A lot of news had come in over the past half year.
Most of it was about Kaiser.
“Professor, did you hear? Kaiser led the vanguard of Count Hidion’s subjugation corps in the Empire!”
That bastard went and placed himself under a renowned general in the southern Empire.
“Oh my, Professor, Professor! Look at this! Kaiser unified the Five Strongholds of Bikerahen, which were a thorn in the Empire’s side for twenty years!”
He suddenly consolidated the mountain bandit camps that had been exploiting the poor in the southern Empire for two decades.
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
“Oh my goodness?! Professor, Professor! Kaiser received a baronetcy from the Imperial Royal Family for his achievements in the war on crime! Wooow~!”
It was rare for a foreigner, especially someone from Hiaka with Hiakan nationality, to receive a title from the Empire.
“...What?”
That day happened to be a weekend when Senior Professor Wilhelm (the curly-haired, lethargic-looking professor who had accompanied Gray during the Assassination Daily shoot) dropped by the lab out of boredom.
“Kaiser became an Imperial Baronet?”
Baronet Kaiser!
Even Wilhelm, who’d spent a lifetime cozying up to the Empire without ever receiving a title, seemed dumbfounded.
“That bastard—how the hell did he manage that?! I couldn’t even get one!”
“Right? He’s insane, right~?”
While Wilhelm and Adele were exclaiming in disbelief,
...I wasn’t much different.
What the hell?
Has he gone mad?
I know the Empire’s title-granting system. I know how brutally strict they are with outsiders. And yet he got a noble title from them?
And during a time when the Empire is actively sanctioning Hiaka on the international stage?
How did he do it?
I was genuinely curious. Just how the hell did he pull that off?
│ᗜㅇ) lol
That bastard must know something.
Every time Kaiser is mentioned, he just laughs.
But of course, that wasn’t the end of it.
“By the way, he also made a heresy declaration in his fiefdom?”
“A heresy declaration?”
“Yes, yes. His fief originally worshipped Gilleungseong□, but he suddenly announced that from now on, they’d worship Domination❆ instead...”
Smack in the middle of the Imperial paper was a photo of Kaiser.
Behind him hung an enormous banner of Domination❆, and in front of it, three hundred Imperial citizens bowed their heads.
I shook mine.
This is dizzying...
│ᗜㅇ) lolol
Meanwhile—
< Would you like to become the human companion of Radiance⁺₊⋆? >
That offer is still pending.
I mean, I’m not even at [Challenger] rank, so I don’t know why I got this proposal in the first place. And accepting it... who knows what the hell happens after that.
Constellation activity is always dictated by random number generators.
Even in [Hard Difficulty], most Constellation-related events are RNG-based.
You never know when or where something’s going to explode.
A prime example: the “Sacrifice” event.
That’s where the [Life♥] Constellation sacrifices their own body to heal countless incurables after the ending.
I’d just randomly drop dead while living my life, and the rest would remember me as a saint or something.
From my perspective? Absolutely the worst ending.
So, for now: on hold.
Finally—
Through a newly established contact within the Church, I was also getting periodic updates on Rebecca.
– Tyson Spyspy: Are you busy, Professor? The Princess is currently returning to the Church.
She was supposed to become the mage of the Hero’s party, so I’d been keeping an eye on her.
– Dante: How did the pilgrimage go?
– Tyson Spyspy: To put it bluntly...
– Tyson Spyspy: It was a massive success.
A success?
– Tyson Spyspy: She’s receiving extremely high praise within the Church. The Princess has earned the love and support of many, and the current Cardinal even publicly declared his endorsement.
The current Cardinal’s support.
That’s a big deal.
– Dante: She can’t even use divinity, can she?
– Tyson Spyspy: But divinity isn’t everything to a priest, is it? The things she can’t do with divinity, she’s accomplishing with royal authority.
This wasn’t good news.
– Dante: What’s your take?
– Dante: Do you think she has a shot at becoming a Cardinal?
– Tyson Spyspy: The bishop review is currently being prepared. If the Princess becomes a bishop, the Royal Elders’ Council will likely support her path to Cardinal within ten years. It’s an extraordinarily prestigious position.
No.
In ten years without her, the world will have collapsed into a wasteland.
Bishop review, huh...
When?
– Tyson Spyspy: It’s next week.
Next week.
That’s the turning point.
Unfortunately, Rebecca cannot become a Cardinal.
Not only that—she mustn’t even pass the bishop review.
She needs to leave the Church, even after devoting more than half a year to it.
– Dante: Keep watching the situation.
– Tyson Spyspy: Yes, sir!
I ended the transmission and fell into thought.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
The problem is...
There’s currently no way to reach Rebecca, who’s now buried deep in the Church.
The Church is an extremely insular organization.
From the locations to the relationships, outsiders have no entry points.
All I’ve managed to do over the past half-year is plant a single spy.
For that Rebecca to have become a genuine priest during her pilgrimage... this is way beyond what I expected...
To be honest—
I thought she’d naturally get weeded out and pushed aside.
Then I’d swoop in later and pretend I had nothing to do with it while offering, “Why not become a mage?”
Because, well... is Rebecca the kind of person who’s mentally balanced?
Seeing her grumble about having to hold a homeless person’s hand, I figured she’d throw a tantrum, kill someone in a fit of rage, get caught, and be expelled.
And yet—
Not only did she survive that hyper-competitive pilgrimage route, but she even secured the support of a Cardinal?
Why is she doing so well?
Kaiser too. And now Rebecca.
Everyone’s defying my expectations.
What am I supposed to do?
I called the two assistants to discuss it.
(Currently, Adele knows most of the situation—except for the existence of “Adele Mouin.”)
“Hmm... What about trying to persuade her?”
That was Adele’s suggestion.
“You think persuasion will work?”
“Don’t you? Princess Rebecca is strong-willed, yes, but hasn’t she opened up to you more than anyone?”
“Says who.”
At that, Adele’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Isn’t it true? Everyone knows. To be blunt, the only professor the Princess actually met with at the Academy was you, Professor Dante.”
“She did?”
“Yes, yes. If I’m not mistaken, she even refused a meeting request from the Dean later on, telling them to go through you instead.”
It was that serious?
I didn’t think her social skills were that bad.
“So if you try to persuade her, maybe she’ll listen...?”
Well...
I pictured it in my head.
Rebecca. You’d make a better mage than a priest.
Is that so, Professor? So I’m better suited to being a mage than a priest?
And then Rebecca left the Church and became a mage~
Happy Ending~
...Hmm.
It was then that Ran spoke up.
“What about kidnapping her?”
“Kidnapping?”
“We’re assassins, after all.”
Simple and direct.
“Whaaat? Kidnapping? No, no, unnie!”
This time, Adele was flustered.
“Princess Rebecca is royalty, even if she is isolated. The moment she gets kidnapped, the royal family will send knights to turn everything upside down looking for her!”
“Then we just hide our faces, conceal our identities, create a false persona, and brainwash her. Wouldn’t that work?”
Ran laid out a terrifying plan with a completely serious expression.
“...Unnie, do you realize how scary you sound right now?”
“Why?”
“You sound... like you’re actually serious.”
“I am serious.”
“......”
No.
That wasn’t a good plan either.
I knew Rebecca’s personality.
She wasn’t the kind of person who’d listen just because we dragged her here, nor would she submit if forced.
Persuasion won’t work. Force won’t work.
In the end, Rebecca had to realize it herself.
That she’s a mage.
But if I can’t even meet with her... how the hell am I supposed to make that happen?
......
I mulled it over for a day, getting nowhere.
Then, the following day, someone who’d had a similar idea came to find me.
– Professor, may I come in??
The chubby assistant to Dean Shaman, the little piglet Bugi Bugi, came to my lab—
—and brought a familiar knight with him.
“Yo, Professor.”
That sly face.
The knight commander of the Royal Special Forces’ Assassin Eradication Unit.
The guy who fought me atop Starfall Mountain, ended up breaking a national treasure, and limped back home.
A Grandmaster—Kashan.
“Well, would you look at that. Still got your head attached.”
At my comment, Kashan grimaced.
“Come on, Professor! You gotta say it like that? Do you even know the hell I went through because of you?”
“What punishment did you get when you returned?”
“They cut off my pension. My fiancée dumped me. I got demoted to a dead-end post! All because of you!”
“Because you were weak.”
“Haah? Unbelievable.”
Of course, he was stronger than me.
“So, what’s your current assignment?”
“What do you think? Got pushed out of Royal Special Forces and now I’m with the Elder Council’s Special Ops. I move under their orders now.”
“The Elder Council, huh.”
From what I’d heard, after the Empire opened up, Ezekiel gained quite a bit of influence within the Elder Council.
We were on the same boat now—but still couldn’t trust each other.
“If you’re not too busy, can you spare a moment? This is about the Elder Council and the royal family. It’s serious. Something only you can do.”
Kashan grumbled as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
I asked Ran to prepare some tea, then took a seat across from him.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Hmm...”
He glanced around the room—at Ran, at Bugi Bugi.
I gestured for them to leave. While they stepped out, I used 【Script】 to read why Kashan had come.
【 Kashan: ‘Hmm.’ 】
【 Kashan: ‘No ring on the finger.’ 】
【 Kashan: ‘No family photos lying around.’ 】
【 Kashan: ‘These assassin bastards always hide their families, which makes this so damn difficult.’ 】
His eyes darted around, searching for anything about my family.
Why?
***
That same day, the Archbishop of Hiaka’s Church summoned Rebecca.
Rebecca, dressed in pure and modest robes, stepped forward to kneel before the Archbishop.
“Welcome, Sister Rebecca.”
Rebecca bowed her head and knelt gracefully before her.
The Archbishop’s name was Ophelia.
The first female bishop in Hiaka’s history, and a rare figure among a hierarchy that had always chosen only men. She was also the adult who supported Rebecca the most.
“The bishop review is just around the corner. You’ve worked so hard these past six months.”
“It was all the grace of the Virgin Mother, and thanks to your guidance. I’ve always leaned on your support.”
Bishop Ophelia gave her a gentle, affectionate smile.
“I am truly proud of you, Sister.”
“...Pardon?”
“When you first joined the Church, I never imagined you would dedicate yourself so wholly to the Virgin.”
“Ah...”
“Back then, I saw the fire in your eyes... and given your background as a princess, I doubted whether you could truly live a life for the people, for the faithful.”
Rebecca pressed her lips together tightly.
And Ophelia continued.
“I judged you through human eyes. We are both servants of the Virgin Mother... and yet I did that.”
“......”
Rebecca—rarely—let a faint smile curl on her lips.
“...Thank you.”
Rebecca believed she was worthy of such praise.
She had tried—truly, earnestly.
She had changed her mindset.
She had changed her behavior and her thoughts.
She had read the scriptures, which she never cared for, until her eyes ached.
Despite her low blood pressure and the migraines that came with it, she rose at dawn to pray.
She hadn’t killed the fellow priest who acted like a # Nоvеlight # prick, nor the filthy beggar who tried to shake her hand, nor the paladin who dared to flirt with her.
She’d listened to shitty confessions every single day.
She had bled for this.
Because otherwise, she knew she had no place in the world.
It hadn’t been a short life. Rebecca had always wandered in the dark.
That past was now over. She was moving forward.
“But becoming a bishop... means giving up many things.”
“I’ve heard as much. What kind of things?”
“There are many. We cannot accumulate private wealth. We cannot keep servants. And we must sever ties with the royal family.”
“I’m aware.”
“And... is there anyone you have feelings for?”
“...Excuse me?”
A rather abrupt question.
“No, not at all.”
“Good. Bishops, you see, dedicate their entire being to the Virgin Mother. We cannot marry. We cannot love.”
As Rebecca shook her head, Bishop Ophelia smiled softly.
“Not ever.”
***
【 Kashan: ‘Alright. How do I get this professor to marry Princess Rebecca?’ 】
“...What?”
“Huh?”