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Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World – the Apostle of the Gods Who Know No Self-Restraint (Web Novel) - Volume 7 Chapter 12: The Hostile Factions
Volume 7 Chapter 12: The Hostile Factions
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As they were preparing food, someone from a different group slowly walked up to Cain and the others.
He was wearing a white robe, so one could tell at a glance he was affiliated with the church. The young man in his mid-twenties called out to Cain and the other with a smile.
“As far as I can see from the flags on the carriage, you’re from Esfort, so is Bishop Harnam in there? I would like to greet him, if that would be all right.”
“Yes, Bishop Harnam is resting in his tent, shall I go tell him? Also, if you could tell me your name…”
“Oh, how rude of me. I’m called Oliver, and I’m a priest.”
“Priest Oliver-sama, I will go get confirmation from the bishop, so please wait a little.”
Cain was the only one from among the adventurers who ever spoke with the bishop, so he was the one who headed to the tent where Bishop Harnam was resting.
He spoke to the temple knight on duty at the tent’s entrance, and told to wait a little, Cain did so by the entrance.
He was soon given permission and entered the tent, where there was a bed for the bishop to rest on, as well as a table for meetings.
As if they were right in the middle of a meeting, two of the temple knights and Bishop Harnam were looking down at a map discussing something.
“If it isn’t Cain-dono. What happened?”
“A Priest Oliver is here to see you, he says he wants to greet you…”
“Priest Oliver eh… All right.”
Bishop Harnam seemed to think for a bit, then nodded, smiling.
“Then, I will go tell him.”
Cain left the tent, went to get Priest Oliver, and the two of them entered the tent together.
While he had popped out, the temple knights had also exited the tent.
Bishop Harnam gestured for Priest Oliver to take a seat, and as Cain was about to leave the tent, he stopped him and had him sit down next to him.
Priest Oliver’s expression distorted a tiny bit at Cain also being present. However, his normal expression soon returned, and he started with a standard greeting.
“It has been a long time, Bishop Harnam. I am happy to see you in good health.”
“It has been a long time indeed, Priest Oliver, you seem to be alive and well too.”
“…I would like to speak in private if possible, so if you could clear the tent…”
Priest Oliver turned slightly towards Cain. However, Bishop Harnam shook his head.
“Sorry, but I can’t do that. On the way here, we were attacked by a large number of bandits. We managed to somehow repel them though… I was told by my bodyguards to never be alone no matter what.”
“!? That’s… I’m glad you’re safe. I also passed along the mountain road today, but luckily I didn’t meet any bandits. They must’ve appeared after I’d already gone through…”
“The same road… That’s a relief. My bodyguards are quite excellent, so we managed to survive, but there were so many of them we wouldn’t have been able to hold out normally.”
“Is that so. That really wouldn’t do. I came here because I wanted to talk about the pope elections, but…”
“I don’t intend on speaking about that with anyone. Not until the day of the election itself.”
“That’s what I thought. I am terribly sorry for asking. I am grateful for you taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to me. May you reach the main temple safely.”
Priest Oliver said goodbye in a slightly rude voice, then stood up and left the tent.
Once he was gone, Bishop Harnam sighed from exhaustion.
“Cain-dono, I’m sorry you had to witness that.”
“No no, this much is fine.”
“They probed me about the election in the church in the city too. It’ll probably be the same no matter where we go. Could I grumble a little more to you.”
“If you’re fine with me…”
Bishop Harnam began explaining about the current four cardinals. Priest Oliver, who had been there until just a while earlier, belonged to Chief Cardinal Bangla’s faction, who were the most powerful in terms of spirit. However, they seemed to be moving behind the scenes doing various things that were out of line.
In terms of faction numbers, Bishop Harnam’s older brother, Cardinal Denter had the least, but from the point of view of the younger brother, he was a virtuous man.
However, it would be difficult for them to overcome the power of numbers and win the election.
Bishop Harnam’s complaining continued for half an hour, but once he had finished, he had a slightly cleared expression.
“Sorry. I ranted about all sorts of things…”
“No no, you seem more refreshed than earlier, it’s fine. I’ll be returning to the other guards then.”
“Got it. I’m counting on you for the next few days.”
Replying to that, Cain bowed to Bishop Harnam and left the tent. However, Cain didn’t head back over to where Claude and the others had gathered, but erasing any and all signs of himself, he disappeared.
◇◇◇
“That old man. So he managed to get through safely.”
Inside a different tent, Priest Oliver poured alcohol into a wine glass and downed it all in one go.
A temple knight refilled it.
“There were quite a large number of them, so I thought it would be impossible to get through there… I even stationed knights with some ability there.”
“That’s right. There should have been a hundred or so of them hiding there. I can’t believe they let them slip away… Incompetent men really are useless. We need to make sure Bangla-sama becoming the new pope is rock-solid.”
“Even so, the faction Bishop Harnam probably belongs to, that of Cardinal Denter, is the smallest of them all, is it not?”
“I know that they’re the smallest faction. However, most of the swing votes will most likely go to Cardinal Denter. He’s popular with the priests who don’t belong to any faction.”
“Is that so…?”
“Have someone ride ahead to the main temple. If they hurry, we might be able to use the dark division before the bishop arrives at the main temple. We won’t be able to touch him once he arrives.”
“Understood. I’ll write a letter and have someone go ahead with it.”
The temple knight who had been present bowed to Priest Oliver, then left the tent.
“I’ll crush the opposing candidates here. And once the Bishop’s position is empty, I should be recommended as Bishop.”
Priest Oliver drank up the rest of his alcohol.
