CHAPTER 106: WILL TO LIVE

0% “What in the world?!”

Roka’s gasp echoed, and Cardinal Omen’s eyes went wide.

“What the...”

Next to His Eminence, who seemed to be barely holding back a curse, Thomas and Robert’s pupils trembled.

Honestly, I was just as taken aback. All attention fixed on the Duke as he tugged at his waistband.

Without a second thought, he yanked it down.

With unwavering decisiveness and unbelievable speed, he even pulled down his underwear. It was an act of pure boldness, the audacity one might expect from a man who ruled a nation.

I debated briefly covering Roka’s eyes, but it wasn’t necessary.

“What are you doing?!”

She clamped her hands over her face, her cheeks burning red. Hardly surprising, His Grace’s...ahem, erection was unmistakable.

I had no idea why he had suddenly stripped in front of us, but around the room, the priests of the Aldehir Church let out startled cries, hastily averting their gazes. A few priestesses among them turned away in alarm.

“Well? Did everyone get a good look? I’ve nothing to conceal.”

“Your Excellency, have you lost your mind? Has public exposure always been a hidden passion of yours? If even your self-restraint has crumbled, the Republic must be doomed.”

“You filthy old man! The Republic’s falling apart, this is insanity!”

Robert and Cardinal Omen were so furious they seemed ready to launch into outright insults, regardless of the onlookers.

But then the Duke silenced them with a single sentence.

“You all seem to have forgotten—I’m a eunuch.”

“A eunuch?!”

“Now that you mention it...”

“It’s not even a secret, my royal family had me castrated years ago. My line was ended, and I lost my manhood long ago.”

Cardinal Omen fell silent, his expression shifting as if recalling something.

“When I first ascended, I petitioned the Tritheist Church and your order for a way to reclaim what was lost.”

“You all gave the same response, almost as if rehearsed. You said it was too late unless I had come immediately after the injury. Once the wound had healed, even holy power couldn’t restore what was lost.”

“When I sought help immediately, they barred me at the gate. A minor priest spat curses and cast me out, then I was no Duke, just a traitor.”

He pointed toward the spring with one hand while still gripping his manhood with the other.

“I sipped this water, skeptical of its miracles. But a miracle found me, look. My manhood is restored. For the first time in years, I felt alive.”

“So...?”

Robert muttered, still in disbelief. The Duke nodded.

“The human heart is strange. I embraced death minutes ago, but with this restored, my will to live surged. I want to survive. I want to see my children.”

“But I won’t be the only one.”

He turned to Robert.

“My vow holds: the Republic falls, I fall; it stands, I stand. So, Robert, honor my rebirth, let me live. We cannot yield.”

Under the weight of His Eminence’s gaze, Robert finally exhaled and nodded.

“Alright, alright. But first, please pull up your pants. I get that you want to celebrate, but enough already...”

“Then it’s settled.”

The Duke pulled his pants back up before turning to me.

“If death awaits, I choose any sliver of survival. I’ll marshal the Republic’s forces to aid you, Father.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’ve breached Caldera once via geomancy with Thomas. I leaned too heavily on the Master’s power and paid dearly. Repeating that plan spells the same doom.”

His voice, despite his resolve, lacked strength. And I understood why.

When mortal power failed and only divinity remained, which ruler could find comfort in helpless faith?

“What will you do?”

After shaking my hand, the Duke asked Cardinal Omen a question.

The Cardinal sighed.

“We’ve reached this point; what choice remains? We’ll join the effort.”

“Truly?”

“We’ll ready the Artabus. But understand, we aid as agreed. Should this fail, we withdraw. Our support has limits; our lives remain pledged to none but ourselves.”

“If it fails, at least you should survive.”

The Duke nodded, and without wasting another moment, we began planning.

“The dwarves, an ancient race of craftsmen, once could cultivate metals imbued with nature’s power. They’re extinct now, so we don’t fully understand how they did it, but one of their rare ores was passed down through the Cidatel royal family.”

“You intend to use it as bait for the Phoenix.”

“Precisely. Sun ore, rare even to the dwarves, glows with solar might. To an immortal firebird craving flame, it’s irresistible.”

As if nothing was too valuable when the Republic’s survival was at stake, the Duke readily offered up even such a treasure. But in the grand scheme of things, if it could save the Republic, then treasure meant nothing.

After all, gold, artifacts, and riches only have meaning if people are left to value them.

“We’ll bait Phoenix into the sky with the Artabus and fight it mid-air. The ship isn’t built for war, but any tool’s value lies in its wielder.”

“But isn’t that something your Pope should decide?”

“I don’t care about the Pope.”

The Cardinal grumbled, yet our strategy was coalescing. With no time to spare, we readied ourselves for instant departure.

Even the Duke declared he would board the Artabus and depart.

“If this mission fails, I’ll die on the spot.”

It was clear, failure was not an option.

“Ah, but I have one question. It’s a sensitive one. May I ask?”

“What’s left to be sensitive about? I’m already naked.”

“I heard you gave Grimudo the fruit of the World Tree. Do you know why he wanted it?”

“I don’t know why it matters, Father. I’ve answered before: I didn’t know then, and I still don’t.”

He frowned.

“If it were that potent, the elves wouldn’t have sold it. They let it go because they knew we’d never use it.”

“So there’s no risk of the Demon King eating it and growing stronger.”

“The World Tree is a force of nature, not a mere tree. Its fruit only mimics food, indestructible and inedible.”

He explained that Parnell’s father, the former Cidatel king, had once attempted to swallow the fruit whole, believing it might have some effect.

“A master archmage, he somehow bit it whole, only for it to pass untouched. Rumor says he injured himself in the ordeal.”

“So who would try to swallow a fruit that even an archmage couldn’t digest? Ultimately, it became something too precious to throw away yet useless to keep, rolling around in storage until it ended up in my hands.”

A fruit already passed through someone else’s body and came out the other end... No matter how thoroughly washed, I wouldn’t put that anywhere near my mouth.

I understood why none dared eat it, but did Grimudo plan to swallow it? And would he gain anything?

As I prepared to ask more, the Duke glanced aside and waved.

“Oh, you’re here. Welcome, Your Holiness.”

Your Holiness? I instinctively turned my head.

An intellectual-looking older man, glasses perched on his nose, stood before Roka with a solemn expression. Then, out of nowhere, he spoke.

“Child. Are you perhaps interested in the sky?”

Roka looked puzzled; her tail looped into a question mark.

I’d heard somewhere that the Aldehir Church had its fair share of eccentrics, which certainly wasn’t helping their reputation.

“Not really...”

“Then would you like to try believing in the celestial realm? Our order offers excellent welfare benefits, you know.”

Surprisingly, Roka didn’t flare up, she fidgeted. Kind by nature, she melted at even small kindness.

Like ice in spring sun, she couldn’t hold a grudge.

“Old man! Stop trying to recruit a child and help with the departure preparations! We’re already short on time, and you’re doing a great job of wasting it.”

“Do you like star candy? It’s a specialty of our church. Here, try one.”

Roka didn’t care for sweets and likely wouldn’t eat them, but she accepted the candy anyway and tucked it into her pocket.

The Cardinal, clearly irritated, shouted at the older man, but he simply clicked his tongue and carried on.

“What good is a Cardinal who can’t read his flock? You’re so clueless I had to appear myself.”

Then, turning back to Roka, he added, “Now, child, don’t mind that ill-tempered fellow. There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

Amid the chaos, everyone watched the Pope, curious what came next.

He spoke slowly, deliberately.

“Would you consider becoming a saint of Aldehir Church?”