Chapter 81

"Thank you for noticing. That's exactly right. My magic power has been continuously increasing ever since you named me, Ars."

I see, that’s how it is.

Father Paulo performs namings every year at the church, but there are other churches in other lands, and naturally, other priests there as well.

Then, if he performs namings every year, wouldn’t the rate of increase be relatively constant?

But then, I appeared.

Perhaps the quality of my magic power is also related.

Compared to the thin magic power of ordinary people, mine is more like a thick, condensed liquid.

But that alone can’t explain the sudden increase in Father Paulo’s magic power.

It’s Valkyrie.

The creature I created and named.

The Valkyrie, as a servant beast, has only been named once.

But all the Valkyries born afterward could use magic.

That means,

all the Valkyries might have a parent-child relationship with me.

If that’s the case, it’s likely that through me, the magic power of the Valkyries is also flowing into Father Paulo.

"After you named me a few years ago, my magic power has been increasing non-stop. As a result, my rank has been raised this time."

"Huh? What do you mean by rank?"

"Yes. My rank has been raised. From your reaction, it seems you don’t know what it means to have your rank raised."

"…No, I have no idea. Is it like leveling up and getting a status boost?"

"Hmm. I don’t quite understand what you mean by leveling up, but my rank has indeed been raised. When your rank is raised, it’s immediately noticeable because you gain new magic."

Gaining new magic?

Is it like learning new spells when you level up?

…No, that’s not it.

This is probably more like the magic of [Wall Construction] or [Road Laying].

Magic that consumes more power per use, such as [Land Leveling] or [Shotgun], can’t be used if the person’s magic power is too low.

It’s not just that they can’t use it; they don’t even understand that such spells exist.

If a person with low magic power were to suddenly increase their magic power to a certain level, they might suddenly be able to use it.

It would be as sudden as if it were directly input into their brain.

Perhaps what Father Paulo means by a rank being raised is this.

When magic power reaches a certain level, new magic becomes usable.

If you didn’t know this, it wouldn’t be strange to think it was a gift from God.

"That’s amazing. By the way, what new magic can Father Paulo use now?"

"Healing magic."

"Healing magic, like healing wounds and such?"

"Yes, literally. And because my rank has been raised to this level, I have been promoted from a priest or a deacon to a bishop."

"A bishop? …That’s quite an achievement, isn’t it?"

"Of course. The number of bishops is much fewer compared to priests. Therefore, a bishop’s main job is not to manage a church but to oversee a certain area."

"Wow, a big promotion. Congratulations, Father Paulo."

"Call me Bishop."

"Ah, sorry. Congratulations, Bishop Paulo."

"Thank you. Now, let’s get to the main topic. Ars, would you entrust your future to me?"

"Huh? My future?"

So, everything before was just a prelude.

This conversation is really long, Bishop.

※ ※ ※

"Let’s summarize your current situation. You killed and injured the tax collectors and soldiers who visited Barka Village, incited the farmers, and even attacked neighboring villages, leading the villagers to fight against the Fontana family’s army. You even killed the steward of the Fontana family and captured six knights, occupying this land unjustly. Is that correct?"

"Wait, that’s a biased way of putting it. They were at fault too, not just me."

"There’s more. You also stole the secret ritual of naming from the church without permission and used it to spread aggressive magic."

Hmm.

With the land ownership certificate, I thought I had a just cause for the conflict with the Fontana family.

Even if it was a bit forceful, it could serve as an excuse.

But I can’t think of any excuse for the magic circle issue.

I’m weak when it comes to that point.

"Alrs, do you have any plan to resolve this situation, Ars?"

"No, to be honest, I’m struggling to figure out how to resolve it. I haven’t even considered the church’s perspective."

"Let me suggest a solution for you."

"Really!?"

"It’s simple. The biggest problem for you now is the conflict with the church. So, think about how to avoid that conflict."

Hmm?

If there’s a way to avoid conflict with the church, that would be helpful, but the problem with the Fontana family would still remain.

However, it wouldn’t be wrong to resolve the church issue first before dealing with the Fontana family.

In fact, the church might be more concerned about avoiding conflict.

"Hmm, a way to avoid conflict with the church…"

The current problem is that I used the magic circle to name people and made them capable of using magic.

As a solution, I don’t know if it’s possible, but perhaps removing the Barka surname from the named people and making them unable to use magic.

But it’s known that I made the villagers capable of using magic…

"Ah, are you suggesting I join the church?"

"Too bad. Those who belong to the church and are found to use aggressive magic are excommunicated. It means that the magic path is connected to someone outside the church."

"Seriously, even becoming a monk isn’t allowed…"

"There’s an even simpler solution."

"A simpler solution? I can’t think of it."

"Let me suggest it. I will report to the church that it was I, not you, who gave the Barka surname to the villagers."

What does that mean?

Is he trying to protect me?

But I don’t understand why Bishop Paulo would go out of his way to protect me.

Is he expecting something in return?

As I looked at Bishop Paulo, I felt a chill down my spine.

Thank you for reading.

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