Calamity and Threats
"Your Excellency, how did you come by the information that such a calamity would occur?"
"The god Aeolem delivered an oracle."
"Ah, an oracle? Then isn't there a way to keep relying on Aeolem to resolve this situation?"
"Our god only grants fragments of prophecy—He does not prevent disasters. …After all, He is the God of Vengeance."
"I see. So you're saying the information is incomplete?"
"Yes. All we know is that the calamity's target is the children of Aulax, and that the culprit is among our own Revolutionary Army."
"Hm."
I nodded slowly.
Probing how much Archbishop Hendel actually knew was an important part of this conversation.
The less they knew, the more work there was for me—and the greater the profit that fell my way.
"The Great Church of Aeolem is also pursuing the entity behind the calamity in our own way. However, since the enemy is among the Revolutionaries, our movements are being read like an open book."
"That makes sense. You don't know who they are, but they surely know you."
"Yes, precisely."
Interesting.
So that's what was happening behind that event.
I couldn't help but be intrigued while doing calculations in my head.
This wasn't just a game—it felt like a story about real people.
"So when I heard that the Third Prince had brought up the calamity…"
The archbishop's wrinkled eyes narrowed.
"I thought perhaps the one connecting our church and the Empire might be the culprit. Perhaps even a double agent."
"Ah, you suspected that the information about the calamity might have leaked to the Third Prince during the exchange between spies from both sides?"
"Yes, exactly. You understand perfectly."
Archbishop Hendel's expression shifted oddly as she nodded.
"But, Your Highness, you're quite… different from what I'd heard."
Her gaze suddenly became strangely intense, almost burning.
I was taken aback by the older woman's fervent stare.
"W-what? What about me?"
"Quite sharp, actually. The rumor was that the Third Prince was a fool who only knew how to eat and drink."
"…"
Not even bothering to wrap the insult in politeness, huh?
"Isn't excessive rudeness a kind of sickness, Archbishop?"
"My apologies."
"In any case, your assumption was wrong. I didn't hear this from anyone."
"Then how…?"
"I just know."
Suspicion flickered in her eyes, but I decided to brazen it out.
That was fine—at this point, there was no other option but me anyway.
"They're targeting the children at the Kishiris Cathedral. About a week from now."
"...!"
Both of their eyes shook wildly.
I looked them in the eye and said,
"It's an ancient Aulax tradition, isn't it? The Ceremony of the Red Wind."
That "Ceremony of the Red Wind" was like a coming-of-age ritual for the Revolutionary youths between seventeen and nineteen.
"When all the kids gather, that's when it'll happen. Boom."
Though they were nearly grown, watching them die helplessly would be appalling.
But that was exactly what this event was about.
[Event]
One of the priests at Kishiris Cathedral conceived a dreadful idea for the revival of the church.
To reduce the number of Aulax boys growing up and joining other factions, he decided to kill them in advance.
He prepared the calamity to coincide with the Ceremony of the Red Wind, when all the boys would gather.
If no one stopped him, the ritual would end only with wailing and despair.
After hearing my explanation, both the archbishop and the high priest looked grim.
"It all fits together perfectly, Your Excellency."
"Yes… of all things, the Kishiris sect…"
Beside me, Kals and Tyrbaen looked completely confused.
"Your Highness, you're not just imagining things, are you?"
"How could anyone do such a thing? Killing their own country's children for political gain?"
Their expressions said they couldn't make sense of it.
"Of course you wouldn't understand," I said.
Those who had lived only in the Empire needed more context.
"All Aulax children are raised as members of the Revolutionary Army.
They grow up under either the church's or the army's wing."
Where exactly they'd belong was decided after their coming-of-age ceremony.
That still wasn't enough for the two to understand.
"Wait, then couldn't the boys become priests at Kishiris Cathedral too?"
"Right, why kill innocent boys who could become the church's future?"
"That's because…"
Old man Bamilo cut in, dousing their anger with cold reason.
"The Kishiris Church does not accept men as clergy."
"…What?"
"Why not? Men are people too."
"Because that is their law. The Goddess of Deceit demands her servants be female—or eunuchs."
"E-eunuchs?"
Kals' face went pale, and I snorted.
"Yeah, man. You'd have to lose that to serve there.
Think any of the boys would volunteer for that?"
Of course not.
Even if they liked Kishiris, they'd rather become soldiers and attend church services sometimes.
Only a handful of terrifyingly zealous types would go that far.
"So… because the church only accepts women, they think it's fine to kill the boys?"
"Exactly. More precisely, to them, the boys are just future assets of other factions."
"That's insane! What kind of lunatic group would do that!"
Kals began thrashing, like he might bite his sword and storm the cathedral right now.
"Let go of me, Your Highness!"
"Whoa, whoa—Kals, calm down. No one's dead yet."
"They will be soon!"
"Not if you go charging in, Six-Star."
"Grrr!"
At that moment, Archbishop Hendel, who had been listening, spoke up softly.
"It seems I was right after all."
I turned toward her voice.
"There was no mistake in freeing you, Third Prince."
Hendel smiled faintly at me.
"…Though I still don't know how you know our inner affairs so well."
Sorry, that's a trade secret.
Then, in a calm and solemn tone, she said:
"As the Archbishop of the Great Church of Aeolem, I humbly ask this of you, Prince Gilroshan.
Please, help ensure our children are not sacrificed to the misguided faith of their elders."
Along with her words, a message appeared before me.
[Quest: Savior of Sons]
[Quest] Stop the Kishiris Cathedral's plan and protect the children.
Special: Linked with the quest [You're the Fugitive, I'm the Archbishop]
Expected Reward: Relics of the Great Church of Aeolem + 2 additional items
I nodded.
Once I obtained the divine relics, I'd be recognized as a member of the Church.
And with the city pass reward from the previous quest…
'I'll be both the Empire's Third Prince and completely established within Revolutionary territory.'
Then the path to approach the Nest of the Four Dragons would also open.
Thinking about it, it was kind of ridiculous.
'The Empire's prince running around cozying up with the rebels—what a sight.'
But what if I completed the quest properly and prevented the boys from being massacred?
Not only the Aeolem Church, but also the city guard and the border patrol would look upon me favorably.
A recruit is that valuable.
'Unfortunately, the special ops guys are a bit of an exception.'
Anyway, I happily accepted the quest… but wait!
I almost forgot something.
"By the way, Your Excellency."
"Yes?"
"It's all good, but earlier when you had me tied up—remember that?"
"...."
Archbishop Hendel shut her mouth tight, apparently embarrassed.
But I didn't hesitate to use my mouth-magic.
"I was in so much pain back then, you know? But you just stared at me and said nothing—super scary. You remember, right?"
"Uh, well…"
"At the time I felt so miserable I thought, 'Why did I even come to Aulax?' I almost cried just thinking about it now."
"P-Prince?"
"Of course you probably didn't realize, Archbishop. You were busy setting the terrifying mood with your glaring, right?"
"No, Your Highness! It really couldn't be helped."
The archbishop was sweating nervously—very unlike her.
Of course I understood why she had tied me up.
'I was playing along with the Titan special ops who wanted to finish me off, and with the Kishiris Cathedral.'
But I was using that as an excuse to tease the archbishop a little.
Time to bring up the main point.
"So, in that spirit, if things go well you'll add fifty gold coins. Is that possible?"
"…Fifty gold?"
"Yes. Fifty."
What? Trying to throw a few relics and junk items at me and call it done?
'I can't let that slide.'
In the end Archbishop Hendel grudgingly nodded.
"All right. Very well."
[Negotiation with a friendly NPC succeeded.]
[New title acquired: 'Novice Negotiator'!]
[50 gold has been added to the expected reward for quest 'Savior of Sons'.]
"…Then that's all."
The archbishop, thoroughly fleeced, hurried away.
'Satisfied. Very satisfied.'
This is the vibe that comes from experience.
When you do quests for NPCs who have money, you have to negotiate like this.
Otherwise you end up losing out.
Kals and Tyrbaen didn't seem to agree, of course.
"Your Highness, keep your dignity!"
"How embarrassing. The one who used to spend money like water suddenly doing this—why?"
"Let's drop the petty stuff!"
I organized my plan in my head and strode off.
By the time we escaped the underground prison it was already midnight.
The archbishop seemed to expect I'd move under cover of dawn.
Seven days remained until the Ceremony of the Red Wind.
'Then those kids are probably getting to know each other right about now.'
The Ceremony of the Red Wind wasn't just a short, perfunctory service.
Participants had to find assigned targets as part of the rite—a tiring affair that proved they had become adults, or so they said.
Anyway, by now the children would be clustered together preparing for the ceremony.
'Which gives me time to prepare.'
First, I needed a proper weapon.
Kals's sword wasn't bad, but he kept whining about getting his lover back.
And more importantly, this quest couldn't be handled with a sword alone.
"High Priest Bamilo."
The old man, about to leave while wishing me luck, tensed—he felt something was wrong.
But I smiled broadly.
"You remember, right?"
"…What do you mean?"
The old man tried to pretend he didn't, but—
"If you get the priests out safely, you promised to fetch me anything I asked for, in Aeolem's name."
When I invoked the god's name he sighed deeply and nodded.
"You really are something, lad. You could go into loan-sharking with that. I'd call it a compliment."
"Thank you for the praise."
"As I said, if there's something I can't procure, it's because it belongs to the realm of the gods. Understand?"
But his resigned look didn't last long.
"Go fetch the 'Walarakas's Eye.'"
"Did you just say what I think you said?"
"W-a-l-a-r-a-k-a-s-'s-E-y-e!"
I gave him a startled look and then grinned brightly.
"Come on—don't say 'the god's domain.' I know what's possible."
Though the name sounds grotesque, it was actually the name of a pair of spectacles.
'A magical pair of glasses somewhere in Aulax.'
[Accessory] These round, cute spectacles were surprisingly crafted by a demon. Unsurprisingly, they grant an effect that makes it easy to predict the trajectories of fired weapons.
I planned to use them to learn the bow.
Since I had no related skill at all, this item was desperately needed.
The problem was where the glasses were kept.
Bamilo knew the location, but his face was hopeless.
"Prince, you're asking me to steal from the General's study…?"
Knowing where the spectacles were made his expression twist even more.
Yes—the Walarakas's Eye belonged to the Revolutionary leader, who was away at the moment.
I smiled slyly.
"Think of it as borrowing— for the children!"