CH 67

The first “contamination” outbreak in the kingdom came shortly after Heinrich was crowned the crown prince.

It was a truly unfortunate period for a coincidence. Rumors have spread that God may have hated the Crown Prince for this very reason.

Then the tiny, foolish rumors soon spread like wildfire. When the royal family realized the seriousness of the situation, it was already too late.

“Depose the prince who God has abandoned!!”

The protests of the people shouting in front of the royal palace struck the Prince heavily in the chest. He was angry at their stupidity but at the same time pitying them for how gullible they were.

He could not give up his crown prince position as things stood. The Prince sent Akkard to the north with bold determination, afraid there would be nothing there.

“To be honest, I’m still not sure, Lord Akkard.”

“What do you mean?”

Akkard asked quietly. Then Heinrich, whose heart weakened, hesitated and quietly spoke,

“…….Is it right to suspect the temple and it’s waging the holy war against the pollution as the mastermind?”

After hearing this, Akkard narrowed his eyes. He had seemed so confident “I’m sure,” he said to Akkard to convince him to go to the North, and now he doubted himself.

“Don’t worry, if there’s no evidence, I’ll make it and take it with me,”

Akkard responded with a straight face.

Despite his confident reply, Heinrich’s face remained doubtful. Something was bothering him.

“But as Lord Akkard knows, ‘pollution” can be purified by divine power. So I’m sending priests from the High Temple in the north to help the south.”

“Yes. So what did you mean by that?”

“Actually, this time, the High Temple…..decided to send the Saint.”

Heinrich had a look on his face that he didn’t know what to do. The south is now literally a living hell because of ‘contamination’. But now the High Temple was sending him the precious Saint.

He had never thought they would send her his way.

At this point, Heinrich was confused, doubting himself and his decision to send his people to the North. Akkard smiled cynically at the sight of his troubled face.

“Hmm.”

In short, it was his guilty conscience to doubt the game instead of working hard. It was a feeling that any average person would have. But Akkard’s view, far from the sensibility of ordinary people, was much different.

“If anyone heard you, they would think the High Temple is doing this for free. It’s true they’re helping the south, but won’t they want too much in return?”

“…… You’re right.”

Heinrich accepted helplessly. There was no such thing as goodwill without a price in the world.

Contamination could only be purified by divine power, so the standing of the High Temple had grown exponentially, and the royal family was forced to comply with the demands of the temple for the sake of the south.

What a nerve-wracking vicious cycle it was. Heinrich, who sighed deeply, leaned against the back of his chair.

“So Lord Akkard, you must find out if pollution is just a natural disaster or, as I suspect, the High Temple is really welding ‘pollution.'”

I’m begging you, please.

Heinrich concluded with a dark face. He was still a young man, but the burdens on his shoulders were too heavy.

Akkard answered with a short sigh.

“Don’t worry. I will surely fulfill my duties.”

“…….Thank you, Lord Akkard.”

Heinrich, who was holding his head, smiled with a fond face. During the brief silence, there was a strong bond flowed between the men.

“So, what’s the situation like up there in the north? Huh?”

Heinrich asked brightly as if to change the heavy atmosphere.

Akkard briefly replied to this,

“This place is completely free from pollution probably because it’s where High Temple is located. Which moron would spray poison in their front yard?”

“As I expected, how about Lessid Ferria, the informant there? Was he as cooperative as promised?”

Akkard frowned at the question. Although Lessid was a priest of the High Temple, his real affiliation was the Crown prince’s informant.

As a matter of fact, Lessid was doing a good job. Instead, under the guise of ‘I’ll keep an eye on the Akkard Valerian’ he was helpful to Akkard from behind.

.

But the problem was something completely different from work-related concerns.

“I’m telling you in advance, but don’t think of touching Miss Damia. As soon as this is all over, I’m going to take off my uniform and confess to her immediately.”