How a Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom

Book 5: Chapter 4

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 mans 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 wasnt 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 mans 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, shed probably have fainted. No doubt hed 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.

Its 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 wed developed while researching Nine-Headed Dragon katanas to Kagetora, hadnt I? Id 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, Id figured that would be no issue, so Id given it to him. It was good to hear it was serving him well.

Well, as long as youre okay, thats 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 Ive 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 wasnt entirely satisfied, but... Well, it wasnt 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 wouldnt 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.

Theyve 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 Id heard about them was that theyd incited their believers in Amidonia to revolt, then tried to intervene.

But were 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 its 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 theyre becoming more active, that means...

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

Thats troublesome...

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

Because that country hates the Star Dragon Mountain Range and the Gran Chaos Empire, thats why.

In Lunarian Orthodoxy, the pope is the only one who can recognize someone as a saint. In fact, theres a woman in Lunarian Orthodoxy whos called a saint. Thats why the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria sees Madam Maria as an unforgivable villain whos misrepresentin herself as one.

Thats why, now that Elfriedens grown bigger by absorbin Amidonia, the Orthodox Papal State wont be leavin you alone. Somewhere, somehow, theyll try to make contact. Could be theyll 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 Lunarias saint.

...And thats 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 mankinds nations, the maneuverings of the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria must have concerned her.

It had been one week earlier that Id received the request for an audience, and yesterday, Id received word that the Orthodox Papal States saint had entered the country. Tomorrow, I was set to hold an audience with her.

When this situation had arisen, Id 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 didnt know what the Papal States intentions were yet, but whether or not it was good for my own country, it certainly wouldnt be good for the Empire, which the Orthodox Papal State was hostile to. That was why Id wanted to notify Maria in advance, to strengthen the cooperation between us in our secret alliance. I wouldnt want her to find out later that Id 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, dont call me a saint, Great King Friedonia.

Urkh...

Shed hit me with the perfect comeback. Yeah, being held up as some sort of paragon when it wasnt something Id ever aspired to be was nothing more than a nuisance. ...I mean, I wasnt a squid, and I wasnt Dedede.

While I was thinking about that, Maria let out an alluring sigh. Ive never met the Saint of the Orthodox Papal State, so I cant 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.

Didnt 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, wouldnt 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, Id 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 its defending the weak. I dont 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 Im 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 Elfriedens. 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 werent native to this continent, and they actually came here from outside. I dont 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 whod 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 Lets 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.

Im 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 couldnt 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 Lunarias 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 wasnt going to be a worry. If I hadnt 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 wasnt 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 Marias. 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 theyre dealing with the king of a nation, they cant 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 havent 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. Im 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 Roroas 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 peoples 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 countrys 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 wasnt the type to let it show, but I didnt 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 couldnt detect any particular emotion in it. She didnt 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 countrys 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, Marys attitude seemed to say she was here to do something perfectly normal.

That might have been how a countrys emissary was supposed to act, but in her case, I felt like she took it to an extreme. I could feel that off feeling Id 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, thats 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 didnt 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 wasnt a realistic proposal.

Madam Mary, do you understand what it is youre 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 hadnt been such a big deal, getting mad over such a little thing would probably have worked against me. However, her expression didnt change in the slightest.

We arent 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 dont 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 didnt think the way her country acted was in line with that.

But you dont 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, its 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?

Its natural for fear of something greater than yourself to develop into religious faith, I said. Isnt Mother Dragon a symbol of nature itself, beyond the realm of human knowledge?

Its 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 wasnt 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 Id 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 its 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 States dark side.

When one of my subordinates dispatched one of those spies, Im 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 spys words meant, Madam Mary?

I am not that spy, so I couldnt 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 wouldnt matter if he was a follower of another religion or not?

From what youve told me, that was the sense I got. I apologize for my self-centered view.

...No, it was educational, I said.

What was it? I felt I had less and less of a feel for her. I couldnt sense anything like a motive behind Marys 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 couldnt sense any sort of attempt to lead the conversation whatsoever in the way she was speaking and acting.

...Lets 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 youre tolerant of other religions, it shouldnt 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. Id never expected that the saint herself would come to serve me, though.

The way you say that, its almost like youre 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 havent said Im going to accept this holy king thing yet.

Forgive my presumption. Mary bowed her head once more. She didnt look like she felt guilty at all... or rather, the look on her face made me think she didnt even realize she had done something wrong.

When I mentioned the marriage thing, Aisha jumped a little, but Liscia didnt seem surprised in the least. All she did was stare at Mary with a serious look on her face. How did Mary look in Liscias 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.

Theres 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 wasnt 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 theyre 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 mankinds nations.

...Yeah. Well, looking at the relationship between the princes of Middle Ages Europe and the Roman Catholic Church, it wasnt 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 didnt 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. Im sorry to do this to Madam Saint, but I would like to speak with His Majesty for a short while.

Please do.

With the saints 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 cant get into the right mindset. I feel like theres 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. Ive been observing all this time, and I believe shes been exhibiting a lack of emotion.

Yeah, I noticed that, too.

Im 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?! Shes just a messenger, then?

Mary wasnt a negotiator, then?! That made a lot of sense... It had never felt like I was negotiating while I was talking with her.

Id assumed shed 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 Id given her questions they wouldnt expect, like about that spys mindset, shed 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 hadnt been told anything, she would just honestly answer, I dont know, after all.

This wasnt 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. Theyd added illustrations of a cute girl to it, and shed 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 Lords Domain. Though its expansion has stopped for the time being, for as long as the Demon Lords Domain exists, mankind will never have peace. In order to attain peace, it will be necessary to invade the Demon Lords 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, Im 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 wont be able to afford to ignore you. In that way, all of mankind will be united, and we will invade the Demon Lords 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... Im sure thats 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 couldnt 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. Hed likely reached the same conclusion I had.

In light of that, he was hinting to me that, We shouldnt 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 cant force you into accepting.

They were backing down surprisingly easy. I thought theyd say something like, If you dont accept our demands, well 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 theyre going to play it, huh. Basically, if any country started to get stronger, or a ruler began to become famous, she was saying, Well take this exact same offer right to them. If they did, her earlier comment that Two in five of the Empires 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 shouldnt decide on this right here and now.

I didnt 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 hadnt been concluded, but she didnt look disappointed at all to me.

I looked closely at Marys 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, whats 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 dont 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.

Dont ask me! I dont know!

I said, Oh... Its okay, Im fine, weakly brushing Junas hand away, then sat down at the governmental affairs offices 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 wouldnt 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... Youre 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, Ill 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. Its a little different from what youre 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 couldnt see her that way. Thats how it felt.

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

Yeah... Probably no other person would have noticed it. Id noticed because of who I was, and because of that, Id been able to discern the truth behind it.

I didnt 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 Liscias 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 Marys face for those of us who werent 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. Heres how Id describe her. Her regular features were like Liscias. Her silver hair was like what Aisha has as a dark elf, and her hairstyle was like Roroas. In other words, Marys face was like a composite of Liscia, Aisha, and Roroas faces.

O-Our faces?! Liscia yelped.

Yeah. The reason I hadnt 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 Roroas 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 fiances features, what part of her do you suppose would have come from Juna? From what I saw, her figure was average, too.

See, thats it, I said. From what I saw, Mary has practically nothing in common with Juna. If I had to give you something, Id say those sensual eyes of hers were similar, but thats a little weak as far as traits go. Thats got to have been a coincidence. Also... can one of you tell me what the difference is between Juna and Liscia, Aisha, and Roroa?

Im the only one whos a secondary queen candidate, said Juna. Besides, Im also... the only one whose engagement to you hasnt 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 havent been able to announce Junas yet because of her work as a lorelei. In other words, its not known that shes my fiance. So, when we think about how Mary, who has the defining characteristics of all my fiances except Juna, was sent here, combined with the fact that the Orthodox Papal States spies have been growing more active in the castle town, we can infer that the spies were collecting intel on what my fiances 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, thats... Liscia began.

Yeah... When I said, The way you say that, its almost like youre 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 theyre 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.

Thats... terrible, Aisha said with open revulsion. Then they really are like dolls. Its as if they have no will of their own.

Now, now, Big Sister Ai, Roroa interjected, it doesnt 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 aint nothin harder to run than proper orphanages, said Roroa. If they dont get educated by the time theyre old enough to work, theyll just end up bein used for cheap labor. Its 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 theyre bein lifted up from that situation, given food, clothing, and shelter in the church, dont ya think thats fortunate for them?

But theyre being raised so they can be given as offerings to foreign rulers, you realize? Aisha shot back.

Im 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, Ive never heard of there bein multiple saints. In other words, for all o the nuns other than this Mary girl, it wont 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, shes set to marry into money. I married for political reasons, and Im plenty happy now, so its up for her to decide whether or not shes happy with it in the end.

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

I agree with Roroas opinion, I said. I dont like their methods, but its not a system we need to say anything about. I mean, its another countrys 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. Its 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 Ive been given. Because that is what is best for the country, and, in turn, for all people.

...Youd 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, wouldnt 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 Marys smile, the words of another saint flashed through my mind.

I may be an empress, but Im 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, wouldnt 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 hadnt done that, I wouldnt have been able to bear the weight of all the lives being lost on my orders.

Were people, so we suffer due to the size of our responsibilities, I said. Were people, so we agonize over the decisions weve made. That time, when I was forced into a war I didnt 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 didnt 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, Arent 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 hadnt 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... Thats right, Madam Maria, I thought.

If I couldnt notice Liscia and the others tears, if I couldnt make Liscia and the others smile, even if it meant suffering under a heavy burden and agonizing over the decisions I made...

I didnt want to become a mere system.

Yeah. Me, too. Id rather be a person.

Souma? Liscia asked. ...Eek!

I got down off of the desk, walked to Liscias 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, thats 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 didnt like it, I knew Liscia was more than capable of pushing me away.

I held onto Liscia as I said to Hakuya, I wont become the holy king. I wont let the Orthodox Papal State get their way, either. I do have a policy in mind that sidesteps the Orthodox Papal States scheme, but... its probably only good enough to stall for time. If were 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. Ill 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. Lets bounce ideas off each other and work on our plans tomorrow.

By your will.

Ignored?! Im being ignored?!

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

Uh... Uh...

It seemed she couldnt 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 twore 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 anothers 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...

...Cant we?

No! Its not that we cant! I mean, Ive 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 kingdoms 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 couldnt 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 Marias 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 couldnt hold back any more.

...Well, at a time like this, I wasnt about to tell her that another womans words had that deep an effect on me, though.

Um, but... having our first time in the governmental affairs office, it sure isnt 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 wouldnt 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 Liscias 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, Liscias 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 didnt 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 youre doing?

Hmm, Id 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 Liscias eyes opened fully. The moment her eyes snapped open, Liscias face turned red so quickly, I could almost hear the comedic exploding sound effect as it did. Most likely, when shed 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... Dont look at me so much.

Dont look at you? I saw a whole lot last Mmph!

Liscia shoved a pillow in my face.

That doesnt 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 dont think I ever want to do it in the governmental affairs office again.

...Why not? she asked.

Because this is our workplace, so Ill have to ask them to clean up after us right away. I want to flirt with you more, and its 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 hadnt 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 Liscias 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, its really frustrating.

...Youre up early, Head Maid, I said.

I am the princess personal maid, after all. With that answer, which I wasnt sure qualified as one, Serina gave me an elegant bow.

I thought, Oh, yeah, shes 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. Lets get to it, Carla.

Y-Yes, maam!

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

S-Serina?! Im still naked here! Liscia shouted.

We need to clean up, so please, get out of bed already. If you dont, I will have Carla carry you out of this room, bed and all.

Hold on, Carla! Dont lift the bed!

...Sorry, Carla said. If I defy the head maid, Ill 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 Castles audience chamber. It was an audience with the same faces, and standing in the same places, as the last one. I hadnt 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 dont 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, its nothing too difficult. The first is that you not make me the Holy King of Lunarian Orthodoxy. I dont 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. Thats because Im not an adherent of Lunarian Orthodoxy myself. Even if someone like me was suddenly named holy king, Im sure there would be resistance from the believers. Im sorry, but Ill have to decline the position.

Oh... I see.

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

Of course, the reason Id given her was just a front. I had no desire to be their holy king, or anything like that, and I couldnt 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... Ill 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.

Marys 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 wasnt, the upper echelons of the church felt very human, and very rotten. That was why even if they wanted to remove him, they couldnt.

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 didnt 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 Hakuyas 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 others 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 wasnt 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 hadnt 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, Im sure.

Then he laughed.

Just as planned... was what Hakuyas laugh seemed to say.

I shrugged and told him, Hakuya, youve 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 hed demonstrated by knowing about the bishop named Souji, as well as the preparedness hed 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 saints 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 theyd be sending someone else... or some other such story. Thats why I decided to have the Black Cats go and bring him back first.

Injured in an accident... huh. In my minds eye, I could imagine the Orthodox Papal State doing it. There was no guarantee he wouldnt 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, Im impressed you can scheme as much as you do, I said teasingly.

Liscia, who was standing next to me, gave me a cold look. Youre quite the schemer yourself, arent you, Souma? I mean, in a way, youre deceiving that poor, innocent saint.

Dont make me sound so bad, I said. I havent told her any lies.

There had been no lie when Id 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... Its 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 its 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 isnt unity under one god. I think its 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 cant accept evil religions that do things like sacrifice virgins in order to summon devils. I wont ask you to be tolerant of such religions. However, Im sure its hard to tell if another persons religion is good or evil from the outside.

Here Souma paused, and stressed: And thats why were 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. Ive 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 dont want them, so please follow their directions.

If any religion cant 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, Im 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 Lords Domain had appeared, the people had had no end of things to worry about. In times like this, religion became more active as the peoples hearts relied on it for support, and when religion grew more active, conflicts between different religions and sects arose. The peoples 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, thats 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, Im the former Princess of Amidonia and Soumas third fiance, Roroa. Hows 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, Thats 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.

...Thats the tone youre doing this in, Roroa? Souma asked.

Its fine, darlin, Roroa said confidently. Since Im on Junas 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 fianc 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, were gonna be makin all of the religions that register with us into state religions, but Ive got a lil request for ya all when youre registerin. If any of you have interestin festivals for your gods, be sure to tell us, would ya? In Darlins world, I hear that some religious events have been turned into national festivals, and believers and non-believers alike enjoy em together. Why dont 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 didnt 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, thatll get the money movin, and thatd 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 Im sure just talkin about it isnt 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. Im 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 mans an old man. Besides, I think its 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. Dont add in the octopus part! Now listen here, little missie, youre going to be a married woman soon, so youd 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 cant boil that octopus like this!

Calm down, Roroa. I thought you were cute, Souma said and patted her on the head.

Roroas head spun to look at him. ...Ya mean it?

Sure, you were real cute.

Hm... Well, Ill forgive him, then.

Thats all it took?! thought the people watching. These people werent familiar with husband and wife manzai comedy routines, so they didnt 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 priests 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.