Chapter 128 – Episode 127 – The Tribunal Of The Holy Office Of The Inquisition (3)
As I endured the ongoing pain, it gradually subsided, and just when I thought it was finally calming down, a semi-transparent window popped up in front of my eyes.
【Connecting to the Main System.】
【Connecting to the Main System.】
【Connecting to the Main System.】
【Main System connection confirmed.】
It wasn’t that the semi-transparency made it impossible to see, but it was naturally annoying to have a window floating around in my field of vision.
But I couldn’t just gouge out my eyes because I didn’t want to see it popping up on its own, so I patiently waited, and soon a window saying “Connection Complete” appeared, followed by the quest window.
【Quest】
▼ Main Quest
▶ Stop the Demon King
▼ Sub Quest
▶ Create a Party! (Completed)
▶ Recruit allies for the Holy War! (NEW)
What kind of random quest is this?
It was already ridiculous that the quest window, which hadn’t changed for a long time, suddenly appeared, but a new sub-quest had been added.
Recruit allies for the Holy War…? What about my party members… I mean, Diana and Irian? Even if I glared at it, nothing changed. This damn system. If you’re going to tell me, at least give me the details. Isn’t this too vague?
Allies for the Holy War. I thought about how it was different from the previous quest to create a party. The party member quest was completed when I fought alongside Cha Hyewon.
What’s the difference between a party member and an ally in the first place?
There were no tooltips, so I had to guess based on the information I had so far, and the conclusion I came to was that party members were directly connected to me… like Cha Hyewon, Diana, and Irian.
In simple terms, it’s like forming a team to hunt in a game.
Then what about allies? I guessed that they weren’t the type to stick with me like party members, but rather a cooperative relationship for a goal… Just then, I heard a knock on the door, and the Chief Cardinal entered.
“Huhu, Cardinal Yurian. You don’t look well. Is something the matter?”
“Ah… Your Eminence, Cardinal. Please treat me as before. I don’t know what to do with myself when you treat me so kindly.”
With his wrinkled face, stylish white hair, and white eyebrows, the Chief Cardinal looked like an old man in his 70s or 80s.
It was uncomfortable for me, a mere 20-year-old, to receive honorifics from an old man in his 70s or 80s, as a Confucian from the Land of Eastern Courtesy… but not really.
Honestly, what does age matter? Status is everything. If the old man in front of me was just an ordinary villager, I would have just accepted it whether he used honorifics or bowed down to me.
“Oh ho ho. Is that alright?”
“Of course. You’ve been taking care of me since I was a child, Your Eminence. It’s more comfortable when you treat me as before.”
However, this Chief Cardinal is actually the highest-ranking official in the Order, excluding the Pope. There is the Saintess, who is nominally equal to the Pope, but… our Diana’s actual power is less than the Chief Cardinal’s.
Since the Pope hasn’t shown himself for a long time, the head of the Order is practically this Chief Cardinal, so I’ve been diligently sucking up to this old man since I was young.
Our world’s cross religion doesn’t have the exact same doctrines, but the characteristics of a universal world religion, such as poverty and humility, are the same here. Therefore, rather than showing off because I’m doing well, it’s better to be as simple and humble as possible to gain points with this old man.
“Indeed, you’ve been consistent since you were a child. To think that such a small child has grown up to become a pillar of the Order… I’m moved. Huhu.”
I gave a humble smile to the Cardinal, who was smiling kindly.
‘What is this? Where did that previous appearance go? This time he’s acting like a human again.’
Where did the cyborg-like Cardinal from before go? The Cardinal I knew with a kind smile had appeared. …What is this? Why do these Cardinals change so much? Are there twins hidden somewhere?
As I cautiously observed the Cardinal, the old man suddenly approached.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
I thought I wasn’t showing it, but the old man was quite sharp.
The Cardinal still had a kind smile and naturally took my hand.
“Yurian. This old man doesn’t have any advice to give you… but if I were to give you one, it would be this. Don’t overthink things. You’re doing well. So don’t worry, and do as you wish. That is the will of God.”
What does this man know? The cyborg-like man during the Cardinal appointment ceremony definitely mentioned the system. Does this man now have the memories from that time?
“Your Eminence. Have you perhaps… heard the word ‘system’?”
It was dangerous to ask directly, but I didn’t think this old man didn’t know. He was the one who openly said he was connecting to the main system, so he couldn’t possibly not know anything.
“System? Hmm. I’m not sure.”
How ambiguous. The Cardinal gave a soft smile and turned around. I observed the Cardinal’s back, who was wearing simple clothes instead of his usual crimson, ornate robes, and noticed something strange.
‘What’s that on his neck? A mole? A scar? It looks like a hole…’
“Yurian.”
“Ah, yes, yes!”
“Don’t worry. You’ll know everything when you meet His Holiness the Pope.”
Suspicious words. Only the five Cardinals could meet the veiled Pope, but now that I had been newly appointed as a Cardinal, I was granted the authority to meet the Pope.
What kind of being is the Pope, who has lived for hundreds, thousands of years as the first Pope? He never appeared in the game. Both in the game and here in reality, information about the Pope is extremely limited, and no one has seen him except for the five Cardinals, so it’s questionable whether he’s even alive.
“And do as you wish. Whatever it may be. Don’t worry about what anyone thinks.”
“……Pardon?”
“This meeting. I’ll leave it entirely up to you. The Cardinals, including myself, will follow your will, so do as you wish.”
“Yes, Your Eminence? Your Eminence, Cardinal? …No, wait, wait a minute! Wait!”
I stared blankly at the Cardinal’s back as he left the door. Does he use some kind of teleportation? He walks so fast.
I let out a laugh at his distant figure. What the heck? Is he crazy? To leave this important meeting… for me to do as I please?
“This is completely… completely awesome.”
The leaders of the Order, who seem to be related to the main system, are so actively supporting me. I had felt that the leaders of the Order had been pushing me from before.
At that time, I thought it was just because my image-making was working, because of my “Saint” trait, because of my growth comparable to the Saintess, and because I was an orphan with no background, so I was easy to manipulate… I thought of all sorts of reasons, but I never imagined it was related to the main system.
‘So… does that mean the system is pushing me? Telling me to do whatever I want?’
Then I should make good use of it.
And so, what I thought of was to build my own power using the religious court.
The Order is strong. It’s incomparable to any secular ruler.
The Holy Nation of Hespole is one of the most prosperous cities in this world, and the metropolitan area formed around Hespole boasts a huge population and wealth.
Even this place, which is practically an independent territory, is comparable to the national power of a decent kingdom, and the Order exerts influence through temples spread throughout the continent.
Wealth? In addition to the wealth of Hespole and its vicinity, the tithes sent from temples scattered across the continent are so overwhelming that they cannot be compared to the finances of any other country on the continent.
Although there are empires and kingdoms, the countries under the feudal system, where centralization is not complete, have weak single power, so there is no single force comparable to the well-organized Order forces under the central Order, at least in this world.
Military power? In addition to the army that Hespole itself possesses and the Holy Knights directly under the Order, the troops of nearby cities are also practically the troops of the central Order. In addition, the Order’s own defense forces scattered throughout the area cannot be ignored.
In terms of a single force, the Order is more powerful than the empire. Above all, the Order has a powerful force that secular rulers do not have… the power of belief called ‘religion’.
It’s simple if you think of the status of religion in medieval Europe. Life begins with religion and ends with religion. A life that is with religion from cradle to grave.
When they are born, they receive the blessing of a priest at the local temple, and when they die, they are guided by a priest at the local temple. In other words, people’s lives in this era are connected to religion throughout their lives, so the immeasurable power of this religion is the most powerful force the Order has.
But this is not a power that I can wield freely yet.
Then, having my own power that I can move freely… the beginning of that is the ‘Religious Court’.
It has sufficient justification to interfere in secular matters, and its authority is immense. In addition, it is an organization directly under the Pope. Since the Pope exists but doesn’t exist, it is the most ideal organization to make my own.
I will fill the seven leaders with my own people, including the Saintess Diana.
The Order is actively pushing me now, but just in case, I will take a conciliatory gesture towards secular power and fill 3-4 of them with the main heroines I haven’t met yet.
If I capture the main heroines and make them my women… then the Religious Court will practically be mine. This way, I don’t have to step forward and take all the flak.
And so, at the second meeting, the Second Council of Fran, the ‘Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición’ was established, and its rights and regulations were created.
The seven High Inquisitors who would lead the Religious Court were also assigned.
Saintess Diana
The Sword of the Order, Irian Light
The Imperial Regent, Cha Hyewon
The Shieldmaiden of the Kingdom of Astru, Ingrid Bjornsdottir
The Winter Flower of the Northern Grand Duchy, Epiphania
The Tiger Beastkin Chieftain of the Clan Alliance, Ranga Taiga
The Sword of Justice of the Kingdom of Nahara, Cadagan
……Hmm. Now that I’ve picked them, I feel a little guilty.
The reactions of the people at the second meeting were also absurd.
“No… I understand the Saintess, but… why are they all women?”
Everyone was dumbfounded and asked this, but I was confident. Nominally, there were two positions assigned to the Order. I claimed that the rest were distributed ‘fairly’ among the Empire and the kingdoms.
“Shall we… issue a summons?”
“Ahem. I agree.”
“Agree.”
“I agree.”
And so, the second meeting was also successfully concluded. Hooray.
Two of the seven are definitely on my side. I don’t have to worry about Diana and Irian. Cha Hyewon… she’s on my side, but she’s a bit prickly, so I’m worried. Still, she’s a friendly force, so I’m not too worried about her either.
Ranga Taiga, who was assigned as a beastkin, was half-forced in. She’s not a main heroine, but Ranga Taiga was a woman I could easily gain favor with and win over.
Ingrid and Epiphania are targets I have to capture now… and the Sword of Justice of the Kingdom of Nahara, Cadagan, is… Lilith. To be precise, it’s Lilith’s clone.
……Lilith in the leadership of the Religious Court. I wondered if this was okay… but, well, it’ll be fine.
