Chapter 99

“Your Majesty, I can only express my gratitude for the opportunity to spread the Goddess’s grace to the citizens of the Empire.”

If we were to name the two most important figures in the Goddess Church, they would be the Saintess and the Pope.

While the Saintess serves as the symbolic figure of the Church as the daughter of the Goddess, the Pope is its face in external activities.

Thus, the Pope always took the lead in discussions regarding positions linked to the Imperial Family.

At this moment, the Pope, invited by the Emperor, was having a private conversation at the Imperial Palace about the Empire’s welfare projects.

“Compared to the Church’s efforts in helping those the Imperial Family has overlooked until now, it is but a trivial matter.”

The conversation between the Emperor and the Pope was extraordinarily smooth.

Considering how difficult it usually is for the Imperial Family and the Church to maintain such a harmonious relationship, this lively scene, reminiscent of close friends chatting, was indeed remarkable.

This pleasant atmosphere owed much to the current Pope of the Goddess Church, ‘Gregorio.’

– The glory of the world and the glory of the heavens must be separated.

Prior to his ascension to the papacy, it was typical for the Imperial Family and the Church to exert mutual restraint to gain more influence over the Empire.

However, ever since Gregorio became Pope, the separation of religion and secular affairs eliminated any need for conflict.

He took the lead in punishing clergy who excessively sought wealth and power, continuously criticizing the Church for becoming too secular.

Consequently, the Church, now reformed with the agreement of like-minded clergy and the Saintess, was transforming into an organization solely dedicated to the welfare of the Goddess’s children.

Leading the charge in poverty alleviation and living modestly himself, dissenters dared not openly criticize him.

As a result, the Goddess conveyed a revelation through the Saintess that he was indeed a holy man.

The citizens of the Empire began to refer to him as ‘Saint Gregorio.’

“However, Your Majesty, I sense a hidden worry on your face. Is there some issue weighing on you?”

“No, it’s nothing that would concern you, Pope.”

“Don’t be burdened. The troubles you carry are also the troubles of the Empire, and I hope to offer assistance.”

The Emperor pondered over the Pope’s words.

He had fallen into contemplation because of a report he received earlier that day before meeting the Pope.

‘Your Majesty, there has been a request for an Agora regarding Professor Rupert Somerset from the Imperial Parents’ Association, a gathering of nobles.’

Upon reading the report from the court noble, the Emperor was engulfed in rage.

The claims made by the Imperial Parents’ Association regarding Rupert’s Agora request, discussing the evils of comics, were utterly absurd.

What was even more troublesome was that the claims sounded rather plausible on the surface.

– The comics drawn by Rupert Somerset are abundant in violence and cruelty, negatively influencing the children who are the future pillars of the Empire.

– The spread of false information through comics could incite turmoil among the citizens of the Empire.

– Illiterate commoners, having learned to read from comics, may rise against the authority of the nobles, potentially undermining societal hierarchies.

Their assertions, which could be broadly classified into three categories, garnered significant support from some nobles, making it difficult for the Emperor to dismiss them easily.

‘I could refuse the Agora. But the consequences would be dire.’

The Agora had been a right of the nobles since the establishment of the Empire.

If he were to forcibly block it, it was predictable that even those nobles who weren’t currently in accord would unite to pressure the Imperial Family.

‘What a pity. I had intended to welcome him as a member of my Imperial Family.’

The Emperor lamented more over the Agora request, which he thought would have dared not come had he connected Ioleen and Rupert as he had envisioned.

“Ugh… Actually, the nobles have requested an Agora, and the target is…”

Finding himself in a dilemma without any apparent solution, the Emperor decided to vent his frustration to the Pope.

“Hmmm… Professor Rupert Somerset, or rather, calling him a professor is more fitting now. I’m somewhat familiar with him as well.”

“How does the Pope know him…?”

“The Daughter of Gaia has connected with the professor. I recall she described him as a person of composure and adaptability.”

“Wow, I never expected the Saintess would speak so of him.”

“Therefore, you need not worry too much.”

While telling the Emperor not to fret, the Pope concealed his thoughts inwardly.

– He is already representing the will of the Goddess, so mere nobles cannot harm him.

Among the revelations received by the Saintess after visiting Count Somerset’s household, there was information concerning Rupert.

That information was a closely guarded secret, and thus, the Pope could only assure the Emperor that everything would be fine.

*

“May I ask why the Daughter of Gaia has come to visit the Academy?”

The Imperial Academy, now quiet due to the school break.

In the office of the headmaster, Yustaf was receiving a guest with considerable caution.

“Yustaf, thank you for taking the precious time to meet with me.”

The individual he was meeting was none other than the Saintess of the Goddess Church, so Yustaf had to be particularly careful in his demeanor.

Traditionally, the Mage Tower and the Church didn’t maintain a good relationship.

Mages, who explored the truths of the world and researched mana found in nature, often crossed the line with their experiments.

For instance, there had been countless cases of human experimentation or dark magic researchers borrowing the power of demon gods in the past.

The Church was the one that designated such individuals as dark wizards or witches and had fought bloody wars against them alongside the Holy Knights of the Goddess Church just a little over a century ago.

Of course, today’s mages were aware that many of their predecessors had gone astray, so they didn’t feel completely wronged.

However, there were also many innocent mages and people who had perished under the pretense of eradicating heretics, leaving no room for goodwill.

On the other hand, the Goddess Church viewed mages who ignored their mother’s teachings and pursued false truths as beings to be vigilantly guarded against.

Given this backdrop, Yustaf considered it no trivial matter for the representative of mages to be approached by the representative of the Church, the Saintess.

“Are you aware of something called the Night’s Kin?”

“I could never have imagined that name would come up.”

Finally, the main topic slipped from the Saintess’s lips, and the mention of Night’s Kin astonished Yustaf.

The name of the tribe tainted by magic, which had vanished hundreds of years ago, suddenly came from the Saintess.

“I understood they had been exterminated by the Tribal Union.”

– However, given the Saintess’s expression, does that mean there are remnants?

Yustaf, noticing the subtle reaction in the Saintess’s face when he mentioned ‘exterminated,’ couldn’t help but ask hesitantly.

But the Saintess merely smiled and responded.

“If there were remnants, they wouldn’t have come to seek you, Yustaf.”

“Then what on earth?”

“There exists an elf who has inherited the powers of the bloodline of Calaris, the only being from the Night’s Kin.”

Information related to Sataniel was treated as highly confidential, so Yustaf had no way of knowing.

The Saintess’s narrative regarding the tragedies surrounding the elves that had taken place centuries ago and the birth of dark elves was astonishing.

Especially the revelation that the swordsman Cal Origen was part of the secret organization Crimson Warden, fighting against them, was a pleasant surprise amid the troubling news.

“Origen! He’s there, is he?”

Yustaf’s old friend, Cal Origen.

The two had been close since they were fledgling mages and knights, so he felt a mix of surprise and joy at hearing news of him after such a long time.

He had not heard anything since Origen’s family was brutally massacred by bandits, which made the silence all the more painful.

“That person has died.”

For the first time, the Saintess’s words caused Yustaf’s expression to harden.

*

‘Is this the right judgment?’

After the Saintess left, Yustaf was lost in thought, smoking in the headmaster’s office.

Originally a non-smoker, he occasionally lit one up during particularly good or bad days.

Today was clearly a day marked by bad news.

When he heard of Origen’s death, he wanted nothing more than to personally butcher those responsible immediately.

Upon realizing that the tragedy endured by Origen’s family had been the work of dark elves, his heart ached as he thought about how much the man had suffered and how furious he must have been, alone.

He felt a deep sense of regret for being upset over the lack of news about his friend, unaware of the struggles he faced.

– I will support you with reliable mages led by my disciple, Jenia.

While Yustaf wanted to confront the dark elves led by Sataniel himself, unfortunately, he found it impossible.

If someone of Yustaf’s stature were to abruptly leave the Academy, it would raise eyebrows, and the Saintess’s warning about issues arising in this covert operation lingered in his mind.

Thus, he decided to provide reliable individuals to support the mission, and the selected person was none other than his disciple, Jenia.

‘Her skills are sufficient.’

Although she had only been learning from him for half a year, Jenia had improved remarkably to the point of being nearly unrecognizable.

Her immense power, stemming not just from her Dragonian lineage, but also her dazzling intelligence, was noteworthy.

Recalling how effective and destructive the new magic system she had demonstrated, Yustaf felt hopeful.

However, he noticed that, perhaps due to her young age, she often seemed agitated and had severe emotional fluctuations.

Thus, he felt the need to provide her with an opportunity, leading to his decision to involve her in this matter.

‘To control that power, she needs experience.’

Having already reached a level very few could handle apart from himself, Yustaf hoped Jenia could use her powers against evil rather than people.

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