“Instead, there’s a condition.”
Alice added a condition in exchange for allowing me to hit the cathedral.
“Going today is a bit of a hassle. We just got here, right? Since we’re here, let’s just relax and have a good time before we execute the plan at the end.”
Alice shrugged her shoulders and continued.
“Regardless of your abilities, there’s no guarantee it won’t backfire, right? So, it might be better to create some memories at least.”
Alice had a point. If it weren’t for the masked woman, I would have let it all out, but if she interfered while we were in the middle of something, it could become quite chaotic.
Was there a safe in the cathedral? I thought the possibility was low. In the original story, no safe ever came out of the cathedral.
Inside the cathedral was a military hideout—acting as a dungeon in the game—and various reports deep within that hideout.
I could have transferred the reports directly to the Papal State, but I needed space to gather the materials and draw conclusions. On top of that, in the original story, the Papal State was in cahoots with Velbur.
Until now, the masked woman had only appeared where there were safes or where a safe might appear, so I thought it was unlikely to encounter her in the cathedral. But who knew?
“Got it.”
It’s not like I had to investigate right this moment.
And I needed time to prepare. Collecting the weapons I had sneakily stashed on the train, assembling the over-tech exosuit Browning made for me, organizing ammo, selecting weapons… It’d be better to take my time and make proper preparations instead of rushing in.
When I replied promptly, Alice let out a long sigh as if she felt relieved.
“Alright then. I’ll help you with the preparations, so let’s keep it low-key while we’re with the kids.”
I nodded at Alice’s words.
*
Being with my friends was quite helpful for me.
Charlotte diligently showed us around. Thanks to her, I became well-acquainted with crucial locations in Lutetia. I noted the distance from the hotel we were staying at to the Cathedral of St. Latina, the police in the vicinity… that sort of stuff.
“If industrial facilities come in, some areas of Lutetia will inevitably be demolished. It’s a beautiful place, but modernization is unavoidable.”
Charlotte often expressed sentiments like that with a somewhat bitter expression.
“Rondarium is the same. Factories popping up here and there, gas lines coming in… Honestly, I’m a bit envious of the clean air in Lutetia. You can barely feel that back in the Imperial Capital.”
As Alice chimed in, Charlotte jumped in surprise.
“Are you saying you’re envious of Lutetia right now?”
Alice’s expression changed dramatically at that. Just a moment ago, she was gazing off into the distance with a somewhat nostalgic look, but Charlotte’s words seemed to snap her back to reality.
If I had to summarize Alice’s changed expression in one word, it would be ‘Hmph!’
“Still, Rondarium is more comfortable. Honestly, it’s an easier place to live, right?”
“If we think of a ‘good’ place to live, the conversation might change.”
In response to Charlotte’s counter, Alice didn’t bother to say more.
Eventually, industrialization will hit Lutetia over time, and it would become increasingly hard to breathe the good air like this.
If that happens, Lutetia might end up becoming a secondary city with a level of modernization slightly behind Rondarium. An ironic situation.
But both Alice and Charlotte knew that, yet they didn’t voice it out loud.
Well, nobody knows how a city will change in the future anyway.
*
The Cathedral of St. Latina was historically significant, regardless of whether I planned to hit it or not.
It might not be at the level of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, but it was the largest cathedral built outside the Papal State. Moreover, it had the highest number of visiting believers. Naturally, the donations collected here surpassed any cathedral in the Papal State.
In both a spiritual and practical sense, this place was extremely important to the Papal State.
Well, its location was in Velbur, and the nation that built it was also Velbur.
“So beautiful…”
Even Alice, who always reacted with a tick tick sound, couldn’t help but mumble that once she entered the cathedral; it was grand and gorgeous.
The walls were intricately carved from white stone, and the stained glass created by mixing various colors.
And there were beautiful and grand murals painted on the ceiling.
Although a large part of the Goddess Church drew from Christianity, the two religions were not entirely the same. The contents of the sacred texts one could obtain in the game seemed to swap out Greek and Roman myths for monotheism.
In addition to tales of the holy war between the followers of the goddess and opposing beings, there were similar stories to those in Greek and Roman mythology, like why a certain flower is red or why the leaves of a certain tree are wide.
For reference, the people living in this world are said not to truly believe in such stories. Just as many in modern society focus on the hidden meanings behind biblical texts rather than interpreting them literally, the same goes for the sacred texts in this world.
Of course, in modern society, there were still those who took the texts literally and were fanatical about it.
“Hmm.”
It was only natural for Charlotte to beam with pride, but for some reason, Sophia nearby was also wearing a proud expression.
Aren’t you in a bit of trouble? You’re still undercover, after all.
“But Charlotte isn’t part of the Goddess Church, right?”
Claire questioned the proudly beaming Charlotte. In that moment, Charlotte’s shoulders flinched slightly.
Indeed, Charlotte had no religion. The Velbur royal family deliberately doesn’t adhere to any specific faith. That fact itself served as a negotiating factor when dealing with the Papal State, helping Velbur as a whole to not sway under their influence.
The setting shows that there were kings who, deep down, believed in the Goddess Church, but even those kings officially claimed to be non-religious.
“Well, the architectural style of this church is Velbur-style!”
Claire nodded as if she didn’t particularly have any great doubts about Charlotte’s statement.
“This cathedral was built when there were no machines at all, right?”
Leo looked up at the ceiling as he spoke.
“That means every single carving was made by hand.”
“It wasn’t just simply carved,” Sophia answered in place of Charlotte.
“Both the architect and the workers were deeply devoted believers. They prayed every time they struck a chisel and every brushstroke was accompanied by prayers, and they prayed and inscribed the sacred text words on the walls just the same.”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward Sophia as she continued speaking. Even Charlotte, who had introduced us to this place, was looking at her.
However, it seemed Sophia didn’t fully grasp what that meant. Guess she was that excited.
“And because of that, this building is known for holding as much divine power as those constructed with the involvement of clergy in the Papal State. The sacred power of each person might not match those of priests, but the sincere devotion gathered together became strong enough to bestow blessings. It really is a miracle.”
As a side note, one reason that such devout individuals were able to gather was that Velbur had just recently stopped persecuting the Goddess Church.
Although the building was made by the people of Velbur, paradoxically, at the time it was built, the Velbur royal family did not offer any support. This occurred before the Papal State was firmly established, so they could not support it, and St. Latina, which shared the same name as the cathedral, had already been executed ten years before it was built.
They say it took dozens of years to build the cathedral. All the funds used to build it were purely collected by the believers, and all the workers who gathered were volunteers.
The reason that the Papal State considers this place as important, even though it is not on their land, is partly due to the number of believers and money, but also because it holds deep meaning for the Goddess Church.
Though Sophia didn’t explain all this, the facial expression of Charlotte, who knew the background, became a bit complicated.
However, the children were just looking up at the building with a mixture of awe, so the situation didn’t get too weird.
“……”
But amidst all this, one person cast a peculiar glance in my direction – none other than Alice Fanggriffon, the rightful heir of the Empire.
‘Are you really thinking of destroying such a historic place?’
I felt as if I could hear that thought, so I subtly averted my gaze.
Ah, I’ll fix it after breaking it.
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