Chapter 47: The Central Church

Now then.
The scale of the tournament had grown considerably.

Knight orders from five high-ranking noble houses, beginning with the Ryuswell house, had agreed to participate.
In addition, the Royal Palace Knights and scattered knights maintained by viscount and baron houses had also declared their participation.

The venue for the tournament was being newly constructed at a location slightly removed from the capital, beyond the city gates.
Since this could not be a formal audience match, it could not be built within the capital under the royal family’s direct oversight.
There were land considerations as well.

The place where the knights would fight was prepared by leveling sand and soil so that no one would trip.
Spectator seating was arranged in a semicircle surrounding the arena.
The seats were tiered so that more people could watch.

A fully circular enclosure might have been better as a facility, since it would block wind and such.
But doing that would have doubled the construction costs and schedule, so we passed on it.

Securing the location and the participants was more than sufficient.
Even simply having them fight fair matches and deciding a victor would earn plenty of prestige.
But it still felt like we needed one more push.

“Should we prepare some kind of reward?”
“Let’s see… I think it would be better to ask the knights themselves what they want.
What they’d like if they won.”
“That makes sense.”

So we went around asking the knights directly.
What would you want if you won?
A sort of survey.

We also contacted the knight orders that had declared participation.
From the information we gathered, we narrowed down realistic rewards and made a list.

“One year’s worth of alcohol.”
“Where would you even store that?”
“Straightforward prize money.”
“Well, that’s the obvious one.”
“Vouchers for a brothel.”
“This is supposed to be a tournament of honor, right?”
“An upper knight peerage.”
“That fits the goal, but some participants are already upper knights, and we don’t even have the authority to grant peerages…”

We tossed ideas back and forth within the management team.
In the end, we settled on prize money and the presentation of new weapons.

There is enchantment magic that can be applied to weapons, separate from healing magic.
The idea was to prepare something like a “magic sword.”
However, enchantment specialists do not accept jobs lightly.
It also seems that such work is not easily done.
Even using the Ryuswell house’s connections, it would not be simple.

“I have one lead.”

When we consulted Lady Katalina about this, that was her response.
As expected of a ducal house, I thought—until she continued.

“With you here, Electra, it might work.”
“Eh?
Me?”

A question mark floated up in my mind, but I followed Lady Katalina’s lead.
I accompanied her, and the place we visited was the Central Church of the capital.

Even after coming here, I had been allowed to exercise my skills as a healer at churches.
But this was my first time at the Central Church.
It was larger than the others, with an imposing, solemn atmosphere.

The person Lady Katalina had summoned was… the Archbishop.
Um.

The head of the church is the Pope, and beneath him are the cardinals.
Below them are the archbishops.
Since the Pope resides in another country, the Archbishop is effectively the head of the church in the Lanse Kingdom.

What kind of person was Lady Katalina calling out?
And why was I being made to attend this meeting?
As someone still affiliated with the church, I was about to meet an unbelievable figure.

“So, Archbishop Rowena, we’re planning to…”

Lady Katalina and the Archbishop discussed the plan for the knights’ tournament.

“And so, we were thinking we’d like a ‘holy sword.’”

W-wait—

“A holy sword, you say?”

A holy sword was a name only.
There was no such legendary blade.
If one existed, it certainly wouldn’t be something you could casually ask for.
It would be under royal or church control.

What Lady Katalina meant was a sword enhanced by enchantment magic.
We had called it a “magic sword,” but if it carried official church blessing, it could be called a “holy sword.”
Or perhaps the church had its own enchantment specialists.

We had already offered cooperation to the church.
We wanted to mobilize more healers for the event.
But to think it would escalate this far… and why did I need to be here?

“This is Electra Vent, recently gaining attention in the Grandra March as the ‘Goddess of the Battlefield.’”

That introduction!
It sounded like sacrilege, claiming divinity without permission.
Well, it had always been like that in a way.
Among the common people, it was just a nickname.
But declaring it here, in the Central Church, before the Archbishop, was on a different level entirely.

“Ah, you are the Muse… yes, I have heard of you.”
“T-that is… yes.
I am deeply honored, Archbishop…”

He knew about me!
That was incredibly embarrassing.
He was smiling gently.
He didn’t look angry.
W-was this being tolerated?

“As a church, we think it is good that common folk feel closer to us.
You are not misusing the name, are you?”
“N-not at all…”

The elderly Archbishop smiled kindly.

“I had heard rumors and was curious for some time.”
“Y-yes.”
“That you emit a golden light and can cast powerful healing magic on those at a distance.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“And that this golden light also has the power to strengthen knights.”
“Yes…”
“Then would it not be reasonable to simply call you a ‘saintess’?”

The Archbishop tilted his head.
Please don’t say something like that so casually!

“There already is a saintess, you see.
She became the Baroness Carlson.”
“Yes, I have heard of that as well.
Though she did achieve merit on the battlefield, there were no signs of special power.”
“So it seems.
But if the title was granted in recognition of achievements, then even without special power, she should be acknowledged.”
“That is certainly true.”

Before the wall of the Grandra territory was completed, conditions must have been far worse than when I knew it.
So I had no intention of denying the evaluation of those who were active there.

“Lady Electra, are you unable to apply enchantments to weapons?”
“Yes.
I can only apply blessings to people.”
“I see.
If you could do that as well, it would truly add ‘prestige.’”

That was too convenient to hope for.

“…The rumors of the saintess have also reached the church.”
“Oh my.”
“Yes.
We have no intention of intervening as a church.
To begin with, her rumors seemed to carry some… implication.”

Implication…?

“If we prepare a holy sword under the banner of ‘church blessing,’ and have the ‘saintess’—no, the ‘goddess’—present it to the champion, it would be quite a memorable sight.”
“Yes, wouldn’t it?
I think it would make for a wonderful highlight.”

So this was the plan.
Lady Katalina fully intended to make me do it.
Since it would be under the church’s name, it wasn’t a bad deal for them either.
From an outside perspective, it might even increase donations.
But would that justify the cost of preparing a holy sword…?

“Should the holy sword be something actually usable, or merely a symbol of honor, focused on ornamentation and not meant for battle?”

The Archbishop was clearly enthusiastic.
He showed no sign of refusing.
Despite dealing with the Archbishop, the atmosphere felt like a business negotiation with a major merchant.

These were exchanges among people far above my station.
All I could do was let myself be swept along by the moment.