第７３１堀：懐かしき友たち (Part2)
"Lady Marly... Releasing a prisoner on your own whim for 'training'? What on earth were you thinking...?"
"I thought you were being uncharacteristically quiet back then, but to think you were doing something so reckless behind our backs..."
Jessica and Hivia both massaged their temples in unison.
*Talk about a headache-inducing boss,* I thought.
"Well, never mind me for now," Marly deflected. "More importantly, is there no issue with the unveiling of the Holy Sword? If things are as you say, the opposition must be quite fierce, isn't it?"
"...I wonder? Lately, I’ve been acting as General Prism’s attendant, so I’m not very well-informed about the situation around us," Light admitted.
Ah, that makes sense. They wouldn't exactly let a soldier suspected of being a spy roam around freely.
"Wait, Prism didn't know?" I asked.
"I took charge of Light about a month ago," Prism replied. "But I hadn't heard about those specific circumstances. I suppose there were aspects deemed necessary for the upcoming diplomatic relations."
"I see. Well, there’s no problem as long as everyone gets along from here on out. Besides, the Church has started squawking, so Light is basically being used as leverage to keep them in check."
"Eh? Did something happen with the Church?" Light asked.
It seemed Light hadn't even been told the true significance of the Holy Sword's unveiling ceremony. So, I gave her a brief rundown: currently, a massive rift had formed between the Royal Family of Enaria and the Church.
"...Is that so? And it's because I lost..."
"No, it's not really your fault, Light. It’s just a power struggle. Or rather, the problem lies with the sense of crisis among the lower-ranking members of the Church."
It felt like long-simmering anxieties had finally boiled over due to this intercontinental exchange.
"What do you mean?" Marly interjected. "I’ve heard that Enaria’s relations with the Church are strained, but I don't know the details. If it’s not a secret, could you explain?"
It seemed Marly was in the dark as well. Well, since Zilba receives its clergy from the Holy Kingdom of Hifi, they don't have that specific internal faction. Without that power dynamic in her own country, it probably didn't feel real to her.
"It’s something you’d find out soon enough if you looked into it, so sure. To put it simply, with the start of intercontinental exchange, the Enaria Church is worried that their income from treatment fees will plummet."
"Yeah... I don't get it. Could you say it even more simply?"
I felt like I’d given the simplest explanation possible, but it didn't seem to register with Marly.
"...Good grief, you. Sigh... how can I make this any easier to understand?" Hivia lamented.
"Let's see... Marly, you know about the church in Enaria, the Sia Church, right?" I asked.
"Yes, I know of it. It’s the church that carries on the teachings of the founder of Enaria, Sia Enaria, correct?"
"Exactly. Separate from the Royal Family, they focus primarily on 'healing'—medical treatment—and place great importance on dialogue with the common people."
"I am aware of that. The Royal Family must maintain dignity and, at times, must be cold-hearted. Therefore, I heard the Church was separated from the Crown to perform acts of obvious kindness and mercy on the state's behalf."
*Oh, look at her. She actually has decent reading comprehension and has done her homework.* So, if she understands that much, why didn't she get what I said earlier?
"But what does that have to do with treatment fees? Or the intercontinental exchange?"
"Ah, so that's the part you're stuck on..."
"Since healing is performed as a matter of national policy, surely the balance of payments shouldn't matter unless they are in a massive deficit? Why is the Sia Church making such a fuss?"
"The people at the top aren't particularly worried," I explained, "but the ones at the bottom think that the Holy Kingdom of Hifi—the ones you guys use—is going to steal away all the people who need treatment."
"I still don't follow. Certainly, the Holy Kingdom of Hifi and the Sia Church are masters of recovery magic and medicine. But why jump to the conclusion that patients are being 'stolen'? They could share the burden and save even more injured people. Where does the 'treatment fee' come into this?"
She was completely excluding the concept of profit and loss from her considerations. No wonder she found it so baffling.
"No matter the country or the person, you can't survive on charity alone. You work, you get paid, and you live off that. That’s why they’re terrified of their business rivals getting too close."
"Ah, so that is why they are panicking. However, the Holy Kingdom of Hifi is a much smaller nation than Enaria, is it not?"
"True, but Hifi is an actual nation doing this. Here, it’s just the state religion of a single country."
"So the lower ranks are afraid of ending up on the streets. And that is the cause of the friction."
"Exactly. They don't know how the Royal Family will decide to handle things. They sent in a Holy Sword user and lost, Betan was taken, and a criminal organization using monsters raided the Holy City... it’s been one blunder after another."
"When you put it that way, they certainly have lost a lot of credibility. So, this unveiling of the Holy Sword is also a way to regain that lost ground?"
"Bingo."
By unveiling the Holy Sword here and gaining support for the Enaria Royal Family from various nations, the Church would be left with no choice but to shut up.
"That's exactly it. See? You do understand," Hivia said.
"My apologies. I simply couldn't link the idea of state-mandated healing with money. But in that case, couldn't they just make a request to the Holy Kingdom of Hifi?"
"That won't happen," I replied. "There are just people fanning those flames of anxiety because they want to seize the initiative in Enaria; in reality, there isn't actually a problem yet. If we were the ones to approach Hifi to discuss 'treatment zones' or 'pricing,' it would make it look like there actually *is* a problem. If the other side is looking to expand their influence, they’d take that as an opening to strike."
Lord Hifi didn't seem like a bad guy, but his subordinates aren't necessarily the same.
As we were deep in discussion...
"I understand there is much to talk about, but for now, allow me to guide you to your accommodations."
"Ah, I forgot. If we're going to talk, we should do it at the inn."
And so, the lead-up to the Holy Sword unveiling ceremony began in what could be called a smooth fashion.
***
*Author's Note:*
Do you remember these people?
If you forgot, please honestly raise your hand and go back to read around chapter 200.
I use old characters without hesitation.
And I will collect all the past foreshadowing.