"Why do you think that smoking it all day long is so good?"
Before the regression, I used to worry about Celestia always having a cigarette in her mouth and say such things.
Daily flying rumors.
And Celestia's condition deteriorating as the days went by…
It's strange not to worry.
If it's enough to make me worry, who used to travel around and mess up the family, look like that, there's no need to say anything to others.
I didn't know back then.
Why she lived like that with a cigarette, and why her hands were always trembling like that.
I didn't find out until much later.
* * *
"You, how did you…?"
"I don't need to tell you that. Right? It's a useful card from my perspective."
I thought back to my memories before the regression while hiding a bitter smile inside.
She was still holding a cigarette when she died.
The substance in that cigarette is a drug called 'Eden.'
Eden, which is refined from a herb later called the sacred acacia, gives a tremendous awakening effect when taken, even if only for a moment, and can increase the limit at which priests can accept divine power.
There seems to be no other elixir like this.
But where would such an elixir exist in the world?
Of course, there are serious side effects.
Feelings of loss and emptiness that come after the awakening effect wears off.
As a result, one seeks out Eden like an addict.
If one cannot take it, their mental state becomes cloudy, and eventually, they go mad.
In the early stages of addiction, there is a chance to break free, but if the period is prolonged, there is no turning back.
"Celestia was that witness."
There is still a chance.
At this stage, she is still in the early stages of addiction.
"Just one question."
"…Go ahead."
"Did you take the drug by your own choice? Or…"
"Ha!"
Celestia snorted at that.
But even as she said that, it seemed that she could not completely hide the symptoms of addiction, as her fingertips were subtly trembling.
Looking at her trembling fingertips, Celestia gritted her teeth and said.
"Do you think I would have taken it by my own choice?"
"I see."
I didn't hear it from her, but I had some idea.
There was no reason for a saintess, especially one boasting the highest sacred power of the time, to take such a drug.
"Young Duke, how does you know it? I have never disclosed my addiction to anyone outside."
"Well… Didn't I just say that?"
"There's no reason to tell you?"
"That's right."
I calmly interlocked my fingers and maintained a relaxed attitude.
"I don't have a reason to tell you, right? It's not like you can pressure me with this."
"…?"
"Isn't it better for you to not be so confident? A priest… Especially, a saintess of the holy empire church, is addicted to drugs…"
I laughed like a villain.
"It's not a story that would be good if it became known to the public. Don't you think?"
"Ha, Young Duke, are you prepared to be an enemy of the Holy empire? Even if you are an Imperial Duke…"
"I'm not sure. 'Complicity' isn't that simple, is it?"
I calmly accepted her words.
She may not know, but I don't just know the result of being addicted.
"What?"
Celestia frowned at my words.
"Shall we try it for real?"
Her own secret that she had never disclosed to anyone.
"Don't be too unfair."
Before the regression, you told me yourself.
Moreover, in the end, it will be beneficial to you.
With such thoughts, I slowly revealed her 'secret.'
"Sesil."
"…!"
Her slightly widened pupils showed surprise.
"he was one of the priests who followed you, right? A colleague you believed in even before being chosen as a saintess in your childhood."
Although her expression gradually stiffened, I continued without hesitation.
"Even after you became a saintess, you kept Sesil by your side. Naturally… you drank what he gave you without much suspicion."
"You…"
"Wasn't that the beginning?"
I smirked.
– You trusted people too much.
She used to smile bitterly and say that it was a mistake from her childhood.
Perhaps because of that memory, she was deeply distrustful of people.
"You realized that you were addicted when you drank the tea Sesil gave you over the course of a month…"
"…"
"Realizing that and finding Sesil, she was already…"
"Stop it!"
Celestia couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, cutting off my words."
Her face was twisted in disgust.
"Enough, stop."
"Look, you know quite a bit, don't you?"
Celestia clenched her fist as she watched me laugh.
"How could you know that…!"
"Oh, by the way, it has nothing to do with what happened back then, so there's no point in suspecting me."
I shrugged.
"What could child who is a 15-year-old now have done back then? I just happened to hear about it by sheer luck."
"…"
"The important thing is your addiction."
I tapped the table as I spoke.
"It must be quite agonizing, isn't it? By now, you must be reaching your limit even though you're enduring it."
"If you're thinking of recommending medicine to me…"
"Enough nonsense."
I had a strong aversion to drugs or anything of the sort.
It was an item that would never disappear from human history, but in any case, drugs were inherently harmful.
In any case.
"There is a way to cleanly treat your addiction symptoms."
"!"
"Not immediately. I have the most important ingredient prepared, but I still need to gather other ingredients."
I said so, pushing the herbs I had received from Lepentierr toward her.
"Just keep it for now."
"This is…"
"It's a potion that suppresses addiction symptoms. If you take this regularly, you should be able to endure it without withdrawal symptoms for a while."
Celestia hesitated to take the herbs placed on the table.
"How can I…?"
"How can you trust me? Well, you can't. I've presented everything I can. I have no intention of exploiting your weakness, nor do I have any intention of abandoning you."
I said so, offering her the purified tea I had prepared.
"If you want to confirm, you can drink it. There's nothing worse that can happen in the current situation, right?"
"…"
"I'm suggesting this. I have no intention of forcing it on you."
Celestia fell silent for a moment. Then, as if she had made up her mind, she closed her eyes and swallowed the tea I handed her.
And a moment later.
"Ah."
She looked at my trembling hand as if it were strange.
"How on earth…?"
"As I said, it's a temporary measure. It doesn't treat the fundamental addiction symptoms."
The drug Eden must be quite vicious.
To completely eliminate addiction symptoms, a more detailed process and a 'special potion' are needed.
Unfortunately, I hadn't prepared that yet.
Nevertheless, the reason I called her this time was because I judged that it would be better to suppress the addiction symptoms for now.
Delaying this matter would not be good.
"You can endure with this for about a month. After that, you'll develop a tolerance and it won't be effective."
"Shorter than I thought?"
"Still, I think it's enough to believe that we can make a cure."
Celestia remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"The timing is quite coincidental. Do you know about it?"
"To some extent."
I answered briefly.
I had heard about Celestia at this time, but I didn't know the details of the timeline.
"In that case, this might take a while. It's not officially known that I'm addicted… Officially, that is."
"What do you mean by officially?"
"There seems to be a situation where the annoying one has caught on. They've been quite antagonistic towards me for a while now."
"It seems quite dangerous."
"Unfortunately, that's the case. The moment they catch wind of my addiction and make it public, I'll be immediately sent to a religious trial."
Celestia chuckled at the thought.
"Truly an impressive religious group."
"…They serve the gods, but are maintained by humans, after all."
Celestia frowned.
"True. But if a cure were to eliminate your addiction symptoms, the problem would be solved, wouldn't it?"
The timing seems right.
That's why I decided to intervene while the cure is still incomplete.
"So, here's the deal. I'll create and provide you with the 'cure' until the situation gets to that point. Is that acceptable?"
"It is, but…"
She trailed off and asked me, "Why are you helping me?"
"Because I'm on the side of justice?"
"That's utter nonsense, and you know it."
"…"
It really is about justice, though…
Probably.
Since it was still partly a joke, I quickly got to the point.
"Simply put, I don't like the way the Holy Faith is becoming increasingly radical. The bishop who currently oversees my territory is a despicable man, after all."
"…"
"I judged that you were the only one who could restrain that. That's why I sent the message."
But she still couldn't shake her doubts.
"No, that can't be the reason. What basis do I have for believing in you? What am I supposed to do about that 'radical faction' you mentioned?"
"My intuition."
I said, tapping my head lightly.
"Like you, I tend to trust my intuition."
"…"
"Based on that intuition, I decided to trust you. Weren't you similar?"
To be honest, even if I talked a good game, if she hadn't been willing to believe me, this situation wouldn't have arisen.
"You decided to trust me too. My words must have been quite convincing, right? Although I doubt it."
"…"
"Denver's 'intuition' told you to believe in me, didn't it?"
"Haha."
Celestia laughed at that.
"So, intuition is the reason… That's actually quite a pleasing reason."
"Of course. Besides, my intuition is quite sharp."
"Hmm."
Celestia spun the glass in her hand around.
Then, a smile crept onto her lips.
"Do you know? Even as the second in command, I don't have as much influence in the church as one might think."
"I know."
"Is that so? Haha…"
Celestia sighed, running her fingers through her hair.
"So, even in that state, you're willing to help me?"
"Yes, I am."
It was the predetermined answer from the beginning.
"I have intuition, and I also have personal interests aligned with yours."
"Personal interests?"
"Yes."
How should I explain this?
Celestia's intuition is almost supernatural, so there needs to be a plausible excuse in this case.
If that's the case…
"It seems interesting to me."
It's not a lie.
It does seem like it would be interesting.
"Cleaning up the Holy empire, so to speak."
Yeah, I can't stand to leave it like this.