Chapter 70

Governor Canella was a heavy person.

Not in terms of weight.

In terms of his position.

The Governor of Levona was the noblest person in Levona.

As such, every action, every step of the governor was connected to political issues.

The fact that such a person showed interest meant that it was an important issue.

So Admiral Gian was tense, wondering what Governor Canella was going to ask.

“Please ask me anything. I will answer to the best of my knowledge.”

“Do you know the rumors that are spreading in the city these days?”

“I have only recently returned to Levona, so I am not familiar with that.”

“A rumor is going around that Leon Gryph summoned a monster from the sea to defeat Tospol. Is that really true? If that is true, it is a grave crisis for the nation.”

That question greatly flustered Admiral Gian, who had been expecting a light conversation.

Levona was a country where you could ask anyone on the street about the sea and get advice.

Being able to hear endless nagging was a bonus.

The person who rose to the top in such a country was Gian Cavalieri.

It was natural that Governor Canella chose him as a consultant.

But even for such an Admiral Gian, a question like the one just now was unfamiliar and difficult.

Because the admiral was a navy expert, not a marine biologist.

So Admiral Gian, like an expert, tried to keep the line between what he could and could not advise on.

“I am a naval expert, not a marine biologist. If you seek an answer regarding living creatures, it is proper to inquire with the university in Bologna.”

“But you are the best marine expert in Levona, Admiral. Who would know better if not you?”

Admiral Gian was at a loss for words for a moment and then came to his senses.

It was unlikely that Governor Canella had asked the question without any thought.

“What are you worried about?”

“If a war breaks out between Levona and Fasa, there is no law that says that monster won't appear and annihilate the fleet.”

“That is also true.”

“The damage to our fleet in this battle was quite large, wasn't it? Then we might not be able to stop the monster next time.”

They shared the source of their fear.

If Leon could really command a deep-sea monster, and if he had defeated Tospol's pirate flotilla with it, then the same could be applied to Levona.

Admiral Gian groaned, imagining a giant squid monster waving its tentacles and dancing in the middle of a ruined Levona.

Thinking about it with common sense, it was not a possible thing.

It was also something that he would have dismissed as a ridiculous imagination on a normal day.

But about half of it had happened in reality at the Kresven Archipelago.

And what happened once could happen twice.

Admiral Gian did his best to weave an answer from what he had seen and heard.

“First of all, it is true that a monster appeared. It is also definitely true that the monster ate Tospol at the end. But a rumor is just a rumor, I believe it is just an exaggeration.”

“An exaggeration?”

“In my opinion, Leon Gryph did not really tame the monster. He didn't seem to have the ability to do so either. In the first place, I don't think God would allow such a thing to a mere human.”

“You mean it's true that a monster appeared?”

“Yes. It was the kind we usually call a kraken. It is definitely true that it appeared.”

The sight of that monster leaping out of the sea to the surface was still vivid in his eyes.

The memory of watching, unable to breathe, at the moment a sailor's nightmare came true was vivid.

There were far more sailors who retired without ever meeting a deep-sea monster in their entire lives than sailors who were attacked by one.

Most eyewitness accounts were just misinterpretations of a mirage in bad weather.

But it definitely existed.

The moment the legend broke through the boundary and leaped out, all the sailors were overwhelmed.

Because they realized how insignificant they were.

Because they had faced their own weakness.

So Admiral Gian awkwardly scratched his head.

“But in the first place, if he had such an ability, wouldn't he have summoned it when the battle started, not when he was cornered?”

“It was just that a deep-sea monster happened to be living in the sea in front of the island?”

“In my opinion, it seems to be a kind of accident that happened as a coincidence. It didn't seem like Leon Gryph could really communicate with the monster.”

Of course, the one that appeared in the Kresven Archipelago had smashed Tospol's pirate flotilla, but there was room for understanding there.

No matter how much of a monster it was, wouldn't it be natural to get angry if someone made a commotion above its head?

Still, Governor Canella was not satisfied and persistently dug deeper.

“What if he had hidden his power until the very end? What if he used it at that final moment?”

It was a common-sense point that a secret was only valuable when it was kept.

So Admiral Gian spoke based on common sense.

“Even if that is really true, a revealed secret is no longer valuable. I believe we can deal with it sufficiently in other ways.”

It was a sound argument.

At the sufficiently plausible answer, Governor Canella sighed.

“I see. Anyway, if that's true, Tospol was a real crazy bastard. To think he was pirating when such a monster was living in his front yard.”

“It's truly amazing guts. That's probably how he was able to build such a notorious reputation.”

“Well, the admiral who saw it in person must be right. Then I can rest easy. I guess my worries were too excessive. Hahaha.”

“Hahaha.”

They laughed loudly.

Unfortunately, they did not know one fact.

If they had known that the Holy See was seriously discussing whether this incident was the work of a demon, they would never have laughed.

***

Just as the Eastern Church was responsible for the spirituality of the Siberia Empire, the Western Church was responsible for the spirituality of its west.

The two churches were originally one, but they had split due to differences in the interpretation of doctrine.

Because of this, the two churches had very similar appearances yet also had differences.

Nevertheless, there was one unchanging commonality between the two religions, and that was that the cities where their headquarters were located all originated from the ancient empire.

Just as the headquarters of the Eastern Church was in the Imperial Capital, the headquarters of the Western Church was located in Ratio, in central Apennia, which preserved the traces of the ancient empire.

Now, at the central headquarters of that Holy See, a war of words was going on day after day over a single topic.

That topic was whether it was possible for a single human to tame a super-giant monster.

“Ah, come on! You have to make sense! Are you still into things like monsters like a child?”

“But it's something that actually happened!”

“A rumor can be exaggerated as much as you want, can't it? Can't you even guess how much it's been inflated as it passed through people's mouths?”

“Then why would he have gotten the nickname of Beast Tamer?”

On a common-sense level, it was impossible for a single individual to tame a giant monster.

Even wicked mages could not do such a thing.

At most, they could command small animals like rats, cats, or owls.

But a single human mercenary captain had done it.

He had even commanded a monster to defeat a notorious pirate.

The priests of Ratio had also heard of Tospol's notoriety.

In particular, some from the coast would shudder at the mere mention of his name.

The rumor that such a notorious pirate had been killed by a human who commanded a giant monster was utterly unbelievable.

No matter how much you consider that a rumor is distorted in the process of being transmitted, it is an absurd thing.

But in the doctrine of the Western Church, an absurd thing was considered to belong to the power of God.

In other words, it was something that only the holy God who created all things and the devil who challenged him could do.

But no matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem to be His will for a single human to control a giant monster, so it goes without saying which side the priests suspected.

“Could it be that that fellow named Leon Gryph has made a pact with the devil?”

“There was no such rumor, but it could be.”

Therefore, it was natural for the renowned priests of the Holy See to pay attention to Leon.

Of course, it was an attention that Leon would not have welcomed.

“This is not the work of a human! The devil must have gone against His will and employed a monster!”

“According to the report, it seemed like a coincidence……”

“Silence! We must immediately call an inquisitor and investigate the people involved in this. Perhaps even the upper echelons of Levona and Fasa have been tainted by the devil.”

It was a shot in the dark, but considering that Leon's trait name was ‘Descendant of a Demon’, it could be said that an unexpected insight had shone through.

Of course, there were not a few priests who murmured about him.

“I heard Fasa made a lot of money lately, isn't that bastard just throwing a tantrum because he couldn't get a bribe?”

“Shh. Watch your mouth in a holy place. A bribe. What a ridiculous thing to say.”

“Ahem. No, but aren't his words too harsh?”

“After Bishop Malone quit last time, the clergy in Fasa was vacant, right? Is he perhaps aiming for a transfer there?”

Anyway, the remarks of the moderates were mercilessly cut down by the hardliners who had gained momentum, and now the priests began to think about the future.

“Then what do you propose we do?”

“Shouldn't we naturally send an inquisitor and the Holy Knights to judge the evil with a holy flame?”

The Western Church's traditional way of dealing with devils and heretics was fire.

The holy fire could cleanly eliminate all evil from the face of the earth.

However, the aftermath was the problem.

The days when the fire shows hosted by the Holy See were popular were a thing of the past.

In the old days, there was so little to do that people gathered to watch, but now it was just an outdated trend.

If they held such a performance these days, they would only receive criticism from various countries.

The priests were also concerned about such a situation arising.

“That seems a bit excessive. If we're not careful, it could be seen as the Holy See wanting to go to war with the south.”

“How about we send Inquisitor Ceras instead? He's on standby in Ratio right now.”

“The Hound of the Pope?”

“Or what, is there another person? There isn't, right?”

“Well. There's no one like Ceras.”

Inquisitor Ceras was a person renowned for his fair but accurate judgment, so he was a suitable choice.

Now, as the bishops of the Western Church were bickering over whether to summon Ceras or not.

A certain cardinal came running into the central headquarters, flapping his red cassock.

“Wait! Wait, everyone, stop!”

“Do not run in a holy place!”

“Argh, it's that important!”

“What on earth is it?”

“It's war! A war is about to break out in Apennia!”

“What?!”

As the cardinal couldn't hold back and shouted, everyone's mouths fell open in surprise.

It was an unexpected situation.

The Holy See was in Apennia.

Since a war was about to break out right in front of them, they could not help but be concerned about the damage.

But who on earth would start a war?

Apennia had been a peaceful land for a long time.

“Between whom and whom?”

“Fasa and the coalition against it!”

***

A buyer orders an item not for the item itself, but for the momentary anticipation of opening the delivery box.

Therefore, package delivery was a very important issue.

It wasn't for nothing that next-day delivery, dawn delivery, and even same-day delivery services had appeared in modern Korea.

However, in Apennia, the probability of a package being lost was higher than the probability of an ordered item arriving.

Even considering the barbaric era, it was an excessive level.

And it didn't stop there; the stolen goods were even being brazenly sold on the second-hand market in the local marketplace.

This was something that could only make the buyers grab the back of their necks in anger.

Why was a package that I hadn't even opened wandering around outside!

Why are you opening the box before me?

However, since they could not catch the pirates, who were the source of the problem, the buyers chose to protest first to Fasa, which was distributing the stolen goods.

“Hey, that's stolen goods!”

“Are you crazy?”

But the answer that came back to the polite protest was just bureaucratic red tape.

“I dunno?”

“But it doesn't seem to be my fault? Why don't you go complain to the pirates? We only sell what we find in the sea. Why are you coming to me?”

What people originally hated most at customer service centers was the macro response.

Because they felt they were not being treated properly.

Fasa's response was just like that.

The people who received the response felt a serious sense of injustice.

Thus, they decided to go to the logistics center to find their lost packages themselves.

It seemed that there was no other way to release this anger.

It was the birth of the anti-Fasa coalition army.

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