She looked him in the eyes as she flatly rejected his demands. If he wanted her to protect this place, then he needed to send priests out to tend to the mercenaries’ wounds—that was her response.
“Even without those mercenaries, your power alone will—”
“This isn’t about whether it’s possible or not. It’s a question of risk. If, by some chance, they manage to defeat me, then everyone here will be in danger. None of us want that to happen.”
From a logical standpoint, her response was perfectly sound. The archbishop was the one foolishly clinging to his delusional prophecies. But calling an idiot an idiot couldn’t actually fix anything; and this idiot just kept on repeating the only thing he knew how to say.
“B-But the prophecy said that you alone would—”
“Success is more certain if I work alongside the others. Whatever the Gods may have told you, the facts are the facts.” For once, Cion wasn’t backing down. “Your Excellency, surely you’re aware of how much they’ve endured—how hard they’ve fought to hold their defensive lines from Arshelm to here. Please, reconsider your decision.”
Cion was the perfect image of a Hero as she delivered her appeal. I almost wanted to applaud. But unfortunately—or predictably, maybe—the archbishop wasn’t won over.
If anything, he only dug his heels in further. “Are you trying to tell me that the divine prophecy I received was mistaken?” His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice shook with anger.
“No, that’s not what I—”
“THE GODSSSSS!”
The archbishop screamed at the top of his lungs, cutting off Cion’s attempt to placate him. I saw a flinch run through her shoulders.
“The Gods... The Gods do not err! Their words are infallible! If—if, by the faintest chance—Their proclamation were to be false, it could only be because we failed to apprehend Their message!”
This wasn’t a negotiation anymore. It was just a furious rant.
“The Gods have proclaimed that you alone shall suffice! To neglect Their words is a sin—a grave and terrible sin indeed!”
“No, I just—”
“Or do you reject the words of the Gods, Sir Hero Elcyon?!”
Faced with this tirade of pure madness, even Cion found herself at a loss.
This is just a waste of our time.
“Your Excellency—”
Losing the Church’s aid was going to suck, but we couldn’t afford to spend any longer standing here talking in circles. With that in mind, I tried to bail out Cion, but—
“If you reject the Gods’ prophecy, then we’ll be taking back this girl!”
“Excuse me?”
Now I was being treated like an object. Great.
“What else would you expect? This bride has been sent to serve at your side because you accept the will of the Gods. And yet, you declare your intent to defy Them. We can hardly leave a bride of the Gods in your care, now can we?”
So now I’m a hostage? What kind of bullshit is this?
That was what I thought to myself, but honestly, his reasoning checked out. An archbishop was second in rank to a cardinal; if he gave that order, I’d be required to go along with it, at least temporarily. And, infuriatingly, my actual boss was still missing.
Dammit, Glasses, how are you so utterly useless?
“Oh, but don’t worry. I’ll be sure to treat her well. There’s quite a lot I’d like to discuss with her.” He shot another leering gaze my way as a pointed provocation. “What else is a bride for, after all...?”
Cion gave a small hiss of rage, and her hands were balled into shaking fists as she glared back at the archbishop.
“I finally see what Alicia is to you people. I’m not sending her back to you.”
“Cion...”
“I’ll go. I’ll do it.”
As she stood there, fists clenched, the archbishop gazed back at her with a self-satisfied nod. I looked at the two of them in frustration. There was nothing I could say.
I was a bride of the Church—a slave of the Gods. I usually had a good amount of free rein, but fundamentally, I had no choice but to obey the orders of high-ranking priests.
“You know roughly where they are, right?” Cion asked.
“But of course. We’ve recorded it all right here for you.” The archbishop handed over a map. He had an infuriatingly sunny smile as he put on his best impression of a saint. “May the protection of the Gods be with you, O Hero.”
With a quiet growl, Cion turned around and started heading for the exit, her face downturned. I began to rush after her, but—
“Siiiiisterrrrrr...”
His sticky, clingy voice stroked along my turned back.
“What is it that’s upset you so? I’m sending him out for your sake as well.”
“You’re utterly shameless. You might as well be telling him to go out and die.” I’d reached my limit. I was doing my best to keep myself under control, but my words came out barbed. “In case you’ve forgotten, I am still under the authority of High Cardinal Salamanrius for the time being. I understand the scope of your authority as an archbishop, but I’d ask that you not—”
“The Harem Project, was it?”
I stared back at him. “How—”
“Need you even ask? The Gods have revealed it to me. They have told me everything...”
Something in his blown pupils filled me with an incomprehensible dread, and my fingers began to reach for my bible... But the archbishop was unmistakably wide open.
“It’s all right. Don’t worry, Sister. I’m on your side. Of course I am—you and I are both servants of the Gods. We receive Their voices, and we carry out Their will... Let us work together to fulfill the commandments the Gods have granted us.”
He spoke as though he believed from the bottom of his heart that all of this was for the good of the world. There was nothing more I could say to him.
“Do remain mindful of your mission.” The haughtiness he’d shown Cion had vanished, replaced by a placid priestly demeanor.
I swore inwardly. Nothing I said would make any difference. From the very start, he’d been blind to everything except his own duties. I hated dealing with guys like him more than anything.
“What do you suppose those Gods even wish for?” I said slowly. I needed to hurry after Cion. But I had to ask this one last question. “Are the Gods...on our side?”
My words were arguably blasphemy, but the archbishop just calmly nodded.
“All who are faithful shall be saved.”