Chapter 4: The Saint Comes (3)

"...You give me too much credit," I said. "I haven't done anything heroic. I was

only able to rebuild the country because I was blessed with good subordinates; and

though I drove off Amidonia, the annexation was just something that happened as

part of the flow of events afterwards."

"The flow of things is a fate beyond human knowledge," Mary said. "Surely you

must have been under divine protection, sire."

Divine protection, huh... That was the sort of opinion I would expect from a

religious person. Not that I bought into it.

"Nah, that flow was created by one person in particular," I said. "I'm not the one

you should praise, but the Sovereign Princess of Amidonia, who made the decision of

a lifetime."

"Roroa Amidonia, you mean. Though still young, she took on two countries and

found the path to the greatest benefit for her people. I admire her as a fellow

woman."

I was pretty sure Roroa had hated her country, though.

When Roroa's elder brother Julius had been Sovereign Prince of Amidonia, the

Orthodox Papal State had incited their followers in the country into a rebellion. That

rebellion had been put down by Julius, but Roroa was angry that her people's blood

had been shed as a result.

Honestly, I had wanted Roroa to be here, as the candidate to become my third

primary queen and the one who shouldered this country's finances; but in

consideration of her enmity towards the Orthodox Papal State, I had decided to have

her wait in the governmental affairs office with Juna and everyone else. Roroa

wasn't the type to let it show, but I didn't want to make her hold her emotions back.

But... just how serious was this girl when she said that?

Her tone of voice was plain, and I couldn't detect any particular emotion in it. She

didn't seem to be plotting anything, either.

If she could speak like this while knowing what her country had done, she was a

great actor, but it was entirely possible that she had lived a sheltered life and knew

nothing of her country's actions.

...No, if it had been either of those two, she would have shown more emotion. She

was entirely too quiet.

If it were the former, she would probably have appealed more to her sincerity in

an attempt to deceive me. If it were the latter, she should have been more

enthusiastic about being here to do the right thing. However, Mary's attitude seemed

to say she was here to do something perfectly normal.

That might have been how a country's emissary was supposed to act, but in her

case, I felt like she took it to an extreme. I could feel that off feeling I'd had before

growing in my chest.

In order to keep that feeling from showing on my face, I asked her straight out.

"Well then, Madam Mary, what business are you here on today?"

"Oh, that's right," Mary said, and bowed her head meekly. "I did come here today

with a request for you, Your Majesty."

"A request?" I asked, having a bad feeling about where this was going; and Mary

answered me with a smile that didn't let me sense any ill intent.

"We would like you to adopt Lunarian Orthodoxy as the state religion of the

Kingdom of Friedonia."

A state religion...

State religions. They were a concept that had by and large been abandoned in the

developed countries of Earth. I think countries used to use state resources for the

defense and worship of a particular faith. They turned religious festivals into state

functions, if I recall.

...Whatever the case, as long as we were a multiracial state, it wasn't a realistic

proposal.

"Madam Mary, do you understand what it is you're requesting of me?" I asked. "If

a multiracial country like ours were to give one religion preferential treatment, it

would end up splitting the state. Are you asking me to make that sort of foolish

mistake?"

I took a somewhat stronger tone as I said that. I did it to indicate that I was

irritated with what she had said. I might not always seem like it, but I had gained

enough authority that people called me a great king. If I hadn't been such a big deal,

getting mad over such a little thing would probably have worked against me.

However, her expression didn't change in the slightest.

"We aren't asking you to give us preferential treatment. We would appreciate it if

you would, but for now, just adopting us as your state religion is enough. In Lunarian

Orthodoxy, we preach tolerance for others. That applies to other religions, too. We

don't drive out followers of other faiths or demand they convert."

Then Mary raised her palm towards the ceiling.

"The moon in the sky changes with the seasons, and her face changes depending

on the day and place from which you see her. Furthermore, the patterns of the moon

look like an animal to some, and a person to others. Faith is the same way. Even if

our views differ, we all still worship God. What we see as Lady Lunaria, those of

other faiths simply see as something else."

I was silent.

That was an awfully poetic opinion. If she was speaking her true feelings, then

that certainly was tolerant, but... I just didn't think the way her country acted was in

line with that.

"But you don't recognize Mother Dragon worship, now do you?" I asked.

"God is in the sky, and in our hearts," said Mary. "If you worship something that

exists, it's purely out of fear for that thing. What is Mother Dragon going to do for her

worshipers? Is it not true that the Star Dragon Mountain Range has no relations with

any country other than the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom?"

"It's natural for fear of something greater than yourself to develop into religious

faith," I said. "Isn't Mother Dragon a symbol of nature itself, beyond the realm of

human knowledge?"

"It's a difference in the way we think," Mary explained indifferently. "We think of

faith as the bond that arises from God thinking of mankind, and mankind thinking of

God. To us, Mother Dragon worship looks like an illicit love for Mother Dragon. We

cannot recognize that as a legitimate faith. Of course, we understand that there are

people who think that way."

She wasn't saying anything especially out of the ordinary, I supposed. If anything,

she came off as logical. If these were her personal views, I almost wanted to talk with

her at length about it some time. But there were some premises she was wrong

about.

"This seems like a good opportunity, so I'd like to hear your opinion on

something," I said.

"What might that be?"

"I hear that spies from some other country have been sending spies to the royal

capital recently..."

"To this country, you mean? It seems awfully stable, so it's a surprise to hear

that." Mary said that without her expression changing in the slightest, of course.

There had been no fluctuation in her emotions this entire time.

When it went this far, I had to start thinking she might not actually know

anything about the Orthodox Papal State's dark side.

"When one of my subordinates dispatched one of those spies, I'm told that the

spy said, 'Curse you, you infidel.' They must have been a follower of some religion.

You also believe in God, so perhaps you understand what the spy's words meant,

Madam Mary?"

"I am not that spy, so I couldn't tell you, but..." Mary seemed to think for a

moment, then replied without getting particularly worked up about it. "They

probably saw their own life as a trial given to them by God. Those who would

oppose them were unbelievers. In short, that was how they judged your subordinate

to be an infidel."

"So, basically, it wouldn't matter if he was a follower of another religion or not?"

"From what you've told me, that was the sense I got. I apologize for my selfcentered view."

"...No, it was educational," I said.

What was it? I felt I had less and less of a feel for her. I couldn't sense anything

like a motive behind Mary's words. She gave serious answers to my questions.

...In that case, was this a negotiation?

In negotiations, both sides had goals, and the two sides bounced ideas off one

another until they reconciled their differences. That was why they concealed

information that was to their disadvantage, in order to lead the discussion in a

direction that was advantageous to them. I couldn't sense any sort of attempt to lead

the conversation whatsoever in the way she was speaking and acting.

"...Let's get back on topic," I said at last. "You wanted to make Lunarian

Orthodoxy our state religion, right?"

"Yes."

"So, what merit is there for our country in doing that? Also, if you say you're

tolerant of other religions, it shouldn't matter who is worshiping what. Why is

Lunarian Orthodoxy seeking to become our state religion?"

"I will answer your first question," Mary told me. "If you make Lunarian

Orthodoxy your state religion, we are prepared to recognize Your Great Highness as

a saint. You are already a king, so you would become a holy king. In addition, I will

most likely be dispatched by the Orthodox Papal State to serve as your personal

bishop. I will serve you as I would God."

With that said, Mary bowed her head.

It was going more or less how Roroa had said it would. I'd never expected that

the saint herself would come to serve me, though.

"The way you say that, it's almost like you're coming to marry me," I commented.

"If Your Holy Majesty wishes, you may do with my body whatever you might

please. I will offer my body and heart to you as I do in service to God."

"I haven't said I'm going to accept this holy king thing yet."

"Forgive my presumption." Mary bowed her head once more. She didn't look like

she felt guilty at all... or rather, the look on her face made me think she didn't even

realize she had done something wrong.

When I mentioned the marriage thing, Aisha jumped a little, but Liscia didn't

seem surprised in the least. All she did was stare at Mary with a serious look on her

face. How did Mary look in Liscia's eyes?

"And?" I asked. "If I become a holy king and have a saint dispatched to me, what

merit are you saying that will give this country?"

"This country has grown to a scale where it is comparable to the Gran Chaos

Empire. That is a product of your virtue, no doubt. If you gain the influence of

Lunarian Orthodoxy as well, this country will have gained a degree of power that

outstrips that of the Empire."

"There's another bold claim," I said. "But the Empire still has more territory and

more power than us, you know?"

Well, there were areas where our technology was ahead of theirs, but I wasn't

going to let that slip.

Mary silently shook her head. "Four in ten of the people living in the Empire are

followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy. Those numbers are the result of Mother Dragon

worship being unable to gain much of a foothold because the Empire fought the Star

Dragon Mountain Range during the period in which they were expanding. In other

words, close to half the population are followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy. If this

country were to get into a conflict with them, with our influence it would be possible

to break up the Empire."

"You say some pretty scary things as if they're nothing," I said. "We have no

intention of getting into any conflicts with the Empire."

"It was merely a hypothetical. In short, I am telling you that you can gain the

power to rival the Empire; the power to be the strongest among mankind's nations."

...Yeah. Well, looking at the relationship between the princes of Middle Ages

Europe and the Roman Catholic Church, it wasn't unthinkable. With the power of the

ruler and the church combined, they would rule the country and drive out foreign

enemies.