Chapter 251 - Chapter 250: The Motionless Empire
The second day of the second week of the second month of Fire.
Today, I am working part-time at the church from morning.
I fly aimlessly above the Great Cathedral, signaling that the Apostle is visiting the church again today.
Today, Pope Blahoslav is conducting a mass, so he is the so-called "customer magnet."
"Indeed. It is bustling today as well."
Mika nods while looking down at the believers gathered in front of the church.
Fee floats around Mika's surroundings... floating... looking down at the ground.
On the ground, there were many people pointing at Mika, waving their hands, and praying.
"Fu fu fu fu ha ha ha. You look like a 'P' 'I'."
Looking down at the crowd, I couldn't help but say the line I wanted to say.
No, this line is quite dangerous in various ways.
It would be terrible if someone heard me.
"Apostle-sama! It is time!"
While having such reflections, the Holy Communion《Seisan》team members poked their heads out from the window and told Mika that his part-time work was over.
Yes, the name of this group of fanatics has officially been decided as the Holy Communion《Seisan》team.
Responding to the call, Mika enters the room through the window, and about ten fanatics《members》 kneel down to welcome him as usual.
"Apostle-sama. Your duty is done. Thank you for your hard work."
They say it all at once, causing Mika to flinch slightly.
What can I say, being welcomed like this feels terribly uncomfortable.
In Mika's head, images of rough-looking men lining up in front of a high wall, bowing their heads and saying "Thank you for your service!" float up.
Mika, with a slightly twitching face, takes off his part-time uniform.
When he hands over the white robe, one person kneels and respectfully accepts it.
"Do you have any messages?"
"No, I have not received any specific instructions."
Hearing that, Mika starts walking.
Through the long corridor, to the stairs.
"The chapel must be full of people by now? Where should I exit?"
"You are instructed to use the underground passage and exit from the building at the back."
While going down the stairs, Mika confirms the exit.
Too many believers have gathered, so it seems I won't be able to leave the Great Cathedral today.
Since Mika started working part-time, the number of believers visiting the church has clearly increased.
The amount of donations must have increased by one or two digits.
If the previous Pope used that money for entertainment expenses, he would eventually receive divine punishment.
Well, in reality, it seems there is still not that much leeway.
Churches in poor villages in the provinces were often left as they were even when dilapidated.
During the previous Pope's time, there was money for indulgence, but apparently no money for repairing shabby churches.
Now, it seems the collected donations are being directed to such parts.
Church repair costs, Bibles distributed for free to believers, teaching materials used at the Sun Day School, and operating expenses for monasteries and orphanages that were cut to the bone.
It seems budgets are being allocated to these parts that have been cut and cut until now.
Passing through the underground passage, Mika arrives at the building of the Ministry of Diocesan Bishops.
Going up the stairs and emerging on the ground floor, Cardinal Wagnare and Bishop Kararebas were there.
"Good morning."
When Mika greets them, the two come before Mika and kneel.
"Good morning, Apostle-sama."
"Good morning. Your duty is done. Thank you for your hard work."
Seeing that, Mika lets out a bitter smile.
"You can't talk like that. Please act normally, normally."
When Mika says that, Wagnare stands up.
Seeing Wagnare stand up, Kararebas also stood up.
Currently, Cardinal Wagnare seems to be in charge of the Ministry of Diocesan Bishops.
He holds multiple concurrent positions, but the main one is the Ministry of Diocesan Bishops.
The Ministry of Diocesan Bishops handles the personnel of bishops, and also oversees the Ministry of Clergy, which handles the personnel of priests and deacons.
In other words, they have their way from top to bottom.
Wagnare does not hold personnel authority only over the Pope and Cardinals, possessing such tremendous power.
He is also listed in the Apostolic Penitentiary, an organization that handles compensation and forgiveness for sins.
Indulgence, simply put, is the exemption of compensation or forgiveness.
The Church recognizes that it forgives the sins of clergy and believers, or exempts them from compensation.
Well, strictly speaking, there seems to be something about the merits of saints and so on.
In my previous world, there was once something called an Indulgence sold.
The pitch was, "If you buy this, even if you commit a sin, 'your compensation is exempted' and 'you can go to heaven'."
To put it crudely, it was an item that said, "If you buy this, you are forgiven even if you f*ck the Virgin Mary!"
Well, it is a concept of redeeming sins with money, but no matter how you try to cover it up, the formula is simply 'buying innocence with money'.
Naturally, this caused a huge controversy over whether such things should be allowed, and is said to be one of the causes that split a super-large religious organization.
The Church of Light also has the concept of Indulgence, but they have not yet done it so openly.
If the previous Pope knew about the Indulgence, he would have jumped on it, saying, "That's the way to do it!"
It is an excellent mechanism for collecting money.
One of the reasons the previous Popes could do as they pleased was the Apostolic Penitentiary.
Basically, they were giving forgiveness and exempting compensation on their own accord.
Conversely, for those inconvenient to them, they gave no forgiveness at all for even trivial sins and imposed heavy punishments.
Sending them to the provinces to eat cold rice was still the lighter side.
In other words, regarding the authority over the personnel of clergy, Wagnare has obtained the same power as the previous Pope's faction.
It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of the current Church, and the future Church, is entrusted to Wagnare's abilities.
It is quite a decisive personnel move, but it means that the trust from Pope Blahoslav is deep.
The fact that the shaky Church is being rapidly rebuilt is not solely due to the Apostle《Mika》's propaganda work.
Pope Blahoslav values dialogue with believers outside and strives to restore trust as the face of the Church.
Wagnare looks inward and attempts to tighten the loose clergy.
Without these two, the Church would likely still be unstable today.
And then, Bishop Kararebas.
While Cardinal Wagnare wields his steel arm to rebuild the Church, this person is likely the one being swung around the most.
I don't know what he thinks, but from the outside, it looks like Wagnare is swinging a large axe without any mercy.
Calling it a coordinating role sounds good, but in reality, it seems Kararebas is being made to play the role of a fire extinguisher.
Kifrod was worried that he might collapse soon.
"Your complexion is not good; are you alright?"
"Your concern is deeply appreciated."
When Mika speaks to Kararebas, Kararebas bows his head with a humbled expression.
Kararebas seems to have lost quite a bit of weight compared to before.
Wagnare probably cannot relax his efforts yet either.
Rebuilding the giant organization called the Church, which has roots throughout the kingdom.
Mika cannot tell him to hold back a little.
Mika uses [Heal] on Wagnare, and then on Kararebas.
"Both of you, take care of yourselves. I know there are many things you must do, but do not neglect yourselves."
Since the Holy Communion《Seisan》team is present, I show a bit of what an Apostle should be like.
Receiving [Heal] from Mika, Wagnare and Kararebas kneel respectfully.
"I will carve your words into my heart."
Wagnare says that with a smile that cannot hide his exhaustion.
There are times in life when one has no choice but to push oneself to the limit.
I want the two of them to somehow overcome this hardship.
After a brief conversation, Mika leaves the building of the Ministry of Diocesan Bishops.
Covering his hood deep, he heads to the Adventurer's Guild.
Recently, I haven't been able to take many Guild jobs, but today I came to clear the curse-breaking of the cursed items in custody.
For curses that can be held by the Guild, using "Absorb Wing" with "Auto-Dispel" finishes almost instantly.
Although seventeen had accumulated, it ended in less than a moment.
I had the staff verify it with appraisal and completed the request.
"Mika-kun, thank you for your hard work. Here is your Guild Card."
"Thank you."
While Mika finished a job and was relaxing with tea, Yunressa, who had finished the procedure for the completed designated request, returned the card.
"I was worried because I hadn't seen your face for a while. Rosalinde told me you seem to be in the Royal Capital..."
"Sorry. Something happened."
"That's fine, but did you move out of your house? Maybe you moved back to the dormitory? What do you mean by telling them to contact you via the Information Broker Guild?"
Having moved out of my house and living by hopping from inn to inn, I hadn't thought at all about how to handle contact information from the Guild.
It is a rather troublesome situation, but for now, I decided to entrust the mediation to Lebrantes, the exclusive concierge of the Information Broker Guild.
Mika also has no intention of living a rootless life forever, but a new house has not yet been secured.
Therefore, for the time being, I decided to have them contact me via the Information Broker Guild.
"There were various troublesome things... Sigh... It was fun back then."
A complaint slipped out unintentionally.
Checking the bulletin board on Earth Day to find requests I could accept.
Going to the Guild every week like that was truly enjoyable.
I feel a little lonely thinking, "I wish I could do that again."
Such a slightly nostalgic story, Mika exits the lobby with Yunressa.
In the lobby, Kaerya's party and Trys were gathered.
"Hi, Mika-kun. Is your work done?"
Salomrassa, noticing Mika, calls out to him.
"Yes. I just cleared the backlog."
I used "Absorb Wing" in the reception room so no one could see.
Before, even in the reception room, I was careful because it would be bad if someone came.
Now, I feel like it's fine if they find out.
It is already known to the higher-ups on both the front and back sides.
I haven't shown it directly, but the Guild Master and Chirensta at the Adventurer's Guild might have heard about it.
Mika quickly checks the bracelets attached to everyone's arms with his gaze.
They are not pure, but "Orichalcum" bracelets.
Bracelets with various [Enchantments] added according to each person's preference.
Noticing that Mika checked with his gaze, everyone slightly raises the corners of their mouths.
No one says anything here.
It is a matter that can be understood among ourselves.
(With this, the remaining ones are Yaroibarov and Ozendorwa's bracelets. After that, everyone in Rish Village.)
Currently, the bracelets of Yaroibarov and Ozendorwa are on hold.
Since a considerable amount of [Enchantment] will be applied, I decided to prioritize the portions for everyone in Rish Village, Kistil, Nerisfeene, and Cleiria first.
Yaroibarov and Ozendorwa are already strong enough.
So, I lowered their priority a bit.
And today, I wanted to confirm that everyone received them, so I am sorry, but I gathered everyone just for this.
(...Since I saw the enemy's appearance a bit more clearly, I would like to boost the combat power of others as much as possible, if possible.)
But, I am sorry, but there are no one I can trust that much yet.
(Well, it's no use asking for things we don't have. I just have to do what I can.)
Mika parted ways with Trys and others, heading to Modesse Forest.
From there, he took flight and headed to Rish Village.
■■■■■■
Marquis Leventein Territory, Protective Wall. Upper Air.
Below Mika's eyes, the vast Daburandoru Plains spread out.
"............ The Imperial Army isn't moving at all."
Mika came near the border on his way to Rish Village.
I heard some information from the Crown Prince and the Information Broker Guild, but since the battle in spring, the Imperial Army has shown no significant movement.
"Indeed, the result was terrible, but what does it mean to fight once and then stop?"
Information about the Imperial Capital Karchi of the Gronoir Empire seems to come in with a time lag of about a month, though somewhat.
There is no direct contact between the Kingdom and the Empire.
No trade is conducted at all.
However, there is trade with the Am-Tast Trade Alliance and the Seven Duchies Federation, and information is delivered through those countries.
Mostly, the Empire《over there》is the same.
According to the information delivered, the momentum for re-invasion seems to be rising in the capital.
The people are criticizing the weak Emperor, and large-scale gatherings are being held somewhere every day.
'Destroy Ektrem!'
'Fulfill the Oracle now!'
Once, the people were in a frenzy with the report of "victory."
However, it turned around completely, and the army of one hundred thousand was annihilated.
The victory that seemed to be grasped slipped away, and the capital became quiet like a ghost town.
But the story did not end there.
The fire once lit did not go out so easily.
The fleeting victory and the humiliation of defeat were fuel for the people.
With high-performance fuel injected, the people burned fiercely more than before.
Senior nobles and powerful figures of the Empire crowded the Emperor's audience hall every day, urging and petitioning for re-invasion.
And, the original cause.
The Church of Gronoir, however...
Surprisingly, it seems quiet.
Perhaps the resentment was relieved because troops were sent out and the war began, so there seems to be no significant movement here either.
Previously, the Pope himself visited the Emperor and preached invasion, but for now, they seem quiet.
"Surely, there won't be a ceasefire or end of war like this..."
That is surely too optimistic.
With this, it is unclear what the purpose of opening the war was in the first place.
Above all, it seems neither country is moving towards ceasefire negotiations.
Mika looks around the Empire's territory.
After that, he heads to Rish Village.
■■■■■■
"Ho ha ha hi《refill》!"
Mika gobbled up the food and handed the empty plate to Kistil.
Mika stuffed his stomach with Kistil's cooking as if hoarding it, not having eaten for two weeks.
It is a bit late for lunch, but Mika came without eating until now to eat Kistil's cooking.
"Mika-kun, I'm glad you eat like that, but it's poison for your body?"
Kistil smiles bitterly, yet still serves a mountain of food.
Mika takes the handed plate and starts eating greedily again.
About a month and a half has passed since Mika returned to the Royal Capital, and during that time, he has returned to Rish Village several times.
To check on Kistil and Nerisfeene's condition and the village's state.
Also, recently, work is being done to surround the village perimeter with stone walls.
Even if a single stone wall is built with a thud, it is dangerous if it falls, so it is a huge stone almost like a cube.
Width and depth are two meters.
Height is just a little over two meters.
Since the village perimeter is four kilometers by simple calculation, just placing them is quite a struggle.
Kistil takes out a large amount of ingredients from the Magic Bag Mika brought.
This Magic Bag is for souvenirs.
House Noisheim, House Scobata, the Church, Ninetiana and Horatio, and the Village Head.
I am given portions to distribute to these houses.
There are already more than ten Magic Bags that are not registered for magic power in this house.
"Oh yes, I am holding cloth from your mother-in-law."
"Ah, really?"
Every time I go back and forth between the Royal Capital and Rish Village, I deliver pure "Orichalcum" thread, collect the finished cloth, and a large amount of "Orichalcum" woven fabric is completed.
Simply put, in terms of the amount of cloth, there is enough to make about twenty to thirty of Mika's robes.
(With what I receive today, the weaving team will probably pause for now.)
It should be enough by now.
The [Enchantment] for "Orichalcum" woven fabric is still in the research stage, but with this much, shouldn't it be enough?
"Gulp... Puh... Thank you for the meal."
For now, I am full and take a breath.
(As expected, home is nice.)
Well, not Mika's house.
Still, in Mika's heart, there is a feeling that the place where Kistil and Nerisfeene are is my home.
"Where is Nerisfeene? At Rad's place?"
I ask about Nerisfeene, whose figure is invisible.
"Yes, she goes to the church every day recently."
Nerisfeene seems to have really taken a liking to the way of faith towards the "Laughing Virgin《Raffin Maria》".
(She laughs, yet she is an old man.)
Mika still remembers his early childhood.
Regaining his composure, Mika stands up from the chair.
"Well then, I'll go to work."
"Going already?"
Kistil interrupts the sorting work and comes before Mika.
Then, she gently hugs Mika and kisses his forehead.
With her face turning bright red.
"He he..."
Kistil smiles to hide her embarrassment.
During the period when Mika lost his mind and suffered, the bond with Kistil and Nerisfeene became clearer.
And, as an act to confirm that bond, we started taking physical contact.
Although embarrassment still comes to the forefront, I felt it was a very important bond for Mika to be Mika.
Mika also turns his face slightly red and scratches his cheek.
"Well then, I'm going."
"Yes, see you later."
Jumping out of the house energetically, Mika heads to the stone wall construction surrounding the village.
■■■■■■
[Seven Duchies Federation, Somewhere]
Chimeras swarmed, eating food.
"Useful utilization of failed products."
"Ignis" watches such Chimeras and drinks ale.
"Ventus," sitting on the chair next to him, is writing something on paper with a scratchy sound.
"It's no good to give them so much food! Chimeras use 'Potestas' as food too, so they don't need that much food!"
Ventus says with an irritated tone.
"Haa... Success rate is low after all... What's missing?"
"Willpower."
"Ignis" laughs raucously and gulps down ale.
"If it succeeds with that, I'll put in as many as I want."
"Ventus" scratches his head vigorously and searches for problems from the written notes.
"It's not U-chan's willpower, it's the material's willpower problem."
"Materials...?"
Muttering that, he looks at the Magic Bag beside him.
"...Impossible."
"That's right."
"Hey!"
Even if the cause is known like that, nothing progresses.
"So far, how many wins and losses?"
"Hmm... Three wins, five losses. Or rather, if you include that, three wins, six losses."
Saying that, "Ventus" points to the food where the Chimeras swarm.
"The remaining two... I'd like to make them succeed if possible."
"...For that reason, we have to identify the cause."
"Ignis" finishes the ale in the mug and takes a deep breath.
His cheeks have a slight redness, and overall his complexion is better than the pale face of before.
It is not just because of alcohol, but thanks to the binge eating and drinking he has been doing recently.
The hollowed cheeks have improved, and the sunken eyes are better.
It can be said that his face has become closer to the original Hibujiza.
"Shall we go pick up materials again?"
"No, it's fine. With this batch, the exchange condition for the previous 'Artorum' will be zero net."
"Ah, really? Even though 'Potestas' can't be used and it's trash?"
"There were many of them. Well, obviously if success was zero, I couldn't count it, but I have three wins for now."
"Ventus" looks at "Ignis".
"More than that, how about that side?"
"How?"
"Ignis" tilts his head.
"There was some trouble at the checkpoint, you said."
"Ah, that one."
"Ignis" claps his hand.
As if he had forgotten until he was told.
"What are you planning to do? There is a big job coming up."
"Ventus" says that, and "Ignis" tilts his head.
"How? I'm not doing anything special."
If the checkpoint won't let us pass, then we just won't pass.
If they interfere, kill them.
That's all.
"Ventus" smiles bitterly, knowing "Ignis"'s thoughts like that.
"Well, it's fine."
"Yeah. Ah, I'm looking forward to going over there."
"Ignis" starts smiling brightly.
Seeing that, "Ventus" shrugs his shoulders.
"Did the 'Tenebrae' really become the 'Son of God'?"
"Yeah. Perfectly. He completely changed."
"Ignis" smiles innocently.
My heart leaps even remembering it now.
That emotion when Te-chan burst out.
It was that intense.
If it were that, surely by now, he would have built piles of corpses in various places and realized his true existence.
"Ignis" smiles mischievously.
"Haa... I'm looking forward to work."
Watching such "Ignis", "Ventus" shrugs his shoulders again.