Chapter 104. Those Who Deceive Faith
I went scouting with Martin, my two ghouls, Director Manuel, Holy Knight Gottfried, and thirteen knights from Marcel.
The dark elf knight was a Sword Master.
Catching him without casualties using only Marcel's forces would be difficult.
So I bought Gottfried some alcohol and convinced him to come with us.
The area we were searching was the rugged mountain range north of the port city of La Spezia.
Martin clearly didn't like the route I had chosen.
"My lord, even if those dark elves are reckless, I doubt they would choose these mountains."
Anyone could see it was extremely difficult terrain for an escape.
And because the orcs might cross the mountains, rangers were spread throughout the area.
"Wouldn't that make it perfect for exploiting that assumption?"
"No."
Martin looked confident.
"I'll bet this month's salary that we don't find a single trace."
"Deal."
We moved north along the ridges.
We covered around fifteen kilometers while searching the surroundings.
Eventually, even the rangers disappeared.
We reached an area so remote that I couldn't even see a squirrel.
"My lord, it appears I won."
"Tch. I'll give it to you as a bonus next month."
"You're not paying me from your personal money?"
"The territory's money is my money."
I still hadn't separated my personal assets from the territory's assets.
It wasn't unusual.
Many nobles treated them as the same thing.
After all, the territory belonged to the lord.
While I was thinking about budgets, Ghoul Lorian suddenly warned us.
"My lord, something is approaching."
She pointed down toward the valley.
A squad of orcs was moving through the valley toward La Spezia.
A tall orc pointed a mace toward us.
"How dare you crawl around so quietly? Do you wish to die?"
The pressure in his voice was considerable.
He seemed like an experienced veteran warrior.
Even Gottfried, a Sword Master, was sweating.
I sighed.
"Everyone, get ready to run."
The orcs didn't immediately attack.
We kept a reasonable distance and faced each other.
Running too quickly would only let them pick us off one by one.
Better to make them decide that a pointless fight between scouting parties wasn't worth it.
I spoke to the three-meter-tall orc.
"Looks like we're both scouting. Let's not waste lives. We withdraw at the same time."
"Hm? You..."
The orc stared at me.
"You ate Artemis's mushroom."
I had eaten a Link Mushroom and received the [Forest Link] buff.
Thanks to it, I could understand orcs too.
But everyone else called Link Mushrooms those disgusting shit-tasting mushrooms.
This orc called them Artemis's mushrooms.
Is he especially devout?
Appraisal.
[Saru, 49 years old]
[Seventh son of the late Kame of the Green Plains Orcs. Warrior Captain of the Green Plains Orcs. Serves Artemis.]
Let's use his faith to gain some goodwill.
I didn't want to lose knights here for nothing.
"I've also been blessed by Artemis. Poison doesn't work on me. There is even a church of Artemis in my territory."
"What? Truly?"
"I have no reason to lie."
Technically, every part of that statement was true.
Saru took a pouch from one of his men and threw it to me.
"There are poisonous mushrooms inside. We use them in medicine. If what you say is true, prove it."
I casually pulled out one of the poisonous mushrooms.
Then I chewed and swallowed it.
"Believe me now?"
"Oh! It seems you were telling the truth. A human loved by the Forest God? I never imagined such a thing! Ha ha ha!"
This was going well.
Let's bluff my way out.
"Then, since we both serve the same god, let's part without harming one another."
"Ha ha ha! That sounds good. Perhaps you too are an encounter sent by the god. Take this, a gift."
Saru happily picked up a deer and threw it toward us.
He was technically an enemy, but he had shown goodwill.
I couldn't let that go unanswered.
I took a sack containing chunks of salt from one of my knights and threw it to Saru.
"Thanks. My name is Eric Marcel. If humans capture you during this war, come find me. I'll save your life once in return."
"Ha ha ha! What an arrogant young human. Fine! The same goes for you. If our warriors capture you, find me. I am Saru, Great Chief of the Green Plains Orcs!"
"Great Chief? I thought you were the Warrior Captain."
Saru frowned.
Then he scratched irritably at a mark on his bracer.
Apparently, it had some meaning.
"You recognized this mark..."
His voice turned bitter.
"I was once Great Chief. But one blessed by Mephistopheles appeared, so I stepped down and raised him as Great Chief instead. Following the stronger warrior is honorable."
His face and voice didn't look honorable at all.
Regret.
Irritation.
Jealousy.
Resentment.
He looked furious that he'd lost the position.
Wait.
If the new Great Chief is stronger than Saru...
Then that bastard is at least Grand Master level.
This was bad.
The human side hadn't accounted for anything like that.
If the Great Chief led an elite unit in a charge, he might tear through the line all by himself.
Then the entire front could collapse.
My life would be in danger.
The priests and Marcel knights would be in danger too.
Can I stop him somehow?
Maybe I can use Saru's resentment...
This was an opportunity that almost felt like a gift from a god.
A chance to kill the orc Great Chief.
And win the war.
"Hey, Saru, 'Great Chief.' I've got a proposal."
I asked Saru to speak privately.
And the two followers of Artemis began plotting together.
To isolate and dispose of the Great Chief blessed by Mephistopheles.
* * *
Dark elf knight Ojioko and mage Ejiere had been wounded while being chased by the Saxon knights.
Eventually, they escaped La Spezia under cover of night and hid high in the northern mountains.
By chance, they saw a confrontation in the valley below.
It was Eric's scouting party facing Saru's orcs.
The dark elves naturally expected a bloody battle.
Instead...
The orcs and humans spoke.
Then they exchanged gifts.
Then they waved and parted ways.
Ojioko stared in disbelief.
"Ejiere, that tall platinum-blond man cannot remain merely a person of interest. He should be elevated to a primary surveillance target."
"Agreed. A human who is friendly with orcs. Terrifying just to think about."
Dark elves from the Southern Continent despised orcs.
In the enormous jungle called the Deep Forest, which resembled the Great Forest, dark elves had long suffered as prey hunted by orcs.
"It's unfortunate we didn't learn that platinum-blond bastard's name."
"When we return, we'll have an artist draw his face. Someone will recognize him."
"Then we're crossing these mountains?"
"Yes. If we allow plenty of time, we should reach Veneto in about a week."
The road to Veneto was nowhere near as simple as Ejiere made it sound.
They would have to cross a high mountain range and walk more than two hundred and fifty kilometers.
Without even a compass, getting lost was almost inevitable.
In other words, an absolutely miserable journey awaited them.
Then a strange sound echoed through the quiet mountain.
Grrrrr.
Ojioko looked around.
"What was that?"
"...My stomach."
"I'm starving too. We should've stolen bread when we escaped."
"...If Hela helps us, we'll manage somehow."
Ejiere was a mage and did not personally worship a god.
But Ojioko was extremely devout.
Ejiere often used that phrase because it was useful when dealing with believers.
At the name of his god, Ojioko offered a short prayer.
"Let's go. Hela will surely help us."
The two dark elves began their long journey while enduring their hunger.
* * *
The next day.
Great Chief Suji occupied the lord's castle of Liguria.
He had led his orcs into battle partly in search of human meat.
Unfortunately for them, only knights, mages, and soldiers had remained inside the castle.
The civilians had already been evacuated.
As a result, they obtained little food.
A month after taking the castle, the food shortage began to worsen.
The grain stores and livestock pens were steadily emptying.
The only reason they had lasted this long was that many orcs had died during the siege.
Fortunately, the surrounding wilderness was abundant.
Suji had ordered Warrior Captain Saru to scout for hunting grounds.
But the moment Saru returned, he began urging the Great Chief toward another battle.
"Great Chief, there is a human city one day's travel south. Instead of sitting here, let's move there."
Warriors and hunters traveling alone could reach it in less than a day.
But moving the entire horde would take far longer.
Probably three or four days.
"What about the human army?"
"They're gathered on the plains near the southern city."
Suji frowned.
His appearance might have become satanic after Mephistopheles's blessing, but his cautious personality had not disappeared.
"I've heard fighting human knights on open plains is troublesome. Striking a shield formation is like striking a castle wall."
"We have far more warriors. We need only crash against them like waves."
Saru's proposal was unexpectedly aggressive.
But recklessly charging would produce enormous casualties.
Suji pointed that out.
"We began this war so we would not starve. Are you saying we should throw orcs into death until they all die in battle?"
"You're the one who declared this a war of blood."
"Yes, but unnecessary losses..."
Saru cut him off.
"You said starving to death and dying in battle were the same!"
His voice thundered.
"You took the trolls' land! You took the humans' land! You chose this bloody march! Was your claim that we would offer blood to Mephistopheles a lie?! Are you changing your words now?! Then we may as well return to the Great Forest!"
It was practically a challenge worth risking his life over.
But the words struck Suji deeply.
Suji was grateful to Mephistopheles for blessing him.
Yet he had originally been a follower of Artemis, God of the Forest.
Even now, he still prayed to Artemis in his heart.
And bloody warfare never truly suited Suji's cautious, delicate personality.
Still, he believed Saru had a point.
Suji drove his enormous axe into the earth.
THUD!
"Damn it. Fine. Tell everyone to prepare to move. We'll offer blood to Mephistopheles."
"As you command."
Saru walked away while lazily swinging his mace.
Then he glanced back.
Suji was staring far to the south.
He almost looked sorrowful.
Saru muttered in dissatisfaction.
"Spineless, weak bastard. That human was right. I should become Great Chief again."
He trudged away, grumbling.
* * *
The full commanders' meeting assembled again.
Commander-in-Chief Andrea delivered new information.
"The orcs have begun moving south along the coast. At their current pace, they will reach the battlefield in three days. Every force should make its final preparations."
Three days remained before battle.
Fear.
Tension.
Expectation.
All three filled the command tent.
Of course, plenty of people seemed to be thinking about nothing at all.
Even after the official toast, they kept drinking wine.
Because this was a multinational force, no single person could easily stop them.
Some nobles drank until they were nearly drunk.
And nobles constantly gathered around me.
I had received blessings from several gods.
Marcel's success stories were famous.
More importantly, I was still technically a bachelor despite having held three fake marriages.
Several nobles quietly offered to send portraits of their female relatives.
"Count Marcel, I'm embarrassed to say this myself, but my younger sister is remarkably beautiful. I'll send you a portrait, so please consider her favorably."
The man telling me this had a face like an octopus.
Hard to trust that claim.
"I do not judge women by their faces. I believe the heart is more important."
Of course, that was a lie.
There was a reason I'd been unmarried in my previous life too.
"Oh! Truly the words of a sage. When everyone else pursues beauty, you have the courage to say no! As expected of a man loved by the gods!"
This bastard's flattery skill is MAX.
At this rate, he's going to wear out my ass.
And he wasn't the only one.
Just when I was getting tired of all the polite social nonsense, a priest entered the tent and shouted.
"His Holiness the Pope has arrived! Straighten your posture and clothing!"
Huh?
Why was the Pope here?
And telling nobles to straighten their clothes?
That seemed a little too far.
I'd had some wine too.
I was considering saying something rude when the Pope of the Sun God Church suddenly entered.
Average height.
Average build.
Ordinary face.
An older man who looked somewhat short-tempered.
If I passed him on the street, I probably wouldn't even recognize him.
Might as well use Appraisal.
[Giovanni, 70 years old]
[Third son of the late Tivoli, farmer of Pianno. Pope of the Sun God Church. Serves no god.]
"Pfft!"
I spat out all the wine in my mouth.
Fortunately, only a little hit him.
Still, several red stains appeared across his white priestly robe.
The Pope glared at me.
"My apologies, Your Holiness. Seeing you in person overwhelmed my heart."
"...I understand. Some people have said they nearly went blind upon seeing me."
Ah.
He's the narcissistic type.
But seriously.
The Pope was an atheist?
Wasn't that insane?
A priest, especially a Pope, was supposed to demonstrate miracles through divine power.
Does that mean my suspicion was right?
Maybe divine power and actual faith have nothing to do with each other.
Maybe it's simply a technique, like a mage's magic.
I'd suspected something like that ever since I first saw priestly healing.
I'd never had a way to prove it.
An atheist Pope made the answer look rather obvious.
Once my shock calmed down, Pope Giovanni spoke.
"I wish to pray together with those who have drawn their swords to aid the Odoacer Empire, my homeland and the home of the Sun God Church. Will you grant me that opportunity?"
If I objected here, the Holy Knights would probably cut my head off.
I stepped forward before anyone else.
"How could we refuse the prayer of such a noble person?"
Several nobles opened their mouths to say something, then closed them because I'd beaten them to it.
An attendant quietly whispered my identity to Pope Giovanni.
The Pope immediately smiled warmly.
"It is an honor to me as well, since the proposal comes from Count Marcel, who was personally blessed by Helios."
He changes expressions quickly.
A moment ago, he looked ready to kill me over the wine.
Religious organizations generally disliked people personally blessed by gods.
They were afraid such people would become popular stars.
Yet Giovanni wore shamelessness like armor.
He acted delighted and began his prayer.
"...Guide our lips carefully, so that we may keep what cannot be spoken. Then great glory shall descend upon us..."
That's a warning to me.
I had warned the Pope about the orc invasion.
He had ignored the warning.
He was telling me that if I kept quiet about that fact, he would reward me.
In the end, the prayer spoken by a Pope without faith was no different from the prayer of a crooked loan shark.
