Act 6: Chapter 18.1 - Toward the Holy City

Disciple of Immortal

「Kanata… The mission I'm going to entrust to you is the destruction of the 《Saint Staff》 in the Holy City of Rupelm. The staff is sealed deep under the church.」

Veranta pointed his finger at one point in the map.

「Dangerous piece?」

「Yes, it's the 《Saint Staff》 used by Jonas around two thousand years ago, and his soul resides within it. Jonas' teachings form the foundation of this kingdom's state religion, which now spreads wide and far in the form known as Jonas faith. Through the power of faith, the 《Saint Staff》 most likely gained more power than in its heyday. However, due to the tragedy that happened during his death… And the erosion of time, the once pure soul had long since lost its personality. Now imagine what’s going to happen when such a powerful weapon falls into the hands of a wicked person? Even I won't dare to touch such a divine artifact unless it's truly necessary. I believe that divine artifact is really troublesome and we have to destroy it as soon as possible.」

「Though you talk as if it's none of your business… Just like Greed, that must be one of your pieces, right?」

「I will be lying if I say that I have no hand in this matter, but we were desperate too back then. The popularity of Locklore among the higher beings back then wasn't as widespread as it is now. We couldn’t afford to slack off since we don’t know when they will erase this world. Feel free to complain later after everything is over. Even I have never expected that Jonas' teachings would spread this far. I can't even imagine how much their influence has grown, and if the agents of higher beings suppress it, it would be extremely troublesome. That's why I hope you can resolve this problem as soon as possible..」

… There was no point in complaining to Veranta now.

I had no choice but to do as Veranta had told us, destroy the 《Saint Staff》 as fast as possible.

「However, since you have no idea how much its power has increased, you should assign this job to Lunaire-s—」

「The 《Saint Staff》 itself has already been damaged. It's not a big deal as long as it's handled with care… Moreover, I’ve a few more pieces that I want that lich over there to handle.」

Veranta cut off my lines while sending a sideways glance at Lunaire.

「Does that mean those few pieces are something that only Lunaire-san can handle!? Sorry, but are the pieces you spread by chance… Barely being managed?」

「… Due to the order from the higher beings, I scattered a lot of pieces across the land. Since I was tasked to create incidents at regular intervals, I don't know how much the growth of the pieces has progressed.」

「That's just a total mess…」

I massaged my head upon hearing that remark.

Wait a second, maybe we had to thank that sloppy measure that we could exploit the gap in the higher beings' plan.

「Moreover, this Holy City Rupelm itself is troublesome. If a word goes out that we're trying to destroy the 《Saint Staff》, it could lead to chaos across the land. A certain level of caution and interpersonal skills are required. In that regard, I judged that the lich over there, who has been living at the bottom of Cocytus until just recently, isn't suitable for the job.」

「I see…」

… Since that was a fair excuse, I really couldn’t refute it.

Lunaire was definitely ill-suited for this job.

「However, you're literally asking us to negotiate with Jonas faith, right? I don't think I'm suited for this job…」

「Rest assured. You can ask Cardinal Wardell.」

The high elf woman of the 《Invisible Hand of God》… Sophia answered to my question.

「Cardinal… Wardell?」

「He's a cowardly, greedy, and corrupt priest who spends his time wandering around, but he's a good guy when it comes to his looks, background, and understanding. He's a handsome man with long hair and a fondness for flashy things, so you'll recognize him right away.」 ṞἈŊ𝖔βЕș

「I see…」

Wow, that was a horrible evaluation.

Honestly speaking, I really didn’t want to meet this Cardinal Wardell after hearing about his description from Sophia.

Can I really negotiate the matter about the 《Saint Staff》 with that kind of guy?

「Actually, I met Cardinal Wardell a while ago. So properly speaking, I should probably go myself, but… I have some pieces I need to retrieve with my Sophia Trading Company. I'll write you a letter of introduction, and you can use it. If you mention the Sophia Trading Company, he'll agree right away. Make sure he swaps the real staff with a replica so that it doesn't cause a big commotion. Since you'll need money for the negotiations, I'll give you one trillion gold. If he tries to haggle, just insist that the company will pay later and push through the negotiation.」

「O-One trillion…」

… Her sense of money was too bizarre.

Well, knowing that it was a relic of a massive religion with roots all over the world, if this problem could be solved with just that amount of money, it was actually quite cheap.

I had honestly under the impression that she was a minor figure since she was the first to withdraw after her fight against Lunaire and had vanished since from the 《Invisible Hand of God》, but now that I heard the information about her, she might be the most dangerous of all.

「N-Nevertheless, having to retrieve an item of such importance… Makes me feel really nervous. One wrong move and it could turn all of us into world-scale criminals, right?」

Pomera had asked with an anxious look on her face.

「It can't be helped… I heard that the other pieces are just as troublesome, if not, even more troublesome.」

I heaved a sigh.

Considering the job division among the dangerous pieces set by Veranta in the past, having me retrieve the 《Saint Staff》 was a reasonable choice indeed.

The object we had to retrieve was dangerous, and though I couldn't imagine what was going to happen if the 《Saint Staff》 went out of control, the possibility of that happening was low.

If worst comes to worst, we might become great sinners with the whole world as our enemy, but the other pieces were similar in that regard.

In the first place, the members of the 《Invisible Hand of God》 themselves were people with questionable statuses, such as Ramiel, whose status was unclear—whether she was a sinner or a ruler.

「A-As expected, isn't it better for me to go with Kanata? From what I hear, this must be a pretty dangerous mission.」

Unable to give up, Lunaire kept resisting Veranta till the end.

「The pieces I want you to retrieve are even more dangerous. 《Dragon's Orb》, 《Giant of Famine》, 《Book of Ruin》, and the 《World Beast》, every single one of them is beyond anyone's capabilities to handle. I have to ask you to handle those pieces for the time being. Since we chose to cooperate with you, entrusting the fate of the world on your back, the least we can expect from you is your cooperation.」

Veranta bowed in apology.

The leader of our enemy until just recently was now lecturing us like an adult.

「MasTer, At ThIs PoInt, EveN You ShOulD HaVe To KnOw to TaKe A SteP BaCk…」

「I understand…」

Lunaire heaved a sigh of dejection.

「Don't worry, it's enough as long as you understand.」

「I'll take care of those four pieces in no time and then go to assist Kanata.」

「No, I’d be troubled if you approached it with such a lighthearted attitude… The four pieces I’ve entrusted to you are not something you should handle carelessly; even I can't predict what’s going to happen if you make a mistake in handling them.」

Veranta replied with a flustered voice and then glanced at me as if seeking help.

Unfortunately for him, I could only avert my gaze as I’m just as helpless as him.

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My first CN project, why waifu though? Well, coz the main heroine's job is buying soy sauce till the end of act 1

New Project:

Harem, Hero, Demon King, Seven Deadly Sin, Seven Virtue, Sacred Beast, Sword and Magic, Dystopian Future, DESTINY PROJECT HAD IT REALIZED!, Dungeon, Dragon, 72 Demons, Reincarnations