The Game Difficulty
Is Insane
Chapter 30
The Holy City, Istirenne.
The long, wide main road that stretched from the eastern gate to the Grand Cathedral was overflowing with people.
“They’re coming!”
At someone’s shout, everyone there turned their gaze toward the horizon.
Soon, a cardinal on horseback appeared, followed by a saintess and one more man. Behind them marched the expeditionary force in neat formation.
A triumphal return.
The expeditionary force had returned victorious from the decisive battle against the Black Cult.
“Waaaaaah!”
“Saintess! Welcome back!”
“Long live His Eminence the Cardinal!”
Men and women, young and old, all shouted the names of the commanders they admired as they welcomed them.
The expeditionary force entered the city of Istirenne with dignified expressions, receiving flowers and cheers as they headed toward the Grand Cathedral.
“But who is that person?”
Attention gathered on the boy—too young to be called a man—who was riding alongside Cardinal Gracia, Saintess Luceria, and Commander Ignat.
“You’re slow on the news. That is Young Master Glen Wardsworth, the one who passed judgment on the man called the Black Cult’s High Priest during this expedition.”
“Huh? Someone that young?”
“That’s not all. There’s even a story that he wiped out a thousand cultists guarding the High Priest with just two people.”
At the man’s words, everyone frowned as if it sounded exaggerated.
Then, as if he had been waiting for this, the man slyly revealed another hidden fact.
“Oh right. You do know that His Eminence the Cardinal and the Saintess officially recognized him as the third Saint sent down by God, don’t you?”
“What?!”
If both the Saintess and the Cardinal had certified it, there was no reason to doubt it.
“Oooooh……”
As the ash-gray-haired boy passed in front of them, the citizens’ gazes changed.
Flower petals began to scatter before him.
“Long live the Third Saint!”
“Long live Glen Wardsworth!”
“Tsk……”
Inside the tall tower within the Grand Cathedral.
From Cardinal Joachim’s office, Archbishop Bastian clicked his tongue as he watched the triumphant procession of the expeditionary force.
The birth of the third Saint.
The destruction of the Black Cult.
“There’s not a single thing I like.”
Yet Bastian Rodriguez could stop none of it.
Not even with Cardinal Joachim’s power added to his own.
“I don’t care what happens to the Black Cult, but…… honestly, this is too early.”
Archbishop Bastian had not even had the chance to use them to draw the picture he wanted.
“It’s all over.”
His plan to join hands with the Black Cult, use them to drive out the Pope and the annoying factions, and install himself as the new Pope of the Holy State shattered completely with the fall of the Black Cult.
“Then… what will you do now?”
Cardinal Joachim asked carefully, having watched Bastian’s mood the whole time.
“I give up.”
“Y-Yes?”
“I said I give up.”
With the Black Cult gone—who were supposed to remove high-ranking priests and stage his rise—and with no stage left to display his achievements, Bastian had no chance to overturn the board with his own power.
“But, sir…… if we leave things like this, they will take control of the Holy State.”
Two Saints, the Cardinals supporting them, and the Holy Spear Knight Order. Even the Pope, who had maintained neutrality, would inevitably side with them.
That was why Bastian and Joachim, who had constantly ignored and restrained their opinions, would surely face backlash.
Yet as said, Bastian and Joachim’s footing would only continue to weaken.
“Endure it. What we must do now is erase every trace of our connection to the Black Cult.”
No matter how angry he felt, what had to be done was to maintain the current situation.
If even a single fact about their secret collusion with the Black Cult were revealed, they would lose what little life they had left.
“……Crouch down for now.”
After all, when one heretical group is destroyed, another will eventually appear somewhere else and throw the Holy State into chaos.
Society was always like that.
“For the time being, don’t do anything foolish. Stay quiet.”
“Understood.”
Cardinal Joachim bowed his head.
The reason someone as unremarkable as him had reached the position of Cardinal was entirely due to Archbishop Bastian’s backing.
That was why he had no reason to refuse Bastian’s orders.
After that, Glen participated in a simple triumph ceremony at the cathedral plaza, then went to the Papal Palace to meet the Pope.
Greatly pleased with the expeditionary force’s victory, the Pope promised to officially recognize Glen as the third Saint, following the opinions of Saintess Luceria and Cardinal Gracia.
Cardinals Joachim and Petraco, who were also present, agreed without objection.
—Thank you for judging the enemies of the Church and securing peace for this nation.
The Pope expressed his gratitude.
It was a smile that naturally warmed the heart.
‘This is the kind of person he originally was.’
In the original story, he only seemed lacking in presence because Archbishop Bastian and Cardinal Joachim manipulated him.
Now that the forces using him as a puppet had lost their backing in the Black Cult and fallen silent, the Pope would gradually regain his original kind and fair nature.
In any case, Glen’s plan to be recognized as a Saint before the war with the Demon Race succeeded, after many twists and turns.
In a few days, with the appointment ceremony, Glen’s name would spread across the Holy State as a Saint.
The important point was that Glen’s duty as a Saint would be announced as judging the enemies of the Church.
In other words, anything Glen said about the enemies of the Church would be considered extremely close to the will of the chief god, Minise.
‘A Saint’s duty is the purpose personally bestowed by God upon that Saint.’
This meant Glen could exert more influence over military authority than even the Pope or the Saintess.
The Pope’s duty was the prosperity of the Church, and the Saintess’s duty was the well-being of the faithful.
Of course, that influence was not absolute, but it was incomparable to when he was merely the son of a fallen noble house.
‘With just that much influence, I can freely steer the upcoming war with the Demon Race in the direction I want.’
Leaving the Papal Palace, Glen wore a faint smile.
The Black Cult that gnawed at the Holy State from within was gone, and the position he had climbed from being a disowned troublemaker had reached the highest seat in a theocratic nation.
‘This all took three months.’
For achievements reached in roughly a hundred days, it was unbelievably fast.
Even during the Holy Advent Festival, he had never grown a character this quickly.
‘The Lunatic Trials greatly accelerated my growth too.’
Of course, that was something Glen earned by fighting while bearing risks.
After finishing the triumph ceremony and audience, Glen returned with his party members to the Lamp-Below House.
There was no longer any need to hide his presence in the capital, so there was no reason to stay in a poor district, but he still went there.
Changing sleeping places unnecessarily was more troublesome.
It was evening, so candles were lit throughout the mansion, but the people who should have been there were absent.
‘Looks like both of them are still out.’
Tasha and Horkney had been left here because their individual missions were judged to be more important than joining the expedition.
Thankfully, it seemed they had been working diligently even while Glen was away.
After taking a light rest in his private room, which had grown comfortable like his own room,
Glen called Romina and Ridenhall to the dining room.
“Alright. It’s present time.”
“Present time?”
Romina tilted her head.
“You both worked hard during this mission, so as the leader, I’m giving you a reward.”
“Oh? Nice. I’m already looking forward to it.”
“What are you giving us?”
The reaction was quite good.
Probably because the recent gifts—Robes’s Necklace for Romina and Ridenhall’s own scripture returned to him—had pleased them.
“First, this is for you, Ridenhall.”
Glen handed Ridenhall the Orb of Fanaticism he obtained through reward tuning.
