Chapter 292: A Crazy Bastard and an even Crazier Bastard (1)

The person who organized the situation was the Pope Casillia.

"Third Inquisitor, release your grip at once."

The Third Inquisitor looked at the Pope's hand resting on hers.

And she was startled.

The back of the Pope's hand had transformed into scales in some places. A Dragon Half-Blood losing the ability to maintain their human form. When the Third Inquisitor's eyes widened in understanding what that meant.

"Everyone calm down, wouldn’t it be better if we talked?"

The Third Inquisitor trembled again at the sight of the Pope's gaze.

'Hmm?'

Contrary to her appearance of kindness, she now seemed serene and indifferent.

It seemed like the true nature of the Pope.

"And this knight is indeed that person’s knight. He is not the Guardian Knight of the Dragon Lord."

"Of course not. My sword will not be offered to a mere Dragon Lord."

The Pope tightly closed her eyes at Clopeh's calm response as he smiled.

The Third Inquisitor realized it was necessary to calm down and talk, seeing the Pope's gaze as if looking at an impossible-to-handle lunatic. Finally, she released the strength in her hands.

"Pope, we need a place to talk."

At that moment, a red-haired man stepped forward. He was the master of the knight standing before them.

"We will prepare it."

The Pope replied with a weary sigh.

"There’s much to do. First, it seems we will need to replace the door."

As the Pope looked at the destroyed main door, the Third Inquisitor coughed while bowing.

"I apologize for the urgency. I will cover the costs."

Hmm.

Cale watched the scene with interest in his eyes.

The Pope and the Inquisitors.

He had heard they were enemies.

However, the atmosphere between the Third Inquisitor and the Pope's subordinates was not that bad.

The Third Inquisitor had burst in, breaking the main door, creating a mess, but the Bishops were angry at the situation, not out of hate or resentment towards her.

The Pope set out to organize the situation.

"Third Bishop, continue with the task the Commander assigned you."

The Third Bishop Horns would contact Raon. Then Raon and Choi Han would come here.

"First Bishop, please guide the Third Inquisitor and the Commander."

The First Bishop, who was always by the Pope's side, slightly bowed his head towards Cale.

The Pope looked at Cale and spoke.

"It seems that after organizing this, I will have to go see Exion. He will soon make a proposal to me."

"Have a good trip."

At Cale's calm response, the Pope smiled slightly and turned her back.

The Third Inquisitor had never seen the Pope converse so comfortably with a human. With an increasingly confused mind, she thought.

'Didn’t the Pope used to refer to Exion-nim with respect in front of the Inquisitors?'

But now she simply called him Exion. Furthermore, she referred to that man with respect.

'What is this?'

Who exactly was that red-haired man?

Full of doubts, the Third Inquisitor looked at Cale and stopped.

'Hmm.'

The red-haired man was watching her intently. As if he were the Dragon Lord evaluating if someone was useful or not.

When she felt that inexplicable tension from a human, the First Bishop stepped forward.

"Let me guide you."

***

The reception room in the annex was quite old and filled with the beauty of time.

Cale touched the armrest of a well-maintained chair, which, though old, showed the charm of the years, and began to speak.

"That sword sheath."

The Third Inquisitor stopped.

In the room were only Cale, Clopeh, her, and the First Bishop.

Clopeh was pouring tea into Cale's cup.

The Third Inquisitor, who was staring fixedly, tightened her lips upon seeing Cale pointing at the sword sheath.

And Cale smiled as he spoke.

"The Guardian Knight's sword. Is that a sheath for that sword?"

Damn it.

The Third Inquisitor held the sword sheath. She was still trembling.

'How could I be so distracted?'

She bit her lip, just as she thought it was too late to ignore it.

"The Dragon Lord must be desperately searching for the Guardian Knight's Sword."

To be precise, he was looking for the three treasures that the Dragon who sees the future, Maxillienne, stole.

'If he had that sheath, it would be easier to find the sword.'

Cale smiled broadly.

"It seems you've been hiding that sheath, Third Inquisitor."

Cale's tone was very relaxed.

"Why did you do it? I'm very curious."

A rather cheerful laugh came from his mouth.

"Shouldn't the sheath be in the Dragon Lord's hands?"

The Third Inquisitor squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push away the confusion.
"...Human. No, who are you?"
The white-haired knight stood unmoving. Her mind raced, but first, she needed answers. Who was this red-haired man standing before her?

Although she knew he wouldn’t reveal the whole truth, she had to ask.

Only then could she redirect the questions aimed at her.

'He will surely try to hide his identity. Then, I will use that to take control of the conversation.'

The Third Inquisitor decided to straighten her posture. At that moment, her opponent's voice reached her ears.

"My name is Cale Henituse. I came to resolve the matter of the Purple Blood Family. By the way, the Dragon Lord will be my final enemy. And it was us who faced the Dragon Ryan."

Huh?

What did I just hear?

The Third Inquisitor felt her mind wobble again. Meanwhile, Cale continued speaking calmly.

"By the way, this wooden sword the Dragon Lord is looking for, the Guardian Knight's Sword, has changed owners and now belongs to Sir Clopeh Sekka. It will not be used for the Dragon Lord."

Cale took a sip of tea.

Sweet. It wasn’t lemon tea. Indeed, Ron’s absence is felt at times like this.

Clopeh still has a long way to go to become like Ron.

That’s good in a way, haha.

"Also, I came here to deal with the Dragon Exion before the Dragon Lord arrives. And also, to find the World Tree and cut the link connecting it to the Source of the World."

The First Bishop was shocked.

"Commander! How can you say all that-"

"Don't worry, there’s no problem."

Cale remained calm.

"The Source of the World asked me to do it. There’s less than a month, no, now less than three weeks left. I have to prolong the life of this world. Haha-"

"..."

Cale smiled slightly and continued, while the Third Inquisitor's face grew paler.

"Ah, and although I'm collaborating with the Temple. The Pope doesn’t want to save this world, but to destroy it. But hunting the Dragons of the Purple Blood Family is something they also desire, that’s why we’re cooperating temporarily."

"Hmm."

The First Bishop tightly closed his eyes while letting out a sigh.

Clopeh filled the teacup in front of him.

"..."

The Third Inquisitor was so stunned that her mind had gone blank.

"What am I hearing now?"

Forgetting control of the conversation, the avalanche of information was about to make her head spin. But the words that followed sent a shiver down her spine.

"Inquisitor Erza? I heard your clan is famous for weapon crafting, is that right?"

Cale's smile brightened. If Raon had seen it, he would've called it a deceiving smile, but unfortunately, Raon hadn't arrived yet. The only ones present were Cale and Clopeh.

'This is concerning!'

Suddenly, he remembered what Raon had said before coming here, but he brushed it off. Surely, it would be a concern about Clopeh.

"So, I heard your clan was the one who created the Knight Guardian's Wooden Sword. And that the last clan head died."

Erza clenched her fists tightly.

"It's said to have been your great-uncle."

Damn it.

Erza shut her eyes tightly. The Pope. She had come around here to investigate her, but by being surprised at the reaction of the sword sheath, she had lost control and blurted it out. She should have kept her calm.

"And I heard that the leader of the previous generation and the Grand Elder now work as a gardener managing the World Tree. How interesting, isn't it?"

Cale's tone was friendly.

"I heard that as an Inquisitor, you always carry out any order given to you, thus earning yourself a great reputation. But now I see you carrying that sheath. Does the Dragon Lord know?"

Haha.

Cale chuckled softly again.

"It seems he doesn't, right?"

"..."

Erza couldn't say anything and kept her eyes shut.

Cale watched her silently.

Before coming here, Cale had gathered more information about the Inquisitors. It wasn't the information provided by King Dennis of Har Kingdom, but by Pope Casillia, so the quality and quantity of information were significantly superior, and Cale could learn quite a bit from it.

Among that information, the one related to Inquisitor Erza was of special importance.

'The World Tree, the wooden sword. They were related to these two things.'

Erza. The Third Inquisitor and subordinate of the Three-Star Dragon, Exion. She was known to carry out any order she received, and as an Elf, she was known as the "Elf Butcher." A terrifying title for someone who, despite her noble race, would kill anyone if ordered, and she would walk around drenched in blood.

"Did you say your name was Cale Henituse?"

Erza opened her eyes.

Cale's smile intensified.

Her voice was solemn, very solemn.

"You say your goal is to defeat the Dragon Lord?"

"Exactly."

Cale cheerfully replied and asked.

"What's your goal?"

Erza tightly closed her lips. But Cale didn't need to hear her response.

"I think I can guess, even if you don't say it."

No way. He had heard that Erza's clan would have been exterminated if the Grand Elder hadn't yielded his power and surrendered. Even now, the clan only avoided extinction thanks to Erza being an Inquisitor. So, where would her resentment be directed?

'It's admirable she hasn't been found out until now.'

Well, the sword sheath only reacted to the wooden sword, so others would've probably just seen it as a peculiar sword sheath.

'No.'

Cale's eyes momentarily darkened.

'Exion.'

That guy was quite cunning. He had heard that Exion had taken in Erza. He had also kept the Grand Elder alive as a gardener. A guy like him wouldn't have noticed Erza's sword sheath?

'I can't know for sure.'

Exion.

He would have to see his face or talk to him to get a clear idea. Cale didn't judge anything hastily. Still, he felt calm. Therefore, he continued speaking, even without Erza's response.

"Anyway, I was debating whether to secretly infiltrate to see the World Tree or destroy everything in my path. Meeting Erza here means I'm lucky."

Cale looked at Erza, who was hesitating, and asked her.

"I want to meet the Grand Elder. Could you arrange it?"

"..."

Erza tightly pressed her lips and avoided Cale's gaze, lowering her head. The First Bishop, who had been watching closely, signaled to Cale and muttered quietly.

'Escape.'

Cale's smile widened. The First Bishop was worried Erza might try to escape. Cale paid no attention to this.

"Erza."

The reason Cale had spoken so calmly was simple. Clopeh Sekka was there, and the whole building was on his side. So even if the Elf tried to escape, she would be caught. And anyway—

'Could she escape?'

Cale spoke.

"Are you going to run away?"

At that moment. Erza, who had been sneakily looking at the window in the room, trembled in fear.

'Exion—'

Did Exion suddenly appear?

Was it Dragon Fear?

That was her first impression. Because her mind was going blank.

'No!'

It wasn't that madman's power. It was a thicker, more primal sense of terror that crushed her. She couldn't lift her head.

'Could it be—?'

A soft voice reached her ears.

"Do you think you can escape?"

The red-haired man. Cale Henituse's gentle laughter made the atmosphere stir. Inquisitor Erza had to abandon the idea of escaping.

***

Crown Prince Alberu Crossman raised his head and looked into space. A dense forest. A translucent window floated there. It was a state he had already gotten used to while playing this virtual reality game. Alberu's expression wrinkled slightly.

***

[Impious Emperor]

(Note: From now on, I'll use the name Impious, because it's the most common meaning for the novel's context and refers to someone who has no respect for God or Religion. It can also be used to describe something that is sacrilegious or blasphemous.)

===================

Race: Dark Elf

Title: The Sun God's Headache

Main Mission 1

[Become the first Dark Elf Emperor!]

In progress……….

====================

He had been looking at this information. Then something new appeared.

====================

New Main Mission 2

[Become the hero who prevents the Birth of the ?? God!]

[Do you accept the new Main Mission?]

[Yes / No]

[If you accept, the secondary mission 'Find the Hero's companions' will begin]

=====================

Alberu Crossman murmured to himself.

"...A hero?"

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]