Chapter 49: The Exiled Marquise and the Bishop 5
“It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time. My name is Erica Longdagger.”
Erica performed an elegant curtsy.
After being momentarily captivated by her figure, I also lowered my head.
“I am Shin Longdagger, Bishop-sama.”
Someone please praise me for not letting any emotion show on my face when I called him Bishop-‘sama’.
“I am Bival Vivality, serving as the Bishop. I thank you for readily accepting despite the sudden notice today, and for taking the trouble to come here.”
Despite being the head of the Margrave Diocese, his demeanor was gentle, and I didn’t sense any arrogance at all.
In fact, it felt excessively polite towards mere adventurers. Perhaps that’s because my common sense is that of a noble?
The Bishop invited us to sit on the sofa, personally prepared Tea, and then sat down opposite us.
Incidentally, Shara sat on our side, next to Erica.
Shara, who had tried to help with the Tea preparation but was stopped by a gesture, looked somewhat uncomfortable.
Gentle wrinkles formed on Bishop Bival’s face as he looked at Shara, reminding me of my old man, who is around the same age.
Although, I haven’t seen my old man make such a kind face towards me in a long time.
“Regarding the matter for which I asked you to take the trouble to come today…”
Bishop Bival immediately got to the main point.
Being accustomed to the exchanges between nobles, which involve lengthy greetings, provocations, and probing before getting to the main topic, this directness feels truly appreciated.
“Actually, I was the one who insisted on dispatching Shara to you.”
To briefly summarize the story Bishop Bival began to tell, it goes like this.
Dispatching a Sister or Father to unknown adventurers with few achievements has little precedent, especially when the adventurers are from another country. Shouldn’t we observe the situation first before dispatching anyone?
That was the common opinion held by the majority, but the Bishop decided on his own authority.
Having dispatched Shara so suddenly, almost imposing her on you, I wanted to meet you directly at least once to see if she was causing any trouble.
That was Bishop Bival’s explanation.
Ignoring the finer details, it’s a reasonable story.
From Bishop Bival’s perspective, it must seem like the infamous Erika Solntsalri just fell into his lap.
Of course, he’d push things, even unreasonably, to establish a connection.
Bishop Bival must have known that we weren’t trying to approach the Church.
It was what you’d call a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
But even so, what does he mean by wanting to meet and talk directly?
He didn’t tell us to hand over our weapons or anything, so I know he’s not trying to assassinate us.
He must also know that poisoning someone who can use Physical Enhancement and magic is impossible, so it’s hard to imagine this Tea is poisoned.
So then, what on earth is this Bishop-sama’s objective in summoning us?
“Um… Is Shara causing you any trouble?”
The sincerity on Bishop Bival’s face as he said that made it seem like he truly meant it.
“Not at all, Bishop-sama.”
Erica replied in a calm voice.
“Just the other day, during the Forest Dragon Subjugation, it was Shara-san who delivered the decisive blow, you know.”
“Y-Yes, I heard about it from Shara, but…”
Bishop Bival’s face twitched slightly.
“Um… It’s not that I doubt you, but is it true that you defeated the Forest Dragon? No, I really don’t doubt you. It’s just, how should I put it, rather hard to believe.”
Ah, I see.
So this is Bishop Bival’s objective.
He wants to know our actual strength.
I see, that makes sense. From Bishop Bival’s perspective, he would want to grasp our capabilities.
He probably wants to determine if the hateful enemies of God are beyond their ability to handle.
How utterly unpleasant.
Even though the Church basically told Erika to die, she doesn’t even resent you people.
Realizing I was about to clench my jaw, I gently rubbed my chin.
After that, Erica recounted the details of the Forest Dragon Subjugation to Bishop Bival.
Hearing her describe how I fought was honestly embarrassing, but I refrained from interrupting. If I let my guard down, I might have broken into a grin.
As Bishop Bival listened, his expression showed surprise at times, admiration at others, and pride when Shara’s part was mentioned.
It was a perfectly normal reaction.
From a cynical perspective, he seemed like a good listener, adopting a reasonable attitude to draw information out of the speaker.
“No, it’s simply incredible. Though I may not look it now, I used to go out on Monster Subjugations with adventurers in my younger days. That’s why when Sister Shara told me that the three of you defeated a Forest Dragon, a Designated Subjugation Target no less, I almost suspected she was telling me about a dream.”
It would have been better if he had just thought it was Shara’s dream.
Just as I was thinking that, Bishop Bival stared intently at Shara’s face with serious eyes.
“Sister Shara, it may be unfortunate for you that you had no choice but to change your affiliation to the Monster Subjugation Faction. However, please do not forget how fortunate you were to become acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Longdagger.”
Shara hesitated for a moment before replying, “Yes.”
After seeing this, Bishop Bival straightened his posture and looked directly at us.
Somehow, I have a really bad feeling about this.
“Mr. and Mrs. Longdagger, there is something important I need to discuss with you.”
A really, bad, feeling.