“It’s rare to have visitors from outside, isn’t it?”
It was an apprentice priest who guided Lloyd and his companions.
Asmail, having brought Lloyd into the Holy Palace, dusted off his hands as if his job was done.
That was a good decision for Lloyd as well.
Too much contact with the inquisitor could easily arouse suspicion.
‘Just getting permission to stay in the Holy Palace was enough of a role fulfilled.’
The plan had deviated slightly.
Initially, the idea was to directly approach the shadowy figure behind the Holy Palace. The one who would try to arrest him would be that very figure.
Then, Lloyd would pretend to be captured, toy around with his captor, get a look at their face, and settle the matter.
That was the original plan.
‘It was fast, but it was also full of risks.’
A plan that could get him killed without achieving anything if it went wrong. But now things were different. Thanks to coordinating well with Asmail, they were able to stay in the Holy Palace legally.
Even the princes and princesses of the Empire couldn’t stay for a single minute in the Holy Palace without prior negotiation, yet here he was, granted a three-day stay.
‘Three days is really short, though.’
Still, it was better than nothing.
Roaming around the Holy Palace, observing the flow of power, and implementing the plan—he might just barely make it in time.
‘All I have to do is turn the Holy Palace upside down.’
Whether anyone knew Lloyd was harboring such sinister thoughts, the priest leading the way smiled cheerfully while guiding the group.
“Since I’m always in the Holy Palace, it’s hard to meet people from outside. It’s a pleasure to be your guide.”
“Is it that rare? Isn’t it common for people to come and go?”
“Of course! It’s said that the main gate of the Holy Palace is almost for decoration.”
“The main gate? You mean the one visitors use?”
“Yes. Unless it’s a rare occasion where emperors or high-ranking officials from other nations visit, it’s hardly ever opened. That’s why it’s so fascinating to see all of you…”
Lloyd interrupted the priest.
“Then where do the priests and staff pass through?”
“Ah, that would be the underground passageways or the paths connected to the chapel. I’ve heard there’s even a secret passage to the Saintess’ chamber…”
The priest quickly covered his mouth with both hands.
“I-I’m sorry. That’s something we shouldn’t reveal to outsiders. Could you please pretend you didn’t hear that?”
“Of course.”
Loose-lipped people are always useful. Lloyd barely suppressed a grin.
While pretending to engage in casual conversation with the apprentice priest, Lloyd managed to extract a few key pieces of information before they arrived at a cluster of lodging houses.
“You’ll be staying here for three days.”
Small wooden buildings lined up beyond the garden of the Holy Palace’s main building. The priest opened one of the doors and started giving instructions.
“As you’re outsiders, most areas will be restricted. Please limit your sightseeing to what’s visible from here.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Of course, even if you tried to do more, it’s likely you wouldn’t get far.”
—Bow.
The priest bowed his head and withdrew.
“This isn’t too bad. The bed’s nice, too.”
Already inspecting the room from inside, the village chief commented. Despite his large frame, he was quite particular about where he stayed. If he said it was decent, it must be good enough.
‘Is he here on vacation or what…?’
Snap.
A vein bulged on Lloyd’s forehead for a moment.
“So, what should we do now?”
The chief, perhaps noticing the mood, walked out with a keen sense of timing.
“Surprising. You’re not taking a nap?”
“…Well, after following you around this much, I’ve come to understand. You have a knack for squeezing every drop of work out of your companions.”
“…I’m not that bad.”
“You are. I’ve completely figured you out.”
Lloyd felt wronged but couldn’t argue any further.
After all, he was planning to assign them tasks.
Ahem.
Lloyd cleared his throat unnecessarily and began speaking.
“First, we need to figure out how much we can move around.”
“How? The apprentice priest’s information was vague.”
“Well.”
Snicker.
Grinning broadly, Lloyd’s smile sent a slight shiver down the chief and the Princess’s spines.
“We’ll just have to push our way through. Alright, everyone, drop your bags and let’s get moving.”
Lloyd pushed the village chief and Yulia towards the street. Time was running out. As Yulia stumbled forward, she turned her head and asked.
“Wait, Lloyd.”
“You can eat later.”
“That’s not it! I’m not a pig, you know?”
Yulia shouted indignantly before continuing.
“What’s the goal here?”
“The goal?”
“Yeah. What are we trying to achieve in the Holy Palace?”
At her question, Lloyd grinned.
“Half of the Holy Palace. And, a full-on succession battle.”
◆
To gain half of the Holy Palace in three days.
It was easy to say.
Easy to say, but…
“Leave! We cannot show the sacred artifact storage to an outsider!”
Thud!
Lloyd was pushed out of the door and rubbed his sore bottom with both hands, still feeling the heat from the priest’s kick.
“Damn, that hurt!”
“Consider yourself lucky I don’t report you!”
Kwaaang!
The door slammed shut with a loud noise. Lloyd muttered as he glared at the closed door.
“Acting all holy and benevolent, but won’t let me see anything. And kicking people? Even beggars don’t get treated like this in a soup kitchen…”
Creak.
The door slightly reopened, and for a fleeting moment, hope appeared on Lloyd’s face, but…
“Take this back as well!”
Lloyd had to quickly step back as the priest threw something out.
— Hiss!
It was a snake.
Lloyd had tried to use the snake as a distraction to slip inside the room unnoticed.
But now the snake, as if it had found its prey, slithered towards him.
“Why is it coming this way?”
Even though it was a harmless snake, a snake was still a snake.
Lloyd stumbled backward and hit his head against the wall, scratching his head in frustration.
“…This is harder than I thought.”
The sun was already setting.
Two days left.
It seemed he would have to push his companions harder starting tomorrow.
‘And I’ll need to use that thing.’
Lloyd recalled one of the artifacts he had brought with him.
◇
“Please, if I don’t step inside today, I won’t be able to eat.”
In the Holy Palace’s prayer room, an ordinary priest named Bjorn looked at the middle-aged man in front of him with a troubled expression.
“…It’s not that I don’t want to help, but we have rules. This place is reserved for high-ranking priests only.”
“Are you telling me you won’t be able to eat if you let me in?”
“Well… no, that’s not it.”
“Then please, just pretend you didn’t see anything.”
“Hah.”
“I came all the way from the far-off Britannian Empire. I spent all my potato farm earnings just to come here and pray to Deus. Please, I beg you.”
Bjorn scratched the back of his head.
It was hard to refuse someone who had traveled such a long way just to pray…
Seeing the middle-aged man clasp his hands together in a pleading gesture, Bjorn sighed heavily.
“…Alright, I’ll turn a blind eye, but just for a moment.”
As a servant of God, he couldn’t bring himself to turn away someone who had come all this way to pray.
“Thank you.”
The village chief hurried inside the prayer room.
Kneeling in front of the statue of Deus, he pretended to pray while discreetly surveying his surroundings.
The priest also knelt down behind him, seemingly lost in prayer.
Carefully, the village chief removed one hand from his prayer posture and reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a tiny artifact the size of a bean and discreetly stuck it under a nearby chair.
When he pressed it, a faint red light began to flicker.
Hearing footsteps behind him, the village chief quickly closed his eyes and resumed his prayer posture.
◇
Decore, the scribe in charge of the archives, was startled.
“Excuse me. Is anyone here?”
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he opened the door, only to find a strikingly beautiful woman with platinum blonde hair standing before him. And she was an outsider—a rare sight indeed.
“How can I help you?”
“Well… I was wondering if I could take a look around the archives.”
“Ah.”
Decore scratched his head.
…How much access was allowed to outsiders again? Ah, right.
“I’m sorry, but outsiders are prohibited from entering. Only authorized personnel are allowed here.”
No matter how charming the person in front of him was, rules were rules. Decore clung to them, feeling a pang of regret.
The woman instantly looked disappointed.
“That’s… troubling.”
“What is so troubling for you?”
“Well, if I mess this up, I might not be able to eat today.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you heard of the book spirits that are said to live in ancient manuscripts?”
“I’ve come across them in fairy tales from time to time.”
“I’m researching those spirits, and the Holy Palace is the only place I can do so.”
Research?
The mention of research caught Decore’s attention, as he too had taken the position of an archive scribe due to his love for research.
“Well then, I could take a look and see if I can find anything for you. How exactly do you find these spirits?”
“Oh, thank you! They look like…”
As Yulia patiently explained, Decore began to think she didn’t seem like a bad person.
“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
As soon as Decore turned to go inside, Yulia quickly followed him.
‘Is this enough to get through the magic-engineered device?’
Having breached the most important part, as Lloyd instructed, it was time to move on to the next step.
‘I really didn’t want to do this.’
Pushing forward relentlessly, Yulia lowered her intelligence level momentarily, acting less sharp as she followed Decore.
“D-Don’t come in!”
“I just want to see it with my own eyes… can’t I? Just once?”
“…”
Decore, understanding the curiosity of research, hesitated.
“If it’s just for a moment, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Make sure you only take a look before I return.”
“Of course!”
With that, Yulia secured a brief window of time. She glanced around the archive.
“…No one’s around, right?”
The surroundings were spotless, not a single ant in sight.
Good.
Muttering to herself, Yulia pulled out a small device from her pocket.
It was identical to the one the village chief had used earlier.
— Press.
She placed it discreetly in a corner of the bookshelf, and it began to emit a faint, shimmering light.
