“The country itself seems to be prospering, but what kind of guy is your king?” Souji asked.
“Well… I do not really understand him myself.”
“Oh, come on…”
“His martial abilities are no different from those of the common people,” said Inugami. “Even with training, he would only be at the level of a rank and file soldier. In terms of his ability to command, he leaves that to his subordinates, so I couldn’t say. He seems to have a good degree of ingenuity, but he uses it for creating new systems for the country, and to do other things that are not immediately noticeable.”
“He doesn’t sound that great to me,” Souji said.
Inugami grinned. “However, if I can say one thing about him, it would be that, without fail, those who underestimate His Majesty always seem to find themselves led by the nose into a nasty situation. Even the saint of Lunarian Orthdoxy was no exception.”
“A saint? Did one of the higher-ups do something?”
Inugami told Souji about what had just happened.
He mentioned that the Orthodox Papal State had offered the Kingdom of Friedonia a deal where they would name King Souma a “holy king” in exchange for making Lunarian Orthodoxy their state religion. Because of the danger of them inciting followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy in the country to rebel, the kingdom had found itself in a position where it would be difficult to refuse.
In response to this situation, King Souma had declined to be named holy king, and had chosen to recognize Lunarian Orthodoxy as a “state religion.” Then Souma had addressed all religions in the country, notifying them of his intention that “Every religion which registers and passes an investigation by the country will be recognized as a state religion,” thereby declaring that religions operating in the country would be under his management in the future.
Souji was a little taken aback at first, but he soon let out an enthusiastic laugh. “Ha ha ha, good for him! The higher-ups’ scheming sure went awry there!”
In a way, he was laughing off the way his compatriots had been beaten. Then, after draining the rest of his glass, he put it down on the table.
“Hmm… But will the higher-ups really stay quiet after that? Those guys’re persistent. Even if it’s bought you some time for now, they’ll come up with a new move soon enough, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” said Inugami. “That was something that His Majesty was also concerned about. That brings us to this.” He pulled a letter from his pocket and offered it to Souji. “That is a letter addressed to you from Prime Minister Hakuya.”
“To me?”
“If you read it, I believe you will understand why, but our prime minister wishes for you to come to the kingdom and become the bishop who manages the Orthodox believers there.”
“Me as the kingdom’s bishop…” When Souji skimmed through the letter, he found more or less the same thing that Inugami had said written out in polite wording. He finished reading the letter and put it down on the table. “That makes sense. In other words… by putting a corrupt person like me as your bishop, you want to sever the followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy in the kingdom from those in the Orthodox Papal State proper.”
When the Orthodox Papal State gave directions to their followers in other countries, they first went through the local bishop who represented the believers in that country. From there, that bishop would convey the homeland’s directions to the individual churches throughout the country. So, if the kingdom could fill that bishop’s seat with a person who was not-so-loyal to their homeland and the main church, one who could be easily won over to their side, it would be possible to shut out any directives from the homeland.
I see. They’ve thought this out well, Souji thought.
“Was this the king’s plan? Or the prime minister’s?” he asked.
“It was the prime minister’s plan to invite you, Sir Souji.”
“I see. They’re both crafty… No, they’re total fraudsters, aren’t they?”
Souji crossed his arms and thought about it.
It’s true, there’s probably no one out there who fits their criteria better than I do. I hear rumors Cardinal Gold will finally be getting expelled soon, too. If that greedy cardinal goes down, I just know the court of inquiry will take that as their cue to censure me. When that happens, it’ll be time to pay the piper. So it’s not a bad time for me to be getting out of the country… Still, though…
Souji had one concern. “What happens if I refuse?”
“I find this hard to say, but it would be unwise,” Inugami said. “We have already had the saint communicate our desire to take custody of you to the upper echelons of the Orthodox Papal State. I am sure those in charge here will have no desire to see you placed as the representative of Lunarian Orthodoxy for all who live in the kingdom, so…”
“…I’m in danger, then.” Souji sighed at Inugami’s observation. “Well, shoot. I never had a choice to begin with, did I?”
“I am sorry,” Inugami said. “However, if you will agree to it, we will escort you safely to the kingdom, ensuring you are not harmed in the slightest.”
“That’s not the problem…” Souji scratched hard at the back of his bald head. After thinking for a while, he looked Inugami straight in the eye as if he had made a decision, then asked him something. “I seem to recall you saying King Souma is crazy about collecting talented personnel, right?”
“I would have to take issue with you calling him crazy,” Inugami told him. “Is it not the natural duty of any ruler to search far and wide for excellent personnel to serve under them?”
“Ohhh, sorry if I offended you there. I didn’t mean to insult your king. It’s just… I wanted to check if King Souma will really hire excellent personnel. No matter who that person happens to be, if they have some gift, will he put it to good use?”
When Souji asked him this with a seriousness that seemed unlike him based on their interaction up until this point, Inugami thought about it as he answered.
“Well… this is only my personal view, but I do believe His Majesty makes his decisions based on whether the person does or does not have some gift. He is not fixated on race, age, gender, history, or physical appearance, and looks to draw talent from a wide range of people.”
“Really? Would that hold true even for someone declared a ‘witch’ by Lunarian Orthodoxy?”
“A witch?” Inugami repeated the ominous-sounding word with a questioning look.
The door suddenly flew open. When Inugami turned around, there stood a woman wearing a brightly colored cloth draped over her head.
Wearing plain clothes with a beautiful cloth draped over one’s head was the mark of a prostitute in this country. It had started with prostitutes covering their faces with cloth to prevent them from being seen as they entered a man’s home, but once vanity had been added into the mix, they’d begun wearing more vibrant pieces of cloth.
When the woman who came in noticed Inugami’s presence, she said, “You were in the middle of talking, I see. I apologize for my rudeness.”
She bowed her head, then went to leave at once.
Souji stopped her before she could go. “Hold on, Merula. You don’t need to worry about this guy. He’s fine.”
The woman stopped, then slowly turned. “…Is he really?”
“Yeah. If anything, he’s on the side of people fighting this country.”
The prostitute looked taken aback. “You’re supposed to be a bishop of this country, Souji…”