I was shocked, but at least I thought I should ponder enough to calm my excitement.
After I cooled my head, things might look different.
However, even after an hour passed and I looked again, the conclusion was the same.
I judged that there was no longer any reason to hesitate and decided to enhance my abilities immediately.
[1 Ability Enhancement Right has been consumed.]
[‘Selection and Concentration’ ability has been enhanced.]
[Ability: Selection and Concentration]
[Grade: Miracle]
[Description: Amplifies a specific stat momentarily once a day. Can be stopped and reused. Time limit: 5 seconds. Amplification amount: 299]
The changes for ‘Selection and Concentration’ were straightforward.
The amplification amount, originally 99, had changed to 299.
The time limit remained at 5 seconds, but even this alone made the enhancement worthwhile.
After all, ‘Selection and Concentration’ is the most frequently used ability I possess.
Other abilities could be useful if I wanted to use them, but none have the high utility or often rescue me from dire situations like ‘Selection and Concentration’.
Moreover, I felt like the stat amplification of 99 was starting to feel somewhat ambiguous.
If I could amplify both Agility and Strength stats at the same time, it would be possible to overwhelm Sergey, the strongest human.
However, even that wouldn’t give a significant advantage against Sergey’s experience, and the time limit would just run out without much effect.
But what if I faced a Majin directly?
If I couldn’t completely overpower them with stats, I’d be smashed in an instant against those battle machines.
I even remember that Tiltitz has a Strength stat set over 100.
Majins are expected to become stronger in the future.
Magicians are doomed to die, and once other Majins start to fall, the surviving Majins will absorb their authority, becoming rapidly powerful.
By that time, a stat amplification of 99 would be woefully inadequate.
However, a stat of around 299 would be able to crush Majins.
Of course, if only one Majin were left in this world and attained god-like power, I could not contend.
By then, the continent’s destruction would be all but confirmed, so there was no need to speculate.
I wondered if battles during that time would erupt on a planetary scale.
“Thank you for waiting, Your Excellency. It took a bit of time to set the safety measures.”
The guard opened the door and saluted.
I guess preparations are complete.
I briefly shook hands with the guard and entered further inside.
“Who is this?”
“Damn…”
A lump of meat, bound tightly by leather restraints, no, the commander of the Asylum, revealed himself.
It was pitiful to see him sitting there with all his limbs severed.
Upon seeing my face, he distorted his expression intensely.
“I wonder how you’ve been.”
“Shut up, Schlus Hainkel.”
“After I saved you from dying, you can’t even say thank you; how cruel.”
“Don’t make me laugh!”
He yelled, veins bulging on his face.
He seemed to be quite pent-up.
I immediately blocked all means for him to commit suicide.
I forcibly rewired his internal circuit to delete the self-destruct function, and damaged the core located in his heart to prevent him from using magic.
And, without arms and legs, self-harm was impossible.
Biting his tongue was the only way he could hurt himself, but after trying several times and not dying, he seemed to have given up.
“How about you just say everything comfortably now? Then… I’ll make sure you have the most luxurious life among those without limbs.”
“Just kill me, you madman.”
“…”
After I showed kindness, he only returned insults.
According to what I heard, he had not cooperated at all since being captured.
What I found out was that he held the role of the commander leading the Asylum’s combat troops.
They say he’s the most knowledgeable among the ranks below the executives.
Or perhaps he might know more than Relic.
I hoped to extract as much as possible, but the top priority was to find the connection with the Papal Palace.
Then I could legally invade the Monarch and destroy the Papal Palace.
Any dangerous element that could overturn public opinion while spouting nonsense about the will of the gods needed to be eliminated as soon as possible to feel at ease.
“As you can see, he absolutely won’t speak. Can I proceed with the serious interrogation now?”
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
I could only sigh and give permission.
Once serious interrogation begins, he wouldn’t even be able to keep his eyes open or pronounce clearly.
The experts in this field must be pros at making people talk without driving them insane.
I questioned whether this would work on zealots who have been thoroughly brainwashed but decided to hold onto a sliver of hope.
“UAAAGH!”
As I strolled down the corridor, a coarse scream erupted behind me.
I never thought people had to be treated so inhumanely.
My heart ached.
*
“Your Holiness! You can’t resign!”
“It’s not worth stepping down!”
In the Monarch Principality, a commotion broke out in the Papal Palace.
The Pope had declared he would voluntarily resign.
The reason cited was his failure to prevent the unexpected attack by the inquisitors on St. Iris and a diplomatic failure with the Empire’s Emperor.
…Or at least that’s what was known, but the reality was a bit different.
The decision to resign was purely due to pressure from the Emperor.
If he continued to behave shamelessly after making mistakes twice, the hot-tempered Emperor could wield force.
This was merely a show of stepping back.
There were many pro-empire cardinals among them, leading to the illusion that they could sway the papal vote in their favor.
“We must hold elections soon… Are there any candidates among us?”
In the solemn atmosphere, the cardinals glanced at each other.
Their gazes carried a strange hostility.
It was due to the recent ‘major revelation.’
Sensitive inner workings that only insiders could know suddenly surfaced in the media.
Amidst mutual suspicion of betrayal, the factions had split apart.
Then, someone raised their hand.
“Cardinal Branden Hainkel…”
“May I run for candidacy?”
A cardinal who belonged to no faction.
Ever the busy bee, locked away in the underground labs conducting research.
Perhaps his lack of a solid footing made him even more suitable as a pope, sparking a thought in the cardinals’ minds.
It was an opportunity to manipulate a puppet pope with various interests in play.
Besides, Branden Hainkel shares the same last name as Schlus Hainkel.
While they did not know the exact details, he seemed to have personal ties to him.
Thus, elevating Branden Hainkel to the papacy could also serve to restore relations with the Empire.
Before long, the cardinals began nodding to one another, exchanging glances.
Since they were hostile to each other, reaching an agreement to elevate Branden Hainkel, a figure with neither ally nor enemy, was achievable.
“Very well. It seems there are no other candidates. As there is only one candidate, we shall proceed with a vote of approval or disapproval. Cardinal Branden Hainkel must receive a majority to be elected as pope. The vote will be held three days from now at this time.”
Since there was only one candidate, they moved to a vote of approval.
In effect, it was already as good as being named pope.
Branden Hainkel smiled gently as he shook hands with the other cardinals.
To the cardinals, Branden Hainkel merely appeared to be a sweet young man suitable for being made into a puppet.
They had no way of knowing that this entire development was part of the resigning Pope’s intent.
*
“Julia. Are you there?”
“No, sister.”
Erica suddenly poked her head through the door.
Seeing Julia, who was all covered up on the bed with sparkling eyes, Erica chuckled and entered the room with an oil lamp.
“Ugh…”
“Hey, what? You’re lying down?”
“I just woke up. And it seems like we have quite a long story to discuss, don’t we?”
“Seems so…”
Julia was trying to sit up.
Erica helped Julia to lean back on her pillow and sat on a chair in front of the bed.
With the lamp on the table flickering, Erica hesitated to speak, lips moving lightly.
“About the incident the day before yesterday. The one where you and Schlus swapped places. Schlus told me what it was.”
“Really? What kind of magic was it?”
“Teleportation magic, he said, a secret art that’s been kept under wraps.”
“Ah…”
Noticing Julia’s intrigued expression, Erica felt even more awkward.
“But to cast that, it requires embedding a spell into the body of the person being teleported.”
“What?”
“So, it means Schlus secretly embedded a spell in your body.”
Erica sighed deeply and calmly delivered the shocking news.
When she first heard it, she couldn’t even be angry at Schlus.
It was true he had cut her sister’s body and embedded a spell, but it was also true that it had saved her life.
But Schlus was not here at this moment.
So it made perfect sense for Julia to feel angry.
“I see… I had no idea…”
“Huh? That’s it?”
“Yeah? What more is needed?”
“Nah.”
Erica was taken aback by the unexpectedly calm response.
Julia even appeared to be relieved.
How could one not feel uncomfortable upon hearing that someone else had touched their body?
Pondering in confusion, Erica thought,
‘Could it be? Does she have feelings for Schlus…?’
A plausible possibility flashed in her mind, and she furrowed her brow.
But she quickly rejected that thought and shook her head.
Julia is young, so she might feel simple affection, but it couldn’t possibly be romantic love.
She thought she probably saw him as just a close older brother.
‘I see. The spell of Schlus in my body…’
Meanwhile, Julia looked at her pale, veined arm and smiled affectionately.
Such forceful magic like teleportation wouldn’t operate without the consent of the subject.
And that consent didn’t just mean answering a question of belief.
It meant the whole body wouldn’t resist the spell’s activation.
That is, she had to have no aversion to the flow of mana that Schlus initiated.
‘When did this happen to me?’
It had been a while since she felt comfortable being with Schlus.
It’s been quite some time since she comfortably fell asleep with her back against him.
However, if asked whether she could risk her life for him, she might hesitate to answer.
Yet Julia’s body seemed to say otherwise.
She had already completed her preparation to trust and accept all of Schlus’s touches and the exertion of mana.
This was the first time she had trusted someone so deeply.
No matter how deep a bond she formed, it had never lasted longer than 20 years before they had to separate.
But with Schlus, it hadn’t even been a year since they met. How could this be?
“Julia. Do you have a headache?”
“Huh? Why the head all of a sudden?”
“Your face is red. Do you have a fever?”
“Uhh…”
Recognizing her feelings, Julia’s mind became complicated.
Throughout her countless reincarnations over hundreds of years, she had never had the chance to feel such emotions.
