29-25 Second negotiation with the Pope (business negotiation)

I leave the labyrinth and ask Cattleya to purchase it as usual.

''Please make the purchase.''

''Yes~. Thanks to Luciel-kun's hard work lately, our debt has been decreasing.

A debt?

'Hmmm? Did you go to the main room on the 20th floor?

'Yes, sir. I went to the boss's room on the 20th level. I engaged in combat with a skeleton knight in shining armor like a knight in shining armor.

"So, points first... 215,342p. That's quite a haul.

Thank you. Now I can buy more stuff.

That's nice to hear.

'Well, I'm tired for the day, so I'd better be off.

''Hmmm. It's a funny joke, but I don't really like jokes like that.

''...Ha, ha, ha. I see.

'Yes. Well, shall we go then?

Thus I was taken by Cattleya to the Pope's room.

'Cattleya, and Luciel, I believe,' he said. You're here. And what's the matter with this firecracker?

Haha. The exorcist lord has made another attack, and today I've come to the main room on the 20th level, where we battled the wights and the skeletal knights, and returned victorious.

"Ho. Luciel, it looks like things are going well with the twenty levels, doesn't it?

Yes.

Not surprisingly, Luciel is very strong.

I'm interested, okay? I hear something like.

'There is no doom and gloom. I struggled with it, and I was just lucky this time too. If it weren't for this magic bag you gave me last time, I would have been severely injured, or worse, dead.

I see. So I see that you have been of some use to her.

'Yes, sir. Having the Pope's help was undoubtedly the biggest turning point for me.

Hmmm. It's funny to hear him say that, thinking that the only reason he's done so much good in such a short time is because of her.

"Thank you, sir.

Hmm. Well, let the mistress see what you brought back this time.

''Ha. This time the wight used the double attributes of fire and holy. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that there are two skeletal knights that protect the wight as well as the accompanying skeleton knights, which I'll call the death knights because they look like they were possessed by a dead spirit. And here's what you dropped.

He left behind the vestments and two braces that Wight had left behind, and the sword, shield, and armor that the Dead Spirit Knight had left behind. The maidservants took them, but was it my imagination that Cattleya looked a little upset?

The Pope took each one in his hand, looked at them carefully and finally spoke.

''This, too, was still...Luciel, a great cause. The wights that your lord defeated before and this time were in the possession of the former bishops and high priests during their lives. Both of them have been missing for more than ten years.

''So you mean that after he died in the labyrinth, he turned dead and turned on the Healer's Guild headquarters?

"Hmm. To be precise, it includes the Holy City of St. Cyril's Cooperative Kingdom, the Church of St. Cyril, and the entire Healer's Guild.

That's not...

''Yeah, it's been more than fifty years since the underground became a labyrinth. No one knows why the labyrinth was created. In the past, this place used to be really busy, which is hard to imagine now. Many priest knights and holy knights were engaged in friendly competition.

It's true that my room is a double room, but I'm using it by myself. I see. By weaving such information of reality and falsehoods together, it improves our motivation to attack the labyrinth and gives us a weapon to attack the labyrinth.

However, the sudden transformation of the church in those days into a labyrinth meant that many things were sealed in the labyrinth, and we managed to avoid flooding the earth with demons.

'Can you seal the labyrinth?

I can do it. You can do it, if you use anti-defilement magic. You'll need a large amount of magic with only the holy attribute, though. Well, at the time, I couldn't completely seal it off.

'I see. Can it be sealed otherwise?

''Oh. If we destroy the nucleus of the labyrinth that produces the miasma, the activity of the labyrinth will cease and it will not grow larger. If we seal it from there, it will cease to be defiled and disappear.

Extinguished?

It is said that a maze is born when the miasma and people's desires are combined in a place where magical power resides. It is said that labyrinths are created when the miasma and people's greed combine in a place where magic power resides. The maze is said to be born from the combination of the miasma and people's greed.

'Yes. I certainly do.

'Back to the story, the ones hiding in the labyrinth at the time were those of the Priest Knight and the Holy Knight. The search progressed at an astonishing pace. It was like five to seven levels a day. But the miasma and miasma were so bad that progress was slowing down.

I'm fine with it, though, right? Isn't this a roundabout way of saying weirdo?

But the church's elite priest knights and holy knights still went on for the church. But the dense miasma caused them to fall ill and their enemies, especially those who used spiritual magic, cast spells on them and forced them to fight each other...

Isn't that kind of magic in the undead, maybe a wraith or something? More importantly, will the Wraiths come out too? It's hard.

The unreasonable attempts to capture the labyrinth have taken their toll on many things. As a result, we sealed off the maze to keep the monsters out, but then one day zombies crawled out of the maze and we started building more buildings.

''Could it be that a less physically capable healer is currently an exorcist?''

'In recent decades, it has been difficult to produce priest knights and holy knights with JOBs, and even if born, many of them do not belong to the church. That number is only twenty percent of what it was then. Frankly speaking, we don't have people to send to the labyrinth.

'So you're letting the healers work on the thinning process with purification magic that they can use too?

'Yes. We're going to keep the zombies out of the maze for now. That has become our top priority.

Huh? Did this give you a hint to not only attack, but to look around at the shallow floors from time to time? Do they make it easier to drop good weapons and items?

'I see. How far have you progressed in your previous attack? And if you know, that's fine, but how deep is the labyrinth? Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

'I heard at the time that he had defeated the Lord of the Forty Levels. And two of his commanders died in that battle and he abandoned the attack.

''By the way, how were those men compared to the Holy Knights of today?

'It was strong. It was a time when wars and battles were more intense than today. We were the elite that supported it...

Yeah.

It's a completely impossible game...

''With all due respect, I'm sure you could have had the adventurers launch a pledge spell and attack the labyrinth in order to destroy it.

Hmm. Such stories existed in those days, too. But the adventurers could not enter the maze. It was later discovered that only priests, priestesses, heroes, sages, sages, holy knights, priestesses, and dragon knights were suited to the light and holy attributes of magic.

''Um, couldn't you clear the brave party?

''Mm. The moment you entered the labyrinth, the demon race started advancing at an inopportune time, and it was no longer possible to capture the labyrinth.

After that, the brave man lost his power by defeating the demon king and was no longer in a position to fight.

...it's all too convenient.

It was fifty years ago.

'I see... what made those people who were wights enter the labyrinth over a decade ago?

He was good. You could see from his equipment that he had a lot of money and a lot of desire. Most of them must have entered the maze in order to get rich. Well, they may have wanted to get their money back.

I see.

Hmm. Hmm. That's about all I know about the labyrinth. You said earlier that you were having a hard time, but if there are more people, will it be possible to capture the labyrinth in the future as well?

'Yes. However... if you're like me, you can tolerate the smell, have psychic tolerance fascination, hallucinations, etc.

''You don't have to do anything. Is it possible for you to continue to have her gradually attack it by herself?

'Yes. If only it was a gradual process.

Hmm. Is there anything you want?

'With all due respect, we may need anti-Undead spec weapons and armor, something that will allow us to survive.

All right. I'll have them fix you up." Oh, yeah.

Excuse me. And have you ever heard of a demon other than the undead being seen before?

This was the only problem. If the purification magic didn't work, it would be game over on the lower levels.

''No, there wasn't. What's bothering you?

You seem uneasy, Pope. I was just checking to make sure.

''No, the dead knights and wights this time didn't disappear with purification magic, so if anything other than the undead appear in the future, it will be fundamentally impossible to continue the attack...''

''Hmm. So the priests used to be able to defeat them because they were so high level.

I'm sure you're right. I'm level one.

''That may be so. "I hope you don't expect much of a strategy.

All right, then. Well, I'm sorry to trouble you, but we're going to have to keep working. I'm sorry, but you must continue your attack. When the healer's rank is VI or higher, I can promote him to a higher rank, so give me a shout. If it's Luciel, I'll make time for you.

A promotion?

Hmm. The occupational level is essentially something that can be raised over time. They can be upgraded when their occupation level reaches VI or higher. At the highest level of X, the professions you can choose from will change, but I don't know of any that have risen to that level before being promoted.

'How many times do I have to raise my profession level to get promoted?

That's impossible. The ancient texts say something similar. And the only professions that could be elevated were those with a king, emperor, or priestess attached to them.

Thank you. I heard there's this thing called multi-jobs in connection with that? Is it separate from that?

'Multi-jobs are the ones that have the misfortune to have two professions. It's said to be difficult to raise the profession level and slow to grow.

Isn't that kind of research going on?

Mm. It's rare, after all. Those that had multiple jobs are considered to be God-tested.

I see.

Well, I guess so. You've had a good day. Let's leave some things with Cattleya that will help us with the attack. Cattleya stays. Hey, send Luciel to him.

Yes. Then I will.

"Thank you again for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us today.

'Hmm. I look forward to seeing more from Luciel in the future.

"Will.

Thus ended my second audience (business meeting) with the Pope.