Chapter 39: Heretic or Prophetic?
“You know, I’m quite an influential woman these days. 75 long hard years to be elected, and as an Elf! I’m sure you’re not familiar with my little situation but let me tell you, you’ve put me in quite a bind!” Ghaeltifts laughed as she looked down on the anxious Hans and Utarou, physically biting to keep his mouth shut from spewing more racial hatred at the knife ear.
“H-How so my uh… majesty?” Hans stammered.
“Please, just call me Ghael, like the winds.” Ghaeltifts laughed as she strode down the steps.
“Now there’s something I have to explain, you see I’m somewhat obligated to perform certain duties as Pope.” Ghaeltifts said seriously, before yawning and placing her arms around both Utarou and Hans’ shoulders, her legs giving out from under her.
“W-what’s happening?! Are you okay?” Hans asked, Utarou finally releasing his bleedingly tight grip on his tongue.
“Ghael must’ve used a lot of magic on that time stop spell right?” Utarou hissed.
“Bingo, a little loop hole around pre martial sex, now just take me down to my bed we can… discuss further… there…” Ghaeltifts yawned, passing out as she pointed.
“Ehck…” Hans gagged as he caught a whiff of the woman, she smelled like rotting fish.
“C’mon sooner we throw her in sooner we can get away…” Utarou mumbled, having decided his healing abilities included the ability to restore his virginity in emergency situations like this.
And as if it never happened, Utarou blocked the encounter from his memory.
“What did she mean about the pre martial-”
“No idea, she’s clearly crazy.” Utarou asserted.
…
“So… you can’t eat food anymore?” May asked, slightly annoyed.
“W-well… I can sorta…” Pinklia blushed as she sat next to May at the head of the table during a town banquet to celebrate the winter solstice.
“What’sn that s’posed to mean?” May asked again, more annoyed as she saw Pinklia with a full plate.
“It’s embarrassing…” Pinklia sighed.
“You ain’t ever gonna start grow’n if you don’t eat!” May grumbled.
“Oh relax May, if she doesn’t want to she doesn’t have to.” Hope sighed as she bounced Lilly on her leg.
“N-no I do it looks delicious I just-! Ah fine…” Pinklia sighed as she gingerly grabbed a piece of chicken and swallowed it whole, bones and all.
So far, the same as Bluelia.
However as May watched it float around inside of Pinklia, it just floated around.
“And that’s it…” Pinklia sighed as she took the chicken out and threw it towards Rhiney, who was sitting just outside with his large head poking through the window.
“Ya didn’t even eat it!” May retorted indignantly.
“I-I did! I just don’t, I dunno digest it? I kinda just absorb this weird vibration from it. I dunno…” Pinklia mumbled, remembering the large variety of strange things she’d tried to eat, finding that certain potion ingredients worked best.
“Hmmpth, I ain’t met someone what I can’t cook fer and I ain’t startin’ today. C’mon yer comin’ with me.” May growled as she grabbed Julia by the hand and dragged her away from the party.
“H-hey you can’t just leave Autumn behind!” Hope shouted as she saw Autumn stirring awake in her crib.
“Ya one me ladies aint’cha? Queen’s got business!” May laughed, enjoying her new official position of power. Hope pouted but let out a resigned sigh.
…
“Awhhh, sorry. Was I out long?” Ghaeltifts asked as she woke up, all comfortably tucked into her bed. The room was small and blue, just off the Temple Centuria they’d met in.
“About an hour.” Utarou groaned.
“Where’d your little boy guard go?” Ghaeltifts asked with a smug look on her face as she pulled herself up.
“Just left to get Rufus to swap with him, can we get this over with so I can leave?” Utarou grumbled.
“You're quick with everything I see.” Ghaeltifts laughed. Utarou stared blankly until Ghaeltifts rolled her eyes.
“Fine, you want the church's recognition and aid right?” Ghaeltifts asked as she propped herself up on the back of her bed.
“Ideally I don’t want to have to worry about being a heretic for every monster girl I will create.” Utarou asserted coldly.
“That goes without saying. You know what you’ve done is enough to split the church again right?” Ghaeltifts asked seriously.
“Nope! I’ve tried reading your books from Vicar John and it’s all nonsense to me.” Utarou admitted shamelessly.
“Well, you’re speaking in the Central Eastern Dialect, I highly doubt you know the Traditional Western Dialect, let alone how to read it.” Ghaeltifts mocked.
“Yeah I think Vicar John said something like that, I wasn’t listening. He’s very boring to listen to.” Utarou asserted.
“I’ll look into him then. But regardless, the book speaks seriously of the necessity of self improvement, to find the holy path and rise to it. When you have spent a thousand years preaching that, the only Tier 4 skill, Perfection is the one and only Holy Path… Then someone comes and discovers another? Which results in this bizarre transformation? Well scholars are still debating, and that grey monster? Well we’re not exactly pleased with it either.” Ghaeltifts explained.
“Wait, you found Greylia?!” Utarou exclaimed, sure that he had hidden her perfectly. Ghaeltifts expression turned into a smug laugh.
“You underestimate how many eyes we have in this country, and all of them go to me.” Ghaeltifts smiled, pointing her fingers at herself in a way that would be cute if done by a much younger woman.
“Yet you’ve granted me an audience… and the ability to torch your libraries at a moment's notice. You want to make a deal don’t you?” Utarou snapped, suddenly realizing what was happening.
“Not as stupid as you look. I should get to the point before your body guard comes in. This plan requires a lot of discretion from you.” Ghaeltifts explained conspiratorially.
“Alright, but before you say anything… Will agreeing to this guarantee the Church not sending any more Templars after me ever again?” Utarou inquired.
“Oh but of course! Any less would seem unreasonable of me considering what I’m about to ask.”
“Go on then, what do I need to do?” Utarou asked cautiously.
“Firstly, I want you to create a new branch of Avoisan. Reinterpret the texts around your mission, the specifics I don’t care about, just spread it within the Central Eastern region and keep it out of Elven territory.”
Utarou cocked his head.
“So you want me to weaken… The Avoisan church?”
“Like I said hun, discretion is required~” Ghaeltifts cooed, placing a finger on her lips in a way that would be cute if done by a younger woman. Utarou stared blankly.
“Ahem, secondly, I want you to declare war on Oldser and expand your territory. Do not make it a holy war, and keep me out of it. I need you to do this in the next 10 years.”
“Why?”
“Need to know basis, and you don’t need to know. Thirdly, I want to keep that Grey monster and turn her human again, she’ll be in my personal care until she is cured rest assured.” Ghaeltifts explained.
“Alright…” Utarou nodded, wondering what the benefit of this could possibly be to the elf.
“Finally, should you ever tell anyone but me or Templar Adam of this conversation, I will have him smite you as the heretics you are.” Ghaeltifts explained with an evil glint in her eye.
“Right… can’t have your little conspiratory getting out…” Utaraou sighed.
“Quick now, he’s almost here~” Ghaeltifts coughed as she laid down in bed, awaiting Utarou’s response.
“Urghh… Yeah alright. I mean I was gonna do most of that stuff anyway I guess but… Fine. You better fix Greylia.” Utarou groaned as Rufus came in.
“Sorry boss! Got lost tryna get here!” Rufus laughed from across the Temple Centuria.
“Glad we’re so aligned then~” Ghaeltifts cooed as she snuggled back into bed, immediately falling asleep.
“I think we’re done here anyway, c’mon let's go.” Utarou sighed, deciding whatever this Elf and Adam were doing couldn’t be good, but if it kept the monster that was Adam from his fledgling empire then so be it.
He’d been meaning to say hello to King Oldsier for a while now anyway.
…
“AHA! Ya can only eat mana! Bloody knew I’d be able to fatten ‘er up if I knew what ya ate!” May declared as Pinklia sat with a bloated stomach from May’s special healing paste.
“Urgh… y-yeah this is… too much…” Pinklia coughed, she felt like vomiting but wasn’t sure what would happen if she did, or if she even could vomit anymore.
“Now, bit odd that ya can only eat magic… Maybe that’s what made ya so pink.” May nodded.
“May… Can we go home? It’s nearly morning…” Hope whined as she dragged the two passed out babies into Dryholm’s kitchen, having been unable to sleep while May kept trying to figure out how to properly feed Pinklia.
“Hmm? Oh right! I got a bit into it huh?” May laughed innocently, as the entire kitchen behind her was covered in every variety of substance imaginable.
Pinklia let out a small puke, which formed into a tiny version of herself which also puked.