"This is so not-fine," Konrad muttered, watching the foreign army march into his seat of power.
By next week, as scheduled, the new Church representatives had arrived.
But, um—there were more than the Duke of Halaima had expected.
"Why did they bring an entire company here?!" he complained.
Only so his new military advisor could correct him right away.
"It's more of a battalion-sized force," Dmitry pointed out. "And our scouts have reported them as the Holy Order of Amarr, whoever they are. This Church of yours must have a lot of money."
"Even the Inquisitor had only like two hundred troops here," Konrad groaned. "But this—"
"It is a direct response to your increased military might," Gabrielle noted. "And a counter to the perceived outside threats, like possible future invasions. They won't oppose you, yet."
If she didn't add that last word, he might have actually calmed down, but—
"Is this your doing?!" he asked, keeping his voice low as the first lines of heavy knights had approached. "I know you kept negotiating with them in the capital, and you have that pact, too."
But his noble wife had shaken her head.
"Don't mix things up," she said. "I have a direct pact with the Saints, yes. I tried to negotiate with the Church representing them in Kasserlane as well, but—they are all human."
"Meaning?" Konrad asked as the Holy Order formed up on the Church Square.
"They act in the Saints' name," Lily joined, as if teleporting behind them on cue. "And they more or less follow their will, too. But they have their own interests and schemes, you know."
Yeah. Like that bastard, Otto Ostfeld did.
That was one hell of a fight back then, but he won, and the Church left Halaima alone, but—
Now they have returned with more than ten times the men. Better armed and intimidating, they marched into his city as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"So are we screwed?" he muttered, watching a carriage roll in behind the armored knights.
It was one fancy thing, too. Four huge dark horses pulled it, each almost twice the size of the ones he got from the nomads. Their coats were so shiny, they reflected the winter sun.
"I wouldn't say that," Gabrielle said. "At least they sent the bishop I asked for."
They did?
The carriage rolled to a halt, and two massive knights in shiny white armor jumped to open the door. They, too, were about the size of Welf, who commanded his personal guard, but—
Even if they brought all his men-at-arms to receive these Church guys?
They outnumbered them and the entire town's guard about fifteen to one.
"His Holy Grace, Bishop Benedictus Cathiers," an oversized guard yelled, and finally—
A tiny, wrinkled old man stepped out of the cart, trembling even as his men helped him along.
"Pfft," Yuki-chan giggled behind Konrad. "Did he say cat ears?"
"Could have a pair under his fancy hat," Lily smirked as she manifested her own.
Why did he even bring them along?
Well, as if he could tell Lily where to go or what to do.
But one ice-cold glare from Gabrielle and they both shut up.
"He is the longest-serving bishop in Kasserlane," she claimed, her voice low but sharp. "And according to the rumors, the least corruptible as well."
"And you requested him because—?" Konrad scowled as he stepped forward to receive them.
"He has the least conflicting interests against your house," the angel pointed out.
But the way she worded it—did he still have something against him?!
Sigh.
"Your Holiness," Konrad bowed, bending the knee to the bishop, but—yeah. Even then, he was still a good head taller than the tiny man. "I welcome you to our humble town."
"Humble? Humble, huh," the man responded, offering a hand.
His voice was thin, matching his size—and definitely not his army.
Konrad kissed the ring on his hand, having learned it from Gabrielle before.
His education wasted precious time he could've spent fine-tuning his steam engine, but—
At least he didn't cause any diplomatic disasters right off the bat.
"They told me that Halaima had declined since my last visit, but look at it now," the little man noted. "It's one large, bustling town. So that's the true leadership of the Prodigy of Haiten."
That was, um—flattering?
Or some veiled threat? Konrad was terrible at this.
"Why, thank you," he said. "I'm trying to make it the best possible place to live in. Both for the citizens, feudal subjects, tribes, and nomads—and the Church's esteemed men as well."
"And yet," the bishop noted, turning to face the temple. "Some things had indeed declined."
Hah. Well, they didn't renovate it, for sure, but—
At least his first wife didn't actually raze it to the ground.
"This damage is a reminder of the Mad Inquisitor's rampage," Gabrielle claimed. Which—yeah. It was almost accurate, but not quite. She knelt to kiss that ring, too. "Welcome, Your Grace."
"Gabby?!" the bishop yelled, almost like a childish squeal. "How much you have grown."
Oh? So they did know each other.
But did the old man also know she was an actual angel? Like, a being much stronger than anything the Church had to offer?! Because knowing what Konrad knew now—
'I wouldn't be so sure,' Paula interrupted. 'Can't you feel the guy's crazy mana?'
Huh? He felt nothing but his own hollowness.
It still wouldn't change, even with more than ten thousand mana in his vast pool since last week.
'Yeah, I guess you're a little self-absorbed, Prodigy of Haiten,' the voice scoffed. 'If you wasted less time on that steam engine project, you could sort out your mana detection skills.'
As if it were something he could learn.
But okay, noted. So he couldn't underestimate that tiny man.
Nor his massive forces of two thousand armored knights, both on foot and horseback.
Ugh. At least they didn't seem to have any archers.
In case of an emergency, his nomadic riders could have run circles around them.
'Again. You're missing something important,' Paula noted as they strolled towards the temple. 'I would say, this tiny guy has enough power to wipe you and your entire army away in an instant.'
What?! But with Lily and Gabrielle here—
'Okay, he's no match for them, I guess. But how often are they away these days?'
Crap. True.
Those interdimensional invasions have not stopped yet.
In fact, it was a surprise that his wives hadn't left for their daily battles.
'It's Maou Midori's turn right now with Zoltan. But Soap and Roach are out there, too.'
Right. When was the last time he saw the latter two?
Not that he missed them, but—
"The damage is quite extensive," the bishop noted, interrupting his thoughts. "But nothing the Saints' infinite power couldn't fix. Let us all pray for their everlasting blessings."
Oh? Despite growing up in a Church orphanage—
This could have been the first time Konrad saw holy magic.
But to his surprise, it wasn't that oh-so-powerful old bishop casting it.
Two of his followers—he hadn't even noticed them before—a boy and a girl around his age, walked forward. They wore the Church's ceremonial garb, too, kneeling in front of them, and—
Okay, yeah.
If those were only the disciples, he shouldn't have underestimated the Church's power.