◈ Episode 575: Pursuit of the Viper (2)
Priests dispatched from the Holy Kingdom of Bretus arrived in Lederbelk.
First of all, only a portion of all believers were sent as a vanguard, but that did not mean that the number was small.
A group consisting of a total of 300 paladins and priests.
But what offended the empire more than anything else was the man who led those 300 people.
“This is really sad. “The city itself is stained with sin.”
A middle-aged man in his mid-40s with a benevolent appearance who speaks with narrow, narrow eyes.
His tall height and sharp face shape match the pure white clothes.
He must have been a very handsome man when he was young, and he still remained that way even as he got older.
“welcome. “Cardinal Patrick Romelo.”
Bishop Freden came forward and welcomed him politely.
Cardinal Patricio Romelo.
He was the most powerful person in the Holy Kingdom of Bretus, right after the Pope, and was one of only five cardinals.
Considering that most cardinals are at least 60 years old, it was hard to get a sense of how outstanding his abilities were as he appeared to be just past his 40s.
“Hehe. Bishop Freden. how are you?”
“I am always doing well under the grace of Lumensis.”
Freden acted as cautiously as possible so as not to offend the other person.
Even though he is of similar age, he became a cardinal.
He himself, who held the position of parish priest, cannot be said to have low abilities, but in front of Patrick, even such a title becomes meaningless.
More than anything, what made Freden nervous was Patricio’s unique atmosphere.
“I heard that the whole city is overtaken by evil.”
Although I spoke softly, I felt the creepy sensation of a snake crawling across my skin.
Freden said, trying to control his senses and not make it obvious.
“yes. “It’s all my fault.”
“Hehe. Bishop Freden. How can you say that? “This is not something that happened because of the diocese’s fault.”
Patricio smiled and shook his head.
Even in this situation, the smile on his face made me wonder if he was wearing a mask.
“Only because the people of this city have sinned. This happened because evil accumulated. “We must purify that sin so that something like this will never happen again.”
purification.
Patricio said those words.
Freden lowered his head, wondering if there was any room, but he had other thoughts in his mind.
‘Purification. Are you saying you’re going to do something like that in the empire now?’
The word purification took its literal meaning.
They are saying that they will wipe out all heretics with unclean thoughts and ideas and forcefully preach their own doctrines.
This is absolutely crazy.
It is said that in the past, the power of Seongguk was so strong that even flying birds were dropped with a wave of the hand, but now it is different.
The Holy Kingdom of Bretus no longer had the same majesty as before.
The number of believers has decreased, especially as a result of the state’s lockdown over the past 20 years.
To Freden, Patricio’s words seemed like nothing more than the bravado of a frog in a well who had not been out in the world for 20 years.
‘But I’m not the kind of person who would say that word carelessly.’
He did not become a cardinal at that age just because of his motivation.
Because he became powerful and the head.
In particular, Cardinal Patrick was famous for being as cunning as a snake.
Even Freden, who was in charge of the Diocese of Lederbelk, which was not his home country, knew this, so his real personality must have been appalling.
Freden lowered his head to avoid looking as hateful as possible.
“yes. “The Cardinal is right.”
“no. Bishop Freden. “That is wrong.”
“yes?”
“It’s purification. I may have done that in the past, but as you know, the world hasn’t changed, has it? In a changing world, we cannot stick to the old ways forever. Of course, we must also act and move in line with those changes.”
Freden found it difficult to understand the situation in Patricio’s words.
You were insisting on purification just a moment ago, but you change your words as easily as flipping the palm of your hand?
Freden realized the hidden meaning in his actions.
‘It’s not all sincere to begin with. He’s trying to confirm my true intentions.’
Although Patricio is said to have a higher rank, the authority of this Leederbelk branch was Freden himself.
Patricio was planning to seize the initiative first.
But is there really a need to scrape and make crumbs like this?
Anyway, if you put your position first, you will never be able to resist.
“Hmm. But Bishop Freden, I don’t think there’s anyone here you need to see.”
At Patricio’s words, Freden realized what he was aiming for.
‘Priest of Lemria.’
Patricio was not interested in Freden from the beginning.
What he was wary of was not himself, but the priests of Lemria.
‘Although a cardinal is a high position, a priest is by no means a low position.’
The authority of the priestly sisters gathered immediately below the saint is lower than that of the cardinal.
However, although it was difficult for the five cardinals to join forces, the priests were able to move with one mind and one intention.
This is why they are called ‘sisters’.
Of course, touching one Lemria could lead to a conflict with other priests, including her.
That’s why Patricio was wary of that part.
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“The priest said he had someone to meet with, so he left.”
“Alone?”
Patricio’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Hmm. Bishop Freden. I just heard that and was a little disappointed. “How dare you send someone as precious as a priest to such a dangerous city alone?”
“That’s because the priest consistently refused to escort me… … .”
Priests also held a higher rank than Freden.
It was difficult for Freden to refuse Lemria’s words.
“Even so, shouldn’t we have secretly sent someone or secretly assigned an escort?”
“… … sorry. “It’s all my fault.”
Freden honestly admitted his mistake.
No, even if it is not his fault, it becomes a mistake if Patricio points it out.
“My thoughts were short.”
“Hehe. Don’t push yourself too hard. “How can I mistreat a great person like Bishop Freden?”
Patricio smiled brightly, as if he had not intended to point it out in the first place.
Freden was horrified by the sudden change in behavior.
Just then, Lemria returned to the Lederbelk branch.
“Oh my goodness.”
When Lemria saw that there were more people gathered than before and that Cardinal Patrick was at the head of them, he gently covered his mouth with his hand.
“It’s not you, Cardinal. long time no see.”
“haha. Long time no see. Priest. Do you like living outside? “I haven’t seen you for so long that I thought you were never coming back.”
It was pointed out why he did not return to his home country after completing all his work.
Normally, a person who was skilled in dealing with things would say the same thing, but Lemria did not do that.
“I enjoyed being outside.”
Despite those blunt words, Patricio’s face did not change at all.
he asked, still smiling.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. So, to what extent have you achieved the purpose of your departure?”
“sure. “Rather, Cardinal, what brought you here?”
“I still want to talk about it. “I was dispatched from my home country after hearing that the devil had appeared.”
“aha. “The devil?”
“The entire city was engulfed in golden sand, and more than 10,000 people died. If this isn’t the work of the devil, what is? So, I first took the lead and walked around the city with 300 believers… … .”
“You don’t have to.”
Lemria cut Patricio off in a stern tone.
“… … Hmm. “Suddenly I don’t understand what that means.”
“That’s literally it. We decided not to touch anything about the city. “I met with the princess and negotiated a deal.”
“Priest. I am sorry to say this, but that is the priest’s decision. “It’s not something I did.”
“But I said I would make sure that people coming into the city from now on don’t wander around as they please?”
Lemria’s behavior of asking ‘Can’t we do that?’ was at first glance shameless.
However, Patricio facing Lemria was also not easy.
“Hehe. You’re having fun. But priest. If that happens, wouldn’t there be no reason for me to come to this city in person? “I also have something called face.”
“I can save your face.”
Patricio’s eyes narrowed slightly at Lemria’s words.
Between the narrow pupils, a sharp look flashed like a snake’s teeth.
“That sounds a bit appetizing. However, it would be difficult to handle these 300 believers, including me, and the believers waiting outside the city.”
“Do not worry. “It is something that the entire Holy Kingdom can do.”
“I hope what the priest said is not a lie. So what is that?”
Lemria said with a gentle smile, “Don’t worry.”
“The immortal monster we have been chasing for so long. “I contacted her.”
* * *
Ludger entered the interior of the casino.
Aside from the poor security surrounding it, the casino building was tall and gave off a dazzling light.
Naturally, the surrounding area was crowded with wealthy people dressed in luxurious clothes.
Perhaps thanks to his attire, Ludger was able to easily enter the room without being stopped by the guards.
Lights flashing everywhere.
People who scream with joy after winning money, and conversely, people who sit down and despair after losing money.
From people being dragged away by guards while drunk and acting out, to women wearing revealing clothes carrying chips while holding silver trays.
A space full of pleasure, joy, and greed.
An ordinary person would get tired of just encountering this atmosphere, but Ludger looked around the inside as if nothing had happened.
“Ather Nocturnus. “Take care of Line.”
Ludger handed Line over to his magic beast.
The crow in the form of a black shadow followed behind Ludger, holding Linne in his arms.
The people around him looked at Ludger like that with a bit of surprise, but they were not overly surprised.
Isla Machina, the home of the New Magic Tower, is a place many wizards visit.
And these large casinos were often visited not only by wealthy businessmen but also by wizards.
It is said that you can commonly see it wherever you go.
However, since Ludger’s appearance is not something you see often, people’s eyes lingered on him for a strangely long time.
After that, the same thing happened to the sleeping Linne moving in the shadows.
The handsome woman, with her unique charisma and strange aura, stood out subtly even within the casino.
However, Ludger paid no heed to the gaze around him and focused on looking around to find one person.
And Ludger’s gaze rested on one side.
‘found.’
Huge cheers erupted openly from one side.
“wow! crazy! “How many times has it been already?!”
“No, there are people who win like this at craps? “How lucky are you?”
“Isn’t there some trick?”
“For that reason, the guard checked on him several times. “It’s not a trick.”
Ludger, who had picked up people’s words, twisted his lips and let out a bitter smile.
okay. She said she couldn’t give a dog a bad habit, so I thought she would be hanging out here too.
Ludger made his way through the crowd that had gathered for the spectacle.
People who saw Ludger around were overwhelmed by his aura and moved out of the way.
In the first place, he was moving with a huge shadow behind him, so there was no way there would be anyone who wouldn’t get out of the way.
Just like that, Ludger arrived at the table where two dice were being rolled.
And I found him.
He was a man in his mid-to-late 30s with ivory-colored messy hair and somewhat scraggly clothes.
His beard, which was not properly groomed, grew sparsely.
If he had taken good care of himself, he would have been quite handsome, but his behavior was taking everything away from him.
But today he was practically the main character of this place.
“Haha! This is true! I guess I’m in a really good mood today? “I never thought it would turn out like this!”
The man who won money again burst into laughter.
The dealer at the table was just staring at the dice on the table with his eyes wide open.
The man gleefully tried to sweep the old man’s chips in front of him.
Unless Ludger stopped talking.
“Are you still doing this fraudulent gambling?”
“ok? “What kind of child are you?”
The ivory-haired man turned towards Ludger, his face distorted.
And the face of the man who recognized him became strangely distorted.
“you you… … !”
The man’s expression when he saw Ludger was a complex mixture of doubt, anxiety, anger, and surprise.
“[Faust]. “I would have told you over and over again to stop gambling.”
“Don’t call me by that stupid title.”
[Faust], who was mumbling like that, noticed the shadow over Ludger’s shoulder, or more precisely, Line in his arms, and his eyes widened.
“Rine… … ?”
A look of disbelief turned to Ludger.
“Why is Rine here?”
“But that’s why I came to you.”
Ludger met the man’s gaze and spoke his name.
“Gariel Cosmo. “If you were Rine’s teacher, you would know without me telling you about the current situation.”
