Chapter 19 – Director of Palace Affairs

Rashid and Akard split up to take charge of escorting each candidate.

It was because of Rashid’s judgment that the culprit would definitely target one of the two candidates.

Here, Akard went to the side where the knighthood was in charge of the escort, and Rashid went to the side of the candidate protected by the clerics.

‘Is it here? The place that the clerics are said to be in charge of.’

The place he arrived at was a small lodging located a short distance away from the center of the Basilica.

The lodging, which was in the form of a rental, was two stories tall, and the first floor was crowded with armed clerics.

“Who are you? I’ve never seen your face before.”

The clerics, who were wary of Rashid arriving while even wearing light armor with mana stones, stood up in a flurry.

Their number exceeded ten even at a rough estimate.

They were probably forces left by the Honorary Cleric.

“To protect the candidate, I came of my own accord.”

Rashid, so that they would not misunderstand,

explained the situation sufficiently.

Fortunately, there was no big problem.

It was because Rashid was very famous.

“Ah, that cleric. The one who fought a duel with the knighthood.”

“Amazing. They said you caught Heimdall in a duel? How on earth did you do it? Heimdall is a Sword Champion whom even the knights are reluctant to face.”

“Then does the title of Sword Champion go to you now?”

At their excessive interest, Rashid lightly went along with them.

“I was just lucky. More importantly, is the candidate upstairs?”

A cleric pointed to the upper floor with a chin gesture.

“Yes, she is upstairs. She is quite uncomfortable because of us. She has been suffering here for days, unable to go to her own lodging.”

“I caught a glimpse of her. She is a great beauty. Worthy of being a candidate.”

“Would you like to meet her? If it’s a newly arrived escort cleric, she will gladly meet you.”

The Saintess candidate they were protecting.

Estella.

She came from a highly reputable family of believers, and as far as Rashid knew, she was someone with about a thirty percent chance of being nominated as the Saintess.

‘In every playthrough, who becomes the Saintess is random. As long as the vampire Saintess is not in the spotlight.’

“No. I shouldn’t visit and cause trouble. Since she might become Her Holiness the Saintess in the future, it seems good to be careful starting now.”

Rashid naturally sat down among them.

Since they were fellow clerics and he was a celebrity among clerics, it was not very difficult for Rashid to mingle with them.

“The lodging is smaller than expected.”

At Rashid’s casual remark, the clerics began to speak one after another.

“I heard they got this place with great difficulty. Since it’s a rental lodging built in this small country, the price is not cheap. So if it weren’t for this incident, the candidate would probably have stayed outside the Basilica. She would have prepared for the competition there.”

“Still, the situation is a bit better today. Even though it is a bit chaotic because of what happened yesterday. Thanks to that incident, we found some breathing room here too. Think about all those many clerics stationed in this Basilica being crowded into this small house. I really couldn’t even breathe.”

“The smell was absolutely terrible. It’s a bit better now. Since almost most clerics entered full-scale defense after yesterday’s incident. Not to mention the escort duty for key figures.”

“Still, staying here is a sweet deal, you know? Because the Honorary Cleric personally looks after this place.”

“Of course, since he staked our honor and his own.”

“Come to think of it, I heard you were also recommended as an Honorary Cleric?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Rashid again.

“Yes, that is true.”

“To think the vampire Commander would recommend you. I still can’t believe it. For those proud vampires to recommend you.”

“Me too. It’s something that normally could never happen.”

“But how did you do it? How did you manage to get recommended as an Honorary Cleric, when it wouldn’t be surprising if you became enemies? I thought you tarnished the knighthood’s honor by winning the duel?”

“That is…”

Rashid was about to make an excuse.

“Is it alright to be chatting so leisurely like this?”

The one and only Honorary Cleric of the Holy Order.

Lion barged in.

Everyone rose from their seats and showed him respect.

“Have you arrived?”

“I see a face I haven’t seen before. Ah, that cleric.”

Lion recognized Rashid without difficulty.

“I heard you were recommended as an Honorary Cleric recently?”

“Yes.”

“But how did you get the recommendation of the knight Commander? The vampires… there’s no way they would.”

Lion stared at him.

Golden hair and blue eyes.

A blood cross engraved on silver magic armor.

The only one among the clerics who was free from seals and magic armor limitations.

‘Beast of the Sanctuary…’

Worthy of that moniker, the numerous military achievements he had established to become an Honorary Cleric still remained as legends.

To the point where the achievements Rashid had built up so far seemed laughable.

He was a legend among clerics.

‘He is also a very multi-dimensional character.’

“Since you wouldn’t believe it if I made something up. To put it simply, I made a deal with the Commander.”

Lion nodded as if he roughly understood.

“I see. Indeed, he wouldn’t have recommended you in a pure sense. Do you know? If it hadn’t been resolved like that, you wouldn’t have been able to be in this position. Even if you won the duel, that duel would have never ended with just one.”

“So I made a deal to survive. And now we are getting along well.”

“Don’t get too close to the vampires. They were the ones fighting against us just a few hundred years ago.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Those who were not vampires generally had a bad perception of vampires.

Since they themselves were the ruling class, was it a natural rebellion against such a ruling class?

It went as far as rumors circulating that they caught humans to suck their blood, which said it all.

‘To that extent, the perception of vampires is bad. Even so, the reason vampires maintain their power is that they are an established authority that existed since long ago.’

But one clear point was.

That there was no Lazarus among the vampires.

‘That is the only advantage. That is why I have no hesitation in mingling.’

In this world,

although there were diverse and complex interests,

Rashid considered only one thing important.

‘The only ones who purely hate this world and try to ruin it are Lazarus. They are evil itself.’

Lion, who had visited, turned his attention upward.

“Is the candidate still upstairs?”

“Yes, perhaps because she is distressed by yesterday’s incident. She is not even going out.”

“Is that so? Indeed, she would be distressed.”

Lion lightly looked around the people in the room.

“The number of people has decreased more than expected.”

“It is an uproar after yesterday’s incident. They are looking for us clerics here and there. Especially, the Office of Palace Affairs is the problem. Asking why a mere candidate, not even Her Holiness the Saintess, is so important.”

“From the Office of Palace Affairs? It seems the Director of Palace Affairs made a fuss. Still, make sure there is no setback in the escort. This is a place where our honor is at stake. We cannot lose to the knighthood.”

“Of course.”

At that time.

The sound of a vehicle engine was heard from outside the lodging.

It seemed someone had visited.

Everyone turned their eyes toward the door, and before long, the door of the lodging opened, and an unwelcome guest made an appearance.

A neat appearance in sacred robes and a cold impression.

A young man with neatly combed black hair.

Rashid recognized him immediately.

‘To see him here.’

Director of Palace Affairs.

Vane Sanctum.

“You are all here.”

Everyone stood up and showed him respect.

“Your Excellency. Have you arrived?”

“Clerics.”

Even the Honorary Cleric, who was called the Dancing Lion, was nothing but a mere puppy in front of the Director of Palace Affairs.

“Is a mere candidate important, or are we more important?”

“Naturally… it is Your Excellency and the others.”

The Director of Palace Affairs, who was glaring as if to devour them, seemed to be conscious of the other clerics present.

Suppressing his anger, he turned his back.

“Leave only the minimum force here. So that I won’t be annoyed anymore.”

With those words as the end, the Director of Palace Affairs left.

Lion, who closed his eyes and fell into thought for a moment, spoke to everyone.

“Three people should be enough.”

Then, the other clerics expressed concern.

“Three people? Even the knights couldn’t withstand the opponent. But will the three of us be enough?”

This was a matter where their honor was at stake.

But the Director of Palace Affairs was the problem.

He was the influential figure among influential figures in the Holy Order.

Disobeying him was out of the question.

“Even so, we cannot ignore the instructions of His Excellency who visited personally. Only three will remain here, and the rest will support other places.”

“The candidate will be very anxious.”

“There is nothing we can do, is there?”

At that time.

Rashid stepped forward.

“I’ll stay.”

Then, everyone’s gaze landed on him.

Of course, Lion’s gaze was the same.

“You?”

“I don’t belong here, and I am a cleric who visited for other business. Even if I stay, would there be any major problem?”

Lion inspected him wearing the light armor embedded with mana stones.

“I heard you won the duel with Heimdall?”

“Yes.”

“Then it should be enough. Since your skill must be above a knight’s.”

The stirring subsided, and Lion left, taking most of the clerics who were guarding the lodging.

The ones left behind were only three clerics, including Rashid.

Rashid looked around the lodging, which had become emptier than before, and thought.

‘Everything is going exactly as that bastard wants.’

It wouldn’t be just here.

That Director of Palace Affairs would go to the candidate guarded by the knighthood and make a fuss, and he would interfere with the personnel there too.

‘Is he also in league?’

Vane Sanctum.

A name that he would become entangled with someday.

‘I don’t know. Or maybe he is helping.’

* * *

The next day.

An unnamed believer was assassinated inside the Basilica, as if for show.

The atmosphere of the Papal Court became even more chaotic, and it was the same for the candidate lodging where Rashid was.

The two clerics, excluding Rashid who was leaning against the wall in silence, wore quite serious expressions.

“They were hit again?”

“How on earth are they poking around here? The security has been doubled, right? Now there are clerics at every alley. Are they going around ignoring all those gazes?”

“Is it a fellow believer by any chance? Not an external person?”

“Who knows.”

When the next day arrived like that,

someone else was hit.

“Again. Another death.”

“It is about one person a day. At this rate, I have no idea who will be hit tomorrow.”

Like that, seven victims came out in a week.

Although it seemed like random slaughter, a pattern gradually began to show.

“This, strangely, there are no vampires among the victims. When there are so many vampires inside this Basilica.”

“Isn’t it just a coincidence?”

“To call it a coincidence, not a single vampire victim is appearing.”

“That is true, but.”

When another week passed like that,

the two clerics came to have some conviction.

“It’s not a vampire this time either. Isn’t this almost certain?”

“Hey, what do you think?”

The two clerics, who had been conversing for a while, went over to Rashid and asked.

Rashid raised his head and stared at them.

“It’s probably just a coincidence.”

“Coincidence? You think this is a coincidence? Out of all those many victims, only vampire victims are absent, and you call this a coincidence?”

“To call it a coincidence is going too far. Statistically, it doesn’t make sense. If it’s just random slaughter, at least one vampire should be included.”

And the next day.

The candidate guarded by the vampire knighthood was assassinated.

‘He eventually achieved his purpose.’

Probably, from his perspective, the most troublesome assassination target would have been the candidate whom the knighthood was guarding.

Since the Vice Commander was also there, she would have been the most difficult target to conquer.

‘He targeted the candidate exactly at the point when that guy fell away.’

Rashid recalled Akard who had contacted him the day before.

He recalled his words that he had left the candidate and switched to escorting the Director of Palace Affairs due to the pestering Director of Palace Affairs.

‘Is here next?’

“Hey. I think we should start getting tense now.”

Even at Rashid’s words, the two clerics did not seem agitated at all.

“Didn’t she just die by chance?”

“The culprit is currently targeting only non-vampires.”

The two did not seem to know what the culprit’s true purpose was yet.

“You say that even though the candidate died yesterday?”

“If he was only targeting candidates, he should have kept targeting candidates. That was just a coincidence.”

“Yes. I have a similar thought. The candidate just happened to get caught by bad luck.”

Rashid, shaking his head, spoke to the two.

“Or how about thinking like this? What if the culprit’s purpose was the Saintess candidate from the start, and he killed other people until now in order to kill that Saintess candidate.”

The two clerics tilted their heads.

“No way. That can’t be.”

“Think about it again. What kind of changes occurred to the escort forces protecting the candidate after the Director of Foreign Affairs was first hit.”

“…”

“Yesterday, the Vice Commander said so. That he quit the candidate’s escort because of the pestering Director of Palace Affairs. After that, the candidate guarded by the knighthood was assassinated.”

Toward the two clerics who could not easily refute,

Rashid drove in a wedge.

“If the culprit’s purpose was the Saintess candidate from the start. Now, the only one left is the candidate we are guarding. Because the rest are either dead or missing.”