Chapter 178: Who Stole My Bones? (9)

Everyone was left dumbfounded by Louis’s arrogant demeanor. The Duke of Persellus, who had never warmed to Louis anyway, erupted in fury.

“You insolent dog!” he bellowed.

The noble’s eyes began to blaze at Persellus’s thunderous outburst.

Standing behind Louis, Pablo stepped up and cut through the air with his booming voice.

“Watch your tongue!”

Nobles and even Lokan VII gaped in shock at this outburst.

Whoosh…

The tent’s fabric flapped in the wake of Pablo’s immense energy. He seized the moment to bark out further instructions, his voice now menacing.

“This is the priest of our Order! Cease this rude chatter and show some manners!”

Pablo’s gravelly voice once again stunned the crowd into silence, especially the Duke of Persellus, who had been the center of attention just moments ago.

“P-p-priest?” Persellus stammered incredulously.

The Order of the Divine Body had existed since before their birth. Yet, no one knew of the existence of its priest.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that everyone believed there was no leader.

“P-Pablo… Is that true?” Persellus stammered.

“Do I look like I’m joking with you, boy?” Pablo snarled.

Gulp.

Persellus swallowed hard at Pablo’s piercing gaze. Meanwhile, Louis watched the unfolding scene with a glint in his eye.

Now this is interesting. Who would’ve thought Pablo had it in him?

It seemed all his time as a consort to a nation’s ruler hadn’t been wasted. Pablo was showing impressive finesse with this newfound leverage.

He’s going to use his position to promote me?

With this stage set for him, Louis decided it was time to make his move. With a smile, he sent a message to Pablo:

What was that?

The voice reverberating in Pablo’s mind nearly caused him to lose his composure before royalty. While he barely managed to regain control of his emotions, Louis…

“Oh Lord, may Your grace fill me.” He revealed his devotion by making a strange sign of the cross on his whole body.

Pablo’s emotional act nearly fell apart for the second time, but he desperately held it together. Thanks to Pablo’s painstaking efforts, nobody noticed anything odd about Louis’s gesture.

Lokan VII scrutinized Louis. “So you truly are…a priest?”

“Didn’t Pablo tell you? I am a priest.”

The light tone of Louis’s voice made Persellus’s eyes twitch. He glared at Louis and spoke quietly.

“Regardless of your position as leader of the Order, you must show proper respect to His Highness.”

Louis shrugged at this.

“I am the supreme leader of this Order, and I demand divine respect. Only my Lord is worthy of such honor, you foolish old man. I merely extend courtesy to you because you happen to be the King of a kingdom.”

As Louis made the sign of the cross again, Pablo lowered his eyes slightly. To an observer, it might have seemed like Pablo was showing reverence towards Louis, but that wasn’t the case. Pablo had bowed his head to hide the expression that desperately needed to be concealed.

That’s not a pious priest, just some… deluded religious leader! And Louis, those holy signs from before and now are different!

Pablo’s shoulders quivered uncontrollably.

His shoulders trembled as he desperately tried to hide his flustered expression, but those seeing it for the first time mistook his agitation for admiration.

Meanwhile, Duke Persellus once again rebuked Louis:

“This is the Kingdom of Kanburk! One must pay respects to the owner of these lands…!”

“Have you stuffed cotton in your ears? I already told you—I serve only one master, Lord Karlos. Oh Lord… What should I do with this foolish old man?”

“F-f-foolish old man?” The Duke’s face turned beet red at Louis’s condescending words.

Just as Persellus was about to leap to his feet, a voice stopped him.

“Settle down, Duke.”

“Your Highness!”

“It would be improper to demand human etiquette from one who has become the servant of God.”

“Gah…”

As Persellus Duke stepped back slightly, Lokan VII turned to Louis and asked:

“priest… If I didn’t mishear earlier, didn’t you say ‘I don’t know’?”

“Unlike some here, Your Majesty has proper ears.”

”…What do you mean by that? If I may interpret it correctly, does that mean your order may not assist our kingdom?”

“Not only did you hear correctly, but you also grasped the exact meaning. Then I won’t beat around the bush. Our order will not help the kingdom of Kanburk.”

”…Why not?”

Seeing the king’s hardened face, Louis replied:

“Hm, why indeed?”

“I’m not here to play word games with you.”

“Nor am I, but…”

“Give me a reason.”

“Well…” Louis let out a stifled laugh. “It’s a bit amusing, if you ask me.”

“You think it’s funny?”

“I promised to be your ally and offer assistance, yet you seem to be demanding I help you with anger. That’s why I brought it up.”

“…”

“Since when does someone offering help get smugly berated for demanding that help?”

“I would never speak of my assistance in such a way.”

“But that’s how we’ve been hearing it all this time.”

“…”

“The decision to help the Kanburk Kingdom is entirely up to the order. The kingdom has no right to make such a demand.”

“Once King Snow crosses those mountains, chaos will engulf the world. As the wielder of the sword said to bring judgment against evil… Will you just sit and let it happen?”

“The sword said to bring judgment against evil…” Louis’s eyebrow twitched.

Come to think of it, we did say something like that.

It was a message intended to imbue some sense of purpose in the band of thieves they left behind.

And yet, it’s still being passed around?

In other words, this was the karmic outcome of his past actions.

Louis shrugged and said, “Isn’t how a blade is wielded determined by the one who grips its hilt?”

The king’s face hardened at Louis’s vague response. “Are you suggesting we disregard the alliance pact?”

“An alliance pact?”

“The agreement between the Order and young King Lokan II! According to the pact, the kingdom of Kanburk and the Order were to support each other as allies.”

“Well, that’s a matter for those who entered into the pact, isn’t it？Pablo?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you recall any terms like that in the agreement?”

“No, it wasn’t. When the kingdom recognized the Order’s territory, we established a mutual non-aggression pact. In exchange for ceding land, I agreed to help fight off the demonic entities invasion from Maha.”

“Sorry, I’m a bit confused. You mean ‘demonic entities’, not monsters, right?”

“That is correct.”

“So this Snow King character, is he one such demonic entity?”

“To be precise, no, he is not.”

“Then why did that descendant of Lokan II say such things?”

“I did indeed express such sentiments to Lokan II. Although it wasn’t included in the treaty, I vowed as a great warrior not to turn a blind eye to the kingdom’s troubles.”

“In the end, it was all out of your kindness?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

As Pablo’s testimony unfolded, the expressions of King and the nobles darkened considerably.

Pablo, known as the “Undying Monster,” was highly reliable due to his involvement in previous agreements. Louis shrugged again and looked at the king.

“Do you understand now?”

“…I do.”

“So there’s no need for us to help you, given all this talk about pacts and such?”

“…”

Lokan VII remained silent—no, he couldn’t speak. His eyes flickered with unease.

This can’t go on.

The Great Calun Conference was hosted and led by the House of Kanburk. Although the issues should have been thoroughly discussed, the flow of the meeting had somehow fallen into the hands of that young woman.

When did this happen…?

It likely began when the young priest entered the room after the great warrior’s attack.

From that moment on, the flow of the meeting had been centered around the High priest, and it wasn’t heading in a good direction.

The king wanted to break this trend.

“I agree,” the King said promptly, though it seemed more like he was surrendering. Before Louis could add anything, the King continued:

“But your Order is also within Kanburk’s territory. If the Snow King descends from the mountains… you would not be safe either.”

“You’re right, I suppose.”

“Then, out of self-defense, please help us. This is not the time for quarrels between us, but rather to join our forces.”

“You’re right,” confirmed Louis. “If it were any other time, we indeed would have helped your kingdom.”

Pablo looked at Louis with perplexed eyes.

What on earth are you doing?!

Kanburk and the Order had been allies for quite some time, but Pablo couldn’t understand why Louis kept provoking the King of Kanburk.

He’s not the type to act without a reason…

Of course, he would…

No, very often he would lose his temper, but Pablo could tell. Right now, Louis seemed remarkably calm.

It wasn’t something visible to the eye, but rather a kind of intuition. Perhaps it was a transcendent ability he had developed over countless experiences? Whatever it was, Pablo realized that there must be another purpose behind Louis current behavior.

But what could it be?

While Pablo pondered this question, Louis continued speaking.

“But what’s the point? You can easily move your home.”

“You would abandon the promised land?”

“The promised land is where those who believe in the pantheon reside. To put it another way, wherever we set foot could be the promised land. Oh, Lord…”

Louis made the sign of the cross again. Naturally, this cross was completely different from the previous one.

On the other hand, when Pablo saw the king’s resolute face, he was certain. He knew what Louis was trying to do.

Is he… deliberately trying to provoke them?

He didn’t know the reason, but Louis was intentionally provoking the king. More precisely, Louis was provoking all the nobles, including the king.

Before long, Louis’s provocations bore fruit in the form of an outburst from the nobles.

“Is that your order?”

“To so easily cast aside our friendship of over two centuries!”

“Great Warrior! Say something! Will you truly follow the young priest’s words?”

Amidst the uproar, Louis’s face remained cold and expressionless.

“Enough.” His voice boomed, his energy spreading throughout the room like a dense, overwhelming presence.

The nobles felt instantly dazed, while the guards reflexively reached for their swords.

Louis continued, his voice resonating with authority, “It was you who first cast aside our friendship of over two hundred years.”

Louis’s demeanor, which had been slightly casual until now, underwent a sudden transformation. An air of absolutism emanated from his slender frame, making it difficult for anyone to open their mouths. The king, feeling the burden of steering the conversation, forced out a strained voice:

“Wh-what… what do you mean?”

“The Order’s sacred relic has been stolen.”

“…”

“I can see from your expression that you’ve already received this report.”

“…Indeed.”

Naturally, that must have been the case. News of the theft of the sacred relic would not be kept from the king, especially considering it involved the Order. Persellus would have undoubtedly informed him.

“This theft has nothing to do with us.”

“Perhaps. Let’s delve deeper and examine this situation closely. When did you first suspect us?”

“Are you questioning our loyalty now?”

“I have little choice, given the circumstances.”

”…”

“Several days ago, the trail of those who stole the relic led to the Persellus fief. It was during our return from there that we were ambushed.”

As Louis spoke, his hand shot out into the air.

The unexpected move startled everyone in the Kanburk Kingdom hall.

But what happened next was even more astonishing.

“Th-there!”

“What is it?”

Louis’s hand emerged from the void holding an enormous transcendent arm.

Swish.

With a flourish, Louis tossed the transcendent arm onto the Round Table.

Thud… Crack!

As fate would have it, the Round Table—the symbol of the Grand Calonn Conference—crumpled under the weight of the transcendent limb, its unity shattered like the very hopes it had been built to fulfill.

The arm of the Transcendent that had smashed the Round Table emerging from thin air was astonishing, but more surprising still was the mark etched on the Transcendent’s shoulder.

As all eyes turned towards the mark on the Transcendent’s shoulder:

“This is the remains of the Transcendent who attacked our gorge.”

”…”

“Isn’t this a familiar mark?” Louis asked with a mocking undertone.

The nobles of the Kanburk Kingdom were unable to respond.

In the awkward silence, the king spoke as if unable to believe what he was seeing.

”…It is indeed the crest of our royal family.”

“What I said all along, your people were the first to break their trust with the Order.”

“This emblem is… undeniably ours, or there must be some misunderstanding! Why would we harbor ill will towards the Order for any reason?”

“Well… I can’t say for certain. But here’s this clear evidence right from the scene of the crime. Wouldn’t it be reasonable for us to suspect you?”

The thorny, prickly tone of Louis’s voice left the king speechless. Amidst the settling silence, Louis rose from his seat.

“That’s a gift. Please take it and examine it closely. You’ll see if it truly belongs to your kingdom or not.”

With those words, Louis made his exit. Pablo followed suit without a moment’s hesitation.

“Hmph…”

”…”

The chamber emptied of their presence, suffused with an stifling silence.