Chapter 105

Van bit his lip hard.

“...So, I don’t plan to continue negotiating with you. Please forgive me for departing now.”

“...Please wait!”

He approached me as I stood up.

But Tanya, Ryle, and Dida stood between me and him.

“Do you have any more business with me?”

“I, I...!”

I observed Van coolly as he shouted.

“What should I do! Help me please!”

Help me please...hm. Hearing his words, I couldn’t help but start laughing scornfully.

“Why oh why must I help you?”

“That...”

“I’m the ‘evil woman’ who was picking on the ‘gentle’ Yuri, right? Didn’t you already admonish me alongside Sir Edward? You want a person like that to help you without offering me anything in return?”

My voice was so cold that I scared even myself.

Hearing his pleas for help, my mind remained blank, thoughtless.

Of course I had no sympathy for him. And my position was no longer the warped sense of satisfaction I had felt in the past.

All that there was was...nothing. It really felt like nothing. I no longer cared what happened to him anymore

“My father was rejected from the position of the pope. But I thought that Yuri would continue to be by my side, just like before...!”

“But he suddenly became a stranger. As if we’d never known each other.”

All in all, all Yuri wanted was the power of the church backing him up.

“Everyone else too, they were completely different. So cold. I...”

“So what?”

I answered coldly.

“Treated like a stranger by those you love? Everyone became cold, uncaring? Even if that’s your situation, I don’t really care. You must not have cared either when you chased me out of the academy, hm?”

Hearing me mock him, his face contorted.

“...Ah, it’s true. Yes, I stood on the side that pushed you out. And after doing that I still came here. Even I feel that I’m being an idiot.”

“Oh? It’s good that you understand that. If that’s the case, then please leave as soon as possible.”

“But even so, I can’t give up. I want to show the people who left me behind that they’re wrong. I don’t want to just give up without doing anything!”

“Ha...”

Hearing him snarl, I laughed. Was it mockery of him? Not completely so.

Unbelievable. Such a laidback, easy-going fellow, becoming like this because of how badly he wants change.

His face still twisted, he shouted, even though he knew that it was hopeless, so disheveled I could hardly connect him in my mind with the man I had known at the academy.

“Ah, yes. Honestly, I don’t care about the country. I just want the people who’ve abandoned me to come back. That’s why I’m here...!”

“So what if they come back? You beg for her love? Beg that you can continue to stand by her side?”

“...They abandoned me. They don’t matter anymore. I just, I’m just doing this for myself...!”

...What a selfish, selfish way to think.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But I wasn’t surprised. I understood the feeling as well. Even now, deep down, I wanted them to come back to me.

But at the same time...what a dangerous way to think.

The definitive difference between him and me was that I didn’t treat it as my ultimate goal. If I were trapped in that kind of mindset, I wouldn’t be able to face all my followers with a clear conscience.

But Van right now...he was treating it as his only motivation, his only goal.

A sharp aura surrounded him because of how badly he wanted it. No matter what happened, he would not give up.

Once again, I sat down opposite him.

“So you want to join forces.”

He nodded.

So it was...I also still held onto the wish that they might come back for me. That’s how I got so far.

...what a pity.

“Even with my support, you’ll never become the pope at this rate. The organization is undergoing a complete transformation.”

I still maintained contact with Priest Ralph. His reports were clear enough: Van would never be pope.

Most of the people in the upper society of the Church had been arrested without hesitation. The proposal to do away with pope as a hereditary position was also pretty much been passed with few objections.

As a replacement, in the future they planned to have cardinals vote on who would become the pope.

“In my position, compared to supporting you, I’d much rather support Priest Ralph, who has shown his capabilities in dealing with the current situation. Now that the Church isn’t your realm, no matter in terms of experience or other abilities, you’d never be able to compare to Priest Ralph. If you continue down this path, it’s hard to say if you’ll even be able to stay within the religion itself.”

Van, after all, was currently in an awkward position. Without all that had happened this time, he would have entered the Church to accumulate experience to prepare for his future role...but now, he didn’t have that route available to him.

To the Church of Daryl that was currently trying to get rid of the old system, his existence was a pure impediment to progress.

It was unclear whether or not he’d even be able to keep his right to remain a member of the Church.

“...but to set you up in another church might still be possible. Of course, as an anticlerical.”

I knew the person who was the priest and head of the church there on a personal level.

If it was him, perhaps I could ask a favor.

“A completely average anticlerical. You might not even be able to enter the actual church, let alone be a pope. But the person in question is more likely to trust what he sees in you rather than what others say. If you accumulate and display your personal abilities, maybe he would be willing to give you more responsibilities.”

...So. What would he do?

In regards to this question, I couldn’t see any confusion or hesitation in him.