Chapter 94

While Leon was lost in these thoughts, the atmosphere in the Governor's Palace of Levona was not good.

Canella, with a tired face, and Admiral Gian, with a serious one, were facing each other.

“Your Excellency the Governor, establishing a mercenary company? What on earth does that mean? Levona is a maritime nation. It is obviously right to invest the budget in the navy.”

“Admiral Gian, I know that too. I know, but.”

“Then why on earth did you approve such a nonsensical plan as establishing a mercenary company?”

“……”

“Please reconsider. It is not too late. Following what others do is a foolish thing!”

Bang!

Canella slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair.

As Canella revealed his hidden anger, even the seasoned Admiral Gian flinched.

It was not simple anger, but what people called authority.

“Raising your voice in front of me.”

“……”

“Do not raise your voice carelessly, Cavalieri.”

“I apologize, Your Excellency the Governor.”

Admiral Gian bowed his head, and Canella sighed.

It was out of frustration.

“It seems there is a misunderstanding, but the establishment of the mercenary company is not my will. It is the will of the old men of the Grand Council.”

“The Grand Council, you say.”

“Hoo, I opposed it too, but I couldn't win against their persistence.”

Admiral Gian was astonished.

The political landscape of the Republic of Levona was divided into several factions.

Among them, the largest were Canella's faction and that of his political rival, Rinaldo.

Although Canella had been elected Governor, Rinaldo was the leader of a major party that held a majority in the Grand Council.

Therefore, Canella could not execute policies unilaterally and always had to negotiate with Rinaldo.

And Rinaldo repeatedly obstructed him.

“I tried to talk to him one way or another, but he was adamant. That old man won't listen.”

“...I wonder what benefit that decision will bring.”

To the people, policy was an object of support, but to politicians, it was an object of compromise, collusion, and deals.

And in this era, public assets were sometimes privatized or treated as such.

People were no exception.

Therefore, Rinaldo pushing for a mercenary company had to be seen as aiming for some kind of benefit.

In their minds, there was only one thing Rinaldo could be pursuing.

“Then we must see the newly established mercenary company as Rinaldo's private army.”

“It's quite plausible. There's no law against it.”

“This is not the time for us to be fighting amongst ourselves.”

Admiral Gian lowered his voice.

“Could it be that Rinaldo was inspired by the incident in Fasa? Perhaps he's fallen into the delusion that the Governor's guard will carry out a massacre in the Grand Council.”

“That might be it. Isn't military power, after all, deeply connected to political power? He might have learned some lesson from seeing the Corsini family wiped out.”

Even after terminating the defense pact, Levona kept a close eye on the situation in Fasa.

So they succeeded in grasping the reality more accurately than other nations.

How quickly the Corsini family and their allies had been neutralized.

They had found out how Leon had dealt with them.

“Because of this incident, everyone thought Leon Gryph was weak-willed, but in fact, he wasn't.”

“It's rather surprising that there are people who think that way. Didn't Leon Gryph crush all the opposition in the city as soon as he got the chance? That man is a thoroughly power-oriented individual.”

The fact that Messina and Pescara had asked Leon to become their monarch was already famous in Apennia.

It was a golden opportunity for a mere mercenary captain to rise in the world.

It was far stranger not to accept it.

But breaking everyone's predictions, Leon refused the opportunity to rise to the pinnacle of a nation.

Because of that incident, the opinion that Leon was a 'coward' spread widely among the people.

However, Governor Canella and Admiral Gian never lowered their guard against Leon.

In fact, they could be said to be the closest to understanding Leon's true nature.

“Most people are jealous of Leon and belittle what he has achieved, but in fact, that little villain is no ordinary fellow.”

It was true that the military arms race in Apennia was triggered by the Black Company.

It was also true that the situation in Apennia was in turmoil because of it.

The thought of the little villain, who was probably laughing carefreely in the south, oblivious to what was happening in Levona, made their insides boil.

And perhaps, there was one more possibility.

“If we were to think that Leon Gryph orchestrated this to induce such a state, would that be too paranoid?”

“If that were possible, that fellow would have already surpassed being human.”

“Is that so.”

“It is also true that things have gotten very complicated because of that fellow. Wouldn't it be a good idea to dispatch a skilled crossbowman to Fasa?”

“If there were such a person, I'd want to place them in the Grand Council.”

Admiral Gian's expression turned serious.

“Your Excellency.”

“It was a joke. Can't the Governor make a joke?”

“It seemed a bit too sincere.”

“Well, to be honest.”

Both dwarves sighed.

It was truly not easy when things didn't go as planned.

“Let's talk business. If Rinaldo intends to use the mercenary company for his private purposes, it would be better to send it outside rather than keeping it in Levona. It would be best to stick it somewhere where it won't achieve great military merits and is not too close to Levona.”

“It's a waste of money, but that would be the best option. I will look for such a place.”

Governor Canella had already made a decision.

It would be best to send them to a dangerous place where no one could return, but if that wasn't possible, just keeping them out of sight would be the best.

Instead, a person with thorough preparedness would use even a crisis as an opportunity.

“Admiral Gian, you have quite a few young men following you, don't you?”

“That is so.”

“Pick some of the good ones from among them and send them to the mercenary company. Since it has come to this, we must prevent Rinaldo's faction from taking over the company.”

A crisis was also an opportunity.

Governor Canella also had a knack for seizing opportunities.

Admiral Gian thought for a moment and then answered.

“As it happens, my nephew is lazing around at home, so I will send him.”

***

While the dwarves of Levona were agonizing over the chaotic political situation and the clouded future, a conversation was also taking place in the Holy See of Ratio.

The head of the Western Church, Pope Astro, was granting an audience to Inquisitor Ceras with a benevolent face.

Inquisitor Ceras, with his pale blond hair, knelt on one knee on the bright carpet and bowed his head.

“I report on a matter that has recently come up from the central headquarters.”

“What matter would that be?”

“A conclusion has been reached in the discussion regarding whether Leon Gryph, the mercenary captain of the south, is indeed a demon who controls beasts.”

“Ah, I know about that. The priests must have been very bored.”

It was an era where clergy spoke of politics far more than theology.

Therefore, the matter was, more accurately, 'whether to condone Fasa's de facto rule over the southern region or not.'

The seasoned priests of Ratio saw through Leon's intentions even from afar.

Although he had put up the strange signboard of the Southern Alliance, anyone could see that it was Fasa imposing an economic yoke on other nations.

A clever method of governance.

If Fasa expanded its power too rapidly, the surrounding opposition would grow.

However, the priests of Ratio failed to see through to the fact that the main actor was Leon, and the same was true for Pope Astro, who shared the same intelligence network.

“Due to the last war, we had given up on dispatching a delegation of priests. They did a good job gathering information. So what did they say?”

“Leon Gryph did not show any suspicious behavior, such as controlling beasts, during this war, so it was concluded that the appearance of the beast was merely a coincidence.”

“Then there are no longer any obstacles to hiring Leon Gryph and his mercenary company?”

“That is correct, Your Holiness.”

Though easily misunderstood due to the specialized field of religion, the Pope was the ruler of Ratio, standing shoulder to shoulder with secular monarchs.

But in a way, the Pope, who looked after both sacred and secular affairs, could be said to be in a more troublesome position.

God rarely answered, and other secular monarchs did not show special respect just because he was the head of the church.

The Holy See of Ratio itself, where the headquarters of the Western Church was located, was surrounded by hostile forces, and in a broader sense, it was under the influence of the powerful nations of Sierra and Elance.

This could be seen just by the fact that most of the Holy See's college of bishops was composed of people from Sierra and Elance.

Therefore, Pope Astro was actively considering military methods instead of religious ones to overcome the church's crisis.

Just then, what caught his eye was the Black Company.

“Elance and Sierra will not leave this opportunity of the chaos in the north of Apennia alone. We need strength to stop the bad habits of the monarchs.”

“Your words are wise.”

“However, although the misunderstanding has been resolved, it is hard to say that the suspicion has been completely cleared. Shouldn't such matters be handled with caution?”

Ceras slightly raised his head.

“Your Holiness, I am too dull to understand. What do you mean?”

“That too could be the devil's intention. A soul once defiled has the possibility of contamination. Shouldn't someone stick by his side and purify his tainted spirituality?”

“I understand. But with all due respect, Your Holiness. May I ask who you intend to dispatch?”

“It is you, Sir Ceras.”

“Pardon?”

The smile on Pope Astro's benevolent face deepened, and Ceras was flustered.

Even if the Pope didn't, Ceras was aware of his own identity.

“Your Holiness? I am an Inquisitor.”

“Therefore, wouldn't you be better at detecting the devil's disturbances?”

‘I don't think people will like it very much if I go.’

Ceras thought to himself.

Basically, an Inquisitor was an agent of the church and a judge who could make even demons flee.

In other words, a walking stake.

It was common sense that secular people would find it difficult to welcome such a figure.

But Pope Astro was unconcerned.

“My, you should think a bit more flexibly. I didn't say you had to go in that capacity, did I? What did I just say?”

“You said to purify the tainted spirituality.”

“Right. You are a holy knight of the church and also an ordained priest, are you not? Taking responsibility for a person's spirituality is the job of a priest. There is no problem at all.”

“I was ordained, but that was a very long time ago.”

“You can recite the Lord's Prayer, can't you? Then that's fine.”

“I was talking about the rites, but I understand, Your Holiness. I will follow your command.”

Ceras thought it might be a fraud, but he didn't want to dare point it out to the Pope, so he answered obediently.

The Pope is the head of the Western Church and God's representative.

It is futile to argue with the Pope about his office and authority.

Because the Pope's commands are infallible.

Furthermore, Ceras was also a holy knight who had already sworn obedience.

In the face of a vow of obedience, counterarguments are not permitted.

“Depart as soon as you have finished your preparations.”

“Yes.”

Because of this, Pope Astro and Ceras failed to realize that they had misunderstood each other's intentions.

Pope Astro intended to dispatch Ceras as a sign of support and to win over the Southern Alliance.

With the Pope's envoy by his side, no one would be able to doubt Leon Gryph's purity anymore.

It would also serve as a warning to the Pope's political enemies.

But Ceras took it to mean that he was to thoroughly investigate Leon Gryph as an Inquisitor.

This was not the first or second time he had been on such a secret mission, so he naturally thought that way.

This is why communication is important.

Unaware of this fact, Ceras gathered his attendants and set off for Fasa.