Etude of the Sacred Treasured Sword | Chapter 5

[healingbonds]

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Arthur: Sir Sage! Riquet, you came too!

I look up at Arthur’s voice. Mister Cock Robin, Arthur, and a skinny young man approach us.

Arthur: Sir Sage, let me introduce you. This is the vicar of the Holy Church of Faust, and I’ve been discussing the matter of the treasured sword with him for a while.

Marco: Pleased to meet you, Sir Sage. I’m Marco, the vicar of the Holy Church of Faust.

Akira: So you’re Mister Marco...... I hear that you consulted Arthur about the treasured sword.......

Marco: Last night, too, I heard suspicious footsteps while patrolling inside the church...... I’ve been so worried about the treasured sword being stolen by scoundrels that I haven’t been able to sleep for days.
But the High Priest won’t hear me out...... And he’s treated you with such discourtesy, Prince Arthur...... Please find it in your heart to forgive him.

Arthur: I’m not angry. Father Celio is a brilliant person who has served the church for many years.
He must possess great pride and love towards the church and for the treasured sword. Let us explain ourselves to him so that he will accept and understand the situation.

Despite its tinge of exhaustion, Arthur’s smile is sincere and genuine. But it pains me to look at him.
Mister Marco apprehensively draws away from Arthur. I step closer to him in turn, and whisper in a low voice.

Akira: Arthur. I heard from Cain that this Mister Celio person said all sorts of things to you......

Arthur: Sir Sage......

Akira: I’m from another world after all, so please talk freely without holding back. Wasn’t he a horrible man?

Arthur’s eyes go wide, and he brings his face close to my ear.
He covers his mouth with one hand, whispering playfully.

Arthur: Just a little.

I blink, and break into a smile. Arthur telling secret tales like this makes him feel like a boy acting his age.

Arthur: But he’s not a horrible man down to his core. He’s only cautious because he loves the holy wizard Sir Faust and the treasured sword Caletvwlch.
I only hope that we’ll come to understand each other through today’s discussion......

Riquet: Prince Arthur.

Riquet quietly grips Arthur’s hand.

Riquet: Prince Arthur. Please don’t worry. Just as the holy wizard Sir Faust assisted the First King Alec......
I, Riquet, will guide you and the people of this castle. Blessings be unto you, Prince Arthur.

Riquet closes his eyes in prayer. After a moment of surprise, Arthur smiles gently.

Arthur: Thank you, Riquet.
Well then, let’s head to the reception hall. They should be ready to meet with us.

✦✧☾✧✦

Frankly speaking, the meeting was downright awful.
Halfway through, I let the Northern wizards inside my mind go on a rampage instead of screaming "Aaaaaagh" aloud.

High Priest Celio: According to Central Country’s book of etiquette and ceremonial rites, only the clergy is allowed to handle the treasured sword Caletvwlch.....

Arthur: No. Originally, it was kept by the royal family. It was later handed to the church for temporary safekeeping as a protective measure during the war.

High Priest Celio: There is no such record of.....

Arthur: It’s written in the September entry, volume twelve of the Imperial Court Annals.

High Priest Celio: ......

Arthur: Rather than poring through history books or contesting the legitimacy of the matter, let’s focus on solving the problem in front of us.
I want to house Caletvwlch at Granvelle Castle for safekeeping — to protect the safety of the people.

High Priest Celio: What are you protecting the people from? The answer is the wizards who supposedly tried to summon the < Great Catastrophe >.

Arthur: Exactly.

High Priest Celio: Can you prove that the wizards here today have no connection to the incident?

(Sound of smashing glass)

The Northern wizards in my mind smash the twentieth pane of window glass.

Arthur: Cain, Riquet, and the Sage’s wizards — we all risked our lives to protect the capital.

High Priest Celio: I know nothing about the magical world. That enormous bird, and the resurrected dead — those might have simply been illusions.
Moreover, there were reports of the Eastern wizards causing a ruckus down at the cemetery......

Arthur: They were there to investigate a mysterious sighting. It had been reported by a maid.

High Priest Celio: Wizards can manipulate memories too. The maid’s memories might have been altered.

(Sound of smashing glass)

The Northern wizards inside my head smash the thirtieth pane of window glass.

Arthur: There’s no way for us to prove anything with that sort of accusation. Could you please believe in our integrity?

High Priest Celio: I was just about to question you on the integrity of the wizards present here. Former knight, Cain.

Cain: ......Me?

High Priest Celio: It seems that you once hid the fact that you were a wizard. If you were truly an honest youth, you should have openly declared yourself as such.
Why did you hide it?

Cain: That’s...... I’m not proud of it either. But it was my mother’s wish.
It was a difficult decision she made in order to spare me from hardship......

High Priest Celio: What kind of mother teaches her child to lie? Surely there must be problems in his family; I wouldn’t be surprised if he was raised to have an anti-social character.

Cain: Hang on......

High Priest Celio: Show some deference in your language.

Cain: You can say whatever you want about me! But there is hardly any need to put the blame on my parents. I am proud of them.

High Priest Celio: What an abnormal personality you must have to say that you take pride in being a liar. You must have been possessed by the devil — there’s already a curse on your eye.

Cain: I’d choose my eye being stolen over listening to you abuse my parents!

Arthur: Cain, calm down.

Cain: ......I apologize.

Arthur: Celio. If you say that there’s a problem with a mother who teaches her child to lie......
Surely the blame ought to fall on the society that would force a mother into making that decision. Don’t you think so?

High Priest Celio: I do not.

Arthur: Then why was I abandoned?

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