People are crowded together in the large hall. All were dressed in white, kneeling on one knee and hanging their heads. In front of them, there was a woman sitting on a golden throne with a satisfied smile on her face. Needless to say, it was Vieille.
"...... His Holiness the Pope"
An elderly man steps reverently in front of her. It is Ron Esrotel. He bowed deeply to Vieille and began to give his report in a slow tone.
"As for your concern about the friendly flowers, thanks to the help of His Holiness the Pope, all the problems with the flowers here in Aphrodite have been solved.
Vieille nodded her head in an exultant manner and smiled at me. Her skin was fair and her whole body was full of vitality.
"I see. That's good to hear."
"Ha."
"I have done nothing wrong in this matter. Rather, we should thank the people of the institute who were devoted to research day and night. I would like to request that the main members of the institute stay here in Aphrodite permanently to further their studies.
At Vieille's words, everyone bowed their heads further. From somewhere, a sobbing voice can be heard. One of the medical institute employees must be crying.
To be able to reside permanently here in Aphrodite, the capital of the Order, is a life-long wish for the Crimianists. Only a few in the long history of the Church have been allowed to do so. It was natural for them to weep for joy.
"Your Holiness, I have one more report to make.
Ron Esrotel continues to speak. Vieille slowly turns her attention to him.
"I have received a letter from the King of Agartha, Bertham Darke Linos, stating that he wishes to rescind his previous offer to His Holiness regarding the Friendship Flowers clause.
Hearing these words, Vieille looked a little surprised.
"Well, the king of Agartha has said such a thing ....... If it was about the money you were going to pay me, there would have been no problem. ....... I see. Please tell King Agartha that I understand. And ...... tell him that I would like to speak with him soon, just the two of us."
"Ha ha."
Vieille slowly rises from his throne, looking around at the prostrate crowd. Suddenly, she looked out of the window and saw the ocean, illuminated by the brilliant sunlight. She slowly steps to the window.
Beyond her vision, she sees a beautiful cityscape in white. They reflect the sunlight and shine dazzlingly. The view of the ocean stretching out ahead is exquisite. I feel as if I have stepped into the world of a painting.
......I'm back here again, in this place. At any cost, I will be king of the world.
Agartha has offered to withdraw the previous treaty. Crimiana and Agartha are now on equal footing. The world will soon be forced to belong to either Crimiana or Agartha. How will this polarized world move forward? ....... It is not a bad idea to keep in step with Agartha. The king of Agartha will not attack us if we do not make any move to destroy the order of this world. It is a great achievement that we have obtained such assurance in this case.
I have been through many ordeals in my life, but never have I felt such a shiver as I did this time.
I had never imagined that the flower of friendship that I had developed in order to bring the Grand Duchy of Foal under my control would end up strangling me. And he had never imagined that Agartha would use the flower to force him, the Pope, to vassalize Klimiana.
But the danger was over. The method of extermination of the flower of friendship had been established. It was easy as it turned out. The way to get rid of the flower is at .......
"Your Holiness the Pope"
Suddenly called out, Vieille looks in the direction of the voice. As usual, Ron Esrotel is waiting there on one knee.
"There is someone who wishes to see you.
"I see. Please let us pass."
At Vieille's words, those who had been waiting in front of him quickly stepped back.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"......!"
Vieille's voice was inarticulate and she froze. His face was frozen. In front of him appeared his grandfather, Jouvancel Sein, and his cousin Cassel.
Without any hesitation, Cassel came up to Vieille and tightened his noose around her neck. He had both hands on her neck.
"Gosh. ...... ......"
"Sister, I won't let you go, will I? Sister, sister!"
Cassel grabbed Vieille by the chest with his remaining hand and tore at her clothes with tremendous force. Her well-shaped breasts are exposed. Cassel grabbed it roughly.
"I've got it! ......," he said, "I've got it!
Suddenly, I woke up. I found myself in Vieille's room. She was strangling herself with her right hand and clutching her breast with her left hand. For some reason, she was not wearing pajamas, but was lying on the bed naked and without a stitch of clothing on.
When I rushed to pick her up, I found that her pajamas had been taken off at the foot of the bed.
"Yup, dream ......"
Relief welled up from within me. But soon after that, her reivery brain started to recognize the reality.
...... extraordinary meeting of the College of Cardinals.
An extraordinary meeting of the cardinals convened in Aphrodite the day before. There, Vieille explained the treaty with Agartha. Naturally, the meeting was very stormy. Some were stunned, some were in tears of regret, and some insisted on a decisive war with Agartha. ...... There were three different reactions, but it was clear to everyone who attended the meeting that they all questioned Vieille's responsibility, although they did not say so in words. Ron Esrotel was in the front row, watching her with a cool gaze. Vieille instinctively knew that this man would disobey.
The meeting would take place again today. Vieille was on the verge of deciding whether or not she would be able to remain in her position as Pope. She got off the bed, dragging her heavy body.
She was in a state of shock.
"Why don't you just let someone else do it?"
In front of Linos, looking quizzical, was Shario, the black dragon. She lived deep in the forest of Lunois with her brother Tune. Nearby is the village of Psyllus, and the two of them now have the role of protecting it.
"Hmmm. "Yes, but..."
Linos scratches his cheek. Tsune watches him silently.
"This was my wife Sidie's recommendation. Shario, you may have lost some of your abilities to Master Shenlong, but your mind is as sharp as ever. You calculate fast. That's why I'm asking you."
A child could have done that.
"Well, yes, that's true. You know, ...... what can I say, you are not influenced by emotions, are you?"
"Emotion? What's that?"
It's the heart that feels sorry for the other person.
"What's that? If you don't eat, you can't live. We eat because we are strong. Weak, so they eat us. Isn't that all there is?"
"Yes. That's true, though. ....... We just can't seem to make up our minds. ......"
Chario looks at him strangely. At that moment, his brother Tune opened his mouth.
"You should try it. It will be fun, won't it?
"Brother."
"If you don't enjoy it, come back."
"...... got it."
Linos nodded in satisfaction at Chario's words, said he would talk to the Dragon King, and left.
Later that day, Agartha announced who would be in charge of the Church of Crimiana. Her name was Shario, and she continued to issue orders at the very limit of what the Church could sustain without any pity, and was nicknamed the "Iron Lady" within the Church.
The long suffering of the Church of Crimiana was about to begin. .......