"Always found it hard to believe that this child, Otto, could become a necromancer," the bishop said. And that thin voice of his turned all-powerful in the small village. "This place reeks."
Uh, oh. And Stella hadn't even shown her face.
"Never had a speck of power, that one," he grunted. "Nor did he carry the blessing of the Saints. And when they said he caused all that havoc in Halaima—was it you, my child, Alastair?!"
Wait, what?!
Konrad had already considered intervening, but—
Seeing his adoptive father step out in front of the abbey with his hands raised?
"Bishop Benedictus," Alastair muttered, his voice trembling. "W-what are you even talking about? I have never received a blessing, either. And how could I cause any trouble?"
Yeah. Like, even the notion was ridiculous to Konrad.
The man had sticky fingers and would definitely misappropriate some Church funds, but—
That was no superpower. He was harmless.
"And yet you still reek of death," the tiny bishop claimed, his scepter leveled at the priest.
Did he spend too much time with Stella, or—
"Enough," Gabrielle snapped, stepping up before he could. "Don't you know Father Alastair well enough? He's no necromancer, nor as evil as your pupil was. Lower your weapon, Benedictus."
Uh. While Konrad was no longer surprised by the archangel's authority—
Was it actually a good idea to give commands to this powerful old Mage like that?!
"Evil or not," the bishop scoffed. "I can still feel that sickening stench on him."
Mana sight? Or did something like a mana nose exist, too?
Either way, Konrad knew the old guy was wrong. The problem was—
"I agreed to your deal, child," Benedictus grunted. "I didn't want to get the Inquisition involved in this again, either. But you weren't honest with me if you're still hiding a necromancer here."
Yep. There it was.
Though—he got the wrong guy for now. But he was on the right track.
"I'm not hiding," Stella shouted, stepping in front of Father Alastair.
As if they weren't already in big trouble, ugh.
'Feels like we're about to find out how much you can do with that ten thousand mana of yours.'
Yeah. Paula didn't have to say that.
The old bishop's scepter didn't waver, but now he aimed it at the Church's former executioner.
"Who are you, child?" he demanded. And from the shift in the flow of the mana—
'Yep, he's charging a spell.'
Fuck. Konrad scrambled to prepare his runes, too, but—
His head was still a mess, and should he even risk attacking a high-ranking official like that?!
Or cast a barrier on Stella? Would it be enough? Could the old man notice it and treat it as a provocation? If he protected the girl, he'd leave himself wide open for a moment, and—
"She is the spirits' favorite," Lily claimed, pushing the scepter down with her bare hands.
"I'm pretty sure I've told you before," Gabrielle noted, too, walking right into the firing line.
The few knights who escorted the bishop reached for their swords, but—
Nah. Even Konrad could handle them, if it came down to that.
"That pact?!" Benedictus gritted out, trying to free his scepter. "You told me that you're sheltering a girl blessed by the spirits, but—is it that one?! An actual necromancer?"
Hmm. Konrad might have remembered hearing about that.
"Does it matter who she is?" the archangel boomed, towering over the bishop in her frilly blue dress. "A pact is a pact, and you have no authority to overrule your Saints, so stand down."
'He's about to zap Lilith,' Paula warned, and—
"Not on my watch," he grunted, summoning his own new staff.
As if his puny magic could be a match for a greater demon's, but—
He wouldn't stand around and let another Church guy mess with his wives ever again.
With all the mana he accumulated? Not to mention his Staff of Light's affinity for his favorite spells. He could almost insta-cast his Isekai Microwave, and it was stronger than ever.
Konrad aimed for the scepter, not wanting to create a diplomatic nightmare right off the bat.
But at this power level, that weapon turned white-hot almost immediately.
Good thing Lily wasn't touching it anymore, but—
The bishop couldn't hold it for much longer, either.
"Blast," the tiny old man yelped.
He dropped the now-burning scepter and refocused his attention on Konrad.
'Incoming,' was all Paula could think, and—
The lightning bolt he charged against Stella and Lily had hit him instead.
Good thing that while he was busy releasing his attack—
His parallel brain had already raised the perfect defense against an electric shock.
That said, the knights were charging at him now, but—
"I said, enough," Gabrielle boomed, snapping her fingers.
The scene froze—in fact, it even faded away, leaving only the five of them standing.
Lily, Gabby, Stella, and the bishop—the latter still staring at Konrad.
But only until the demoness smacked him in the head.
"Don't you ever dare lay a finger on my Konny boy again, you understand?!"
Ugh. Who was defending who now?
"Nobody's laying a finger on anyone," the angel pointed out. "I asked you here because you're the oldest servant of the Saints. I thought you'd have more self-control than that, Cathiers."
Mind you—
The two who couldn't move an inch or even blink in this bubble were Stella and the old guy.
Well, the latter could still roll his eyes and glare.
And—even without Paula's help, Konrad could tell what he was thinking with ease.
'You otherworlders lured me into a trap?!' the bishop demanded without actually opening his mouth. 'I should've known better than to trust you, child of a foreign God.'
"Foreign?" Gabrielle scoffed. "He is the one true God ruling over the entire universe."
"Allegedly," Lily interjected with a smirk, skipping over to Konrad. "You good, sweetheart? Did that ugly Mister Cat Ears hurt you? That was kinda sexy, you know. You trying to defend me."
Um. She said sexy, but was patting his head like a child's.
"I'm fine," he grunted, but—well.
He wouldn't reject such a gesture.
"It is a fact," the angel snapped, not bothering to face them. "He rules over your Saints, too, and in his name, we entered a pact. Those Saints, or the Church, or even you—cannot touch Stella."
'And why's that?!' the bishop's angry thoughts echoed in their Space-time Bubble.
"Because not even the old boss wants to mess with timelines and the sacred balance."
Lily's response made him freeze.
Like—not the old man; he couldn't move already.
But this little snippet? It was also news for Konrad.
'Balance?' Cathiers repeated, his thoughts feeling murky and confused. 'Between what? Good and Evil? Nobody buys that crap. We must purge all evil, and—'
"Between life and death," Gabrielle said, interrupting those thoughts.
'Y-you want her to bring death to this world?!'
"Meow, it's the exact opposite," Lily noted, her own cat ears popping up and twitching. "She'll be the one who prevents a certain fallen angel from exterminating your planet."
Fuck. Between his steam engine project and catching up on the paperwork—
Konrad should have talked to his wives a whole lot more.