Chapter 404

I looked down at the floor, then up at the ceiling, before meeting Narke’s eyes again.

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“I mean exactly what I said. Bringing you to the Papal See isn’t my responsibility anymore. All right? I even got you made a cardinal. That’s enough.”

The way he said I even got you made didn’t sound like he’d done me a favor. It sounded more like he’d simply fulfilled his duty to the Papal See.

“Then why bring me there in the first place? You said your superiors didn’t even know who I was. I’m genuinely grateful that, thanks to you, I was made a cardinal and ended up under the Papal See’s protection. But if you really didn’t want me catching their attention, wouldn’t it have been better not to take me there at all?”

Narke avoided my gaze, looking everywhere else before finally meeting my eyes as he answered.

“I don’t know. I’ve been wondering the same thing.”

I could tell instinctively. Just as I’d changed over the past few months, so had he. In ways I hadn’t noticed. In ways I couldn’t understand. He smiled as if it were nothing.

“I don’t even know what I want to do anymore.”

“…….”

“I know I need to get myself together again. It’s just… easier said than done. Even talking about this isn’t easy.”

Get yourself together? Should I ask? Or would pressing him about his feelings, at his age, only make things worse?

While I stood there watching him with a conflicted expression, Narke rested a hand on my shoulder and gently ushered me into my room. By the time I looked up, he was smiling as though nothing had happened.

“Get some rest, even if it’s just for a little while. All right?”

“Wait!”

“Why?”

Narke looked at me in surprise. I had actually been about to ask where Pie was, but Pie clearly wasn’t hiding inside Narke’s robe. Besides, if Elias was in Narke’s room, Pie had to be in mine.

“It’s nothing.”

Instead, I gave Narke a light shove and stepped into my room. Sure enough, there was a little pile of rocks sitting on the desk.

“Pie.”

“Lukas!”

A grayish-brown blur bolted from the desk, skimmed across the floor so fast it was almost flying, and landed on my shoulder. He wasn’t a flying squirrel, but he was certainly fast enough to fool someone into thinking he was.

‘Is that just because he’s basically a rabbit?’

“What’ve you been up to while we were gone?”

“House!”

“Right. Building one. Yeah… what was I even expecting?”

I took off my surplice and fascia, then started undoing the buttons on my cassock. There were so many buttons that it was practically the ideal setup for a momentary meditation. In other words, it was a pain. As Pie circled around me, I asked, “Want me to go pick you some grass?”

Pie just shook his head. Knowing what he meant, I rested a hand on his back and let divine power flow into him. Eating grass was mostly for show. In the end, he lived on divine power.

“It’s weird seeing Lukas wearing Narke’s clothes~ Your hair’s the same color as when Narke goes to church too.”

“They’re not Narke’s clothes… they’re mine. They just look the same, right?”

“Yeah! But Narke doesn’t even like those clothes, and he has seven of them.”

“…Oh boy.”

So if you’re born with a silver spoon in the clergy, you get seven cassocks? That alone was exhausting.

I headed into the bathroom, dumped the bundle of grass Narke had left behind into the bathtub, and soaked in the water again. This time, though, I wasn’t planning to spend another hour in there. I finally had a chance to talk to Pie again. After throwing on a robe, I flopped onto the bed, and Pie hopped over beside me.

“Pie. Do you have a core too?”

“Yep.”

“Figures. Anyway… do you know someone named Simone Savelli?”

“Yeah! Why?!”

Why? Because he’s here. If I told him that, he’d probably bolt out the door. Better ask first. I dodged the question with a smile and asked another.

“Do you know how old he is?”

“He’s older than Narke.”

“So you don’t know exactly. He sure talks a lot, though.”

“Oh~ That’s because he knows Narke! He was a friend who used to play with Narke. There were lots of them, but he played with Narke the most.”

It felt like listening to a kindergartener who’d learned something new and was dying to tell someone about it. So Simone talked a lot because he was a ‘friend who used to play with Narke’… The logic didn’t quite add up, and the wording itself bothered me.

It was probably closer to saying he’d been assigned as Narke’s playmate. They’d likely picked younger nobles of lower standing to keep him company, but a family like the Savelli stood shoulder to shoulder with the Farnese and the Caetani. If anything, Simone had probably been the ringleader among those “playmates.” Though that wasn’t what caught my attention.

Resting my head on one arm, I rolled onto my side to face Pie with a grin.

“So you’re older than I thought. How old are you?”

“Yep! I’m old~! But I don’t know how old!”

‘How does that happen?’

Well, if that’s what he says. Having seen Narke’s childhood, Pie had to be at least five. Then again, bragging about being “old” was just something kids did, so it was probably safer to assume he was under ten. Maybe fifteen at the absolute most, though somehow that didn’t feel right.

‘His natural lifespan… shouldn’t he be nearing the end?’

The thought sent a brief chill down my spine. Then again, he was a divine power-fed pet. He’d probably live much longer than normal. I pulled Pie closer and muttered, “Live a long life, Pie.”

“But I already have~”

“Right. Longer than that, then. Anyway, were you close to Lord Savelli?”

“I only saw him from far away. Narke wouldn’t let me go near him.”

“…….”

I replayed what Narke had said earlier and curled my lips into a crooked smile. A quiet snort escaped me. Pie tilted his head at me, and I gently poked his nose with my finger.

“Why? Why wouldn’t he let you get close?”

“Narke only met his friends in the drawing room! Or the garden! I stayed in my room! I only saw Narke’s dad once, and never again after that!”

“Really?”

I hadn’t expected Narke to be this meticulous. He hung out with his friends in the drawing room? It was ridiculous. He simply didn’t want people seeing anything that belonged inside his own little world.

‘Hmm.’

Even if it was an animal or a person, it made no difference. He didn’t want the people from Italy to see anything that belonged to him—his possessions, his pet, or even his friends. That was probably why his expression had darkened for a split second when Simone Savelli brought up Elias.

His boundaries were remarkably clear. I’d never really noticed because he’d started off with +7 Affinity the moment we met, but he was colder than I’d expected—far more detached than he let on. Given the environment he’d grown up in, that was only natural. Even so, there was a strange disconnect between the Narke I’d come to know and the Narke described by the people who had known him for a long time.

‘How interesting.’

Just how much did Narke know?

What had he been expecting when he gave me +7 Affinity? Had simply getting away from the Vatican and Italy and coming to another country been enough to boost it? Even then, +7 was excessive.

“Pie, before coming here…”

“Mm?”

“Were you with Narke before he came here as an exchange student?”

“No! How did you know?! Narke was away somewhere else for a long time!”

“Then how did he prepare for the exchange before that?”

“I just waited for a long time, then he told me we were going to Germany~”

A long time… Though knowing Pie, that might not have been all that long.

Still, one thing was obvious: Narke had kept almost everything about the exchange hidden until the last minute. Either he’d kept it from Pie on purpose, or he’d tampered with Pie’s mind. The former seemed much more likely.

“But why are you asking?!”

“Oh, Simone Savelli came here.”

“What?!”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Narke might not like that. What do we do?”

Pie suddenly started running back and forth across the bed. It wasn’t as though that would solve anything, but visually, it was obvious he was flustered.

“I thought Narke liked it here better.”

“Hm. I think so too.”

I caught the frantic Pie before he could keep running laps and stroked his back.

“Go to sleep for now. Narke’s probably busy playing board games with Elias.”

Oddly enough, they were quieter than usual, though every now and then I could still hear the sound of one of them getting smacked. Maybe this was their way of dealing with the shock of Heike collapsing. They acted as they always did. If sticking to normal helped them recover even a little faster, then that was probably for the best.

I switched off the bedside lamp and pulled the thick blanket over my head.

I must have been asleep for quite a while. I woke to the sound of something tapping over and over. As I threw back the blanket and looked around, I heard a familiar voice from somewhere outside.

“Oh!”

Someone was knocking on the window. It was too dark to make out their face, inside and outside, but it was definitely a person.

…More importantly, this wasn’t the first floor.

I quickly slapped a mask over my face with mana and cloaked myself in Nikolaus’s colors. Then I turned on the lamp, walked over to the window, and looked outside. Simone Savelli. I threw the window open.

“What on earth…?!”

“Ah, I woke you. My apologies.”

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

“It seems His Eminence doesn’t like me talking to you. May I come in?”

“And if I say no?”

“I’ll come back tomorrow night. Unless you decide to take the initiative, I don’t think I’ll get another chance to speak with you.”

He wasn’t wrong. Considering Narke, I probably shouldn’t have anything to do with Savelli. But if Narke was keeping us apart for the same reason he’d hidden Pie from him, then I needed to talk to Savelli at least once.

I nodded and stepped aside. Savelli, who had been floating outside the window, snapped his fingers and slipped into the room.

“I know this is rather rude. Thank you for letting me in so readily. It’s not a trick I’d want to pull on someone I’ve only just met—especially not in a foreign country—but there was something I needed to ask. Though… isn’t a bathrobe rather uncomfortable to sleep in? Or is that a German custom?”

Does he ever stop talking? He’s so damn noisy. I let out a long sigh and ran a hand through my now-dry hair.

“I was tired, so I fell asleep right away.”

“I see. So it’s not much different between Italy and Germany after all.”

Simone Savelli casually took a seat at the table and turned his chair to face the bed. Was he telling me to sit on the bed? To make myself comfortable? Well, I had every intention of doing that anyway. I dropped onto the bed and looked at him. Pie was nowhere to be seen. He must have wandered off to Narke’s room while I was asleep. Savelli stared at me for a moment before smiling.

“Would you mind taking off the mask?”

“No.”

Absolutely not. Then again… how much could I really hide from the Papal See? It wasn’t as if staying on guard would stop them from learning what they wanted.

“You do know who I am, don’t you?”

“No. I only learned Sir Nikolaus Ernst had been made a Cardinal just before coming here. Surely you know how strictly secrets are kept in the Papal See.”

Leaning back in his chair, Savelli grinned.

“More importantly, Cardinal Farnese would never want me meeting Your Eminence. He seems rather reluctant to let anyone from the Papal See get close to the people he met in Germany.”

“He wasn’t nearly that protective when I went to the Papal See for my appointment.”

“That was only briefly. Besides, I’d imagine he draws the line differently depending on how important the person is.”

He smiled, his eyes curving into crescents. Even if they’d all known each other since childhood, people he could genuinely call friends—not merely professional acquaintances like the rest—were a different matter. Those were the ones Narke guarded most closely. After glancing out the window, Simone Savelli spoke again.

“Pleroma created another fake this time. I was wondering how they managed it despite lacking the capability… It seems they relied entirely on that fake’s Special Ability.”

“No one has shared anything about him. I only heard about it secondhand myself. How do you know?”

“Haha. We are an organization of mages gathered from all over the world. Not just Europe—Catholic mages from every corner of the globe belong to the Papal See.”

“You learned it through a Special Ability?”

“Let’s just say I did.”

He was talking about Ismailov.

Fair enough. I’d nearly worked myself to death uncovering that information, and here he was mentioning it as though it were nothing.

Ismailov’s most remarkable Special Ability was absorption. He could temporarily borrow abilities from targets in his immediate vicinity. There seemed to be certain conditions attached, but one thing was clear—he could absorb people.

There was another form of absorption as well, one that worked differently. By taking in another person’s blood—and, for lack of a better word, their ‘soul’—he could alter his own very being. It looked similar to the ability we’d already uncovered, but it wasn’t the same. More precisely…

Simone Savelli continued.

“It’s like… being able to change something that should’ve been set before birth, after the person’s already been born.”

“…….”

“I heard Pleroma sent him this time.”

“Yes. So I’ve heard.”

The room was lit by little more than a dim lamp, and even the moonlight had disappeared from beyond the window. Simone Savelli sat there with a smile as motionless as a statue, quietly studying me. The faint light cast across his face seemed to surround him from every direction. For a moment, I had the strange feeling that inquisitors were watching me from all sides.

Then, in fluent German, he asked, “What did Cardinal Farnese say after seeing him?”

“…….”

This wasn’t about me.

I didn’t let out a breath. I didn’t shift my eyes, blink, or make the slightest unnecessary movement with my face. I simply met his gaze and slowly shook my head.

“I’m not sure. I wasn’t there, was I?”

“Then afterward?”

“Why do you need to know what His Eminence thought after meeting Ismailov, Lord Savelli?”

“…….”

“Is that information the Papal See needs?”

“Of course. Hahaha. As far as the Papal See is concerned, every single reaction His Eminence has is something that must be observed carefully.”

I said nothing. The more I thought about the life Narke must have lived, the tighter my chest felt. When I continued to remain silent, Savelli reached into his pocket as though to take out a cigarette, then thought better of it. Instead, he smiled again and asked, “Is he enjoying academy life?”

“…….”

“We used to study together in the Papal States. If he’s enjoying himself more than he did studying with me… I think I’d be a little jealous.”

Hmm… I didn’t have to think about my answer. I simply spoke of something I’d happened to notice.

“He seems to be enjoying himself quite a bit.”

“Ah~ That stings a little. Still, I’ll support whatever His Eminence chooses to do, so I suppose that’s a good thing.”

Smiling, I nodded before asking, “How old are you?”

“Twenty-one. Three years older than His Eminence.”

“That’s surprising.”

“Ah… do I look older than that?”

He deliberately put on a crestfallen face. I almost let out a sigh at the absurdity of it, but answered with a smile instead.

“Not at all. More importantly, how did His Eminence become the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith?”

“So that’s what you’re curious about? There’s no great mystery. He’s simply the most capable person for the position. His Eminence is the foremost authority on abilities related to divine power.”

“The foremost…?”

“Yes. Even His Holiness the Pope cannot match him in that regard. That’s why everyone in Rome is waiting for his return. Of course, they also know that His Eminence willingly came to Germany—the heart of this crisis—to work toward peace, so no one dares rush him.”

“I see. But you said even His Holiness can’t match him?”

“Well, there’s such a thing as potential~ Ah! And…”

Leaning toward me, he asked, “Is there anything you’d like to ask?”

“Quite a few things.”

“Oh?”

Looking delighted, he gestured for me to go on. Smiling, I asked, “How are the mages our Empire stationed in the Vatican doing?”

“Ah, you mean the elite team led by Adrian Askanien of the Imperial Mage Association’s 89th Unit.”

“Yes.”

“They analyze intelligence on Pleroma coming out of Germany and pass it on to the Papal See. They also hunt down Pleroma members trying to cross into Italy. Since the Vatican has extended its protection to the Kingdom of Italy, their safety is guaranteed.”

So the information flowed from Germany to the Vatican, then from the Vatican into Italy.

“Do our mages interact much with people from the Papal See?”

“No. If you’re referring to the clergy, then hardly at all. As you know, many of them possess unusual Special Abilities, so contact with outsiders is strictly restricted. Even I’ve never met most of them.”

Good. At least that was reassuring.

The moment he’d asked if I had any questions felt like a distant memory as he now propped his chin in his hand with a subtle smile.

“I heard Cardinal Farnese thinks highly of you.”

“…….”

“He personally brought you there and even arranged for your appointment.”

What’s he getting at?

Smiling, I replied, “I think highly of His Eminence as well. He’s a good person.”

“Exactly! His character is impeccable, the way he speaks is always so gentle, and everything he does carries such dignity. Sometimes I wish I’d been born into the same family.”

“I see…”

“And if you ask me, I think His Eminence treasures you because—”

Bang!

A figure in a white sleeping robe suddenly appeared before us. It was Narke. Placing a hand on Simone Savelli’s forehead, Narke shoved his head back until it hit the chair’s backrest, then called his name in a voice that sounded almost like a sigh.

“Lord Savelli.”

“Ah… so you noticed.”

“I didn’t realize you had a habit of breaking into other people’s rooms in the middle of the night.”

Says the one who warped into mine. As I got to my feet, a flash of light erupted in front of Narke. Savelli hurriedly grabbed the hand Narke had pressed against his forehead.

“W-Wait a second…!”

Thunk.

Narke caught the now-unconscious Savelli in his arms, then turned back toward me with a weary look.

“Go back to sleep, Lukas. Sorry for dragging you into this.”

“It’s fine. I wasn’t bothered by it.”

“Would you mind being bothered for my sake?”

“…….”

I was silent for a moment before answering with a smile.

“Sure. Gladly.”

Only then did Narke smile back. He warped away again, carrying Savelli out of the room.

“I’ve come with bad news.”

Narke, Elias, and I were seated in the meeting room prepared for our use. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, spilling across the table. Simone Savelli strode in and slammed a newspaper onto it. Narke and I looked at him without expression. Elias, meanwhile—having no idea who Savelli was—could only gape, pointing back and forth between him and us. But there was something far more important in front of us.

The summit. At last, the newspapers had published the outcome of the talks between France and Austria-Hungary. As Narke reached for the paper, Savelli began speaking.

“I’ve already heard the basics from both the newspaper and Cardinal Farnese. So I’ll get straight to the point. France denied everything to the very end.”

The moment he finished, Elias pressed a hand to his forehead.

“However, to avoid further conflict, they’ve offered to lease an artifact of equal value for one hundred years. If Austria-Hungary wishes, the agreement can even be extended afterward.”

“…….”

I was at a loss for words. Typical imperialist thugs. They’re dealing with another great power, yet they still refuse to back down and act exactly as they always do. In their minds, this was probably an enormous concession.

More importantly, what mattered now was what had actually been said during the summit—and what each country would say afterward. Those remarks could spark an entirely new problem. Swallowing hard, I leaned over to read the newspaper along with Narke.

“By the way, I’ve been hearing rumors that Austria-Hungary has finished preparing to support Bosnia’s independence from the Ottoman Empire. I heard it through the Papal See before anyone else, so I thought I’d give you a heads-up.”

“…….”

This time, both Narke and I had no choice but to look up from the newspaper. When we both turned to him at the same time, Simone Savelli flashed a hollow smile.

“Quite the mess, isn’t it?”

Anyone with half a brain could tell that this so-called “independence” probably wasn’t going to be real independence. Quite the mess? History itself was twisting into something grotesque right before our eyes.

“Wow… damn,” Elias muttered under his breath.

I closed my eyes and rubbed beneath my mask. Leaning close, Simone Savelli whispered into my ear.

“Don’t push yourselves too far. If things start getting dangerous, come to the Vatican. Bring Cardinal Farnese with you.”

Thud.

Narke set the newspaper down with enough force to interrupt him. Without changing his expression, he said, “Thank you for the information. You may leave now.”

“Ah, just one more thing before I go. It’s part of my job.”

Simone Savelli dropped into an empty chair, laced his fingers together, and continued, “So then… who’s the culprit?”

Elias, who had been wearing a grim expression ever since reading the article, looked at him blankly and shrugged. Quite the gesture to make toward someone he’d only just met. Then again, after hearing the latest international news, he probably had bigger things to worry about than manners.

Simone Savelli patiently elaborated, “Tell me how you intend to recover the Holy Nail, and I’ll convey it to the Papal See. Who do you believe stole it?”