Chapter 54 - Chapter 4: The Saint Comes

In the middle of the third month, 1,547th Year, Continental Calendar — Royal

Capital Parnam

As the sun set and the curtain of night fell, three shadowy figures raced through

the royal capital. The shadows seemed to avoid the light, proceeding down back

streets not lit with lightmoss streetlamps. They could be seen turning and looking

back again, and again, and again, as if they were being pursued by something. Then...

"Guh!"

""Urkh!""

One of the shadows tripped and fell. There was a kukri knife (a dagger with a

curved blade) sticking out of his back.

Our pursuers are nearly upon us! Instantaneously realizing that it was dangerous

to stay clumped together, the other two shadows split off left and right, going in

different directions.

The presences following them all went after the one who had fled to the left.

Though the one who went right felt sorry for his comrade, it relieved him that he

would likely be able to get away. However...

"...?!"

The shadow came to a halt. There was a large man who gave off an imposing aura

blocking his way.

The man's appearance was bizarre and unsettling. He wore black-painted armor

over his large, muscular body, and a mask based off of a sword tiger over his face. He

was like some sort of monster.

"The Black Tiger of Parnam..." the shadow whispered despite himself. Lately, he

had been the subject of rumors among the grass.

The grass said that there was a black tiger in the Kingdom of Friedonia, and no

member of the grass who had seen him had returned alive. Now, you might wonder

how anyone knew such a person existed if those who saw him never returned, but

the tiger had handily cut down the grass while not laying a hand on a certain

merchant who happened to see him do it. Based on the vague statements of that

merchant combined with a member of the grass disappearing at exactly the time he

said, rumors spread that there was such a being in the royal capital.

They also said this:

If a spy encountered the Black Tiger of Parnam, they should drop everything and

flee. He wasn't an enemy who could be bested in combat. Those rumors also always

closed out with, "...well, if you can get away, that is."

When the shadow met the rumored Black Tiger, he became certain that those

rumors were the truth. He was just standing there, but the shadow could find no

openings to strike. He had a posture almost like that of an old warrior who had

defended the front lines for decades.

"Surrender," the Black Tiger said. "My master is merciful. If you do not resist, I

guarantee you will not be harmed."

Perhaps because of his mask, the Black Tiger spoke with a muffled voice. He did

not say this out of consideration for his enemy. It was pure formality; he was

delivering an ultimatum.

However, the shadow he was pursuing smiled.

"Curse you, you *******," the shadow said. "We do not beg for our lives."

With that said, the shadow drew the two short swords at his hips and lunged at

the Black Tiger.

The two swords closed in on the Black Tiger. However, the Black Tiger calmly

drew the odachi hanging from his hip, and split the man clean in two with a diagonal

slash. When he did...

"?!"

The moment after, the bisected man's body was enveloped in flames. He must

have intended from the beginning to die to silence himself, and to incinerate his

body to eliminate the evidence.

Disgusted, the Black Tiger shook the blood from his tachi and returned it to its

sheathe. There was a time when the Black Tiger would have thought it was a

splendid display of loyalty. Now, however, he could no longer see it that way. If there

was to be any meaning in dying for loyalty, it had to come from a master who would

mourn your death. To die for a master who used and then cast aside his followers

like this was to die in vain.

When he returned from his thoughts, the Black Tiger... Kagetora was surrounded

by men in black masks. These were the elites who served directly under Souma,

protecting Friedonia from the shadows: the clandestine operations unit, the Black

Cats.

"Master Kagetora," a Black Cat said.

"...What of the rest?" he asked.

"The same as this one."

"I see..."

Kagetora thought for a moment, then gave an order to his Black Cats. "Handle the

cleanup. I will report this to his majesty."

"""Yes, sir!"""

Once Kagetora had watched the Black Cats scatter, he recalled the words the

shadow had spoken.

"Curse you, you infidel."

The shadow had spoken that last word under his breath, and Kagetora had only

barely been able to hear it.

Infidel, huh. This... could be troublesome, Kagetora thought as he melded into the

darkness.

◇ ◇ ◇

Half an hour later — Governmental Affairs Office in Parnam Castle

It was a night in March, when the weather had started to warm considerably.

Today, like most days, I had Liscia helping as I did my paperwork. Something

happened just as we were saying it was around dinnertime, so we ought to call it a

day.

The glass door to the terrace flew open. When I turned in surprise, there was

Kagetora, his black metallic armor stained with blood. It was a good thing we were

the only ones in the room. If one of the maids who occasionally came in had seen

this, she'd probably have fainted. No doubt he'd been aiming for a time when no one

else would be here.

"Blood?!" Liscia tried to wipe the blood away with a cloth she had handy, but

Kagetora held up a hand for her to stop.

"It's not mine. Nothing for you to be concerned about, my princess."

"Oh... I see."

"Also... the odachi that Your Majesty presented me with has an incredible cutting

edge." Kagetora placed a hand on the odachi that he wore at his hip, then bowed his

head to me.

Oh yeah. I had given the odachi we'd developed while researching Nine-Headed

Dragon katanas to Kagetora, hadn't I? I'd created it for improved sharpness and

range of slashing attacks, but its length had ended up working against it. Unless a

person was tall, they would have trouble using it well. (It was hard to draw it from

its sheath, among other issues.) For someone as tall as Kagetora, I'd figured that

would be no issue, so I'd given it to him. It was good to hear it was serving him well.

"Well, as long as you're okay, that's good enough for me," I said, half in

exasperation.

I heard a slight chuckle from beneath his mask.

"...What? Did I say something strange?" I asked.

He chuckled again. "I was just thinking I've been blessed with a good master."

"Hm? Are you being sarcastic with me?"

"No, I meant that sincerely."

Maybe it had touched on something he was thinking about, because Kagetora

sounded pleased when he said that. I wasn't entirely satisfied, but... Well, it wasn't

important right now. There was no way that the head of the elite clandestine

operations unit, the Black Cats, was here to engage me in idle banter.

"So, do you have something to report?" I asked.

"Yes, sir. The grass has grown more active of late."

The grass... Spies, huh. In other words, there were spies from another nation

operating in the castle town.

"Is it the Gran Chaos Empire?" I asked.

"If it were the Empire, we wouldn't have such trouble with them. We have some

'connections' with them, and we would come to terms before we came to killing one

another."

"Connections...? You make deals with them?"

"We frequently trade intelligence about other countries."

"I suppose the darkness has its own rules..."

This was an area where I was best to keep my mouth shut and let him do his

thing.

"So, these spies we have running around, what country are they from?" I asked.

"They've destroyed the evidence, so we have no proof, but... most likely, the

Orthodox Papal State."

"...The Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria, huh," I muttered.

The Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria. It was a theocracy ruled by the Lunarian

Orthodox pope. The most recent thing I'd heard about them was that they'd incited

their believers in Amidonia to revolt, then tried to intervene.

"But we're not openly hostile to the Orthodox Papal State, are we?" I asked.

"Spies do not exist solely to be dispatched to hostile countries. Even if it's a

country you want to establish friendly ties with, spies might be dispatched to gather

intelligence and lay the groundwork for negotiations."

"Hm... Well, if they're becoming more active, that means..."

"It is likely that they may make some move in the near future."

"That's troublesome..."

I recalled some things that Roroa had said when I'd first met her.

"Because that country hates the Star Dragon Mountain Range and the Gran Chaos

Empire, that's why."

"In Lunarian Orthodoxy, the pope is the only one who can recognize someone as a

saint. In fact, there's a woman in Lunarian Orthodoxy who's called a saint. That's why

the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria sees Madam Maria as an unforgivable villain

who's misrepresentin' herself as one."

"That's why, now that Elfrieden's grown bigger by absorbin' Amidonia, the

Orthodox Papal State won't be leavin' you alone. Somewhere, somehow, they'll try to

make contact. Could be they'll offer you some made up title like 'Holy King' and try to

drag you into their conflict with the Empire."

If it was like Roroa said... this was going to be another hassle.

And some days later, a request for an audience came from the Orthodox Papal

State of Lunaria's saint.

◇ ◇ ◇

"...And that's how I ended up agreeing to holding an audience with the saint of the

Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria," I finished.

"I see..."

I was in the Jewel Voice Room in Parnam Castle. For some reason, the face of

Saint Maria Euphoria of the Gran Chaos Empire that was projected in the simple

receiver there bore a look of anxiety. Though the Empire was the mightiest of all

mankind's nations, the maneuverings of the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria must

have concerned her.

It had been one week earlier that I'd received the request for an audience, and

yesterday, I'd received word that the Orthodox Papal State's saint had entered the

country. Tomorrow, I was set to hold an audience with her.

When this situation had arisen, I'd immediately used Hakuya and her younger

sister Jeanne as my intermediaries to arrange for urgent talks with Maria. There was

no way the Lunarian Orthodox saint was coming just for idle chit-chat.

I didn't know what the Papal State's intentions were yet, but whether or not it

was good for my own country, it certainly wouldn't be good for the Empire, which

the Orthodox Papal State was hostile to. That was why I'd wanted to notify Maria in

advance, to strengthen the cooperation between us in our secret alliance. I wouldn't

want her to find out later that I'd met the saint, and to become unduly suspicious as

a result.

I asked Maria, "Does even the great Saint of the Empire have trouble with the

other saint?"

"...Please, don't call me a saint, Great King Friedonia."

"Urkh..."

She'd hit me with the perfect comeback. Yeah, being held up as some sort of

paragon when it wasn't something I'd ever aspired to be was nothing more than a

nuisance. ...I mean, I wasn't a squid, and I wasn't Dedede.

While I was thinking about that, Maria let out an alluring sigh. "I've never met the

Saint of the Orthodox Papal State, so I can't say much about her, but... When the

people of my country just started calling me something on their own, it seems unfair

for her to complain to me about it."

"Didn't the Orthodox Papal State try to find out how you felt about it?" I asked. "If

I were with the Orthodox Papal State, and you had become famous as a saint,

wouldn't it be faster to name you as an official saint rather than try to push my own

candidate?"

"Oh... Now that you mention it, there was talk of maybe doing that. I refused,

though," Maria said indifferently.

"You refused?" I asked, startled.

"Let me answer that with a question of my own. Would you have accepted?"

"Yeah, I'd definitely refuse."

"I know, right?" Maria smiled softly, but with a slight sadness. "What would they

have me do as a saint? Who would I be giving orders to, and about what? The

Orthodox Papal State always finds some just cause, and then they send people off to

war while saying it's defending the weak. I don't want to carry a banner for people

like that."

In those words, I could see the determination of a woman who carried the weight

of a superpower on her shoulders.

"I may be an empress, but I'm still just a human being," Maria said. "Instead of

being worshiped as a saint, I want to remain a person, and to be loved as a person."

To remain a person, and to be loved as a person... huh. Telling her that I agreed

with her, I carved those words deep into my heart.

◇ ◇ ◇

Let me go into some more detail about the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria.

The headquarters of Lunarian Orthodoxy was a theocracy ruled by the Lunarian

Orthodox Pope, and it had a history that stretched back about as long as Elfrieden's.

It was said that, in the time when the continent was in chaos, the first King of

Elfrieden, who was also a hero, had succeeded in building a country by uniting

various different races. Meanwhile, the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria made it

through the nation-building process by uniting people with the power of religion.

Their teachings, such as offering salvation to the weak, were based on their

experience from that time.

It seems that Lunarian Orthodoxy had originally been the religion regarding a

race called lunarians, the people of the moon.

Now, about these moon people: It was said that they weren't native to this

continent, and they actually came here from outside. I don't know if the "outside" in

this case was from an island like the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, or from

another world like mine, but the legends said they had come from the moon floating

up in the sky, and so that was where their name had come from.

The object of the lunarians' worship was the moon that was said to be their

homeland, which they prayed to as the moon god Lunaria. Because Lunaria was

shining in the sky, it was forbidden to construct idols of her. Furthermore, in the

inner sanctuary of the central church in the capital of the Orthodox Papal State,

there was something called the Lunalith, the lunar inscriptions, on which the divine

revelations of the moon were carved.

At first, only lunarians had belonged to the faith, but it had spread to other races

and peoples who'd leaned on it for support in chaotic times, and the number of

adherents had grown. After that, there had been factional strife within the religion,

as well as conflicts between orthodox and heretical interpretations. By the time

Lunarian Orthodoxy had settled into its current form, it had stood next to Mother

Dragon worship as one of the two most popular religions on the continent.

Their doctrines included salvation of the weak and mutual aid.

Those doctrines being as simple as Let's all help one another in times of need

likely helped them to gain new believers. The adherents did as their teachings

encouraged and raised money for those less fortunate, providing food to the poor

among other operations.

I'm sure you can understand from seeing this, but Lunarian Orthodoxy and the

believers themselves were harmless. However, when it came in the form of the

Orthodox Papal State, things suddenly started to smell fishy. From what I had heard,

they used their believers in every country to influence politics, or they incited them

into rebellion.

Let me stress again, there were also harmless believers who were pure in their

devotion to helping the weak. I couldn't clamp down on those together with the

troublemakers, and religion is the sort of thing that burns all the hotter when you

try to stamp it out anyway. No matter how much military power a country had, if

their soldiers were followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy, the moment they became

hostile to the Orthodox Papal State, public order would start to degrade.

As you can see, power tied to religion makes for a dangerous combination.

End of the 3rd month, 1,547th year, Continental Calendar

On this day, the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria's saint appeared before me.

I see, I thought, looking at her. Yeah, she certainly is a saint, all right...

Now, you might be thinking I ought to have more to say, but there was no word

more suited than "saint" to describe that girl. That was just how much she embodied

her title.

She was around eighteen, give or take a year. She had regular features and

moistly sensual eyes. Her hair was silver, tied back in two tails. Her beauty was such

that Aisha, who was standing next to me, let out a sigh of admiration. Clad in a habit,

she truly looked the part of a holy woman.

Right now, there were very few people in the audience chamber in Parnam

Castle. That was because the Orthodox Papal State had requested the audience be

held with as few people present as possible. The saint from the Orthodox Papal State

would be attending the audience with me alone.

I was seated on the throne with Liscia, the candidate to become my first primary

queen, on my left; and on my right was Aisha, my bodyguard and the candidate to

become my second primary queen; while Prime Minister Hakuya stood in the middle

between the saint and me. If this woman turned out to be an assassin in the guise of

a saint, I had Aisha here, so I would probably be fine.

Well... from what I could see of the beautiful young girl standing on the carpet a

few steps below me, that wasn't going to be a worry. If I hadn't built up my

resistance by being around Liscia and the others all the time, just looking her in the

eye might have been enough to make me fall head over heels for her.

...Hm? I thought. But... what was it?

I thought her appearance was highly attractive, but for some reason I wasn't

interested in her at all. Not only that, when I looked at her, something felt off. I

thought she was a charming girl, but... something was bothering me about her.

Even as I grappled with that off feeling, I worked to address her with as calm of a

tone as I could manage.

"Welcome, saint of the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria. I am the king, Souma

Kazuya."

When I did, the Lunarian Orthodox saint gave me a polite bow. "It is a pleasure to

meet you, Great King Friedonia. I am the humble Mary Valenti. I am here today as

emissary of the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria. In place of our pope, I thank you

from the bottom of my heart for granting our request for an audience, even though it

was so sudden."

Mary... Even her name was reminiscent of Maria's. The way she spoke was polite,

too.

I had expected her to be more high-handed, ordering me to believe in their god,

so I was a little underwhelmed. Well... I guess when they're dealing with the king of a

nation, they can't afford to be too overbearing on the first meeting.

When Mary raised her face, she looked me in the eye and said, "Word of your

exploits has reached us in the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria as well. Having been

summoned as a hero, in a mere year, you got Elfrieden back on its feet, destroyed the

Principality of Amidonia, and incorporated its territory into your own. Truly, a

heroic feat."

"...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. It was an easy way of handling things. But that was only if you turned a

blind eye to the power struggle between the ruler and church that would occur

afterwards.

Right now, we were trying to move forward into a new era. I didn't want to go

imitating something people had done in olden times. "If I may say a word," Hakuya,

who had been silently watching things unfold up until now, spoke up. "I'm sorry to

do this to Madam Saint, but I would like to speak with His Majesty for a short while."

"Please do."

With the saint's permission, Hakuya walked up close to me. Then, leaning in and

bringing his mouth to my ear as I sat on the throne, he whispered to me, "You seem

out of sorts, sire."

"Yeah..." I whispered back. "For some reason, I can't get into the right mindset. I

feel like there's something weirdly off about her."

"In regards to that, I think we need to think of her as separate from them," he

whispered.

"We do?"

Hakuya nodded. "I've been observing all this time, and I believe she's been

exhibiting a lack of emotion."

"Yeah, I noticed that, too."

"I'm sure that the Orthodox Papal State had some reason for sending her here,

but perhaps Madam Mary herself has no idea what that is? Could she have come

here as just a saint, only to communicate the will of the upper echelons of the

Orthodox Papal State, like a sort of messenger kui?"

"Huh?! She's just a messenger, then?"

Mary wasn't a negotiator, then?! That made a lot of sense... It had never felt like I

was negotiating while I was talking with her.

I'd assumed she'd been given model questions and told what to answer if I asked

certain things, and she had been negotiating with me based on that. That would

explain why, when I'd given her questions they wouldn't expect, like about that spy's

mindset, she'd given me frank and honest answers.

Either that, or it was possible she had been told to answer questions like that

honestly. Even if her negotiation partner tried to extract vital information from her,

if she hadn't been told anything, she would just honestly answer, "I don't know,"

after all.

This wasn't even a negotiation anymore. It was like having a text reader read out

my e-mail for me.

I glanced over to Mary. When she noticed my gaze, she cocked her head to the

side a little with no expression.

...I see, I realized. In a way, she is like a Diva.

In my world, there was an anthropomorphized text reading program called a

Divaloid. It had gotten famous because you could use the synthesized female voice to

read passages, or to sing songs, and it had caused a big boom, especially on video

sharing sites. They'd added illustrations of a cute girl to it, and she'd even held live

concerts as a virtual idol.

When I was talking to Mary, I felt like I was talking to one of those.

"Hakuya... How do you think we should negotiate from here on?" I whispered.

"I believe it would be good to ask for an answer to your second question from

earlier," he whispered back. "However, what you should weigh is not her own

reaction, but the intentions of the Orthodox Papal State."

"...Got it."

Once Hakuya was back in his earlier position, I spoke to Mary.

"Sorry for the wait. By the way, I never did get an answer to my second question

from earlier. Why is Lunarian Orthodoxy seeking to become our state religion?"

"For the sake of all mankind," Mary said without hesitation. "The north of the

continent has now become the Demon Lord's Domain. Though its expansion has

stopped for the time being, for as long as the Demon Lord's Domain exists, mankind

will never have peace. In order to attain peace, it will be necessary to invade the

Demon Lord's Domain and exterminate the root of the problem. However, the

demons of the Domain are powerful, and it is impossible for any one country to face

them alone. All of the nations of mankind must cooperate."

It stood out as a hard-line position, but... that was understandable, I suppose.

Mary continued, "That is why we want you to become a holy king. With your

power and our authority combined, it will be possible to unite all of the different

nations, I'm sure. If you request their cooperation after you have unified the other

countries, even that empire will follow your commands. Two out of five of their

citizens follow Lunarian Orthodoxy, so they won't be able to afford to ignore you. In

that way, all of mankind will be united, and we will invade the Demon Lord's

Domain. Then, with the Demon Lord who is the root of all evil slain, we will liberate

the north of the continent."

Mary spoke all that without hesitation. It sounded like she was talking about the

Crusades. In order to reclaim our lost land, we would be uniting countries through

the power of religion. And so, they wanted me to become a holy king and wave the

flag for that cause.

But... I'm sure that's just the public face of it.

Only once I saw the people behind Mary would I be able to get the full picture of

what their intentions were. Mary probably honestly believed this was to retake the

north, but the people behind her probably thought differently.

The bit about uniting the nations of mankind caught my attention. There was

already a system in this world trying to unite all of mankind: the one that Maria was

leading, the Mankind Declaration. It was a flawed treaty, but, for the moment, it

seemed to be serving its function.

For the Orthodox Papal State, they couldn't be happy about a situation where

Maria, who was (from their perspective) a "false" saint, was the leader of that pact

and winning respect for it. The more Maria did to distinguish herself, the weaker the

influence of their own saint would be, after all. A theocracy ruled through its

religious authority. In other words, the loss of authority was a matter of life and

death for the state.

That was why the Orthodox Papal State probably wanted to set up another body

for international cooperation separate from the Mankind Declaration. They needed

to create a new system where they could assert their authority. And they had picked

me to do it.

I looked over at Hakuya. When Hakuya noticed me looking, he closed his eyes and

nodded once, then shook his head. He'd likely reached the same conclusion I had.

In light of that, he was hinting to me that, "We shouldn't accept this offer."

...Well, of course not. That being the case, there was something I should ask.

"By the way, what will happen if I refuse to adopt you as our state religion?"

"It would be disappointing, but we would have no choice but to accept," said

Mary. "We can't force you into accepting."

They were backing down surprisingly easy. I thought they'd say something like, If

you don't accept our demands, we'll have all of our followers in your country riot, or

something like that.

While I was thinking that, Mary continued, "However, I suspect," her expression

still not changing. "I suspect that we would end up waiting."

"Waiting?" I asked.

"Yes. We could only wait until either you have a change of heart, or a new

candidate to become the holy king appears."

I inhaled sharply in surprise.

Urkh... So that was how they're going to play it, huh. Basically, if any country

started to get stronger, or a ruler began to become famous, she was saying, "We'll

take this exact same offer right to them." If they did, her earlier comment that "Two

in five of the Empire's citizens are followers, so if we feel like it, we can split their

country" would be something that might happen to our country, too.

Mary might not have intended it that way herself, but it was one heck of a threat.

This is... I shouldn't decide on this right here and now.

I didn't want to accept it, but if I was going to refuse, I needed to tell them that

only after carefully considering the countermeasures available to me. At the very

least, I wanted to have a lengthy discussion with Hakuya about it.

I rose from my seat and said to Mary, "I understand your request, Madam Mary.

However, I cannot give an immediate answer due to the gravity of the request. I

would like time to think it over. We will continue this discussion at a later date."

"But of course," she said. "I will be praying that you make a good decision."

Mary meekly took her leave. The negotiations hadn't been concluded, but she

didn't look disappointed at all to me.

I looked closely at Mary's face. I had been looking at it the entire time we had

been negotiating, but it felt to me like her expression had hardly ever changed. She

was like a doll.

A doll... Artificial...?!

That was when I realized it. What exactly it was that felt "off" about her.

◇ ◇ ◇

By the time my meeting with Mary came to an end, it was already late at night.

When we returned to the governmental affairs office, Roroa and Juna greeted us

there. I spotted Carla with the maids standing by in the center of the room, too.

"Welcome back, darlin'... Wait, what's wrong?!" Roroa cried.

"Um, is something the matter, Your Majesty?" Juna ventured.

The two had been smiling at first, but once they saw my face they instantly took

on looks of concern.

Ha ha... Was the look on my face right now that bad? It might well have been.

Juna touched her fingers, soft and cold like little white fish, to my forehead. "You

don't seem to have a fever, but... are you not feeling well? Would you like to take a

little rest?"

"Hey, Big Sister Cia! What happened to darlin'?!" Roroa burst out, rounding on

Liscia.

"Don't ask me! I don't know!"

I said, "Oh... It's okay, I'm fine," weakly brushing Juna's hand away, then sat down

at the governmental affairs office's desk. Then: "Sorry. Liscia, Aisha, Juna, Roroa...

could you come over here?" Then: The four of them looked to each other, and slowly

came over to me. When they got close enough, I spread my arms wide and gave all

four of them one big hug.

"Eek?!" Liscia yelped.

"My word!" cried Aisha.

"Oof..." said Juna.

"Wait! Darlin'?!" Roroa shouted.

They all let out weird little cries of surprise, but I ignored that and hugged them

tight.

For anyone watching from the side, it might have just looked like we were

forming a scrum; and it wouldn't have been very sexy, but I could feel the warmth

from all four of them. That let me finally calm myself. Once I had gotten a good full

minute of that, I released them.

Liscia fixed her now-slightly-messy clothes and asked me, looking a little angry as

she did, "Geez... You're going to give us some explanation for what that was all about,

right?"

The concern for me that I could hear hidden behind the anger in her voice made

me a little happy.

"Yeah, I'll fill you in."

"Souma, you got like that towards the end of the meeting, right? What exactly

happened?" Liscia asked.

"The whole time, there was something about that girl, Mary, that felt... off to me,"

I said.

"Something that felt off? Nothing she did seemed suspicious to me, though." Aisha

cocked her head to the side in confusion.

I shook my head. "It's a little different from what you're thinking. The first time I

saw Mary, I thought she was incredibly beautiful. But... at the same time, I felt she

was strange somehow."

"Strange? Whaddaya mean, strange?" Roroa asked.

"I should have found her attractive, and yet I couldn't see her that way. That's

how it felt."

"Hm... She seemed like a cute girl to me, though," Hakuya said.

Yeah... Probably no other person would have noticed it. I'd noticed because of

who I was, and because of that, I'd been able to discern the truth behind it.

"I didn't notice it myself at first, either," I said. "But the moment I thought she was

doll-like in her lack of emotion... or artificial, to take it a bit further... I realized what

it was that had felt off to me the whole time. She... looked like them."

"Looked like them? Who?"

When she asked me that, I put my hand down on Liscia's shoulder. "Like you,

Liscia."

"Huh?! Like me?!"

"Yeah. And like Aisha, and like Roroa, too."

"Huh? Did she?"

"Like me, too?"

Aisha and Roroa looked at each other after hearing what I said. I looked over to

Hakuya.

"Hakuya, if you were to describe Mary's face for those of us who weren't there,

how would you express it?"

"Well, let me see... she had regular features, silver hair, and it was tied back in

two tails...?!" Hakuya seemed to have picked up on it, and his eyes went wide.

I nodded. "Here's how I'd describe her. Her regular features were like Liscia's.

Her silver hair was like what Aisha has as a dark elf, and her hairstyle was like

Roroa's. In other words, Mary's face was like a composite of Liscia, Aisha, and

Roroa's faces."

"O-Our faces?!" Liscia yelped.

Yeah. The reason I hadn't been attracted to her, despite her being so young and

beautiful, was because of the disconnect with my expectations. If one day, out of

nowhere, Aisha had suddenly gained human facial features, that would surprise me,

and if Liscia or Roroa's hair had turned silver, it would be only natural for me to

think something felt off.

Aisha raised her hand and said, "Wait, hold on. If she has a mix of all of your

fiancées' features, what part of her do you suppose would have come from Juna?

From what I saw, her figure was average, too."

"See, that's it," I said. "From what I saw, Mary has practically nothing in common

with Juna. If I had to give you something, I'd say those sensual eyes of hers were

similar, but that's a little weak as far as traits go. That's got to have been a

coincidence. Also... can one of you tell me what the difference is between Juna and

Liscia, Aisha, and Roroa?"

"I'm the only one who's a secondary queen candidate," said Juna. "Besides, I'm

also... the only one whose engagement to you hasn't been announced yet!" Juna

clapped her hands as she figured it out.

I nodded. "My engagement to the other three has been announced already, but

we haven't been able to announce Juna's yet because of her work as a lorelei. In

other words, it's not known that she's my fiancée. So, when we think about how

Mary, who has the defining characteristics of all my fiancées except Juna, was sent

here, combined with the fact that the Orthodox Papal State's spies have been

growing more active in the castle town, we can infer that the spies were collecting

intel on what my fiancées looked like. They did this in order to create a woman I

would like, or at least not find unpleasant, and send her to me as a saint."

"Souma, that's..." Liscia began.

"Yeah... When I said, 'The way you say that, it's almost like you're coming to

marry me,' do you remember what Mary said in response?"

"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." Mary had said that

without hesitation.

A girl tailored to my tastes had been sent to me, and that girl had said, "You may

do with my body whatever you might please," and, "I will offer my body and heart to

you." Then, as if asking for compensation, they had tried to push their own demands

through. In other words...

"For the Orthodox Papal State, the saint is a honey trap laid for state-level actors,"

I said.

"What they're doing is the same as the nobles trying to sell their daughters to

you..." Liscia said, sounding exasperated.

Honestly, for a country ruled by men of the cloth, they came up with some vulgar

ideas. It looked like, as a country, the Orthodox Papal State was a very human

enterprise.

"Once I figured out what felt off about her... I asked Mary about how she was

selected to be a saint," I said. "When I did, she kindly gave me a thorough

explanation."

I was told that the saint had been chosen from among the nuns of the central

church by the divine revelations contained in the Lunalith. Most of those nuns had

originally been orphans, and there were nearly fifty of them. Most likely, the goal

was to keep a diverse stock of potential saints for any rulers they wanted to seduce.

The nuns were trained at the central church, and raised learning the doctrines of

the faith in a place cut off from the secular world so that they would become

obedient believers. Then, if they reached a certain age without being chosen as

saints, they were sent out to churches in each region as bishops.

"That's... terrible," Aisha said with open revulsion. "Then they really are like dolls.

It's as if they have no will of their own."

"Now, now, Big Sister Ai," Roroa interjected, "it doesn't sound like that bad of a

deal to me."

Aisha was critical of the system, but Roroa seemed to be of a different opinion.

"No matter what country ya go to, there ain't nothin' harder to run than proper

orphanages," said Roroa. "If they don't get educated by the time they're old enough

to work, they'll just end up bein' used for cheap labor. It's rare to find places like

ours that teach readin', writin', and arithmetic. For girls who come up out of the

orphanages... often, sellin' themselves is the only thing they can do. If they're bein'

lifted up from that situation, given food, clothing, and shelter in the church, don't ya

think that's fortunate for them?"

"But they're being raised so they can be given as offerings to foreign rulers, you

realize?" Aisha shot back.

"I'm not sayin' I like it. But usin' girls to form bonds is somethin' every house,

noble, knightly, or greater, does. I mean... in a way, I used myself politically like that,

too."

"Oh..."

When Roroa pointed that out to her, Aisha was at a loss for words. It was true,

when Roroa had arranged her own marriage in order to protect her people, you

could say she had been making use of her position as a woman.

"Sorry..." Aisha apologized.

Roroa simply said, "Think nothin' of it," and waved her hand. "Besides, I've never

heard of there bein' multiple saints. In other words, for all o' the nuns other than this

Mary girl, it won't be happenin' to them. Even for the saint, sure, callin' her an

offerin' makes it sound bad, but if a lord does lay his hands on 'er, she's set to marry

into money. I married for political reasons, and I'm plenty happy now, so it's up for

her to decide whether or not she's happy with it in the end."

Roroa said that firmly. She really... was a strong girl.

"I agree with Roroa's opinion," I said. "I don't like their methods, but it's not a

system we need to say anything about. I mean, it's another country's issue, after all."

"Well... why do you look so torn up, then?" Liscia asked, looking me straight in the

eye.

I put a hand to my head. "What shocked me... was that Mary had accepted she

was a saint, and was willing to go along with it knowing exactly what that meant."

◇ ◇ ◇

As the meeting was ending, I asked Mary about one thing that was bothering me.

"Madam Mary, do you have no doubts about being treated as a saint? Suddenly

being saddled with the dignity of your country, having to appear before a foreign

king, and being expected to tell that king, 'I will offer my body and heart to you.' It's

too great a burden for one person to bear. I would have thought a life like that would

be too cruel for an ordinary young girl to take."

Mary smiled and said, "By the will of Lady Lunaria, I was blessed with the great

honor of becoming a saint. The saint is the face of the Orthodox Papal State. Having

been granted this role, rather than live for my own feelings, I want to fulfill the

duties I've been given. Because that is what is best for the country, and, in turn, for

all people."

"...You'd abandon your self for the sake of others?" I asked.

"It is my natural duty as one who has received a greater honor than most. I would

think, as a king, you would understand that, wouldn't you, sire?"

I was silent.

"Living the way others want you to," she said. "I believe it is a wonderful way to

live, and one I can be proud of. For the people who revere me as a saint, I intend to

give myself fully to serving them."

For the people who revered her as a saint... huh.

She must have believed with all her heart that living the way others wanted her

to was a thing she could be proud of. When I saw Mary's smile, the words of another

saint flashed through my mind.

"I may be an empress, but I'm still just a human being. Instead of being worshiped

as a saint, I want to remain a person, and to be loved as a person."

For one, being a saint was something to pride herself on, and she chose to act like

a saint.

For the other, she rejected being a saint, and insisted on being a person.

"I would think, as a king, you would understand that, wouldn't you, sire?" Mary had

asked.

Which path will I choose...?

◇ ◇ ◇

"There was a time... when I thought the same way Mary does," I said to my

assembled companions, as if I were confessing my sins at church. "You remember,

right, Carla? What happened during the battle with the forces of the principality?"

"That time, you mean...?" Carla, who had been standing by in the corner of the

room, said in a whisper.

I was referring to the time during the war with Gaius VIII and the corrupt nobles

when, in order to protect my heart from the pressure bearing down on me, I had

walled myself off and tried to focus solely on playing the role of king. If I hadn't done

that, I wouldn't have been able to bear the weight of all the lives being lost on my

orders.

"We're people, so we suffer due to the size of our responsibilities," I said. "We're

people, so we agonize over the decisions we've made. That time, when I was forced

into a war I didn't want, but that I had no choice but to fight, little by little, without

realizing it, I began acting as a system called 'the king'... like I was a machine.

Because if I was a machine, I didn't have to suffer, or to think and agonize over

things."

"Souma..." Liscia had a worried look on her face, but I gave her a wry smile and

shook my head.

"When Carla asked me, 'Aren't you afraid to die?', I realized how warped it was

for me to be ready to accept dying as king. Thanks to that, I was able to stop short of

it. When I think how things would have turned out if Carla hadn't pointed it out to

me then... I shudder. I could well have ended up like Mary. When I think about that, it

makes me feel bad."

When I thought of what it would be like if a version of me that had become the

system called a king had been here now standing in front of Liscia and the others... it

scared me.

Could the me who had become able to accept everything because I was the king

make Liscia and the others happy? ...No, he could not.

"I want to remain a person, and to be loved as a person."

Yeah... That's right, Madam Maria, I thought.

If I couldn't notice Liscia and the others' tears, if I couldn't make Liscia and the

others smile, even if it meant suffering under a heavy burden and agonizing over the

decisions I made...

I didn't want to become a mere system.

"Yeah. Me, too. I'd rather be a person."

"Souma?" Liscia asked. "...Eek!"

I got down off of the desk, walked to Liscia's side, and hugged her slender body

tight. My sudden action left Aisha, Juna, and Roroa all dumbfounded.

"Whuh?!"

"Oh, dear me."

"Whoa, Big Sister Cia, that's no fair."

With the three of them staring at us, Liscia turned a bright shade of red, her eyes

darting about rapidly. "U-Um... Souma? Could I ask you to let go of me, maybe? This

is a little embarrassing... Everyone is watching..."

Liscia said that, but I ignored her and kept hugging her. If she really didn't like it,

I knew Liscia was more than capable of pushing me away.

I held onto Liscia as I said to Hakuya, "I won't become the holy king. I won't let

the Orthodox Papal State get their way, either. I do have a policy in mind that

sidesteps the Orthodox Papal States' scheme, but... it's probably only good enough to

stall for time. If we're going to come up with a more fundamental solution to the

problem, all the followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy in the country will be a problem. I

do hope it can disempower them, or render them harmless..."

"Hold on, why are you talking about serious stuff while holding me like this?!"

Liscia cried.

"Hm... In that case, let me handle the countermeasures for that," Hakuya said. "I

have some ideas of my own. I'll be borrowing Kagetora and some members of the

Black Cats for my purposes."

"You, too, Hakuya! Why are you holding an ordinary conversation?!"

"Got it," I said. "Let's bounce ideas off each other and work on our plans

tomorrow."

"By your will."

"Ignored?! I'm being ignored?!"

"Thanks, I'll be counting on you. Now then..."

Scratching my cheek, I turned to Aisha, Juna, and Roroa.

"Sorry, but could you leave Liscia and me alone tonight?"

"""?!"""

The moment they understood what those words meant, Aisha, Juna, and Roroa's

eyes all bulged in surprise. And as for Liscia, who had been protesting for a while

now...

"Uh... Uh..."

It seemed she couldn't even form words properly, and she was just opening and

closing her mouth like a goldfish. Liscia was usually so dignified, but when I thought,

Hey, she makes faces like this, too, it was kind of funny.

"D-Darlin', does that mean you two're gonna..."

Roroa came back to her senses and tried to get some answers out of me, but Juna

laid a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.

"Roroa."

Then she said something to Roroa and Aisha in a whisper before turning and

giving me a deep bow.

"Now then, Princess, Your Majesty, we will be taking our leave of you now."

With that said, Juna quietly departed.

"Erm... Good night, Your Majesty, Princess," said Aisha.

"Murgh... Big Sister Cia! Tell me how he did later, 'kay?"

Aisha and Roroa followed Juna out of the room.

"Well, until tomorrow, then," said Hakuya. "Rest well."

"I-I will be standing guard outside the room... Please, take it easy, Master..."

With Hakuya and Carla being the last to leave, Liscia and I were left alone in the

room.

I picked up Liscia, who was frozen stiff.

Hey, she was pretty light. She did have a bit of muscle on her, but on the whole,

she had a slender figure, so the weight difference between us made it easy for me to

lift her up. When I sat her down on the simple bed that was sitting in the corner of

the room like always, Liscia finally came back to her senses.

In the candlelight, we sat side by side on the bed, staring into one another's eyes.

"U-Um, Souma? This means... what I think it does, right?" she asked with her face

beet red.

My cheeks started to feel hot, too. "Uh... Yep. That was... kind of the intention..."

"O-Oh, I see..."

"...Can't we?"

"No! It's not that we can't! I mean, I've been waiting for this..." Liscia hurriedly

shook her head. Her words were trailing off and getting weaker, though. "B-B-But

why now, all of a sudden? You held out on me so long."

"Oh... Yeah, well... I was thinking I should wait until the kingdom's more stable,

until I was able to take responsibility for it, until we had gone through all the steps,

but..."

Aw, geez, this was really embarrassing! I scratched the back of my head.

"But... When I saw Mary, and thought about how I want to be a person... I just

couldn't hold back any longer. I wanted... to act on a human impulse, and to have you

accept me for it."

"I-I see..."

That, and Maria's words, "I want to remain a person, and to be loved as a person,"

probably had an effect on me, too.

I wanted to be a person, and I wanted to love Liscia and the others as a person.

I wanted Liscia and the others to love me as a person.

I felt that way strongly, and I couldn't hold back any more.

...Well, at a time like this, I wasn't about to tell her that another woman's words

had that deep an effect on me, though.

"Um, but... having our first time in the governmental affairs office, it sure isn't

very sexy," Liscia said, tripping over her words, as she folded her top which she had

stripped off and set it aside so that it wouldn't wrinkle.

I took off my shirt, too, and pulled Liscia who was now in nothing but her white

underwear close to me.

Was I the one trembling, or was it her...? It might have been both of us. Neither of

us were used to this, and we embraced each other awkwardly. We kissed once, and

then...

"Well, do you want to take this somewhere else?" I whispered in Liscia's ear.

When I did, Liscia grinned and silently shook her head. "No. Here is good. I mean,

this is..."

...the place where you and I first met, after all.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Nngh... Hm?" I murmured.

When the light shone in through the window and woke me, Liscia's face was right

in front of mine.

We were sharing a single pillow, so it was pretty close. She was sleeping

peacefully.

With each shallow breath Liscia took, her soft chest rose and fell under the

covers. Just the sight of her like this left me with an indescribable mixture of glee,

embarrassment, and love, and I reached out to touch her cheek.

When I did, "Murgh..." Liscia twisted as if something was tickling her and then

slowly opened her eyes.

She was probably still half-dreaming. She didn't seem to know where she was,

and she started looking around restlessly. Then she noticed my face right next to her

own.

"Oh... Souma. Morning..." she said with a grin. It was a smile as gentle as the

morning light that was shining in.

Her reaction was unbearably cute, so I hugged her close and placed a kiss on her

half-closed left eyelid. Still groggy from sleep, Liscia let out a ticklish laugh.

"Geez, Souma, what do you think you're doing?"

"Hmm, I'd love to keeping looking at you like this, but... Sorry, Liscia, get up,

please."

"...Huh?" she asked.

As I gave her a gentle shake, this time Liscia's eyes opened fully. The moment her

eyes snapped open, Liscia's face turned red so quickly, I could almost hear the

comedic exploding sound effect as it did. Most likely, when she'd gotten a handle on

the current situation, all of her embarrassment had flared up at once. Of course, that

included enough for last night, too.

I softly patted Liscia on the head. "Good morning, Liscia."

"M-Morning. Ohh... Don't look at me so much."

"Don't look at you? I saw a whole lot last— Mmph!"

Liscia shoved a pillow in my face.

"That doesn't make it any less embarrassing!" she cried.

Liscia hugged the blanket to herself and glared at me kind of resentfully.

Yep, she sure was cute. I almost wanted to jump her right there. But instead, I just

pushed the pillow aside and stretched.

"Yeah... I don't think I ever want to do it in the governmental affairs office again."

"...Why not?" she asked.

"Because this is our workplace, so I'll have to ask them to clean up after us right

away. I want to flirt with you more, and it's a pain having to get up."

"I-I see..."

I got out of bed and slipped on the clothes I had been wearing yesterday. I hadn't

brought a change of clothes, so I would have to go back to my room to get one.

After quickly getting dressed, I asked Liscia, "So... are you feeling okay?"

"Y-Yeah... I do feel a little sluggish, though..."

"Okay. Let me be the one who asks the maids to clean up, then."

"Yeah," she said. "Could you do that for me?"

I planted a kiss on Liscia's forehead and then left the governmental affairs office.

When I left through the door, I was met by a red-faced Carla, who was averting

her eyes, and a gently-smiling Serina. I understood why Carla was there, since she

had been standing guard, but why Serina?

Serina showed a slight, impassive smile and said, "You two had fun last night."

Wow... That line, when someone actually says it to you in real life, it's really

frustrating.

"...You're up early, Head Maid," I said.

"I am the princess' personal maid, after all." With that answer, which I wasn't

sure qualified as one, Serina gave me an elegant bow.

I thought, Oh, yeah, she's definitely having fun with this... but I knew if I said

anything, there would be three times as many verbal daggers coming my way, so I

stayed silent. It was better to let sleeping sadists lie. If you could turn a blind eye to

her bad habit for bullying cute girls, she was extremely competent at her work.

"Serina, Carla... Take care of Liscia and the room for me," I said.

"Understood," Serina said. "Let's get to it, Carla."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

Serina and Carla bowed to me and then entered the room. A moment later, from

inside...

"S-Serina?! I'm still naked here!" Liscia shouted.

"We need to clean up, so please, get out of bed already. If you don't, I will have

Carla carry you out of this room, bed and all."

"Hold on, Carla! Don't lift the bed!"

"...Sorry," Carla said. "If I defy the head maid, I'll be humiliated myself later..."

"Eeeek!"

...Well, I heard those voices and a lot of banging.

Okay, Liscia. Live strong, I thought.

"Now, then..." I slapped my own cheeks. It was time for a change of mindset. With

my relationship with Liscia having grown deeper, I felt like I needed to be ever more

determined.

In order to defend my beloved family, I was going to put one over on the

theocracy.

"Well, off to scheme with Hakuya, I guess."

I skipped off down the corridor.

◇ ◇ ◇

—Days later.

I had sent a message to Saint Mary who was staying at the Lunarian church in

Parnam to inform her that I would be holding another meeting with her. Mary had

responded that she would come to the castle at once.

And so, once again, Mary and I faced one another in Parnam Castle's audience

chamber. It was an audience with the same faces, and standing in the same places, as

the last one. I hadn't been able to focus during the previous one because something

had felt off about Mary, but now that I knew the trick to it, I could look at her with a

clear head.

Seeing her again after a few days, Mary was still beautiful, and still doll-like. I

exchanged brief pleasantries with her, then decided to get straight down to business.

"Now then, regarding the matter of making Lunarian Orthodoxy our state

religion..."

She waited silently.

"If you can accept two conditions, I don't mind doing it."

"Conditions...?" Mary tilted her head to the side questioningly.

I answered her in as light a tone as I could manage. "Oh, it's nothing too difficult.

The first is that you not make me the Holy King of Lunarian Orthodoxy. I don't want

you one-sidedly starting to call me that, either. I want a firm agreement on this

point."

"Why is that? If you became our holy king, you would stand above adherents of

Lunarian Orthodoxy in every country, you know?" Mary looked perplexed.

I shook my head with a wry smile. "That's because I'm not an adherent of

Lunarian Orthodoxy myself. Even if someone like me was suddenly named holy king,

I'm sure there would be resistance from the believers. I'm sorry, but I'll have to

decline the position."

"Oh... I see."

Though Mary acted disappointed, she meekly backed down on the point.

Of course, the reason I'd given her was just a front. I had no desire to be their

holy king, or anything like that, and I couldn't let us regress into a country where the

church controlled education, either. My goal here was to prevent the Orthodox Papal

State from naming me holy king and making me carry the flag in their conflict with

the Empire.

"Now, as for the second condition... I'll have Prime Minister Hakuya explain this

one," I said.

Hakuya brought a hand to his chest and bowed before taking one step forward.

"Allow me to explain. The other condition we are presenting is that we want to

invite a bishop from the Orthodox Papal State to come here and manage the

believers of Lunarian Orthodoxy within the country."

"Of course we can do that," said Mary. "I had intended to come here myself."

Hakuya replied, "Oh, we could never ask that of you," and waved his hand. "We

have no desire to impose on a saint. We have a specific individual we would like to

invite here as our bishop."

"You have someone you want to invite here? Who might that be?"

"Bishop Souji Lester."

Mary was silent. The moment she heard the name, her brow furrowed just a little.

I only saw it for that one instant, but it was a look of revulsion. It was the first

human reaction I had seen from doll-like Mary.

Mary asked Hakuya with a slightly stiff expression, "Sir Hakuya, are you... aware

of what kind of man he is?"

"Yes. I have heard that he is very sharp."

"No, he is just cunning," said Mary. "I cannot say... that I would recommend him.

He extorts large amounts of money from the believers, drinks heavily, toys with

women, and engages in many other such indecent behaviors. Normally, as a man of

the cloth, he would have sworn off such desires, but that man is mired in the secular

and does as he pleases. His Holiness and the cardinals view his behavior as an issue.

I, myself... also find him unlikable."

It was a firm rejection. He was a man that even this doll-like girl would hate, it

seemed. Now I was interested.

"How did a man like that become a bishop?" I asked.

Mary's lips drew taut. There was a short pause before she opened them again to

say, "This is... an embarrassing thing to talk about, but we in the priesthood are

supported by the donations of the followers. There were cardinals who defended

Bishop Souji because, regardless of his methods, he was able to bring in large

donations..."

Ah... I was starting to see how it worked.

Most likely, this Souji was paying bribes to a number of the cardinals. Even if

their saint wasn't, the upper echelons of the church felt very human, and very rotten.

That was why even if they wanted to remove him, they couldn't.

"However," Mary said to Hakuya, "there are now voices in the church saying that

he should be expelled. I believe it is only a matter of time until he is

excommunicated. Do you want to invite a man like that here?"

Even as she looked at him with clear opposition in her eyes, Hakuya never broke

his quiet smile. "That sounds just perfect to me. If you mean to expel him, we will

take custody of him here in our country. His Majesty is quite fond of gathering

talented personnel, you see, and he has told me that if there is a bishop like that, he

wants to meet him."

I had no recollection of ever saying such a thing. I didn't know a thing about this

Souji, or even what his name was, after all. However, I had been told in advance that

this Souji would be a key player in Hakuya's plot, so I nodded as if it were true.

Mary looked at Hakuya with apparent displeasure. "If he is to come here as a

bishop, that would place him at the head of all believers of Lunarian Orthodoxy in

this country. I cannot see how he would be up to the task."

"If he is insufficient, we can simply have another person come at a later date,"

said Hakuya with a chillingly cold look in his eyes. "If he does not live up to our

standards, I would not object to disposing of him personally."

Wow... Hakuya sure had one villainous look on his face. He had a clever-looking

face to begin with, so the cold smile fit him well. Honestly, he was pretty scary.

Mary was overwhelmed by his intensity for a moment, and then found herself

unable to say any more. "...Very well. If, under any circumstance, he is unable to

come, I will take his place."

Hakuya inclined his head. "Yes, if that happens, please do."

The two of them looked straight at one another, each trying to suss out the

other's motives. The doll and the villain stared one another down, and not only did

sparks seem to fly, a chilling air descended on the whole room.

This air was off-putting for both Liscia and me, and Aisha, who wasn't used to

this sort of atmosphere, looked a little sick. Regardless, that was everything settled.

To summarize what had been decided here, it would come down to these three

points:

The Kingdom of Friedonia would accept Lunarian Orthodoxy as its state religion.

The Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria would not name me holy king.

Souji Lester would be dispatched by the Orthodox Papal State as a bishop.

With the matter settled, Mary bid us farewell and departed. She hadn't been able

to make me into their holy king, but she had been able to get Lunarian Orthodoxy

adopted as our state religion, so it was a decent result for her. I figured that with

this, she ought to return to the Orthodox Papal State quietly.

I waited for the report that she had left the castle, and then I was finally able to

feel a little less tense.

"Whew... Do you think that more or less handled it?" I asked.

"Most likely," said Hakuya. "The saint believes that she has accomplished

something, I'm sure."

Then he laughed.

Just as planned... was what Hakuya's laugh seemed to say.

I shrugged and told him, "Hakuya, you've still got your villain face on."

"...Pardon me," he said, and resumed his usual nonchalant expression.

I asked him, "So, have you made preparations for welcoming that bishop, Souji, or

whatever his name was?"

"Yes. The Black Cats led by Sir Kagetora have already infiltrated the Orthodox

Papal State. I am sure they have already accompanied Sir Souji to a place near the

border. I assume that they will have brought him back to the royal capital within a

few days."

Looking at the intelligence-gathering ability he'd demonstrated by knowing

about the bishop named Souji, as well as the preparedness he'd shown by taking

steps to protect him, this was the sort of meticulous attention to detail that I had

come to expect from our Black-robed Prime Minister.

"But did you really need to send the Black Cats to escort him?" I asked.

"From the saint's reaction, it seems they are hesitant to dispatch someone who

seems likely to embarrass their country as a bishop," Hakuya said. "In order to

secure our promise that we would recognize Lunarian Orthodoxy as our state

religion, she accepted our conditions here, but once she returned home, there was

the risk that she would renege on them for 'some reason.' For instance, we might be

told that Souji was injured in an accident, and so they'd be sending someone else... or

some other such story. That's why I decided to have the Black Cats go and bring him

back first."

Injured in an accident... huh. In my mind's eye, I could imagine the Orthodox

Papal State doing it. There was no guarantee he wouldn't "go missing" into a prison,

or "die of a sudden illness" that was actually an assassination, either. If he had taken

that much into account, I had to hand it to Hakuya.

"Honestly, I'm impressed you can scheme as much as you do," I said teasingly.

Liscia, who was standing next to me, gave me a cold look. "You're quite the

schemer yourself, aren't you, Souma? I mean, in a way, you're deceiving that poor,

innocent saint."

"Don't make me sound so bad," I said. "I haven't told her any lies."

There had been no lie when I'd told her I would make Lunarian Orthodoxy our

state religion.

"However, we might be working under different definitions of what a 'state

religion' is," I added.

"Honestly... It's all in how you word things." From the exasperated look Liscia

gave me, I must have had a pretty villainous look on my face, too.

◇ ◇ ◇

A few more days after that...

The royal castle in the Kingdom of Friedonia announced that all faiths and

religions were to be registered with the state, and that all religions that received

recognition in this way would be considered state religions. In other words, the

meaning of a state religion in the kingdom was changed to be the same as a religious

corporation.

King Souma appeared on the Jewel Voice Broadcast for the first time in a while to

address his people.

"In this country, up until now, every person, every family, and every race has

worshiped whatever gods they pleased," he announced. "In addition to the faiths

with the most believers, those being Mother Dragon worship and Lunarian

Orthodoxy, the dark elves worship the godbeast said to protect the God-Protected

Forest, and there are those who worship sea and mountain gods, as well. We all

come from different races and have grown up in different environments, so it's very

natural that things have turned out this way."

The people who lived in inland cities, in mountain villages, and in seaside towns

all nodded in agreement with his words. They lived in different places, so it was a

given that the things they feared and the things they worshiped would be different.

The image of Souma continued speaking to the people of his country.

"This is a multi-racial state. In our country, the customs of many different groups

have melted and mixed together, creating new forms of culture every day. I believe

faith should be the same way. What this kingdom needs isn't unity under one god. I

think it's the harmony that comes from recognizing the freedom of individuals to

choose what they want to believe in. Just as you have beings in which you believe, so

do others. I would like for all of you to accept that, and to please be tolerant. If you

are, I am sure that others will be tolerant of your beliefs, as well."

The people only half-believed what Souma said.

In this country where the media had not yet developed, they had limited

knowledge of other religions. Basically, they had no idea what was taught in the

churches of other faiths. That was why they were doubtful. Suspicion gave birth to

ogres in dark places and turned dried pampas grass into ghosts.

Even if a group were simple mountain worshipers, those who were suspicious of

them might think they were a secretive evil organization. Souma was well aware of

that.

"What do we need in order to cultivate that tolerance?" Souma asked. "Mutual

understanding. No matter how I tell you to be tolerant of other faiths, we can't

accept evil religions that do things like sacrifice virgins in order to summon devils. I

won't ask you to be tolerant of such religions. However, I'm sure it's hard to tell if

another person's religion is good or evil from the outside."

Here Souma paused, and stressed: "And that's why we're nationalizing religion."

He continued, "I want the representatives of each faith-based organization to

register their religion with the country. If you pass the examination, your religion

will be recognized as a state religion, subject to further investigations once every

few years.

"The examination process is simple. You need only pledge not to engage in illegal

activities such as killing, robbing others of their possessions, or engaging in sexual

violence in the name of your religion.

"Harming people is generally against the rules, too, but some religions out there

might engage in self-harm. For questions about the specific details, such as whether

giving someone a tattoo constitutes harm, please consult your local authorities. I've

provided them with specific guidelines, such as accepting things when people ask for

it on their own, but forbidding things when they are forced on people who don't

want them, so please follow their directions.

"If any religion can't make this pledge, or refuses to register, they will be dealt

with by the authorities, so please be aware of that. Our people would have trouble

sleeping at night if people who follow such dangerous beliefs were allowed to live

near them, I'm sure. I want you to understand this."

With all of that said, Souma took a deep breath. Then he continued on, as if

speaking to each of his people personally.

"Finally, I believe that faith is something that exists for the living, not the dead. In

order not to drag our sadness with us, to live through the pains of our daily lives,

and to live our lives as good people, we should have faith. I pray that no person will

be harmed by that faith."

I pray that no person will be harmed by that faith.

This was the thing that Souma most wanted to say.

Ever since the Demon Lord's Domain had appeared, the people had had no end of

things to worry about. In times like this, religion became more active as the people's

hearts relied on it for support, and when religion grew more active, conflicts

between different religions and sects arose. The people's support would turn into

something that hurt them.

There might not have been many people in the kingdom who fully understood

that. However, his words would stick in their ears.

As if trying to change the mood, Souma clapped his hands. "Well, that's enough

serious talk. Now that every religion that registers will be becoming a state religion,

we have a little event planned. Roroa will explain."

"Righty-o! Just you leave it to me!" Roroa exclaimed.

When Souma stepped aside, an adorable girl with her hair tied back in two tails

came to stand beside him.

"Howdy-do, I'm the former Princess of Amidonia and Souma's third fiancée,

Roroa. How's everyone in the Kingdom of Friedonia doin' out there?"

Witnessing her inexhaustible supply of cheer, the people of Elfrieden were

dumbfounded, while the people of Amidonia smiled wryly and said, "That's just like

our princess." The serious atmosphere that had been building up until that point

vanished as if it had all been a lie, and it had never been there to begin with. Even

King Souma was stunned.

"...That's the tone you're doing this in, Roroa?" Souma asked.

"It's fine, darlin'," Roroa said confidently. "Since I'm on Juna's Together With Big

Sis, the people already know what kind of character I am."

"I thought that casting choice was pretty forced, though..."

Souma slumped his exhausted shoulders. He seemed less like her fiancé and

more like a big brother being run ragged by his little sister; but the people of the

kingdom felt at ease watching them.

Then Roroa turned toward the screen, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Now,

we're gonna be makin' all of the religions that register with us into state religions,

but I've got a li'l request for ya all when you're registerin'. If any of you have

interestin' festivals for your gods, be sure to tell us, would ya? In Darlin's world, I

hear that some religious events have been turned into national festivals, and

believers and non-believers alike enjoy 'em together. Why don't we have ourselves a

real good time doin' that in this country, too?"

Roroa threw her arms up and the people cheered. It seemed that even if they

didn't understand what she was saying, they had reacted to the word "festival." They

were excited that something fun was going to happen.

Incidentally, right after that, Roroa whispered, "Besides, if we make a festival of

it, that'll get the money movin', and that'd just tickle me pink," but her voice was low

enough that it only made Souma who was beside her smile wryly.

Roroa winked at the screen. "Well, since I'm sure just talkin' about it isn't givin'

ya all a good sense of what I mean, I probably oughta give ya a concrete example. So,

Old Man Souji, come over here and explain for the people."

"Oh, come on, Little Miss Roroa, calling me an old man is a bit much..." The one

who appeared saying that was a human man, about forty years old, with a muscular

body. He spoke with a wry tone, rubbing his smooth head which was as tanned as

the rest of his body. "I'm still a Lunarian Orthodox bishop, you know."

Now that he mentioned it, the man was wearing the uniform (?) of a Lunarian

Orthodox priest. That (?) is there because he wore it loosely... Too loosely in fact, and

it had been modified to an almost scandalous degree. The long sleeves were cut

short, and his pants and ceremonial robe only went down to just below the knees.

When this fit and tanned man wore the outfit, it looked like a samue, an outfit that

Japanese Zen Buddhist monks wore while engaged in simple physical work.

Roroa voiced an objection. "An old man's an old man. Besides, I think it's a bit

much for you to be callin' the soon-to-be third primary queen 'little miss.'"

Those were fighting words, and the man responded in kind. "Don't add in the

octopus part! Now listen here, little missie, you're going to be a married woman

soon, so you'd better develop at least one kind of overflowing sexiness."

"Wh-What was that?! Just you watch..." Roroa suddenly struck a pose and tried to

moan erotically, but the man just chuckled.

The fact that he had laughed at the best sexy pose (?) she could manage sent

Roroa into angry mode, and Souma had to hurriedly pin her arms behind her back.

"Let go of me, darlin'!" she shouted. "I can't boil that octopus like this!"

"Calm down, Roroa. I thought you were cute," Souma said and patted her on the

head.

Roroa's head spun to look at him. "...Ya mean it?"

"Sure, you were real cute."

"Hm... Well, I'll forgive him, then."

That's all it took?! thought the people watching. These people weren't familiar

with husband and wife manzai comedy routines, so they didn't know exactly what

they were being shown, but they were relieved that everything had been resolved

peaceably.

Souma smiled wryly and said to the man in the customized priest's uniform,

"Now then, Sir Souji, if you could handle the rest of the explanation."

"Understood, King Souma."

With that said, the man took one step forward.

"Greetings to you, people of Friedonia. I am the bishop who has been sent by the

Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria to organize the faithful in this country: Souji Lester."