VII: Mauve’s Leadership Shake-Up
THE pope of the Theocracy of Mauve was relieved. He had made the correct decision. There was no country in existence that could beat those monsters. The king of Eyland, the king of Vulcan, and even the illustrious Master Matou were nothing other than foolish for having been unable to comprehend that. They never should have opposed Farune.
No detailed information had reached the pope as to Master Matou’s fate, but it was rumored that he was dead. The pope had no idea how Farune had taken down the legendary Great Sage, but it was Farune, so they had no doubt used some sort of unscrupulous trick.
Meanwhile, the king of Vulcan had been ambushed, and an entire forest had been set ablaze. The pope had also heard that the king of Eyland and his family had been captured by his own subjects while on the run to the west, and had died after being forced to eat monster meat.
What a horrible way to go.
As far as the pope was aware, the king of Eyland and his family were now, ironically enough, the first recorded deaths as a result of monster meat.
After breathing a long sigh, the pope sat deeper in his chair and clasped his hands together in a show of gratitude to God for his good health. He no longer had any desire whatsoever to oppose Farune. Instead, he was firmly of the mind to let them do as they pleased—for the time being.
In the long annals of history, there were any number of countries that had boasted temporary periods of prosperity. However, it had never lasted. The pope believed that Farune would doubtless tread the same path. There were limits to rule by force, and a time would eventually come when they were defeated by another power.
Mauve, on the other hand, was eternal. The pope’s teachings had always held sway over the hearts of the people. In other words, the Theocracy of Mauve was eternal as well. Now was merely a time to endure. Eventually, the age of the Church would come again. Maybe not in his time, but under the next pope, or perhaps the one after that. The pope resolved in his heart to take on the role of protecting the interests of the faith as much as he could, and passing on the Theocracy of Mauve to his successor.
Just then, the sounds of a commotion coming from outside interrupted the pope’s hard-won resolve. It was ominous: there were quarrelling voices, encroaching footsteps, and the dull sounds of struggle. One of the pope’s entourage hurriedly entered the room.
“Are the Farunians back?” the pope asked before his subordinate could say anything. If anyone from Farune had come, he was ready and willing to obey whatever they asked of him.
“No, Your Holiness,” said the pope’s subordinate. “The former deputy captain of the Holy Knights, Caim, is here with the Holy Knights in tow. They’re currently forcing their way in, demanding that you show yourself. They’re not listening to anything we tell them!”
“Caim, you say?”
The pope had heard that the Holy Knights had thrown in their lot with Eyland, so he was surprised that any were still alive. He had appointed Caim to his position, so naturally, he knew him. The knight was a naive, somewhat inflexible man, but he was a devout follower of church teaching, and his loyalty toward the Theocracy should have been genuine. His one flaw was that in recent years, he had begun to worship Maria.
I imagine he’s going to demand that I make Maria into a saint, the pope thought. A calm smile spread across his face.
“Very well, bring him to me. I’ll hear him out.”
“Are you sure?” The pope’s subordinate looked uneasy.
“I don’t mind. I know what he wants.”
The pope no longer had any objections to making Maria a saint. He had heard that she had established deep connections with Farune. If that was true, he thought, then designating her a saint was one way he could win the king of Farune’s favor.
After a short time, Caim entered the pope’s room along with three Holy Knights. The pope had been expecting to speak to Caim alone, so he frowned at the discourteousness of bringing others with him, but in a show of magnanimity, he didn’t mention it.
“Thank you for graciously allowing us to meet with you, Your Holiness,” Caim said. He and the other knights all placed their hands to their chests and gave their thanks. This was all according to etiquette, but the pope couldn’t shake the feeling that they were looking down on him.
“It’s no matter.” Still, the pope adopted a placid attitude, showing no irritation on the surface. After all, Caim was undoubtedly one of Maria’s sympathizers, and it was possible that Farune was behind him. “I know what you want to ask. You want me to make Maria a saint, right?”
The knights smirked unpleasantly.
“Your Holiness isn’t the pope for nothing, to already know our demand. Did you receive a revelation from God, perhaps?” Caim asked.
“Who do you think you’re talking to, Caim?” the pope said, letting his anger at Caim’s insolent manner of speaking show. “Have you forgotten your manners in the time since I last saw you? Mauve bestows no grace upon such people.”
“It’s a surprise to hear someone such as you speak of Mauve’s grace, Your Holiness,” Caim said, completely unfazed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the pope asked, after pausing for a moment.
“I know all about it. You were pulling the strings behind the anti-Farune coalition.”
“What are you talking about? Ridiculous.” The pope scoffed.
If anything, he had been dragged into that mess.
The coalition had formed when the kings of Eyland and Vulcan had sensed a crisis, and Master Matou had agreed with them. In an attempt to keep Farune in line, they had pressed the pope to enact the three new religious doctrines. Even then, the pope had attempted to maintain his neutrality. Internally, he was enraged at the three leaders for mixing him up in all this nonsense.
“Ridiculous?” Caim shot back. “Then why did you hand Lady Maria over to Farune?”
“Hmph. That was because of you good-for-nothing Holy Knights. If you’d been more reliable, I wouldn’t have had to cave to Farune’s demands,” the pope said with a derision that only aggravated Caim’s hostility.
“Back then, Farune demanded that you deploy a bishop,” Caim recounted. “Nothing more. There was no need for you to choose Lady Maria for the position. Because she wasn’t a bishop. You were the one who went out of your way to promote her to acting bishop and send her to Farune!”
“King Mars chose Maria,” the pope rebutted. “I simply obeyed his request. You know that, don’t you?” He was feeling somewhat fed up. Caim was rehashing the same old issues that had been debated since before the Holy Knights had left the Theocracy.
“We sensed something was off back then, too,” Caim said. “We wondered, ‘Why Lady Maria?’ But it’s entirely clear now. It was all part of your plan. Lady Maria was in your way, so by foisting her onto Farune and letting them kill her, you would gain a pretext for war. The deal had two advantages for Your Holiness.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the pope said, exasperated. He was actually telling the truth, too. What Caim was saying was such a stretch it was almost impressive.
“To think that you’re trying to play dumb, even now. How disappointing.” Caim looked at the pope with eyes devoid of sympathy, then drew his sword. “I’ll be taking the liberty of apprehending you all.”
“Are you serious?! What’s the meaning of this?! Mauve will never forgive this blasphemy!” The pope scooted backward in his chair, its legs making an unpleasant noise as they scraped against the floor.
“We don’t need forgiveness!” Caim shouted. “Even a child could tell you’ve never been able to hear His voice! Your abandoning Him is the real treachery here. Now is the time for us to redeem this country with our own hands! And under Mauve’s teachings!” As Caim declared his intent, a group of knights rushed into the building behind him. The purge of the Theocracy of Mauve’s upper leadership had begun.
The story about the pope manipulating the coalition army behind the scenes was nothing more than a fabrication Maria had planted in Caim’s head. However, it was true that church leadership was corrupt. For devout believers like Caim, who knew the inner workings of the organization, the pope and his lackeys had been long-term potential enemies. Caim had always wanted to do something about them—so in part, this affair was a good pretext for overthrowing the rotten hierarchy.
Having lost Eyland, his backer, the pope had no way to resist the Theocracy’s one military force, the Holy Knights, when they turned against him. Under Caim’s leadership, the Holy Knights gained control over the Theocracy of Mauve and formed a provisional council. They recognized Maria as a saint, and at the same time designated her the pope’s successor.