Chapter 7.1
“What? The new Saint candidate is a child of the Eshua family? Really?”
“Unbelievable! I’m a fan! They’re one of the top families!”
The Central Temple of the Holy Empire Hella in the Middle East.
The monastery was unusually lively compared to its usual calmness.
The priests, who were supposed to maintain composure, couldn’t contain their excitement like young children.
Of course, the situation wasn’t incomprehensible.
It was a presence sent by the gods. After the existence of a Saint who appeared hundreds of years ago, now it was a Saint again.
Even though it was only a brief visit to this rural monastery, it was natural for such a place to become bustling.
Therefore, the Bishop didn’t scold the priests who were oddly excited, even making mistakes.
But there was one thing that he simply couldn’t accept.
Diding!
“Oh my, that’s the symbol of the imperial family…!”
“Your Majesty!”
Wait, why the hell is that damned Emperor here?
The Bishop raised his eyebrows unknowingly as he watched the man entering the temple. The Emperor was holding a boy of about five years old.
The Bishop politely lowered his head, as if he had never worn a rotten expression.
“To witness the Sun of the Empire, it is a great honor for us priests.”
The Emperor looked at the old man with surprise.
Well, that’s understandable. The imperial family and the Papacy were not on good terms at all.
“I never expected to see a person from the Papacy here of all places. It’s quite surprising to see you not in the capital.”
“Well, it’s the work for a revered Saint. I, on the contrary, was surprised. Why is such a noble person here?”
“It’s not that strange. This temple was created by me. And…”
The Emperor smiled with a hint of coldness, as if warning the Bishop.
“Since it’s the matter of a Saint, it’s better for me to come in person. If I were to entrust it to the Papacy, there’s a risk of the precious treasure of the Empire being mishandled. We can’t afford to lose another candidate or have any mishaps.”
“!”
Upon hearing the expected words, the Bishop furrowed his brows inwardly.
‘I’ve heard that he has a great interest in the Saint.’
Anyway, it was a futile effort.
The Bishop inwardly sneered.
In fact, he had come here under the orders of the Cardinal.
-’Isaac Eshua’. They say a Saint candidate has appeared from the Eshua family.
-What? From the Ehsua family? Then it must be a big problem. It would be a major obstacle for this family’s child to become a Saint.
-I have already taken care of it. By the time you arrive, the child should be close to death. You just need to confirm the body.
So in essence, he had come here to hold a funeral.
‘By now, that Eshua’s suckling must have consumed poison.’
Neither the imperial knights nor the Emperor had any idea.
The fact that they themselves were directly putting poison into the mouth of their precious suckling!
Not to mention that one of the imperial knights was the one who had administered the poison.
‘So Cardinal intentionally chose this place.’
All the knights of the Holy Empire were paladins connected to the Papacy. It wasn’t difficult for the Cardinal to recruit one of the imperial knights.
Of course, he didn’t expect that the Emperor of the Empire would personally make a journey just to see a suckling. But the Cardinal surely suspected that.
Otherwise, this place wouldn’t have been chosen as the place for poisoning.
This was a temple owned by the Emperor himself. If an incident occurred here, everything would be turned upside down for the imperial family.
He didn’t even bother to check the child’s face.
After all, the child was nothing more than an obstruction to the designated Saint chosen by the Pope.
‘They said they were feeding him when I arrived, so the poison should be spreading slowly…’
“Agh! Young master!”
Just then, the sharp scream from inside made the Bishop smile inwardly.
Finally, the time had come.
The expression on the Emperor’s face changed at the rare screams of the priests.
“What’s happening?”
The Bishop turned his direction.
“It seems to be over there.”
The Emperor’s footsteps quickened as he took the lead.
The Bishop followed, pretending not to know anything, and smiled.
And finally, when he entered the room where the baby was, the Bishop was extremely satisfied. The priests were gathered around the child in an unnatural manner, as if all the clergy in the temple had flocked there. It was unusual to see such a crowd unless someone was shedding blood and collapsing. As evidence, they all fell into contemplation and screamed…
“Ahh! Our lovely Saint!”
“…”
Ahh! Our lovely Saint?
“Why is it so adorable to see you spill your juices in this world!”
“…?”
…Juices, what? What’s adorable about it???
The priests who were gathered together were screaming. But their expressions were not those of seeing a corpse or a funeral notice. Perplexed, the Bishop pushed through the crowd and entered the place where the child was.
And what the Bishop witnessed made him doubt his own eyes.
“Look, the baby has emptied five bottles of this tasteless juice!”
“Even though it’s the food of a spiritual leader, even the high-ranking priests don’t eat things like this anymore…!”
There was a baby sitting there, stacking up bottles and drinking from them.
With a face of sheer ecstasy.
And beside the baby, the Bishop noticed a bewildered paladin of unknown origin.
The Bishop looked at the baby as if he was looking at a monster.
What is this?
Why is it still alive?
* * *
‘Oh, crazy. This is crazy, really.’
The eyes of the Skeleton King, who continued to drink the poisoned juice, were smiling.
Good.
Very good.
If I keep doing this, I can quickly achieve promotion.
His magical power had increased steadily as a result.
Well, the only thing that’s a bit regrettable is that the maximum amount he could consume at once was fifteen bottles?
The surroundings were already astonishing enough to make one faint, but the Skeleton King smacked his lips.
Well, that’s to be expected. After all, isn’t it the taste of food that hasn’t been felt for hundreds of years.
‘I thought I would chew on rocks if I could.’
Although it was a baby bottle and a bit small even for an adult, he was aware that it could cause stomach upset.
It was not an ordinary stomach size.
‘Perhaps this is also thanks to the ⸢Survival⸥ Wish.’
Fortunately, he obtained the blessing, but in reality, when he was a skeleton, he could hardly utilize the power of the blessing.
The power of ‘survival’ for those who have already died in the first place.
In a way, it was a contradiction, an ability with an impediment.
It was a miracle that he was able to use his power.
But this body is different.
This living body can undoubtedly use the ⸢Survival⸥ Wish 100%, or perhaps even more than that.
One example of that is the act of eating.
The expanded stomach and the ability to absorb magic through food.
Surely all of this happened because the blessing manifested its original power. Not to mention that even this might be just a fraction of its full power.
‘It was impressive even when I couldn’t use it all. Now that I can use the original power, the scale is immeasurable.’
Looking at all this, damn gods, were they intentionally avoiding making him human? To prevent him from using his power?
Of course, amidst all this, the priests’ reactions were unexpected.
“Ohh! The baby looks so adorable! When you grow up later, you will make many young ladies cry!”
“Does the baby resemble the Duke or the Duchess?”
“…”
In the priests’ typical flattery, the Skeleton King wiggled his eyebrows and sucked on the baby bottle.