LDM 521 – Debriefing with Haku.

LDM 521 – Debriefing with Haku.

After convincing the saint and returning safely, I changed the face back to Narikin’s.

We should be safe for now. But, if I change lodgings or run away hastily after this, it will raise suspicion instead.

For that reason, Narikin won’t be leaving Kuromaku city, well… to see it from a different point of view, one could say we can’t move.

They should have come to their sense by now. That’s why we can’t rule out the possibility of them preparing for heavy road inspections to catch the terrorists (me).

Let’s just aim at their darkest blind spot.

“Use Kehma’s face, please!”

“What will we tell the saint if she sees my face?”

“Just say [I’m Narikin, Kehma twin brother].”

“… I guess so.”

Well, since I have created a large number of witnesses, even if they managed to find Narikin and question him why he knows about how the saint was manipulated, he can use an excuse [Of course, I know it, I was there].

But since the face has changed, there will be nothing to connect him to terrorists. That’s why for now, I will leave Narikin to keep an eye on Kuromaku and the Holy Kingdom.

Me? I will just have to wait for the melons and nightcaps I left with Haku’s men to arrive!

*===*

A few days later.

*===*

In the end, we couldn’t get any useful information from Narikin and the others because the gossip in town was all about terrorists and saints, and today we are invited to a debriefing in the name of a tea party by Haku.

We arrived and found out Haku was waiting with a wrinkled brow on her face.

“Kehma. What’s your excuse this time?”

“Haku… I have no idea what you’re trying to say….”

Haku then let out a big sigh.

I’m sure I’ve done everything Haku asked me to do, including creating havoc to buy time.

“The Pope has disappeared.”

“What?”

Is the Pope suddenly disappeared? Well, not that sudden…

I look at Rokuko, and she only goes ‘fumu’ and nods.

“Isn’t that because Kehma provoked the saint?”

“No, no, no. My words back then are full of bullshit.”

“Rokuko-chan is right. After that incident, the saint led a large number of followers to storm the Pope. While screaming [Bring down the Pope] with her mass.”

Wow, did she really charge into the church? I’m sure she must have accumulated a lot of resentment over the years. Thinking back, she was too energetic when she shouted those words.

“I see. Yup, it’s definitely Kehma’s fault.”

“I heard that the Pope’s room was completely emptied, along with various documents in it… fortunately, we managed to infiltrate the room before the assault began, so there was not much problem on that part.”

At least I’m glad to hear that I could buy enough time.

“Hasn’t Kehma been informed of the revolution yet?”

“… Well, no. Because all we can gather is information through rumors from where we stay.”

“No words from that Chaos Dogs?”

“No, she hasn’t said anything to me. She’s just there as a maid for Narikin.”

In any case. It seems that the saint really tried to subjugate the Pope, and the Pope fled. That Pope must have had something to hide.

“What they are going to do now that the Pope has disappeared… To be exact, what the Light God Religion going to do?”

“According to rumors, they are looking for the terrorist from that time to make him a senior priest. –why don’t you do just that? If everything goes well, you can probably become the next Pope.”

“Saint… why are you so easy to deceive….”

“In the first place, a senior priest was a position that should unconditionally be given to Hero. If Kehma took that position, we could safely say that there were no lies at all.”

Was that like an S-rank adventurer in the empire?

And apparently, they also served as Pope candidates.

“Since no heroes have been summoned to the Holy Kingdom in over a hundred years, the only senior priests they have now are merely normal people. But now that the Pope has disappeared, the priest who is a former candidate for sainthood would be the most likely candidate.”

“Won’t the saint assume that position?”

“If that saint becomes the Pope, it will be the end of the Holy Kingdom. But fortunately or unfortunately, there is a rule that states that a saint cannot become Pope.”

I see. If the Hero who was the main instigator of the Pope’s expulsion enters the fray, there will be a good chance that he will be selected as the Pope.

And right at this moment, a cut melon was served and placed on the table.

It’s the Holy Kingdom’s melon that I gave to Haku’s men. It’s fresh and vibrant because time stopped inside the [storage].

…on a side note, I was already bored eating that melon.

“Come to think of it, what were you investigating in Kuromaku?”

“It’s about the identity of the Pope… Oh, I have to tell you this. Actually, we have planned several investigations against the Pope in the past. But each time, we can’t find him, so we are unable to start.”

Hmm? I tilt my head at Haku’s strange phrasing.

“…Apparently, the Pope can [erase his existence].”

“Erase his existence? Like hiding from everyone?”

“No, it was not like that; it was almost like he didn’t even exist.”

Oh, I see. In other words, Haku had sent investigators every time, but since the Pope had erased his existence, it could be said that they were [unable to start].

And since they didn’t even know where to start, even if Haku sent the same investigator to the same place, the Pope would also keep erasing his existence every now and then, which kept them in the loop….What’s with that ultimate skill at the first move?

“… isn’t that already ultimate skill? How did you keep going after that?”

“It looks like there is some restriction, and it’s not easy to use. In fact, this time… it only thanks to Kehma’s big effort, the information finally reached us.”

“Oh! That means Kehma played a big role this time! You can expect a big reward from my sister for this!”

“……Haku. To [Erase an Existence] it’s not something a human could do, is it?”

“Yes. In other words, it is the work of the Light God. Since I, as a god, couldn’t detect it, I’m sure of it.”

“That’s right. only a God of Light could deceive my sister’s perception!”

“Or [Father], since he is a Dark God. But considering the opponent, it would be the Light God. Especially if you consider the effect, that only proved as evidence.”

Yeah, it’s a God of Light Religion, after all. And we talk about the Pope here. It’s only fitting that he’s using the power of the Light God.

“Sister, so you’re saying that the Pope is the Light God himself?

“That not the case, a God of [Father] class can’t be active in the mortal realm for a long time… It could be an angel, but then there’s no reason for it to run away. The fact that he ran away suggests that he is not a person…., but rather a being that is not good for the God of Light Religion image.”

Who exactly is the Pope? Before we could fully investigate his true identity, he vanished.

“Thanks to you, I’ve got a lot of ideas of what is he. I’m a bit bitter that the Pope escaped, but it was still the best thing that could have happened. Great reward is coming for you, Kehma.”

“Oh, thank you.”

I’ve also managed to sell a lot of melon, and it looks like I’ll never have to worry about money …well, it’s not like I was troubled by money.