The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 695: When things go to well and you wonder if you get scammed instead

Chapter 695: When things go to well and you wonder if you get scammed instead

The pope was not an ordinary-looking guy, and I didn’t say this because of his bling bling clothing. He was definitely old--perhaps as old as the Templar’s leader--but rather than someone who spent their time praying and preaching, the old man looked like he used to be a Holy Knight. You know...the tall and imposing type.

This was equivalent to a military general becoming the president--which wasn’t illegal per se, but sometimes made us wonder if he did it democratically or with guns blazing.

"Is that one strong?" I asked Ignis.

[Not sure; the clothes are obscuring his mana and covering his body, so I can’t see his muscle mass]

Hmm...it was always annoying if we couldn’t see the Boss’s health bar.

Anyway, the Pope came forward and, despite the bear-like appearance, acted like a caring grandpa to Jin. [Welcome, welcome! I have been waiting for you, Warrior of Light. I was meant to invite you from a long time ago, but alas! It was so hard to find you]

Meaning: why do you keep running around and messing up my VVIP’s questionable business, you punk? Do you know how much the donations have been lost because of it?!

[Is it okay for you to be out like this, Your Eminence?] I couldn’t see Jin, but his voice was filled with concern. He was getting good at this acting thing. [I heard your health is not...]

The pope stiffened for a bit and gave a mean side eye to the Bishop before replying with a laugh. [Oh, I was just exhausted these days. I guess the others are worrying too much about me]

I couldn’t see the others’ faces because they were bowing so deeply, but I was pretty sure the flame figures trembled a little bit. No one also said anything while the Pope was talking, so it looked like our Boss here got an iron grip on everyone.

Definitely from the military--I mean, Holy Knight Order.

Anyway, the ’friendly’ Pope led Jin inside. I was pretty sure that if it was the teenage Jin who had just arrived in this world, he would be all in awe that such an important person showed him so much attention.

That was how the King managed to manipulate him after all. If he stayed in Lenaar without knowing anything, I was sure the church would move him to another kingdom--maybe continuing their invasion of the druid kingdom.

Or perhaps, they would pull him to the church and use him as the church’s ’face’ so the aristocrats and conglomerates who had started to doubt them could be convinced again.

Who knows the extent of what these people could do to an innocent young man?

Fortunately, Jin had tasted the betrayal and would no longer easily believe in such a gesture.

He did, however, act good enough to look convinced and impressed while the Pope was talking about this and that--mainly about the church and what they had done. There was some bullshit about how they had been trying to contact him without any result because he kept going around the world. Naturally, he openly praised Jin while at it.

[I am glad when I heard you are finally visiting our Empire] the Pope laughed. [When I heard it from the border guard this morning, I couldn’t wait to invite you here, so pardon me if it seems very sudden]

[Not at all, Your Eminence. It’s a great honor] Jin replied well. Zarfa must have been grilling him with acting classes during the nine days of journey. Or perhaps since before the last auction.

But damn...if it was me, I would have lost my patience and punched this old man’s face--or at least rolled my eyes in exasperation.

Like...was he dumb? Was the church people dumb? When you announced a grand auction with a rumor of a relic being auctioned right after the rumor about the Hero looking for a relic got circulated, it was so clear what you were trying to do.

And what did this old man yapping about Jin being all around the place? He stayed for months in Dailamy around, be it before the civil war or after. And it wasn’t like he hid himself during that time--unlike when he just left Lenaar.

[Are you here for the grand auction by any chance?]

Wow...you figure it out? Ugh...

Of course, Jin replied in a good-natured voice that was his natural trait. [Yes, Your Eminance] and for a show of ’good’ faith, he added [I heard a rumor about that what I’m looking for may be available in this auction]

[Ah] the Pope slowed the pace of their steps. [Was it a relic?]

Oh, were we finally got to the main point? Shwa was already sleeping from boredom, and Jade was drowsing beside me.

[Yes, Your Eminence] Jin replied. [I’m not sure if it’s the relic that I’m looking for, but I have to try and check it out first to be sure]

[Can you tell me what kind of relic it is? I coincidentally have the list of stuff that will be auctioned]

Look at this old man, pretending to the end. Should I take it as them believing that Jin and others were just a group of dumb youngsters who could not see through the church’s lie? Or did we act too well before?

Ugh--it kind of made me uneasy when the enemy seemed too dumb for their size. What if they had put a second, third, fourth layer of deception to make us think that we were successfully fooling them only to pull an uno-reverse card later? Or what if--

[Oh, it’s something that is shaped like a bead--about this big?--it might look like a pearl, but bigger] Jin replied to the Pope while I was in mental gymnastics, sounding like his old naive self. [I didn’t know what it was until I saw another one in an auction and acquired it]

[Oh?]

[They seemed to be attracted to each other, so I think I’ll be able to know what they are after collecting everything]

[I see...] The Pope nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment. [So you don’t know what the relic is?]

[No, Your Eminance] Jin replied without even a flinch. Oh, he could even lie--our Hero had grown up! [I only have two, and other than sticking to each other, nothing happened]

[Hmm...] again, the Pope nodded repeatedly like those small figures people put on a car. [Why are you looking for this relic if you don’t know what they are for?]

[Ah] Jin stopped and Ignis looked forward instead of at the Pope. They were in what I presumed to be the inner sanctum’s Grand Hall, with an indoor fountain and a tall statue of the Goddess as the centerpiece. It was perfect for what Jin said next. [Because I can feel the blessing of the Goddess inside the relic]

Whether it was with sincerity or for the sake of his charade, Jin stepped toward the fountain and stopped in front of it. Ignis turned its head so I could see how the Hero clasped his hands and bowed while closing his eyes. The Salamander peeked at the other priests to see their reaction, and I could see a plethora of relieved expressions and silent sneers.

Oh, these people. The Pope didn’t make any expression, which was actually even more suspicious. The friendly old man’s face had turned into a stone. An ice. There was nothing there as if he was a doll.

Psychopathic-code much?

[It doesn’t seem like they caught into your plan] Ignis told me.

"Well, they would think that Jin wouldn’t carelessly show his back without any defense while he’s alone if he had any plan to screw the church," I shrugged.

[True...]

Okay, let’s stop overthink. Not everyone would be as scheming as your husband. Which was still not contacting you.

Hmph.

Anyway, it was good so far, but we still hadn’t heard what we wanted to hear. Jin finished his prayer and turned around--and oh, how fast those people changed their expression. Everyone suddenly looked solemn as if they had just done praying too.

[I will show you our praying hall later] The Pope patted Jin’s shoulder, back at looking like a friendly grandpa. [I am glad to see young people still revere the Goddes]

[I am here because of Her, so I am grateful] Jin said softly, even though I knew he wanted nothing more than to go home to his family on Earth. [I wonder if it’s possible to visit the Praying Hall before the auction--]

[We’ll see, we’ll see] the Pope cut Jin with a laugh, still patting his back. [Why don’t you come to my office first? There’s something we need to talk about]

Oh?

[Yes?]

[I told you I have the auctioned goods list, didn’t I?] The Pope curled his cold, pale blue eyes. [That relic you’re searching for, I think I saw something similar]

Jin gasped and turned toward the Pope, probably looking all surprised and excited. [Really, Your Eminence? May I see it? I mean--would you mind showing it to me? I beg of you, I--]

Well, well...he played the innocent, naive youngster part well.

[Now, now...of course, I will show it to you. But we can’t do that here, can we?] the Pope even responded as if Jin was a child. [Let’s go to my office to talk, and I’ll have someone fetch the relic from the auction so you can see it, hmm?]

Oh, dang. They pretended not to have it until the very end, huh?

But at least, finally, we’ll be able to see if the relic’s existence was true. Hopefully.

Hopefully.