Chapter 20
“I’m talking about opportunity, not effort. As always, the world is unfair. Just as the field of magic had to put more effort into it than other fields due to lack of data.”Gabriel continued, looking at Kyria with a soft smile.“Let me ask you a question. Isn’t the princess also seizing the opportunity to make such an effort because she was born into the royal family of Entria?”“…… Are you going to find fault in me for being born into a royal family?”Kyria struggled to contain her anger. Gabriel’s insistence was too much to listen to anymore.“There’s no way. I just wanted to say this. Just as the princess was born into a royal family, the Saintess was simply chosen by God. Even a country girl can become a ‘Saintess.'”“That’s why I am asking you to show a little bit of that ability.”If she’s a real Saintess, prove her ability!It was a reasonable demand from Kyria, who had no choice but to distrust the Saintess who suddenly appeared.“A wizard who is born as a princess and does not have to show her ability, and a Saintess who is from a small town in the local area and should show her ability even though she is chosen by God…… That’s funny.”For a moment there was silence.“Wizard Kyria, where does that arrogance that dares to be disloyal to God’s choice come from?”Gabriel’s voice sounded heavier than ever.Kyria kept her mouth shut. The meaning behind his words was heavy.Tell me where. God’s choice was unfair. Wasn’t it because of God’s unfairness that you were born into a royal family and studied magic?It was the same as choosing a hillbilly girl as a saintess. You are not fighting me or the church right now. You are challenging God.Gabriel was asking that.Even Kyria knew that she couldn’t oppose him any more here.Unlike Aranta, Ariel and Entria followed the same god. Even though Aranta believed in another god, he was certain of the Church’s divine power.Even the Emperor of Aranta coveted Juliet’s divine power and made her his Empress and made Imperial Prince Lan a paladin to make his divine power more powerful.Even if Kyria herself had no faith, she was not stupid enough to refute against their god Elohim in front of everyone.Gabriel fiddled with the pendant on his neck, kissed the end, and said.“If you believe in the Church and join us in this subjugation, I don’t want any other talk about this to come out. I can’t stand any more disrespect, so if you don’t want to follow my words as a commander, leave the subjugation force now.”But no one spoke.The pendant that Gabriel touched was an ornament that symbolized the deity of the church. The entire time he spoke, the pendant touched the back of Gabriel’s hand and lips.Elohim was watching. Somewhere, he was watching them talk.That was what he meant.After Kyria kept her mouth shut, the alliance meeting proceeded without a hitch.No one disagreed with this meeting.By the time Princess Kyria, who had come as the representative of Entria, could no longer respond to Gabriel, the battle of nerves was already over. After the meeting, Gabriel, who was leaving the conference room, signaled with a hand gesture to one of his escorts.Seeing Gabriel’s signal, the Paladin approached Lan and spoke.“Sir Lan Alcaray, your mission begins now.”That was the word.Lan looked in Gabriel’s direction. However, Gabriel left the conference room without looking back.Even though he knew he wasn’t looking, Lan gave a small bow to Gabriel’s back and headed to Princess Kyria. “I admire Your Eminence the Cardinal.”Alexander, one of the paladins, suddenly opened his mouth.“Hmm?”“You were cool today. His Eminence’s ability was so amazing that I was a little curious if it was because of your persuasion.”Gabriel laughed.Persuasion?It was true, but he didn’t really use his persuasion ability properly. Even if he didn’t, he was still adept at dealing with people.As the Pope’s godson, his observational skills gained from being cautious in front of many people were sufficient.In fact, Gabriel has had difficulty developing other control abilities due to his inability to control his foresight.It was not suitable for Gabriel to live with a single ability that he didn’t know when or how it would manifest.All other abilities, including persuasion, were developed that way.‘But there’s no need to tell the Paladin all this.’Gabriel said.“I have something to tell the Saintess.”In other words, he was going to see the Saintess. Noah was chatting with Lina when she was surprised by Gabriel’s appearance.“W, welcome!”Noah was bewildered and greeted Gabriel.It was a pleasure to meet him because she was curious about the meeting, but what should she call this?Noah was intimidated in front of Gabriel, who was always friendly. So she just looked at him. He was now His Eminence the Cardinal.“This is……?”“This is a postcard made by the Church to commemorate the subjugation of Urvas this time. It came out pretty well.”Lina smiled and held out a postcard.Gabriel looked at the picture on the postcard and nodded.“Indeed. It would have been nice if the loveliness of the Saintess could be revealed a little more, but there is a limit to the expression of the painting. This is good enough.”Noah’s face burned.“T, thank you.”Instead of Noah, who was embarrassed, Lina brought a cup of tea.“You know that we had an alliance meeting today……”Gabriel brought up the business with a soft smile.“It seems like the Saintess is curious.”“Yes. I was a little curious.”Noah smiled bashfully, as if he had caught what she was thinking in her heart, and pressed the tips of her five fingers together.“This subjugation of Urvas is led by the Church, and I am the commander, but if I cannot lead, it is the Saintess who will stand in my place.”How come an abrupt conversation about the Church’s position and the Saintess came up?“Since I have told you that I will no longer just watch the disrespect of others, there will be no more such incidents like at the banquet.”Perhaps he was referring to Princess Kyria’s attitude.Actually, Noah had no problem with it. What’s wrong with greeting first and greeting later? It was just that she was uncomfortable with her strangely sharp behavior.Of course, it would be nice if not only Princess Kyria, but also others didn’t have to behave in such a rude manner in the future.“Ah, thank you.”“And I have something to give you.”“Yes.”Gabriel lifted the necklace from his neck. The necklace string was quite long and easily slipped over his head.It was a necklace with a long gold string and a pendant as a symbol of the Church and several gems were attached to the pendant.It was the necklace he kissed while looking into Kyria’s eyes during the alliance meeting.Gabriel hung the necklace around Noah’s neck.“Please wear this necklace all the time. Take it out like this so that it can be seen well.”“Is it an important necklace?”An unusual atmosphere filled Noah as she stared at him.“Yes, this necklace will protect the Saintess.”“Does it contain special abilities like magic stones? By any chance, is it a holy relic?”Gabriel just laughed. He stroked Noah’s head and leaned down to meet her eyes.“It’s much better. The gems attached are expensive, and the string of the necklace is gold of high purity. You can sell it after this subjugation is over.”“You’re not lending it to me, but giving it?”“Yes.”Noah looked at him with her mouth open in surprise, and Gabriel closed her mouth by gently pushing Noah’s chin.“If you ever get into a difficult situation, kiss this pendant.”“Is that like a functional prayer?”“It is similar.”“What is the ability of this holy relic?”The necklace was already a holy relic for Noah.Gabriel straightened his back.“It is the ability to confirm to the other person who is behind the Saintess.”It wasn’t a lie.Those present at the Alliance Council clearly saw that Gabriel was carrying the necklace. Therefore, if she hung this on her neck, they would see that Gabriel, and furthermore the Church, was behind the Saintess.“Wow…….”Noah was shocked.Gabriel’s gift was a shock in itself.An item that proved who was behind the Saintess. Wasn’t God behind the Saintess! If so, this necklace was definitely a holy relic from which God’s power was poured!The item in her hand was not a joke. It was a really necessary item for timid Noah!“I’ll always take care of it. I’ll be careful not to use it carelessly. I will never sell it, keep it well, and give it back.”Gabriel was handsome and kind-hearted. To yield a precious holy relic so easily.What a great man!Was there a great man? Someone like Gabriel Schliemann was a great man!Noah was already a fan of Gabriel.“That……. Can I take a look, too?”Lina, who had been quiet the whole time, had her eyes also shine at the talk about the ‘holy relic.’“Yes, Lina-nim! Please have a look!”When Noah held out the pendant, Lina quickly approached and held it carefully.“I know it has real gems, but I don’t think I’ve seen this holy relic in the Church Holy Relic Illustrated Book either.”At Lina’s words, Noah’s eyes turned to Gabriel.“Not all the holy relics will be revealed. Because there will be a lot of people who are aiming for it. Some of the holy relics have actually been stolen.”Noah was surprised at that part.“You got robbed?”When I looked at Lina with a face asking, ‘What am I going to do?’ Lina said with a smile.“We are a subjugation force going out to subjugate Urvas. What are you worried about when the best paladins of the church will escort you?”“Don’t worry, Saintess.”Noah felt a little relieved when she saw Alexander talking with a smile.Right! Wasn’t it a holy relic to be taken to fight against the demon dragon! It was so great that it was specially hidden by the church, a holy relic containing the power of God!“It’s really reassuring.”She talked about the people, but in reality, her greatest reassurance came from the holy relic.Thanks to the holy relic, some of the fear of the subjugation washed away. Apart from the fact that the fear of subjugation had been washed away…….Why was that?“Weren’t we going to catch a dragon?”Even though it was a situation where she was dragged, she clearly knew the purpose.And yet…….“That’s right.”Noah’s escort knight, Heron, replied with a smile.Noah didn’t understand the current situation, and she was…… kind of embarrassed.Why did she have to dress up fancier than at the banquet and get on an expensive carriage with no cover when they were going to catch a dragon!“A lot of people will be flocking to the train station.”“……what?”Hi~! This is Eica. As usual, this is an edited machine translation. So, if you find any mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me. 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