Chapter 407

Despite the appearance of twenty-five corpses, the city remained eerily calm, as if nothing had happened.

“Guess no one cares if it’s just some thugs from the slums who died. Still, you’d think they’d at least investigate a little.”

Since Milia had brought back so much food, there was no need to go down to the dining hall. We returned to our lodging and shared the feast she had procured.

Bread stuffed with meat and fried in oil, skewers of some mystery meat, soup brimming with mushrooms, and fresh fruit. It was a surprisingly hearty dinner.

“This bread is shaped like a human face, huh?”

“Ah, that’s the ‘Heretic Fry.’ A specialty of the Holy Kingdom.”

“…What kind of fry?”

For a moment, I thought it might be made from human meat, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

It wasn’t that they used human meat, but rather, the dish was created to commemorate a large-scale heretic purge that happened over a decade ago.

The face on the bread was modeled after the leader of the heretics at the time.

In short, it’s similar to an “Isabella Fry.” The tastes of the people here are truly baffling.

—

After finishing dinner together, we all returned to our rooms to rest.

Nigel, determined to redeem himself, challenged Leonor to another round of cards, only to suffer the consequences of his reckless ambition once again.

Bels, Lilieth, and Lacey were discussing future plans, while Milia and Damien chatted idly with Rana.

I washed up in the lodging’s bathroom and then sat by the window, gazing at the city’s nightscape.

My mind wandered, pondering what lay ahead and how I could grow stronger.

My swordsmanship and physical skills had reached a decent level, and aside from steadily improving my physical abilities and the power of my “Oath,” there was no other way forward. Thus, my thoughts inevitably turned to enhancing the “Heroic Tale.”

The technique to compress time and increase the speed of my attacks, “Reverse Heaven.”

Right now, it’s limited to a single swing of my sword, but if I could extend its duration and range… I could make the entire world seem to slow down around me.

Unless I was facing someone several times faster than me, this would grant me overwhelming initiative against any foe.

Not just for attacking, but for countering or evading as well.

The problem was… I had no idea how to apply this ability to my entire body.

Even Hersela couldn’t offer advice on this aspect of “Reverse Heaven.”

So, for now, I was trying to understand how to apply the ability to my body instead of just my sword.

Focusing my consciousness on a single finger, attempting to trigger “Reverse Heaven” with the same sensation as when I used it with my sword.

I hadn’t quite grasped it yet, but after about five hundred attempts, I’d succeeded once or twice by sheer luck.

A 0.2% success rate might not be much to call a success, but… the road ahead is long.

—

Night fell.

Rana, unable to fight her drowsiness, lay down on the bed and fell asleep. Milia and Damien also returned to their rooms.

Leonor, seeing Nigel’s empty wallet, chuckled and returned his winnings before leaning back on the sofa and sipping wine she’d procured from somewhere.

Bels and Lilieth also retired to their rooms to sleep.

As long as I was awake, guarding wasn’t an issue, and since we were leaving the city tomorrow morning, it was best to get some rest.

Around midnight, the Special Operations Unit member we’d been waiting for finally arrived.

Through the window.

“Greetings, Lady Lacey, Sir Median.”

The unit member, clad in a black robe and mask with only his eyes visible, entered through the window and immediately prostrated himself in greeting.

I sheathed Durandal, which I’d half-drawn.

…I almost mistook him for an assassin and cut him down.

Honestly, it was an easy mistake to make.

A guy wrapped head-to-toe in black cloth climbing through the window—what else would you think he was?

“It’s been a while. Any trouble during your absence?”

Lacey greeted him with a smile.

“None. All members of the Sacred Order are safe.”

The man replied calmly, oblivious to how close he’d come to losing his head.

Dude, you were almost casualty number one. And by your own ally, no less.

“That’s good to hear. Now, let’s hear your report. What’s been happening here since I left for the Empire?”

“Yes. Until last year, there was nothing noteworthy. But this year…”

At Lacey’s command, the man began his lengthy report, still bowing his head.

—

According to the man, the Holy Kingdom’s peace began to shatter after the Great Fire in the capital.

The Menes Church Order, which had produced a Saint candidate, saw its influence grow slightly, but since Lacey was also gaining fame in the Empire, it wasn’t a major issue at the time.

The internal conflicts within the Holy Kingdom began to surface after that.

Lacey’s speech at the funeral, advocating for the extermination of beastmen, ironically became the catalyst for the schisms between the church orders.

The Elpinel and Menes Church Orders agreed with her, but some orders criticized her stance as overly dogmatic and warlike.

Of course, the other orders weren’t unaware of Lacey’s radical beliefs.

One of the reasons she remained a Saint candidate and didn’t ascend to the position of Saint was precisely because of those beliefs.

However, while they had previously only harbored silent concerns, her speech sparked outright criticism and debate.

The Menes Church Order argued that exterminating beastmen was only natural.

The Astraea Church Order countered, asking if it was truly just to wipe out even their young.

The Shaulite Church Order criticized the idea, warning that war would lead to many lives lost, while the Bølberg Church Order mocked them as cowards afraid of glory.

Only the Bimos Church Order remained silent.

Given that the Eleven Gods Faith was a patchwork of conflicting doctrines, such clashes were inevitable.

Until now, mutual understanding and compromise had minimized these conflicts… but when the symbolic leader of the most powerful church order advocated uncompromising extremism, conflict became inevitable.

“Still, at that time, the voices of those beastmen-loving fools weren’t too loud. However… the losses at the Einfeld battlefield became a problem.”

Einfeld.

The battle where Leopold led the Empire’s 3rd Legion to annihilate tens of thousands of undead monsters.

Lacey had also rallied the Holy Legion to participate in the undead extermination.

At the time, the church orders were reluctant to get involved, seeing it as part of the Empire’s power struggles, so the Holy Legion was mostly composed of Elpinel Church Order forces.

The battle was ultimately won, and Lacey and Leopold’s standing in the Empire rose as a result…

But the Elpinel Church Order, having lost much of its strength, could no longer maintain its former prestige.

With the Holy Kingdom’s top church order weakened, the other orders pounced like wolves scenting opportunity.

Even the Menes Church Order, which had aligned with Elpinel on beastmen extermination, began to distance itself.

If Elpinel weakened, their own Saint candidate’s chances of becoming Saint would rise.

“And then… the trial and execution of Archbishop Trier, and the establishment of the Grand Diocese, sealed the deal.”

The ambush and execution of Archbishop Trier was the right move.

Even the other church orders agreed. A priest who had colluded with a witch and fallen into corruption was a grave sin that any church order would condemn.

The problem was that Archbishop Trier belonged to the Elpinel Church Order.

The only church order to have a corrupt priest officially exposed. Their standing was bound to fall.

The deaths of the covert martyr apostles they had secretly dispatched also fueled suspicion toward Elpinel.

Had Archbishop Trier not been exposed, all the cardinals might have been under suspicion… but with his exposure, the arrows of doubt naturally focused on Elpinel.

By that point, the Elpinel Church Order had already lost enough authority to be overshadowed by stronger orders like the Shaulite Church Order.

The final blow came with Lacey’s establishment of the Grand Diocese.

To the increasingly authoritarian church hierarchy, this was tantamount to rebellion.

Especially since the person leading this audacious act was Elpinel’s own Saint candidate, who was already controversial.

The news reportedly caused one of Elpinel’s cardinals to clutch his chest and collapse.

With the Elpinel Church Order, once the Holy Kingdom’s foremost authority, losing its power and prestige, the pent-up desires of the other church orders erupted.

The church orders began forming factions and engaging in open conflict.

The Holy Kingdom teetered on the brink of fragmentation, and the weakened Elpinel Church Order could do nothing to stop it.

And that was the current state of the Holy Kingdom.