Chapter 174 The Pope

April 2, 2031 8:00

　Leaving the inn with a group of ten, we headed towards the West Gate. Along the way, we unexpectedly encountered someone on the road. It was the Pope, dressed in lavish ceremonial attire and carrying an impressive sword at his waist.

“Marth! Thank you! For building such splendid city walls! There's one thing I'm curious about, though – what's the emblem engraved on those walls?"

　The Pope spoke to me in a light tone.

"In case there were concerns that the scenery might be spoiled by making the city walls too tall, I added an emblem so that I can be identified as the creator. That emblem represents lightning, and I plan to adopt it as the crest for my noble family when I become its head in the future."

　Looking at the sword the Pope is wielding, he says

"Right. Defense is more important than scenery. And that crest is quite novel and has good taste... Is Marth interested in this sword from all along?"

　The Pope noticed my gaze, he pulled out his sword and showed it to me. Upon seeing this, Dominique chimed in.

"Maybe it is..."

"That's right... it's the sword my master used. I've never seen a sword like this before. And as long as I keep holding this, no matter what happens, I swear I will protect peace of the Holy Kingdom of Diadora. .”

　Saying that, he unsheathed the sword out of its scabbard. It was well-maintained and a very beautiful sword.

[Name] Clarent

[Attack] 25

[Special] Strength +2 Agility +1 Magic +1

[Value] A

[Details] One of the magic swords. A sword made with a wish for peace. All monsters and some people have difficulty in healing wounds.

　It's amazing work... it's good that the wounds don't heal easily... After talking with the Pope for a while

“Then we will defeat the goblins from the west gate.”

　We parted from the Pope, we defeated the goblins swarming around the West Gate and then ventured outside. The area outside the city was still full of goblins, providing an easy fight, but more troublesome enemies began to appear.

　It's undead... it's fine for the adventurers to kill the goblins from the top of the city wall, but there seems to be no way to burn them, leaving the corpses as they are.

　Undead called goblin zombies started to appear, they are really smelly and ugly.

　Attacking the undead with a weapon made the weapon smelly and sticky, making it a natural enemy of the girls in the front-line.

　The moment Alice sees a goblin zombie, she rushes over to me or Clarisse while crying.

　That's why we decided that those who could use fire magic would defeat the goblins with it, while those who couldn't, would use wind magic to gather the corpses in one place after defeating them.

　Around noon, when I finally finished defeating the goblins around Elhagan, the east gate suddenly opened and the adventurers rushed out. The Pope was running in the lead, and Hissu was chasing behind him.

"Marth! ... No, everyone! Thank you! Elhagan was saved!"

　There are still goblins marching this way, but he must have been mentally relieved to think that the goblins that had surrounded Elhagan were gone. The pope looked extremely delighted.

"Hey... No, I mean... Pope! Please remember your position! Stop pretending to be a swordsman forever!"

　Hissu shouts at the Pope. I heard from Dominique that the Pope has been telling them to keep using a friendly tone when they talk alone.

　It's true that he's an odd Pope, but my favorability for him is outstanding. The Pope and the adventurers who came after Hissu form a circle to protect the Pope.

“Today we will continue to defeat the goblins around here, but from tomorrow onwards we will head in the direction the goblins are coming from."

　The Pope turned to me.

"Ah, yes! That would be a great help! From tomorrow, I will lead the temple knights to the outside of the city. I can't leave everything to Marth and the others forever!"

　The Pope draws his sword and swings it around, while Hissu puts his hand to his head.

"Haa... Well, if the Pope is going to fight on the front lines, we can't just shut ourselves up inside all the time. In the first place, it would have been better if the nobles had listened to the Pope from the beginning……"

　I asked him one question.

"Who is in a higher position in the Holy Kingdom of Diadora, the Pope or the nobles?"

　Hissu responded

“The simple answer is the Pope. Roughly speaking, politics is the nobility, diplomacy is the Pope, and the military is the Pope.”

　The pope is like a king who doesn't do politics... When we were talking to the Pope, other adventurers were fighting goblins.

　Although they received some damage, they was able to defeat the goblins. There were 200 or 300 adventurers outside alone.

　There are still some inside Elhagan, and some temple knights. This makes me wonder why they were surrounded so easily.

　Rather than us who can't level up against goblins, it's definitely better for adventurers who can level up even against goblins to defeat them. Thinking about tomorrow, I decided to return to Elhagan early.

“Pope, Hissu-san, we're heading northeast tomorrow. So, we're leaving for Elhagan early today."

　When I told them this, the Pope said,

“Marth, how about we have a meal together? I want to express my gratitude, and more than anything, I want to talk."

　I nod at the Pope's words.

"Okay! Then let's go to my house right away! It's a little small, but my wife's cooking is exquisite, so please look forward to it!"

　Led by the Pope, we arrived in front of the pope's house. It was about the same size as the Bryant family's residence. The Bryant family's residence is quite small for a senior aristocrat's house, but from a Japanese person like me, it was already a luxurious mansion.

　When I went inside and passed through the living room, I was greeted by a person who seemed to be the pope's wife and a child.

"Arina. I'm sorry, but I want to have a big feast now. Loosen your purse strings and give them a lavish treat."

　When the Pope tells his wife Arina

"Okay. They're heroes, after all. I'll put in my best effort, so wait for a while."

　As expected, it would be difficult for one person to create a total of 14 people, including 10 of us, Pope, Hissu, Arina, and the children. Clarisse realized this and said.

"Ma'am. I'll help you too. What should I do?"

　When Clarisse volunteered to help out in the Arina, Alice and Sophia also started helping out, and in the end all the women were helping out Arina, that's including Ellie and Misha. Ellie was mainly active in tasting, and Misha was mainly active in liveliness.

"They seem to be having fun over there."

　The Pope looked at the women in the kitchen and said with a smile.

"I'm sorry for being noisy..."

　when i apologize

"Isn't that a good thing? I'm envious of being surrounded by beautiful women every day. Oops... don't tell Arina. Well then, Marth... I want you to listen to my selfishness. I'd like to see a mock battle between Dominique and Hissu. Would that be alright?"

　When I was at a loss for an answer, the Pope said

“Right now, Hissu is undoubtedly the strongest adventurer from Elhagan. I want to see how much the gap in their skills has closed since Dominique left Elhagan about two years ago. I want to know whether Dominique's departure from the Holy Kingdom of Diadora was a success or a failure……I want to think about the future of my son Seraph depending on that."

　Who was stronger two years ago? I think it depends on Dominique 's feelings rather than me giving permission.

"If Dominique is okay with it"

　When I answered that, Dominique nodded in agreement, so we decided to have a mock battle between Dominique and Hissu in the garden.

　Both of them are equipped with wooden swords and no magic was allowed. It was really a sword only match.

"It's been two years since I've played with Dominique ...I'll see how strong you've become."

　When Hissu said so, Dominique.

"I want you to understand that the world is wide through my sword."

　Answer with a serious expression.

　With the Pope's word "hajime(begin)" a fierce sword fight between the two commenced.

　From my perspective, I knew the results before they even started. Dominique is superior in swordsmanship level, physical strength, and agility.

　Dominique's attack was heavy for Hissu, and Hissu's sword was repelled many times, making it all he could do was defend.

　After exchanging swords for several times, Hissu's wooden sword was finally knocked out of his hand, and as expected, Dominique won. While Hissu, who lost, made a disbelieving face

"Is this... Dominique's sword...? In the past, it was like a light sword with only speed, but now it feels very heavy..."

“Dominique really has changed… He’s improved his sword skills, but what surprises me the most is Dominique’s personality. Before, he was more overconfident and looked down on everyone. ……”

　Both Hiss and the Pope were genuinely impressed by Dominique's growth. The Pope's son Seraph, who was watching the battle,

"Dominique-nii-chan is strong! I want to be like him too!"

　He said this cheerfully. When we returned to the dining room, the women were still cooking... No, they're doin something else... Their hands stopped as they got excited over Koibana(love story). With this, It appeared that it might be a while before we had our meal...

"Marth, who is Marth's sword master?"

　The pope asked me

"My sword master...if I dare say it, there are two of them, one of whom has passed away. The other is a school teacher who holds the title of Sword King."

　When I answer

“Is Dominique also learning from that teacher?”

　When Hissu asked Dominique, Dominique nodded

“You must have felt upset because of what I said last time, but Hissu, that story is true. The outside world is really wide. If things continue as it is, the gap will only widen.

I think Lister Imperial School is the best environment. Although it's probably too late for someone like you, Hissu, who is already 25 years old, but young people with a bright future should be actively sent to Lister Imperial School. regardless of whether they get in or not."

　The Pope, who was seriously listening to Dominique,

"Marth. where do you think Dominique stands among adventurers?"

　Without hesitation i replied

“I think it’s C-rank adventurer. In the Barlux Kingdom, he might even be considered B-rank..."

　When I answered, the Pope

“Is Dominique, who defeated Hissu, a C-rank adventurer?… It seems that we really need to reevaluate the guild's ranking system to match the standards of the Lister Alliance. Otherwise A-rank adventurers will never be born… An A-rank adventurer of the Diadora Holy Kingdom. There hasn't been an A-rank adventurer from here since my master..."

“Was the Pope’s master an A-rank adventurer?”

　The Pope answers my words.

“Yes…although he droped to B-rank adventurer within a year. Still, becoming an A-rank adventurer is no easy feat. Even if we request A-rank adventurers for quests, they're in high demand in other countries, so they rarely accept our quests. That's why I haven't gotten my master's vengeance yet... Originally, we should have taken it ourselves, but the opponent is a vampire. …”

　Come to think of it, Sophia said... Dominique's master was killed by a vampire. Even though he fell to B-class, the person called his master was a former A-class adventurer.

　The vampire that defeats it is still quite strong... I feel like I can win without using lightning magic if I fight now...

"By the way, do you know the name of the vampire who killed your master?"

　When I asked three people

"No... I don't... Actually, we have no witnesses. It seems that a group of adventurers who were exterminating monsters outside Elhagan was attacked by a vampire, and my master who tried to help, was also killed... however, there are no witnesses."

　Eh……? Why do you think a vampire killed him when there were no witnesses?

"Because the blood of all the corpses had been sucked. However, since there was a large amount of what appeared to be vampire blood attached to this Clarent that was left behind, the vampire should also have been seriously injured. It's possible that those wounds haven't fully healed."

　For some reason, the Pope's answered makes me wonder.

　It's true that Clarent's special ability seems to work against vampires, but... I think that the goblins invading Elhagan in large numbers are actually the work of vampires.

　There are some similarities with Isaac. But if I tell everyone this, they will definitely get worried, so I'm refraining from saying it yet... However, I realized that I couldn't keep quiet about it for much longer.

　It might be better to just talk about the possibility before leaving tomorrow.

　It seems that the preparations for the banquet are finally over when our story has settled down. Maybe i should just have a drink today for the first time in a while?

TN : someone ask me about releasing schedule, to be honest because i do this for fun, i try to release 1 a week, but RL stuff hit me hard so, sorry bout that.

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