Volume 3 Chapter 3 [Church SIDE] The Angry Cardinal
Grand Church Shinathica.
This was the heart of the Church of Shinathica.
It hadn't always stood here; after the Demon Lord wiped out its old homeland, they were forced to move it across the border.
As the core of the faith, the power centered here was overwhelming──every thread of authority tangled up in these walls.
In one of the ornate offices reserved for cardinals, an old man was grinding his teeth in rage.
"Olver, Captain of the Eighth Squad, beaten without even putting up a fight. You've got to be kidding me! That man must die──no exceptions! And he ran home with his tail between his legs?!"
"Sir Silvio, if I may...there's still more to the report──"
"What now!"
"About Sir Olver. There's a message from Horace. He says, and I quote, 'There was nothing I could do.'"
"!"
Silvio's jaw clenched tighter, his fury etched across every wrinkle on his face.
"Nothing he could do, huh?! That man is a harbinger of the world's end! He must be killed, no matter the cost!"
"..."
"We've put an unlimited bounty on his head and yet nobody moves. What is happening out there?!"
"Apparently, sir...many now believe Horace can't possibly be the one controlling the golems."
"Don't be absurd! Controlling a whole army of golems at once──only someone called the hero's master could even try! And the only genius with an artifact that powerful is him!"
"Y-yes, sir, but...the rumor is that someone just wants to drag Horace's name through the mud, and that 'someone' is us, since we put out the wanted posters. Word's spread, and...well, donations have started to drop..."
"Damn it all! What the hell──"
"Also, King Valzeil of the Diamante Kingdom sent in an article to the major papers, and it, uh, argues that Horace isn't the culprit..."
"What article?!"
"R-right here, sir."
'The aide handed Silvio the front page of the newspaper.
In short, Valzeil's view was this:
First off: There is absolutely no evidence Horace was controlling the golems that attacked towns and villages.
Is it plausible as a motive?
Or not?
It's tough to explain just based on whether it's technically possible or not.
So let's lay out the 'facts' and then state our views.
Right now, the rampaging golems look like they're made of rocks and bricks.
There's someone who thinks Horace can pull it off, based on that 'antenna' in the hero's mansion grounds.
But that antenna only works with 'iron' golems or magic tools.
That means it's impossible to move golems made of rocks and bricks.
But let's say, somehow, we figure out a way around this technical issue.
I heard there are 'a total of 2 hundred golems' on a rampage.
That's a official statement from the Grand Church Shinathica.
Frankly, that's just too weak.
He's a legend who's been handling everything for the government in the capital of the Diamante Kingdom for over a decade.
Compared to paperwork and errands, the 'simple act of destruction' is easier to control.
The kingdom's magic academy has confirmed and guaranteed this.
Horace can control 5 hundred golems at once, doing ten times the work of a human.
And he's been doing it for ten years without anyone realizing they're golems.
But with this golem rampage, there are only 2 hundred on the loose.
This 'gap' in technical capability is just too much for me to believe that Horace is behind it.
Therefore, I assert that the claim that Horace is the cause of this golem outbreak is baseless.
Instead, it's the actions of the Grand Church Shinathica, announcing it so publicly and offering an unlimited reward for him, that seem 'abnormal' to me.
Furthermore, by questioning church officials domestically and investigating with my own information network, I found that the further down you go, the more people claim to 'know nothing' about it.
Setting an unlimited reward in the first place is a 'big deal'.
I believe that even at the top of the church, someone is launching an 'attack' on Horace like this.
Even without my making such a statement, you all should see how 'unnatural' this move is.
As a king and a Permanent Council Member of the world conference, I had no choice but to issue this statement.
But let's be real, denouncing the church's fringe isn't going to solve anything.
Think about who our real enemy is, what we should really criticize.
I want you all to think hard and act accordingly.
...That's the gist of it.'
"You brats, just quietly support the Great Church's announcement, got it?!"
Silvio tears up the newspaper in a fit of rage.
"That guy is a human who absolutely needs to die! He's the kind who'd bring about the world's destruction! Pure evil!"
Silvio grips a certain newspaper.
"The fact in this article about extracting ingots from people infected with them──If we could do this, we could save everyone who's had an accident with ingots until now! But that trash has been hiding it all this time! This is absolute evil!"
Removing ingots from the 'Hoardspirit Dragon Zeth Halcon', a pastor who had become one, has many witnesses and has been written about.
This incident is the main reason Silvio is so upset.
"If only we knew... if only we knew..."
"──You're losing it, Mr. Silvio."
"!"
Without even knocking, a girl with short, blonde hair walks in.
She's a bit on the short side, giving off a youthful vibe, dressed in a pristine white dress.
It's a no-sleeve mini-skirt, hugging a slender frame that seems like it might be an E-cup.
"Instructor Remi, what brings you here?"
"Hehe, I'm the acting captain of the Holy Knight Squad, moving from the first team to the third. Even though we manage different departments, it's standard to come hear you out when the 8th team makes a spectacle under your orders, right?"
"Shut up! You little brat, don't you dare talk back to me!"
"No, no. The fact that you lost it, put out a wanted poster, and sent the knights after them? Yeah, the entire world's pissed about that. If we keep talking in circles, nothing's going to get done. So, what's your move now? Mind filling me in?"
Remi watched Silvio, not so much smiling as grinning like she knew every one of his secrets.
"We're coming down hard on Horace. I'm telling my guys to double the workforce. More people, more golems. Let's face it ── most nations barely donate to the Church anyway. Either way, it's time to clean house!"
"Ah, so it really was you making the golems go berserk. And here I thought, wow, what are the odds? A 'sudden outbreak' of golems just popping up out of nowhere as monsters."
"Like hell that's even possible! There's no way all those golems just spawned in at once!"
Silvio yelled, but Remi's grin just went sharper, more wicked.
"Relax, I'm not gonna get in your way. But don't expect me to bail you out, either."
"Like I'd ever take your help!"
"Heh. Well, do try not to step on any truly dangerous toes, hmm?"
With that, Remi swept out through the door.
Right now, his underlings were all specialists ── pros at piloting golems and covering their own tracks.
But from here on out, piloting's one thing... hiding's another.
That trick's about to run out.
She smiled, looking honestly delighted.
Then, quick as a wink, she plucked a sheet of paper from under her skirt.
Horace's wanted poster.
"Any day now, this'll be nothing but scrap. Heh. This is gonna get good."
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