Episode 402
“I give all glory to my Lord who looks down on the world.”
A clear voice flowing softly resonated in an empty space.
The moment the words ended, a sacred blue light poured into the magistrate above the head of the kneeling silver-haired woman.
The blue light pouring in through the small hole in the ceiling of the prayer room was so dazzling that everyone nearby could probably see it.
– iced coffee!
– Oh God!
– His Holiness the Pope!
Even now, voices screaming in exclamation were coming from outside the prayer room.
When the sounds of prayer began to ring out one by one, it soon filled the area around the prayer room.
Ilya, the woman who created the miracle, gently opened her eyes.
“Well, finally… I captured it completely.”
The way he looked around, turning his head left and right and clenching and opening his hands, seemed like he was looking at an unfamiliar place.
Soon, Ilya calmly stood up and looked at the mirror hanging on one side of the prayer room.
“Hmm. How long has it been since…” He
looked like a crazy person muttering to himself while touching his face, and even the blue eyes reflected in the mirror were slit vertically.
“Oh, humans don’t have eyes like this.”
The pupils turn round as soon as the words are finished.
Ilya stared at the face in the mirror and muttered as if talking to herself.
“Even if it’s frustrating, just be patient, my servant. After I finish all my business in this world, you too will stay with me in heaven.”
A blurry shadow appeared in her blue eyes.
It looks like a silver-haired woman crying.
But Ilya no longer cared about her appearance in the mirror.
As Ilya left the door of the prayer room, the waiting priest bowed his head with a wide smile.
“I congratulate you on your recovery.”
“OK.”
“…yes?”
Nosaje looked surprised for a moment.
Because Ilya rarely spoke informally to his subordinates, especially those who were older.
However, when he made eye contact with Ilia, who was looking at him intently, he soon realized once again that the young priest in front of him was now the head of the Holy Kingdom.
The Pope was also a saint.
‘His Holiness has been considerate all this while. ‘What respect do I have for my subjects?’
After recovering his surprise, he bowed even deeper as if reflecting on his mistake.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, it’s nothing else, I just wanted to ask about the holy light that surged above the prayer room. All the priests around me are surprised by the holy wave that makes my soul tremble.”
Now that I think about it, there were quite a few priests who were a little distance away from the two, unable to approach and just bowing their heads.
This greeting is simply too excessive to be considered a courtesy towards the highest ranking members of the religious order.
However, Ilia, and indeed the apostle and incarnation of Amunda, the god of the sea and change, took the excessive courtesy for granted.
Then, as if it was obvious, he said something surprising.
“There was an oracle.”
“yes!?”
A trust?
The eyes of the elder priest and everyone who was secretly listening to the conversation between the two people widened.
This happened several times before the pope was revealed to be a fraud, but in other words, excluding that, the oracle had to go back almost a hundred years.
“Gather the servants of God. I will explain the revelation I received.”
Therefore, the priests did not pay much attention to the slightly strange tone of voice of the saint and pope.
“All right.”
“Hurry up!”
“An oracle…”
Following the Pope’s instructions, the priests began to move busily.
* * * After hearing the news of Ilia’s departure, Philip and Harmon, who were on their way to meet him, also heard the news.
“Oracle?”
Philip tilted his head, but Harmon’s reaction was different.
“That’s right. A true oracle! The will of the Nine Great Gods, who look down on the world, has been completely conveyed to the earth.”
His red face showed a strong feeling of wanting to run away first, if not for Philip, who was moving with him.
I wanted to just let him go, but Philip also had work to do, so he couldn’t easily let go of the new sword.
“Ah, that’s a good thing. But what if I won’t be able to see the saint because of that…” “
That can’t be right. Go see her right away. If the oracle really came down, the castle may get very busy from now on. “Before that, we should first listen to our ally McLane’s request.”
It was a new sword that was dismissed as a favor from the Kingdom of McLane, not an individual, but Philip did not bother to correct it because it was not that far from the truth.
‘Was our kingdom an ally…?’
However, I felt a little doubt inside, but I just smiled and nodded.
After a while, another news was delivered to the two people who entered the central temple.
– McLane won the battle against the Empire.
– The sun of McLane that defeated the sword spirit.
– The empire’s one-sided war was completely defeated.
After sending away the paladin who brought the news, Harman looked back at Philip with surprised eyes and a smile on his face.
“It is truly an amazing act of inaction to kill that sword spirit. But I heard that the Lord of Macraine is quite young?”
That made Philip proud.
I feel like my shoulders are automatically shrugging and the bridge of my nose is rising.
“You will probably turn 28 after this winter. Well, that is entirely possible for our Majesty.”
Actually, I didn’t expect it at all.
However, Philip’s expression was calm because he was prepared not to be surprised no matter what really happened.
“…28 years old, no, I’m 27 now. Huh… That’s really hard to believe.”
When Philip was talking about Logan McLane’s accomplishments, Harmon used to just roughly agree with the tune, but now his expression barely changed, as if he was really surprised.
“Once you get to know our majesty, there will be more and more surprises. Since you were so surprised, most things are now just like that.”
Philip laughed, saying a mixture of jokes and seriousness.
“It looks like a new powerhouse has emerged in the eastern part of the continent. But if this happens, doesn’t the request from the Sangjang lord become meaningless?”
“Yes? Did I tell you what I would like to ask you?”
“Didn’t you mean to ask the Holy Kingdom to help McLane?”
“For that help, priests have already been dispatched to the battlefield… Oh, I’m sorry.”
Philip swallowed his words hastily as he saw Harmon’s complexion change as he spoke.
Fortunately, there was no one around, but Harmon narrowed his eyebrows with a somewhat stern expression.
“Even if this is something that is bound to be revealed at some point, I hope it doesn’t start with Seongguk or McLane.”
Destruction of the temple’s unwritten law of political neutrality.
There was no need to understand all the complex problems that would arise.
It’s just that it could give the empire room to invade the Holy Kingdom again.
That alone made Philip keenly aware of the need for secrecy.
‘Probably this new sword known for its stubbornness… would have opposed it.’
Therefore, Philip bowed his head once again.
“I’m sorry, but I’m telling you that we’ve already received a lot of help. Your Majesty is well aware of the situation in which Seongguk cannot move immediately.”
okay. For now.
“…then?”
“As I said, it is not your Majesty’s request. I told you it was Sir Victor’s personal request, but you didn’t believe me. I am quite disappointed, Captain.”
When Harmon looked momentarily embarrassed at those words, Philip smiled and waved his hand.
“Haha, just kidding. I believe you are well aware of the close relationship between Sir Victor and the Saint. So, I will tell you the details directly when I meet the Saint, or rather, the Pope.”
“…Let’s do that.”
If it’s a really trivial request, there’s no reason not to say it. What Philip said was clearly not a lie, but it was also not the complete truth.
It was so obvious that even the steely leader Harman could have guessed, it was just blindfolding.
Is the purpose of the national leader of ‘McLane’ to meet the Pope of the Holy Kingdom to convey a personal favor?
And the Pope accepts it again?
A passing dog would laugh.
However, that will leave behind data that this meeting was not for the official solidarity between McLane and the Holy Kingdom.
That was enough.
The defeat of the oracle and the empire.
The priests of the central temple, who were usually quiet, were busy moving around due to the unbelievable news that was delivered one after another.
It was unclear whether it was because of McLane’s victory or the oracle, but fortunately, the busyness was not a reason to postpone the meeting.
Maybe it’s because of our status.
“Philip at the top of the Macline meets the Holy Father.”
Philip raised his head with a polite bow, kneeling down on one knee like a knight.
A rather shabby headstone for the ruler of a holy country. The Pope’s Stone, located just one step above the center of Daejeon, seemed to clearly demonstrate the temple’s direction of staying away from power and being simple-minded.
However, the dazzling appearance of the woman sitting there made even the shabby head of the table look magnificent.
‘What a beauty indeed.’
It wasn’t just beauty.
This beautiful woman was a truly extraordinary figure who went from being a criminal sent to the Inquisition to becoming a cardinal, to being a saint who saved the Holy Kingdom, and eventually to becoming Pope.
Ilya, that amazing woman, soon accepted Philip’s words with a calm expression.
“Top of the Macline?”
“You can consider yourself King Logan’s direct subordinate, Your Holiness.”
When Harman, who was standing nearby, added words, Ilya’s eyes lit up.
An expression that seems quite interested.
‘Of course it is.’
Considering the current relationship between Seongguk and McLane, it was a natural reaction.
“His Majesty said he was truly grateful for the temple’s help. He was very disappointed that he could not communicate directly because it was still a battlefield and the timing was not right.”
When non-existent words came out of Philip’s mouth, they sounded like the truth.
Considering the situation, the content was also beyond reproach.
But the reaction that followed was a little strange.
“Help? Oh, that’s right. That kid is useless… hmm.”
“yes?”
“…?”
As the listeners showed strange reactions at the same time, Ilya let out a small sigh and then smiled.
“I’m tired from the long prayer, so my words come out in vain. Given my condition and the current situation, I wish I could get straight to the point.”
Harmon immediately nodded as if he understood, but Philip could not. This was because the saintess’s attitude just gave him the all-too-familiar feeling of an ‘expert merchant’.
At first glance, it looks like a pleasant smile, but in reality, it is just an act of facial skin moving.
‘Well, if you’re a high-ranking member of the Holy Kingdom, you might be able to do that.’
It felt a little uncomfortable, but I accepted it for now.
“…Yes. Since you say so, I will convey Your Majesty’s words right away.”
It’s really important from now on.
Philip took a deep breath and began to convey the monarch’s wishes as clearly and neatly as possible.
“His Majesty Logan is worried that if McLane is able to stop this Empire’s attack, the news has already been delivered. Anyway, if that happens, the Emperor himself will step in and escalate the war. “Your Majesty hopes that the Holy Kingdom will intervene for the sake of the many people who will die in this pointless war, and in consideration of the relationship between McLane and the Holy Kingdom, who have exchanged help so far.”
“Ho?”
The saintess looked to the side, her eyes shining. Upon seeing that, Harman, who received that look, lowered his head and opened his mouth,
“Our temple has ended the war with the empire and declared de facto neutrality. It may be a secret help, but it’s difficult to come forward officially.” These
words directly contradicted Philip’s words, which he had been chatting with amicably until the meeting.
It was truly a reflection of the personality of the man named Harmon Killerbrew.
Philip smiled again at that. He added,
“Because there is a false accusation put on the country by the empire. All you have to do is clear the cause.”
“Ah, black snake…”
As Harman looked at the saint with a perplexed expression, the saint looked at Philip with a strange smile.
Philip felt uncomfortable once again at that pretentious smile.
“As Director Harmon said, official help is a bit much. Instead, what if we help you like McLane did in the past?”
“…Yes?”
“For example, someone like Director Harmon here disguises himself and joins the war. “
Your Holiness!?”
Harman shouted in astonishment at the saint’s words, and Philip’s expression hardened.
