At the summit of the Grand Cathedral stood a lavish chamber.
It was a secret room that seemed to condense the church’s centuries-old artistic heritage into a single space, lavishly decorated with opulent and dazzling ornaments. It would likely be more difficult to find an item in this room that wasn’t a national treasure.
At its center, three figures sat around an ornate table.
One—the Saintess, looking healthier than before. A relief.
One—a stern, muscular elder with a soldier’s bearing. His bald head suited him.
And one—a gaunt, sharp-eyed man who exuded the aura of a prime minister.
“I apologize for summoning you like this—”
“Not at all.”
According to the Saintess-sama’s introduction, the bald military-looking man is the Pope-sama, while the slender, chancellor-like figure is the Archbishop-sama. Either way, they’re both people far beyond someone like me.
After brief introductions were exchanged—
“—Now then, let me start with the conclusion.”
With a solemn expression, the Saintess-sama addressed me as I gulped nervously.
“My illness… has completely vanished.”
“You mean… it’s cured?”
“The finest magical healers in the Holy Theocracy—no, in the entire world—gathered and spent days thoroughly examining me. So there’s no mistake. An official announcement will be made across the continent in the coming days. —Though, of course, the details of my recovery cannot be disclosed. It will be attributed to a divine miracle.”
“Congratulations!”
“Fufu, thank you. This is all thanks to you, Margrave.”
The Saintess-sama even stood from her seat to bow in gratitude, prompting me to hurriedly return the gesture.
While I was overjoyed to hear she had recovered, a question arose.
…Then why was I summoned here?
“Why the puzzled look, Margrave?”
Had my thoughts shown on my face? The bald Pope-sama addressed me.
“You cured an incurable disease that even the Holy Theocracy’s healers couldn’t treat. Of course, we’d want to meet you.”
“That was just a coincidence.”
“Though, merely meeting you isn’t all we had in mind.”
“Wait! I explicitly said this was only for greetings, didn’t I?!”
The Saintess-sama flustered, but the Pope-sama snorted dismissively.
“You’re the one at fault for hiding the Margrave from us, using your position as the elder sister of Queen Tōko. But now that we’ve met, it’s my turn— Tell me, Margrave. Why not join me in taking over this entire continent? I’ll give you half the world in return.”
“What the hell are you spouting, you damn Pope?!”
“With you, this isn’t just a pipe dream. You command military strength rivaling a nation’s army, possess an orichalcum vein, saved the continent from mutant ogres, and even cured the Saintess’s illness—a true charismatic leader. Add my wisdom and authority to that… Kukuku, we’ll be drinking the finest wine in no time.”
“Are you seriously trying to drag my sister’s retainer into world conquest?!”
“Uh, well… I have zero interest in world conquest or anything like that…?”
I tried to decline politely, but the Pope-sama didn’t seem offended.
“A man without greed. Fine. If you ever change your mind, come find me. As Pope, I’ll make you the continent’s supreme ruler, and we’ll revel in decadence—!”
“Since when does the Pope try to corrupt people?!”
“I-I’m doing no such thing! Besides…”
Somehow, the Saintess-sama and the Pope-sama had devolved into an incomprehensible argument.
I turned to Tōko-san beside me and whispered.
“Um… what’s going on here?”
“What do you mean ‘what’s going on’? Honestly, you…”
“Me?”
“Well, it’s not like it’s Suzuha-nii’s fault, but… how do I put this? Every person in power would desperately, from the depths of their soul, want to get their hands on you. And seeing that play out right in front of me is just… ugh. I knew it, but still…”
“Huh…?”
Meanwhile, Tōko-san sighed wearily for reasons I couldn’t fathom.
Though, watching the Pope and her sister argue like this would probably tire anyone out.
As I pondered this—
“Margrave Lohengrin.”
“Ah!”
The slender Archbishop-sama had approached without me noticing.
I hastily bowed in return.
Glancing coldly at the still-bickering Pope, the Archbishop remarked:
“That man is hopeless.”
“…Pardon?”
“A ruler should not seek immediate results. Sow the seeds, nurture them patiently over decades—sometimes centuries—before reaping the harvest. That is true governance.”
“Uh, yes…”
I wasn’t sure why the Archbishop suddenly brought this up,
but it sounded strangely… statesmanlike.
Though, compared to someone who casually offered half the world, almost anything would.
“By the way, Margrave, what is your favorite food?”
“Eh? Well, lately, sushi and crab, I guess…?”
Caught off guard, I mentioned the dishes Tōko-san had recently treated me to.
“Hohoh, crab… Kukuku…”
“Um…?”
“By the name of the Holy Theocracy’s Archbishop, I shall send you the finest crab.”
“I didn’t ask for that!”
“No, no, consider it a mere courtesy… Certainly not a bribe, so don’t mind it… Kukuku…”
“That laugh is really creeping me out, so could you stop?!”
As I flailed in panic, Tōko-san crossed her arms with a troubled expression.
“Hmm… At this rate, world leaders everywhere are gonna start cozying up to Suzuha-nii, sealing off the moat with concrete like crazy… We’ve gotta assert our prior claim — maybe… maybe marriage is the only option!”
“Tōko-san!? Now’s really not the time for plotting a political marriage!”
Incidentally, I just learned that “concrete” is apparently a magical item used in siege warfare. Huh. The more you know.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
10
We had been staying in the Holy Theocracy for two weeks.
The official announcement that the Saintess’s illness had been completely cured had also gone out, so we no longer had a reason to remain. And so, we headed to the audience chamber to say our goodbyes and depart from the Holy Theocracy.
It’s not like we could stick around just waiting for news about orichalcum to come in.
“Margrave Lohengrin. I truly appreciate everything you’ve done for us.”
The Saintess lowered her head deeply once again, and I hurried to stop her.
“No, no, it was just coincidence. But I’m glad you’ve recovered.”
“This isn’t necessarily a way of repaying the favor, but… should you ever grow tired of the Drosselmeyer Kingdom, feel free to defect to our side. We’ll treat you well.”
“Mu──!”
Tōko-san glared fiercely at her, but the Saintess just smiled calmly. Well, they are sisters, after all.
“And one more thing. Please, take this.”
“Eh… a gem?”
What she held out was a gleaming, polished gem — not a single crack on it.
Could it be one of those gems from the serpent?
But… didn’t she say it takes years to decades to restore one of those?
As we stared in surprise, the Saintess puffed up proudly.
“These kinds of ancient jewels can be restored by infusing them with holy magic. But the number of people capable of channeling powerful holy magic is limited, hence why I said it could take years or decades. However, if my condition and magic are both at full strength, I can repair them in just a few days, like so.”
“Amazing!”
As I admired her skill — it really was impressive, as expected of the Saintess —
“Wait, so, Big Sister… that means Suzuha-nii could’ve repaired it too, right?”
“Most likely not. The Margrave’s healing magic is far too powerful. Without precise control, he’d probably end up shattering the gem instead.”
“I see… I was hoping we could start a nice little business if Suzuha-nii could fix them. Oh well. So, Big Sister, what is that gem, anyway?”
“This is an Elven treasure. It seems to possess the power to form barriers.”
Come to think of it, wasn’t there a legend in the Sakuragi Ducal family about elves helping to defeat the Jaja?
“Ordinary people are allowed to own them, of course, but ideally, they’re meant to be used by channeling elven magic into them.”
“But Big Sister, aren’t the elves, like, already extinct?”
“Even if the elves themselves are gone, their magic hasn’t completely vanished. If their blood has mixed in, even faintly, traces of it remain.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Which means, if we want to use this gem, the stronger the elven blood in the person who channels their magic into it, the more effective it will be.”
So, we decided to test it out. Not that it was complicated — checking someone’s elven blood was simple.
You just had to have each person channel a fixed amount of magic into the gem, one at a time.
When it was Yuzuriha-san’s turn, the gem glowed faintly… but that was it. No further reaction.
And then — the real surprise came at the very end.
“Oh, right, let’s have Unyu-ko try too. Hey, wake up.”
“Unyuu~?”
Unyu-ko had been completely asleep on top of Kanade’s head, but we woke her up to have her take part in the test.
And then—
The moment Unyu-ko channeled just a tiny bit of magic into the gem—
“U, Unyuuu────!?”
A soft green light burst from the gem in her hands, spilling across the entire audience chamber.
And then, as if pointing the way to the elves themselves, a single beam of light shot out.
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