Episode 153 New Pope (1)
When the pope was arrested, the kingdom fell into chaos.
It is also true that there is no leader to lead the country.
Confusion accelerated when there were mountains of problems to be dealt with and no one in charge of them.
Many aristocrats tried to squeeze through the cracks and ascend to the position of pope.
Anyone is given a chance to become a king.
When the High Priest and the nobles were arguing that he should become the Pope, Ray was doing the work of holding the Inquisition accountable regardless.
He didn’t care what the position of Pope was.
It was because Iriel and I were already organized to fully support Eclay.
She seemed to be able to think about the future of the kingdom and manage it well.
At least he will not act to fill his stomach with the people.
If you trust and entrust the position of Pope to Eclay, the Holy Kingdom will grow well.
Of course, there may be many problems in that she is a female pope.
Thinking so, Ray was talking to all the Heretic Judges of the current Inquisition at a gathering.
The question of the pope had been completely erased from his mind.
He looked around at the crowd and said,
“I’m sure most of you know this, but the reason I gathered everyone today is to talk about how you, the Inquisitors of Heresy, persecuted innocent people and even plundered villages like bandits.”
“…”
“….”
No answer came.
Some didn’t even know what they had done so badly.
“You still don’t understand? With these thoughtless actions of yours, there is no reason for an interrogation to be held.”
Deos refuted his words.
“Why is that the reason for the inquisition to disappear?”
“Do you think the act of accusing people of heresy and killing them for no reason is the judgment of heresy?”
“There is no reason! They were heretics!”
“okay? Then you must have evidence that you are a heretic. give it a look However, if I don’t understand even after looking at the evidence, it’s better to think that the Inquisition will completely disappear from the Holy Land. In the future, the Holy Kingdom will create a new organization to replace the Inquisition.”
Deos stuttered at his words, which were full of cold air.
“Evidence… that’s…”
“Wasn’t the village destroyed because he was judged to be a heretic? Please give me that proof.”
“….”
Ray frowned as he looked at him as he stood still without answering anything.
“You mean you burned the village without proof?”
“…the evidence is there. When Proxia attacked, they opened the village without even resisting like a resistance!”
At the words that didn’t seem like his reply, Ray gave a look of astonishment.
Did you really think that way and judge heresy?
If so, these must be truly fucking bastards.
“What kind of resistance should less than a hundred villagers put up when an army of tens of thousands is attacking from the front?”
“You should have struggled! How can the proud people of Gaia kneel before the armies of humans!”
“This bastard is real!”
Ray filled his fists with mana and slapped him in the face.
Quaang-!
With the sound of something exploding, Deos crashed into the wall.
Seeing her stretched body made me faint.
I approached the fallen man and kicked him a couple more times.
A dull noise echoed, and the spirits of the heretic judges who had left returned accordingly.
Looking at them in shock, Ray gnashed his teeth.
“Yeah, it went well. I’ll change it and drink it!”
His fists began to glow blue with mana.
Under the influence of Deos, the saint’s eyes widened.
They looked like they were beaten while standing still and glared fiercely at the fallen Deos.
Regardless, Ray’s fists clung to the judges’ faces.
With the sound of firewood splitting, judges flew in the air one by one.
“Aagh! Help me!”
“Just search!”
“Forgive me…!”
“Forgiveness dies once and prays in front of Goddess Gaia!”
His fists did not stop until most of the luxurious buildings of the Inquisition were destroyed.
* * *
The agenda of Eclay becoming pope was actively pursued.
At first, it was divided into two factions for and against, but even that was ignored under the direction of Iriel.
Certainly, Iriel deserves to be said to have done the most perfect work ever.
Already, thanks to her quick hand, Eclay seemed to be able to ascend to the pope with a lot of support.
She took advantage of the nobles who started walking the tightrope from the beginning and attached them to Eclay.
As a result, there are more supporters than opponents.
It was thanks to the nobles snooping around, wondering if there might be something to fall.
Eclay seemed worried about whether he would be able to make it as pope, but he didn’t seem to have much to worry about.
The fact that he thought so was proof that he would be better than the previous pope.
The inauguration of the new pope was decided fairly quickly.
The office of pope should not be left vacant for long.
Many nobles and priests thought so, and even Ecclei thought so, so the remaining procedures went smoothly.
The troops, less worried about Proxia, withdrew from Gehel and returned to Selonia.
For those who risked their lives to keep their place, they have been given a vacation, albeit a temporary one.
They, who were always stationed in Gehel with tension, immediately threw off their armor for the sweet vacation they hadn’t tasted in a long time.
If I had to pick the one who was the most tired among them, it would definitely be Iriel.
However, she immediately returned to the work of Seongguk without showing any signs of exhaustion.
Indeed, it could not have been a tremendous psychic power.
The sight of her shutting herself in her office and handling the papers she hadn’t been able to process was somehow pitiful.
In addition, her help with the handling of the inquisition and the arrest of the pope was considerable.
To be honest, if it wasn’t for Iriel’s help, I would have had no choice but to smash them all.
After asking the attendant for tea, Ray took it and headed to Iriel’s office.
Kkik-
She opened the door without knocking and felt a presence, so she raised her head.
The first thing that caught my eye was the way he put on his glasses, probably in the middle of paperwork.
Unlike usual, Iriel, who looked exhausted, welcomed him.
“…Good morning.”
I laughed out loud as I tried to cheer myself up somehow.
“It doesn’t look very good, does it?”
“…that’s right.”
Laughter erupted again at the honest answer.
When he handed over the warm tea, he accepted it and took a sip.
If this isn’t cold water, drink it in one gulp.
He probably continues to heal his esophagus while drinking.
It wouldn’t be the divine power that God gave it like this.
That must be a testament to how busy he is.
Ray cast a spell on her.
“Clean.”
Beautiful mana danced around her haggard body.
Then, the accumulated fatigue disappeared without realizing it, and it made a state of the body.
She had already cast healing and strengthening magic on herself.
Even so, the accumulated fatigue did not go away.
However, his magic was very different from his own.
The fatigue of the body that disappeared neatly made her feel refreshed.
Magic that surpasses the saintess’ divine magic? It’s the first time she’s heard that.
Iriel looked at Ray with suspicious eyes.
“what? What did you eat wrong? Why are you nice to me?”
Normally, even with his lovely charm that melts away, he is cold as if he had been hit by even the highest level of ice magic.
Contrary to her suspicions, Ray was only repaying her for helping her.
It has been like that since the time of the new farming method and the dispatch of priests, the medical academy, and the Proxia Inquisition and the recent Pope case.
I was sorry that I always felt like I was only in debt, but if I could pay it back like this, I could cast clean magic as much as I wanted.
It would have been nice if it had ended on such a heartwarming note.
But she let her imagination run wild.
“Do you like me?”
Ray’s expression immediately darkened.
“Why is the story like that?”
“No, if you suddenly treat me so well, that’s the only thing I’d be suspicious of, right?”
He smiles meaningfully and stabs his side.
It was clear that he was probably crazy about excessive paperwork.
Ray looked at her sadly.
“Rather than that, how about the Pope?”
‘Looking at the change of subject, it seems to be true.’ muttered, she replied.
“Now I am detained and thrown into a dungeon. The evidence is clear, so it won’t come out again, but the trial will be held soon.”
“Certainly, I didn’t know that the Pope was involved in the construction of the academy’s magic circle. It will take decades to recover.”
“It will be like that. Still, I can claim some losses from the academy in that respect.”
Her words didn’t mean that Ray didn’t have any guesses either.
“It’s a war against Proxia.”
“that’s right.”
In the war against them, the three academies did not stand at the fore.
As they are members of the Holy Kingdom, they have an obligation to participate in the war, but they avoided it because they were afraid of the damage they would suffer.
From the children of nobles to the jade leaves of famous merchants. It was because the so-called golden spoon was a property of the academy in itself.
Of course, the Seongguk’s claim for compensation against him is natural.
If you refuse, it is an item that could be handed over to trial right away.
There were also many aristocrats who were opposed to the actions of the three major academies.
Of course, they went to war by borrowing even their family’s troops, but it was natural that the academy was of no help to the war.
Compensation was what Seongguk deserved, and the academy had no choice but to take some responsibility.
The sin of avoiding war at will is great.
Even if a local aristocrat fell out of the war, it was common for it to become a big problem, because he stepped out of the three major academies.
As it is the only academy in the Holy Kingdom, it may have to go to trial, but those in charge will end up being punished.
If the academy is closed, the Holy Kingdom will also suffer.
That’s why it seemed likely that a decision would be made with a considerable amount of compensation and the disposition of the person in charge.
I feel like I’m starting to become a little bit like a country only after I’ve sorted out various things including Proxia.
