Chapter 168: Council (5)

As the First Agenda concluded with a Conditional Official Approval, a strange Vigor began to circulate in the Assembly Hall.

Bang, bang!

Along with the sound of the Chairman's Cane, the meeting for the Second Agenda began.

"Second Agenda. We will now begin the hearing where The Black Saint Yulian Nihilrit must personally prove his Morality and intentions, ensuring he will not deviate from the religious order's order to found a new Sect or false Doctrine in the future."

The Second Agenda was similar to a Personnel Hearing, which I was quite familiar with.

It was like a place to evaluate a person's Morality before appointing them to some ministerial position.

If it had been my Previous life, I usually would have been completely dusted and shaken down to the last speck of dirt in a place like this.

However, looking at the atmosphere in the Council Chamber right after the Second Agenda was declared, it didn't seem like that would happen.

— "Thanks to the speech you just delivered, Lord Saint, the Second Agenda is practically as good as over as well."

I recalled the Words Cardinal Wendras had spoken during the Recess.

According to his Words, I had already proven my Morality during the First Agenda.

Although it wasn't my Intention.

I looked around the Council Chamber.

Unlike when we were having a Discussion about the First Agenda, the Facial expression of the priests looked very relaxed.

They all had Facial expressions that looked like they were contemplating what to eat for Dinner today after finishing this up quickly.

In other words, it meant that the Second Agenda was no different from a Scripted charade.

'Originally, they said this Time is used to ask for knowledge about Doctrines, and simply confirm whether or not I had ever violated them, right?'

According to my prior Investigation, they said this Time is originally for determining Heresy or Aptitude.

The process is simple.

They ask a Question about Doctrine, and I answer it.

If one failed to answer properly or lied during this, their position as a Cleric could be demoted depending on the type of Question, or in severe cases, they could be branded as Heresy.

However, when I checked the state of past questions, there were no crazy Unfair Nerf-like questions.

— "As a Cleric, are you practicing the Doctrine to love your Neighbor?"

— "How do you pray when you pray?"

— "Have you ever killed a person for your own selfish desires?"

Well, you could say questions roughly like these came up.

High-difficulty questions that only a professional theologian would know, the kind that make you think 'What are you even talking about, you nerd;;', didn't even come up.

Considering that, there seemed to be no need to be nervous about the Second Agenda.

— "Please be careful of just one thing. And that is to avoid lying as much as possible."

Ah, just one thing.

According to Simeon's earnest request, there was one of the Precautions to keep in mind.

Namely, do not lie.

A fire called the 'Holy Flame' that detects lies is placed here.

This flame usually burns with a faint white light,

but turns Red when you tell the truth, and blue when you tell a lie.

— "It is best not to lie. Because the Crime of insolence might be added."

At this time, Simeon said.

If I find myself in a difficult spot, it's better to just answer with a half-truth.

'He must know this well since he's stood in front of the Holy Flame multiple times trying to reclaim our parents' Honor.'

Anyway, thanks to receiving a crash course from Simeon, I wasn't afraid to stand in front of the Holy Flame.

"Then, we will now begin the questioning for the Second Agenda."

Following the instructions of the moderator, an Archbishop with White hair, the Holy Flame flared up in front of me.

The faintly flickering white Flame illuminated my face.

The Holy Flame wasn't as hot or blinding as I thought.

Before long, the questioning began.

The questions were all straightforward, but they weren't the type that was difficult to answer.

"By any chance, Lord Saint, have you ever considered founding a new Sect with this Life Magic?"

"I have never harbored such a thought of Impiety even for a moment."

I could answer that countless times.

That I have absolutely no intention of making a Pseudo-religion with Life Magic.

'If I can restore trust with a business Partner over something like this, it's a cheap Price to pay.'

Along with my answer, the Holy Flame turned bright Red.

The Flame that burned in Red, not an ambiguous orange, added credibility to my answer.

"Chairman."

"Mm."

A Priest standing next to the Chairman whispered in his ear.

I couldn't hear it clearly.

However, judging by the atmosphere, they seemed to be questioning if there was a need to drag this on any longer.

After that, ordinary and safe questions were exchanged.

They were questions like whether I had ever undermined the religious order's Canon Law for personal gain, or if I had ever thrown an Insult at God.

While the questions were exchanged, the flame of the Holy Flame continued to flare up in Red.

Like that, the questions were almost wrapped up.

The Chairman also seemed to want to wrap up the Second Agenda and go eat quickly.

It was then.

"Chairman. Before we end the hearing like this, I have a Question I would like to ask that person directly."

Cutting through the relaxed air, a man rose from his seat.

***

"Chairman. Before we end the hearing like this, I have a Question I would like to ask the Saint directly."

At the young man's Voice that cut across the Chairman, everyone turned their heads in that direction.

It wasn't simply because he prolonged a meeting that was about to end.

It was the Fault of the insolence and sarcasm that oozed from his Voice.

'Which tactless bastard is this?'

'Does he want to ruin his social life?'

Ultimately, a group of Clerics is also a place where people gather.

It is a fact that not all Clerics could be favorable toward Yulian.

Stocks, Jealousy, resentment, and so on.

Due to personal Circumstances, there are bound to be people who still hold a Complaint against Yulian.

However, the 'group' of Clerics is not like that.

In the end, this is also a small society.

Regardless of one's personal Circumstances, even if they are Uncomfortable, they are bound to jump on the bandwagon of the majority's opinion.

However, that Voice was an exception.

"There is still a Verification we haven't made."

Astonishment, curiosity, exhaustion.

People's gazes gathered with all sorts of emotions mixed together.

To see the face of who this tactless human was.

And upon confirming his identity, the Clerics each showed different reactions.

'Why is he?!'

A Cleric who knew him slightly felt Perplexity.

'Ah, it's The Saint of Radiance. That makes sense.'

A Cleric who knew him to some extent nodded in understanding.

'Sigh. Is it Lauren.'

A Cleric who knew him well let out a Sigh.

The Saint of Radiance Lauren.

He was a famous Saint in both a good and bad sense.

A Saint who was born in the Holy City and drew attention for his Innate Quality of Divine Power.

The darling of The gods, who wielded near-infinite Divine Power that never seemed to end under the sun.

A Mutant Cleric who could count on one hand the number of times he had gone outside the Holy City, and had prayed even fewer times than that.

It was so bad that people even said his Canonization as a Saint was a mistake by the College of Cardinals.

Such a superstar who drove both the religious order's fans and haters crazy had stood up from his seat.

"Chairman. Before we end the hearing like this, I have a Question I would like to ask that person directly."

The Chairman's eyebrow twitched.

Because it was not a desirable way of speaking in an official setting.

However, the Chairman did not make an issue of it.

'Since I have no choice but to give an Acknowledgement to his Skill.'

Because, if nothing else, Lauren's Divine Power was the real deal.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Lauren alone was doing the work of ten High-rank Healers.

That was why he could maintain such an arrogant Stance regardless of the Time and place.

The Chairman barely held back the Sigh that was about to leak out and spoke.

"Please speak your Words, Saint of Radiance."

As if waiting for this, Lauren cleared his throat and spoke.

"Yulian, the Code of Ethics that Saint put forth was excellent. However, that Goodwill does not prove that person's character, does it?"

Hearing those Words, the Chairman's hair stood on end.

Is he perhaps trying to take issue with the Code of Ethics itself in this place?

Is he really that lacking in political sense?

In the Chairman's eyes, this Code of Ethics was so excellent that it could transcend the Era on its own.

Not only did they directly align with the Commandment, but they were also entirely desirable for the religious order to pursue.

Taking issue with such a thing was quite a dangerous act.

To the point where it could easily escalate into a Mud Puddle fight.

'At the very least, that must not happen.'

Rules born from opposition merely for the sake of opposition are bound to distort and mess up society.

And if the Chairman were to make a Contribution to creating such rules......

'I would end up taking on a stigma that will be recorded in History forever.'

What gave him even more goosebumps was the fact that the Lauren the Chairman knew was fully capable of doing just that.

Since Lauren's stubbornness was famous among the high-ranking Clerics.

But perhaps The gods were protecting them,

the part Lauren took issue with was something else.

"I wish to conduct a Verification on whether the knowledge The Black Saint, Yulian, has brought to the world so far has truly kept all the Commandment he claims."

Right after hearing those Words, the Chairman let out a Sigh of relief.

At the fact that no matter how thoughtless Lauren was, he wasn't quite at that level.

'Things almost got out of hand.'

Of course, it wasn't completely without issue.

From the moment Lauren picked a fight with Yulian, there was plenty of room for trouble.

However, it wasn't as worst-case as he had feared.

The Chairman accepted Lauren's suggestion with such Rationalization.

'I'm sorry, Lord Black Saint. I cannot stop Lauren.'

The Council is a place where all Clerics have the Right to ask questions.

It was difficult under the Rule to block someone from speaking simply because they didn't like it.

Even more so if the opponent was a reckless Saint.

Swallowing the sorrow of a middle Administrator, the Chairman drew a small Sign of the cross in his heart and nodded.

"Very well. Please speak, Saint of Radiance."

Having received the Chairman's Permission, Lauren slowly walked out toward the podium.

With an Imposing manner, he stood at the Speaker's Seat and threw a Question at Yulian.

"Now, I will ask. Yulian. Was that Black magic knowledge you achieved brought to Completion while adhering to all those grand rules you yourself claimed just moments ago?"

The Crow Mask stared at him for a while before nodding.

"Yes...... that is correct."

At least in his memories, he had never violated Research ethics.

Although there were people who had died under his hands, it was his Best effort in emergency situations, and it was not an act that violated Clinical practice Research ethics.

People checked the flames of the Holy Flame.

The Red of truth.

However, unlike when he answered the previous questions, the red light seemed somewhat lacking in Confidence.

Having heard the answer he wanted, Lauren snorted and spoke.

"Your devotion in keeping the rules is certainly worthy of praise. But I trust you do not consider that to be God's Grace. If that were the case, all the Workers heading to the Factory early at Dawn would have risen to the ranks of a Saint as well."

"I have never had such a thought."

"Well. If you truly thought that, you wouldn't have dared to call yourself a Saint, a position chosen by The gods."

At that remark, some of the priests on Yulian's side flinched.

Because if you were to translate Lauren's Words, they meant this.

— "A Saint is a position for those chosen by The gods. It means it is a position that cannot be obtained through Effort."

It wasn't exactly a pleasant logic to hear.

Whether they felt that way or not, Lauren continued his questioning.

"Then I will ask my second Question. While accumulating that knowledge, have you always stood proud without a single speck of Shame before God and your Conscience?"

"......No. I could not stand proud."

Whoosh—

The Holy Flame was dyed Red.

It meant Yulian truly felt he could not stand proud of his knowledge.

Yulian felt complicated looking at the Holy Flame dyed Red.

A Sense of relief that he hadn't claimed to be proud.

Melancholy from recalling the reason he couldn't be proud.

And Anxiety over how this would be interpreted.

The inside of the Assembly Hall began to stir greatly.

— "The Black Saint's knowledge isn't something to be proud of?"

— "But didn't he say he kept all the Commandment?"

— "Then what is the meaning of that?"

— "Wouldn't it be something like Guilt?"

— "If it isn't that......"

The corners of Lauren's mouth curled up.

The second Question was ultimately just a Setup prepared to lower the risk before asking the next Question.

And that answer lent strength to the speculation that Yulian might have a shady side to him.

'I knew it! There's no way he could have accumulated such knowledge strictly through Morality!'

Most humans outside the Holy City are Sinners.

Even though Lauren could count the number of times he had gone outside on one hand, he knew well from reading Newspaper and hearing News.

Greedy nobles who kill their brothers for wealth.

Evil Mage who kill innocent people for knowledge.

Those at the top show Indifference to the suffering of the Slums,

and the Slums lose their Faith and live promiscuous lives.

In Lauren's eyes, the outside of the Holy City was a Demonic Realm to the point where he couldn't understand why The gods hadn't already judged it with floods and lightning.

Would Yulian, who came from such a place, have accumulated that much knowledge entirely through Morality?

'There's no way!'

He must have kept the Commandment.

But there was a small Hole here.

A small Hole that the naive Clerics were overlooking.

Lauren continued his questioning in order to corner Yulian.

"Then did you truly create that knowledge entirely on your own? Or is it merely something you stole or obtained from someone else!"

Right.

This was the possibility Lauren had thought of.

"......"

Yulian could not answer for a while.

Then, he opened his mouth with difficulty.

"I am nothing more than a foolish being standing on the Shoulder of a giant."

"Do not answer vaguely, speak specifically. So that you can answer clearly with either a Yes or a no."

"Yes. This knowledge was obtained from others."

The Holy Flame was dyed Red.

The audience began to stir.

— "From who in the world?"

— "It might not just be one person."

— "Could it be Black Sorcerer?"

— "But didn't he get cleared of suspicion during the last Investigation, saying he never colluded with a Black Sorcerer?"

— "Then who did he obtain this knowledge from? And why does he say he can't stand proud of it?"

Countless speculations went back and forth.

Could it be knowledge from a fabricated Experiment Result?

Could it be knowledge stolen from a poor genius?

In the middle of that boisterous Assembly Hall.

The Chairman barely managed to tap his Cane.

"Silence! Silence!"

The Murmur died down.

Lauren, who had fueled this commotion, smiled triumphantly.

'No. It's none of those things.'

The speculations were Rational in their own way.

But they lacked realism.

If he had stolen the Accomplishment of a poor genius, there's no way that genius would stay silent for this long.

In the first place, it didn't even seem like a single genius could establish these ridiculous Accomplishment.

There was no way he fabricated the Experiment Result either.

If he had fabricated them, he would have been exposed already.

However, while Lauren was satisfied with Yulian's answer, he also knew of one realistic scenario at the same Time.

'There is no way a normal human could achieve such Accomplishment bordering on Miracle all on his own.'

Lauren had often met people who were called geniuses by The public.

Great Nobles, and the Imperial Family.

He had even done joint Research with the Great Sage.

And in that process, he reached a Conclusion.

'A human producing such an Accomplishment in this short amount of Time purely through Effort? Impossible.'

Relentlessly putting out new medical concepts, New Medicine, and surgical methods that turned the industry upside down almost once a year.

Not even the Great Sage could pull this off.

This wasn't a matter of Effort, and it was a realm that was impossible even with a human's Talent.

However, the story changes if you receive the help of beings that aren't human.

'Demonkin.'

Beings that vastly transcend humanity.

Those twisted beings that steeped themselves in the origin of magic often showed Glimpse of knowledge that humans could not understand.

And throughout History, among the numerous Heresy, there were those who were called geniuses through the knowledge of those Demonkin.

Of course, this wasn't merely Lauren's delusion.

"Everyone."

He is a Saint.

With his overflowing Divine Power, it was possible for him to roughly mimic other Miracle aside from the Healing arts.

Among those Miracle were Oracle and Precognition...... wait, no.

There was an Intuition that was somewhat similar to those.

"I felt an extremely ominous Energy from that person the other day. It was exactly like when facing a terrible 'Demonkin'."

Lauren's Intuition could feel a person's Aura.

Ah, this person will become quite a Big shot in the Future.

Ah, this human will become a Great Nobles.

And among them, his Intuition regarding Demonkin was also included.

In the past, during the Time he briefly left the Holy City.

Lauren saw a Demonkin slaughtering knights on the horizon.

That Demonkin gave off a terrible stench, and people who gave off a similar smell often became Demonkin in the distant Future or were already in collusion with one.

Lauren called this Phenomenon the Seed of a Demonkin.

'I've heard those who collude with Demonkin have something like a seed planted in them so they can become a Demonkin in the distant Future.'

And when he focused his Consciousness, a thick scent of blood that couldn't even be compared to that Demonkin was wafting from Yulian.

Lauren was certain there would be someone in this place who harbored a similar Impression as him.

Since there were those among the high-ranking Clerics who could sniff out Demonkin like a Ghost.

"Some might have looked away, but I dare to say it. I can feel the Energy of a Demonkin from this man."

Of course, this Intuition that detects Demonkin is occasionally wrong.

Because of that, ordinary Clerics exercise extreme caution when accusing someone of being a Demonkin.

Because depending on the opponent, they could easily face a backlash.

That was why Lauren had asked those three questions earlier.

In Preparation for the chance that his Prediction was wrong.

But judging from his answers to the questions, the possibility was sufficient.

'If he kept his Morality, yet possesses knowledge he isn't proud of, and it belongs to someone else.'

It is definitely a Demonkin.

With that conviction, Lauren shouted.

"I shall ask! Did you obtain that wicked knowledge from a Demonkin!"

The shout of The Saint of Radiance echoed resoundingly.