The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

81 – EP5. Wind Memories

Feria swept her hair back and took a sip of tea. Then, she let out a sigh.

“Ugh, it feels disgusting for real.”

She covered her eyes with her hand and raised her head. Her lips quivered.

Her room was filled with soft, ambient light, and various items, like scented candles, were scattered around to soothe the mind.

She had been deciphering records continuously. However, she no longer knew if deciphering these records had any meaning. She repeated the process of decoding, watching, and decoding again, driven by a single goal: to see the end of his journey.

Perhaps cutting off contact with the Imperial Palace had reduced her responsibilities. However, it was by no means a good thing.

She thought of Lena’s recent condition. Lena, who was already suffering from poor health, had been deeply shocked by Angel’s records. After seeing this particular record, her condition had become even more serious.

Feria took another sip of tea. It did nothing to clear her mind.

And as she pondered, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” she said, and a man with a stern face entered.

“Excuse me, Lord Martoff.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

She drank her tea without even looking at him. Seeing her like that, the man spoke in a calm voice as if accustomed to it.

“There are some suspicious movements happening in the palace right now.”

“Suspicious? Can you be more specific?”

“There are rumors spreading in the social circles that the palace and the Matob are in conflict. Because of that, the palace is trying to weaken our influence…”

“Well, what can I do about it?”

When Feria turned her head to look at him, the man opened his mouth.

“It is true that we have the right to defend ourselves, but the social circles are increasingly tired of the conflict between the palace and the Matob. As a result, our public opinion is gradually turning sour…”

Feria was astonished.

“What do you mean our public opinion is turning sour? They are the ones at fault.”

“Don’t you know that the situation is not going in our favor?”

Sighing at the man’s words, Feria nodded her head. As a born researcher, she was weak in this kind of politics.

“For now, the palace is not acting and is waiting for the rumors to spread.”

“Yes, it seems that the palace is waiting for the rumors to spread before they can weaken our influence.”

Feria thought for a moment and then spoke, flicking her fingernail.

“Well, let’s just wait for now. Why should we be inconvenienced by them? If they attack us first, we can retaliate with something bigger. That’s what I mean.”

After saying that, she took a sip of her tea and extended her hand.

“Alright, you may leave.”

The man bent his waist once and left her room.

A week later, an incident occurred in the palace. Feria furrowed her brows upon hearing the news.

“So, the Pope suddenly blamed us out of the blue?”

“Yes, without any warning, the Pope accused the Matob of causing trouble for their own sake and ambitions. Even within the clergy, there was no agreement, but suddenly, the Pope stepped forward.”

“Hmph, obvious. They probably conspired with the Emperor beforehand. We should prepare for a response, but it’s hard to attack back when it’s the words of the Pope. If we continue like this, public opinion will turn against us. But we can’t just sit still either. But we can’t confront them either because the Pope hasn’t given us any ammunition. It would have been easier if the Emperor himself had made trouble.”

Feria furrowed her forehead and spoke.

“It seems a bit difficult for us to directly handle this matter, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it seems so. But what should we do in this situation?”

Feria thought for a moment and spoke.

“For now, let’s just wait silently. There will be a solution soon.”

After saying that, Feria drank her tea. Although the man was a little uneasy, he believed that Feria had a plan in mind and left the room.

And on the very next day, a backlash occurred.

“They say the Saint challenged the Pope’s statement. She said, ‘It seems like the Pope doesn’t understand the complexity of the situation,’ in response to the Pope’s words.”

It was a statement that completely disregarded the Pope as a senile old man. Feria chuckled and said, “What did I say? Beatrice will handle it somehow. Beatrice may not be as great as us, but she surely has a lot of unfavorable feelings towards the Empress. She won’t let us be stabbed by her words. She was still our comrade, in a way.”

Feria said with a sullen look in her eyes. The man then spoke, “For now, the fact that the Saint is in charge of rectifying the Pope’s mistakes reduces the confusion. However, it’s hard to predict how the Pope, who is now in a position to be ignored unilaterally, will respond.”

“What’s so unpredictable about how he’ll react? It’s quite obvious. If the Pope steps down, he loses face and gains nothing. So, he’ll probably go after Beatrice. Once the full-blown confrontation starts, we don’t know what will happen, but at least the clash between the two is confirmed. And maybe the Imperial Palace will step in at that time.”

And indeed, it happened that way. Members of the Papal Court supported the Pope’s views, and the Saint submitted a petition not to speak recklessly. As the signs of a split within the church began to show, people began to be confused.

Feria honestly gave Beatrice the upper hand. Even though the Pope had considerable influence, the Empire’s religious leaders were fundamentally saints or holy women, and the Pope was a newcomer who returned to the West of the Empire just over two hundred years ago. It was difficult to remove a rolling stone, but it was even more challenging to remove a stone that had fallen and returned.

However, public opinion went differently from her expectations. Although it had been just over a year since they defeated the Demon King, people had already forgotten about the terror of the Demon King’s army and were thinking about their recent defeat in the battle against Grandis. They blamed Beatrice for not sealing the Black Mage Grandis properly, resulting in the loss of many lives. Feria looked at them with a disbelieving gaze.

Those who did not know the details of that battle were making noise, and it was frustrating. While the Empire may have had the upper hand in objective military strength, the Imperial Army did not handle the Grandis situation properly, not knowing how Grandis would appear. That kind of analysis should have been done by the staff officers, but with no proper plans made by the staff, how could they win?

…No, they would have won. In the first place, if it was a time when the Hero could use the power of resurrection, of course, they would have won against Grandis. He would have buried his failures as if they were only natural and led his allies to victory. As long as the Holy Sword didn’t break.

But people didn’t know that. People took victory for granted when it was brought to them by the Hero who said he had conspired with the enemy.

Feria felt bitter about that fact. She was no different from those people. Except for the fact that she had seen the records inscribed on the fragments of the Holy Sword.

Perhaps she would have acted the same way if she hadn’t seen those records.

Feria let out a sigh. It was frustrating.

She began to ponder why the Holy Sword had broken.

She didn’t believe in the idea of collusion with the enemy. No, she no longer believed in it. She also didn’t believe the theory that he had committed wicked deeds. Giving such power and then judging based on wickedness implied that the gods were extremely cruel.

She was not a devout believer, but she did not doubt the existence of the gods. She thought of them as the truth behind the truth she was investigating. That’s why she didn’t think the gods were that cruel.

Then why did the sword break? Even though he had fulfilled his duty as a Hero and still hadn’t returned the sword? That was certainly a possibility. But even that had a strange aspect. There was a Hero who fought with the Holy Sword after secretly assassinating the Demon King when humanity was struggling against the Demon King’s army.

Feria grabbed her head. Why? Why? Why?

While she was lost in thought, a major event unfolded.

“Lord Matap! They are demanding the conscription of mages from the Imperial Palace!”

A very big event, indeed.