After seeing Clementine off, the meeting did not end; rather, it had just truly begun.
"What are your thoughts on this matter?" the Pope, who was at the head, asked.
"I have no opinion whatsoever," one of them said in a very displeased tone.
Although it was pitch black all around, everyone knew who he was, and it was normal for him to have an opinion about Clementine.
Because he was the direct supervisor of the Windflower Scripture unit, the real Clementine had previously killed several priestesses of the Windflower Scripture and stolen their secret treasures.
Now, another fake Clementine appeared, and this fake Clementine also eliminated the only remaining priestess in the Windflower Scripture who could use the Falling Beauty of a Nation, so it was normal for him to have an opinion about the current Clementine.
"Try to be more open-minded. Exchanging one priestess for a powerful individual who can rival the Young Miss doesn't seem like a loss, no matter how you look at it, does it?" Someone said this, but it was unclear who.
"Can ordinary humans compare to the Young Miss? Don't joke around... Perhaps that was just Gelos's mistake, an excuse to cover for the death of the priestess!"
"If she didn't have real skill, how did she manage to retrieve those two royal secret treasures? I remember your subordinates were the ones who handled the appraisal. You know the authenticity of those two treasures better than anyone!" Someone else interjected from the shadows.
"Hmph! It's not your subordinate who died," the displeased person retorted.
"Can Clementine's true strength really rival the Young Miss, as Gelos claimed? Won't we be able to test it this time? Isn't the Pope's intention in sending her to the Dragon Kingdom to test her?" Someone else added.
"I sent her to assist the Dragon Kingdom not just to test her strength, but also her loyalty," the Pope said.
"Loyalty? Your Holiness, are you doubting the effectiveness of the Falling Beauty of a Nation?"
"This time, it's just like the vampire incident, isn't it? After being affected by the Falling Beauty of a Nation, the user was not controlled after death. Don't forget that last time, that vampire killed three people. This time, it's almost the exact same situation, so it's inevitable that history might repeat itself. It's only right to be cautious," the Pope said.
"But Your Holiness, we don't have any extra personnel to send her, do we?"
"Haha! Although we are indeed short-staffed recently, we can still spare about a hundred people, can't we?" the Pope said.
"A hundred... Isn't that no different from sending them to their deaths? The opponents are Orcs!"
"Didn't His Holiness just say it? This is a test! How can it be considered a test if we don't give her some difficulty? Don't you agree, Your Holiness?" Someone flattered.
"Your Holiness, are you planning to use her as a scapegoat for the Dragon Kingdom?"
"I didn't say that, did I? It's a fact that our country is short on personnel lately. All of you have witnessed the power of Ainz Ooal Gown. In this situation, how can we spare anyone for the Dragon Kingdom?" When the Pope said this, everyone fell silent.
"But with only a hundred people... will the Dragon Kingdom object?"
"What can they do even if they object? At present, we are the only ones willing to extend a helping hand to them. I think... the Blood Emperor of the Empire is probably too busy to care about the Dragon Kingdom right now!" the Pope continued.
Everyone knew what the Pope was implying. Although the Empire had publicly declared an alliance with Ainz Ooal Gown, the Great Demon, given the Blood Emperor's character, after witnessing magic of that scale, he would certainly not genuinely want to ally with such a demon. He must have some small 'operations' of his own, so it was normal for him to be unable to attend to the Dragon Kingdom's affairs.
"So? Are there any other questions?" Seeing everyone quiet for a while, the Pope intended to end the meeting.
"Your Holiness... there's one more question, about the Young Miss!" the shadow who had a strong prejudice against Clementine earlier said.
"Oh! Is there something wrong with her?" The Pope hadn't expected her to be brought up.
"Recently, can we please keep the Young Miss from coming to the surface? Every time she comes up, my subordinates have to hide, and if they accidentally bump into her, they're sure to be seriously injured... Who can tolerate such non-combat casualties!" the shadow continued.
"Hmm? Your people haven't provoked her, have they? And she shouldn't be lethal to her own people, should she? Can't injuries be healed? Isn't that what your Windflower Scripture excels at?" The Pope was very curious. Logically, although her temper was terrible, she shouldn't attack her own people without reason, unless she was truly provoked.
"No! Our people haven't provoked her at all. She just... for no reason at all... as long as they meet her, she'll beat them half to death. And that's not even the worst part; she actually helps people heal, and then continues to beat them after they're healed... Now, several of my subordinates are scared and hide in their rooms all day, refusing to see anyone!" the shadow said. So, that was the reason for the non-combat casualties he mentioned.
"Not just the Windflower Scripture... actually, many people from our Water-Light Scripture have also suffered at the hands of the Young Miss."
"We in the Fire Extinguishing Scripture also have many reports of harm..."
"Us too..."
Now, more people were complaining. It seemed her influence was indeed significant, but this was too strange. Occasionally throwing a tantrum and beating people was quite normal for the Young Miss, but such a large number of harm reports suddenly appearing was indeed too peculiar.
"What exactly is the reason... Do you know?" the Pope asked.
The other shadows whispered among themselves for a while, all indicating they didn't know. The only thing they knew was that the Young Miss had only recently started acting out like this.
"Could it be that something happened when she returned from her last mission?" Someone brought this up, but it was unclear who.
"Yes! The Young Miss also started getting angry for no reason after returning from that mission!" Someone else added.
"Are there any other strange things?" The Pope thought for a moment. He had indeed felt that she was a bit off after returning from her last secret mission.
From Gelos's report, he learned that they had encountered the Steel Rank team Blue Rose from Re-Estize halfway through, and even engaged in a fight with them.
The result was that they escaped. At the time, he did feel very strange. With her there, how could Blue Rose still escape?
Upon further inquiry, he learned of the existence of "Clementine," who could now fight her to a draw. If she was throwing a tantrum for this reason, it was understandable, but was this tantrum lasting too long? Was there some other reason?
"Speaking of strange things, all the victims are female, and there's another strange thing: during the process of receiving aid after being severely injured and falling into a coma, all the victims kept saying, 'It's not like I wanted to grow up like this.'" Someone added this piece of information.
Then everyone immediately fell silent. Some of them had already guessed the reason, but... they didn't know how to say it.
"Your Holiness... I estimate... it's probably..." Someone, a brave soul, timidly raised their hand to speak.
"Hmm? Have you discovered something?" The Pope also really wanted to know why this was happening. The Young Miss was the ace of aces in Theocracy, and if something happened to her at this critical juncture, it would be terrible.
"Uh... I don't know how to say it..." The shadow stammered, unsure how to begin.
"Speak. You won't be blamed. This is a critical period, and we cannot let anything happen to her or to everyone else," the Pope said. In truth, in the Pope's heart, she was more important than everyone else.
"This... it's probably because of, fe... female jealousy," the person said timidly.
"What?! What did you say?!" The Pope was completely stunned.
"I mean..." The shadow thought the Pope was hard of hearing and wanted to repeat himself.
"You don't need to say it anymore, I understand." The Pope immediately interrupted his speech. This reason was truly both funny and frustrating. Combined with Gelos's report on that mission, he now quite clearly understood the reason.
"Then, when you go back, explain to your female subordinates, especially those with... uh... larger sizes than her, that they need to be particularly careful. For a while, don't let them appear in front of her. They can even take leave and go home! Do you understand?!" the Pope said very seriously.
"Understood..." The others responded awkwardly.
"And! Don't let her know about Clementine! At least not until her anger subsides! Do you understand?!" the Pope continued to emphasize.
"Understood!" This time, everyone responded very energetically, as they all knew what would happen if the culprit and the Young Miss were to meet.
If that Clementine could truly rival the Young Miss as Gelos claimed, and those two divine beings were to fight... Theocracy would probably be doomed!
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