Chapter 93 - 8-7
The western part of the Kingdom of Siddim operates on a different mindset than the eastern and central parts.
For example, the east was a peaceful region until the Kosa people arrived. It was gently embraced and protected by natural fortifications of forests and mountain ranges.
What of the center? The center is the seat of the King of Siddim, and both its economy and systems continue to develop by relying on the King's authority.
In contrast, there is western Siddim. The west shares borders with the Kingdom of Pushan and the Kingdom of Eber, separated by a river. Pushan, Eber, and Siddim have traditionally been on bad terms. They have carved out a history of war where the three nations are entangled.
Furthermore, the west faces the Kingdom of Gyua and the Kingdom of Skesia across the inner sea.
Though they now put on the face of victims after being invaded by the Kosa people, the Siddim people once came to the north as invaders. Originally, they founded their nation by conquering the lands of the Skesians and the Gyuans. Naturally, those two nations view Siddim in such a light.
In short, they have many enemies. The surroundings of the west are full of foes.
Because of that, they have been tempered and sharpened. It is no wonder that the western lords, united under Sedias Thora, proclaimed their hegemony within Siddim. It is a natural conclusion. From the moment they are born, they must be strong; no other way of living is permitted. Even if the east puts on a haughty face, they can only respond with a faint smile.
The east simply does not matter.
What the west considers a problem is the royal family. Against the west, which deals with neighboring enemy nations, what has the King of Siddim done? He did not even offer words of appreciation for their toil. The successive Kings have simply gazed steadily at the west. And for the people of the west, the gaze from behind is far more terrifying than the foreign nations before their eyes.
The west is bound by the irrationality of the royal family's gaze.
For the Siddim people, the Alish royal family is the guarantee of their own existence.
Precisely because the royal family exists, the people can stand united as Siddim. If abandoned by the royal family, they lose their homeland, they lose their homes. They would be cast out into this wide world as orphans. Many Siddim people believe this.
A pragmatic way of thinking that always seeks to surpass the enemy, and an anxiety felt at one's back.
This can be called the behavioral principle of the people of the west.
The one who presided over the funeral of Sedias Thora was the Bishop of Siddim, Kabel Kofie.
Bishop Kofie completely mastered the wave of people gathered in the hall of the vast Delroy Cathedral, where the distance seemed to blur.
His mitre stood erect and leaned backward, and the large collar of his red vestments rose in a circle like petals surrounding his dark, bald head. The hem of his vestments spread out, creating majestic wrinkles as it trailed behind him.
Bishop Kofie is a performer who sings and dances on the stage between faith and the secular world. However, the Bishop has never treated the masses as his audience. While becoming a clown of the pulpit who incites the masses, makes the masses weep, and brings the masses to their knees, his audience was always the Tenshu. He offers both the frenzied believers and his own self, the one who creates that frenzy, to the Tenshu. That is Bishop Kofie's art.
Foolish people, and a foolish self. Please accept them; these are Your believers. The words are worn out and the philosophy is overused. The attire he wears is dated, and the symbols decorating the altar have fallen into mere signs. The exaltation of the believers is temporary; once they return home, they completely forget the will of God. Even so, the Bishop becomes a clown to please them.
Please accept them. They are our offerings.
The inner freedom of Kabel Kofie is not mocking the rituals of the church. Nor is he teasing the Tenshu. It is not that he does not believe in God, in the Tenshu-sama, or in the church. He believes with a fervor far greater than most.
Kofie simply looks down upon the secular people from head to toe. While looking down on them, the Bishop feels a violent attachment to them. He has a fetish where he finds people so interesting, so fascinating, that he cannot help but love them.
That is precisely why he cannot lie. Since the actual state of the world and the reality of faith are such, the Bishop cannot help but present the shallow people intoxicated by joy, and himself, to the Tenshu-sama with a touch of mischief, saying, "Please look at this."
However, the result of continuing this for many years was far too ironic.
Kabel Kofie went from priest to bishop. He was appointed as the bishop of Malfa City at the youngest age, and contrary to his own expectations, he eventually rose to become the Bishop of Siddim.
The skill with which Kofie conducted sermons and prayers, wringing tears of joy from the people, had come to show a brilliance that the world could not ignore. Kofie rose in rank not so much as a believer, but as an artistic performer who heightened the atmosphere.
—I should start doing this seriously soon.
Kofie thought this every time he climbed a step in the church hierarchy.
He had faced the Tenshu with his heart sticking its tongue out, thinking, "We are unserious people"—though he didn't intend it that way. If asked whether he had served seriously, Kofie felt uneasy.
Why did the Tenshu-sama place Kofie in such a high position?
Thinking about that, he found the divine will terrifying even now.
Fortunately, the Siddim Church had a pending issue that required serious attention.
It is referred to within the church as the "Siddim Problem." It is the idea that the Siddim royal family, who receive abnormal reverence, must be abolished, and the glory of the church must be spread to every corner of Siddim.
Kofie put his full effort into solving this problem.
The eccentric strategy of pitting the Kosa people, the barbarians of the grasslands, against them unexpectedly bore fruit. If the Great King of the Kosa, Geraha Wolf, who is the Bishop's pawn, attacks Malfa City, it is checkmate. Would the request for mediation to the Roma Church come from Geraha, or from the King of Siddim?
The church would end up controlling the resolution of this absurd situation.
The Kosa Empire likely would not recognize any king other than Geraha Wolf.
Swad Alish VII would abdicate. Geraha Wolf would take over the throne of Siddim. The Great King and the King of Siddim cannot stand side by side.
If the survival of the royal family becomes the focal point that prevents a peace treaty, the Kosa people will continue to fight to remove that focal point. The Kosa Empire is now the world. Against the world, Siddim cannot continue the war. If they keep fighting, the Alish royal family will be destroyed. In fact, they are already checkmated.
Kabel Kofie trembled.
It was going too well, and it was scary.
—Is this what You desire?
The only thing the Tenshu requires of a person is faith.
Originally, one should not be attempting to speculate on the divine will.
However, the questions that keep faith fresh and new always began with—
—Why, Tenshu-sama...
—Why, Tenshu-sama, are You making me do this?
The Tenshu-sama intends to destroy the Alish family.
Considering the progression of events, he could think of it as nothing else. This arrogant clergyman, despite having pushed things forward himself, trembled violently when he thought about it.
Even after the funeral of Sedias Thora ended, Kabel Kofie did not leave Delroy. There was no way he would return to Malfa, where war was imminent. Laughably, among the people, there were those who cast critical eyes upon such a Bishop.
—Even though His Majesty is not fleeing.
Such honest feelings of the people were transparent.
The bishops of each nation are the most important figures in that country. One could say that where the bishop is, the church is. In Siddim, it is different. The bishop is always second.
—How strange.
The errors of the secular people were the Bishop's favorite treat. He thought about making a mockery of them, but he couldn't bring himself to feel that way.
Bishop Kabel Kofie settled himself in Delroy Cathedral. He intended to begin a life of prayer with the Bishop of Delroy and the priests of Delroy Cathedral, attending to various church issues. When he performed sermons as requested, the Delroy Cathedral became so crowded that it shook with voices of emotion.
During this time, the Bishop of Siddim encountered a story that tempted him for the first time in a while.
Recently, it seemed a preacher had been standing at the street corners.
They said he was inciting the masses.
Bishop Kofie was not one to tolerate this.
"This is reckless, Your Eminence."
After coaxing the reluctant attendant Arsius, Kofie had civilian clothes prepared. He would venture into the city in disguise.
"Did you see him?"
The attendant nodded. "I cannot possibly tell Your Eminence—"
"Wait, don't say it, don't say it. You must not rob me of my pleasure."
The Bishop danced a little jig and changed into clothes that looked like those of a shop owner.
Delroy City is a military city, also referred to as Little Malfa. It is sometimes called the Ash City. This is because the roads, city walls, and all major facilities are made of rugged, gray stone. Delroy has the face of a battle-hardened veteran, and superficial cultures like poetry and painting do not easily take root in the cobblestones of this city. The citizens have the spirit to speak their minds, and their discipline is correct. Even the stray dogs and cats look spirited in their expressions.
The preacher appeared in the square near Delroy Cathedral. This in itself could be called provocative. He apparently arrived after the morning market ended.
"My son, watch closely. This is what business is."
Since the setting was that he and the attendant Arsius were father and son, Kofie walked while saying things that sounded the part.
"Yes, Father..."
Despite his reluctance, Arsius didn't seem to mind. His face was flushed and melted.
Kofie felt a surge of intense interest. Since he was no longer young, he didn't engage in playing with acolytes, but he found Arsius a bit cute and put his arm around the boy's shoulder. Arsius's face became even more entranced.
Then, the attendant stopped in his tracks and his eyes sharpened.
At the end of his gaze was a filthy man. A man whose shins and arms were exposed, wearing not clothes but something like a burlap sack, had just stepped onto a wooden box.
Bishop Kofie quickened his pace and positioned himself at a spot that wasn't too close.
He was a grime-covered man. He was barefoot. His leg hair was unsightly. His neck was thin with veins popping out. The upper part of his lips rose to just below his nose, and the corners of his mouth drooped toward his chin. Dirty long hair mixed with white hung over his eyes.
He seemed to have arrived just in time for the speech. The contents of the burlap sack opened its mouth.
"It's no good! It's no good! It's no good!"
First, he stated something devoid of substance in a loud voice.
"It's strange! It's strange! It's strange! Why does no one listen to what I say!"
Is it because you look like a beggar? Kofie thought seriously.
"Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!"
And so, he repeated the denial three times regardless.
Many people passed by. They passed as if the man in the burlap sack didn't exist. Still, besides Kofie, a few others appeared, keeping a distance from the long-haired beggar.
"The people of this country are all fools. His Majesty! Right now! Is being exposed to danger! That is what I am saying! Pure people of the east, forgive the fools of the west! You are all fools!"
—What are you blathering about!
—Go back to the east!
A few people shouted jeers. They weren't angry; they wanted to tease him.
Kofie felt like yawning. This wasn't just a matter of being unskilled. This wasn't a sermon. It was just a spoiled child screaming his own thoughts.
"I ain't from the east! I'm from Ulham, called Bugis. A proud man of the west. The one over there—" Bugis pointed toward Delroy Cathedral. "—is the priest who excommunicated me, a man fat and plump!"
Laughter broke out from the growing audience. Kofie didn't know which part they were laughing at.
He had no memory of excommunicating a priest named Bugis, but perhaps he had done it and simply didn't remember. Kofie looked down at his protruding round belly. Arsius was also focusing on Kofie's round stomach.
"Is it alright! You lot. Is it alright! Our... our... w-we..."
Bugis shed tears. He was teary-eyed with emotion. It was surprising.
"His Majesty! His Majesty! Was he not our Majesty! Was he not the Majesty to whom Sedias Thora-sama swore loyalty!"
—Hey, you!
—Enough already!
—Who do you think you are!
Before he knew it, the audience had gathered as he pleased. They were being drawn in by such a clumsy speech.
"If you have something to say, come here!"
The grime-covered burlap sack, who had nothing respectable about him, spoke arrogantly.
"The reason you're angry is because I hit the mark! Fools! The west! Hey, be honest, your soldiers were taken, weren't they! And what happened! Yeah, did you win against the Kosa people!"
—How clumsy.
Bishop Kofie wanted to put his hand to his forehead and look up at the heavens.
If it were him, he could increase this audience a hundredfold, and he wasn't joking.
The Bishop thought so, but suddenly noticed the jeering had vanished.
The audience had fallen silent, taking the man's words seriously.
"The east are infants. Brats who just go boo-hoo. Sedias-sama thought that protecting those brats would ultimately be for the sake of Siddim! Hey, don't play dumb. If you have a complaint about this, say it here!"
Perhaps remembering Sedias Thora, an elderly woman began to cry, leaning on the chest of an old man beside her.
"We have not yet finished what we must do for Siddim!"
—What is this.
Kofie thought. This preacher was not talking about faith. He seemed to be talking about politics. The number of listeners had increased further. It was a childish method of attracting attention by picking a fight with the audience. And it was proving effective.
"Listen well! You gentlemen can be proud! There are houses that sent their eldest son as a soldier. Or their second, third sons! There are houses that sent them to the royal capital for soldier training! I! To such houses! Give boundless respect!"
Huu. Huu.
The filthy man asserted himself with all his might and breathed heavily.
"Achieve it! Achieve that!"
Should it not be achieved? That feeling.
There was the figure of a woman clasping her hands toward the filthy man. There was the figure of a man shaking his fist. The preacher shrugged his shoulders.
"In the cathedral, it seems the Bishop Your Eminence gave a sermon to the noble ladies with sad eyes! Let us pray for the war dead. That is what His Eminence said. That's wrong, isn't it!"
Bishop Kofie frowned.
Bugis's fervor rose further.
"Of course, His Eminence understands. In truth, he wants to say this. Stop whimpering forever. Take up the sword and fight! Am I wrong, Bishop of Siddim!"
The filthy man raised his arm and pointed to Delroy Cathedral. The flies that had gathered on his head flew away.
—You're wrong.
The Bishop thought it looked like a gathering of wild monkeys. When he had gone south toward Kindary, there were wild monkeys, and the Bishop had seen those troops.
"Urgil Necrat is a black magician! A great evil who offered the east to the red star and summoned an army of demons! Who was it that defeated that evil man! Who on earth saved the people of the east! You lot! Is this really alright!"
A childish metaphor.
—However.
Kofie had to admit that the freshness dwelling there was real. The lack of technique conversely laid bare this man's passion. That raw heat seemed to be what drove the audience.
"Then what shall we do!"
The one who shouted was a huge man like a bear.
"The west shed blood for the east! What more do you desire!"
—That's right!
Several men agreed with the bear-like huge man.
"What we desire is results! The Kosa people are in this country. They are approaching the royal capital! That tells the whole story! I'm different from you cowards! I demand results openly!"
"What the hell, old man!"
"You! Put your hand to your chest and think! You know in truth what must be done, you know it, and that's why you're irritated and prickly!"
"What do you know about what I desire!"
With the verbal spat between Bugis and the huge man, the number of listeners increased even more. Heads began to crowd the square.
The Bishop of Siddim finally found something resembling technique in Bugis. In short, that huge man with the bear-like build was a shill. Which meant he had comrades.
Kofie let his gaze run here and there.
If he had comrades, didn't that mean someone was setting something in motion? The one pulling the strings from behind might be in this place.
"If you cannot face your own desires, I shall guess them for you," Bugis said. "Revenge, revenge, revenge! The west has lost its greatest hero! Is it alright, you lot! The northern nations are watching this outcome! Now then, how will the people of Delroy act! They are watching!"
The stir among the gathered people ceased.
Bugis glared around at the people with eyes that shone piercingly.
"Put your hand to your chest and think well. Do you want to be looked down upon? Is this not where the future of the west diverges? His Majesty is watching too, you know?"
While smiling wryly at the cliché closing line, Kofie looked back.
And he found him. A slender, tall youth. He hadn't noticed Kofie's gaze. Wearing a hood deep over his eyes, the youth hid his single arm inside his cloak with a casual motion. Weaving through the crowd that stared at a single point, his figure vanished.
Kofie felt as if his heart had stopped.
—No way.
No, it wasn't impossible. Bugis was saying a lot of things, but if boiled down, it was this story.
'People of the west, save the east.'
—What is he inciting!
—Get lost! You agitator!
There were voices of opposition. However, they lacked energy.
"Is it true! Is it true! Is it true! Is it really alright with that!"
Bugis burned even more fiercely. The people were drawn to that heat.
"Since when has this man been doing street sermons?"
The Bishop asked Arsius.
"I believe it has been since four or five days ago."
Looking at the number of people gathered in the square, it could already be called a crowd. Bishop Kofie was speechless.
A man like that is going around lighting fires.
It is extremely dangerous.
Naturally, he should be cracked down upon.
However, Kabel Kofie neither suggested nor advised the Thora family regarding Bugis's acts of disturbing public order. He couldn't have said it.
Kofie showed the Bishop of Delroy and the priests of the cathedral his posture of clutching his stomach in pain, and declared he would enter a period of rest. Despite it being a fake illness, it felt as if his stomach were actually starting to hurt.
—I hope it was a mistake.
He is the son of a man who was his close friend.
There must be many men missing an arm. He absolutely needed to confirm if that youth was truly the son of Urgil Necrat.
The next morning, a light rain was falling.
He thought a street sermon wouldn't be held on such a day, but the Bishop couldn't sit still. This time, to serve as the one to cover for the Bishop's unauthorized outing, he left Arsius at Delroy Cathedral. He explained the circumstances to Kaitas, one of the knights who operated with the church's support called the Holy Cathedral Knights, and somewhat forcibly brought him into the fold.
Kaitas followed the instructions with a vacant face. He was an honest man.
The Bishop slipped out of the cathedral with Kaitas.
His disguise was a traveler's style, a black long robe and a black cloak. If he wore the hood attached to the cloak and looked down, his face would not be seen.
The Ash City was darkened, wet with the misty rain. At the morning market in the square, many stalls were about to finish packing up.
Bugis was there. A crowd had already formed.
He was wearing rags that could be called clothes, which were better than yesterday. The citizens of Delroy likely viewed such attire as a violation of discipline. Someone must have donated clothes out of a spirit of mercy.
Of course, his skin was still grime-covered, and his hair was greasy. Moreover, there was no change in the fact that he looked unsightly, wet from the rain. The speech had already begun, and it seemed to be approaching the climax.
"You lot! Are lucky!"
He was saying things like that.
It was likely a method to make them remember their privileged circumstances and feel a slight sense of guilt.
As he listened thinking that, the situation was different.
"Today! I have a special story! Those with quick ears probably already know. You lot, you shall finally be pressed for a decision!"
He was scattering rain with his gestures.
"Lucky! Lucky! Lucky!"
—Shut up!
—Stop talking in your sleep!
Young men spoke up one after another.
There was no point in listening to the exchange between such people. Bishop Kofie looked around the audience. There might be the one-armed youth or the middle-aged man with the bear-like build.
"I hear that the son of Sedias Thora, Laicanel Thora-sama, has been released from prison."
The Bishop was surprised and returned his eyes to the platform.
Bugis was smirking.
The back of the young man who had been making fun of Bugis seemed to flinch.
"He is heading toward Delroy right now."
The gathered people stirred. The youths who had been shouting jeers from the front row reacted immediately.
—What are you saying! Beggar!
—Don't lie! Beggar!
—Someone like you! What do you know of Laicanel-sama!
"What do you lot know? Everyone in Karnain City already knows! Hey, youngster! Why don't you ask the citizens of Karnain before deciding if it's a lie! Fools! Dullards! It can't be like that! What will you do! Hey, what will you do! The one who will save Siddim is approaching, moment by moment!"
—Is it true?
—Is it true?
—It's not a lie, is it!
"You'll find out if it's a lie within a few days."
—Where is he!
—Where is Laicanel-sama?
"With a woman. In the bedroom."
The audience erupted.
Oh, Kofie thought. Since it was Delroy, which the Thora family governed, Laicanel Thora's popularity was likely high. Even so, the texture of the atmosphere here was slightly different. The scene suddenly became harmonious.
Manipulating the masses by inciting a sense of crisis and then suggesting a solution. Bugis was succeeding at that.
"Should we not! Right here! Raise our voices! A call to welcome Laicanel-sama!"
Then, the high sound of a finger whistle echoed.
"Now now now!"
Hearing such a voice, he turned around to see about four officials arriving.
The reaction of the Delroy citizens was the real sight. They all lowered their faces simultaneously, and with expressions saying they just happened to be there, they left in haste. The gathering dispersed in an instant. The officials were those who ate the Thora family's stipends. The Delroy citizens likely knew the terror of the Thora family to the marrow of their bones.
"Follow Bugis!"
The Bishop said to Kaitas.
Bugis stepped down from the wooden box and ran off into the light rain.
"Understood."
The Holy Knight Kaitas started running, splashing rain water from puddles.
Kaitas, who was slightly lacking in some areas, seemed to have completely forgotten his duty as the Bishop of Siddim's guard. He chased after Bugis and went ahead. The obese Bishop soon ran out of breath. As he collapsed into a side street, the officials ran through the road.
Kabel Kofie managed to steady his breathing.
Without thinking of running anymore, he walked through the back alleys in the rain.
With the influx of refugees from the royal capital, the population of the west as a whole had increased slightly. Walking through the city with a hunched back, he passed various people.
He passed before various lives.
He passed through various scents.
The Bishop of Siddim did not want to stop his feet. He daydreamed. Whether he would just melt away into the city—.
Kabel Kofie is a well-trained bird that sings inside a birdcage prepared by the church. In his childhood as an attendant, and as he grew, as a monk, a priest, and a bishop, he had always been inside the church. Since he possessed no other skills, he could not live outside. He always looked down upon the secular world with a mix of contempt from inside the cage. The Bishop had a strong encounter with those secular people.
In a narrow road, when passing a young man, their shoulders brushed.
"You're in the way, you damn moron!"
The youth was surprisingly angry and punched the Bishop in the face. Kofie's legs trembled, and he fell on his backside. A man behind the youth said,
"Watch it, old man."
Saying that, he passed by, and the next man who came along said,
"That was a disaster, hehe."
And laughed as he passed by.
Passersby after that didn't even look at Kofie. The freshness of the assault from a moment ago had faded, and he had become part of the scenery.
—I see.
Apparently, there was a rule to pass on the right side in this narrow road. Kofie had been walking on the left, so he was scolded.
—He could have just warned me with words.
Kofie stood up while rubbing his cheek and returned to the flow of people.
The Bishop was a man accustomed to the world. And yet, he had forgotten how to behave in the city. Rather than the sudden violence, he felt hurt by that fact.
—It's been since I was elected Bishop of Siddim.
He had been traveling by carriage the whole time. The seat of the Bishop had changed Kofie.
—Why, Tenshu-sama, did You make me a bishop of all things.
Kofie thought vaguely.
Though he had been punched, his feeling of enjoyment had not diminished. The Bishop was having fun. Perhaps because he had become a member of the secular world he had always watched from afar. Or perhaps walking the city alone was interesting.
His feet did not stop.
Passing several streets, he crossed a bridge.
Those in the city are people moving with a purpose. So many people were walking single-mindedly. Moving smoothly without colliding. It was as if they shared a single consciousness. People walking in a disordered scramble did not interfere with one another at all.
—It's going well.
The Bishop felt a strong sense of fulfillment.
—What more could I desire?
Everyone is a good Roma believer. It's going this well. What could someone like himself stick his hand into to make it better, and how?
—For what purpose did I become bishop?
To steal the royal family that these people love? To protect these people?
The Bishop felt hunger.
Before he knew it, the rain had stopped, and it had become evening.
Bishop Kofie turned his feet toward the direction of a delicious smell. He didn't have a single cent, but he wanted to be near food.
Then, a young woman leaped at him from a dim street. She grabbed the Bishop's arm. It was with the momentum of a lurking beast snapping at its prey.
"Old man, this way! This way!"
The young woman put her weight into it and pulled his arm. It was enough strength to make the fat Kofie stagger.
Looking closely, it seemed to be a street where streetwalkers stood. Women were everywhere.
"I'll do anything!"
"No, this humble monk is in the clergy..."
"It's fine, isn't it? Just come on!"
"No, wait, I cannot, I cannot."
The Bishop resisted desperately. The woman would not give up. She was a woman with quite attractive features. Distorting that face, she clung to his arm.
"Old man, you! Came to see me, didn't you!"
"No!"
"You came! To see me!"
And so, she forcibly created a fait accompli.
Likely because he performed this unsightly scene on the thoroughfare, people gathered.
"What's this, a dispute?"
A man with a bad look, with a white scar running from his forehead through his nose toward his chin, approached.
The woman released his arm, and the Bishop fell on his backside again.
"Hey, I'm the handler for this girl, and old man, isn't this a bit too much?"
"This humble monk is... a clergyman..."
"I don't give a damn about that. Hey, you've been messing with a woman I'm looking after. Don't think you'll get off for free."
The man intimidated the Bishop and began talking as if telling him to show sincerity.
"I have no money—"
"Someone's with you, right? Have them bring it."
I see, I just have to have someone bring money, Kofie thought, and he unintentionally burst out laughing.
"How interesting!"
"Huh?"
"I see. You go that far to take money. I wondered why you'd get so angry over such a trivial matter, but I see. Well done. You're shaking down this humble monk. You'll become an astronomical rich man, won't you?"
Bishop Kofie chuckled. As expected, the secular world is interesting. He couldn't hate it. Isn't this method sly? Sly and terrible. Sly and funny.
"Hey you—"
"You lot are well-made. I'm impressed. By the way, why do you earn a living with such harsh methods? Do you want to take it easy? The feeling of shame—do you have any?"
The man with the vertical scar glared down at the Bishop in silence. Thinking he was probably going to be punched again, Bishop Kofie closed his eyes.
The fist did not fly, and when he timidly opened his eyes, Yugis was there.
"Your Eminence, it has been a while."
"You, as I thought—it's you."
"I am glad you are safe. Let us go, can you stand?"
"There was a man called Kaitas..."
"I heard the circumstances from Kaitas. He was the one who tailed us, and I heard the story. Kaitas is worried about you."
With the help of Yugis's right hand, the Bishop stood up.
The man with the scar stood right beside them. "Brother, we aren't done talking over here!"
"Stop it, it's boring." Yugis flicked his cloak with one hand. The hilt of a sword appeared. "My weapon is long."
The man who had been about to come toward them faltered. Looking at Yugis cautiously, he no longer tried to approach. The prostitute was charming.
"Old man, see ya!"
She waved her hand energetically.
"We've all split up to search for you. We were planning to gather at this shop."
The place Yugis guided him to was a small tavern.
None of the ones Yugis called 'comrades' had come.
"Let us wait while drinking."
The son of Necrat answered all of Kofie's questions. With that, the Bishop grasped the general circumstances.
"Don't do reckless things."
"Your Eminence also did something quite reckless."
"It's your fault."
Yugis had broken Laicanel Thora out of prison in Karnain City. He intended to have Laicanel build an army. Even that was a leisurely story, but—
"First, I will create public opinion. So that it is easier for Laicanel to move," Yugis said.
"Did you hire Bugis for that?"
"Bugis is the priest you excommunicated. To seek your forgiveness, he cooperated with us."
—He has an acquaintance with the Bishop of Siddim.
He probably invited him by saying something like that.
"The excommunication cannot be revoked."
"But you can grant forgiveness, can't you?"
"You," Bishop Kofie narrowed his eyes. "Have you noticed? You're becoming like your father."
"Well, we are father and son, after all."
He smiled gently, showing no sign of dislike.
"Do you remember what I said in Noz Village?"
"You said you'd drive away the Kosa army."
"If I could borrow Your Eminence's power, it would be encouraging."
Bishop Kofie looked down.
"I cannot do that. The church..."
I cannot betray it, the Bishop thought.
—Is it true? Is it true? You lot, is it really alright with that?
Perhaps because he drank on an empty stomach, Bugis's voice echoed in his head.
"I don't know what to do."
Bishop Kofie did not want to make the masses, whom he had continued to underestimate, despise, tease, and make light of, unhappy. He finally realized that to do so, he had come to love them too much.
"That's it." The Bishop of Siddim felt the divine will. "That's it. I cannot do it. It is impossible."
It's not that he wanted to betray the church or the Archbishop Your Eminence.
But he cannot.
It is impossible. He cannot betray the people.
"Why did I not notice such a simple thing?"
The Bishop gazed at the youthful face of his friend's son.