Chapter 116 - 116 Judgment
When I returned from the underground to the surface, the suppression of the drug factory was already over. To prevent anyone from going beyond the drug factory, Steve had used magic to create a block of steel and blocked the stairs. We plan to make a door later to collect the fruits of the Man-eating Grass, but for now, to keep the church's secrets from leaking out, no one is allowed inside.
Prince Carter came over with his guards upon seeing Steve's figure.
"Lord Archibalt, were you safe?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, the Pope and the priest took their own lives, so we couldn't catch them."
Steve lied casually. Prince Carter thought someone like Steve wouldn't allow [them] to commit suicide, but judged that pursuing it wouldn't be beneficial, so he accepted that result.
"However, this is serious. The Pope, who is the top of the church, was involved in the smuggling and trafficking of drugs. Could we be killed to silence us too?"
"The church probably won't go that far. Just a request not to speak out, nothing more."
"Either way, it seems we won't be able to return home easily."
"They probably won't let us return until the cleanup is done."
Steve and Prince Carter, who learned the secret of the church's drug smuggling and trafficking, cannot return home easily. This is Julia's instruction.
Due to the Pope's absence, the Saintess Julia became the representative of the church. However, this is a provisional measure.
After this, bishops will gather from dioceses across the continent to decide the Pope by vote. This voting is the formal procedure for selecting a Pope, but Julia intends to use this to wipe out all bishops involved in drug trafficking in one go.
Right now, she is doing the background verification work.
The cause of the Pope's death is officially announced as illness, so bishops who were not in the Holy Nation do not know about this commotion. And the Pope faction in the Holy Nation cannot leave the country due to Julia, nor are they allowed to send letters abroad.
In other words, the bishops will come to the Holy Nation without knowing it is a trap.
Because of such a plan, Steve and Prince Carter also could not return home easily. However, they were not prevented from leaving until the bishops gathered; they were allowed to return home ten days after the incident.
If it were Steve, he could leave the country by teleportation anytime, but as Steve knows, he won't do such a thing. In the first place, it was Steve himself who instigated Julia to give such instructions.
It was assumed that Prince Carter would bring back information and report, so as long as Bishop Bahlke could be summoned, that was enough. They stopped him from returning home for those days so their schedules wouldn't overlap.
Prince Carter was idle, but Steve was busy. This was because he was making a new holy scripture with Julia and Camilla.
Julia worried about how to convey God's words and glanced at Steve working at the same table.
"It would be easier if we certified Mr. Steve as an Apostle and conveyed his achievements as they are."
"Lady Julia, you've started calling Mr. Steve by his name."
Camilla stabbed with a sharp remark. Julia looked as if she felt no pain from such needles.
"I have obtained Mr. Steve's permission."
She smiled and looked at Camilla.
To verify the truth, Camilla sent a glance at Steve.
Steve also noticed that glance and nodded.
"It's true. I thought it wasn't good to only allow Camilla. Look, even though we're working in this room, it's strange if the way we address each other is different."
"That's right."
Julia patted Camilla's shoulder. However, Camilla said triumphantly.
"I have also obtained permission from the ladies. It's different from Lady Julia."
"I will also go greet Mr. Steve's ladies soon. Not in any strange meaning, but for the church being built in Archibalt Land, I will also visit the site myself, so I'll just greet them then."
When Julia said that with regret, Steve thought about what Christina and Nancy would say and his head began to hurt.
Steve is certified as an Apostle within the church hierarchy. However, since he cannot disclose those achievements, he is not publicly recognized as an Apostle.
Nevertheless, it was decided to build a church in Archibalt Land, reasoning that a church would be needed at the feet of the Apostle-sama.
And finally, the day Steve returns home arrives. There is no special send-off. Since Steve's work remains, he is scheduled to come to the Holy Nation every day even after returning home. The return was instantaneous via teleportation. For the sake of showing departure from the country, he showed his figure moving by carriage through the town, then teleported where there were no eyes watching.
Upon returning home, Prince Carter went immediately to report to the King. Steve disappeared without going to the royal castle, saying he was going to pick up his family.
Prince Carter reports to his father, the King, that he was in the Holy Nation. Only the King, the Prince, and the Chancellor were in this place.
When the King saw his son's face, he asked first, "How is Archibalt doing?"
"He said he was going to pick up his family."
"I see."
At the disappointing answer from his son, the King sighed. As for the King, he wanted Steve himself to say that he knew the true culprit.
And he looked at the Chancellor with tired eyes.
"In the end, you couldn't find where the family was either."
"We wanted to create a record of protecting them here, but there was a possibility that searching for them forcibly would be perceived as malice, so we did not search on a large scale."
"That's true. Well, if he said he's going to pick them up, they must be safe. First, a relief. If anything happened to the family, everyone suspected would be wiped out."
"With Lord Matthews gone now, the background behind it is only speculation."
At the Chancellor's remark, Prince Carter furrowed his brow.
"Lord Matthews was wiped out?"
"Yes. When it became known that Bishop Bahlke would be summoned to the Holy Nation, immediately by someone. Officially it is reported as illness. It was an incident that happened just as we reached the conclusion that Lord Matthews had teamed up with Bishop Bahlke to trap Lord Archibalt."
Viscount Matthews had died at home, poisoned by someone. However, the person who made him drink the poison has not been found.
"Is it not someone from the younger brother's faction?"
"It is one possibility, but there is also the possibility of the church, and the possibility of trouble surrounding the drug profits."
"Lord Matthews with drugs? Well, if he was deeply related to the church, it's natural. Is there no relation to Lord Archibalt?"
"In that case, he wouldn't take a means like poisoning. If it were His Excellency, he would destroy the organization behind the scenes."
Steve as the Chancellor thought of him was such a presence. And that was not wrong. He can make them confess with magic, so he can grasp everything in the background.
"That's true. That is a presence that should not be involved. Not only hostility, but even trying to incorporate him as an ally carries danger."
"That is so. I also considered bumping His Excellency against the church like this time, but the risk was too great to execute."
"You considered it?"
At the Chancellor's words, Prince Carter was dumbfounded. Considering the benefits Steve had brought to the country until now, trying to eliminate him based on those merits was ungrateful, repaying kindness with hostility, and a contemptible response. Also, there is the risk when he gets angry.
Sensing the Prince's inner thoughts, the Chancellor explains the reason.
"One would not want to hold a power that the country cannot control. With stability in all directions now, it is useless. It is the same as a hunting dog that has lost its prey."
"Carter, if you sit on the throne, you will understand."
Thus, the King, his father, also agrees with the Chancellor's opinion. Prince Carter was made to think about the throne anew. When he inherits the throne, what kind of decision will he make? He asks himself if he has the resolve to protect the royal family even if it means bringing Steve down.
In the end, the answer is not something that comes out quickly, and he will continue to think about it.
"Either way, as for us, the power of the Fries Holy Church, which was an obstacle in various ways, has weakened, and as long as Archibalt is here, if he becomes our ally, it is good as a result."
At the King's words, the Prince nodded and finished the report.
A few days after returning home, Steve visited Aurora. As usual, in Aurora's office, meeting alone without Harry.
"Lord Sowell, this is the payment for this time."
Saying that, he hands over the document. Aurora looks through the contents.
"A list, huh."
"Yes. It's a list of people who bought drugs from the church within the country. Nobles and merchants are listed, so feel free. However, regarding the north, I was helped by my wife's family, so I am handing over a separate list."
"Why am I not the only one in the west?"
"Of course, it's the difference in the size of the debt. I was also helped by those guys."
Those guys were the ones who messed with Camilla. Steve attended the interrogation of the Pope faction and confirmed whether the interrogated person had messed with Camilla.
The ones who messed with them were taken to Sowell Land with Julia's permission and tied up in a prison. There, they are shown hallucinations of being transformed into women and messed with by men. The hallucinations disappear at night.
They didn't do it in the Holy Nation because they didn't want it to get into Camilla's ears. And the place where such things could be done was Aurora's.
When Steve asked, Aurora agreed with two words.
"Those guys are all mentally collapsed and invalids. They can't eat properly, so it won't be long."
"What a pathetic story. The actual victim, the Holy Knight, hasn't collapsed mentally."
"You seem quite fond of that Holy Knight. Doing even this much."
Aurora's gaze was, "Did you make a new woman again?" Steve denies that.
"She maintains her heart with faith in God. I am certified as an Apostle by the church hierarchy, so there is someone to cling to nearby, and I am trying to overcome the trials given by God with a stronger faith. If I had done better, the incident would have been resolved sooner, and she wouldn't have suffered such a fate, so this is my atonement. I can't talk about this time, but I am listening to her wishes as much as possible otherwise."
"I don't think you have any sin."
"The regret inside me doesn't disappear."
"Such an attitude might make the other person misunderstand, so you should be careful."
"My wife said the same thing."
Steve smiles bitterly. For now, there is no direct approach from Camilla. However, how things will go in the future is unknown. Given the circumstances, Christina and Nancy also found it hard to say not to bring Camilla.
"Well, please take care of the cleanup for those guys. Originally, I planned to release them in about two weeks and have them live somewhere unrelated to the church, but it seems we don't need to think about what comes after this."
"It would be better to kill them outright."
"Judging people is always God's work, isn't it? This is not judgment, just having them experience the same thing. Yet, unlike Camilla, those guys couldn't endure it thinking it was a trial given by God. Ah, Camilla is the name of the Holy Knight."
"So they were fake as religious figures. Well, since they went so far as to humiliate women, they knew they were fake, right?"
"I think religious people aren't good."
Steve shrugged.
Aurora chuckled and tapped the list in her hand with her hand.
"Anyway, other countries will want this drug transaction list too. How much value will it fetch?"
"I have already given it to the Kingdom of Merda and the Yellow Empire for free."
"You're quite family-oriented."
"Well, this time I caused trouble for my family too."
Actually, to the Yellow Empire, besides the list, Steve handed over a typewriter he made. Unable to use it as a weapon, thinking of something rare, he thought of the typewriter.
The reason he did that is because he chose the Empire as the refuge for his family.
Thinking the church's hand reaches within the Kingdom of Cascade, he rented a room in the Imperial Palace of the Empire. Of course, he had obtained the Emperor's permission through Cecilia.
That was a room for Cecilia, and those who entered and exited were limited. And the mouths of those who entered and exited were tight.
Therefore, even Aurora could not grasp where Christina and Nancy were.
"Either way, I'll help about the value of this list. Leave the cleanup of the guys in prison to me."
"Thank you for the trouble."
"It's fine, it's not between you and me."
After talking that much, Steve returned.
After Steve left, Harry comes into the room.
"It was quite early, but was it okay? There could have been time to celebrate safety a bit more."
"There's no such leisure. This is a list of drug buyers I got from the boy, but verify it just in case and report. Prioritize the west. We need to consider whether to crush them or incorporate them, and no matter how much time we have, it's not enough."
"Quite a souvenir. Understood. I'll start immediately."
Harry takes the list and goes out of the room again.
Aurora, left alone in the room, looks outside from the window. Her mind is full of plans from now on, and she trembles with the satisfaction of it.
Thank you always for typo reports.