes···”

Estelle looked me over carefully from top to bottom.

The words that came out of her mouth after staring at her for a long time were shocking.

“Since I came here under the pretext of investigating the orcs, please leave this guy to me for the time being.”

“Huh···?

“You seem worried because it’s a tamed monster, but there’s no need to be. I’m only keeping it for a short while.”

“That···Still···”

“If the Royal Army investigates and says that it is safe, you will not have any inconvenience in taking it with you in the future.”

Angela looked at me with puzzled eyes.

Since they were allies, rejecting a demand of this level was not a very desirable response.

Although he said it as if he didn’t care, it seemed like the monsters that walked around the saintess were something that the alliance would want to check on.

Angela nodded with an uneasy expression as Estelle sent a positive signal without letting her know.

“Okay.”

“Thank you for your cooperation. But what level of understanding do you have? Do you fully understand the conversation we just had?”

Of course. I wanted to say that, but I knew it would cause a fuss, so I kept my mouth shut.

Even if I said it, there wasn’t much merit to it.

“No. It’s just simple communication.”

“Then I guess I can extend my hand.”

Estelle came closer and held out her palm.

Someone else might find it humiliating, but my gaze was directed at her chest, which even the military uniform could not suppress.

As I placed my hand on Estelle’s palm, admiring her body, I felt a soft texture.

“With this level of intelligence, there shouldn’t be any problem living together in the same dormitory.”

Her single word had already filled my head with strange imaginations.