Reporting to Haku-san

After successfully manipulating the Saintess and safely returning, Narikin changed his appearance.

With this change, there's no way he could be recognized. He'd change the inn he stayed in, but fleeing in haste would make him look suspicious. He decided not to leave the town of Kuromaku. Sometimes, staying still was the best move.

By now, they might have set up a cordon to catch him as he escaped, but he'd target the blind spot under their noses.

"Let's try using Kehma's face this time!"

"If the Saintess catches us, how would we explain it?"

"We could say he's Kehma's twin brother, it's fitting for Narikin."

"… That could work."

By the way, he had created a huge number of distractions. Even if Narikin got caught and they knew that he had manipulated the Saintess, he can excuse it with, "Of course, I saw and knew all about it."

However, having changed his face, he was now unrelated to the terrorist. Narikin and the others decided to watch the situation in the Holy Kingdom and Kuromaku for a while.

All that was left was to wait for the delivery of the melons and the nightcap entrusted to one of Haku-san's subordinates.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

A few days later, while the town was abuzz with rumors about the terrorist and the Saintess—which made it hard for Narikin and his group to gather useful information—they were invited to a tea party, which was really a briefing, by Haku-san.

There, they found a visibly annoyed Haku-san.

"Kehma? Is there anything you'd like to say?"

"… I have no idea what you want to address, Haku-san."

Haku-san heaved a big sigh.

He thought he'd accomplished the destruction and time-buying tasks Haku-san had assigned him.

"The Pope has disappeared."

"What?"

The Pope disappeared? Why all of a sudden—well, it wasn't exactly out of the blue.

Rokuko nodded thoughtfully.

"… Could it be because of Kehma riling up the Saintess?"

"No way, it was just some nonsense I spouted."

"It seems Rokuko's right. The Saintess led a large number of believers and charged at the Pope. All the while chanting [Bring down the Pope]."

Wow, so the Saintess actually charged? She must have been holding in a lot of resentment. She seemed very lively when chanting about bringing down the Pope.

"I see. It's definitely Kehma's fault then."

"The Pope's room was found completely empty. Many documents were apparently disposed of… Fortunately, we had investigated the room before the raid, so the loss wasn't that significant."

"It's a relief that we were able to buy enough time.

"Has Kehma-san not received any news about the revolution yet?"

"Well… not exactly. What we can gather here mostly starts as mere rumors."

"Have you heard anything from that chaos pup?"

"No, come to think of it, she hasn't mentioned anything. She's just working as Narikin's maid as usual."

Anyway, it seemed the Saintess tried to bring down the Pope, causing him to run away.

The Pope must have had a guilty conscience.

"Now that the Pope has disappeared, what's… well, what's going to happen to the Church of Holy Light?"

"According to the rumors, they seem to be looking for the terrorist from that day. They apparently want to make him a high-ranking priest—why don't you come forward? You might even become the next Pope if things go well."

"Isn't the Saintess… I mean, isn't she a bit too gullible?"

"Typically, a high-ranking priest's position should be granted to a hero unconditionally… Considering it's you, Kehma-san, I wouldn't exactly say she was tricked."

So, it's like being an S-rank adventurer here in the empire.

And the Pope was apparently chosen from among the high-ranking priests.

"However, for more than a hundred years, no hero has been summoned to the Holy Kingdom, so the current high-ranking priests are just ordinary humans. With the Pope's disappearance, the former Saintess candidate is likely the most eligible."

"Can't the Saintess become the Pope?"

"If that Saintess became the Pope, the Holy Kingdom might come to an end. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there's a rule that the Saintess can't become the Pope."

I see. If a hero, who's behind the ousting of the Pope, interjects, there's a reasonably high chance of them becoming the Pope.

Just then, a sliced melon was placed on the table.

It's the melon from the Holy Kingdom I handed over to one of your subordinates. Since it was stored in a [Storage] where time stands still, it's still fresh and juicy… though I've had my fill of it recently.

"By the way, what were you investigating in Kuromaku?"

"It was about the Pope's true identity… Ah, I must mention this. We've planned to investigate the Pope several times before. But each time, we couldn't find the right person for the job—that was the official reason, at least."

I tilted my head, puzzled by Haku-san's vague phrasing.

"It seems the Pope can [Erase] existences."

"Erase existence? You mean like hiding?"

"No, not like that. It's more like he can make it so that his target never existed to begin with."

I see. In other words, investigators were sent every time, but because the Pope erased their existence, it was perceived as if they had [never been dispatched] in the first place.

And because no one realized this, investigators were sent repeatedly, and were consistently erased in the same way… What a trap for those unprepared.

"… Isn't that an incredibly powerful ability? It's amazing you came out unscathed."

"There must be some conditions to using this power; it doesn't seem he can use it so easily… After all, thanks to Kehma's efforts this time, we have managed to obtain this information."

"Oh! That means Kehma did a great job right!? Does that mean you're going to reward him, Nee-sama?"

"… Haku-san. Erasing existence… that's something humans can't possibly do, right?"

"Yes, it's probably the work of the Light God. If not even I, someone who could pass for a god, could detect it, then there's no doubt."

"Nee-sama, the only person who could deceive your perception is the Light God, huh!"

"Or it could be our Father, given he's the Dark God. But considering what we're up against, it's probably the Light God. It aligns with the power of destruction."

Yeah, it's the Church of Holy Light, after all. And it's the church's Pope. It'd make sense that he was using the power of the Light God.

"Ane-sama, does this mean the Pope might actually be the Light God himself?"

"That's unlikely. Gods at Father's level can't remain active on the earthly realm for an extended period… It could be an angel, but if it were, there'd be no reason to run away. Given that he fled, it's probably not a human… rather, it's likely something unfavorable from the Church of Holy Light's perspective."

Who or what was the Pope, really? Before his identity could be thoroughly investigated, he disappeared.

"Well, thanks to this we have some leads. While losing the Pope is a setback, you could also argue that this outcome was optimal… The reward will be substantial, Kehma-san."

"Ah, yes."

I've also been paid a hefty sum for the melons, so I won't be lacking money anytime soon… Well, I wasn't exactly struggling for cash to begin with.