Water Magician

TLN: Please read my translations at tseirptranslations.com, I did not give permission to any site to host my translations. 

Author’s note:

List of Western Church ranks:

Pope – 1

Cardinals – 12

Archbishops – 24

Bishops – Many, originally 48

Abbots – A lot, originally 48, equivalent to Bishops

Priests – A ton

Editor: Tseirp

The day before the Pope’s inauguration.

The entire Holy Capital was bustling and glamorous.

But that wasn’t the case in some places.

The Papal Palace was one of them.

Of course, tomorrow’s inauguration itself would be held at the Papal Palace.

In addition to the delegation from the Central Countries, guests from the Dark Continent would be there.

The main inauguration ceremony was to be held in a huge amphitheater, reminiscent of a Colosseum, on the grounds of the Papal Palace.

And many of the clergy who work in the Papal Palace were vigorously decorating it.

The carpenters and masons of the Holy Capital had already finished their preparations, laying out the carpets, arranging the chairs, and so on.

The expressions on the faces of the clergymen engaged in the work were very contented.

It’s not surprising.

The inauguration of the Pope would be held during their time in the Papal Palace.

Moreover, it was the inauguration of the 100th Pope!

What luck.

There was no one in the Western Church who was not pleased with this good fortune.

Yes, normally.

A room on the third floor, across the courtyard of the Papal Palace.

There were four bishops there.

They are called the ‘Four Bishops of the Pope’.

Bishop Abelardo, Bishop Brigitta, Bishop Cesare, and Bishop Dionisi.

Though not just any bishops.

These are bishops who, by order of the Pope, lead assassination squads that eliminate by force those who are deemed obstacles.

The four are feared by many church officials.

However, when they are inside the Papal Palace, they rarely engage in any operation.

They are always clad in a calm expression and atmosphere.

But that wasn’t the case today.

Bang.

Dionisi banged on the desk.

“Why…?”

He grunted in chagrin.

“We can’t help it, it’s the order of His Holiness the Pope.”

Abelardo’s expression was not cheerful as he said that.

The expression on his face also showed that he was dissatisfied with the situation.

“Rather than His Holiness, more like Sacharias’, you mean?”

Gritting her teeth, Brigitta grunted.

It was a very unusual sight for Brigitta, who was the least expressive of the group.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m definitely wiping off my disgrace. I’m going to kill Ryo today.”

This time, Cesare spoke without changing his expression the most among the four.

“No, we’ve been instructed to refrain from doing that…”

Abelardo said with a sigh.

“If I don’t defeat him, I won’t be able to move on.”

In Cesare’s mind, the matter had already been set in stone.

Tonight, he would kill ‘Ryo, the magician’ of the Kingdom’s delegation.

Knowing full well what would happen if he did that.

Negotiations between the Theocracy and the Central Countries breaking down… would be the least of the aftermath.

Even the inauguration of the Pope tomorrow would not go smoothly if he did.

From the perspective of the four bishops, who are supposed to devote their entire allegiance to the Pope, such a thing should not happen.

It has never happened before, and will never happen… customarily.

“To think His Holiness the Pope was Sacharias’ puppet…”

Dionisi’s muttering said it all.

They had found out.

The subject to whom they had devoted all their loyalty was in fact a puppet….

No, they don’t know for certain if it was a ‘puppet’ or not.

But whether he was or not didn’t change a thing.

He was an existence undeserving of their loyalty.

What happens to people when what they believe in from the bottom of their hearts falls apart?

First, they act in ways that are incomprehensible to an onlooker.

It may be an aggressive behavior of hurting someone.

It may be a defensive action of retreating to one’s room.

It may be an act of abandoning everything, shutting down all manner of thought…

No one can tell.

Some will be able to get back on their feet, while others will never be able to pull themselves back together.

However, even for those who can get back on their feet, it usually takes some time.

It’s nothing to be ashamed of.

It’s just what it means to be human.

These four bishops were in exactly such a situation.

They found out last night.

That the current Pope is a puppet of Cardinal Sacharias. At the very least, he’s not human…

Of course, it was completely accidental.

What happened last night?

“What’s the meaning of this, Sacharias?”

Abelardo asked in a fiery tone of voice.

Forgoing his calm demeanor and grabbed him by the collar.

“Bishop Abelardo, I am a cardinal. Your superior, so to speak.”

“Shut the fuck up!”

Abelardo yelled at Sacharias, who said smiling.

The other three bishops were speechless.

In front of them was the Pope, lying in bed.

The Pope was clearly not a normal human being.

However, when Sacharias placed a box, which seemed to be an alchemy tool, on the Pope’s chest and channeled magic power through it, he began to move.

The four of them witnessed that moment.

The Pope’s chest began to move up and down, and his skin color gradually began to change from green to white.

Natually, they had never heard of a green-skinned human…

“Now that you’ve seen it, it can’t be helped. Meet His Holiness, the 100th Pope.”

Sacharias smiled and said in a rather refreshing manner.

“You wretched…”

Abelardo couldn’t complete his sentence.

It is well known that Cardinal Sacharias is one of the foremost alchemists of his time.

To begin with, the fusion magic brooches used by the four bishops and the bracelets that enable concealment were all made by Sacharias.

His talent as an alchemist is nothing short of amazing.

Based on that premise, it was not difficult to assume that the green-skinned Pope in front of them was something that Sacharias had created through alchemy.

But Abelardo had his doubts.

The would-be 100th pope must have existed as a human being.

Abelardo once spoke to the Pope when he was still a bishop.

That was when Abelardo was still a deacon.

He remembered him as a very intelligent bishop.

And he was nothing like the inhuman figure lying in front of him.

Meaning….

“What about the real Pope?”

Abelardo wondered if the real one might be somewhere, or perhaps the original source of this green-skinned one.

“This is the real Pope, isn’t it?”

“Cut the crap!”

Sacharias answered, and Abelardo denied it.

Sacharias replied with a sigh.

“He doesn’t exist anymore.”

Those words became the decisive blow.

Abelardo, like the other three, fell silent.

“I know why you have come to visit His Holiness the Pope at this hour. You probably want to get back at the magician of the Kingdom delegation or something along those lines, right? But let me make it clear. You can’t do that. Take it as the words of the Pope… or even higher than the Pope, the Angel’s. You’re forbidden from laying your hands on the delegation.”

“Sacharias said last night that those were the words of an Angel…”

Abelardo muttered.

“I bet that’s a lie!”

Dionisi exclaimed.

“Maybe it is. Maybe so, but aren’t you curious?”

“No one but His Holiness the Pope has ever spoken to an angel.”

Abelardo asked, and Brigitta said in a low voice.

Yeah… that is a well-known fact among the clergy of the Western Church.

No one, except the Pope, has ever spoken to an angel.

On the contrary, the only person the angels talk to is the Pope.

Of course, they do not always talk to him.

It is said that it only happened to a few Popes during their reign.

With exceptions.

Some, like founder New-sama, was said to have spoken to angels almost all the time…

But that’s mostly a legend.

“There’s no way to know for sure.”

It was Cesare who muttered.

“Indeed…”

Abelardo agreed.

“No, there is.”

But Brigitta looked up and said.

All three of them looked at Brigitta.

“Whenever His Holiness the Pope spoke with an angel, he always had something in his hand…”

“The Papal Scepter!”

Brigitta discerned, and Abelardo answered.

There is a staff that the Pope always carries during his reign.

It is about a meter long.

With a white jewel on the tip. No one knows exactly what that jewel is.

It is said that the Papal Scepter was created by Founder New-sama, and has been passed down to successive generations of Popes.

And it is forbidden for anyone other than the Pope to touch it.

There is another papal scepter that is over two meters long, but it is not called the ‘Papal Scepter’ because it is made anew each time a new pope takes over…

It is called, the ‘Combat Staff’, a rather disturbing name.

Most clergy don’t even know why it’s called that anymore.

“Of course, but doesn’t His Holiness the Pope carry that with him all the time?”

“Not all the time.”

“He doesn’t carry it with him when he bathes.”

“At which point, it is placed on the pedestal in his office.”

Dionisi questioned, Brigitta arrived at the answer, Cesare answered, and Abelardo added.

“But even if we hold it, it doesn’t necessarily mean we will hear the angel, does it?”

“We really just might get to talk to the angel if we wield the Papal Scepter.”

“Except there’s no way to know for sure.”

“It has always been a legend of the Papal Scepter, so it’s the most likely possibility.”

There was no other option.

The pope’s ablution was to take place at 9:00 a.m..

The four bishops went to the pope’s office at that time.

In the office, two deacons were cleaning.

A normal routine.

Of course, there are many important things in the office, but they never go missing.

No one in the papacy would do such a shameless thing.

Everyone lived their lives earnestly.

The two deacons, who were cleaning the Pope’s office as usual, were surprised to see the people who entered.

Of course, they were familiar with the Pope’s four bishops.

“Uh, bishops…”

Both of them bowed hurriedly.

“We appreciate your efforts in cleaning the place. We will be using the room for a bit. And we already got permission from His Holiness.”

Abelardo announced.

The two deacons left the room without question.

Since it came directly from the ‘Pope’s four bishops’.

There was no reason to doubt them.

After confirming that the two had left, the four gathered around the Papal Scepter.

“Just touching this is a grave sin…”

Even Dionisi’s voice was trembling.

It was only natural.

To touch that staff was to stand up to the authority of the Pope.

It also signified a decisive dissolution of what they have believed until now.

However…

“There’s no other option. I need to know about the real Pope.”

Abelardo’s words did not waver.

He said it clearly.

Effectively dispelling the hesitation of the other three.

They nodded.

All four touched the Papal Scepter at the same time.

The impression was that their minds connected directly to somewhere else.

“Angel-sama.”

Abelardo said.

No response.

“Please answer me, Angel-sama.”

Abelardo said again.

Then…

“Who is that?”

A voice rang directly into the heads of the four.

Instinctively, all four got down on one knee. Firmly holding on to the scepter.

“Angel-sama, we are the bishops, Abelardo, Brigitta, Cesare, and Dionisi.”

Abelardo answered.

“So you are not Sacharias. Then, what do you want?”

The fact that the name ‘Sacharias’ was included in the words of the being that seemed to be an angel was quite a shock to the four of them.

At least, Sacharias had gotten to the point where this supposedly angelic being knew his name.

But even so, there was something they must confirm.

“Yes. We are called the four bishops of the Pope, directly under His Holiness the Pope. However, we learned that the one we call Pope is not the real Pope. And this has greatly shaken our faith. Do you know about this, Angel-sama?”

“I know that he is not human.”

All four of them let out a small sigh at the words of the being they thought was an angel.

But the next words startled them.

“That’s something I had Sacharias make at my behest.”

“What…”

Abelardo exclaimed.

The other three were naturally speechless.

For a good thirty seconds, no one could utter a word.

“To what end, Angel-sama…?”

“That’s something you don’t need to know.”

The angel’s words struck the four of them heavily.

“My apologies.”

The words came out of their mouths reflexively.

“I command you. You shall assist Sacharias. Consider his words as my words.”

With these words, the angelic being left.

The minds of the four seemed to return to the Pope’s office from wherever else they had been.

“Were you able to speak to Angel-sama?”

The four of them hurriedly turned in the direction from which the voice had come.

Lo and behold…

“Sacharias…”

Abelardo uttered.

“Didn’t the angel tell you to do as I say?”

Sacharias said with his usual smile.

“Yeah, he did.”

Abelardo responded. Then he quickly continued.

“But I refuse.”

Sacharias tilted his head and asked.

“Why?”

“I don’t trust you. What’s to say that the being we spoke to just now wasn’t some kind of hoax you prepared?”

“What nonsense…”

Abelardo said, and the other three nodded.

Seeing this, for the first time, Sacharias’s expression twisted and distorted, and he said as if he was about to gag.

Then, without saying a word, he flicked the ring on his middle finger with his thumb.

At that moment, the bodies of the four bishops collapsed to the floor.

“W-What’s this…”

“My body…”

“I can’t move…”

“What did you do?”

Dionisi, Brigitta, Cesare, and Abelardo… unable to resist, couldn’t exert any strength in their bodies whatsoever.

They didn’t even understand what had just happened.

“The principle behind that Papal Scepter is the amplification of vibrations. That’s what makes it possible to have a conversation with an angel. The whole time you were talking to the angel, incredible vibrations were running through your bodies. And what I did now was amplify it. Well, I know it probably sounds like gibberish to you. I will have you all buried in the amphitheater in a state of suspended animation. Then you can be absorbed by the angel at the inauguration tomorrow.”

“What are you talking about, you bastard…”

“Oh, you four foolish bishops. You don’t need to know.”

TLN: Please read my translations at tseirptranslations.com, I did not give permission to any site to host my translations. 

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