Chapter 297 – The Cultist Detector

Contrary to the bloody exterior, the inside of the palace was quite splendid and luxurious.

But. It’s not that the performance is improved by making the interior look nice, but you should be comfortable inside.

By the way, the only thing coming to the imperial palace from H&A is the final phase of the subjugation of Fiona, so it’s the first time I’ve seen her look so fine.

This is how the ruins of the rain originally looked.

To briefly explain the content of the Fiona subjugation quest, it can be said that it is a story of defeating Fiona with the only surviving royal family, the crown prince.

In the process, there is a pattern of chasing after Fiona, who felt disadvantaged and ran away, but ironically, it is only after arriving at the ruins of the imperial palace where everything started that the final phase begins with catching up.

The cut-scene of the prince cutting off his mother’s head and screaming with tears was a truly famous scene…

Of course, this is a story when you enjoy it as a game. If it actually happened, there would be no tragedy or tragedy like that.

Even while I was sentimental for a moment, we continued to cross the inside of the imperial palace.

Busy ladies-in-waiting, guards or soldiers on patrol, knights walking down the hallway chatting lightly, bureaucrats with sunken eyes, and so on.

I ran into many people on the way, but as soon as everyone saw Havel’s face, they stepped aside in an orderly manner and made their way.

This… Authority?

Come to think of it, even though I know this is a caste world, this is the first time I’ve ever felt it so directly.

It was a very large palace, so I had to walk for a long time, but thanks to that, I didn’t get bored.

The audience room that arrived like that.

Havel stopped for a moment in front of a door that looked the same as the front door he saw from directly below, but was different in size and turned around.

“Did you say that Yandel is a commoner? The others don’t seem to have to worry… How much do you know about court etiquette?”

“I don’t know anything.”

“Anyway, Saint Helena will do most of the interviews, and Her Majesty isn’t picky about etiquette either, so there’s no need to worry too much. Instead, keep only three things.”

As soon as you enter the throne room, don’t immediately look into the emperor’s face, but only look up after permission has been given.

I’ll ask if you have anything else to say anyway, so don’t say anything first.

If you raise more than a certain amount of mana without permission, you may be overpowered, so be careful.

A simple summary of Havel’s explanation would be something like this.

All of them were things I had seen somewhere or were common sense, so I just had to pay a little attention.

“I will keep that in mind.”

“You don’t have to be so nervous. As I said at the beginning, Your Majesty is generous with manners. Just your… Why don’t you leave the slaves here for a while and go in?”

“No. I intend to go in with you.”

“If someone who became a slave on suspicion of a cult is in front of Your Majesty again, there will be a lot of talk in many ways. Above all, the fact that she came and went as a slave where she used to go as a princess…”

Carla responded in a calm tone to Havel, who was speechless.

“Thank you for caring, but I’m fine. … There are reasons why you must enter.”

Did he imagine Fiona in there? Havel swallowed her saliva and looked this way at the sight of Karla, who had suddenly cooled down.

“Um…”

“Carla, she is right. Considering the reason we came here, we have to go in together.”

“If you say so. Got it. Then, I will open the door now, so get ready.”

As she was simply adjusting her clothes, Helena, who had been quiet, quietly approached her and whispered.

“The righteous Kwangmyeong will help you properly, so he told you to name yourself.”

“Please tell my assistant thank you.”

“…”

For some reason, Helena was making a slightly pouty expression, but she didn’t have enough time to release her now.

Ki-Ik-

Because Havel started opening the door to the audience room.

***

Emperor of the Levantine Empire. The audience with Rodrigo de Levantin went smoothly.

As soon as I opened the door, knights, bureaucrats, and a handful of wizards lined up on either side.

At the end, the emperor and the empress sitting right next to each other greet her saintess for the first time in 300 years.

Roughly, they put gold on each other’s faces a few times, share some of the hot new information that they won Solaris, and tell them that cultists are unusual and that they need a closer alliance…

Ah, by the way, the etiquette to do in front of the emperor was irrelevant to Helena.

Who would dare to ask the righteous eldest daughter of light to bow her head.

Anyway, Helena, who had been educated in various ways at Solaris, was quite alive as a saint.

Seeing the medallion shining on her chest from time to time, it seems that she was listening to Clara’s advice.

As Havel warned, a not very pleasant gaze flew towards Karla, but… Fortunately, Helena seemed more important than him, and her gossip quickly faded.

While Helena was creating a friendly atmosphere, I secretly examined the appearances of the emperor and empress.

It’s the first time I’ve seen Rodrigo alive.

I could see the face of the crown prince who stretched out his exclamations from a little distance away during the quest, but I could only see the emperor as a corpse.

His face, undistorted by pain, fear, and anger, was surprisingly similar to the image of the righteous light I had initially thought of.

A dignified appearance and an upright impression. Her red hair, which was half white, looked senile at first glance, but her eyes, which occasionally twinkled, were intense.

It feels as if an old but still dangerous beast is in front of you.

Indeed… Does it have the same roots as the Righteous Light Church?

But even that Rodrigo couldn’t be free from his words that it was dark under the lamp.

Fiona de Levantine. I calmly looked at the enemy I had to deal with today.

Long brown hair and a docile appearance. Although it did not completely cover the traces of the years, its beautiful looks still attract attention.

A good impression as if painted in a painting.

But if you ask me if I feel weak, that’s not the case either.

Gently enveloping the surroundings, at the same time, benevolence and firearms emanate from the eyes, and grace and maturity from the fingertips.

It can be said that it is the appearance of an ideal empress.

… It’s all camouflage, of course.

It seems the time has come, so she pokes Helena in the side from behind.

Cock.

“Huh!”

Screams cuter than expected. All eyes were immediately focused on Helena.

Helena glared at her with her face dyed red.

“Uh, um. I didn’t mean to do this sorry.”

“Whoa… That’s it. From now on, even if you stab me, please stab me somewhere else.”

Helena let out a deep sigh and straightened her posture. And she opened her mouth in a completely different serious voice.

“Your majesty. In fact, there is another reason why we moved all the way here to Balder.”

“I assumed it would. However, I really don’t know what it is. What happened so that the saintess left Solaris’ situation behind and came running?”

“As you know, we, the Church of the Righteous Light, are fighting the cultists and monsters the most and most intensely.”

“Hmm. I am always grateful. The generous donations I send each year are the size of my gratitude. Haha!”

She seemed to be trying to make a joke of her own, but Helena didn’t even move and continued her conversation calmly.

“It is only natural that the one who fights in the forefront is the first to be stoned. What happened at Solaris this time can be said to be part of that. It was a tough ordeal, but that much glory and salvation followed. Next time we will be happy to welcome the enemy. But…”

Having said that, Helena spread her halo and glanced around her.

She is Helena, who has grown in character by accepting the righteous light. Perhaps she felt like everyone in this seat was looking through her.

In fact, there are people who are startled and avoid their eyes, and there are people who offer a short prayer with a thrilled expression.

Helena, who looked around her once as if to find something about her, calmly brought up her topic of the day.

“But before that, shouldn’t we weed out the rats that sneak in and eat away at humanity?”

“… You rat.”

Her Rodrigo nodding her head while stroking her own beard.

“Yes. Whatever you do, I agree that it’s important to get rid of the rats before you go. Wasn’t there a lot of fuss over that bastard rat a few months ago?”

After I revealed the existence of the Seething Calm Church and the dangers of its protection. Everyone was frightened by the existence of the spies popping out one by one and started to organize the house.

Thanks to that, even if it wasn’t the guy stabbed by my dagger, I was able to find cultists hiding here and there.

“But how many rats will come out if I search once more now?”

“A lot of them must have been caught. So, if there are any rats left, they must be at the head of that disgusting horde.”

“Huh? The meaning of having come all the way to Jim, not anywhere else, to catch the captain mouse…”

“You’re right. The head of the Seething Calm Church is hiding here.”

“… He’s not just a cardinal, he’s actually the one who took the position of leader. Are you sure?”

“The Righteous Light whispered with light.”

“Hmm? What now…”

“It is said that the righteous light whispered through the light.”

“…”

Rodrigo blinked as if he was dumbfounded. But what if the saintess said so?

Perhaps he thought that there was no reason to joke around by mentioning God, but Rodrigo’s eyes became more intense as he finally agreed.

A stare so blazing that a weak person could have a seizure just by being stared at.

He asked Helena.

“That remark. Can the saintess take responsibility?”

“I swear by my lord.”

Helena made the sign of the cross as if she had been waiting. To the saintess… No, there is no oath heavier than this for a priest.

And Rodrigo said that the saintess gave the name of her god, and even though she even swore by that name, she was not incredibly stupid.

“Good. Then let me cooperate too. But how are you going to find out?”

“It’s simple.”

Helena continued, taking her hand and pulling it to her side.

“Brother Yandel, who will become my companion, can screen out cultists with the power given to him by the righteous Light.”

“… Companion?”

Rodrigo’s gaze lingered on me. Then he looked at Karla, Elisha, Iris, Iona, and Helena in turn and asked again.

“Companion… ?”

No, are you surprised by that?

Curious about how to identify a cult!