Chapter. 14. One Empire, Three Legends (28)
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Battle for the throne. The war against mutes being waged by eastern countries.
And witches and curse shoes.
An event so large that it had to be placed on the same list as the two above suddenly fell on my head.
As the situation became urgent, there was no time to think and act calmly.
What is urgent right now is fact-checking.
Assuming this is enemy territory. Where and how far is enemy occupied territory? If you were to secure a safe zone, where would it be? Who can help and how far the situation has progressed.
To find out everything, the professor ran outside with Notum and, as she said, went in search of the cursed shoes that were ‘all over the streets.’
“we are here.”
“where?”
“here. “Right now, in front of the professor.”
“Can’t you see?”
“Gwok. Search with your soul, not your eyes. Through your skin, inhale and exhale through your nose. A feeling of shaking and crushing. This is the feeling that comes to mind when you see a carriage going off the road and tumbling down a cliff. I’m looking for a bunch of things like that. “It’s not difficult.”
‘What does that mean?’
[It’s a persimmon.]
First of all, one thing. The curse was not as numerous as Notum had said, and it was protected by a perception-impeding technique so strong that even an elf with good eyesight enough to read Braille from 100 meters away, let alone an ordinary person, could not find it.
two.
“A curse, a curse! That can’t be possible. Although our light church in the empire cannot be said to be as bright as the sun, we have a large number of believers that cannot be called small! If that faith is with us, how could they dare to commit such a terrible act in the capital right in front of my eyes
? “I picked this up on the way home.”
“Huh oh oh! Give me this. “I will immediately gather the priests who will carry out the purification ritual and sealing-” “
Ah, while we are at it, let’s do this as well. “This and this too.”
Tuk. Fighting. Tuk.
“Haha, you mean it wasn’t one?”
The bishops and priests of the capital diocese reacted with astonishment as if they were seeing cursed flowers for the first time in their lives.
The fact that the church did not notice means that the curse has not been included in the scope of sacred magic, and that the curse has not yet functioned as a catalyst for the curse at all.
three.
“I looked closely at the cursed flowers. These are the kind of guys that would take over 30 years to grow without blood flowing to the level of a genocidal race war. Even if you plant a seed in a world of peace, it may not sprout for over 100 years. Since they grow up eating unclean things, they are greatly influenced by those around them. “Do you know what this means?”
“What is it?”
“The growth speed varies greatly. If planted in a slum overflowing with misfortune, it will grow quickly, and if planted in a place crowded with harmonious families, it will grow slowly. Since the growth period is well over 10 years, even if one is fully grown, the other may not even be half grown. But… all the ones I picked up at random are fully grown. We didn’t arrive just in time. “The stage of planting the catalyst was already over a long time ago.”
“So… it’s already too late?”
“It’s late. And that’s well over ten years. But the strange thing is that nothing happened to the Empire. Families were exterminated due to massacres, epidemics, and even treason and other deadly sins that would normally occur in an empire. “The foundation of the ritual was completed, but the witch did nothing and just let the empire run smoothly.”
“Don’t we need other preparations?”
“Or you’re afraid of something or you’re being disturbed. I don’t know why. What is certain is that the rituals required for the sacrifice are over. It’s hard for me to guess what the witch waited so long for…”
Third. Aldrich, a warlock, confirmed this with his knowledge of black magic.
It’s not that time is urgent, but it’s already past time for us to do anything.
At least to the extent we have confirmed, preparations are made to begin the sacrificial system at any moment.
The biggest question is whether the empire is running well.
There are no lords who indulge in cults and kill people.
There are no families going to war over territorial disputes.
The problem was that the empire was more peaceful than the empires usually depicted in history and stories.
The witch did nothing to make the underwater preparations complete.
That the empire still remains an empire.
‘….what the fuck is this really? After everything you did, did you suddenly change your mind?’
I don’t know. This time, I had no idea where it began and where it ended.
———
– Jokass: Isn’t this a ritual to summon the Great Demon? I think that would be possible if it was a sacrifice at the imperial level.
– Speed Wagon: It requires a specific offering. Many clerics corrupted by devil worship, fragments of an ominous comet, crystallized fragments of the Doom… All of them are no longer available in World 3, so the possibility of that happening is low. Rather, the assumption is that they are joining hands with the Mute forces and waiting to cause disaster at the same time…
– professor: That’s probably not true. Just as the Good God Church has many branches, even evil has different directions. Mute may have achieved the status of evil god through clever tricks, but ultimately their goal is the survival of a race called ‘Mutation Blood’. It seems that divinity is also related to prosperity. This means that the path is different from that of a witch who accepted the corruption of an undead monarch.
– Speed Wagon: We could have joined hands for a while to deal with our common enemy, humans, right?
– professor: That doesn’t mean I can’t even feel a drop of mute blood in the capital. Because there is a guy on the mute side who is just as suspicious as me. If we had joined hands like that as an enemy of an enemy, there is no way we wouldn’t have used them. Strangely enough, the empire is a mute-free zone. Rather, I think it can be said that the witch stopped the humans infected by Mute’s spies.
———
If nothing else, there was no answer even in the District 47 chat room, which can be called the best gambling in the wasteland.
“…I will move my accommodation first.”
“Yes… Even if you stay still for decades, you can’t sleep in a place like a cracked cliff. Where would you go?”
“Temple. First, let’s move to the temple.”
The time limit is already over, not even an urgent situation.
But if I didn’t hurry, there was no way to relieve this strange feeling of anxiety. The group hurriedly packed their belongings and left the inn without even putting away their meal.
The butler’s embarrassed voice followed behind me. A cityscape with people bundled up in clothes pacing in the cold winter morning air.
“…Let’s hurry.”
The professor hurried his steps as he saw the peaceful appearance of the city where curses had taken root.
I hope that their visit does not become a trigger for taking another worst route.
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Quaduk!
“Are you saying that now?”
[….I won’t say it twice. Abort the mission and return to the church.]
“So, if you’re in the right mindset-!”
“Seo Seo-nim…. and fixed it…. Uuuuuu….”
“….Tsk.”
The professor could barely catch his breath when he looked down through another hole in the wall of the confessional that had been hastily converted for sacred communication and saw the young priest trembling across from him. It was not that the priest was pitiful, but that he maintained communication magic.
The capital diocese of the Gwangmyeong Church was moving with satisfactory alacrity. As soon as the reality of the curse was confirmed, preparations began to create a purification barrier around the temple, and all sacred objects that had been maintained without a trace of dust were taken out every day to combat the devastating disaster.
All of this occurred during the reign of the undead monarch in the past. It was just ironic that this manual was created with the blood shed while standing at the forefront of the human allied forces to retrieve the saint.
In the end, the preparations of that day were used as preparations to approach the saint.
The capital diocese was doing an overflowing job well. Agile and calm response. He even went so far as to secretly make sure that all these preparations did not leak out after hearing that the other person was a high-ranking imperial official.
On the outside, it looks no different from an ordinary temple, but when you open the door, the sacred fortress that is revealed clearly shows that it is indeed a religious order that has been fighting on the front lines against unclean things.
It was clear what I had to do while other preparations were being completed. Contact the church headquarters to receive reinforcements. It’s not just any other matter, it’s a matter related to a saint who was the most painful tragedy of the church in the past, so I thought they’d make a fuss and support the holy knights again this time
… I’ll give it to you. I told you that Mea-Maria, a corrupt saint whom the church had ‘purified’ in the past, is alive and planning a large-scale sacrifice in this empire. “We need support right now from paladins and priests, especially those with experience fighting cursed things, as well as support from the other five major denominations.”
[I listened carefully and thought it through carefully. My answer doesn’t change. Please come back.]
Whoop whoop. Whoop whoop.
Calmly. Be logical. Reason should not be left to anger.
There’s no way Archbishop Norman suddenly got senile and started talking nonsense like this. There must be a reason. The reason is…
“… Archbishop, then let’s hear the reason. The predicted range is the entire imperial capital. This means that it is not just Ol Amperia, the capital of the Baltin Empire, but the entire castle city and user city, with a population of about 5 large cities surrounding it in a concentric circle. What is the reason why you have to turn away so many people that you could spend the rest of your life just by calling their names at a memorial service? “I really want to know!”
[….That’s because nothing was revealed on the surface.]
The archbishop’s voice was filled with as much sorrow as I was.
[As you know, our church has also been paying attention to the trends of the empire. Has it been a day since you entered the capital? We have been watching the Empire through shadows of priests and believers for decades! Among them, some were into cults and some had cruel hobbies! However, I could not find any traces of large-scale sacrifices or curses anywhere, nor any traces of the old saint who had already been purified.]
“My colleague… squeak! You said you were the witness…”
[It’s not a matter of trust. Everything is still normal in the empire. The secret of the cursed Teldemire family! All of this evidence combined shows that there is no reason to wage a holy war in an empire where there are no problems! Roderick’s front, including the church’s holy knights, took advantage of the mute’s silence to recover the occupied territory! They are already fighting bloody battles every day! However, the moment they set up a flag of war and investigate all areas of the once quiet empire as evidence that no one can verify, the sleeping lion will join the war! Not an ally, but our dying enemy!]
Reality. It is a reality so cold and sharp that you can even feel the taste of blood in your throat.
The Holy Knights of Light are on the battlefield. The Paladins of Mercy search for and protect the recovered saint.
The Church of Courage is the official religion of the empire and will not easily show any movement that goes against the empire. There is no relationship between wisdom and abundance.
“So…you have no support, so come back?”
[….The days of the past great crusade. There were countless martyrs who fell to purify the fallen saint. Among them, there were warriors like you who were said to have been guided by God and saints who performed miracles. It was the witch who made them succumb to the curse and drive the sword into their own chest. This is not a problem that can be solved by supporting one or two people. This means that the entire denomination may be at a level where not only us but all five major denominations have to step up. Would the Empire just sit there and watch that?]
“Damn it…”
[We don’t want to make such calculations in the first place.]
Beyond sacred communications. The archbishop’s voice, which was as strong as steel, trembled slightly.
[I’m just saying… it’s the light I finally found. You. Decades after losing the saint. A small light of light that has now been found again after crossing the age of darkness and embryo. Indeed, if Ro Haram’s will is upon you, we cannot lose you no matter what happens. Please come back. Our light is still too weak to stand against the great evil…]
Order. Notification. And the ensuing plea:
Only then did the professor realize why the Archbishop’s voice was harder than ever before. It was not to refuse the request, but to hide fear.
Finally, we lose again the saint whom we were sure was the light, and come to terms with the secret struggle. I am afraid that we will return to the past denominations that survived on agony and politics.
[….It’s sad. They also say that they won’t want to see you die. What do you want to do?]
‘…Norman, that man is also a priest who is so good that he changes the Bible on the most faithful subject in the world. ‘The support was poor.’
Since the professor understood the meaning, he no longer tried to force it.
“….great. “Let’s prepare for our return.”
[Thank you for understanding. Once the situation is settled a little and you secure the consent of various denominations and solid evidence through the curse you have secured, you can announce that the entire empire has been affected by the curse and that the almost sacrosanct territory of the emperor is being controlled by someone else. I guess I can. Please wait until then. Do you need escort on your way back?]
“If it’s as the Archbishop said. The witch has already figured out that I have entered the capital and is observing me, so I don’t think she will let me go easily. “There is a possibility that he may be up to some kind of trick.”
[….I will send the remaining Holy Knights to guard me. Brother Gregory will go.]
“As I reported, the Mute forces were encamped on the border of the empire. “If you’re pressured from both witches and mutes, it can be a difficult situation.”
[….I will send you the Communion Table of Light together. I’m already exhausted, but if the Holy Knights carry me, by the time I meet you…]
“Thank you. Then I will trust you and wait. See you at the headquarters.”
[….wait for a sec. No way, you-]
Tuk-
The professor quickly cut off communication after hearing everything the bishop needed to say. If I say more, I might say something different.
[Are you really going back?]
‘Are you crazy? If I leave it alone, it’s obvious that it will explode like an active volcano. Rabbit missed the witch after listening to the cult, but if he listens to it again here, he’s an idiot.’
There was no way he would listen to me, so I just tricked him.
‘It’s not the church’s power that I expected, though. The archbishop’s direct escort will all be made up of high-ranking paladins. They are priests who specialize in purification by singing hymns and providing wide-area buffs at the Holy Communion, so that might be useful in some way.’
If you pretend to be serious and say you’re going back, they’ll at least send an escort. And when those who arrived as escorts arrive at the capital parish –
‘Saint? You’ve already entered the capital?’
‘????’
What can they do like this? These are the guys who came to save me. I’m sure they’ll follow you in.
[Gregory: That person already hated you. I’m going to hate it even more now.]
‘If you tease me, tell me to become a saint. Even if I gave him as much divine power as the average believer, he pretended to listen to the archbishop.’
After completing the communication, the professor burst out of the confessional door and joined the group.
“What happened?”
“I thought wrong. “The crusade was not the right direction.”
“Could it be… that the church said they couldn’t send reinforcements?”
“….yes.”
“No, then how on earth are we going to solve this situation…”
The group despairs of the negative results. The professor looked over the things he had now with his sharp eyes.
‘There is no problem without an answer. The fact that the denomination expresses such clear rejection means that the temple is not the solution to this problem. Even if you force it to happen, you will only get negative results. The capital where curses spread. The witch’s wait. An empire without any problems. normal. It’s normal…’
A temple where a purification barrier is in progress. One soulmancer and one shaman. A merchant and political and social expert. One water wizard and a player.
‘Aldrich is exactly the witch’s opponent. Notum is the key man position that accelerates the progress of the quest. These two will be the characters that lead this situation. Let’s think. If you come across a dead end, make sure to go back to where the road splits. The point where the current movement began. The key item that starts the incident is….’
“Let’s take a look at the Aldrich Curse.”
“The church over there is sealing it.”
The professor got up from his seat, walked through the busy priests, and approached the cursed painting.
Cursed paintings arranged neatly on a white marble altar.
The item that started the incident. The object was removed from sight after simply confirming that it was a vector of curse and that the capital was planted here and there.
This was the only clue we had right now.
“Notum. “Where did you find this thing sealed with rat skin?”
“Gwok. The first thing I found. In front of where a well-dressed bearded old man was watering the garden. “The smallest house here.”
“This?”
“An alley where an ancestor’s ghost pushed and rolled into.”
“A place with enough space to have an alley… At least it’s away from the main street. “Then what about this?”
“Below our inn.”
“Then this… it’s deeper than that.”
“Come on, saint! “It’s dangerous to touch it!”
one two three four. A total of nine flowers. The professor arranged the cursed paintings that were arranged in a random order according to the location where they were found.
When I did that, a faint clue that I hadn’t noticed was revealed.
“Aldrich. What do you think?”
“The vitality… is different.”
Purple cursed flowers that look almost similar. However, I could see a difference that would not have been noticeable unless you were slightly versed in herbal medicine or had as good an eye as me.
From the outskirts of the city to an inn. The deeper I went, the more cursed flowers I found, and they felt a little dry and less lively.
“Aldrich. I said that earlier. Preparations for the ceremony itself are complete. At least as far as I can see from here, it’s over.”
“That’s right.”
“Nevertheless, you also said that it is one of two reasons why the low-lying flowers, which have different growth speeds, are being held back until they fully grow. Something is waiting. Or-”
“Afraid of something…”
“Or being disturbed.”
A witch who can’t start the ritual even though she’s prepared.
A cursed flower that loses its vitality the closer it gets to the capital.
The capital’s social scene becomes more and more chaotic day by day.
“….a plague. “It’s not a hidden path, it’s like finding a hole and digging it out.”
When the path that had been so vaguely hidden was revealed, I almost laughed at its complexity.
“Hey Lucilla.”
“Yes?”
“You said it was a little strange yesterday, but the meeting itself went well, right?”
“Yes?”
“So how many invitations must you have received?”
“yes. As the warrior said, this is a party that our entire group can attend, hosted by two counts, a marquis, and a marquis…” “
Get ready. “Toward the person with the highest level.”
“Now? “In this situation?”
“okay. Because now. Because of this situation. “I must attend.”
Witches and Empire. An empire that is operating perfectly normally, unable to receive support from the Church, the most powerful ally against injustice.
“Something in that empire is interfering with the witch’s ritual. First you have to find it. It is impossible to install it in the name of a denomination. It is impossible to push through with our own strength. “Then there is only one answer.”
A situation in which help from forces secured by the player itself is completely excluded.
This is a quest that is impossible to start unless you have the skills of a cheat to drag a dragon around or cut down dozens of knights, even including the player’s armed forces companions.
‘Then it probably means that something inside me fills in my shortcomings and gives me the strength to fight against the witch.’
The cursed flower dries out the closer you get to the capital. The clues it showed.
In the end, the answer was within the heart of the empire.
‘I have to fight a political battle under the name of a saint in the middle of a capital city covered in curses, right in front of a witch who is no different from the previous generation’s master. Even bad taste is a work of art. It’s always new. ‘ Fucking game’
“Are you really going? “Can I contact you?”
Is this right, professor? I nodded as I looked at Lucilla, who was taking clothes out of the luggage she had hastily packed with an expression on her face.
If the shield used by the witch is the authority called ‘Empire’, then this side has no choice but to seep into it.
To delve into the heart of a ‘perfectly normal’ operating empire in a ‘perfectly normal’ way.
In the end, it was a political situation that turned around. It’s just a matter of whether you know the true meaning hidden within it or not.
“okay. “I’m going to the castle city.”
The professor is far away. A huge castle that can be seen from anywhere in the capital. This is where the emperor of the empire resides.
Whatever it is, the answer will be there.
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