A Genius Boy Who Was Exiled From His Family Home for “Not Being Able To Use Magic” Becomes a Witch’s Apprentice and Masters All Magic in the Right Way. This Is How You Use Your Magic, You Know?

Chapter 201. Inside The Church

──To destroy the church, you say.

That’s quite an extravagant claim.

However, there are also questions. Hermes was the first to voice them openly.

“The church is currently divided, right? So what do you mean by ‘destroy’?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard from Trakia? …Well, it’s a hassle, but I suppose now’s a good time to explain.”

In response, Laila furrowed her brows for a moment but then calmly began to speak.

She started her explanation. ──About the power structure of the church.

“…First, let’s start with the fundamental premise. The church, originally──the relationship between the Pope and the archbishops has always been terrible.”

With a somewhat surprising beginning.

“!”

“Let me make this clear, this isn’t just for this generation. It’s been like this for generations──no, that’s not quite accurate. From the very beginning… ever since the position of Pope was established.”

“…Since it was established?”

Yet another surprising piece of information. What Laila’s words implied was, in short:

“The position of Pope… didn’t originally exist, is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, that’s right. Until about a hundred years ago, the top of the church was… the four archbishops.”

The history of the church as an organization is terrifyingly ancient.

It was established during the founding of the nation as an organization to manage the Bloodline Magic involved in the nation’s creation. It was run by a council of four archbishops at its peak.

Given its long history, its power and authority were immense. The decisions of the archbishops had such overwhelming influence that they reverberated across the entire nation.

──Even the royal family, at times, could not oppose them.

Thus, about a hundred years ago.

Fearing that the growing authority of the church might upset the balance of power with the royal family, the king at the time initiated a major project to adjust this.

And so, the position of Pope was created.

Naturally, the Pope’s position was above that of the archbishops. Additionally, the appointment authority was held not by the church but by the royal family, and by convention and practicality, relatives of the king were placed in that position. Of course, they also held the appropriate decision-making and veto powers.

──In other words, it was a position created to clearly establish that the royal family was above the church.

Such a position would naturally have been unacceptable to the archbishops of the time… but the fact that it was pushed through suggests that the king of that era was quite the remarkable figure.

In any case, this is how the position of Pope came to be.

And of course, the archbishops had no reason to feel favorably toward someone in such a position. From then on──in some generations, there were skirmishes between the Pope and the archbishops; in others, the archbishops turned the Pope into a puppet; and in yet others, the opposite occurred.

The common thread was… the periods where they worked together harmoniously were overwhelmingly shorter than the periods where they did not.

“…I see. That certainly explains why they wouldn’t get along.”

“Right?”

Nods of understanding came from Hermes and the rest of the Third Princess faction.

Moreover──taking the church’s power structure into account, the subsequent events also began to make sense.

Laila opened her mouth.

“──And then, there’s the recent coup d’état to seize power.”

“…Yes.”

Indeed. Given such a history, the archbishops of the church… naturally would not have a favorable impression of the royal family.

And in such a situation, a coup d’état──a power struggle within the royal family, a shake-up in the power structure──occurred.

──It would not be strange for them to take advantage of this to abolish the Pope… and ultimately aim for complete control of the kingdom.

“…So that’s the background.”

With this much explained, the general situation could be inferred.

“Exactly as you’re thinking. ──Due to the chaos in the royal capital, the current Pope and archbishops, who had barely maintained a cooperative relationship, have now completely split. We’ve secured the headquarters, but their influence is greater, so many of the church’s personnel… especially the influential ones, have gone over to their side.”

After explaining the general flow of events, which matched their predictions, the Second Princess Laila took a breath──and then, with a slightly stronger tone, continued.

“As a result, to replace the lost church headquarters, they’ve begun to establish a new stronghold in the north──Archbishop Johann has moved to fully control the northern region.”

“…!”

…So that’s how it connects.

At this information, many in the Third Princess faction held their breath.

And then.

Even if it was a result, considering this information… it meant that they had perfectly thwarted Archbishop Johann’s plans… undoubtedly a key strategy of the archbishop faction.

“The archbishop faction is now cornered.”

With that, Laila explained the drastically changed situation.

“Honestly, we were at a disadvantage at this point, so this has been a great help. …Of course, we had a plan to turn things around, but──we can’t let this opportunity slip. So,”

And then, once again.

“──Let’s join hands. Together… let’s take this chance to wipe out the old church’s authority, which is a nuisance to both of us.”

She made her request.

“…………”

After a brief silence fell over the Third Princess faction.

“…There are a few things I’d like to confirm, Second Princess.”

“Go ahead.”

It seemed they had decided this was not something to leave to the children.

Jurgen spoke up. After confirming Laila’s nod, he continued.

“We understand your request. For us as well, the church is undoubtedly an enemy we must eventually defeat for our own goals. ──However…”

His sharp, intelligent blue eyes──even carrying a hint of coldness──asked.

“…There’s no need for us to cooperate with you at this point. As things stand, it would be more beneficial for us to simply watch you and the archbishops destroy each other.”

“──!”

“Wait, Jurgen──!”

At his overly cold judgment.

Liliana couldn’t help but raise her voice… but quickly fell silent.

She must have realized immediately… that this was not the place for personal feelings.

Jurgen, seemingly acknowledging Liliana’s understanding, gave a slight smile before turning back to Laila.

“Our ultimate goal is the recapture of the royal capital. If you’re busy with internal conflicts within the church, that’s even better for us. We’d be better off focusing on gathering forces for the recapture──”

“──Then, what if we also help you with that ‘gathering of forces’?”

──However.

As if she had anticipated this rebuttal, she countered.

“…Oh?”

“I know we’re in the position of asking for your cooperation. So it’s only natural that we’d prepare a suitable offering. …The forces you’re counting on for the recapture are the neutral nobles, right?”

She presented her final condition.

“──Those ‘neutral nobles’ will also participate in this campaign to eliminate the old church faction.”

“Huh──”

“!”

“…I see.”

Liliana and the others were shocked… but Jurgen, in contrast, showed a look of understanding.

It seemed he had some idea of what was coming. Noticing the difference in reactions, Laila continued.

“Trakia seems to have figured it out. That’s right, the neutral nobles… or rather, the family that leads them, has never cooperated with any specific royal family before. ──But they have sworn loyalty to the royal family itself, and as nobles, they fulfill their duty to respond to national crises. They’re not just opportunists, that family.”

In other words.

“They won’t stand by and let the archbishop faction, who have openly turned against the royal family, go unchecked. They’ve already judged this to be a clear national crisis and have agreed to cooperate with us in the campaign.”

…Of course.

The time Hermes and the others had spent dealing with Johann was by no means short. During that period, the other factions had also been making significant moves in response to the situation.

Understanding this, Jurgen asked.

“…So, in other words?”

“Yes. Of course, this is contingent on your cooperation… but we’ll also facilitate your connection with the neutral nobles.”

“──”

“After the campaign, we’ll be enemies again. But aside from that, we promise not to interfere.”

In summary… the terms of the deal they were offering were as follows.

What we would provide: cooperation in the campaign to eliminate the archbishop faction.

What they would provide: a promise not to oppose the Second Princess faction during that time, and a pathway to the neutral nobles, a force we desire.

For a moment, everyone in the Third Princess faction pondered.

Then──Hermes and Jurgen exchanged glances, confirming that they were on the same page, and signaled to Liliana.

With that… Liliana, showing complex emotions toward her sister… but still, as the Third Princess, made this declaration.

“…We’ll need some time to consider.”

A reasonable request, to which Laila nodded as if she had expected it.

“I didn’t expect an immediate decision, of course. But the deadline is tomorrow. We’re currently preparing for a full-scale assault at a rapid pace, so we can’t wait any longer than that. …And before that…”

After firmly setting the deadline… she added one last thing.

“As another factor for your decision, you’ll meet someone now. The current Pope, and the second consort of the Eustia Kingdom.”

Given everything that had been discussed, this was a natural request.

However, it came with yet another surprise.

“──In other words, my mother has already prepared for an audience… so come with me.”