Chapter 292 – 292. Duke’s Thirteenth Sabotage (8)

– One –

Woo woo woo woo.

“Ha, ha, this light… Is it Smirnoff…?”

Mondavi murmured as he looked at the pillar of light rising not far away.

As far as she knew, the light of Smirnoff’s healing spell had a peculiar corner.

I felt that the light he emitted contained more of the love of the goddess than the light emitted by other healing priests.

It was vague to put into words, but the difference she felt intuitively was clearly revealed in such abstract parts, so she was able to clearly distinguish Smirnoff’s light.

“But… It would be possible for the saintess to emit such a huge amount of healing light…?”

It was.

Although her time with Smirnoff wasn’t very long, she knew for sure how much healing magic he could chant.

Even if Smirnoff exerted all his strength to squeeze divine power, it would be impossible for him to use such a huge and overwhelming healing spell.

The absurdly huge divine power he emitted was even restoring the physical strength of Mondavi, who was quite far from him.

“Ha…”

Mondavi lets out a worried sigh.

She had never seen anyone who used her holy power unreasonably, but she was sure that such an act would never benefit the person involved.

She was also well aware of the fact that since he was excommunicated from the church, there was no way that his miracles would be seen favorably in the eyes of the priests who belonged to the church.

‘Anyway, I just want nothing to happen, Smirnoff…’ …’

With her earnest wishes, she prays for his safety.

Woo woo woo.

And clenched his fist

Look around.

Look out the window

At the same height as her line of sight, the only thing blocking her view was the imperial castle.

Except for the imperial castle, the roofs of all the buildings in the island are below her eye level.

Although she had risen so high before she knew it, the place she was now, as she remembered, was only about 30 percent of the total height.

“Ugh… Thanks, Smirnoff. If it wasn’t for Smirnoff, he’d have exhausted himself and collapsed before he reached the top.”

It was true that he was worried, but it was also thanks to him that he got over the hump.

The clock tower in the shape of a square pillar that tapers upwards has no choice but to climb slowly, floor by floor, along the spiral staircase along the wall.

There is no such thing as automatic equipment for the high class or the wealthy, as there is no reason to climb the stairs unless you are a technician who maintains the watch.

Fortunately, the top was thin, so the higher you go, the fewer lines of movement to climb one floor.

And if there was another fortunate thing, it was the fact that no one existed inside the clock tower.

“If I had climbed up to the curtain to distort my vision, I would have surely died from overwork on the way…”

Beat, beat, beat.

She steadily climbed the tower while grumbling with her mouth.

When she was thirsty while climbing the stairs, she created water in her mouth, held it in, and swallowed it.

“Now it’s all over. If I can get to the top of the clock tower, I can end this deadly war. So wait a little bit, everyone.”

More than anyone else, she climbs the stairs with strength in her legs, remembering the people she came with.

She was climbing the same set of stairs, but to be honest, it was a lot more climbable than before.

– 2 –

“This, this…?”

“General! Are you all right?!”

“Ah. It’s fine now.”

Brigadier General Glenfiddich looks down at the pit of the stomach.

The pain was gone and the bleeding stopped.

Swoop.

Try on your clothes.

On top of the well-trained abs, the hideous piercing wound is now completely healed.

All that remains is a few bloodstains.

“Are you really well…?”

His adjutant looks down at him with thrilled eyes.

Due to continuous bleeding for a not short period of time, he was suffering from anemia, no matter how much pressure he exerted with his aura.

But now, even his complexion had completely recovered, and a sense of refreshment settled in his body, as if he had woken up from a good night’s sleep.

“It seems so. Has the saintess returned to the system?”

“I don’t think so. If he returned, wouldn’t we have known about it long ago?”

“So is he. But just in case, can you go out and find out? In the meantime, I’ll have to put on some armor. I’ve been cured at best, but it’s not okay to have holes drilled in my body if I’m careless.”

Brigadier General Glenfiddich laughs bitterly.

The adjutant looked at him and smiled bitterly.

It was too urgent to be careless, and even he did his best to overcome such a crisis.

In the midst of that, the traitor attacked for the purpose of assassination, aiming for a momentary gap, and as a result, he was seriously injured and was rushed to a field hospital.

However, this stern soldier was stricter with himself than with others, so he neither attributed the responsibility for the situation to an accident nor passed it on to others, only blaming himself for his negligence.

“Okay. Take your time and arm yourself. Rest in peace here. I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you.”

Jerk, jerk.
Flutter.

The adjutant leaves the barracks.

The soldiers who were running the field clinic gave him a small simple barracks to take care of him because he was a high-ranking general in the Imperial Army.

However, their consideration was limited.

Even if they wanted to bring in a therapist sooner, the number of therapists was absolutely insufficient, so they couldn’t bring them in quickly.

His adjutants and soldiers tried to bring them back, even after making the healers immediately stop healing the civilians, but Brigadier General Glenfiddich yelled at them and held them back.

After that, he waited for his turn to come, but with the help of an unknown person, he was able to get a chance to recover relatively quickly regardless of the order.

Therefore, it was important to interview the person who used such a powerful healing spell, whether simply to pay him back or, if necessary, to recruit him into the Imperial Army.

Swish, click.
Sararak, clack, clack.

He is armed

He wears the armor he had released and puts on a helmet.

The Empire’s custom plate armor manufacturing technology has surprising corners, and even if each part is equipped one by one, the gaps always mesh well with each other.

Thanks to that, you can put on or take off such hard heavy armor by yourself, and you can still expect sufficient defense.

It was the best work of art created by metallurgical technology, casting technology, smelting technology, and magical engineering technology.

By the time he puts on his armor and puts on his sword,

Flutter.
Jerk, jerk.

“General.”

The adjutant returns.

His expression was considerably contorted, as if he had witnessed a very unpleasant sight.

“What happened? Or, did you find out about the person who used this miraculous healing spell?”

“Yes. The two things are related.”

“Um…”

Brigadier General Glenfiddich’s brow furrowed.

“Report.”

“Yes. First of all, the person who used the extreme healing technique just now is a person named Smirnoff, and it does not appear to belong to the Church.”

“It’s not even the saintess, but he used that much of a healing spell? It’s unclear whether the Pope can use such a healing spell…”

“Yes. Among the members of the Church, it seems that this has caused a significant loss of face.”

“I see… But, was there anyone who didn’t belong to the church but used the healing method?”

“Yes, I was curious about that too, so I inquired with the person from the church, but it seemed like they were all curious about his identity and the source of the divine power he used. I came out with a cause, but…”

The lieutenant’s expression crumpled.

Perhaps in that part, the members of the church seemed quite disgusted.

“Did Smirnoff refuse to accompany the clergy to the church?”

“No. He lost consciousness immediately after using the healing spell, which may have reached its limit. Because of that, a man and a woman who seemed to be his colleagues said that they would discuss the future course of action after he wakes up and respond politely. However, the church is pushing forward with the momentum to even arrest him by force.”

“I see. What they do is always like that…”

Brigadier General Glenfiddich perfectly sympathized with the adjutant’s displeasure.

There were people who didn’t, but the current church was coercive and rude.

From the fact that a single religion dominated the thoughts of all people on the continent for 5,000 years, it was clear that the clergy belonging to the church began to feel conceited beyond pride.

“How did his colleagues react? Was it in an atmosphere of conformity to the church’s coercion?”

“It didn’t seem like it. In my judgment, they seemed to be reluctant to let Smirnoff go to the side of the Church.”

“That’s what I mean…”

Brigadier General Glenfiddich nods.

I stroke his chin and organize his thoughts.

Soon catches his heart.

“Let’s go there together.”

“Yes, General.”

– 3 –

“When Smirnoff comes to his senses, I will definitely visit you at the Holy See, according to his wishes, I will tell you again and again! No matter how much he is in our company, we do not have the right to unilaterally decide his course of action!”

Sinatra eloquently expresses his refusal.

While accompanying her to the island, she was informed of the uneasy relationship between the Order and Smirnoff.

Even in her judgment, it would be extremely dangerous for someone already excommunicated from the church to be exposed in the Vatican.

This time, a deeper charge of heresy would be laid against him, and perhaps Smirnoff would be burned at the stake.

Because of that, she was desperately trying to stop him from heading to the Vatican.

“If it’s not the Vatican, where would you enshrine someone who is presumed to be a saint who descended on this earth after a few thousand years?

However, the priest who confronts him stubbornly insists that he accompany him to the Holy See.

Looking up at the priest’s compulsive expression, Robert trembled.

To prevent the clergy from suddenly attacking and detaining Smirnoff, he stood by Smirnoff, blocking the members of the Church with all his might.

“But I can’t unilaterally decide on his future while he’s unconscious like this!”

“It’s suspicious that you keep refusing to go to the Vatican, by any chance… I suspect that both this person and all of you are suspected of heresy…”

When the words ‘accused heresy’ come out of the priest’s mouth, Sinatra and Robert’s faces turn white.

In this era when the power of the church has grown, the meaning of the ruling of heresy by the church was never light.

It connotes the same meaning as social execution and annihilation of personality.

“Gee, fuck, let’s hear it, are you talking too damn hard?”

“Who is this?! Who dares to lash out at the events of the Holy Order?!”

When someone scoffs, the clergy look around with blushing faces.

He must have been one of the bystanders who watched the situation surrounding them.

However, no one reported his identity, and the person himself did not step forward.

Now, the onlookers are all in one piece.

“The church recklessly spreads allegations of heresy,”

“What?!”

The priests quickly turned their heads towards the place where the voice came from.

However, even there, the identity of the speaker could not be found.

As if it had been concocted in advance, everyone was taking off their pretense.

“I’m afraid I can’t even speak!”

“If you have something to say, step forward and do it squarely!”

The priests were stroking the hilt of the mace hanging from their waists with their hands, as if they were angry from head to toe.

“Sibal,”

“If you stand up and say the right thing,”

“If the right words are to criticize the Church,”

“Neither mouse nor bird knows,”

“The Heretic Inquisitor took you,”

“Accused of heresy,”

“Chop it finely and kill it,”

“Family too,”

“My friends, too.”

“Neighbors too,”

“Make them all disappear?”

Bystanders throw a word here and there.

It is ridiculous to see the clergy who hesitate and turn their heads whenever they hear voices.

“This, these guys, they’re all heretics,”

Just before the clergyman makes his terrible proclamation,

Jerk, jerk, jerk.
Clap, clap, clap.

After killing bystanders, a group of heavily armed Imperial troops enter the arena.

It was Brigadier General Glenfiddich, his lieutenant, and the soldiers who were in charge of their escort.

“What’s the fuss?”

“…It’s the Church’s business, so don’t get involved.”

“Cultural work?”

Brigadier General Glenfiddich looks around.

Only about a dozen clergy gathered here were the ones who could be called members of the church.

The rest were all wounded foreigners and soldiers.

Most likely, the clergy gathered here are likely to be classified as hardliners even within the church.

“For such a thing, the number of members of the Church is too small. As far as I know, there was no news of the Church’s split until a few days ago. Did a civil war break out in that short time?”

“…”

The faces of the priests are dying black.

In fact, none of the clergy except them joined in taking Smirnoff to the Vatican.

He is not only a benefactor who saved the believers with his enormous divine power, but also a figure who is presumed to be a saint who receives plenty of love from the goddess.

It was impolite to disrespect such a person by forcing him to be taken forcibly, so the other clergy considered it right that Smirnoff should be politely invited to the Vatican after a later ceremony.

Therefore, those who came here were only a small number of people who acted to unconditionally secure the presumed saint, even if it was somewhat rude.

“If that’s not the case, I think it’s the atrocities of some members who didn’t even get the support of the majority of members of the church. Am I wrong?”

“This, profit…!”

Since the person who faced the truth was a person who could even suppress the authorities, the priest could not easily refute.

“Still, the church has the right to take him away,”

“Now that it’s wartime, won’t the authority of the Imperial Army and the Islands Defense Force take precedence over the right of the Church? And since they haven’t committed any crimes or acted in favor, it’s their will that precedes anything else.”

“…”

Brigadier General Glenfiddich turns his head.

When his gaze reached Sinatra, she had a welcome expression on her face, as if she had been saved.

“I don’t know if it’s appropriate for me to suddenly intervene in this situation.”

“No, I just want to thank you for saying the right thing.”

“Thank you. Then, may I ask you a question to clear things up?”

“As much as you like.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Sinatra turns to Robert.

Robert nods, expressing his intention to fully abide by her judgment.

She turned her head and answered Brigadier General Glenfiddich.