Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy

Karia stared at the map of the continent in the dark room.

She didn’t know the exact whereabouts of the Pope, but she had a rough idea of his route.

She even knew the things he personally owned.

Yet, no matter how much she searched, she couldn't figure out where their hideout was.

"Could it be that, like the First Queen said, he's hiding in another realm by creating some kind of space that isn’t real?"

‘The power of gods can't be easily defined. Take the power of darkness, for example. This power doesn’t just erase light. It starts by manipulating shadows, and can even influence someone’s negative emotions, forgotten pasts, or futures they wish to avoid. It might even affect a more expansive range.’

Erginus had explained that the powers of the gods were impossible to measure unless one was the wielder of that power.

He even said that the wielder themselves might not fully comprehend it.

The problem now was that this opponent was the Apostle of Agras, who had survived since the war of the gods.

Someone as deranged as the Pope wouldn’t have left his powers unchecked for such a long time, so it was likely that he was committing acts that defied common sense.

Therefore, she had to think outside the box as well.

“Damn.”

Nothing came to mind.

She was good at making decisions within the realm of common sense, but this was tough.

When she was charmed by the evil god of fire, she hadn’t even guessed that the curse’s origin was the evil god.

These kinds of things were her employer’s specialty, but unfortunately, he was currently captured.

“Don’t worry about it too much.”

The First Queen, her arms bound by the handcuffs made by Erginus, leaned against the wall, smiling.

“I told you last time. The Pope will never harm Lady Alrun.”

"I've heard a million times that the Pope is an insane lunatic. But our employer isn’t exactly normal either."

It was true that her true nature was like that of a mischievous girl, but aside from that, there were times when her mind would snap in an instant.

At those times, her employer would rush in without thinking about his own safety.

“Sometimes, even I lose my sanity when listening to what our employer says. Maybe the Pope can endure that, but I don’t think the other trash can handle it.”

“That’s good. We could escalate things in an unofficial setting and take the moral high ground. It would be great if Lady Alrun became the Queen.”

“You ruined it, didn’t you?”

“Right. I ruined it.”

Karia let out a hollow laugh as she shook her head and slumped into the chair.

"What was so great about the king?"

“That’s a deep question. Hmm, first of all, his looks.”

“That’s not it.”

“Why not? Wasn’t his roundness charming?”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

Though she could tell Karia was staring at her blankly, the First Queen leisurely continued speaking.

“He had a good character. He seriously thought about the country and loved me. He was smart and had decent political skills too.”

“But all of that was fake. In the end, the king was just a trash who struggled to avoid death.”

“Who can remain indifferent in the face of death?”

“That’s true, but at least he didn’t try to take his children’s bodies.”

“...That was me.”

“I didn’t suggest it. That trash really is trash.”

The First Queen smiled but gave no further response.

However, Karia knew. She could tell her insides were boiling.

The woman, blinded by love, had seen the madman who tried to devour her children as her beloved.

Though Karia didn’t want to deal with this kind of person, it was better now. As long as the king’s safety was in her hands, the First Queen wouldn’t be able to betray them.

“We should end the small talk here.”

As Karia called out to enter, a few people appeared from outside.

Johann, who had gone with Fabi to the holy land.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

Erginus, who had been moving to uncover the Pope's true intentions.

Alsetin, who was working in the field instead of Karia.

And Arthur, the third prince, who had come in place of the other princes.

After confirming their faces, Karia slowly stood and closed the door.

“Cardinal, please give a situation report.”

“The Saint has succeeded in taking control of the holy land. The church under the Lord will do everything in its power to deal with the corrupt Pope.”

Fabi, who had headed to the holy land, succeeded in taking control of everyone there within a day.

Following him, the swordsman said there was no need for security to follow them.

Anyone who had even the slightest belief in the Lord would never harm Fabi.

Furthermore, the situation had become easier because of Luel’s doll, which had been saved by Lucy’s group.

Having the appearance of a hero, he stepped forward and supported Fabi’s words, leaving no one doubting Fabi’s legitimacy.

With the cardinals who followed Fabi, she quickly reorganized the command structure of the holy land and sent envoys to various countries to denounce the former Pope.

The one who had been closest to the light of the Lord had fallen into greed and grasped the hand of the evil god.

Under normal circumstances, the leadership of each country would not have accepted this without question.

The public face of the church had always been the Pope.

He had personally met with kings from various countries, building relationships, so how could they suddenly change their evaluation?

However, what made it difficult for the various countries to laugh this off was that it wasn’t only the holy land that had denounced the Pope.

The Art Guild had risen up.

Soladin had made an official statement.

The swordsman had officially condemned him.

The Fairy Queen had expressed her sorrow.

And the great archmage, Erginus, had personally declared that the Pope was humanity’s enemy.

With all this, the various countries became busy processing the situation, but according to what Karia had gathered, there was no one willing to support the Pope.

“Thank you for your hard work. Next, Prince Arthur?”

“There was some confusion, but the situation seems to be settling down. Tomorrow, I would like to seek the doll’s cooperation.”

“Would it be fine if I did it?”

“You won’t betray us, will you?”

“Heh, I’m glad you trust me.”

Karia alternated between glancing at the visibly uncomfortable Arthur and the First Queen, who seemed pleased with the discomfort. She shrugged her shoulders and turned her head toward Erginus.

“I found out the Pope’s insane goal. He wants to erase all gods and make the Lord the only god. It’s a plan fitting for a madman.”

“...Is that even possible? You said it was impossible to get rid of gods.”

“It’s hard to say for sure, but at least he thinks it’s possible.”

The Pope was a madman, but he wasn’t an idiot.

There must be a reason he was betting everything on a plan that seemed impossible.

“So, we should prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

“The priority should be to prevent the age of myths from opening.”

“Have you found the Pope’s location?”

“...No. I’m sorry. I searched all possible places, but found no clue. Alsetin, anything different from before?”

“No. Nothing. Like my master said, I suspect he used the power of the evil god.”

“I think so too. The Queen said something similar. She said, even though she’s moving the fairies, she can’t find any traces.”

Not only the human information network but also the fairies couldn’t find any traces, which was almost proof that the power of the evil god was being used.

“This is tough.”

“I guess we’ll have to rely on Lucy Alrun to get out of this.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“I’m half serious. With her, we never know what kind of bizarre way she’ll use to escape.”

Lucy always solved problems in ways that defied common sense.

It wouldn’t be surprising if she showed up the moment they figured out how to track the Pope after struggling through.

“Well, even if that happens, it won’t change what we have to do.”

Erginus, forcing a laugh, asked Karia for several things to be done.

As Lucy did, she would do what she could.