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Kaoru Chapter 23: Showdown! Royal Palace versus Temple

 

 

「Is the Holy angel here!?」 (Bishop)

 

Suddenly, a loud voice was raised at the entrance of the workshop.
Kaoru isn’t a shop attender but just a helper, and she isn’t officially naming herself with such name.
Thus she doesn’t care about the shouting and preparing meals in the kitchen instead.

Acyl also heard that but ignored it.
His father had told him, kept in mind to ignore anything other than contact from the royal palace via Baron Lyotal.
And in the end, the one who has to deal with it is Bard, the workshop owner.

 

「This is…! What is the bishop of the temple doing here? How may I help you.」(Bard)

「Oh, is the Angel here!?」(Bishop)

「An angel?」(Bard)

 

Bard didn’t know the circumstances at all.

 

「 Uhm, it’s the angel of goddess Celestine!」(Bishop)

「Well, no, why is such great people here in our workship?」(Bard)

 

He can’t find anything to reply at all.

Bishop Perrier, a messenger from Archbishop Sornie, finally remembered that the person he wanted was named 「Kaoru」and asked for that name.

 

「Well, if you find Kaoru, she is in the back, Bishop-sama…」(Bard)

 

And when Bishop is about to meet Kaoru and Acyl who are in the back of the workshop.

 

「Acyl, are you here?」(Lyotal)

 

The Baron Lyotal who has ridden a horse-drawn carriage from the royal palace arrived.

 

「Go with Kaoru, come over to Lyotal family house and have a meeting with the king」(Lyotal)

「No, I will welcome her to the Great Temple and meet with the Archbishop」(Perrier)

「Do you say that you will postpone the king’s meeting!?」(Lyotal)

「Who is always talking about letting the church handle religion and the royalty handle politics without clashing with each other!」(Perrier)

「Gununu …」(Lyotal)

「Gunununu…」(Perrier)

 

It was very terrible.

Both of faction should never be close with each other.

 

「Ah… so noisy」(Kaoru)

 

Can’t take it anymore, Kaoru shows herself.

 

「Oh, Kaoru-dono!」(Lyotal)

「Angel-sama!!」(Perrier)

「If you really want, I will meet both the King and the Archbishop at the same time.

You don’t have a problem with that, do you?

Also, I don’t like meeting in a private place that doesn’t have other people. Because I don’t know what kind of trick you prepare for me.

That place must be a public area with plenty of third-party’s eyes and isn’t under the control of any power or faction.

If you can fulfill those conditions, I agree for the meeting」(Kaoru)

 

*** Kingdom of the Balmor Kingdom Gurua, central square ***

 

This place is in the middle of the city if you follow the main road to the right side (joke: in the red corner), it’s the Royal Castle.

In the opposite side (joke: in the blue corner) is the Great Temple, and you can see the statue of the goddess Celestine in front of its front entrance.

The central plaza, which is usually crowded with tourists, walkers, stalls of stores, etc., was now wrapped in silence.
It’s by no means there are fewer people now.
In fact, there’re more citizens gathered like any big events of years.
Among them, there are even aristocrats with escorts.

However, everyone doesn’t make a noise and is quietly waiting.
That was the silence of the late.
There’s a stage with a height of about several meters, which was set up just yesterday to make everyone on the stage visible from the whole plaza.
And on the stage, there are tables and seats aligned to form a triangle.

Yes, for the three most powerful faction in this country.

After a while, dozens of priests appeared from the Great Temple.
And as they approach the stage, only three of them climb on the stage and have the seat.
The rest will wait under the stage.

And after a while, a gorgeous carriage protected by royal knights appeared from the royal castle.
When the carriage arrives in front of the stage, people inside go out and climb the stage.
Just like the temple side, the only three people have the seats on the stage, and the guards wait under the stage.

Three attendants on the side of the temple are: Archbishop Sornier, Bishop Perrier, Shrine maiden Shera.
She is still a shrine maiden, even though she is already 60 years old.

Three major people on the royal side are: King Serge, King’s brother Roland, Prime Minister Cornor (コルノー: Koruno)

Two sides of the triangle are filled, only the last one side.

And that one keeps both the King and Archbishop waiting.

The plaza was tense.

 

「Oh, I’m sorry, I’m coming late!」(Kaoru)

 

Until the tense atmosphere was ruined by that voice of a commoner girl who appeared from among the crowd.

 

 

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Kaoru made the condition of the meeting as follow.

First: have a meeting with both the royalty side and the temple side at the same time.

Second: the meeting place must not be under the influence of any power.

Third: the meeting will hold in front of the eyes of an indefinite number of people.

And the location and method specifically designated by Kaoru was an open questionnaire at the central square.

Both Royal palace side and temple have three attendants, Kaoru side only has one Kaoru.

 

「Okay, we will start a question and answer session right here and now」 (Kaoru)

 

The discussion starts with Kaoru side.

 

「First of all, what do you want to ask of me, I’m just a citizen?」 (Kaoru)

「Nothing. It’s natural to invite you, the angel of Goddess to the Royal Palace …」(P.M)

 

The Prime Minister’s Cornor answered with what he thought.

 

「Well, but I’m not an angel, even if you invite me to the royal palace, I have nothing to tell you or anything to do for you…」(Kaoru)

「Huh…?」 (Cornor)

 

The prime minister, Cornor is dumbfounded.

 

「Ah, but didn’t you have the blessing from the goddess…」(King)

「Well? I don’t have it …」(Kaoru)

「………」(King)

 

The King can’t stay calm on his seat.

 

「But according to the investigation, there are those who were saved by the blessings of the goddess among the citizens of the kingdom …」(Roland)

 

The King’ brother Roland asks.

 

「Ah, that only happens if the person in question is a people with a great heart, and had suffered unreasonable suffering.
As for royalty and aristocracy who serious rule the country and the territory.
It isn’t surprising because it’s a matter of course as a government administrator.
They really have a great heart that willing sacrifice for others.
As for knight and soldier, even if they get injured during.
That is just the result of normal duties as a knight or soldier, not 「unreasonable」
So they still aren’t people that the goddess wishes to give her blessing.
There is no point in seeing royalty and nobility, and I can not enter the king castle in the first place.
Because I was told that I need to let the gatekeeper have his way with my body to get in.
I already swore to the goddess that I would never enter the castle again」(Kaoru)

 

A hoarse spread among the people on Kaoru’s bomb remark.

 

 (You dare demand the angel to offer her body!)  (Citizen)

(What a dishonor! What are the nobility guys thinking!)  (Citizen)

 

Now, the Royalty can’t hide this information anymore because the citizen already heard.

 

「Also about Celes, she doesn’t really care much about the destiny of each human being.
Except for an individual that she is interested in or in the case of the disaster that the majority of humanity will lose their life.
… The goddess doesn’t take care of every individual」(Kaoru)

 

With the words of Kaoru, Roland becomes silent.

Kaoru is talking about the goddess’ will and no-one can say anything about that.

Meanwhile, the temple side is glad to hear Kaoru’s declaration 「will never enter the royal castle again」

 

「Then, for an angel, you should, by all means, enter my temple!
The temple which is the place for goddess’s worshiper. The most suitable place for the visit of the angel!」(Sornie)

 

The archbishop’s desperate solicitation.

 

「No, I have no use in the temple either …」(Kaoru)

 

Archbishop Sornier has a blank face.

Bishop Perrier desperately talks.

 

「No matter how much the differences in the doctrine of sects of other countries are,
Aren’t we also worship the same goddess, Celestine-sama?
Just like the angel, please come with us …」(Perrier)

「Well, but I’m not a Celestine believer」(Kaoru)

「HAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH…」 (Everyone)

 

A loud scream came out from the square with Kaoru’s nuclear bomb remark.

 

「In my country, God’s will live in everything.
Forest blessing, river blessing, sea blessing, …
We have Faith and Respect for every god.
Goddess Celestine, she shoulders the responsibility of many gods.
She is a kind goddess who advises directly in human’s appearance」(Kaoru)

「Then, the relationship between the angel and the goddess Celestine …」(Perrier)

「Oh, she is just a friend of mine」(Kaoru)

 

With the face that just witnesses an unbelievable thing, the archbishop and the bishop froze with the mouth open.

Only the shrine maiden looks somewhat awkward.

 

「Ah, that’s right, everyone.
People called me「the Holy angel」, but I wasn’t Celestine’s angel.
Because we are equal friends」(Kaoru)

 

Most of the People are already dead, both on stage and off stage. (T.N: Not literal dead but like comedy: this is too much, I’m dead)

As a precaution, Kaoru warns against aristocrats and stakeholders who are listening outside the stage.

 

「By the way, even if you force me to do things against my will, Celes will not be able to make that kind of thing come true.
She will get angry and punish you instead.
Not only you, but all the members of the party, including all the related factions, the kingdom, all the territories, all the temples in the whole country, and so on …
Celes is really rough」(Kaoru)

 

Nobles becoming pale as well as the temple officials.

 

「If you come and demand something from me, that wish can never be fulfilled at that point.
Regardless of the reason “The Goddess’ will should be respected and do not question it”
Goddess will honor people with great heart」(Kaoru)

 

On the stage, everyone but the shrine maiden was feeling as if their soul had fallen out of their mouths.

Apparently, there seems to be no question, Kaoru thought she should return soon …, the shrine maiden who had been silent until now began to ask the question.

 

「Well, Celestine-sama, how is she?」(Shera)

 

Well, I wonder if she is really trying to be friends with Celes?

From the age perspective, there’s a possibility that she was a shrine maiden since the last time Celes gave an Oracle.

 

「She was doing her best」(Kaoru)

「 Fufu~, is that so …」(Shera)

 

Well, was she also talking to Celes?

I wonder if I can go home now.

Oh, one last thing that I wonder about.

 

「Ah, (Miko-san) shrine maiden, can I ask you one thing?」(Kaoru)

「Yes, please ask me anything」(Shera)

「Um …That Celes’ statue, why did the breast area become so much more abundant?」(Kaoru)

 

On the stage, the last one also died.

No, she dry laughed and broke down.

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