"…"
In the carriage heading to the mansion of the next faction nobleman, Marquis Cerdric remained silent with a pale face.
Well, I guess it's only natural since I saw firsthand what would happen if I forced Marial to do something she didn't like. He was probably praising himself for not doing something like that when they met yesterday.
…and maybe he's praying that the greetings scheduled for tomorrow at the temple and the royal palace will end safely, at least to the extent that he won't have any trouble.
After that, the meeting went off without any problems. And for some reason, the nobles who had her son present never mentioned anything about Marial's marriage or engagement.
This is related to the fact that after the "Mysterious Explosion at the Count's Mansion", Marquis Selidrak took one of his horseback guards into the shadows and talked to him about something, and then the horseback rode off somewhere at full speed. I don't know if there is. Yeah.
And the next day.
Today is a double header, with the temple in the morning and the royal palace in the afternoon.
No, the opponent team changes, so it's an irregular double header. And not at home, but away.
As a game, the sum of everyone's interests is zero, that is, the amount of pie that can be shared is not fixed, so it is not a zero-sum game but a non-zero-sum game.
…in other words, there are choices that make everyone happy, and there are choices that make everyone unhappy. However, excluding Marial.
Yeah, it's unfair to compare it to a game, but Marial is not a player, but a staff member of the game management company, so she can't lose.
That's why the royal palace takes a backseat.
Yesterday, we visited the nobles of the faction, so today we will go to the temple first, so that we can say, "We started from the lower ranks, and went to the most prestigious place last."
On the other hand, it can be said that the temple was given priority over the royal palace, which shows that Marquis Cerdric had put all his wisdom into it.
Normally, there would be no need to worry about such things, but when it comes to being the "beloved child of a goddess", there are probably various considerations, power relationships, and difficult and troublesome things. When it comes to working adults, especially those in middle management positions, there are many things to do…
That's why we arrived at the temple.
The question is, what is the position of a beloved child in the eyes of the temple?
After all, she is just a small girl who has been favored by the goddess, and is she treated as lower than a priest.
Or is she in a higher position than the priests, who are just ordinary humans, following goddesses and angels?
And how far does the fact that Marial is a noble affect such a temple-like ranking?
I only have experience with goddesses and angels, so I don't know anything about beloved children. Marial didn't know beloved child either, so she didn't seem to know.
…or rather, the people at the temple probably don't know what to do either. It's probably an SSR special super rare card that has never appeared before.
Now then, what will happen…?
Wow!
All the members of the temple lined up to welcome us…
So, beloved child Marial was an Ultra Legend…?
"Welcome, thank you for coming. All of us at the temple welcome you with all our heart…"
It seems that the person who guided me to this room was one of the bishops. And now the archbishop is giving the welcome words. Here in the capital, I mean in this country, the highest-ranking religious person.
Popes and cardinals used to exist only in the Holy Kingdom of Rueda, but now that the Holy Country has fallen and disappeared, it seems they no longer exist anywhere.
Well, even if some country's temple were to take on a new pope from their own country, no one would do anything about it. If they were to accept something like that, they would definitely choose to appoint someone from their own country as the pope.
But, after witnessing the destruction of the holy country and the destruction of the priests…and here I am, with Celestine behind me.
As expected, the temple must have fairly accurate information regarding that incident.
Well, I can't do anything bad…
For that reason, it seems that now the archbishops of each country are working side by side and getting along equally.
…on the surface.
Of course, there are differences in the relationship between temples and the royal palace in each country, political influence, financial strength, and even the power of the countries themselves, so they are not truly equal. There may be some who are burning with ambition to take the seat.
But, well, it seems that there aren't many truly evil priests.
After all, this is a world where the goddess actually exists and divine punishment is actually dropped…
Then, a little over four years ago, a country was destroyed and the priests of that country were in a state of destruction…or rather, just the other day, a new divine punishment fell on them! And now that the person in question has arrived, there's no way they're planning something strange. …Unless you're trying to pick a fight with the goddess.
Therefore, it is impossible that the mastermind behind the attack on that orphan and Layette-chan was someone affiliated with the temple. Those involved in the temple should be fully aware of the dangers of picking a fight with the messenger.
Therefore, the culprit is either someone who only has half-baked information, someone who doesn't properly understand what a messenger is, or someone who thinks it's a fake and wants to make a profit by using it. There is a high possibility that it is.
…well, it's possible that he's just an idiot.
Then, the casual conversation continued for a while…
"What do you think, Viscount Reifel? You will become the shrine maiden of our temple and serve Celestine together with us…"
It's come, It’s come…
And, of course, Marial's reply was…
"No, the Goddess did not help me to become a shrine maiden. She wanted to prevent the Viscount Reifel family from falling into the hands of villains, and for me, the legitimate successor, to protect my house, territory, and people. She lent her strength to help us. However, if I neglected the management of my territory in order to become a shrine maiden, I would be missing the point and betraying the will of the goddess…"
Yeah, that's the perfect answer. As a priest, he cannot deny this.
And, as expected, the archbishop was unable to refute and remained silent.
Marial says "Goddess" in conversation, but never "Lady Celestine". If she say that, she'd be lying.
The "goddess" Marial refers to is me, so as long as she says so, it's not a lie. …for Marial.
After that, she was offered various offers, such as "becoming an honorary shrine maiden", "just having my name on the list", and "even just for festivals", but she declined all of them.
Well, if you become a shrine maiden even if only in form, your existence will be taken advantage of, and you will end up in a hierarchical relationship with the archbishop and bishops. As things stand now, even though she is one of Celestine's followers, she is just the head of an ordinary noble family, so it doesn't mean she has to follow orders from the temple.
The only things nobles follow are "orders that are understandable and not unreasonable" from His Majesty the King and their own beliefs.
No matter how much an order comes from His Majesty the King, if it is a forced order that you cannot accept, you will refuse it, ask for help from the nobles of your faction, ask for cooperation from the large merchants you are close to, and so on. It seems certain.
It is a faction for that purpose, and it seems that they interact with merchants on a daily basis.
Well, this country is not originally a dictatorship of the king, and many of the important policies are decided by a council of great nobles, and merchants have a fairly strong say, so the political situation seems to be a little different from other countries.
That's why our party quickly withdrew, leaving behind the archbishop's sullen and resentful face.
Marquis Cerdric didn't say much, probably because he wasn't very good at things related to temples, but Marial dealt with it well as per the prior arrangement, so there was no problem.
Now, next is the last thing left, the royal palace. Probably the most troublesome part.
It seems that the king of this country has less authority compared to other countries. So, rather than being a king, he is simply a noble who has the most power, or a position that exists because it was necessary to have someone in the same position as the king in other countries when negotiating with other countries…. In any case, it seems that his position is a little different from the kings of other countries. In the past, it was probably a normal kingdom, but now it seems like that.
…is it easier to do it if you have less authority?
No, no, that's usually the case, and I'm sure I'll grab an opportunity like this with all my might. In order to use it as a stepping stone to strengthen my authority even a little…
So, we went back to the Marquis' residence and had lunch.
After that, I took a leisurely meal break and then headed to the royal palace…
Author's Note
"Wonder Festival 2019 Winter" will be held at Makuhari Messe on Sunday, February 10th! (^^)/
It's like a Comiket for garage kits (self-produced models and figures).
Therefore, Komino Kobo will be selling "Average Ability" Mile figures (15 pieces) and "Potion" Kaoru figures (challenging a new method using 3D printers. Only 5 pieces as this is an experimental work).
Arrigo Empire specialty products, "Familiar dolls with bad eyes", and pre-painted exhibits are also in preparation! (^^)/
There are also ultra mechas (Space Mummy, Inazuma, Mackie 1-3, Tuck Falcon, and many others). (^^)/