Chapter 100

"Under the sky, all people are equal."

The monk, Isilla, placed a cup of mint tea in front of Ian.

It's a drink that clears the mind.

"Those are really good words. Heh."

Ian took a sip of the mint tea.

A fragrant and refreshing scent.

Ian nodded happily.

Ah, this is mint.

Anyone who wants to throw chocolate into this refreshing scent is clearly a madman.

"Many forget this fact."

"It can't be helped, can it?"

"It can't be helped?"

Ian said as he put down his teacup.

"Aren't there many nobles among the clergy? That Zoltin fellow seemed like a noble too."

"You got that right. His uncle is Duke Gazous."

Wow. A duke.

He thought he had an authoritative air, but he had no idea he was a duke's nephew.

There are five dukes in the empire, commonly known as the Empire's Five Dukes.

A duke has a presence like that of a significant kingdom's king.

Zoltin is practically like the king's nephew.

"The Church is increasingly becoming classist."

Isilla seriously worried about the future of the Church of Heaven's Faith.

Originally, in the Church of Heaven's Faith, there is no hierarchy.

At the highest place, there is God, and all other humans are equal.

No matter how great the 13 primary saints are, they are still human.

What about the disciples of the 13 saints? They are nothing.

Yet, around them, the direct disciples of the saints are highly revered.

The disciples of the 13 saints are called 'cardinals,' and among them, the disciple of Saint Casius is referred to as 'pope.'

This was evidence that the secularization of the Church of Heaven's Faith was progressing.

"Nobles are becoming clergy."

Under the sky, all humans are equal but...

Are they really equal under the roof of the temple?

Can a beggar begging on the streets and a wealthy noble, both believers in the same God, truly be considered the same kind of follower?

The answer is 'no.'

Nobility-born clerics wield money and connections, dominating the religious world.

A respected cleric from commoner origins?

No matter how much respect they get, without demonstrating a miracle of God, there are clear limits.

The priest next door, born from a count, passively performs the miracle of multiplying bread from his pocket.

How could a commoner priest compete with that?

'Equality' is bound to break.

Thus, farmers bow their heads to clergy as they would to nobility.

And the clergy walk around as stiff as if they were lords themselves.

A second nobilization is underway.

"Hmm. The atmosphere is indeed not good."

Belenka shrugged her shoulders.

Isilla burst into laughter.

"It's different from the Eastern Church. They don't even know who the pope is there, do they?"

"The only clergy I know is our local priest."

Belenka is from Wintz, located in the east.

Unlike the Imperial Church, where the infiltration of nobility was actively progressing, the religion in Wintz remains everyone's.

The reason is simple...

Wintz is a poor and barren land, so there was no need for nobles to snatch even the clerical positions.

Thus, while Belenka believed in the Church of Heaven's Faith, she didn't know who the pope was.

Nor did she need to.

To Belenka, the pope was just another religious man.

After all, humans are equal, so what difference does being a pope make?

That was her mindset.

Actually, she was right. The pope was just a human.

"Especially as secular influences grow stronger. The emperor, that bastard, is not only failing to restrain it, but he's encouraging it..."

In the empire, there exist lord-bishops, nobles who are both lords and clergy.

Yes, they were hybrid nobles.

The emperor had granted them territories, making them lords, but they were also clergymen!

These hybrid nobles usually pledged their loyalty to the emperor.

Isilla disapproved of such bishop-lords because they were creating a situation that could spark jealousy between the pope and the emperor.

Would the cunning nobles around them just ignore this conflict?

It wouldn't be surprising if they tried to stir trouble between the two.

"That dimwit better come to his senses this time," Isilla said, refilling Ian's cup with mint tea.

"Thank you for teaching Zoltin. It wasn't ordinary teaching either; have you studied the Bible?"

"I learned a bit from Dehitri, a monastic knight of the Santiago Knights," Ian replied.

"Ah, the Santiago Knights! I've heard of them. They are truly righteous, aren't they?"

Ian could only nod.

Even by modern standards, they were remarkable for wandering the empire and practicing benevolence and service merely to help humanity.

"That's what living a life of faith is all about..."

Isilla laughed bitterly.

"Spending all day brewing beer and busy peddling some worthless gospels..."

Monk Isilla was an old man burdened with many worries.

Abbot Renis and Monk Isilla talked for quite a long time.

Zoltin? That bastard was always an outsider.

He used to claim he was a disciple of Saint Marcus until Isilla's sincere punch knocked some sense into him.

He probably wanted to transform into a rat and hide in a hole.

Originally, Zoltin treated the monastery like his own home, but after being chastised by Ian and Isilla, he no longer dared to approach the guest areas.

"Ian, I have a request for you," Renis said once they had agreed on their opinions.

"A request?"

"Yes, it relates to the holy relic you brought."

Ian looked puzzled.

Wasn't it supposed to be over when he returned it?

"Initially, Takarion... that dimwit 'borrowed' a holy relic I had brought from the north in my youth," Isilla explained.

"What?"

Ian was surprised.

It was Isilla's relic?

"In those days, I was too spirited. While studying various things, I wondered: Ian, do you know that barbarians and imperial people have the same roots?"

"Well, more or less..."

It was something Teacher Eredith had already mentioned.

Originally, indigenous people lived on imperial lands, but barbarians from the north forced them out and took over.

Thus, barbarians and imperial people are rooted in the same history.

"Isn't it strange? Why do we worship the sky, while the barbarians still worship the cold ice god?"

Ian wanted to say it wasn't strange at all but kept silent to avoid a harsh response.

In the warm empire, they farm and thus worship the sky.

In the cold north, the barbarians worship the ice god for survival, right?

However, this was a very non-religious perspective.

Ian decided to show some empathy.

"Now that you mention it, you're right."

"I thought so. To satisfy my curiosity, I went north myself. I preached the word of the sky to the barbarians there."

"..."

In South Korea, there's a saying: 'Curiosity equals heaven.'

It means that curiosity often leads to dangerous outcomes.

To Ian, Isilla's curiosity seemed like the kind that was perfect for getting him killed.

A monk who went to the land of the barbarians to spread the word of God!

It looked like a sure path to martyrdom!

But not for Isilla.

He had actually... succeeded in his mission!

"It was tough, but I eventually found a tribe that understood well. They were originally the Ice Claw Tribe, but now they've changed their name to the Sky Claw Tribe."

Ian was dumbfounded.

How the hell did he manage that?!

Seeing a case of successful proselytization among barbarians was actually refreshing.

That's why other monks respect Isilla...

While madness is just madness, pulling off such madness brilliantly can turn you into a hero.

Isilla was someone teetering on the boundary between a madman and a hero.

"At that time, as a sign of renouncing their faith in the ice god, the Sky Claw Tribe gave me their sacred object. They said it was necessary and told me to take it back to the empire."

"So, what you brought was…"

"Yes, that 'holy relic.'"

Isilla glared at Renis.

Renis was sweating profusely, at a loss for words.

"I, I thought it was truly a sacred object…"

"A relic is a relic! Even if it's a pagan one!!!"

No words could defend him.

The item Isilla had brought when he was young had been kept in the monastery for about 30 to 40 years.

It had become misunderstood as a sacred object among the monks due to distortions in their communications.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

Ian looked at the bird that had climbed onto the table.

So, this creature, originally from the north, had come to the empire through the hands of a monk and had been hatched by Ian…

Its backstory was lengthy, a creature with a pitiful tale.

"But now that you've awakened this bird, we need to send it back north."

"Why? Can't we keep it at the monastery?"

Isilla looked incredulous.

"Would we keep a creature revered by pagans in the monastery?"

"Well, maybe we could convert it?"

"That's like saying a manticore can become nice."

"..."

Ah. Instant understanding.

The only way to make a manticore nice was to kill it and send it to heaven. There are just some things in the world that cannot be reformed.

"I think it's like a phoenix."

"A phoenix? Takarion called it a paradise bird, didn't he?"

"Takarion? What does he know?"

Ian was genuinely impressed by Isilla's sharp logic.

Ah. That's how he managed to convert barbarians!

A wise old man indeed. Ian's respect for Isilla rose a notch.

"All we need to do is return it to the Sky Claw Tribe. I hear it doesn't want to leave your side?"

Ian shrugged.

Since it got along well with Kira, maybe sending Kira alone north wouldn't be too bad.

But that would be pretty awful.

As the leader, he should go too.

"So, I'd like you to go north."

Renis quickly interjected.

"And if Takarion is alive! Please, rescue him!"

"Ah. A rescue."

He wasn't exactly enthusiastic.

If it were a kidnapped princess of some country, he might have played the hero.

But heading to the freezing north to rescue a Church of Heaven's Faith fanfic writer?

No romance whatsoever.

And it seemed unlikely that Takarion was alive.

Taken by barbarians, he probably didn't make it.

So the primary mission became returning the bird revered by the barbarians.

The secondary mission was to check on Takarion's fate, and if possible, rescue him.

"Hmm..."

Ian pondered a bit.

He had actually been planning to visit the north anyway.

At the northern frontier is where the Space-Time Wizard Council is located.

He had thought about meeting some wizards there.

At the same time, he might look into the existence of the ice phoenix that Drake Longtail mentioned.

But now that it came to actually going to a cold place, it felt a bit bothersome...

"If you go north, I will give you something you'll find interesting."

Isilla spoke as if he had read Ian's thoughts.

He was indeed a wise old man.

"You're a wizard, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"Do you know that barbarians also possess magic?"

"Barbarian magic?"

At this, Isilla pulled something out of his pocket.

Renis gasped from the side.

"No! Elder! Why have you brought a pagan object into the monastery?"

"It's my decision."

The item Isilla extracted was a half-torn card.

"What is this?"

"It's an object used by those who worship the ice god to cast magic. It's called [Arcana] in the ancient language."