Chapter : 104

I managed to search the three remaining warehouses in the Church, and just in case, I even checked places that could barely be called warehouses, but in the end, I couldn’t find the ring and only acquired a bunch of stolen goods.

“Is it really in the Pope’s warehouse?”

Did Fel just let Benaya access the Pope’s secret warehouse?

There must be at least dozens of holy relics that could be misused inside.

If that was true, I wanted to grab Fel by the collar and shake him.

“There are people you can be careless with, but how could you be careless with Benaya!”

《Is there anyone who can be careless with that human?》

Look at this, even a demon is making a face like a lizard that has heard something bizarre!

I wracked my brain, trying to recall the original story, but there was no mention of the Pope’s warehouse.

First, I should go to Fel and ask about the Pope’s warehouse.

Sneaking into the library to swipe a book and stealing holy relics from a warehouse.

Both were crazy acts that no ordinary person would even attempt.

“I wonder if Hartain is okay?”

Tan’s success was also important, so I immediately left the warehouse and asked Fel.

“Tan succeeded and burned the book you mentioned.”

“Really?”

That was very welcome news.

“Did you find what you were looking for, Young Master?”

“Unfortunately, not yet.

I searched all the warehouses just in case, but it’s not there.

So, I was wondering… do you know about something like the Pope’s personal warehouse?”

“The Pope’s personal warehouse?”

“Yeah, I thought it might be hidden there.”

“I’ve identified about five locations so far.”

At Fel’s words, I almost spat out a curse.

So, if I’m unlucky, I have to search all five places?

“There’s only one secretly hidden place, do you want to check that one first?”

“If possible. I think it’s likely hidden there.”

“Alright, then there will be a time when I have to meet the Pope and Benaya directly.

How about we aim for that moment?”

“There’s no other way, is there?”

I grumbled and stood up. Since there was no other way, I had no choice.

“Alright, let’s give it a try. Tell me the location with coordinates.”

“Young Master, what are you talking about?”

“Strike while the iron is hot, let’s do it now.”

A surprise attack before the Pope realizes anything is wrong is the best. Before he notices the intruder in the library!

“That’s too reckless.”

“Let’s go!”

Hesitation was a luxury! We had to backstab him before the Pope started making his moves!!

* * *

“So you’re in the middle of infiltrating?”

When Lerwon-sunbae asked again, I quickly nodded.

As expected, coming alone had its unsettling aspects, so I had mobilized Lerwon.

The Pope’s secret warehouse was located in a place within Lumen Asteria, the Church’s headquarters, where people rarely set foot.

“Professor Evan would clutch the back of his neck if he knew.”

“It’s a righteous theft!”

That’s right! It’s definitely not a cheap theft to monopolize a cheat item!

“You’re not going to return it if you get it, are you?”

“Ahem.”

I subtly averted my gaze and muffled my footsteps.

To be told to return a treasure I had worked so hard to find for several days, that’s a bit unfair.

After walking for a long time, we finally arrived at the entrance of the warehouse.

“I can’t believe there’s a warehouse in a place like this.”

The forest was so dense with trees that if one were to guard it with determination, not a single intruder would be allowed in.

“This is too obviously a secret warehouse.”

“If it’s not here… it’s all for nothing.”

Solomon’s Ring is as much of a cheat item as Lucian’s Holy Sword.

Unlike the Holy Sword, which can be used without any risk as long as one is chosen, it came with a considerable risk, but even that was nothing compared to the power it granted.

“I can’t start searching from scratch again….”

I couldn’t just ask the Pope outright either, this is driving me crazy.

“Let’s just search first and think later.”

The goal of finding the ring still remained unchanged.

We barely managed to open the creaking door, which seemed like it hadn’t been used by people in a long time, and headed inside.

Even as he looked at the dust-filled passage, Theo’s expression was still not bright.

“You don’t think it’s here?”

“For some reason, I feel like that’s the case, and it’s making me depressed.”

I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the ring’s location had been moved during the verification.

Feeling a sense of gloom that this place too would be a bust, Theo just let out a hollow laugh.

After winding through the long passage, we reached the real warehouse.

“The door is locked.”

“Just trust me.”

「The tightly shut warehouse door opens.」

With a rumbling sound, the door opens.

The warehouse was the size of an Academy classroom.

《I see what you mean by that feeling.》

The inside of my pocket squirmed.

I could feel Albedo clenching his claws tightly inside.

《There is clearly an object in here that infringes on my domain.》

Albedo genuinely felt like descending in his true form and causing a scene.

He was holding back because that would put Theo in grave danger.

As if sensing Albedo’s feelings, Theo subtly put his hand in his pocket and stroked Albedo’s head as he wandered around the warehouse.

He found a box that seemed to contain accessories and forced it open, and his eyes were blinded.

“A sapphire necklace, a diamond ring… isn’t this more of a treasury than a warehouse?”

“It probably is a treasury in reality.”

The Levian family has produced Popes for generations, making them the undisputed papal family.

It was said jokingly that the Pope’s key was hereditary like the Emperor’s crown.

For a family of that stature, it was probably natural to have a treasury.

“Isn’t this a necklace with a demon dwelling in it?”

Theo slyly showed Lerwon the necklace with a jewel that shone with an ominous color.

“It seems so.”

“If anyone else had something like this, they would have been accused of being a heretic.”

Is this the Church’s version of hypocrisy, grumbling, Theo checked another box.

“Fel said he would buy us two hours, so we have to find it within that time─”

Before he could finish his sentence, he turned his body towards a box on the other side. And at that moment!

Crash!!!

Something jumped out, shattering the box.

Amidst the flying fragments, a shadow cut across the air and came crashing down on the two of them.

The arc drawn in the air by the black cloak was short and sharp, and the man’s longsword, which he had launched off the ground, flashed before their eyes.

“Benaya!”

Crazy! Why the hell is that man here!!

Without even a moment to swallow a scream, the man twisted his body in mid-air and immediately launched an attack.

The spear-sharp sword strike plunged towards his chest without an inch of error, and even the defensive magic that had been deflected a split second ago couldn’t withstand it, letting out a bursting sound.

His movements were nimble.

Without a single word, without any killing intent, only following the ‘command,’ he leaped once more in silence.

The hunt for their lives had begun.

* * *

The Pope, accompanied by Benaya, sat down with a relaxed attitude.

“I thought you would postpone the private audience as much as possible.”

“Is there any reason for me to do so?”

Fel smiled more cheerfully than ever.

“I won’t punish you specially, so withdraw your misjudgment.”

“Withdraw my misjudgment?”

“Yes, while I can still chalk it up to the rashness of youth.”

The premise is wrong.

This isn’t the rashness of youth, it should be called a judgment that has my whole life on the line.

Well, I guess you can say that because you don’t know what kind of feelings I had while living as your son, in your son’s name.

Still, the absurdity didn’t fade, and a bitter laugh escaped.

“You… you really don’t know me.”

“Do you really want to go back to being Fel?”

“It’s in moments like this that I feel you don’t understand me at all.”

Fel never wanted to live as ‘Ferdiel’ for a single moment.

He wouldn’t have cared if he had to live his whole life hidden in the Church’s orphanage as a non-existent child.

It was a wish that Caelus Levian, who endlessly coveted power, would never understand.

“The Pope’s key that you hold so dear has no value to me.”

Just facing this shameless face is disgusting.

But, since I promised to buy the young master two hours, I have to keep my promise.

“Have you gathered the evidence for the verification?”

“Is that important?”

“It’s rather important.”

The Pope muttered as if trying to figure something out.

He thought he might know why the failure Theo had mentioned had occurred.

Perhaps the ‘Fel’ in the dream, blinded by revenge, had overlooked the Pope’s abnormal state.

The wait for judgment was too long, and his patience must have run out.

It wasn’t incomprehensible.

“You won’t be able to shamelessly remain on the Pope’s seat any longer.

I’m not stupid enough to challenge you with just one or two pieces of evidence.”

“So it’s a disadvantageous fight for me.”

“That’s right.”

Even if it had brought ruin, a success was a success.

The preparations were complete, and even with more time, it would have been difficult to obtain any more special evidence, so the conditions probably hadn’t changed much from the dream Theo had.

That meant their success was guaranteed.

The Pope would lose everything and eventually fall into a being that burned the world.

“I didn’t raise you so poorly that you would lose an advantageous fight, so my defeat is decided.”

“That’s right.”

It was a disadvantageous fight for the Pope from the start.

His opponent was a lion that had hidden its claws and waited for the right time, and he had given up his neck.

“Then that’s that.”

The Pope smiled leisurely. At first glance, it looked as if he had accepted his defeat.

“I was sometimes curious. What is it that makes you, you?”

“What do you think it is?”

“Greed, the desire for power, all the desires that make up the world.”

“You’re not wrong.”

The Pope’s fingertips slowly touched his jawline and stopped.

“Alright, then let’s begin the procedure for verification. And please─”

The man who had shed the Pope’s robes smiled gently.

It was a smile with a clear, unsettling and eerie corner to it.

The monster, who should have been unable to remain calm in a crisis where he might lose the Pope’s seat, was utterly at ease.

As if a crisis had never come to him.

“I hope the rats that have sneaked into the family’s treasury can escape safely.”

Suddenly, Fel raised his head. He looked at ‘Benaya’ standing tall behind the Pope.

Fel, who had risen from his chair, approached Benaya and roughly threw back the deeply worn hood.

A face that resembled Benaya, but was subtly different.

“…The face of the escorting paladin looks different from usual.”

It was Benaya’s shadow, which the Pope often used to cause confusion about Benaya’s location.

“Someone who is not the Pope cannot freely command the head of the Ignos family.”

So that’s why he was so relaxed.

Did he know everything? Fel clenched his fist.

“Let’s have a deep conversation about what is valuable to you, my son.”

There is no chance to reverse the operation.

For now, he could only trust and buy time.

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