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“Hurry up and get to the point!” Impatience flickered in my eyes as I shot him a glare, urging him to get to the point. But that guy just seemed to relish it, responding with a disgusting ‘ehe’ grin. What a creep!

The sister accompanying him, for some reason, was giving me a look of disdain through her veil.

“—Is something the matter?”

“…Pardon me, but,” her voice, young and probably around 20, continued, “Your Highness seems to regard the conditions proposed by His Eminence as mere scraps of paper.”

“Hn? Is that true, Sister Angie?”

She nodded assertively when Grand Pope Werner turned to inquire.

“Yes, there’s no doubt. My ‘Heaven’s Eye’ can clearly see three monsters attached to Her Highness.” Her gaze, laced with loathing, alternated between my chest, shadow, and the air.

“…I see. Lady Hiyuki, is what Sister Angie says true? She possesses the ‘Heaven’s Eye,’ a rare ability even in our church to unveil hidden truths. I trust her completely. I made it clear that no third person should be present, and to show my good faith, I came alone. However, if Sister Angie’s words hold, I was about to fall into your deception.”

He spoke, and to demonstrate his ‘good faith,’ he removed a sheathed short dagger, seemingly for self-protection, from his sash and handed it to Sister Angie. She then placed it into the temporary custody of the Empire’s guard stationed at the entrance, instructing, ‘Please return it to His Eminence when he leaves.’

This action, likely a mere pretense but displaying a defenseless posture, left me no option but to relent.

“I apologize. I indeed have guards concealed around me.”

Upon my cue, Utsuho, who had been in ‘pet unison’ state with me, materialized from my chest. Following him, Kokuyou emerged from the shadows, and Amari materialized from mid-air.

“……I won’t justify my actions or explain them. If you feel offended, I’m prepared to leave immediately.”

To be honest, I couldn’t stand the sight of him on a psychological level for some reason. Now, I don’t care about whatever he has to say; I was getting the urge to leave.

“Hmph. It appears you haven’t taken me seriously at all. I wouldn’t normally let such disrespect slide, but as a servant of the Azure God, I am merciful. I will overlook it this time. —Sister Angie, are these all the intruders?”

At his urging, Sister Angie once again shifted her frosty gaze towards me through the veil.

“—Yes, there’s no more,” she confirmed.

‘Heaven’s Eye,’ huh. It reminded me of Asmina, the priestess, who seemed to notice the presence of pet unison and Kokuyou. Perhaps it was a similar ability.

“…Are you certain about this, Princess? You will be left defenseless.”

Tengai whispered, his voice laced with concern, but I felt it would be fine.

“Although he has impressively high MP for a human, he’s not a threat. I can handle him since he will be alone as well.”

Despite my reassurance, Tengai still seemed troubled.

“There was some misunderstanding, but now we’ve shown sincerity to each other. Shall we proceed with our discussion? But first — you lot are in the way, so hurry up and leave.”

Grand Pope Werner dismissively waved his hand as if shooing away street dogs, causing everyone to scowl but they reluctantly stepped out.

“I will station this person outside the room. Also, I will return to check in 30 minutes, so I hope for your understanding,” Oliana said cautiously as she closed the door. Tengai resolutely added his agreement, “I will be coming to check in as well.”

“Alright, alright. I got it,” Grand Pope Werner replied from inside, sounding annoyed.

“Thanks. I’ll be relying on you two,” I responded and watched them leave, nodding to the guard stationed at the entrance before closing the door.

“Now, Your Holiness Werner…… Hmm?”

When I turned around, Grand Pope Werner was suddenly missing. Confused, I heard him calling from the bedroom, “Here, I am here.”

Peering into the bedroom, I saw him sitting stark-naked on the king-size bed, wearing only a cross around his neck.

“…What kind of sick joke is this!?”

“It’s preparation for union between a man and a woman. I took a liking to you at first sight. You’re specially prepared for me. Rejoice, there’s no greater honor than receiving my affection. Now, hurry up and undress. We don’t have much time,” he beckoned from the bed.

Haa…now I understand why Oliana hated him to her guts. Only the word ‘idiot’ could describe this guy. He was dumb enough to be ranked first or second among the idiots in my mind.

“…………”

I let out a vacant sigh from the depths of my heart and swiftly approached that idiot to give him the sound beating of his life. However, that idiot suddenly displayed the cross he wore around his neck.

“???”

In movies and novels, you often see crosses working against vampires, but in this world, they’re ineffective against us, including me. They’re just normal crosses.

Seeing my puzzled expression due to his dumb action, Grand Pope remarked triumphantly, “This is the sacred artifact ‘Sealing Cross’ bestowed upon me by our god, the Azure God. Its effect is ‘Immobilizing Vampire,’ and that’s how it is being used— Seal!”

The instant he finished his words, I sensed all his mana being sucked into the ‘Sacred Artifact.’

“Cra—”

The ‘Sacred Artifact’ shone brightly as it absorbed his mana… No, it wasn’t normal light… it directly affected my spirit… my vision… darkening…

Just before my consciousness faded away, I felt like I saw the ‘Sacred Artifact’ crumbling into pieces…

◆◇◆◇

“In that case, Kokuyou and I will wait here. Mikoto, take the imperial guards with you and monitor the surroundings. Utsuho, join Izumo in the air and, just to be safe, deploy the round table members to cover all directions around the city.”

At the entrance of the tower, Tengai swiftly relayed his instructions to his comrades. Oliana nodded in agreement and stepped away from the scene, accompanied by the Sister. Unbeknownst to them, Sister Angie —or rather Achako in disguise— quietly giggled under her veil.

—Uh-uh, what a pity. I’m curious about the expression they’ll have when they find out that their precious Hiyuki has been thoroughly toyed with by that idiot Grand Pope. And that person merely instructed him to protect Hiyuki. Well, everything is at the mercy of that idiotic Grand Pope.

Achako chuckled, thinking about the nonsense she had whispered in the ear of the infatuated Grand Pope.

“She is still a maiden. If Lord Werner becomes her first man, she will surely open her heart to you. Then, that demon nation will fall into your palm. I’m certain Lord Werner will be remembered in sacred teaching as the Supreme Grand Pope, conquering that demon nation in just one night. After all, isn’t this what Azure God implicitly directed Lord Werner to do by granting the ‘Sacred Artifact to seal a vampire’? With your divine power, there’s no doubt you’ll be able to exorcise that girl.”

Her words were far from meticulous, and any logical thinking would have exposed her. Yet, the Grand Pope’s sheer stupidity in taking her words seriously was almost comical.

‘Pfft’, Achako burst into quiet laughter.

—It was truly disturbing to hear him talk about taking her as a wife or partner. How will he react when he discovers that idiot has used her as a mere pleasure toy? I bet he’ll be in despair.

—Poor Hiyuki, suffering so unjustly. But I’ve also endured being used as her substitute by that guy all this time. I’m just venting my hatred, but after this, we can both be seen as victims of misfortune.

Unbeknownst to Princess Oliana, the guard at the entrance was a devout follower of sacred teachings. He had been instructed in advance not to enter the room under any circumstances.

Achako had even flashed him a simple hand sign used by church members to ensure everything was going according to plan, and he had responded with the same sign discreetly.

—I just hope that fool actually goes through with it.

A bitter smile spread across Achako’s face as she contemplated this, realizing she was unconsciously mimicking the gestures of sacred teaching prayer. After all, this entire plan was designed to plunge the very person she was praying to into a pit of despair.