Chapter 123
Chapter 123
Second Semester (2)
I accepted the greatsword with a displeased expression. Since they said the appraisal of the Holy Relic would only take an hour, I had no choice but to wait.
The guestbook priest returned with a bright smile and informed me of a shocking truth.
“Congratulations! It has been identified as a Holy Relic! To think you possess both the Holy Scripture and a Holy Relic! This is wonderful news!”
“Thank you.”
At the guestbook priest’s sincere congratulations, I gave a small bow. Carrying the neatly wrapped greatsword on my back, I started walking.
“I’m screwed.”
A Holy Relic, an item symbolizing the Religious Order. And I had broken such an item. Only then did I realize why the Holy Scripture had gone berserk like that.
“Well, what can I do? It’s already broken.”
I shrugged and quickly regained my composure. Worrying over each individual Holy Relic simply wasn’t worth it. The truly important Holy Scripture was still intact anyway, so it didn’t matter.
It was a bit regrettable, but it wasn’t as though I was going to personally use that stone greatsword, and all that happened was Anaye getting a little upset.
Of course, that was the biggest problem.
“I’ll have to prepare an offering.”
Considering I held the position of Apostle, I couldn’t ignore Anaye. Honestly, it was a little frightening.
The lightning that had utterly destroyed Horashu-nim’s temple back at the Sanctuary. Getting smacked by the Holy Scripture would’ve been far better.
‘Since I’m already out, should I go?’
I stopped while heading back toward the chapel. Since I was already outside, I wondered if I should finish up the matter with the Imperial House as well. After a brief moment of thought, I immediately headed toward the Imperial Knight Order’s garrison.
“Halt. What business do you have?”
One of the knights guarding the entrance blocked my path. With sharp eyes, he examined the unfamiliar outsider.
“I came to see the Vice-Commander. I don’t have an appointment, but could you tell her that Davide has arrived?”
The knight tilted his head while looking at me calmly answering him. Then, as if realizing something, he lowered his weapon.
“You may enter.”
“Pardon?”
“The Vice-Commander has personally authorized Student Davide’s entry.”
At the knight’s words, I gave a rough nod and entered the garrison. If they were going to make things this easy, I certainly appreciated it.
After entering the garrison, I approached an employee working at the first-floor desk.
“How may I help you?”
“I came to see the Vice-Commander. Please tell her Davide has arrived.”
“Yes. One moment, please.”
Since there were no objects like telephones, someone had to run personally. Hearing it would take some time, I looked around.
The security of Museion Academy, which had been created by Imperial magicians and heavily supported by the Imperial House, was handled by the Imperial Knight Order.
Perhaps because of that, the Imperial Knight Order remained busy even when nothing special was happening.
“Student Davide? They said you may come up.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. It’s my job after all. Do you know where the office is?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine.”
Leaving the employee behind, I headed upstairs. Stepping along the elegant staircase, I made my way to the top floor.
―Knock knock.
Having seen it several times already, the office door had become familiar enough that I knocked without hesitation.
Normally, another knight would guide me in, confiscate all my weapons, and only then allow entry, but the procedures had become much simpler.
―Please come in.
Hearing the beautiful voice from beyond the door, I slowly opened it.
The Vice-Commander, who had been working while seated at her desk, showed a deep smile upon seeing me. I immediately bowed politely.
“I apologize for visiting without notice.”
“Not at all. I’d be grateful if Student Davide came by anytime.”
The Vice-Commander accepted my calm apology and rose from her seat. The moment she told me to sit, I quickly planted myself in the chair.
“By any chance, do you know what coffee is?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. That’s unexpected. I heard coffee is a kind of tea that recently began coming from the southern jungles. It suited my tastes quite well, so I’ve been enjoying it lately. Coffee will be fine, right?”
At the mention of coffee, I nodded. It was a word I hadn’t heard in a long time. Even back in reality, I hadn’t searched it out that often, but it still felt much more familiar than black tea.
“Shall we get to the main topic? There must be a reason you came looking for me, correct?”
It had been a long time since I last smelled coffee. Taking a sip, the Vice-Commander began speaking.
“Yes. There was something I wanted to ask.”
Seeing the Vice-Commander offering cookies that I had no idea when she prepared, I made a tired expression. I truly didn’t understand why she was so obsessed with cookies.
Still, since she was offering them, it would be rude to ignore her. Putting one cookie into my mouth, I finally brought up the main topic.
“You wanted to ask something?”
At my words, the Vice-Commander tilted her head curiously. Soon, she wore a gentle smile and waited for me to continue.
“I need information regarding the Special Unit Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess is trying to establish. Since it’s connected to the Religious Order.”
“Ah. Of course. One moment.”
At my words, the Vice-Commander asked for my understanding. Rising from her seat, she walked over to her desk and brought back a file folder.
“I placed the information inside. You can look through it slowly. Also, if you plan on doing anything related to it, I’d appreciate it if you report it beforehand.”
“Coincidentally, something came up that I should report.”
Handing over the folder, the Vice-Commander spoke. It wasn’t as rigid and meticulous as the Knight Order’s procedures, but it was still necessary.
I nodded and immediately moved on to the next main topic.
“During the Floating Island incident, I plan to secure believers.”
“Believers?”
The Vice-Commander tilted her head at my sudden declaration. Increasing the number of believers effectively meant expanding the Religious Order.
For a Religious Order that had only recently been established, it was quite a heavy topic to casually bring up.
“Forgive me for saying this, but will that really be alright? I may not know much, but the current Anaye Order doesn’t seem capable of handling that.”
The Vice-Commander immediately voiced her concerns. I agreed. It wasn’t merely a matter of money; there were many issues involved.
The greatest problem was manpower to manage the Religious Order. Things would only remain stable if trustworthy individuals managed it effectively, but the Anaye Order still lacked such personnel.
“Wouldn’t it be better to proceed slowly? Her Imperial Highness is viewing this project as a long-term endeavor. You only need to finish before Her Imperial Highness graduates, so it would be fine to establish a stronger foundation first.”
I understood the Vice-Commander’s concern, but it was already too late. Seeing me shake my head, her eyes grew serious.
“The Fiendbeasts that remained quiet until now have begun revealing themselves. Which means the organization behind them has started moving in earnest. Her Imperial Highness is already in her third year. There’s only a year and a half left. That’s too long.”
“Then?”
“This year. Within half a year, I will expand the Religious Order and deploy Inquisitors.”
The Vice-Commander let out a quiet groan after hearing my ambition. Reducing a deadline of a year and a half down to six months sounded impossible in realistic terms.
“How do you plan to do that?”
The Vice-Commander, still not fully grasping it, asked cautiously.
“It seems Her Imperial Highness thinks rather favorably of other races.”
At the sudden mention of other races, the Vice-Commander’s eyes sparkled. She looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, Oh?
“Helping the Merfolk’s war is part of that as well, correct?”
“Not exactly, though Her Imperial Highness certainly doesn’t harbor strong hostility toward other races.”
The Vice-Commander corrected my statement. It wasn’t that the Imperial Princess liked other races, merely that she didn’t dislike them. Hearing that, I grinned fiercely.
“There are currently around 1,700.”
“Pardon?”
“There are approximately 1,700 Anaye Order believers among the Merfolk appointed as priests.”
The Vice-Commander’s mouth fell open. It was not a number that should come out of the Anaye Order, which only had five members in total.
“Priests can appoint believers, correct? I appointed a total of three priests at the Sea Temple. Those three multiplied into this.”
“Hm.”
“Do believers necessarily have to be human? The majority of humans already worship existing gods anyway.”
The Vice-Commander touched her lower lip and fell into thought. My plan was simple. I intended to target a blue ocean market.
Unlike humans, where faith had already spread broadly, other races held little interest in religion. Even when they did, it was usually limited to native beliefs.
“Certainly, if you do that, expansion would be fast and easy. But would it provide a stable foundation? Money would be manageable if our Imperial House assisted, but the other aspects are the problem.”
“It’s fine. I already have plans regarding manpower and infrastructure. I’ll explain everything in detail through a report.”
The Vice-Commander nodded with a troubled expression. She’d definitely be shocked once she saw the report. I waited quietly until she finished organizing her thoughts.
“After that, during the Floating Island incident, I’ll recruit human believers.”
“How large of a scale?”
“As many as possible. It’s fine if many gather, and it’s also fine if none do.”
As I continued speaking, the Vice-Commander’s expression gradually turned strange. Chuckling softly, I continued.
“If many gather, that’s good since it means the Religious Order grows larger. Even if no one joins, the core of our Religious Order will consist of other race believers anyway, so it won’t be much of a blow. And it’ll also show the Lofty Order an ordinary-looking Religious Order.”
The Vice-Commander slightly furrowed her brows.
“That wording sounds odd. It almost sounds as if you intend to control the information reaching the Lofty Order.”
“Even the Imperial House cannot completely block the interference of a massive Religious Order. And besides, is attacking the Academy really such an easy thing to accomplish?”
The moment I brought up the Academy attack, the Vice-Commander’s face slowly stiffened. It was an incident akin to a stain on the Imperial Knight Order, which had failed to stop it beforehand and had not even fully uncovered those behind it.
“This means there’s a traitor. Attacking the Academy, which is protected by both the Academic Department and the Imperial Knight Order while also being difficult to access, is absolutely not easy. Unless there’s help from an insider.”
“……So you’re saying there may also be informants from that group inside the Religious Orders.”
At the Vice-Commander’s deduction, I readily nodded. There were traitors not only within the Religious Orders, but also inside the Imperial Knight Order and the Academic Department.
If possible, I wanted to root them all out immediately, but there was no evidence. More importantly, from my perspective, it was easier if they knew the plan and responded directly to it.
“I understand. The missionary work on the Floating Island is a smokescreen. The truly important matter is recruiting believers from other races. Is that correct?”
“That’s right. Especially since other races possess far superior physical abilities and often have combat experience from a young age. Which means they can be deployed into battle immediately.”
“Understood. Please write up the details in a report and send it over. I’ll also inform Her Imperial Highness about Student Davide’s plans.”
Even as she said that, the Vice-Commander still looked deeply troubled. I casually shrugged.
If she came up with a better method, I’d welcome it with open arms. After all, this was the opinion of none other than the Vice-Commander of the Imperial Knight Order.
“More importantly, Student Davide.”
“Yes?”
“There are only two weeks left until the break ends. You’ll need to start attending classes again.”
This time, my own expression stiffened. After spending half a year running around freely without classes, I really didn’t want to go back.
I was already busy enough as it was, so adding classes on top of that sounded miserable.
“Do you know the second-year dormitory professor?”
“I kno… I mean, yes, I do.”
“He’s known by the nickname Gorilla. He was my academy classmate.”
At the sudden mention of Gorilla, my expression instantly turned cold. That professor with the monstrous build and terrifying face had shown an unprecedented level of obsession toward me.
More than that, I had no idea the Vice-Commander and Gorilla had been classmates.
“I wanted to warn you to be careful. Gorilla has his eyes on you.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
This was going to become another headache. Seeing the troubled look on my face, the Vice-Commander laughed cheerfully. Then, suddenly, a question came to mind.
“Vice-Commander.”
“Yes?”
“You said you were classmates with the second-year dormitory professor, so that means you were in the same year, correct?”
“That’s right?”
Watching her tilt her head with widened eyes, I couldn’t help thinking she was quite beautiful. As expected from someone connected to fairies, her appearance was remarkable.
It was hard to notice since she rarely dressed herself up, but the Vice-Commander possessed an incredibly youthful and beautiful appearance.
“If I remember correctly, I heard the second-year dormitory professor is 45 years old.”
“…….”
If she was Gorilla’s classmate, then that meant the Vice-Commander was the same age.
Which meant she was claiming to be in her mid-forties while looking like that.
The instant I suddenly brought up her age, the Vice-Commander froze stiff.
“Vice-Commander?”
“…….”
“Um. Vice-Commander?”
“…….”
I think I seriously messed up somehow.