Chapter 33, Marcel Diocese (3)
The next morning, we said goodbye to Enrique’s group and resumed our journey toward the Holy See.
Pascal asked me about Enrique.
“My lord, I’m curious why that wandering singer accepted your proposal. He said he’d sing for you without receiving anything in return.”
[Truthful Song] certainly helped, but Enrique probably would have accepted my proposal even without the buff.
“How should I put it? If I had to explain it, Enrique is something like a utopian socialist.”
Pascal clicked his tongue.
“Even the name of that ideology sounds dangerous.”
“Yeah. Especially dangerous to someone like me, a noble and a lord.”
“Then why does Enrique like you?”
“Maybe he sees a utopia in me.”
“A utopia?”
Oh, right. The word utopia doesn’t exist in this world.
“It means the most ideal society humans can imagine.”
“Ah. Now I understand why you called him a utopian socialist. Something like that is impossible to achieve.”
He was right.
The world Enrique wanted would never come.
Earth’s history had already proven that.
Ironically, however, some of the ideas proposed by utopian socialists on Earth had eventually been accepted within free market economic systems.
Perhaps what Enrique wanted from me was not revolution.
Maybe he only wanted fragments of that dream.
[The territory’s budget should be spent for the people of the territory.]
Perhaps that alone was enough.
The long journey finally ended after one more night of camping.
Maherit, the capital of the Kingdom of Iberia and the city containing the Holy See of the God of Abundance.
The city was so enormous that buildings could be seen all the way to the horizon.
Even the outskirts were crowded with people constantly coming and going.
There were no visible city walls.
The city had expanded so much that walls had probably become meaningless.
Martin and Pascal had both lived for a long time in Westfalen of the Germania Empire, but apparently neither of them had ever seen such a huge city.
Pascal stared with his mouth hanging open.
“My lord, I never knew there could be this many people in one place.”
“In terms of population, this might be the largest city on the Northern Continent.”
“Even larger than the imperial capital?”
Hamburg, the capital of the Germania Empire, had a massive port and many industrial facilities.
However, its population was not as concentrated as Maherit’s.
The empire had distributed people into surrounding territories.
“Probably. The empire built satellite cities and distributed its capabilities among them.”
“Satellite cities?”
“Ah. Would you understand if I called them attached cities?”
“Yes, yes. Anyway, you mean Maherit is too concentrated.”
“Exactly. The slums here are expanding the city without any real control. It looks like they divided the districts without much planning.”
Far from the main road, slums resembling hillside shantytowns could be seen scattered throughout the area.
Just looking at it, unemployment seems high and the wealth gap seems severe. There’s going to be trouble eventually.
Looking at the residents’ gloomy expressions, we turned our horses away.
There were no separate checkpoints, so our party rode directly toward the entrance of the Holy See.
Many businesses catering to visitors had gathered there.
We decided to find an inn first.
Apparently desperate for a proper rest, Pascal pointed toward a luxurious inn.
“My lord, you should stay in a place like that if you wish to preserve your precious body.”
It looked grand enough to have an outdoor swimming pool.
There was no way I was staying there.
Maybe I sounded like an old miser, but it felt like a waste of money.
I had not come here for a luxury vacation.
“What precious body? That place looks way too expensive.”
“Doesn’t it look like it would be worth the price?”
“Proposal rejected. Find an inn with a stable and good food.”
Disappointed, Pascal began questioning pedestrians.
Before long, he led us toward a clean looking inn.
In front of the State Secretariat of the Holy See of the God of Abundance.
I was both a noble and a lord, but in this place, everyone had to wait their turn equally.
Fortunately, because my business involved the establishment of a diocese, my turn would probably come quickly.
The person I needed to meet was a high ranking official.
As I sat on a bench, bored enough to yawn, the door to the Secretariat opened.
A trainee priest called my name.
“Viscount Eric Marcel, I will guide you inside.”
Led by the trainee priest, I entered together with Martin and Pascal.
Before long, we arrived at a room with a sign reading, ‘Office of the Chancellor of the State Secretariat.’
The moment I entered, I saw an old man wearing a worn priestly robe.
He opened his arms and smiled at me.
“Viscount Marcel, welcome. Please, have a seat.”
We sat on a sofa that was worn and torn in several places.
The Chancellor personally poured tea for us, and we exchanged greetings.
Then we moved to the main subject.
“You wish to establish a diocese in Marcel?”
“Yes. I want to create a diocese covering four territories, Marcel, Ronalp, Ferrand, and Dijon. I have already brought letters of agreement from each lord.”
“Already? You certainly work quickly. Is there a reason you’re proceeding at such speed?”
There was something strange about that question.
I became cautious.
Still, this man was the Chancellor of the Holy See’s State Secretariat.
Hiding my discomfort, I simply answered him.
“Is there any reason to drag things out? Establishing a diocese will benefit the Holy See as well, won’t it?”
“It simply seems unnaturally fast. It has been a long time since something progressed this smoothly.”
“Churches have already been established in each territory. Isn’t that natural? It’s not like we’re trying to smash our heads against bare ground.”
“Smash our heads?”
“Anyway, the foundation already exists. All you need to do is approve it.”
“Hmm...”
The Chancellor furrowed his brows in thought before putting down his teacup.
Then, while touching his necklace, he spoke.
“Please tell me your true reason for establishing this diocese. The reason you’re hiding.”
“What did you say?”
What kind of ridiculous question was that?
Was that not incredibly rude?
He was questioning me as though I had some hidden objective.
Has this old man lost his mind?
Just as I was about to curse at him, the necklace he was touching began emitting a faint light.
Huh? A glowing necklace? What is that? A magic item?
