"...You give me too much credit," I said. "I haven't done anything heroic. I was
only able to rebuild the country because I was blessed with good subordinates; and
though I drove off Amidonia, the annexation was just something that happened as
part of the flow of events afterwards."
"The flow of things is a fate beyond human knowledge," Mary said. "Surely you
must have been under divine protection, sire."
Divine protection, huh... That was the sort of opinion I would expect from a
religious person. Not that I bought into it.
"Nah, that flow was created by one person in particular," I said. "I'm not the one
you should praise, but the Sovereign Princess of Amidonia, who made the decision of
a lifetime."
"Roroa Amidonia, you mean. Though still young, she took on two countries and
found the path to the greatest benefit for her people. I admire her as a fellow
woman."
I was pretty sure Roroa had hated her country, though.
When Roroa's elder brother Julius had been Sovereign Prince of Amidonia, the
Orthodox Papal State had incited their followers in the country into a rebellion. That
rebellion had been put down by Julius, but Roroa was angry that her people's blood
had been shed as a result.
Honestly, I had wanted Roroa to be here, as the candidate to become my third
primary queen and the one who shouldered this country's finances; but in
consideration of her enmity towards the Orthodox Papal State, I had decided to have
her wait in the governmental affairs office with Juna and everyone else. Roroa
wasn't the type to let it show, but I didn't want to make her hold her emotions back.
But... just how serious was this girl when she said that?
Her tone of voice was plain, and I couldn't detect any particular emotion in it. She
didn't seem to be plotting anything, either.
If she could speak like this while knowing what her country had done, she was a
great actor, but it was entirely possible that she had lived a sheltered life and knew
nothing of her country's actions.
...No, if it had been either of those two, she would have shown more emotion. She
was entirely too quiet.
If it were the former, she would probably have appealed more to her sincerity in
an attempt to deceive me. If it were the latter, she should have been more
enthusiastic about being here to do the right thing. However, Mary's attitude seemed
to say she was here to do something perfectly normal.
That might have been how a country's emissary was supposed to act, but in her
case, I felt like she took it to an extreme. I could feel that off feeling I'd had before
growing in my chest.
In order to keep that feeling from showing on my face, I asked her straight out.
"Well then, Madam Mary, what business are you here on today?"
"Oh, that's right," Mary said, and bowed her head meekly. "I did come here today
with a request for you, Your Majesty."
"A request?" I asked, having a bad feeling about where this was going; and Mary
answered me with a smile that didn't let me sense any ill intent.
"We would like you to adopt Lunarian Orthodoxy as the state religion of the
Kingdom of Friedonia."
A state religion...
State religions. They were a concept that had by and large been abandoned in the
developed countries of Earth. I think countries used to use state resources for the
defense and worship of a particular faith. They turned religious festivals into state
functions, if I recall.
...Whatever the case, as long as we were a multiracial state, it wasn't a realistic
proposal.
"Madam Mary, do you understand what it is you're requesting of me?" I asked. "If
a multiracial country like ours were to give one religion preferential treatment, it
would end up splitting the state. Are you asking me to make that sort of foolish
mistake?"
I took a somewhat stronger tone as I said that. I did it to indicate that I was
irritated with what she had said. I might not always seem like it, but I had gained
enough authority that people called me a great king. If I hadn't been such a big deal,
getting mad over such a little thing would probably have worked against me.
However, her expression didn't change in the slightest.
"We aren't asking you to give us preferential treatment. We would appreciate it if
you would, but for now, just adopting us as your state religion is enough. In Lunarian
Orthodoxy, we preach tolerance for others. That applies to other religions, too. We
don't drive out followers of other faiths or demand they convert."
Then Mary raised her palm towards the ceiling.
"The moon in the sky changes with the seasons, and her face changes depending
on the day and place from which you see her. Furthermore, the patterns of the moon
look like an animal to some, and a person to others. Faith is the same way. Even if
our views differ, we all still worship God. What we see as Lady Lunaria, those of
other faiths simply see as something else."
I was silent.
That was an awfully poetic opinion. If she was speaking her true feelings, then
that certainly was tolerant, but... I just didn't think the way her country acted was in
line with that.
"But you don't recognize Mother Dragon worship, now do you?" I asked.
"God is in the sky, and in our hearts," said Mary. "If you worship something that
exists, it's purely out of fear for that thing. What is Mother Dragon going to do for her
worshipers? Is it not true that the Star Dragon Mountain Range has no relations with
any country other than the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom?"
"It's natural for fear of something greater than yourself to develop into religious
faith," I said. "Isn't Mother Dragon a symbol of nature itself, beyond the realm of
human knowledge?"
"It's a difference in the way we think," Mary explained indifferently. "We think of
faith as the bond that arises from God thinking of mankind, and mankind thinking of
God. To us, Mother Dragon worship looks like an illicit love for Mother Dragon. We
cannot recognize that as a legitimate faith. Of course, we understand that there are
people who think that way."
She wasn't saying anything especially out of the ordinary, I supposed. If anything,
she came off as logical. If these were her personal views, I almost wanted to talk with
her at length about it some time. But there were some premises she was wrong
about.
"This seems like a good opportunity, so I'd like to hear your opinion on
something," I said.
"What might that be?"
"I hear that spies from some other country have been sending spies to the royal
capital recently..."
"To this country, you mean? It seems awfully stable, so it's a surprise to hear
that." Mary said that without her expression changing in the slightest, of course.
There had been no fluctuation in her emotions this entire time.
When it went this far, I had to start thinking she might not actually know
anything about the Orthodox Papal State's dark side.
"When one of my subordinates dispatched one of those spies, I'm told that the
spy said, 'Curse you, you infidel.' They must have been a follower of some religion.
You also believe in God, so perhaps you understand what the spy's words meant,
Madam Mary?"
"I am not that spy, so I couldn't tell you, but..." Mary seemed to think for a
moment, then replied without getting particularly worked up about it. "They
probably saw their own life as a trial given to them by God. Those who would
oppose them were unbelievers. In short, that was how they judged your subordinate
to be an infidel."
"So, basically, it wouldn't matter if he was a follower of another religion or not?"
"From what you've told me, that was the sense I got. I apologize for my selfcentered view."
"...No, it was educational," I said.
What was it? I felt I had less and less of a feel for her. I couldn't sense anything
like a motive behind Mary's words. She gave serious answers to my questions.
...In that case, was this a negotiation?
In negotiations, both sides had goals, and the two sides bounced ideas off one
another until they reconciled their differences. That was why they concealed
information that was to their disadvantage, in order to lead the discussion in a
direction that was advantageous to them. I couldn't sense any sort of attempt to lead
the conversation whatsoever in the way she was speaking and acting.
"...Let's get back on topic," I said at last. "You wanted to make Lunarian
Orthodoxy our state religion, right?"
"Yes."
"So, what merit is there for our country in doing that? Also, if you say you're
tolerant of other religions, it shouldn't matter who is worshiping what. Why is
Lunarian Orthodoxy seeking to become our state religion?"
"I will answer your first question," Mary told me. "If you make Lunarian
Orthodoxy your state religion, we are prepared to recognize Your Great Highness as
a saint. You are already a king, so you would become a holy king. In addition, I will
most likely be dispatched by the Orthodox Papal State to serve as your personal
bishop. I will serve you as I would God."
With that said, Mary bowed her head.
It was going more or less how Roroa had said it would. I'd never expected that
the saint herself would come to serve me, though.
"The way you say that, it's almost like you're coming to marry me," I commented.
"If Your Holy Majesty wishes, you may do with my body whatever you might
please. I will offer my body and heart to you as I do in service to God."
"I haven't said I'm going to accept this holy king thing yet."
"Forgive my presumption." Mary bowed her head once more. She didn't look like
she felt guilty at all... or rather, the look on her face made me think she didn't even
realize she had done something wrong.
When I mentioned the marriage thing, Aisha jumped a little, but Liscia didn't
seem surprised in the least. All she did was stare at Mary with a serious look on her
face. How did Mary look in Liscia's eyes?
"And?" I asked. "If I become a holy king and have a saint dispatched to me, what
merit are you saying that will give this country?"
"This country has grown to a scale where it is comparable to the Gran Chaos
Empire. That is a product of your virtue, no doubt. If you gain the influence of
Lunarian Orthodoxy as well, this country will have gained a degree of power that
outstrips that of the Empire."
"There's another bold claim," I said. "But the Empire still has more territory and
more power than us, you know?"
Well, there were areas where our technology was ahead of theirs, but I wasn't
going to let that slip.
Mary silently shook her head. "Four in ten of the people living in the Empire are
followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy. Those numbers are the result of Mother Dragon
worship being unable to gain much of a foothold because the Empire fought the Star
Dragon Mountain Range during the period in which they were expanding. In other
words, close to half the population are followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy. If this
country were to get into a conflict with them, with our influence it would be possible
to break up the Empire."
"You say some pretty scary things as if they're nothing," I said. "We have no
intention of getting into any conflicts with the Empire."
"It was merely a hypothetical. In short, I am telling you that you can gain the
power to rival the Empire; the power to be the strongest among mankind's nations."
...Yeah. Well, looking at the relationship between the princes of Middle Ages
Europe and the Roman Catholic Church, it wasn't unthinkable. With the power of the
ruler and the church combined, they would rule the country and drive out foreign
enemies.