Rhome.
It was a place Yuria had visited a couple of times in the past due to a transaction, but nevertheless, the city still aroused awe in her heart just by its existence. Yuria felt exhilarated as usual as she kept her eyes on the majesty of this place that she felt every time she saw it.
More than just Yuria, Robert, sitting next to her, couldn’t take his eyes off the magnificent scenery of the surrounding buildings and the city.
‘Here it is… the famous Rhome. How can such a great place exist?’
This place boasted an overwhelming majesty that was incomparable to Budipet, the capital of Hangury.
Buildings that were old but boasted an enormous scale, and the delicate decorations covering the outside and the statues that seemed to come to life at any moment. As he gazed at the scenery of this place, which had been renowned as the heart of the continent for the past 2000 years, Robert felt his heart pounding.
‘I didn’t even know that a place like this existed. I lived my life in such ignorance…’
While he was lost in the intense feeling of the city, the image of the place Yuria had been talking about began to appear in Robert’s eyes.
“Ah! So this is it!”
“That’s right. That is the Central Church, our place of business.”A majestic building exuded royal majesty among the admirable buildings. At the fact that he was going to visit that place now, Robert began to tremble slightly, feeling intense tension and excitement.
And just as Robert’s feelings reached their climax, the carriage finally stopped.
Right after that, Robert, who got off the carriage in a bit of a hurry, was unable to perceive the existence of Yuria standing next to him for that moment.
‘Amazing.. really.. I can’t think of anything other than that..’
Knights armed with white armor stood at the entrance. A wide square spread out behind it. And beyond that, the colossal size of the papal hall.
Robert couldn’t hold back his admiration as he saw the place that was worthy of being named the heart of Rhome, the center of the continent.
“Isn’t it nice? I’ve been here a few times too. All I can think about is that it’s always amazing. This is the essence of human culture, I guess.”
“I agree.. really..”
At that moment, when the two were lost in the scene in front of them, it was Isolda’s voice from behind that awakened them.
“Come on, hurry up. We have already contacted them in advance, so we will start transporting it right away.”
“All right.”
At her words, workers and merchants started to move busily. The majority began to lay down their wagons full of weapons, while some approached the knights encamped near the entrance to confirm their permission to enter.
Right after that…
“Verification complete, passage permitted.”
The person believed to be the leader of the knights in front of them spoke while raising his voice. The knights showed a moderate movement and gave way to the center of the camp.
“Come on, let’s go. Permission has been granted, so let’s go inside.”
“Ah yes!”
Hearing Yuria’s words, Robert hurriedly began to move, feeling as if he was getting even hotter.
***
“Hmm.. For now, is this as planned?”
“I guess so, considering they’re carrying their things into the Central Church.”
Mergon and Nemea watched the situation from afar.
In order to meet the schedule planned by their leader, Echid, they had to arrive at their destination as smoothly as possible. Unlike the past, as they did not have enough funds, the more errors occurred, the more the burden increased. In that respect, it was fortunate for them that they arrived here without any problems, which could be said to be the middle point of the schedule.
“Now, then.. Since we’ve passed about half of this safely, shall we guess the time to poke at least once?”
“That would be nice too. Be careful, Mergon, as I roughly figured out on the way here, there are quite a few mana users among them.”
“I got it. In order to meet the schedule anyway, I’m only going to make contact lightly once, so don’t worry about that.”
While calculating the future, Mergon’s gaze turned to those who were walking around the wagon holding weapons. Among them, only one person stood out to her. Looking at the dark-haired woman with a huge greatsword on her back, Mergon nodded quietly.
‘That woman would be enough. She seems to be particularly strong among them…’
***
Inside the nave of the Holy Church, Yuria and Robert were walking around excitedly on one side, while on the other side, other merchants were finishing the bookkeeping.
Regarding the escort, as this was inside the Holy Church, they were able to put their minds at ease for a while, and the important tasks in terms of work were roughly finished.
Taking advantage of the free time created by the tide, Ophelia and Isolda were taking a break and looking around the inside of the main hall. It was more splendid and magnificent than the colossal exterior and was filled with statues of successive popes, paintings, and statues expressing gods.
However, among them, only one thing caught their attention. It was a huge statue made of marble placed in the innermost part of the nave. Quite different from the other sculptures here, but at the same time creating an overwhelming atmosphere…it embodied three women facing each other holding weapons.
“What is this? The one holding the spear in the center seems to be the Great Saint, but the other two are…”
A woman wearing a necklace of crosses around her neck and being escorted by angels in armor stood in a position facing the front in a nun’s uniform, holding a spear in one hand.
Ophelia knew she was the great saint, depicted in many statues and paintings as a symbol of the church.
However, the two other people appeared to be confronting her– a stone statues of women, one holding a huge scythe in one hand and the other holding a long staff.
Regarding this, Isolda slightly hardened her expression and opened her mouth.
“The one holding the scythe is probably Dorothy Ingvlid. That woman is called the Mage of Beginnings.”
“Ah.. that person is..”
As the familiar name popped up, a light of understanding began to enter Ophelia’s mind.
Dorothy Ingvlid, who established the concept of mana and magic 500 years ago, was called the Mage of the Beginning and was still respected by many mages as a teacher.
The reason why such a person is portrayed as confronting the great saint is perhaps that now the relationship is harmonious, but in the past, the church oppressed the mages, and because of this, the mages located in the north of the continent and the southern church forces often clashed.
Looking at the last statue with the most beautiful face objectively among the three, Isolda showed a bit of caution.
“Dorothy is a symbol of mages, so even the stone statue of that woman was made with this composition. It may mean that the Central Church is alert to the current situation to some extent.”
“Is that so. Then who is that?”
In response, Ophelia asked a question, and Isolda looked at the statue with sharp eyes and said,
“In a robe… a thin crown on her head, a bizarre-looking sword worn around her waist, and a cane held in one hand. That must be her. Right now, even at this moment, Hangury… no, the very woman who is threatening the entire central continent including the Holy Empire.”
“Eh…no way..”
The moment she heard that, a person’s name automatically came to Ophelia’s mind, and immediately after that, that beautiful woman’s stone statue began to appear to her with a completely different feeling.
“Yes…the mother of the White Dragon Princess whom you fought the other day, and the strongest existing witch. Mina Roseveta Dragona..”
“That person…is the Rose Empress!”
At those words, Ophelia began to tremble slightly as she recalled the woman she had seen at Benessa in the past wearing a robe. The memory of that time made her break into a cold sweat just by remembering this moment.
Recalling the presence of that overwhelming power she had no idea how to face, Ophelia swallowed dryly.
‘At that time, the situation was unfavorable, so she just let it go… but if I met that woman on the battlefield then…’
To be honest, Ophelia almost faced defeat in Hangury, but she thought that she might be able to somehow catch up with the White Dragon Princess. However, Ophelia’s evaluation of the Rose Empress was very clear, even though she had only felt her power rather than formally engaging her.
An unbearable existence.
A monster that should never be encountered as an enemy. However, the current state of affairs was that Mr. Bahamut was heading towards a confrontation with the Dragona Empire and, furthermore, the Rose Empress, and that had been a great concern to Ophelia. If she did face this person, she might have to face the consequences that she didn’t even want to think about.
‘But… there’s no way Master doesn’t know what I know. What the hell is he thinking…’
So, with concern for the future, Ophelia once again looked at the image of the woman in front of her. Even though it was just a simple stone statue, it contained dignity and power that could make her feel a sense of dread.
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