Julius bowed his head and placed his hand on his heart to show respect.
"The Prime Minister of the glorious Balthazar Kingdom meets with the envoys of the Holy Kingdom."
Roanna's expression was not good.
"Why... are you here?"
Because her frowning eyebrows contained an unpleasant feeling.
At the moment when Roanna's eyes flickered with murderous intent as she pulled even harder on the chain she held tightly, Julius smiled slightly and adjusted the ends of the gloves on his hands.
"I have come to the Empire on business. Priest Roanna… Ah, I guess it would be right to call you the ring finger of the five fingers."
"..."
"Why are you moving so hastily in the middle of the night, priest?"
"..."
"If anyone saw me, I would look like someone who committed a great sin and ran away."
"..."
Julius, adjusting his gloves, looked at Roanna and Cardinal Gregory and asked a question with a faint smile.
"Would you like a cup of warm tea?"
"..."
"Just in time, I received some cocoa tea from the empire, and it was sweeter and more delicious than I expected."
"..."
"I plan to ask them to include it in their imported goods later. I think the priests of the Holy Land will be satisfied with it."
There was no reply.
Only the closed eyes of Roanna, who was just standing guard, and the Cardinal, who was reciting a prayer, filled the silence.
Julius looked at Roanna's chain and asked again, thinking she didn't seem in the mood for tea.
"Priest."
"..."
"If you're thinking of killing someone here, I don't think that's a good idea."
"..."
"I just happened to meet the priests of the Holy Land on my way back to my home country."
“Is this also God’s will?”
"I guess so."
"I have met a human here who has distorted God's will with civilization... and who has destroyed one of God's sacred relics, the Holy Grail. Does this mean that God wants to punish you?"
Julius smiled and shook his head.
"I didn't destroy it. I just borrowed it for research."
"..."
"What is the basis for the nickname 'holy relic' in the Holy Land?"
"..."
"Why is the Holy Nation moving so desperately to collect the seven holy relics?"
"..."
"And does God exist?"
Julius, with a faint smile, took a step towards Roanna and continued asking questions in a soft voice.
"Religion is a strange thing."
"..."
"When people are anxious, they receive the power to overcome their anxiety and receive the power of divinity from a god who may or may not even exist... It is truly an unknown field of study and a homework for humanity to solve."
"..."
"One thing I wonder is why God grants divinity to those who are not good. Even though they contain truths that could deceive the people of their own country... paradoxically, He seems to be extremely tolerant of right and wrong."
"Shut your mouth."
"I'm curious about that."
"..."
"Even among the priests I know, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of innocent people who have been killed... I truly wonder why God grants them divinity instead of passing judgment."
"..."
"There is a reasonable suspicion that the divine is not just a power given by God, but another power of magic..."
-Choosh!!!
Roanna's hammer grazed Julius's Volga and crashed to the ground.
Roanna, who was glaring at Julius with cold eyes, raised her cold eyes and looked at him.
"It is God's will."
"..."
"It is a sin to question His will."
"...Come to think of it, we're old friends."
"..."
"Didn't you see the day when the priests planted in Balthazar's castle were executed, when they came fearlessly into the kingdom?"
"..."
“I thought I was carrying around some strange weapon, then and now….”
-Gwaaaah...
"I saw it today and I'd like to take that weapon and analyze it."
Seongguk and Balthazar continued their conflict unknown to the world.
The relationship between the believers planted in Balthazar for the purpose of evangelism and Balthazar, who sought out and identified them, could not have been good.
In the process, the Holy Nation lost the Holy Grail, and in the process, Balthazar even went so far as to completely cut off diplomatic relations with other countries, so the relationship between the two countries could not be good.
The weight of a long-held grudge had been passed down through generations, and the two people standing at opposite ends of the spectrum were looking at each other with cold eyes, waiting for an opportunity.
"What is the Holy Land's true intention?"
Julius asked the question with a calm expression, but the answer was, of course, silence.
"Why is the Holy Nation sending spies to Balthazar?"
"It's the same for you. And we send out prophets to evangelize. To save souls from damnation."
"Do prophets... commit acts of terrorism?"
"..."
"If the way the Holy Nation proselytizes is to wrap its entire body in magical tools and then go berserk, killing innocent people, I think it's a bit dangerous."
"It is God's will."
“It is God’s will….”
Julius looked at Roanna and raised the corners of his mouth in a bitter manner.
“Then God is truly a heartless being.”
"..."
"To the point where you'd think he was an evil spirit."
The moment the word 'evil god' left Julius's lips, a huge hammer began to approach him.
"Insulting God is a serious crime."
"..."
"I will execute you."
Julius ducked to avoid the hammer blow, pulling at the end of his glove and his cold eyes began to shine.
"His Majesty does not look favorably on the Holy Nation."
"You who serve monsters in human form are truly a group of madmen."
"That's what I'm saying now..."
-Exactly.
Five magic circles appear on the floor with the sound of snapping fingers.
In less than a second, a wall rose from the magic drawn on the floor, blocking Roanna's view.
As the shadow of the wall wrapping around her in a circle was about to crush her, Roanna spread her hands and swung the chain.
Amidst the crumbling rubble, Roanna kicked the ground through the dust cloud to smash Julius's head.
"Do you know that?"
As soon as her eyes met Julius's smiling eyes, Roanna's body began to float in the air and lose her balance.
"It's like my body is floating in the air."
"...!!"
"It's no different from showing a weakness to wizards like us."
-Exactly.
As the sound of fingers snapping rang out again, Roanna saw Julius's outstretched hand approaching her.
-Dismissed...!!
Roanna and Julius's eyes meet in the air.
"[Grace of Medusa]"
Roanna's eyes widened, and she moved the chain before Julius's hand could grasp her face. No one caught in those hands survived.
-Yeah.
The two people who were pushed away glared at each other and remained silent.
"...were you planning to kill me?"
"Yes, insulting the king in front of his subjects is punishable by immediate execution."
"..."
Roanna bit her lip as she looked at Julius. She could kill him, but she had too much to lose.
Roanna, who had fought him once before, frowned at the thought that she had a lot to lose by fighting Julius, who had so many variables.
"Aren't you going to do more?"
"..."
"okay."
Roanna turned her back.
"I won't let you live next time."
Julius opened his lips with a smile.
"The Empress has warned you."
"..."
"He said that if you do anything that will harm the kingdom one more time, then you must be prepared to take responsibility."
***
Dark room.
In a room where black and white intersect, two people are facing each other with faint smiles.
The faces of the two people were hidden behind a veil, but the numerous troops standing behind them told of the importance of this place.
"I didn't know the King of the Holy Land would contact us."
"It's a time of chaos."
"That's an interesting thing to say."
They address each other with honorifics.
"I think so."
"..."
“In this chaotic world filled with evil people anyway… wouldn’t it be better if there was just one specific bad guy?”
"I agree. It's a headache when an unexpected third party appears."
"so..."
"..."
"Our holy nation would like to propose an alliance with the pagans."
The two shared a faint smile, each holding a sword of unknown meaning hidden within their hearts.
"I will convey this to the Pope. I do not think it is my place to judge."
"Haha... It's a shame I didn't come to you in person, but I'll be waiting for a good answer."
"..."
“I hope I can see it in person next time….”
The two were smiling.
***
Cheongyun had a cold expression on his face and was wiping the tip of the spear with a thin cloth.
"...hmm."
Because the newly created window is not yet in your hands.
Originally, he had to take revenge on Seong-guk as soon as possible for what he had done, but due to the unstable situation and the broken spear, Cheong-yun had been postponing his revenge on Seong-guk little by little.
Because you can't start a war without preparation.
Cheongyun, who loved peace more than anyone else, knew that if he did nothing after experiencing this, he would be pushed back endlessly by the oppression of the Holy Nation. He knew that war was inevitable.
The people's anger grows day by day.
Because this incident has led to a significant increase in the number of young people volunteering for military service.
If it were up to him, he would be happy to be with the Empire, but Cheongyun knew that was too much of a stretch, so he didn't send a message.
As short as 3 years.
Up to 5 years.
The moment when Cheongyoon, who had made all preparations and vowed revenge for the past, grabbed the spear.
"This is a special report!!!"
Cheongyoon frowned as she watched Cheongseol-ah run towards her, breathing heavily. She wondered what was so urgent about her.
"Come slowly. You'll get hurt."
"Father... this...!"
"Why is that...?"
Cheongyoon frowned as she accepted the newspaper Cheongseol-ah handed her.
“Why is it so….”
[Empire...!!! Rain down meteors on the Holy Nation!!!]
"ah...?"
We have a grudge, so why is it they who launch the preemptive strike?
"Heh heh..."
Cheongyun let out a hollow laugh.
"I guess I should go to the empire."