Volume 7 Chapter 2: A Letter from the Saint

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Author: 夜州 (Yashu)

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News of the pope’s assassination soon reached Marineford’s neighbouring country, the Kingdom of Esfort.

The king, Duke Eric, Magna, Margrave Garm, Cain, and the bishop despatched to Esfort had all gathered in the royal castle’s conference room.

The bishop had knelt down and started praying when he met Cain, who had hurriedly had him stand up and sit down in his chair.

Because the bishop started praying to him every time they met, Cain had lately been going to Drintor to talk to the gods.

Once they had all sat down, the bishop began explaining about the Holy Country of Marineford.

“Thank you very much for taking your time today for this urgent matter. The pope-sama has been assassinated, and––”

He explained how children had been taken hostage, the treasury opened, and a lot of treasure stolen.

And how a lot of temple knights and the pope had all become victims.

“Was there anything important among the things stolen…?”

The bishop shook his head at the king’s question.

“Well… I haven’t been told exactly what was stolen. But, I expect the Pope Selection to start with the death of the previous one.”

The ‘Pope Selection’ was an election in the Holy Country of Marineford to choose a new pope from among the few cardinals, who were next in rank after the pope. Currently, there were four cardinals, and the new pope would be chosen from among them.

Priests and above, both those in Marineford and those who had been despatched abroad, would vote for them, and the one with the most votes would become the next pope.

However, the church was not unified on the inside. Each cardinal had made their own faction, and they were all trying to push the others down while gaining influence themselves; it was a veritable world of demons.

The bishop explained that that was to be expected though, as that was just how attractive the position of pope was.

He himself had no ambition for a promotion, and told them all with a smile that he wanted to be buried in Esfort once he passed on.

“So, what will you be doing now?”

Cain asked the bishop. The bishop despatched to Esfort was a man of character who had worked there for many years, and Cain felt gratefulness towards him for swiftly dealing with the trouble that had popped up when Cain had started governing Drintor.

“There should be a summons from the temple coming soon. My older brother is one of the cardinals, so I have to go support him. So I’ll be going back to the temple for a while.”

“That certainly is true. I’ve only met him once, but he seemed to be a man of character like you, so our country will also support him.”

“Your Majesty… thank you very much.”

The bishop lowered his head in thanks at the king’s words.

“Then please let me know once the summons has arrived. I’ll have bodyguards escort you if need be. Various things… might happen.”

With those words from the king, the meeting was ended.

◇◇◇

The bishop’s summons arrived a week later, and another meeting headed by the king began.

The ones present were the same as the last time.

The bishop began explaining while opening the letter of summons.

“The elections will be held in two weeks. I’ll be leaving the royal capital in a few days. And then…”

The bishop took out another letter from his pocket and put it on the table.

“This is a letter to Cain-sama from the Saint-sama. Please see for yourself.”

“Eh… to me…?”

Cain picked up the letter from the table and timidly peeled off the beeswax seal.

Inside the envelope was a letter from the Saint. She had written a number of pages about happenings in Marineford, but she had one last thing to say at the end.

––She wanted Cain to go to Marineford as the bishop’s bodyguard…

Cain summarized it all and explained it to the king, who crossed his arms, frowning, starting to be troubled.

With Cain’s position in Esfort as a higher-ranked noble, coming and going from the country wasn’t that simple. While he could easily return back with his transfer magic, if he was heading to Marineford as a noble, they would have to let Marineford know in advance.

“…Your Majesty. I would like to go with the bishop if possible…”

“Wait a minute… This letter… Mhm… I see, so that’s it.”

“What is it…?”

Having read through the letter to Cain, the king lightly put it down on the table.

“The Saint-dono only wrote ‘Cain-sama’ in her letter. Never anything else, only that.”

Still not understanding, Cain tilted his head in confusion, when Duke Eric clapped his hands with a ‘That’s it!’

“Cain-kun, the Saint-sama doesn’t want you to go as Cain von Silford Drintor. She wants you to go as Cain. So––––it’s fine if you go as an adventurer.”

“…Aha!”

The king nodded as Duke Eric explained it with a smile

“…So, Sir Silford, will be accompanying me…?”

“I have a lot to say on the matter, but since it’s a request from the Saint-dono, we have no choice. Something significant might happen. Cain, will you go? We will, of course, make it an official request through the guild…”

The bishop asked the question with glittering eyes, to which the king reluctantly assented, nodding.

“…To be able to welcome the Apostle to the temple, having been despatched to Esfort… this is the highest honour for me.”

Cain could but chuckle at the emotional bishop.

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