Chapter 336 - Reason (2)
"Are you saying... the Archbishop spoke a lie?"
"That wouldn't be it. He wouldn't think he could conceal everything from us with something that doesn't exist at all."
Verden's blue eyes flickered.
"To hide one's true intent, mixing it with the truth is the most effective way."
Joseph surely was not someone particularly skilled at deceiving others.
The root of the Church of Luas is light.
It is not fitting for one adept in deception and distortion, which are contrary to faith.
Perhaps it would suit the inquisitors, who work directly in the shadows, but not him.
'It does not match with the Archbishop, the spokesman of the Church of Luas.'
However, seeing through the intention they wished to conceal, the heart of it, was by no means an easy matter.
Truthful, but not telling the whole truth.
That rather forces a superficial faith upon the listener.
So Verden shifted his perspective.
He did not regard Joseph's answers as the entirety and foundation, but merely as part of the current situation to be considered.
"Glory of the Dead seeks to bring back the old era when black magic held sway.... Frankly, it isn't such an incomprehensible goal. There are many in this world who pursue desires and wills beyond ordinary understanding."
Among them were Verden and Adrian as well.
For anyone with normal thinking would never dare seek vengeance against a Transcendent.
"Yet the Archbishop did not mention why they desire to create such a world."
"That is true, but... perhaps the goal itself is the reason."
"Of course, that is possible. The world is not always rational enough to flow concretely and clearly. But my thoughts differ a little."
Verden had personally faced the Glory of the Dead in the Kingdom of Estiria.
"Not all of them, but a few, right before death, would utter these words. 'For the great Glory of the Dead'."
"For the sake of, huh. It sounds almost like they worship corpses."
"And with no sign of clinging to life, it can be said it was close to fanaticism."
Thinking that way, Viola's case, who had attacked the diocese, was somewhat different.
Unlike Nosa, in the end she had raged, screaming she did not want to die.
Well, the degree of faith differs by individual, so it was neither strange, nor something important enough to dwell upon.
The decisive matter lay elsewhere.
Verden drew a book from subspace.
"That is...."
"A spoil of war, gained from subjugating a black Magus belonging to the Glory of the Dead."
And.
"It is also an ancient book, written in the script of a certain nation that existed about 800 years ago, a nation erased from history by the Church of Luas."
One of the pieces of information he had obtained from the Ark.
He would never speak of the Ark, nor had any intention to, but this was an exception.
Something he had heard personally from the Warlord, Legrit.
Adrian, listening closely to the story contained within the ancient tome, stroked his chin.
"Hmm, not decades but centuries, a nation that once burned nearly half the continent. The time is so distant, it is difficult to say anything for certain."
"It is the same for me. That is why I did not think too deeply, and simply combined the information revealed so far, appropriately."
Verden placed his hand on the tome.
"If the reappearance of the old era that the Archbishop mentioned means the restoration of that nation, and the 'great Dead' they speak of refers to a being, or king, belonging to that nation... what then?"
"...!"
Including the strange faith with which they abandoned their lives so readily, if this hypothesis were true, much could be explained to some extent.
It was, after all, conjecture.
But among conclusions that could be drawn immediately, it was the most plausible.
"Well, contrary to such speculation, it may be entirely unrelated. That black Magus might have simply obtained this tome by chance."
"But my lord, you do not think so."
"Indeed. It is not my way to dismiss everything as coincidence."
Doubt, and uncover.
If one seeks the way of magic, it must be so.
"In summary, the first reason is to satisfy curiosity."
The two raised their cups at the same time.
Because the liquor was strong, its bitterness was keenly felt.
Afterwards, a faint fragrance, similar to fruit wine, lingered gently in their mouths.
"And the second is more direct."
They refilled their cups, and the conversation continued.
***
"Glory of the Dead assassinated the High Councilor of the Beldirn Republic. Have you ever thought why they did such a thing?"
"Hmm...."
Adrian carefully traced back the information.
What was hidden in darkness could not be known, so he did not bother imagining and excluded it.
Considering only what was revealed on the surface...
"Was it to seal the Republic?"
"Yes, now the borders of the Beldirn Republic are closed. One can enter from the outside in limited ways, but no one can come out."
In short, the entire nation had become a stage created by them.
And since they brazenly provoked the Archbishop to come, it was difficult to predict what trap lay within, what schemes they were brewing.
'Though the Church of Luas has surely made preparations....'
Whatever it was, until the Glory of the Dead achieved their aim, one could not 'officially' leave the Republic.
That was an extremely important problem for the two of them.
"So, to use the intercontinental teleportation circle, eliminating them is essential, is that what you mean?"
"Precisely."
Now that one of the Republic's powers had been slain, it would be difficult to use the teleportation circle under adventurer authority.
It was a matter that required official approval from the High Councilor and the other councilors.
Even if it were possible, they would hardly let them pass quietly.
Above all, Verden had not the slightest thought of compromising with them.
In other words.
"To go to the Central Continent, conflict with the Glory of the Dead is inevitable. This is the second reason I accepted the Archbishop's request. Do you understand now?"
"Of course."
Adrian nodded.
"I understand my lord's thoughts well. That is why I am curious. The reasons you mentioned are already enough, yet you said there is one more."
He asked carefully.
"...Is it perhaps related to the Mayor of Surdmil?"
Just before leaving the mayor's office, Verden had watched the mayor's end.
With a gaze full of complicated thoughts.
That was the true reason Adrian had sought out Verden.
"...."
Verden put down his cup.
After a moment of silence, he spoke.
"The world, being relative, always has the strong and the weak coexisting."
The weak are those who suffer.
They are powerless prey, unable to resist overwhelming coercion.
So it was for Verden, and for Adrian as well.
One had lost his pure dream, the other had lost his master.
Their lives had been overturned entirely by an absolute strong one, a Transcendent.
Yet neither of them now resented the world in the least.
Separate from the pain inflicted by the logic of strength, they acknowledged that as the world's standard, and thus pursued strength themselves.
"In that sense, the death of the mayor was closer to a kind of natural course."
He could not resist.
It was the excuse of a powerless weakling.
The two had suffered something similar, but they did not pity the mayor of Surdmil, nor deeply sympathize with him.
They had not lived lives with the leisure to bestow compassion upon someone they had never met, whose life story they did not even know.
"However, the process by which the mayor met death, that is another matter."
Treating him as less than human, thoroughly using him, and disposing of him once he was of no use.
What the Glory of the Dead had done was not much different from the experiments of Balrog, the tower master of Bohemirn.
That was why.
"Their methods were most unpleasant to me."
The third reason was personal feeling.
***
Lustrous, the airship powered by the sacred power emitted from a relic of the Archbishop.
If Undead or Demons invaded, they would writhe in agony and scream in torment, but to humans, the interior was cozy and warm, bringing about a sense of comfort.
"Hmm...."
Leira stretched, raising her upper body.
It was a most refreshing morning.
Even the demonic curse lingering on her face, usually hidden under her helmet, felt weaker than usual.
'So this is the power of a relic....'
There was no way to describe it other than amazing.
If the Church of Luas rented out relics... then would there be no need to visit the church regularly, relying on sacred power to suppress the curse?
Thinking such thoughts, she stepped out of bed.
It was then, when her hand touched the small table beside her.
Crack.
"Ah."
The part where her weight pressed down was crushed.
Uncontrollable strength.
It was one of the symptoms when the demonic curse deepened.
'Come to think of it, today was the day to visit the church.'
The Ark's exchange battle, the Glory of the Dead, an organization she had never heard of before.
So many things had happened recently that she had momentarily forgotten.
'Hmm, no matter how holy a relic is, simply basking in sacred power seems insufficient.'
She would have to abandon the thought of borrowing a relic.
In the first place, as an adventurer, it was unlikely they would easily lend her one.
Step, step.
Leira, covering her face and dressing herself, walked out into the corridor.
'Archbishop Joseph did say I could come directly if the curse became a problem, but....'
To suddenly visit in the morning and knock on the Archbishop's door, that too was a burden to her.
Yet it was difficult to spend time leisurely eating or doing something else.
In this state, it was not easy to control her strength finely.
Like with the table earlier, she could end up damaging the furnishings of Lustrous.
'As expected, it would be better to ask Bishop Lena.'
Though it had not been long since they had met in Riverungr, there was already some degree of familiarity, and Bishop Lena had the habit of waking early in the morning to pray to the Goddess.
Decision made.
Leira turned and headed toward Bishop Lena's room.
At that moment.
Someone was standing in the corridor, gazing out through the window.
Pink hair.
An appearance brimming with vitality.
It was Bishop Lena.
"Bishop? What are you doing here?"
"Ah... Lady Leira."
Bishop Lena turned her gaze.
Light returned to eyes that had been vacant until just then.
"I was just reflecting on the past."
"...?"
"I was surely living each day faithfully, presiding over the church of Riverungr, and yet now I wonder, why am I here...."
She had only recently been promoted to High Bishop, appointed by the Church of Luas, and dispatched to the Kailiens.
And yet, what of now?
The mayor of Riverungr had exploded.
She had been cursed with something unknown, and the world had misunderstood her as having been kidnapped.
She had met Archbishop Joseph.
The mayor of Surdmil had died.
And she was now aboard the airship bearing a relic of the Church of Luas, bound for the Republic of Beldirn.
All of this had occurred in the span of just a few days.
"I try not to think negatively, since what has happened, has happened, but, even for someone as positive as me, this is a bit much..."
For once, Bishop Lena spoke with a serious face.
Leira could not think of anything to say. After all, it was she who had asked Lena to remove the curse on the mayor in the first place.
An unbearable silence followed.
Suddenly, Bishop Lena smacked her cheeks hard with both hands.
Clap!
A crisp sound rang out.
At the same time, Bishop Lena smiled.
"I'll end my brooding here. Being overly serious doesn't suit me anyway! Since it's come to this, I'll just see where the Goddess leads me!"
It was a bold declaration, befitting a High Bishop.
"Ah, but did I hit too hard? That really hurts..."
She brought her hand, imbued with sacred power, to her face.
The redness of her skin gradually subsided.
At that innocent sight, Leira chuckled softly and turned her head.
Beneath the concealed airship.
Not forest or nature, but signs of human presence began to appear.
"Indeed, since it's near the border with Surdmil, we arrived quickly."
They had reached the Republic of Beldirn.
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