Chapter 344 - Episode Forty-Four - Pope Sateria (9)
The meeting between the four of us, Levi, Pope Sateria, Peter and myself, began.
To be honest, I didn’t want to take on any responsibility, and I didn’t think I could come up with anything useful to say, so I tried to stay back with Mea, but Sateria firmly grabbed my wrist and kept me there.
“I was really hoping to speak with Abel-sama ……!”
I don’t have any decision-making power ……
Perhaps she thought it would be impossible to win over the stubborn Peter directly and wanted to use me as a buffer.
Peter also glared at Sateria like she was a pain in the ass.
“I don’t even have a chair or a desk. I wonder if I should sit on the steps here, huh? I’m kind of thirsty, aren’t I?”
Peter looked around deliberately, looking down at the steps that led to the crystal base for communication.
“I’m sorry, but this room was originally meant for Levi-sama’s prayers …… It’s not really a place for sitting or drinking something. Levi-sama is still standing, so please stay as you are ……”
“Are you an idiot? Right now, you want to talk about whether or not we’re willing to overlook your dictatorship and the destruction you’ve wrought, right? The teachings of the god Kudor do not allow for direct rule by the four great creator gods, you know? That’s why he destroyed them. You asked me to let you off the hook because your country was in trouble, so I agreed to at least listen to you.”
“Ah, yes ……”
“And now you want me to stand here and be polite and respectful to that stupid god? That’s strange, right? Ohhhh, could it be that you’re just trying to force us to endure this and that for some reason, and create an atmosphere where we have to take the lead? No way, as expected, the Pope of Levi Church, who rose to power by crushing all the opposing factions with his schemes, is different!”
Peter pointed his finger at Levi, who was peeking at us from a collapsed wall.
It was clear that Peter was trying to kill the discussion.
After all, he had no intention of listening to the story of the terrorists.
I’ve seen so many low-key Peter’s lately that I’ve forgotten that he’s also quite a dangerous person.
“Ee-, Er, but ……”
Sateria glanced at Levi in confusion.
I also sneaked a peek at Levi’s expression, but his blue face had turned red and he was trembling slightly, probably from anger.
“I’m fine with it, but Abel-chan won’t shut up about it, you know? I’m sure you’ve seen how exhausted Abel’s legs were on that long flight of stairs.”
“Ah, yes …… I’m very sorry. It really is my lack of consideration ……”
“You know, you may not be afraid if you make me angry, but when Abel-chan gets angry, remember that he can blow up this palace with that big-faced relative of the devil over there.”
It seems that even Sateria had a hard time with him calling Levi a demon, her face turning pale and her lips quivering.
The smile that had been on her face all this time was now frozen and expressionless.
What do I do, it’s so hard to stay here.
I’m not good with the atmosphere when a person who doesn’t usually get angry, gets angry.
Really, I just want to leave Peter here and go home.
“Pe-, Peter-san, talk! You said you’d at least listen to her, didn’t you? See? I’m totally fine, you know!”
Hearing my words, Sateria smiled as if relieved.
“…… Thank you. I’m really glad you came, Abel-sama. Ah, I’m sorry …… I felt a little relieved, and then the tears.”
Sateria wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
It was getting unbearable to watch.
“Pe, Peter-san, you don’t have to abuse her like that …… In the first place, haven’t you been calling Kudor a tool for a long time. Even though he’s rotten, he’s the god of a state religion, so you can’t kick him around like that from their standpoint.”
I whispered into Peter’s ear.
“I’m not a demon, but I really don’t see the point of this meeting.”
Peter replied disgustedly to me.
After the introduction, Sateria made a strong speech to me and Peter about the current state of the Riveras Kingdom and the future of the Riveras Kingdom.
The content was much the same as what she had said in the beginning.
Currently, the Riveras Kingdom is in the midst of a civil war between rival factions, and is unable to function properly as a country.
As a result, it does not have the capacity to interfere with the Dinrat Kingdom any further and will not engage in hostile interference in the future.
Although it may be difficult to do so, we would like to have diplomatic relations in the future, and we will make some form of compensation for the damage we have caused, is what she said.
She also said that Levi and other high priests with radical ideas had been in charge of politics until now, but she was negotiating with Levi so that she could have a say in the future, and at the same time, she is starting to gather subordinates who were not under Levi’s control.
During the conversation, Levi had a stern look on his face, but he didn’t try to interrupt the conversation about the cellar.
It seems that Levi is suffering a lot from having the dragon vein getting away from his hands.
I guess he had already anticipated that Sateria would tell him these things when she came here.
The eerie thing is that Peter, although he was blatantly bored and sneaking around, didn’t make any attempt to interrupt.
“…… I also believe that if you were to establish diplomatic relations with Riveras Kingdom, we would be able to share information that would be beneficial to the Dinrat Kingdom. I think that’s what Peter-sama would have wanted to know.”
Sateria said, turning to Peter.
Levi’s expression tensed slightly.
“Hey, Sateria, we can talk about that at ……”
She pretended not to hear and continued.
“If I told you the story of Count Julem the monster …… would you understand? Originally, Levi-sama was able to revive in this world again by receiving the divine weapon, the spear, from Julem, which was part of Levi-sama’s lost power.”
Hearing Julem’s name, Peter’s eyes, which until now had been blatantly disinterested, turned to Sateria.
He immediately turned his head to the side in disinterest, but it was clear that he was shaken.
“It seems that Julem had foreseen that the god Kudor would awaken by the time of the Moon festival Dinmei, and he resurrected Levi-sama as one of his countermeasures against Kudor.”
The Moon Festival Dinmei is the day when the Moon Din comes closest to the earth.
It is said that only once every five hundred years does the Moon Din come close to the earth, where humans live, and then it opens up a certain distance again.
There is a tradition that the magical power of the Moon Din activates demonic beasts and causes demons to surge, but there is no record of such a thing.
It’s true that the day of the Moon Festival Dinmei is coming soon, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve heard of any country taking measures against it.
I’m only thinking about measuring the magic field for a story with Altamir.
Rather than that, this way of speaking …… It seems that neither Sateria nor Levi knew that Kudor had long since broken free from the seal and was hovering around the Fage territory.
“…… But now, since Levi-sama wanted to outsmart Julem and set up a plan to control the Dinrat Kingdom without permission, there has been no opportunity to contact him. …”
I couldn’t help but turn my attention back to Levi.
What is that three-eyed old man doing?
I thought you’re just getting hate from Kudor for harassing the Dinrat kingdom, but then you tried to outsmart Julem, who is hostile to Kudor, and was easily found out and thrown out.
Levi has a thoughtful expression of anguish on his face, but I wonder if he’s aware that all he’s done so far is very accurately and steadily corner the Riveras Kingdom.
At this point, I think it would be better to call him the god of defiance rather than the god of water.
Peter, too, forgot his feigned indifference and opened his mouth in dismay.
Even Mea, who was twisting her head to try to understand what she was saying, looked up at Levi with a puzzled look on her face.
“…… A-Anyway, I’m sure that Levi-sama knows more about Julem than Peter-sama does. I hope you will consider this information sharing as an advantage in establishing diplomatic relations with our country.”
Sateria exhales as if she’s tired of talking, and smiles at me as if she wants my opinion on what she’s said so far.
“U-uh, that’s okay, isn’t it ……?”
As I said this awkwardly, the expression on the Sateria’s face lit up, and Peter’s expression became angry.
I don’t think there’s any reason for us to attack the Riveras Kingdom as long as they don’t do anything unnecessary, but that’s not the case with Peter.
I’m sure Peter would love to have the information on Julem as well. ……
“I think you’ve pretty much finished what you were saying. So let me get this straight, your story is useless and a pipe dream for the Dinrat Kingdom, so can you please just give up on it?”
There was a sense of tension in the room.
He cut into her roughly.
It is possible that Levi or Peter might make a false start, and the battle could start at any moment.
I’d better at least be prepared to prevent it.
“First of all, what guarantee do we have that Levi won’t go out of control? It seems like just now, before the discussion, his saying that he would find a replacement and get rid of you? In the first place, it is doubtful that the dragon vein is really that important. I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll make it work so please believe me and back off, is what you’re trying to say, making an excuse like a kid.”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about that!”
Sateria raised her voice.
Apparently, she had been waiting for Peter to cut her off like this since he had dumped his opinion on me.
“In fact, I’m thinking of handing over the seat of Levi’s Pope to Abel-sama, and I’ll stick to assisting him as High Priest!”
What ……
“Please accept my offer, Abel-sama! This is the only way to save the people of Riveras Kingdom! I know it’s shameless of me, but can’t you save this country the way you saved the fage territory from our clutches?”
I now understand why this person had been so concerned about me, leaving Peter out of it.
She had been thinking about this all along.
I understood that, but I could only think that this person was wrong about me.
The information must have gotten around somehow.
Peter and Levi were staring at Sateria with almost the same expression.