Episode 2: The Bond of Hope
By February 10, 960, the papacy in Carcer was starting to take notice of the rumors.
It's a bit too simplistic to view it as just a lowbrow rumor, but it's a story that affects people from all walks of life,
Amidst the rumors, a glimmer of hope seemed to be nursing the deep-seated wounds that still lingered from the war.
Several forces were unable to see it, and the Vatican was among them.
The Vatican was abuzz with discussions about the situation within the Carcer Empire.
They sat around a luxurious table, surrounded by white walls and adorned with a dazzling display of ornaments,
I had been waiting for the Pope's arrival, finally,
Archbishop Ventus was the first to break his silence.
"The rumors are spreading like wildfire." "It's almost like saying that place is a different civilization, that it's heaven, but can we just stand by and do nothing?"
Everyone turned to look at him in response to Bento's words.
The people at each position around the conference table were nervously biting their lips, one by one.
The cardinal, Marcelus, replied.
"Our situation is getting worse, so we need to come up with a plan, but do you have any ideas?"
"I guess..." This time, I'm not sure the crackdown will be a good idea… "The public's perception of rumors is overwhelmingly positive."
As one by one, they began to open their mouths, and Bishop Laurencio was the first to speak.
"What's that supposed to be?!" Now's the time to take a strong stance and put an end to all the baseless rumors! "This is the chance for us to root out the heretics and emerge even stronger."
Ventus's intense reaction continued,
"If you do that..." "The scars of the previous war still linger..."
Bishop Laurencio hesitated, opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately couldn't get the words out.
It was a gray area for them, neither a serious situation nor a good one.
To them, the New World and the Wall didn't seem to matter.
As he opened the door, Pope Norcan slowly made his way inside.
"Everyone, please take a seat. I'm running a bit behind schedule because I just met with King Berkas."
Norcan sat down, a satisfied smile playing on his face.
His words sent a chill down the spines of those inside.
"So, what's the plan?"
Laurencio's trembling voice drew everyone's attention, and Norcan spoke up again.
"Even Her Majesty the Queen has expressed a desire for a strong response to this scandal, and I concur that it's a clear case of heresy."
"I'm wondering if this is a good opportunity to regain control of the Vatican and spread some other rumors."
The room erupted in a chorus of approval, a surprise to Laurencio, in response to Norcan's brief command.
"Exactly! I was thinking the same thing too."
"If we do well this time, we'll be able to amplify our impact even more!"
"I'll send out official documents immediately and have the heresy investigators in place."
After the meeting, they quickly got down to business.
Humanity was in a state of turmoil and growing unease over Magellan's miraculous survival.
The news he brought back, whether good or bad, started to spread like wildfire, fueled by each person's own hopes and expectations.
February 12, 960
The official documents spread rapidly throughout the entire Carcer area in just two days,
Heretics were being assigned to their positions.
At that moment, a nun from a small village on the outskirts of Carcer was teaching the children about the Bible,
I was in the middle of teaching.
"Hey, guys, what chapter of the Bible did we cover last time?"
Father Alberto began teaching the children by tying them up,
The children's reaction was surprisingly enthusiastic.
The child's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he raised his hand to ask a question.
"Father! Father!" "I have a question!"
"Are all the rumors true?" Is there a new continent? Will my wish really come true? "You said it's in the Bible, but where exactly is it mentioned?"
Alberto put aside his gruff demeanor for a moment and stood before the children, responding warmly.
"That's..." Hmm, I'm sure Hans will be there. What's the wish you'd like to make? "
"Me too! Me too!" I have so much to do, but I'm really craving some meat and I'd love to hang out with my friends even more
"Me too!"
"Me too!"
Alberto seemed to be the only one who could keep Hans and the other children's innocence intact and not crush their hopes.
Elvireto smiled at the children's simple wish and gently stroked Hans's head.
"Hans can definitely handle that even as an adult."
"Guys, this is just between us, okay? We can't share it with anyone else."
Alberto spoke with great care, as if he were writing a formal letter,
Let's not get too carried away with our dreams,
I can still be a kid at heart,
I made an effort to leave behind children who could still imagine a refuge called a wish.
February 12, 960
At the same time, Noema Elian was poring over the Bible she had borrowed from the library, line by line, trying to decipher its meaning,
I was completely stumped.
"I've already read it five times, but..."."
As the sun slowly dipped below the horizon, Elian's exhausted face was a stark reminder of his weariness.
As the doorbell rang, Elian opened the door, and his father walked in.
"Dad, that's not it..."
Elian was taken aback by his father's arrival at the dorm, but he was also a bit embarrassed,
I strained to reach the Bible on the desk with my body.
"Elian!!" "You're absent from school again, aren't you? What's going on this time?" "If you were in the dorm, why didn't you attend class?"
Elian winced at his father's scolding, and his father's gaze snapped up to the desk.
"Ha... "You don't think it's all just a rumor, do you?" "You didn't see the official document, did you?" "You're completely out of your mind right now, aren't you?"
"Absolutely not!" That's... I know... "I wonder if there's something there."
Elian's response prompted his father to rub his forehead with his hand.
"I was thinking, maybe the rumors are actually true, and that's why..." "I've taken a stab at interpreting it, but if I'm being honest, it's going to take a lot more time..."
"Stop it!!!" What's the point of taking a risk if you're not even sure if it's real or not! "You're a senior now, and you're already stressing about your future career, but you're running out of time, so what's going on with you?"
Elian remained silent, staring at the floor, as his father's scolding continued.
"Please, Elly, face reality and live. Even if this is real, there's nothing you can do about it!" Come on, just do what you can, okay?!! "Get rid of those things right now and start commuting from home from tomorrow."
Elian nodded quietly in response.
"Yes..."
The father let out a sigh and left.
Elian quietly closed the door and settled into his chair at the desk, starting to cover the books one by one.
Despite gathering all the notebooks he had organized, a lingering spark still seemed to be burning within him.
"If I'm going to give up now, I haven't even started, and I won't give up without finding out what I've learned."
With a resolute air, Elian set off, striding purposefully towards his bag, where he began to pack his books and luggage.
"What's wrong with me?" So, what's the point of studying if that's all you're going to do? "I just can't wrap my head around it, no matter how many times I see it!"
Elian opened the door and stepped out.
His footsteps felt as light as a bird in flight, and he was drawn towards the reality he longed to understand.
He would have looked like a naive kid searching for a fairy tale.
February 15, 960
A small village church on the outskirts of Carcer had an unwelcome visitor.
Alberetto had already anticipated his arrival, and so he opened the door with a sense of anticipation.
"The Inquisitor..." Ah, you're here.. You must have had a tough time getting to this place.."
Malkion, the Inquisitor, merely shook hands with Alberetto, exchanging the bare minimum of courtesy,
He stepped inside and took a quick glance around the church.
"Don't worry, let's just take a quick look around the village and then we'll head out."
"If you have any information about a heretic, please let me know." "It's a big prize."
Despite feeling uneasy at the mention of a reward, Alberto's indifference to Malkion's attitude left him feeling uneasy,
He let out a sigh of relief. Malkion was still surveying the interior of the church.
"Oh, no, I don't have any information." "Is there anything you're curious about or need?"
"What? Is this the only church in town?" The village is a bit small, isn't it
As Malkion looked around the church, he turned to face Alberetto.
A sharp gaze, piercing eyes, and short hair suddenly struck me as Alberetto's,
Tensions began to simmer inside the church once again.
"Oh, yeah, here's one..." The village is so small that.. Right.. It's not very crowded, to be honest.. We're all familiar with each other, aren't we.. If you get hurt, then.. I need to go to the next town for treatment.. "Wow, that was a long conversation..."
"I guess so. There's not much to see, then." "I'll be back by tomorrow, I think."
Malkion opened the door and stepped out, responding nonchalantly.
Alberto followed him.
"Oh dear, oh dear..." "Tomorrow"
"Is that an orphanage?"
Malkion pointed to the orphanage with his hand and asked.
Alberto strained to clear his throat and composed himself as much as he could,
There was an instinctive feeling that he shouldn't be around the kids.
"Yes, I'm at an orphanage." "I also teach kids' writing there."
"Orphanage"
"What's going on over there?" "Why can't you speak clearly?"
Malkion's head jerked back and forth, and his eyebrows twitched slightly.
Alberetto stiffened at Malkion's question, slowly turning his head to face him.
Alberto felt that his deliberately subdued and minimalist response had ultimately backfired on him.
It was impossible to tell how far Malkion had gotten in that short time.
"What's going on? Is there something else? It's just the kids, right?"
"Of course." "It's an orphanage, but I'm not sure why they're reacting like this."
Alberetto felt suffocated by the overwhelming sense that everything he had done was being exposed.
His anxiety grew increasingly.
If Malkion were to meet the children, what would they say to him,
The anxiety of being lured into heresy by Malkion's cunning,
The way the snake-like man in front of him hunted was right before his eyes.
"I'm a heavy drinker, to be honest." "I didn't eat today, and I'm feeling a bit off..."
"Wine or beer?"
Alvarez tried to decipher Albaretto's intentions in response to Malkion's straightforward question,
He, who doesn't drink, gave a brief answer that was as close to the truth as possible about his relationship with religion.
"Wine..."
"Wine is good"
Malkion raised an eyebrow, as if lost in thought, and turned his feet in the opposite direction of the orphanage.
The tension between them was constantly building and releasing, stretching and contracting repeatedly,
Alberetto thwarted the Malkion's attempt to strangle and kill him, and Alberetto was equally resolute in his refusal to flee.
The two walked around the village in silence, and it wasn't a long time before they were back.
"The bride here is single, how much do you drink?"
The Malkion's question came back to me again. The pressure of being labeled a heretic for a single misstep is palpable.
"I drink a lot, though." "About one bottle a day."
"You really love it"
Malkion's calm demeanor
"Oh, I really like you a lot."
Alberto's consistent response
"How did you manage to get so many? There aren't even any photo spots around here."
Malkion rolled his eyes, as if tossing a bait, and said.
"…"What?"
Before I could even think about it, my reaction was already out of my hands,
It was a forced question, but I only realized then that I wasn't in a position to wriggle out of it.
I couldn't fathom why Malkion was driving himself so hard,
His eyes seemed to be those of a predator who had already caught its prey.
"I was on my way to the next village after getting hurt, but I didn't even get to see the vineyard on my way back."
"That's..."
"Is this heretical?"
The verdict has been handed down in the Malkion case,
Malkion turned to face Alberetto.
As the sun began to set over the horizon, its fiery glow resembled a blooming flower.