“Anyway, now that I properly have the robes, why don’t we see if it is even possible for me to register everyone,” I suggested, shifting the conversation to hide my irrational disappointment.
“Yes, I am quite curious to see if the array will recognize your changed mana as belonging to a saintess.” Greg wondered.
“Let’s hope it works,” Rapunzel worried.
“You know, the core doesn’t seem to be very well guarded,” I said as we entered the room containing the core.
“That’s because that isn’t actually the core of the array. It’s just the interface.” Samuel explained.
“Oh. Well, it’s still odd to be left so unguarded, but whatever. Haa, so, who wants to try with me?” I asked.
“I will.” Rapunzel volunteered. “I’ve already tried once before, after all.”
And, well, as soon as we tried to infuse our mana, we hit problems. First, these robes are disrupting my ability to control my mana, though I can work with that. The real issue though…
“It’s rejecting my mana,” I announced depressingly.
“What!?” Samuel shouted.
“It doesn’t recognize my mana as belonging to a saintess. I, well, I’ve been demoted to a guest. I just, I don’t have enough divinity to cover all of my mana.”
“You, are lacking in divinity? But you’ve been blessed by the Gods! You’ve even completed your blessing! How!”
“Uh, I guess the dragon was stronger?” I responded.
“Are You Saying. That. A. MEER DRAGON Has Defeated The Gods!” Samuel shouted in rage as he started to march toward me,
“NO! It, it just defeated the divinity that I had. That’s it. Not the Gods themselves.” I explained in panic, as my companions readied themselves just in case Samuel did something in his rage.
“CALM DOWN!” Cardinal Caitlyn demanded. Uh, this is looking really bad. Everyone is shouting at each other, and, instead of calming down, everyone is getting more heated. At this rate, a fight might actually break out.
Um, uh, is, is there anything I can do!? I, well, not really. It’s, well, I’ve accidentally started a religious argument, in the church even, soo… Haa, I, I can’t actually fix this, can I?
And, as I worried, I noticed that several other people had entered the room, and, have, of course, joined the argument. This, this is really getting out of hand. Like, I think even some cardinals have joined in.
Is there really nothi- Ah! I got it! I walked to the middle of everyone, and then demanded, “That’s enough.” while releasing my aura.
““““Aaaaaaahhhhhhh”””” People started screaming as my aura ‘attacked.’
And everybody burned
Including myself, annoyingly.
After I recovered, I quickly suppressed my aura, allowing everyone to breathe in peace.
“Well, at least it’s not as bad as being infused,” Melly commented, being the only one who was mostly fine.
“It’s not?” I asked. Like, it felt horrible when I experienced it from infusing my halo. If being infused is worse, how could Melly withstand it!? I couldn’t help but stare at her as if she was a monster.
“Yeah um, what’s with that look, Eli?” She asked.
“How could you even deal with something even worse!? It felt like I was on fire!” I questioned.
“What! You could feel it too! How?”
“I think it’s because I have to infuse my halo with mana to use it, which then seems to act separately from me. Like, when I first infused my halo, it even took control over some of my mana to attack me. Until I retook control, of course.” I explained. “Wait, first? Ah! It wasn’t as intense this time!” I exclaimed in realization.
“While it's not good that you are also affected by your aura, at least you didn’t feel its full intensity.” Melly sighed in relief.
I was about to question that, before noticing that most everyone had recovered. And with how quickly the guards recovered, it seems it won’t be enough to deal with people on its own.
As I was thinking, I noticed everyone was staring at me. “Ah, sorry about that. I was worried that a fight would break out, so I forcibly stopped it.” I apologized.
Uh, they were still staring at me. As I started to panic over not knowing what to say, Cardinal Caitlyn spoke up. “You do not need to worry about us, we just got into an argument that happened to get a bit too heated. I am sorry for the disturbance.” She bowed in apology, which I joined.
Okay, this shou-
“That’s not what it seemed like.” An old man denied. Uh, I think he was one of the Cardinals, but I don’t really remember. I only really saw them once, after all.
“Um, what did it seem like, then?” I asked, getting some surprised looks from everyone. What, I want to know! I was too busy panicking to notice, after all…
“Ehem, It appears that you, the Saintess, have scorned the Gods! Such an ac-”
“No, I didn’t.” I denied.
“... Oh, really?” He questioned.
“Yeah. I did, however, insult myself.” I corrected.
“Huh?” He muttered in confusion.
“Yeah. I said that the, um.” I paused, realizing that I couldn’t just talk about the core. “I wasn’t strong enough to properly utilize the divinity given to me by the Gods, so I lost.” I vaguely explained.
“You lost to the dragon’s core!” He accused. Uh, what?
As I struggled in confusion, Cardinal Caitlyn explained. “Everyone in the… Mir Elysium… knows about the dragon core you fused with. It wouldn’t make sense for you to have to hide such things from your own people. Especially when it might affect your ability to govern this place.”
“Oh, that makes things easier.” I then took a deep breath, before quickly explaining. “So, I won against the dragon core, but my mana still was going to fuse with it. That caused my mana trait to change from what the Gods enhanced, so I was rejected by this core. Specifically, the divinity in my body is not enough to completely merge with the rest of my mana, so I’m seen as a guest instead of the Saintess. So, I was the one that was weak, because the Gods can obviously deal with a dragon easily.” Haa.
“So, even with the robes, your divinity is insufficient?”
“Correct.” I nodded. “Well, I might be able to fix that by becoming stronger, but I do not know if that could be enough. Dragons, while far inferior to Gods, are still superior to even the strongest of humans, after all. How could I ever hope to overpower one.” I shrugged. Especially since I am fairly low-leveled.
“Ah, right, you are just a human. Even after being chosen and blessed by the Gods, you are still limited by your human body. Of course, you wouldn’t have enough power to compete with a dragon. I, I am very sorry. I have made a grave mistake.” Samuel bowed. “I shall accept any punishment you give me.”
Ah great, now I need to figure out how to handle this.
“Um, uh.” I start mumbling, hoping someone will help me. Sadly, no one is stepping up this time.
Man, this sucks. Like, I don’t really care that much, so I’m fine with something minor, but he did almost start a fight. And, like, in a sense he did almost rebel, soo… Yeah, I can’t just give him some minor punishment. Yay, politics…
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Whatever, let’s just suggest something, hopefully, someone else will fix it. “Uh, let’s imprison him at Cardinal Caitlyn’s church.” I do still need his help making my spell, after all. So, this would just be changing where he’s sleeping, and, well, mess with his free time. That should be fine, right?
“How long shall he be imprisoned for?” The possible cardinal asked.
I mean, rebels are usually executed, so technically, it should be at least several years. But, uh, while I don’t actually know how old he is. Looking at him, he does seem fairly old, so, uh, I’m not completely certain it really matters.
Would I actually imprison him for that long? Who knows! Probably not, though. It wasn’t that big of a deal, after all, it just seems like it is. Haa, I was hoping they wouldn’t ask about that though, so I could just, well, sweep this issue under the rug.
Sadly, I, once again, have to give an answer, on my own, so, “Um, until he proves himself worthy of being released?” I suggested. Yeah, this way, he can be released quickly just by helping me! I’m a genius!
Orr… not? Why does everyone look grim? Did, did I make some sort of mistake? I was expecting them to look at me like I was a child, or an idiot, or something, not this!
“Understood. I shall do my best to repay your mercy! I will not disappoint you!” Samuel declared passionately. Uh, at least he seems happy?
After I made my decision (that oddly no one disagreed with) everyone just stayed where they were. As I’m once again confused about what to do, Cardinal Caitlyn finally comes to the rescue.
“Well, you heard her, arrest him. Now, as it’s been an eventful day, I’m certain Saintess Elizabeth is tired, so we shall retire.” She said, motioning for us to follow her as the guards grabbed Samuel and cuffed him.
After we were a bit away and alone, I nervously asked. “So, how did I do? Did I just fail miserably, or was that okay, or…”
“First, I would like to know your thought process.” Cardinal Caitlyn requested.
“Okay, so, since there were too many people there, I figured I needed to actually punish him decently, since, you know, he almost committed treason, so-”
“Treason! How?” She questioned.
“He almost started a fight with the Saintess over my faith in the Gods? What else would you call that? And, with the amount of people on either side, this could have started a decently sized conflict.” I explained.
“He, questioned the Saintess’, the chosen of the Gods, faith, within her personal domain, haa, and he even ‘gathered followers!’ By the Gods, you are right, you can look at it that way! I didn’t even notice. And you said that you didn’t understand politics.” Cardinal Caitlyn complimented.
“I don’t really, it’s just common sense.”
“It is?”
“If you’ve been raised in the church, yeah,” I explained. “You just don’t oppose the Gods and their decisions in the church. Though it does help that I’ve also read about similar things happening throughout history.”
“I see. Well, that knowledge seems to be serving you well, at least. So, could you please continue explaining your thought process?”
“Yeah, so, you could say that what he did was almost treason, so I needed to actually punish him, or people might just think they could get away with, well, basically anything at that point, but not too harshly, as it was just a heated argument that happened to escalate because other people joined in.”
“Not too harshly? You gave him a potentially infinite sentence.”
“I mean, kinda.” I shrugged. “That wasn’t my intention, at least. I, initially, just wanted to lock him up for like, a few days or so while he reflected on his actions, while still being able to help me create my spell and stuff. I just added the ‘until he proves himself’ because I was asked, but it doesn’t actually mean anything if you really think about it.”
“But you said until he’s worthy?”
“Yeah, of being released. And I’m also the one that decides that, right? So, unless I’m wrong, I should be able to release him whenever.”
“That, that’s right. You can be the one to decide when to release him. Though, it was implied that I was to decide that, with him being imprisoned in my church.”
“Huh. I mean, I did that because I wanted him nearby so he could help me with magic, but that works too.” I shrugged. It doesn’t really matter to me.
“So, you were going to release him right away then?” Rapunzel asked.
“Not at all.” I denied, shocking everyone. “Hey, he questioned my faith, the Saintess’ faith, he deserves to be punished for that, at the very least.”
“Ah, that is a pretty big deal.” She said in realization.
“So yeah, I planned on actually imprisoning him for a bit, and only releasing him once he had reflected on his actions.”
“What if he didn’t?”
“Then he’d actually deserve to stay in prison.” I once again shrugged.
“I understand. Please leave him to me.” Cardinal Caitlyn requested.
“Sure.” I agreed. Hmm, it feels odd that she’s being so… subservient? I don’t know what to call it, but it’s like I’m the one in charge. “Oh yeah! Why didn’t anyone say anything when I was asked how to punish him? I kept waiting for someone to help me, but no one ever did.” I pouted.
“Well, we are outsiders to the church, so we weren’t really in any position to comment,” Rapunzel reported for my companions.
“I’m in a similar situation. You are officially my superior, after all, I can’t just decide things for you. Especially if it concerns Samuel, who is also seen as above me. I’m sorry for not assisting you, though, Saintess Elizabeth.”
“Ah, I see. Well, you don’t really need to worry about that, at least when I’m with you, so feel free to speak up if you think of something.” I offered with a smile.
“I do not believe that is a good idea, Eli.” Greg refused. What? Why? “You should not allow others to speak for you, such things can easily cause you problems.” He advised.
“I didn’t say to speak for me, just to, like, speak your mind or give me advice, you know. I just, I really didn’t like the silence as everyone just waited for my decision. It hurt to just be ignored…” I said sadly. “So, please?” I all but begged. “I’m not ready to do this on my own yet.”
Sadly, no one responded. As the minutes passed, I grew distressed at how no one was willing to help me.
Until “I’ll see what I can do. Just don’t expect much.”
“Melly!? What are you doing?” Rapunzel questioned.
“What, Eli’s asking for our help, why aren't we at least trying?”
“That’s because it is her responsibility. Eli is going to need to be able to deal with this stuff on her own.”
“But she isn’t ready to do that yet,” Melly argued.
“Then she will have to learn. Besides, can you take responsibility for what you might say?” Rapunzel pointed out.
“Uh, well…” Melly hesitated because of course she couldn’t. I know that. Even I don’t want that sort of responsibility, and I have the position! So I’m not asking them to bear the responsibility.
“You wouldn’t have to worry about that!” I declared.
“How? If anything we do negatively affects the church, none of us could handle the responsibility, None Of Us!” Well, the Hero might…
Regardless, “I know! That's not what I’m asking for though. I just, I want someone to be there for me, you know. And all I’m asking for is some advice, so it’s not like you’d be making any decisions.” I pointed out. “I’d be the one doing that, so all the blame would fall on me. I just don’t want to do everything on my own. Please, please don’t leave me alone with this.” I begged nervously.
“Look at how distressed we are making her!” Melly pointed out in anger. “She just wants our help, why can’t we at least try?”
“But what if our help makes things worse? We don’t understand the church nearly as much as Eli does. Even Gregory, with his experience in politics, wouldn’t know how to handle this, much less us!”
“Then where does that place Eli!? Until a few months ago, she was just some orphan girl trying to become a priest. Besides, growing up in the church doesn’t mean she understands how it’s run. She's not ready for this sort of responsibility.”
“But she is going to need to be.”
“But that time isn’t now. She’s just barely even an adult! And she was just suddenly given this huge responsibility as soon as she legally became one. Yeah, it’s impressive how well Eli is handling everything, but she has limits. Additionally, she’s already busy dealing with a demon lord, she’s too busy to deal with anything else. Besides, she’s not asking us to do anything for her, she just wants us to try, to not leave her to deal with everything on her own. And even if we can’t actually help, us just trying to would, at the very least, help reduce some of her stress.”
“In addition, it is fairly often that all you require is a different point of view to reveal a more desirable choice,” Greg added.
“Even you Gregory? You should know what sort of situation you are getting yourself into.”
“I do, which is all the more reason to not abandon Eli to struggle against such a situation by her lonesome.”
“Indeed.”
“I, but…” Rapunzel hesitated. I wanted to tell her that it’s fine; that I would also struggle to choose in her position (though it’s more likely I’d be partially regretting my agreement more than anything). I, I don’t want to force her. If she really doesn’t want to be remotely involved in this, I’d understand.
But I didn’t. Because as soon as I tried to, Melly stopped me. I, but, just leaving her like this, as if we were ganging up on her, just feels wrong.
I, I can’t. I can’t force her to do this, not when even I don’t want to.
“It’s fine, Rapunzel.” I said, causing Melly to sigh. “You don’t have to if you really don’t want to.” I offered.
“Why?” She asks in confusion. I had just been trying to convince her to, after all.
“Because I’d feel far worse coercing you than I would if I was just doing this all on my own. What sort of friend would I be if I did that?” I said with a smile
“...Thank you.” Rapunzel eventually said as she started to cry.
As I hugged her, I knew this was the right choice. I didn’t realize just how against this she was. While I can’t be certain, it really seems like there is more to this than just reluctance because she ‘lacks the right to,’ though I don’t know what could be. Or if there even is some specific reason.
Well, if she wants to tell me, I’ll listen. I won’t pry otherwise.
Actually, is this somehow related to her failed attempt at leading? Probably, huh. It would explain why she was so against this, she’s probably worried that she’d lead me down her path, causing me to cause a massive amount of conflict in the church. And with today’s incident showing just how disliked I seem to be, I can see why she’d be worried about making things worse.
Anyway, after she calmed down, I said. “Why don’t we actually return now? It’s been quite an intense day already, so I’m ready to take a break.”
“It has.” Cardinal Caitlyn agreed. “Let’s head back then.”