<591 – Delicious Linked Quest (15)>
The Empress Masugaki swiftly retaliated with a declaration of “Do it” at the inauguration ceremony of Oknodie.
Thus began a fierce struggle of glances among the Popes of the Divine Alliance, who received a second-tier subcontract.
“What is the Emperor plotting? They must know that the Saintess Alliance is a reckless union that our Divine Alliance can never accept.”
“Isn’t it a scheme to gather those opposing the alliance and eliminate them in one fell swoop?”
“Considering the Empire’s long history of rejecting faiths other than the One God, this is not an impossibility.”
“But still, would they go that far?”
“The current Empress Masugaki is still just a teenage girl. Everyone seems overly worried.”
As voices supporting the theory of youthful mistakes rose among the Popes, the leader of the opposition shouted with gleaming eyes.
“How can you overlook such an important fact?”
“What have we overlooked?”
“Empress Masugaki is a graduate of the Gift Academy.”
“!”
“That sends chills down my spine.”
“I have goosebumps.”
The Gift Academy.
The graduates from that place possess immense wisdom and talent.
Considering that both the previous Emperor, who ruled the Empire for hundreds of years, and the Demon King, who has led the Demon King’s Army for centuries, were both from the academy, this was certainly not a situation to be ignored.
“To carelessly discuss refusal against the Saintess Alliance is to fall into the Emperor’s psychological warfare; therefore, we must not make a decision on our own and should return the rights.”
“Are you saying to give up the chance to disperse those reckless masses?”
“At a time when the Northern Demon King’s Army is advancing, to refuse the church from becoming the focal point for humanity is to betray the Empire and the hopes of everyone.”
As the huge faction of genius traps gained strength, the Popes could no longer simply regard this as a youthful mistake.
“Amadeus of the Church of Fullness of Dish, why do you say nothing at the Divine Alliance Pope meeting?”
After the Pope of the Thunderbolt Celestial Divine Church, Saaghan Ileum, perished, Amadeus, his close friend, lost interest in the affairs of the gods.
Now realizing how lightly the will of the gods could cast aside righteousness or permit evil, Amadeus had lost all motivation.
“Regardless, what does it matter? If the gods decide, it will be overturned anyway.”
“Huh. Why are you so demotivated? The gods are busy, so the affairs of the church should be handled by the Popes who serve their intentions, no?”
In Amadeus’s eyes, the Popes, unaware of the gods’ capriciousness, seemed trivial and bothersome.
The wavering of faith:
He had entered the initial stage of what was called the [Collapse of Faith], feeling a growing aversion to Sacred Magic and slowly descending into ruin.
Naturally, when he spoke to the person who was already angry, sparks would fly.
Amadeus came up with an outrageous outlet for his frustration.
“The wicked wisdom of Dark Princess Oknodie has mocked even the will of the gods; I want to create a chance for their unwavering faith to become as futile as mine.”
“I can’t be the only one to fall.”
“You all should fall too.”
That malice-laden wisdom manifested through Amadeus’s mouth.
“What if we auction off reinforcements?”
“Reinforcement auction?”
“If refusing the Saintess Alliance from our mouths appears disgraceful in everyone’s eyes, we need to accumulate good deeds that don’t look disgraceful. Sending reinforcements to the Northern Front will serve as that good deed.”
“And what is the auction for?”
“The three churches that send the most reinforcements will ensure their status as the most devoted churches on the continent and gain the right to send a Saintess to assess the Saintess Alliance’s qualifications. Even if we refuse the alliance’s establishment, people will think there’s a problem with the alliance itself and won’t blame the Divine Alliance.”
The Popes, who had been meandering between the youthful mistake theory and the genius trap theory, erupted in applause simultaneously.
“The one who keeps silent possesses the most valuable wisdom; Amadeus’s words are indeed fitting.”
“Truly a wisdom befitting the Pope of the Church of Fullness of Dish, serving the God of Harmony, Belzebub. I’m genuinely impressed.”
“So, who should oversee the auction?”
Not wanting to see the Divine Alliance prosper, Amadeus answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Let the Emperor oversee it. If she oversaw it herself, she would have no choice but to accept whatever outcome arises.”
Thus, the second subcontract of Masugaki became a new task of overseeing the points auction, returning to her.
*
“Hmm? This seems doable~?”
To the disappointment of several Popes who expected the Emperor to be intimidated by such a big task, the auction was not unfamiliar to Masugaki at all.
Just last summer vacation, she had even participated in an uninhabited island auction on her way to meet Oknodie’s Papa.
“Oh, could it be that Oknodie prepared this auction experience early on so that I could handle such a day with composure?”
Shuddering at the buildup that she had never considered, Masugaki was moved by Oknodie’s best friend’s actions.
She recalled the memories of the uninhabited island auction and decided on the auction method for reinforcements.
“The auction tends to charge more points the harder it is to attend!”
Then, holding the auction in the most dangerous place in the world would surely bring forth more reinforcements!
Gaining true insight worthy of the Wahyhiemhai Foundation, Masugaki decided on the auction venue for the reinforcements.
“Let’s auction at the very forefront of the Underworld♡”
“No, why would you have an auction in such a dangerous place?”
“To verify the sincerity of the church that claims to send reinforcements, we need to test their commitment~? If they truly want to send reinforcements, they’ll likely perform well on other fronts too♡”
“What if they just call on many reinforcements hastily and disperse?”
“We have to change the betting method to avoid that♡ The reinforcement is what’s bet, but the means of betting is the kill count.”
“What do you mean by that? A kill count?”
“It means promising to send more reinforcements based on the number of underground beasts slain in the Underworld♡”
“!!”
So hip.
Yet, it aids in national governance.
By directly improving morale and support on one of the Empire’s two fronts, the scale of the support sent to other fronts would also be determined.
The wise auction, where both battlefields would gain reinforcements instead of just one, drew genuine applause from the high officials, not merely perfunctory praise.
“The wisdom of the Empress has risen above the Divine Alliance, bringing prosperity to the nation!”
“Long live the prosperity of the nation!”
Due to Masugaki’s wisdom, having learned something genuinely beneficial from Oknodie and the foundation, the second subcontract returned to a third round of double dispatch.
It became an unavoidable reality that attending the auction while tangling with the evil entities of the Underworld to conduct the reinforcements’ auction became a necessity.
“How could Your Majesty come up with such an extraordinary idea?”
Of course, Masugaki had not solely received assistance from the foundation.
Initially unable to say outright that she was aided by it, she began to come up with excuses, but upon reflection, there truly were reasons that sprang to mind.
“It’s thanks to the Academy♡”
At the academy, older students lacking in points would blockade the bathrooms or classrooms, demanding that those wanting to pass unlock the magical locks or pay points, practically forcing them.
Although these inept seniors would run away quickly if reported to the student council, the academy’s culture provided essential food for Masugaki’s governance.
If the Divine Alliance wanted to join the Saintess Alliance, then like those juniors who had to pay points instead of unlocking the magical locks in urgent bathroom situations, they too would need to promise to send reinforcements.
“One must not lower the support scale of the Gift Academy.”
“Of course♡”
With that, she had aided Oknodie.
Having fulfilled her duties as a best friend, the fate of the Saintess Alliance now rested once again on Oknodie.
Masugaki fell into a soothing sleep, as if handling a bomb was a breath of fresh air.
*
The Popes of the Divine Alliance finally concluded the auction for reinforcements to the Northern Front after turning the Underworld’s Level 2 into a sea of blood.
“The church serving the God of Flow, Aquariuos, states they shall summon the flow that will topple the Northern Front.”
“God of Peace Tranqilo has indicated they will engrave peace with great massacres, dispatching the Peace Titans from their church storage.”
“The great Grandios has learned the spell [Whisper of the Great] and liberates the wicked seers he had locked away in the monastery, urging even Popes to succumb to the desire to become great.”
After intense competition, the three winning churches hurriedly dispatched their Saintesses to the Gift Academy.
Though it would soon become a chaotic affair for the foundation due to the Demon King’s invasion, the Divine Alliance remained most disturbed by the emergence of the Saintess Alliance, even more so than the Demon King’s Army or the foundation.
“Before the valiant Sun God’s appointed warrior is extinguished by the atrocities of Warrior Ni’alatotep, no Saintess of any god shall aid them, elevating the Apostle of the One God. How can we declare the establishment of the Saintess Alliance again?”
“I need to see that shameless face of whoever betrayed the promise.”
“Truly, the Lord states: ‘Those betrayers who break a vow without offering a tithe shall reap their flesh by tenfold.’ Book of Vows, Chapter 2, Verse 13.”
The secret weapons of each church, the Saintesses, who had been deployed to secure the supply of Underworld Demonic Beasts for the auction of reinforcements, determined their resolution.
As these bloodied figures declared, the Imperial Army on the front lines secretly worried that they would be the first to suffer blows from the Saintess Alliance instead of the Demon King’s Army, but one person showed curiosity rather than concern.
“We shall inform the Lord of Day, the reigning vampire monarch, the Daywalker Hiuqmag, of the vile rumors we have overheard about the enemy.”
The new lord of night, who had abandoned the Empire above ground and seized control of the underground Empire, spoke.
“My daughter has mocked the Divine Alliance and incited discord on the surface; thus, I must lend my strength. You shall confuse the front lines with the blood that flows.”
“And what do you intend to do, my lord?”
“I will ascend to meet my daughter. If it serves to apply pressure on the Divine Alliance, I shall readily accept the Evil Dragon from the academy.”
Before the schedule for the inauguration could be set, the biggest player would automatically attend.
