Chapter 134 : Chapter 134

Chapter 134

“We meet again like this.”

“There seems to be a strange emotion mixed in your greeting.”

The Papal Office's reception room.

Seated in the offered chair, the face of Claudio de Cronis was not much different from before.

“I heard you were poisoned.”

“And you thought my complexion would be poor because of it? A shallow guess.”

He still looked like someone who wouldn't bleed a single drop even if pricked with a needle.

After emptying the teacup he was drinking from, he began to brew new tea.

Trickle.

The sound of tea being poured echoed in the silent reception room.

“I heard from Lan. You’ve awakened the ‘Gold-plated clock,’ have you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you meet the God Cronis?”

“I did.”

“What did he say.”

A meeting between an ancient human and a God.

It was a meaningless story to tell.

“I don’t remember.”

“Is that so.”

The Pope showed no particular expression.

Swoosh.

He offered a teacup from which steam was gently rising.

“It’s a medicinal tea. I am recovering from being poisoned. It will also help you recover from the reflux.”

“…….”

Killian silently stared at the teacup.

He had heard from Lan that the Pope was poisoned through the food and tea he usually enjoyed.

“There’s no poison in it.”

Slurp.

The Pope took a sip of the tea first as if to verify it.

“I will drink it well.”

Only then did Killian tilt the teacup and take a sip.

It was warm.

A depth not inferior to the tea Loen brewed could be felt.

“You’re returning today, I hear?”

“Yes.”

Time had been delayed more than I thought.

If I returned and reported what happened in the Holy Nation, Eurasia would be in a situation where a storm had just swept through.

Therefore, I had to conclude the final negotiations here and now.

‘The medium-sized Warp Gate has been promised.’

What remained was to confirm the matter of the large-sized Warp Gate.

The Pope pushed forward the documents on the desk.

There, the conditions negotiated with the Saintess, excluding the large-sized Warp Gate, were recorded.

At the very bottom of the record, a special clause was written in elegant handwriting.

‘Lan de Styx’ promises to actively cooperate with the conditions presented by ‘Killian Eurasia.’ I swear to fulfill this promise on my honor as a priest serving the God Styx.

A phrase reminding one of the solemnity of the promise.

Lan had signed it herself.

“Please permit the installation and operation of a large-sized Warp Gate.”

“To promise on one’s honor, how troublesome. At this rate, I can’t even break it, can I.”

Contrary to his words, his face did not look particularly troubled.

“But the large-sized Warp Gate is a separate issue.”

Lan had not given her word on that much.

The large-sized Warp Gate was a symbol of the Holy Nation.

To grant permission carelessly could be seen as an act that overturned their stance as a neutral nation.

Nevertheless.

“I know you will permit it.”

At the confident demand, the Pope’s eyes sank.

“Let me hear it.”

“Did you not see the future?”

“…….”

The Pope’s hand, which was bringing the tea to his mouth, stopped.

“You must know that I can synchronize with the divine object.”

Although it was a half-baked synchronization that induced reflux, it was not an ability that someone who wasn’t originally a priest could exhibit.

“The ‘Gold-plated clock.’ Having synchronized with the divine object of the God Cronis, the Holy Nation that does not take Eurasia’s hand.”

The Holy Kingdom Luminescia.

“Will soon be destroyed by the Empire.”

The Pope said nothing.

‘As expected. The Pope saw something. Otherwise, someone with the Authority of Time wouldn’t have been poisoned by something like that.’

In truth, it was a bold statement, thrown out half as a gamble.

Killian had met Cronis, but he had not seen the future.

His current words were a prediction based on a comprehensive judgment of Cronis's disposition, the Pope's actions, and what he himself had experienced while staying in the Holy Nation.

And the Pope's reaction showed that he was not wrong.

“If anyone else had said that, I would have torn their mouth.”

“I hear that as you will not do so to me.”

“…….”

After a brief silence.

The Pope unfastened the wristwatch that had been hidden by the sleeve of his robe.

Other than its silver glint, it had no particular features; if not for the faintly perceptible divine power, it was an object that looked no different from a common watch in the marketplace.

“It is the ‘Silver-plated clock.’”

“A divine object, I see.”

“It forms a pair with the ‘Gold-plated clock’ stored in the Lumina Archive.”

He said that as special as the Authority of Time was, the way the divine objects worked was also tricky, so one could not use the authority by synchronizing with only one divine object.

“Its ability is to turn back the time of the wearer of the ‘Silver-plated clock’ when the ‘Gold-plated clock’ is activated. I don’t need to tell you its range and number of uses, do I.”

“…….”

The Pope’s divine object, which had been shrouded in mystery. Its activation conditions and ability.

Though he spoke calmly, it was content that was tantamount to a secret.

“As you said, I saw the future. A future where the Empire dominates the Holy Nation and eventually brings it down.”

This incident, he said, was the starting point.

“There were several options. There was the option of not calling you here, and there was the option of calling you and personally permitting the use of the medium-sized Warp Gate.”

None of them.

“Could exclude the Empire's influence on the Holy Nation.”

The reason why he had not permitted the medium-sized gate from the beginning.

And the reason why he had to know the Saintess’s plan to purge the Empire’s spies, yet still drink the poisoned tea to the end and lose consciousness.

“Does Saintess Lan know this fact?”

“Originally, the fundamental principle of the Authority of Time is not to share what one has seen. The only exception is one who has shared the ‘same time’.”

The one who shared the Pope's time.

He meant Killian, who had synchronized with the divine object.

“Detaining Eurasia’s delegation without sending them back. Collapsing from poison. All were the best choices I had seen. Of course, how to act was up to you.”

He said he could only choose the direction, not read the outcome.

‘I see.’

Suddenly, the actions of two people that I couldn't understand came to mind.

Bergo de Pantera, who became a Cardinal, and Gasli de Bellium, the Commander of the Holy Knight Order.

“Yes. They were my arrangements to guide you to the best outcome.”

“I’ve been played.”

“If that too is the will of the Gods.”

Slurp.

The Pope emptied his second teacup.

“At the end of the future you saw, was there also an answer to my choice?”

“If you accept my conditions, I will unofficially permit the use of the large-sized Warp Gate.”

“Please state them.”

“There are three conditions.”

The Pope held up his index finger.

“First. You will provide data from the reaction experiments on divine and holy objects through a priest dispatched from the Holy Nation.”

Next, his middle finger was raised.

“Second. You will actively share information about the Grotesquery.”

Finally, his thumb was raised.

“Third. All of this is a personal promise between you and me, and others, especially Simon Eurasia, must never know. Do you accept?”

This too might be a future he had foreseen through the divine object.

Killian's answer was already decided.

The party was waiting for the Warp Gate to activate to return to the Pantera Temple.

Bergo, who had become a Cardinal, came out to see them off.

“You have quite some nerve.”

Killian said to him, who was greeting him nonchalantly.

“It is not an easy thing to convey the will of the Gods.”

“I am an atheist.”

“That is also a matter I confirmed through no short conversation with you.”

Hahahaha.

After laughing once, Bergo took out a letter from his bosom and handed it over.

“If you don’t mind, would you deliver my letter to Pierre?”

“I feel like a spy. Why don’t you deliver it yourself?”

“Please calm down now. In any case, didn't you get the result you wanted?”

Eurasia had obtained the unofficial use of the large-sized Warp Gate, and the Pope’s side had gained a justification to purge the Royalist Faction forces that had colluded with the Empire.

Killian took the letter and put it in his bosom.

“I will deliver it to Chief Priest Pierre.”

He would deliver it.

‘After receiving a hefty interest on top of the price for hiding information.’

On one side, Julian was talking with the Saintess.

“Even after you return to Eurasia, maintain your pure and devoted attitude towards me.”

“I shall do so. I, Julian Eurasia, will await Lady Lan's answer every day.”

“Right. Your heart for me will become a holy revelation and guide you.”

“Th-Thank you.”

Julian's face was flushed as he replied.

‘He’s been thoroughly brainwashed.’

Should I call him naive, or stupid?

It was when I was thinking that I should awaken him to the solemnity of reality through a sparring match when we return to the kingdom.

“You are not right.”

Lan, who had approached, said so.

“I am an atheist.”

“There is no one here who does not know that you are an atheist. I feel sorry for Sharle for getting involved with a mana fetishist like you.”

“Before discussing the knight's swordsmanship, it seems the Saintess should pay attention to her health.”

“Tsk tsk.”

Clicking her tongue, she held out a small box she was holding.

“Open it when you return. I will not permit refusal.”

Julian looked on with an envious face.

“Understood.”

“Get out of my sight. I wish you would be the first to leave.”

The now-familiar order of expulsion.

‘First to leave when returning, huh.’

Afterward, passing by Lan who was exchanging farewells with Sharle, Killian stepped onto the gate.

A pure white divine power enveloped his body.

***

The Annihilation Squad Leader’s Office, set up in the Eurasia main castle.

Killian was reviewing documents in his private office.

“Have we now crossed a river of no return with the Empire?”

The Empire had insisted on dispatching an investigation team to the Holy Nation, but the Holy Nation had not allowed it, citing the passing of their king.

In the midst of that, they made their position clear that Eurasia and Cornelia were not related to the war with the Empire.

In response, the Empire said it would dispatch an investigation team to Eurasia and Cornelia, if only for the sake of saving face.

‘An investigation team.’

In the meantime, Eurasia's New Year event was being prepared.

Time passed quickly.

During that time, Killian took minor revenge on Pierre for hiding information, and Julian was recognized for his meritorious service in the Holy Nation and received Simon's praise in front of the kingdom's people.

People thought that Killian had sided with Julian, and naturally, Julian's position rose.

Reading that atmosphere, Emma Eurasia used her skills to strengthen support for the Blue Knight Order and the Yellow Knight Order.

Now, there was no disagreement that Julian was Demian's rival for the throne.

The competitive landscape had changed in just one year.

Killian looked at Serena, who was waiting in front of him.

“Has a reply come from Yulian?”

“Yes. He says the repairs will take about two months, to be safe.”

Yulian had personally taken the overused Aether and scabbard to entrust them to Pyrope's hands.

“A new king has been replaced in the Holy Nation, I see?”

The new king was said to be the former king's nephew.

In addition, some Cardinals were replaced, and not a few chief priests and first-class priests were appointed as Cardinals. Officially, it was recorded that it was to serve the will of the Gods more faithfully in place of the elderly.

“Head Apothecary Loen asked if you could stop by sometime.”

“Is that so.”

What was in the box the Saintess gave him was a medicinal preparation imbued with divine power.

Loen was currently analyzing it, and it seemed she had something to report.

“What are your thoughts on the banquet?”

“I must attend.”

Previously, Killian had lost to Simon in a sparring match.

He had to attend the banquet without even knowing the reason.

“To attend as the Fourth Prince. Does His Majesty not know that I have no talent for diplomacy?”

“…….”

Serena remained silent.

She had watched the achievements Killian had accomplished from his side.

‘Does he not think any of it is amazing at all?’

It was likely because his own expectations for himself were high, rather than him being humble.

‘His perspective is different from that of other knights.’

“I will prepare the invitation list and detailed information.”

“It will be busy, but I'll ask you to do it. Speaking of which, the interviews for the new Annihilation Squad were today, weren't they.”

“Yes. Everyone is warming up in the training ground.”

Killian flipped through the documents and checked the list of applicants.

There were three candidates.

Their skills were proven, and each had been recommended by someone.

“Interesting. Let’s take care of this first.”

His body felt stiff from looking at documents for a long time.

‘In times like these, using my body is the best.’

As he headed to the training ground, the three candidates were warming up, looking nervous.

“Oh.”

Among them, a non-human being saw Killian and acknowledged him.

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