The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

EP7. At the End of Darkness

Why does the Pope call himself?

Ainzel felt a strange sense of unease. It was as if he was reminded of the time when he had accepted the invitation of Duke Ruderan without even knowing why he had been called.

However, there was no reason to refuse. He had no current mission, and he had been on the battlefield, so he had been granted a few months of rest. It would have been a serious impertinence to refuse the invitation sent to him when he had nothing to do. Above all, he had simply been lucky enough to catch the weakness of the duke and the emperor, and he did not have the power to refuse the Pope’s invitation.

Ainzel got dressed. He put on the white robes preferred by priests, and he stroked his chin as he prepared to go out. He had an ominous feeling, but he got into the carriage anyway.

As we waited, enduring the carriage’s bumps, the Vatican soon came into view.

Unlike the saints, who created a separate sanctuary on the outskirts of the capital and made it their own territory, the Pope created the Papal See in the center of the imperial capital.

The saint reigns alone, separated from the secular world.

The Pope actively cooperates in worldly affairs.

That was the will of the saint and the Pope, who had only chosen their own residence.

Compared to the Vatican, which could be reached by simply driving along a well-maintained road, the Holy Land was literally an inviolable area.

Unlike the buildings in the Holy Land, which were made entirely of pure white to reflect that image, the Vatican was a white building decorated with all sorts of colorful decorations.

Ainzel got out of the carriage and started climbing the steps of the Vatican.

When I climbed all the stairs and entered the building, the ceiling was covered with paintings related to gods, and pictures and sculptures related to gods were placed here and there.

Then a priest approached Ainzel and said:

“Sir, have you come to meet the Pope?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Then you may follow me. The Pope is very much looking forward to meeting you, warrior.”

“Meeting me? I’m not that great of a person.”

“No, isn’t the warrior an apostle of God? It is not strange that the Pope, who is closest to God, blesses an apostle of God.”

“…yes.”

Rather than asking whether the saint was closer to God, Ainzel chose to just ignore the issue. There was no need to create conflict, as common sense would suggest.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to get close to the saint who was performing the ceremony to select the warrior, but the Pope is very fond of the warrior who has made great contributions to defeating the enemies of God. Not only have you dealt a significant blow to the disasters of the continent, but you have also dealt a significant blow to the Demon King’s forces.”

“I was just lucky.”

“Well, didn’t the hero achieve such results with just his own strategy? Rather, it would be the saint and the paladins who were lucky. The hero killed the legion commander and took over the obviously weakened fortress after learning the terrain in advance, so he achieved the feat.”

Ainzel stared at the priest. It seemed that the Vatican did not look kindly on the saint.

The priest noticed the look in her eyes and cleared his throat before speaking.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to insult the saint. I just meant that the saint was a saint, but the warrior did something even more amazing.”

Ainzel snorted inwardly. He was more powerful? No matter how much he thought about it, it was obvious that the Paladin, who had clearly achieved results, was superior to himself, who had only reduced the number of enemies a little and had run away without gaining any benefit. Ridiculous flattery was not to his taste.

“…Yes, I see.”

But even though he thought that way, the words he spoke were simply affirmative.

“Hahaha… Here, here, the Pope is waiting.”

Ainzel opened the door, which was decorated with ornate patterns.

“Ah! Nice to meet you, warrior.”

Ainzel bowed his head slightly in greeting to the man who greeted him with a smile.

“This is Ainzel.”

The Pope naturally seated Ainzel. Then he had a priest serve him tea.

“It’s good to see you like this. I’ve always been curious about the warrior.”

Ainzel smiled outwardly and nodded obediently. The Pope showed him the decorations in his room and said,

“How is it?”

“…Beautiful. It’s related to religion.”

“Yes. There was a time when all the arts existed for God, and the best of them are here. The location of the Pope’s residence has changed many times, but the history of the Pope and the Order has been preserved in this way. Even when the Pope suffered the humiliation of being driven out of the Empire.”

Ainzel listened to those words quietly.

“…Do you know what that means?”

“History, you know.”

“That’s right. The history of our Vatican is in line with the history of the religious order. On the other hand, the saints, or saints, are less than a third of the history of the Vatican. And yet we are treated like stones rolled from the empire.”

“That means….”

“To be honest, I have no intention of being hostile to the saint. But do you think it makes sense that the Holy See, with its long history and over a hundred years since it returned to the Empire, is still treated like an untouched stone?”

“So, what you’re saying is that you want me to help you with that part.”

“That’s right. The Crusaders are currently on the front lines, fighting more fiercely than anyone else. But the Paladins have taken all the support by taking the fortress. They don’t even realize how fierce the fighting was, and they’re blinded by the achievements they see before their eyes.”

“…I see. I understand the situation.”

“In fact, we are not the biggest victims. The Paladins stole the achievements from you, the warrior, the worst of all. My goodness, you have already taken care of the legion commander, but you stole everything that was lost due to bad luck and retreated, and it is not good to act so arrogantly. On the surface, you were trying to help, but in the end, you only gained achievements and fame from an easy mission.”

“Hmm… So, what do you want me to do?”

“It’s simple. I won’t necessarily tell you to fight the saint. The saint is one of the leaders of the sect, so I’ll let her remain in the empire and send a promising priest from the Vatican in her place. In the first place, isn’t it absurd for a leader of a religion to gather together and act together in a place where promising candidates are coming from?”

Ainzel thought for a moment. It was clear that the Pope and his followers did not look kindly on the saint. However, deep down, he also thought that what he said was true.

He realized his helplessness when he saw the Paladins so easily take over the fortress he had failed to capture.

In that situation, honestly, although it was reassuring to have Beatrice by my side, I even thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be more helpful for her to be active as the leader of the sect rather than being tied down by someone like me?’

Ainzel could not help but hesitate at the Pope’s words.

“Oh, of course, you don’t have to say that to the saint in front of her. If I tell you about the situation in which the saint is doing this, and you, warrior, just agree with it, it will naturally create an opportunity for you and the Vatican to become closer, and the saint will also move to a position where she can be of greater help to humanity.”

“…okay.”

Ainzel spoke with a trembling voice. He knew rationally that what he said was right. However, he had never thought that he and Beatrice would be separated and move completely separately.

“Of course, you may have grown attached to the saintess after spending a long time with her. However, I don’t think that the saintess being with you is of much help to me. The names of the paladins are more popular than yours, who accomplished most of the fortress conquests, and the name of the saintess who used miracles is more popular than yours, who devised the strategy. Doesn’t that make sense?”

Ainzel bit his lip.

“Of course, you don’t have to say it right now. If you don’t like it, you can refuse. I’m just following God’s will and only interested in getting closer to you, Warrior.”

Ainzel had no time to respond to what the Pope said.

“I just hope that next time we meet, you’ll make a good decision for yourself.”

Ainzel nodded to the Pope’s words and then walked out of the Vatican.

It was dizzying. This situation where things I hadn’t thought of and unexpected situations suddenly appeared.

It wasn’t a matter of life or death, but perhaps it was something more serious than that.

Ainzel’s expression hardened.