TSMMT Ch 144

Interventions

[Adelheit] "What manner of conversation did you hold with him?"

Observing the priests bustling frantically about, Adelheit spoke with a look of utter bewilderment.

A day following their conference, the Pope had requested an outing to tour the Holy City alongside Dianna, using it as an opportunity to converse leisurely.

The reason was obvious: Dianna possessed the exact information he craved. The precise location where the Primal Temple lay buried.

The nobles of the Lodbrog Kingdom seemed thoroughly perplexed by the unexpected outcome.

[Dianna] "I knew precisely what the Pope desired. The location of the Primal Temple."

[Adelheit] "Pardon?!"

The location of the Primal Temple.

She had acquired that knowledge purely by chance. In truth, Dianna couldn't utilize future events like the protagonists of popular regression novels. Confined to an excessively isolated environment in her past life, she had received only refined, heavily filtered information. Yet a few exceptions existed, one of which concerned this very temple.

Unexpectedly, Guiscard had never barred her from reading holy bulletins issued by the Holy City back then. Having read the news, she could hardly remain ignorant of a topic that had dominated headlines for weeks.

The Old Church demanded absolute submission to dogma, whereas the New Church—though rooted in the faith of Kronosotia—favored flexible interpretations.

For instance, the New Church posited that dragons were not necessarily divine messengers, but merely ancient beings endowed with colossal power. They argued that magic was ultimately an extension of faith, and that elves, dwarves, and mermaids were all creations of the same deity.

Such interpretations hovered precariously close to heresy without quite crossing into punishable territory. Yet many found themselves drawn to this inclusive New Church. The Old Church had stagnated into a pool of corruption, while the New Church quietly expanded its influence.

The upright priests who had judged the Dance of Talli during Dianna's youth belonged to the New Church. Unlike those monopolizing power, priests who embraced all beings rather than enforcing austere, rigid dogma gained traction, allowing the New Church to flourish.

Regardless, the Pope—representing the Old Church—had been losing his grip on power, a decline accelerated by Fafnir's rampage. The Poison Dragon had slaughtered humans, targeting priests with particular ferocity.

Why would a divine messenger slaughter priests? Why were temples destroyed?

Cracks formed in a dogma that blindly revered scripture.

The destruction of their faith unfolding before their eyes yielded staggering consequences. The majority began to doubt their deity and traditions, with believers defecting to the New Church one after another.

Then, one day, the shed skin of a bizarre creature came to light. Days of torrential storms had uprooted trees, carving deep trenches into the earth.

Subsequent excavations unearthed the Primal Temple. A sanctuary established by the earliest worshippers, filled exclusively with reverence and praise for the deity. They discovered engraved prayers, scriptures, and a map indicating where holy relics lay buried.

Upon realizing the strange shed skin belonged to a dragon, the populace cried out the deity's name. The dragon and deity walked together. Dragons were divine messengers guiding humanity to the primal lands!

All of this is divine will!

Thus, the Old Church reclaimed its privileged dominance. For years, holy bulletins repeated those claims, and the Holy City buzzed with pilgrims, ensuring Dianna learned the location whether she desired to or not.

Listening to her concise explanation, Adelheit let out a dazed laugh.

[Adelheit] "How on earth did you learn of such a place...? My curiosity is thoroughly piqued."

[Dianna] "I can't say. I simply stumbled upon the knowledge."

She offered a sheepish smile. Adelheit wore a pained, disappointed expression.

[Adelheit] "Possessing many secrets is part of your charm. May I accompany you as well?"

[Dianna] "Of course."

She glanced at Tarascus, who was watching her quietly.

Adelheit was a complex individual, yet in matters like this, he proved thoroughly dependable.

[Taras] "I shall accompany thee as well."

The silent dragon suddenly spoke up.

[Dianna] "Pardon?"

[Taras] "The Primal Temple... does it not sound intriguing?"

The dragon's eyes sparkled.

Pondering for a long moment whether bringing a child along was wise, Dianna eventually offered a nod.

---

Locating the Primal Temple proved simpler than anticipated. As the saying went, the darkest place was beneath the candle. It rested on the outskirts of the Holy City.

For generations, the Holy See had dispatched expedition teams based on historical records, yet every attempt ended in failure, leaving trails cold.

Consequently, no one realized that the forest on the outskirts of the Holy City held the temple, nor that frequent floods had submerged the land before it dried once more.

The Pope permitted only a select few of Dianna's retinue to accompany them. Thus, only Adelheit, Tarascus, and the trailing Vargrhati knights accompanied her.

Surveying the terrain, Dianna consulted the spirits. While partnering with earth spirits would have been ideal, wind spirits sufficed.

Subterranean pockets containing higher concentrations of air indicated buried ruins.

Over here!

Following Sylph's guidance, she pointed toward a specific spot. Attendants began digging fervently. Before long, something emerged.

It was a vast, pure-white object. Bone-dry and massive, its width was larger than a house's roof, stretching out like a riverbed.

[Priest] "It is the shed skin!"

Excavators shouted in excitement. Dianna drew a deep breath, the lingering anxiety in her chest finally settling. They had discovered the dragon's shed skin.

[Pope] "Quickly, move it with utmost care!"

The Pope bellowed orders. Knights and priests dug into the earth with renewed vigor until stone pillars came into view.

[Priest] "W-We found it!"

[Priest] "We must excavate cautiously from here!"

A priest shouted. Excavation was no simple task.

[Dianna] "What do you think?"

When she addressed the Pope, the old man offered a benevolent smile.

[Pope] "My goodness... We have received a colossal glory."

Smiling like that, the Pope was undoubtedly satisfied. Yet a subtle, sinister gleam in his eyes stirred an ill omen within Dianna.

[Pope] "However, Queen, can we be certain this is the Primal Temple?"

[Dianna] "What...?"

He curled the corners of his lips into a smirk.

[Pope] "Is that not so? How can we verify what manner of ruin this is before providing such vast amounts of grain to the Lodbrog Kingdom?"

Dianna wore an appalled expression.

[Pope] "What if we excavate the entire area, only for an unrelated ruin to emerge?"

[Dianna] "Did you not claim it was a divine revelation?"

[Pope] "Even that divine revelation seems suspicious. Between ourselves, is it not far too artificial for divine miracles to descend the moment you arrive? Perhaps some trickery was involved."

Dianna bit her lip.

You wretched bastard, it was three times!

She gnashed her teeth, recalling her past prophecy.

[Pope] "Ink spreads far more easily in clean water. Currently, are you not aligned with those 'barbarians'?"

He smiled smoothly.

Dianna wanted to grind her teeth. Hearing him refer to her people as 'barbarians' with such blatant contempt ignited a flash of murderous intent within her. How could such a man serve as a vessel for a merciful deity? Even the gods seemed to have abandoned this place.

Turning her head, Dianna saw the clenched jaws of the knights and Adelheit. Despite the insult, they remained silent. Observing their faces—a turmoil of helplessness, humiliation, and fury—Dianna bit her lip.

They refrained from speaking out of fear that their intervention might ruin everything, enduring the indignity of being branded barbarians to protect the negotiations.

Upon departing the capital, they had witnessed towns and villages wilting under the lingering famine. The food shortage acted as a creeping dread among the populace, leading them to pin all hope on the Queen's retinue.

[Pope] "Don't feel so aggrieved, Queen. I don't doubt every word you utter. I trust your piety and sincerity."

[Dianna] "..."

[Pope] "What if we proceed like this? I shall provide one-third of the requested grain now, and the remaining two-thirds once everything is fully unearthed."

[Dianna] "Your Holiness, that is..."

[Pope] "Indeed, it will hardly suffice to feed the people of Lodbrog. However, if Your Majesty remains by my side..."

[Dianna] "..."

[Pope] "If Her Majesty—blessed with divine power—remains beside us until the excavation concludes, I shall immediately dispatch an abundant supply of grain to the Lodbrog Kingdom."

He offered a smooth, manipulative coaxing.

Clenching her fists tightly, Dianna stared at him.

Yes, I was naive.

She knew politics was filthy, yet she had never anticipated such brazen deceit.

What if she exposed to the New Church that the Pope was bargaining over the ruin's location? Nothing would change.

The Pope already possessed the location, leaving Dianna to depart empty-handed. Exposed for trading in divine revelations, she would suffer all the public backlash while the Pope lost nothing.

[Dianna] "If I remain here, what becomes of the 'suspicious divine miracle'?"

[Pope] "If you demonstrate sincerity through actions, shouldn't doubts naturally dissolve?"

Despicable bastard.

His scheme was transparent: delay the excavation as long as possible while keeping a 'Saint' beloved by the deity at his side for propaganda.

She searched for an alternative, yet no clever solution emerged. Must she remain in the Holy See, allowing herself to be exploited?

[Ionia] "Did you not claim royalty must serve their nation?"

Standing behind them, Ionia spoke up. Hearing those words, Dianna snapped back to reality.

Yes, she is right. Why was I trying to find another way? If this is the only path, I must take it.

Arrogantly believing she could accomplish everything because she possessed knowledge of the future had been her mistake. She should have anticipated such an outcome.

She ought to have acted with greater sophistication; this failure rested on her own shoulders.

The treatment she would receive in the Holy See wouldn't be terrible. Reflecting on it, ways to ruin this old man still existed.

Just then…..

A deafening roar reverberated through the air, prompting Dianna to cover her ears.

Thump, thump.

Heavy tremors shook the earth as something slammed against the ground. A colossal shadow swept over the land before the sun reappeared.

Dianna shifted her gaze toward the light. A pure-white body sparkled brilliantly under the sun. With a violent flap of magnificent wings, a majestic creature soared high into the sky!

[Priest] "D-Dragon!"

[Priest] "A... A dragon!"

She recognized the creature instantly. Tarascus had assumed his true form and taken to the skies.

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