CH 263

“Is that really true?!”

“That’s what I’m telling you.”

“…!!!”

The two vampire high lords were struck with absolute disbelief after seeing Romari’s conviction.

‘T-this is crazy. That high priest has done something crazy!’

Rohime was utterly stunned. It was natural as unlike Christian, Rohime had been properly tenderized by Galfredik before he was taken under Eugene’s wing, albeit somewhat forcibly. In the first place, the King of Maren Jan Eugene Batla had shown him an absolute, overwhelming Fear during their first meeting. As soon as Rohime stepped out of his coffin and met Eugene’s gaze, he was struck with an indescribable pressure.

He had been unable to even think about rebelling. His instincts as a vampire had been screaming at him to bow in reverence, and Rohime had stayed faithful to the voice. However, Rohime had never experienced Eugene’s true self and had assumed that Eugene would try to speak with the crown prince and the masters of each clan when he headed to the Roman Empire. His assumption stemmed from the fact that, regardless of Eugene’s strength, he was still bound by the restriction of ‘being unable to enter places without the invitation of the owner’. As such, he believed that Eugene would be left with no other choice but to consult and reconcile with the powerful humans, just like what the masters of the vampire clans had done.

However, Eugene’s restriction had been undone due to the blessing of the Holy Empire’s high priest. He was now a member of the Dark Clan who could freely go anywhere he wished. The only rein keeping an “Origin” in check had been broken. It was impossible to know how this transformation would change the future course of events since Eugene’s power was essentially boundless.

‘I-it’s not a problem for just His Majesty the Crown Prince. Even the Emperor…’

Rohime’s eyes quivered violently like the surface of water faced with a violent storm. Of course, the emperor was surrounded by wizards and guards armed with powerful magics, mysteries, and extraordinary techniques. However, the strongest defense against members of the Dark Clan was the restriction on their mobility. It was for that exact reason that newly crowned emperors had always declared the imperial castle as their complete private property in front of the three gods. It was all to prevent powerful vampires from entering the imperial castle at will.

However, such preventative measures were now useless. In the ruling class, even those without faith would offer their gratitude and worship the gods when they attained their status. Whether they liked it or not, they were still admitting that their honor and power originated from the gods. The Emperor of the Roman Empire was no exception, and as such, the empire and the imperial castle were considered to be under the sphere of influence of the ‘three gods’. In other words, the King of Maren was now free to travel to and from any place in the empire, even including the imperial castle.

‘And the problem isn’t just with the empire either. Those people…’

Rohime turned his gaze to the nobles of the foreign nations as they landed on the island of the Dragonborn pirates. He knew well that the nobles had signed an agreement with Maren over the issue of the monster uprising. From what he had heard, even the nobles belonging to countries unaffected by the monster uprising had signed contracts like they were pushovers.

However, Rohime knew; he knew that they weren’t pushovers at all. They weren’t stupid, and any noble with enough status and ability to participate in a mission to a foreign country wouldn’t sign an agreement involving serious international affairs without thinking things through.

Clearly, the nobles knew—even if the King of Maren had different ideas, they could not be threatened or robbed as long as Eugene was under the restriction all members of the Dark Tribe shared. This was one of the significant reasons why the nobles had signed the agreements, even though they knew they would look like pushovers.

Unfortunately for them, the situation had changed with the blessing of the high priest.

‘They may become real pushovers now.’

They would have no possible way to control the Origin vampire when they literally would have to bring him back to their countries. Rohime was at a loss about what the future would bring. However, what he felt was nothing compared to what the person responsible for the blessing was feeling.

***

“What should we do now?”

“…” Laerina could not find any words to say. She simply bit her lips.

“Why did you have to give such a blessing… Haaa…” Parma let out a sigh.

Laerina responded, “I had no idea…”

She continued furiously, “I just blessed him the same way as I always did. You should be aware that I have no idea what kind of blessing will be given, right?”

“That’s true, but…” Parma trailed off. The effect of the blessing was random. Some were granted good health, some were presented with a tiny bit of luck, and others were blessed with wealth. Usually, the effect was somewhat related to whatever the blessed most desired, but overall, the blessing’s effect was still decided randomly. She could have never imagined that the King of Maren would receive a blessing that counteracted the greatest and most powerful weakness of the Dark Clan.

“You should have never blessed him in the first place,” Parma said.

“A knight faithful enough to cause a monster to repent and convert saved us. We couldn’t touch the hearts of the pirates for almost an entire month, regardless of what we did. But in a single day, he transformed their hearts and caused them to kneel and pray before the three gods,” Laerina responded.

“That’s because they would have been killed by the twin-headed ogre if they didn’t…”

The pirates had carefully observed the twin-headed ogre as they fled once the holy knights stepped forward. They were shocked to see that the ogre didn’t attack the holy knights and members of the clergy. And they were stupefied when they saw the monster greeting the holy knights while drawing the holy symbol. Although the pirates were ignorant, they had come to realize the simple reason behind the monster’s actions.

In the end, they made the choice that ensured their survival.

“That may be true for us humans, but have you seen other races convert in the face of death?” Laerina asked.

“…” Parma could not find any words to say. He had also been shocked to see the stubborn lizardmen and mermen crying and praying to the three gods.

“If I didn’t bless the knight responsible for all that, what would the others think of me? Don’t you think they would have doubted the generosity of His Holiness?” Laerina added.

They would have surely done that—they would have doubted the pope, called him petty, and cursed the Holy Empire for not knowing grace.

“We just had to bless him then go back. The reputation of Maren’s King would have soared even more, contrary to our expectations, but we could have established a good relationship with him. We could have weighed him in with the Roman Empire when the time mentioned in the oracle arrived,” Laerina said.

“You made the right decision.” Parma had no choice but to agree. Since things had completely deviated from the original plan, it certainly had been the best alternative to establish a good relationship with the King of Maren. A blessing given by the saintess had been the most appropriate response and show of trust.

“Haaa…!” Parma let out a long, dejected sigh as a deafening silence descended.

All of a sudden, the door burst open, and a group of priests rushed in.

“High Priest!”

“What is it?” Laerina asked. She was slightly puzzled by the seemingly excited priests.

“The king’s expedition has completely landed on the island,” one of them responded.

“…?” Was that really something to be so excited about? He obviously had other troops as he was a king.

“The expedition includes other nobles, the delegations of many kingdoms, and the third prince of the Roman Empire.”

“What?”

“Well, when we asked, we found out that…” the priests quickly explained what they learned about Eugene’s expedition.

After listening to their summary, Laerina nodded her head with glistening eyes. “I understand. I will meet with them. For now, I think it would be good for all of you to say hello to them first on my behalf.”

“Understood,” the priests responded before heading out excitedly. The opportunity to share their ‘faith’ with nobles prestigious enough to be sent as members of delegations was very hard to come by.

As soon as the priests disappeared, Laerina turned her head. “Sir Parma,”

“We must return to the Holy Father as soon as possible and inform him,” she continued.

“Yes? Ah, yes,” Parma replied.

“And I think it will be better for us to keep the issue of the blessing a secret for the time being,” she added.

“Why would we—Ah!” Parma exclaimed in realization.

Laerina nodded. “That’s right. If this becomes known, the aftermath will be tremendous. Regardless of the circumstances and our intentions, we will be held responsible for it.”

“That’s true, but it will come out eventually. If that’s the case…” Parma hesitated.

“Then we can invite the King of Maren to the Holy Empire,” Laerina responded.

“What?” Parma’s eyes widened. It wasn’t rare for the Holy Empire to invite royalty or prestigious nobles. Inviting those religious and contributors to the church to the Holy Land and rewarding them with direct praise was also a way to maintain the authority and dignity of the Holy Empire. However, it was unprecedented for a member of another race—especially a vampire—to receive an invitation. Although the Holy Empire recognized them officially, they weren’t particularly favorable toward other races.

“High Priest, please reconsider. Inviting the King of Maren will only serve to increase his reputation. No, even without that, the Roman Empire and the other kingdoms will definitely say something about it. The backlash… How will you deal with it?”

“What if there’s no backlash?” Laerina asked.

“What?”

“I don’t know about the Roman Empire, but it should be fine as long as the other kingdoms accept it, right?” Laerina asked once more.

“Of course, but that’s impossible, right?” Parma mumbled.

“No, it will be possible…” Laerina responded.

“How could that possibly…” Parma muttered with disbelief.

Laerina calmly replied, “You heard the priests just now, right? The King of Maren formed the expedition to resolve the issue of the monster uprising, not to rescue us. That’s why he was able to arrive here much earlier than we had expected.”

“Hmm.”

Laerina then continued, “Anyway, the nobles of the delegations should already know that I blessed the King of Maren.”

“That’s right. That’s why I said it would be hard to keep the blessing a secret,” Parma answered with a grim expression. There was no guarantee that the King of Maren would keep his mouth shut even if he and Laerina remained silent.

However, Laerina shook her head. “No. We just have to stay silent. The King of Maren shouldn’t know the effect of the blessing, and even if he knows it, he will stay silent.”

“…!”

Parma hurriedly said, “Surely! The disappearance of the restriction will be the most powerful weapon for the king, and if it becomes known, the kingdoms with faith will try to keep the king in check.”

“That’s right. He will never reveal exactly what he had received as a blessing,” Laerina said.

“Hmm. Let’s say that’s true. But it will definitely become known one day.” Parma pointed out. Even if the effect of the blessing would remain a secret for the meantime, it was only a matter of time before it became known. Everything would be revealed one day, and the kings and nobles all over the world would criticize and blame the Holy Empire.

The root of the problem was still there.

“There’s a simple way to take care of that,” Laerina spoke with a smile, then continued in a quiet voice.

“Hmmm. Well… Oh! Ohh!”

Parma’s expression brightened as he listened.

***

‘No way.’

‘Those ignorant pirates are repenting? The lizardmen and mermen have been converted?’

The foreign nobles could not believe their eyes after they landed on the island and greeted the priests of the Holy Empire. The ignorant and savage pirates had been edified to become similar to those people who dedicated their entire lives to worship in monasteries. And all of them had been converted in just a single day. More importantly, even the pirates of other races had been converted.

‘Is the King of Maren really protected by the gods?’

The nobles had been half doubtful even when they saw Eugene’s ship sail through the rough current and the reefs. But now, they had no choice but to take the matter seriously. As the nobles started making complicated calculations in their heads, Parma and Laerina showed up.

“Ohhh! That’s…”

“The High Priest of the Holy Empire!”

Among the envoys in the founding ceremony of the Maren Dukedom, the High Priest of the Holy Empire was the most distinguished guest along with Crown Prince Voltaire. It was extremely difficult to see a high priest, and Laerina was famous as a saintess as well. The nobles could not hide their excitement as they greeted her with excitement and expectations.

“It is a great honor to meet so many of you sirs. Although the current situation is somewhat exceptional, I believe this is also the will and the protection of the three gods,” Laerina said.

“I believe…”

“As the holy will of the three gods…”

The nobles imitated Laerina’s holy symbol while nodding. As she said, they could only regard the current situation as being the ‘will of god’. The delegation had been rescued, and the pirates had been converted.

“As all of you know, the three gods have sent His Majesty the King of Maren, an honorable knight and the flagbearer of faith, to rescue me,” Laerina continued in an elegant, pious voice.

The nobles turned their eyes toward Eugene.

“It’s nothing. As I said before, I only did my duty as a knight,” Eugene stated.

‘That high priest. I like her.’

Eugene lightly nodded while staring at Laerina with a friendly look. He was grateful to her because she had removed his restraint.

‘How audacious! How cheeky!’

Laerina suppressed her boiling emotions. Eugene was responsible for the unbelievable divine proclamation of ‘are you out of your mind?’.

While sweeping her gaze at the nobles, she continued, “But I do not think that this is the end of their holy will. The deep and generous will of the gods continues.”

“…?”

The nobles took on puzzled expressions. Laerina drew the holy symbol in the air once more as she continued, more pious than ever, “The uprising of monsters is prevalent everywhere. That is the reason I blessed His Majesty, who is trying to save everyone from the crisis.”

Ohhhh…!

“Yes. I dare declare that I have been entrusted with full authority from the Holy Father. Blessed be His Majesty as he fights against the monster uprisings, and the Holy Empire will join in the holy war as well. In addition, in the holy name of the three gods, I hereby invite His Majesty Jan Eugene Batla to the Holy Empire,” Laerina declared.

The high priest had given her blessing before the holy war with the monsters began. From now on, the King of Maren would bring glory to the Holy Empire with every victory.

If you couldn’t beat them, join them—that was the conclusion the high priest reached after accidentally giving an unexpected blessing.