Chapter 93

“I am sorry to have summoned you here, when I should have visited you myself.”

He sure knows how to spout empty words.

That was Zephyros’s exact impression.

There wasn’t a single high-ranking noble who didn’t know what kind of man the Pope was.

For Nevera, who were loved by the wind, it was even more impossible not to know.

‘I can play along.’

It would only be to the extent of playing along, but if necessary, he could do it.

Zephyros held his head high and took the hand the Pope offered.

“What subject of the Empire would refuse a request from His Holiness, who leads the Church?”

No matter how much he was playing along with his friend’s scheme, for him to try and use the Young Lord of Nevera so blatantly… it didn’t feel good.

But hiding one’s emotions was a basic of politics and something learned as the heir of a duchy.

Wasn’t the Duke himself, even as he was inwardly calculating how to use him, smiling brightly on the outside?

“Unfortunately, beings who stray from God’s will are bound to exist everywhere. It is just a pity as a contemporary that it is the only son of Count Lisitoel, who works for the Empire.”

Aren’t you so happy you could dance?

There was no need to take every single word with a twist, but when the other party was the Pope, the story tended to change a bit.

First the Master of Golden, and now the Pope. He had made friends for the first time, yet how did he get entangled with such insidious people?

“Young Lord Nevera?”

“It’s nothing.”

Zephyros smiled faintly and drank the tea the Pope offered without a sound.

A top-grade tea, comparable to what he drank at the duchy.

For a clergyman who should be far from luxury and pleasure to have such fine tea, it was quite amusing.

“If there were any particularly suspicious or concerning parts while you were with the young Lisitoel, please speak freely.”

“If there were, I would have informed Your Holiness at once.”

“Are you saying you accused your close friend without any particular evidence?”

“If you wish to think so, you may.”

When he set the teacup down, there was a soft ‘tak’ sound.

Zephyros revealed his desire. A desire that was different in nature from what the Pope wanted, but a very firm and intense one.

“They say a good competitor is also the best friend, but what I need is not a competitor.”

So that the Pope would misunderstand it as a desire to eliminate a competitor.

Having spent a long time with his damn friends, revealing his emotions wasn’t that difficult. Since it was also true that he felt a sense of rivalry towards their abilities.

“To use the Church to eliminate a competitor, how bold.”

Even as he said that, the Pope savored the aroma of the tea, as if he wasn’t particularly offended.

“Everything requires a price. Whether it’s cleaning or cooperation.”

So he’s asking what he can offer if the Church and the Pope cooperate in eliminating Theo.

“In the future, when I become the Duke, anything I can give as the Duke of Nevera.”

By then, you’ll have been expelled from the Church for a long time, though.

“The evidence—”

“Is there really a need to leave any? If I break my promise, God’s punishment will fall upon me.”

“I suppose so. The Church will handle it well, so I look forward to your future cooperation.”

“You can look forward to it.”

Because it seems my crazy friend has begun to move, wishing for your downfall.

The fox hunt has already begun. The fox will probably only realize he’s being hunted after he’s been cornered.

So in the end, once it had begun, the result was already set.

* * *

The more I described the conversation in detail, the paler Zephyros’s complexion became.

“You were watching all of that? That’s an invasion of privacy, you punk!”

“I was just worried that my friend might take this opportunity to backstab me.”

“X-bal! I should have just backstabbed you. Why am I being loyal to a guy like this.”

I snickered as I watched him rub his dry face as if in regret.

“Since I fanned the flames, the Pope will move more aggressively.”

“I suppose so.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

He had once told Cian not to worry about me, but now he was worried about me himself.

Then again, the opponent wasn’t just any opponent.

“He might send assassins.”

“He won’t, for now.”

Even though I raised my voice about the unfairness and stirred the guilt of some cardinals, this place was ultimately the Pope’s domain.

Even if my father was watching with his eyes wide open, manipulating the trial to his will was as simple as twisting a child’s arm.

“When he has such an overwhelming advantage, would he really do something shady?”

If I were to suddenly die or go missing while locked up in the Church’s prison, the Pope would never be able to avoid suspicion.

Among those who knew the Pope’s true nature, there was no one who didn’t know he disliked my father.

If the situation starts to get twisted, then he might send Benaya thinking, ‘Ah, this is getting really dangerous,’ but not now.

“I can just avoid it anyway.”

As I confidently gave a thumbs-up, Zephyros slapped his forehead with his palm.

How do I deal with this reckless guy? I could see him cursing inwardly.

“What’s your plan from now on?”

“First, I have to block the Pope’s only escape route.”

“Escape route?”

“The Pope is surprisingly a person who can go to the extreme.”

“Don’t most people go to the extreme?”

Zephyros asked, frowning slightly.

“Nope. You’re like that because you’re from a broken family.”

“Broken family?”

“I’m not taking any rebuttals. It’s not that common to have a twisted personality where you try to ruin others just because you’ve been ruined.”

“……”

Isn’t that normal? Zephyros looked at me with shocked eyes.

“Normal people don’t do that.”

“Ah, okay. I get it for now.”

It looked like he had a lot he wanted to say, though.

“Anyway, the Pope is a human whose tendencies have been taken to the extreme.”

“Are you saying even a cornered rat will bite a cat?”

“It’s more than biting a cat.”

Of course, commanding 108 demons and spreading chaos throughout the world is more than that.

“I know what you’re worried about. But how are you going to stop it?”

“It’s simple.”

“Stop talking nonsense and explain quickly.”

“Calling your friend’s words nonsense is a bit much.”

The method was already decided.

I covered my face with a mask and tied up my long hair.

I looked like a righteous thief from some manga.

In that case, of course I have to say this too!

“Lord Lucius! Please allow me to be a righteous thief today!”

The holy relic that holds the immense power to turn the Pope, who had nothing but knowledge of taboos, into the King of a Hundred and Eight Pacts.

But for now, it’s just carelessly thrown into some warehouse of the Church, the so-called, Ring of Solomon!!

Now, it’s time for the angel boy, Theo, to make his appearance!!

* * *

“Why on earth do I have to accompany you?”

“But, wouldn’t you be worried sending me alone?”

Well, that’s true, Zephyros grumbled softly.

Theo, who had secretly escaped from prison, leisurely wandered around the warehouse with his face covered by a mask.

“I’m the only one who’s worried.”

“Whoa whoa. Breathe, breathe.”

“That’s why I say you have no conscience.”

As Zephyros’s reproachful gaze turned towards him, Theo obediently shut his mouth. So mean to a friend.

“Do you think it’s possible to find a small ring in such a large warehouse?”

“If you weren’t grumbling, I would have found it by now!”

“Don’t talk nonsense! If you can’t find it, you can’t find it!”

“Tsk, kids these days have no perseverance.”

“You’re a kid these days too.”

It hurts my conscience a bit to call myself a kid these days. Theo averted his gaze and searched through a large wooden box.

Seeing him trying to change the subject, Zephyros found a wooden chest and rummaged through it, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find a ring of the shape Theo had described.

“Is the thing you mentioned really here?”

“It might not be in this warehouse.”

“What?”

“Do you think the Church only has one or two warehouses?!”

If this were a Corridor of Light, which existed in every territory of the Empire, it would be a different story, but this was Lumen Asteria, the headquarters of the Church of Light.

The holy land of holy lands, where the hero was said to have been bestowed the Holy Sword by God. The place where the Pope resides, literally the heart of the Church!

Even a rotten sea bream is still a sea bream.

The Church had more than ten warehouses.

And if you included the treasure vaults known only to key figures of the Church, the number would increase even more.

And in a place like this, you want me to find… just one ring?

“You’re on your own.”

“Hey! Are you going to abandon your friend like this?”

“Yep, I’m abandoning you.”

At the firm words, Theo’s face turned pale and he desperately grabbed onto Zephyros.

“I’ll never find it on my own, even if it takes a lifetime!

Are you going to let the Pope have an escape route like this?”

“There are other guys! You can just ask the Sword of Doctrine and his subordinate paladin!”

“I have to hide it from those two too!!”

Theo clung to Zephyros’s arm like a child throwing a tantrum.

Aren’t you ashamed, a sixteen-year-old acting like this?!

Zephyros, disgusted, swung his arm wide to shake him off, then immediately held his breath.

Shh! As soon as Zephyros gestured, Theo shut his mouth.

The warehouse door burst open, and a guard holding a lantern strode into the warehouse.

“I heard a noise in here.”

The guard, who was checking the area with his lantern, soon clicked his tongue and left.

“Let’s search quietly.”

“I guess we’ll have to. You’ll pay dearly for this later.”

“I know! I know! Long live Young Lord Zephyros!”

As I half-jokingly cheered him on three times, Zephyros still seemed unenthusiastic, but he quickly fell silent and began to search the warehouse.

“Don’t you know exactly which warehouse it is?”

“It’s not the treasure vault, at least.”

No matter how great a knight Benaya was, he couldn’t access the treasure vault.

Even if there weren’t items on the level of the Ring of Solomon in the treasure vault, there were plenty of treasures that could be used as sacrifices to summon demons.

There was no way Fel, who had seized control of the Church after the Pope’s downfall, would let Benaya access the treasure vault.

“It’s a normal warehouse like this.”

“No hints?”

“None.”

If there were, I would have gone there already.

No matter how much Theo enjoyed teasing Zephyros when he got the chance, he wasn’t the type to joke about something this important.

“Aigoo. I’ll trust you for now.”

“Thanks.”

After searching through a box, Theo let out a faint sigh.

It seemed that finding the Ring of Solomon was going to take a very long time.

—————–

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