Chapter 197: 197. Hidden Meanings

Boom!

Before the Pope could release his magic, the door of the Sanctum Council opened, and Pope's assistant entered, a big smile on his face. "Massive news! Your Eminence!"

The Pope's face looked to the side, and in an instant, his anger peaked.

But, the assistant, Gunther, kept speaking. "I bring word from Beastaria! Grand Cardinal Bison's words--Alfia and Greenpeaks are now at an all-out war! The Elves and Dragons are out for one another's blood!"

The news instantly changed the Pope's expression. "What? Did we cause it?"

"No, your eminence. It naturally occurred. The letter reveals that verbal disputes inside the administration of the Deca Imperia Federation spread outside into their respective kingdoms. The Elves and Dragons wish to gain more authority in the neutral Federation."

"That's great news!" Saint Wazir stood up, delighted. "If this is the case, their industrial output shall reduce greatly. The Federation area was the only place that developed their war supplies since all species come together and live as one there."

Saint Seer saw an opportunity, however. "With the Elves and Dragons gone, the Federation shall lose its two strongest pillars. Perhaps it is time to completely destabilise the ants while the giants are busy fighting one another."

Saint Sceptre, however, walked over to the Pope and looked towards the exit after sending the assistant away. "Your eminence, do you wish to put the palace in lockdown if you suspect a spy?"

"No." The Pope muttered. "It's gone. Whatever we speak inside is encrypted with distortion runes. No living thing other than a few of us can understand each other. Since it was breathing, it heard nothing--but it entered here. That's a concern in itself."

"I shall look into the protection and secrecy mechanisms." Saint Sceptre assured.

With that, the Pope returned to his seat. "Yes, as Saint Seer said. This can be an excellent opportunity for us to weaken the enemies further. We shall not be the first to strike them directly, but we must ensure they don't strike us anytime soon. The weaker they are, the more they will hesitate.

"In fact, I have a better plan. First, we sow the seeds of hatred so much that they refuse to unite against us. This way, when we start, we can defeat their kingdoms one by one instead of fighting the whole of Beastaria together."

"Agreed, your eminence. The Inquisitors are ready to start whenever you wish for us to." Inquisitor High Lord uttered.

"Thank you, but we have more pressing matters too. First, we must ensure our home is safe before focusing on the outside. The Grand Duchy of Patch has ruined the entirety of Sorrow Kingdom, and now we face an unprecedented refugee crisis. Tell him to stop and start working to rehabilitate people."

"It shall be done." Saint Wazir bowed as this was his duty.

The Pope continued. "At the same time, start supplying more aid to the Warsong Kingdom. Keep the Masan Empire on its toes so they can't focus more resources towards the East."

After that, they finalised a few more documents and signed some others. The meeting went on for another hour.

...

Outside, Sylvester saw Miraj running up to him and jumping into his arms. The furball was shivering in fear, and his face appeared more shocked than ever.

Sylvester caressed him and asked in whispers. "What happened?"

Miraj was still in shock as he nearly died today after being sensed. But, amongst his shivers, he uttered a few words. "Maxy, everyone is bad! Run!"

"What exactly happened there?" Sylvester questioned him. But he couldn't get any more answers as the cat just dug his face into his chest and curled himself in his arms.

'What the hell happened there?' Sylvester wondered in confusion.

Knock!

The door of the Sanctum Council opened, and Saint Seer, Saint Wazir, Saint Sceptre, Saint Keymaster, Saint Medico and Inquisitor High Lord were seen leaving.

Sylvester and the rest stood up and bowed their heads in respect with arms crossed. In return, they also got saluted back. It was frowned upon if a senior clergyman did not respond to the salutes of a junior, for it was seen as the senior was too high-headed.

"You all please enter. His eminence wishes to see you." the Pope's assistant called them.

"Mwaaa...!"

Miraj started to throw tantrums and tried pulling Sylvester back towards the seat. However, he could not be too loud, as that would mean being busted.

Sylvester knew Miraj had seen or heard something inside that troubled him greatly. But he could not deny going in there now. Not unless Miraj told him everything, for which it had been too late.

So Sylvester opened his bag, took out the file about the assignment report and put Miraj into it. "Shh... don't make any noise and just sleep. I will be back, and then you tell me everything you saw, okay?"

"M-Maxy..."

Sylvester closed the bag by buttoning it up and placing it under his seat.

"Max! Don't be lazy. Come quick!" Felix called him as he was the last to enter.

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Sylvester soon entered and finally saw the big room. It was all nearly white, made of marble. There was no wooden furniture. In fact, the only furniture in the room was the long stone table and eight stone chairs around it. Besides that, the walls were also made of bright marble stone, with no window or a vent.

'I wonder what runes and magical mechanisms have been placed on this place. It certainly doesn't look like an average room.' Sylvester wondered and stood at the extreme left, beside Felix, and saluted as well.

The door closed behind them and isolated them. They could feel that nothing they do inside this room, scream or riot, no voice will escape outside.

"At ease, my blessed soldiers." the Pope smiled cheerfully at them and walked over to pat their shoulders one by one. "I am so proud of you four that words are not enough to describe it. Although the assignment's result was not as satisfying, you uncovered something that will help us save the entire north. I commend you for your investigative work."

"It was mostly Archpriest Sylvester, your eminence. His intuition and comprehension skills can best even the most seasoned spies." Lady Aurora clarified.

Even Bishop Lazark spoke, albeit in a low voice, since he had never spoken to the Pope before. "I deserve no praise, your eminence. I was merely the leader of a Crusader group that was to kill a Bloodling in the Duchy of Iceling. It was Archpriest Sylvester who came to give us a hand. Without him, I'm afraid we would have lost."

Seeing all of them praising Sylvester, the Pope faced Felix at last. "You wish to say something, lad?"

Now, Felix was someone who had too much confidence for his own good. He was someone who would rather argue with God than cower in fear. So, he showed a thumbs up to the Pope. "My brother is the best, your eminence. His songs are so divine, and I envy his brain sometimes."

'Bwahaha..." The Pope laughed and patted Felix's shoulder. "Thank you for your service, Archpriest Felix. I'm sure Archpriest Sylvester considers you invaluable."

"Wait! Archpriest?" Felix exclaimed. "I didn't file for the promotion yet, your eminence."

The Pope walked over to his table and took out an Archpriest's mitre to hand Felix. "Consider your request for promotion signed and approved by the highest authority then. Congratulations."

Felix quickly took the mitre, saluted the Pope, and smugly looked at Sylvester. "It seems we stand on the same footing now."

Sylvester knew his friend was messing around to ease the mood. "Congratulations, Felix. You finally got the position handed down to you."

"What do you mean handed? I earned this!"

The Pope chuckled, seeing them. "I was like you two once, along with Saint Sceptre. He spoke less usually, but he was a funny friend nonetheless. But jokes apart, I wish you four the very best in the coming days. As you rise in the ranks, your work will increase and become grander. So train hard and keep the lord's name in mind, for he is the true master behind all that is."

'What do you want from us? Say it.' Sylvester thought in mind.

"That will be all. You can head out and rest. I'm sure the past few days have made you tired." The Pope ordered. "Except you, Archpriest Sylvester."

'Of course.'

Sylvester saw as the rest left and the door again shut closed. Now, there was silence as he stared at the Pope's face. He didn't say anything and allowed the big man to start.

"Sit." The Pope returned to his seat at the far side of the table.

Sylvester sat on Pope's right in the nearest seat. "Your eminence, this is the detailed report of all that transpired."

The Pope took the file and turned the pages. "I heard many things from various Archbishops and Cardinal Suprima about what occurred. You did well, Favoured one."

"But it's not enough. The original task of finding the murderer of the Countess remains unsolved. I have asked the Inquisitor High Lord to take me along to solve it, for I do not wish to leave a job incomplete." Sylvester clarified and stated his wish.

The Pope kept reading the report and frowned at one point. "Did the Shadow Knight attack you? You were able to fend it off?"

"Thankfully, yes."

"You make me proud, blessed bard. But, sadly, this Shadow Knight entity does not understand the real difference between good and bad. It sees all from one lens with no care for reasons and motives. It's disheartening that you are its target--but I, too, was its target once."

'Why is he lying? What's happening?" Sylvester smelled the faint smell of lies.

"That is why you need tools to fight it. For this, I have decided to appoint you on a special temporary designation."

'Once again--words filled with lies and truths.' Sylvester's guards were up, and alarms rang in the head nonstop.

"I shall fulfil all duties given, your eminence." He kept the act going.

The Pope looked him in the eye. "I am appointing you as Grand Crusader..."

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