Chapter 139
Tomorrow, I Will Too
The
state religion in the Grust Kingdom is a religion called the Holy
Church. Well... it probably has an official proper name, but it's generally
just called the Holy Church. It is a monotheistic religion similar to the
Christianity I know. Monotheistic religions tend to stick closely to those in
power because they provide legitimacy to their rule, like the concept of the
divine right of kings. It seems a progression often seen on Earth is also
happening in this kingdom; the country's Holy Church and the organization
governing it are completely in bed with the state's authority.
And
now, that same Holy Church is in the midst of a massive restructuring. Evidence
of their misdeeds has been coming out one after another in a chain reaction
from Izel II, who had been deeply colluding with the Holy Church to
commit various atrocities. Naturally, among that evidence was proof that Izel
II had conspired with the upper echelons of the Holy Church to secretly
assassinate Miku.
Personally,
I thought it would be fine to just eradicate the religion itself at that point,
but surprisingly, the one who put a stop to it was Miku.
「I think the Holy Church is necessary
for the people of the Kingdom too. Just having something they can
believe in and rely on makes a huge difference, after all.」
Precisely
because she had traveled all over the country as a Saint, Miku
felt the necessity of the Holy Church. It's quite an unfamiliar concept to me
as a Japanese person, but it seems the Holy Church in this country has become a
level of general education, used as part of their schooling and as a standard
for ethical and moral behavior. If we were to forcibly remove it, she said it
would undoubtedly leave a root of calamity for the future.
"I'll do something about it," Miku
said. So, I obediently decided to leave it to her.
I
have absolutely no intention of leaving the Holy Church unchecked. But if it's Miku,
who was nearly assassinated herself, she will ruthlessly take a scalpel to the
corruption within the Holy Church.
And
so, to check on how Miku was doing, I came to the headquarters of the
Holy Church, the Ode Cathedral. I've never traveled abroad, so of
course, this is my first time entering such a full-fledged religious facility.
Feeling a little nervous, I had them let me in through the back entrance.
(Heh...
So this is what it looks like.)
Looking
around inside, the first floor had a massive number of seats prepared for the
believers, and slightly elevated from there was a space set up for preaching.
The structure allowed sunlight to pour down through the stained glass onto the
priest delivering the sermon. Are they utilizing visual effects...? I
surprisingly can't underestimate them.
(As
expected, it seems they are closed today.)
I
entered through the back, but it seems that today of all days, even the church
personnel weren't in a position to be praying; the general public area meant
for offering prayers was blocked off so no one could enter. Turning my eyes
toward the second floor, people who looked like church members were running
around holding documents, looking unbelievably busy. They too are probably
running around frantically to squeeze out the pus from the inside.
「Excuse me, we have stopped accepting
worshippers for today...」
A
sister, who apparently thought I was a stray believer or something, called out
to me. She was gripping a massive stack of papers in her hands, and her
complexion looked a little pale.
「Oh, sorry, but could you guide me to
the Saint...?」
「Umm... Her Holiness the Saint
is currently extremely busy. Unless you have a prior appointment...」
「You idiot! Didn't they send out a
notice beforehand!?」
「Ouch!? What are you doing, Camus-san!」
The
exhausted sister was lightly smacked on the head by a male monk who had
approached nearby. The monk quickly straightened his clothes, then smoothly
gestured behind him with his hand.
「Masaru-sama, please come this way. I will
guide you to the back!」
「Masaru-sama... Ehh!? This person is!?」
I
wonder what kind of things are being said about me within the Holy Church... I
was curious, but I decided not to ask for details. There are some things in
this world better left unknown.
「For now, please do your best.」
When
I cast High Heal on her, the sister's complexion returned to normal in
an instant. Giving a light wave to the surprised sister, I followed the guide
up to the second floor.
As
we proceeded deeper, passing by rushing clergy members, a massive set of double
doors came into view. Inside the room behind the glass-decorated doors was a
huge vertical desk, and sitting at the so-called head of the table, Miku
was wrestling with paperwork.
「Miku, how are things going?」
「—Masaru! You came back!」
When
Miku looked up, her expression brightened radiantly, and she ran over to
me. Thinking she looked like a dog welcoming its owner back home, I gave her a
light hug.
Instead
of the rough habit she had been wearing until now, Miku was dressed in
overly decorated clothing that suited the image of a Saint. Apparently,
this is her formal attire as a Saint. —With Izel II abdicating
and the authority of the power-holders who colluded with him collapsing, Miku
had returned to the Holy Church as the Saint.
At
the time she brought our classmates back, she was branded a heretic and
stripped of her title as a clergy member, but it seems the heresy charge has
already been lifted, and she is able to act as the Saint without any
issues.
「Are there any problems?」
「Mhm, my former subordinates came
rushing over immediately, and right now, even the higher-ups of the Holy Church
are bowing their heads low to me.」
With
enough charisma to build a whole faction in just six months, and being the best
friend of the current monarch, Alice, she coincidentally gained the same
status as the power-holders who tried to eliminate her. Currently, she is using
that power without hesitation, wielding her exceptional skills to completely
reform the Holy Church from the inside.
「For now, it looks like everyone who
was doing shady things will have to atone for their crimes and have their
personal assets confiscated. As for the Cardinals, evidence of their misdeeds
keeps popping up one after another, so they'll probably all be executed. About
ninety percent of the Archbishops will likely be stripped of their wealth and
thrown out of the royal capital completely penniless.」
「Whoa...」
「Well, honestly, I want them to be
grateful that I'm just not killing them. After hearing what they did, I
genuinely want to execute all of them.」
What
she's doing is brutal... I thought, but after hearing what they had done, I ended up
sharing Miku's exact sentiments. Not just inciting assassination, but
bribery to the Kingdom, tax evasion, rape within the church, and
indecent acts targeting the orphans in the orphanages they ran (terrifyingly,
it seems many of them had a taste for young boys)... Almost all the people in
positions of power had an unbelievable amount of additional crimes. By the way,
the Cardinals' crimes apparently warrant execution even under Kingdom
law, so the death penalty is fully justified.
In
order to completely squeeze out the pus within the Holy Church, she's
apparently using her authority as a trump card to pick fights even with
Archbishops where evidence is insufficient, aggressively confiscating their
personal assets. It's a terrifyingly forceful power play, but it seems it's
possible right now because the Holy Church's own power base is shaky.
Maybe
this is what they mean when they say the best thing to have is a friend who's a
King. Not that you can easily have something like that... Wait, thinking
carefully about it, I'm friends with Alice and Emilia too, right?
My bad, I
take back my previous statement.
「To ensure they can never exert
political influence again, I want to firmly separate the church and state.
Ultimately, I want to turn it into a laid-back organization that just runs
orphanages, soup kitchens, and holds mass on Sundays.」
「...Isn't that going to take a
ridiculous amount of time?」
「For now, I want to elevate the
status of people who seem decent, and then have them cooperate with the Kingdom
to handle it. It's impossible for me to do everything myself, after all.」
It
seems Miku is incredibly tired. Although she seems to be managing her
physical fatigue with Recovery Magic, her mental exhaustion appears to
have built up considerably.
「But it looks like it'll still take a
little more time. I'll probably have things wrapped up in about a week, so I
want you to wait just a bit longer.」
Although
people around her are desperately trying to stop her, once she cuts through the
organization's corruption cleanly and swiftly, Miku intends to quit
being a Saint. Well, having the title of Saint restricts your
actions in various ways. Besides, Miku is technically a 'Fallen Saint' anyway. Still, her
strong sense of responsibility to properly finish what needs to be done before
quitting is very typical of Miku.
「I'm planning to head to the
battlefield starting tomorrow.」
「I see, you're going to train Lirica-san,
right?」
「At the same time, I'm thinking of
observing what kind of people the demons really are.」
As
we caught up on what happened today, the time passed in the blink of an eye.
「Ah, I prepared this just in case, so
eat it if your brain gets tired.」
「Wow...!」
Miku's sparkling eyes were fixed on the
items I took out of my Item Box... various chocolate snacks, including
boxed ice cream and chocolate bars. I placed them inside a giant block of ice
created with Ice Magic, so there shouldn't be any worry about them
melting for a while. In the end, when you're tired, sweet things are the best.
By the way, I'm in the Kinoko
(Mushroom) faction, but since I didn't know which faction Miku belonged
to, I prepared both Kinoko and Takenoko (Bamboo Shoots). My ability to
avert a war beforehand might mean I have the makings of a tactician.
「I have some salty stuff too, you
want them?」
「I do!」
Supplying
her with a second wave of potato chips and various snacks, I couldn't help but
laugh seeing Miku happily hugging the massive pile of junk food. Things
will probably still be tough, but I really want her to do her best.
Of course, I'll do my best too! I'll have to get even more fired up than usual tomorrow.
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