Chapter 83: Mistaken for a Saint (1) |
Imperial Calendar Year 1049.
Spring, when the winter chill had not yet faded.
A time before the birth of a new Saint and Saintess was announced.
The Empire was not the only one in an uproar over the failure of the Subjugation Season.
Spring was the best time to cull the demonic beasts groggy from hibernation.
For this reason, other nations besides the Empire actively took advantage of this period.
But this year's Subjugation Season was particularly harsh for humanity.
A variant demonic beast that appeared without warning.
That single bird had brought humanity to a new turning point.
At the southwestern tip of the continent, the city-state known as the Holy Kingdom could not escape this atmosphere either.
No, as the headquarters of the Sun Cult Order, it mourned the victims in an even more solemn atmosphere.
“Let us pray today for those who could not return this spring.”
The elderly-looking priest on the altar closed his eyes.
An Archbishop in trailing purple vestments bowed his head.
And below the altar, the people in the plaza also bowed their heads.
From all corners of the plaza, the smoke of mourning rose from incense burners.
The smoke from the incense burners rode the cool dawn breeze and drifted toward the distant corridor.
And in the direction the smoke vanished, a building with twelve spires could be seen.
The Apostle Palace.
The official residence of the Holy King, connected to the Grand Cathedral in the heart of the Holy Kingdom.
This building, where all the secular and religious decisions of the Sun Cult Order were made, had been lit since dawn.
Inside that building.
There was a meeting room where, under flags bearing symbols like a sword or a chalice, 12 people were seated.
And at the seat of honor in the meeting room, under a flag depicting a sword and a torch, a middle-aged man rubbed his brow.
“Cardinals. Did you all finish your dawn prayers well?”
Holy King Ferrett.
At the call of the great elder of the Sun Cult Order, 11 cardinals nodded.
“Yes, Your Holiness. All cardinals are present.”
The Head of the College of Cardinals answered on their behalf.
The Holy King gave a short nod in response.
“Good. Then let us begin, Cardinal Thomas.”
“Yes, Your Holiness. Today's agenda item is about the miracle at the Empire's northern gate.”
The Sun Cult Order has a duty to verify all miracles.
This is to determine whether it is God's grace or the trick of a wicked heretic, so that believers are not led to delusion.
“For this incident, we will refer to the report sent by the diocesan head of the Capital.”
Cardinal Thomas turned over a sheet of parchment.
“First, at the center of this incident was a sorting method called Triage. It is a system devised by Director Schun and completed on the scene by Diocesan Head Raylick.”
“Hmm... To think the death rate dropped to one-tenth just by changing a sorting method. I can hardly believe the report.”
“As a result of cross-verification with the healers of the Capital, there were no falsehoods in the report.”
“I was not doubting it. I was merely surprised.”
The white-haired cardinal nodded.
Following that, other cardinals began to chime in one by one.
“Triage... to sort people by color to improve visibility, and to discuss the urgency of life first, rather than titles of nobility or rank from the secular world. It is a very admirable stance from a faith perspective.”
“And to think he entrusted the finalization to the diocesan head so the standards would suit the majority of clerics, not just himself. Normally, one would want to monopolize such a great discovery.”
“I feel a sense of solemnity whenever I hear of Director Schun's deeds.”
Not long after the meeting began, the cardinals' opinions were already leaning toward 'it is God's grace'.
Director Schun's actions thus far had already led the cardinals to conclude that there was no way he could be a heretic.
He created medicines and saved countless patients,
he made sure the medicines could only be obtained through a healer's prescription to prevent their abuse,
and he even readily gave up the power he could have gained from the vaccine patent.
There was no reason to call such a person a heretic.
“If Director Schun made it, it's not surprising.”
“The report is so full of praise that it makes me a little suspicious. With this system, is there no delay in the treatment of a high-rank hero, delaying their return to the front?”
“On the contrary, the return to the front was faster, and the loss of military strength was far less.”
This was because the goal of Triage is focused on initial treatment, not a complete cure.
“As it happens, that's mentioned in the report as well. Damage... control... surgery? With this surgery, they only used Heal on the red patients enough to keep them from dying, then used the saved divine power to completely cure the injuries of those with higher rank.”
“To use Heal just enough to prevent death and then stop... come to think of it, that would be much more efficient.”
“But to do that, wouldn't you need to know that line very well?”
“That is why it is a finesse that only Director Schun can perform.”
The cardinals were all amazed.
In pharmaceuticals, Director Schun's abilities already had an established reputation.
However, his treatment abilities were not yet well known, so he was still regarded with half-belief, half-doubt.
It was clear that this incident would make such gazes disappear.
“Is there any possibility that the surgery is black magic?”
A corner of the meeting room. A cardinal with a bushy gray beard carefully spoke up.
Cardinal Thomas shook his head with a serious expression.
“The number of healers who directly assisted at his treatment scene exceeds several dozen. Since none of them testified that it was black magic, they say there is no such possibility.”
“But...”
The gray-bearded cardinal's gaze turned to the report.
“He saved a person with a destroyed jaw, saved another with a stake through the abdomen and one whose pelvis was crushed by a demonic beast by cutting out their internal organs, and even saved someone whose head was half-destroyed by nailing it, and you're telling me this isn't black magic?”
“...Probably not.”
To be honest, even Head of the College of Cardinals Thomas was unsure.
What was the principle behind a person surviving after their internal organs were cut out, what was the technique that allowed a person to wake up perfectly fine after their head was opened, and what kind of magic was it that could create a jawbone from ribs?
The highlight was that a patient who had become a lump of charcoal from a lightning strike opened their eyes in two days.
As a living, breathing person, not a ghoul or an undead.
If this wasn't black magic, it was almost more frightening.
“...Probably... yes. It's probably not.”
But the healers testified that they felt no magical power during the process,
and they said they treated directly with their divine power during the surgery.
This could only be seen as an extension of divine magic.
“Then may we consider this miracle to be sufficiently explainable by divine magic?”
“For now, it seems we must see it that way, Cardinal Thomas.”
Bang, bang. The Head of the College of Cardinals struck the desk with a gavel.
At that, the Holy King stamped his seal on the report.
With this, the Cult's official stance that this miracle was not a heretic's trick was confirmed.
After the meeting on a few other agenda items concluded, a short break time was given.
The cardinals, drinking tea during the break time.
The topic of conversation today, accompanying the warm tea, was undoubtedly the first agenda item.
“Good heavens...”
Cardinal Wendras Lister of the Ministry of Healing.
The cardinal with a head as round as the moon covered his mouth with both hands, unable to contain his overwhelming emotion.
“If what was reported in the first agenda item is true, then... does that mean Director Schun has reached the truth of amputation?”
Cardinal Wendras was an absolute adherent of amputation.
Within the healing arts, there is a technique to swiftly cut off an afflicted part and regenerate it with divine magic.
Although there is a minor side effect of a 30% chance of dying from the pain and bleeding,
the history of the healing arts has developed in ways to make the amputation process less painful and more swift.
The cardinal was also a healer who had spent his lifetime refining and polishing that technique.
However, this amputation skill had a limit,
“Then, does that mean he can perform amputation on parts other than the limbs? Even on the head?”
which was that amputation could not be performed on parts other than the limbs.
It was only natural.
After all, no one could survive having their torso amputated.
But Director Schun in the report had done it.
He had cut out internal organs and opened heads, saving patients.
To Cardinal Wendras, Director Schun even felt like a prophet who had seen a glimpse of the truth.
“...Hah. I want to go to him and learn his secret method this instant... This is the first time I've ever regretted being a cardinal, unable to leave the Holy City.”
Cardinal Wendras muttered, looking up at the ceiling.
The cardinals who had been healers also nodded as if in agreement with his muttering.
Another cardinal who was watching pressed his temples as if suffering a headache.
“As it is, the infirmaries throughout the Empire are having a headache over that very matter.”
“Why, what is the matter?”
“I hear that healers who heard stories from other healers who returned from observing Director Schun's healing arts are all leaving their infirmaries.”
“Oh dear... Did they lose their confidence?”
“That is not it.”
The cardinal pressing his temples shook his head.
“The healers who returned after their observation explain what they saw, but they themselves don't know how it was done, so they can't teach it properly. So, the healers who grew frustrated just hearing about it are now applying to Director Schun's clinic to learn the technique in detail.”
Director Schun was certainly not stingy about teaching his techniques.
Unless it was an emergency, he taught the entire technique and its principles as well.
The only problem was that it wasn't a technique one could master just by seeing it once.
In the end, the observing healers had no choice but to return to their home base and simply state what they had seen as fact.
— “Well, on the first day he opened up a stomach, and on the second day he created a new anus for one that was gone, I tell you.”
— “How?”
— “I don't know.”
They kept hearing only the results without knowing the principles.
To the healers, it felt like watching a highlight reel.
In the end, the somehow lacking explanations ignited a fire in the healers' hearts.
“I hear the competition is fierce because, unlike other infirmaries, the Merkur Clinic has no restrictions on which sects can apply.”
“...”
“Cardinal Wendras. The position of cardinal is a lifelong position. Did you not sign? They will not accept your resignation letter even if you submit it.”
“...What a shame.”
In a corner of the meeting room, under a flag with a compass and a book, a bushy-bearded old man pushed up his round eyeglasses and skimmed the report.
His gaze suddenly paused on a certain phrase.
“This miracle is a miracle, but I have a doubt. The report says that the clinics belonging to the Merkur Trading Company have a uniquely low death rate compared to other clinics. Weren't those clinics the ones mainly taking care of the red patients?”
“Yes. We have secured another healer's testimony on that matter as well.”
The Head of the College of Cardinals continued.
“They say the Merkur Trading Company uses a substance called Rax as a catalyst.”
“Rax?”
“The company's clinics periodically sprinkle that substance throughout their buildings. They say that using divine magic after sprinkling Rax results in less consumption of divine power. I suppose it might be a catalyst like holy water.”
“Hmm... Asking Director Schun directly for the raw materials of that substance would be a great discourtesy, wouldn't it?”
“It would.”
Taking the manufacturing method for a catalyst discovered or developed by a wizard or a healer was a great discourtesy.
It was comparable to stealing a grimoire.
“Then it is a shame, but...”
“On that, I have heard something. They say you can freely purchase that substance, Rax, from the trading company.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. Apparently, it's something they've been selling for a long time, but no one ever bought it.”
“Then having the infirmaries start purchasing it seems like a good idea.”
To think he made a catalyst, which is practically a wizard's entire life's work, available for anyone to buy.
The clerics in the meeting room were in awe of the scale of Director Schun's generosity.
Just as the story of Director Schun was in full swing among the cardinals.
Dong, dong—
The bell rang.
“Then we will resume the meeting.”
Following the declaration of the Head of the College of Cardinals, the cardinals covered their cooled teacups with their lids and fell silent.
“This is the final agenda item. The most important one. The one who brought up the item is...”
The Head of the College of Cardinals' gaze lingered on the Holy King for a moment.
The Holy King gave a calm nod.
“Proceed.”
“Understood. This agenda item is a discussion on the canonization of Director Schun and his disciple.”
The meeting room was filled with a murmur.
The Head of the College of Cardinals tapped the desk lightly to quiet the commotion before continuing.
“In particular, it seems necessary to settle the matter of Director Schun's canonization here and now.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a cardinal with fierce eyes raised his hand.
“Speak, Cardinal Stuma.”
“On that matter, haven't we already concluded that he does not meet the conditions for canonization?”
No one present gave Cardinal Stuma an uncomfortable look.
Because that was his role.
He was the cardinal in charge of confirming the tradition and canon law of the doctrine.
Whether he liked it or not, his duty was to raise objections first.
Head of the College of Cardinals Thomas knew this well, so he simply gave a composed nod.
“That is correct. Director Schun does not legally meet the conditions for a Saint in the slightest.”
When the Sun Cult Order canonizes Saints and Saintesses.
There were five strict conditions that had to be met for this.
One. To have never contracted an epidemic disease.
Two. To be innately born with a divine symbol on the body.
Three. To possess divine power at least twenty times the average of a high-rank healer.
Four. To be able to perform a highest-grade God's miracle, few of which are recorded in history.
Five. For divine power to recover on its own, even without offering prayers.
The title of Saint or Saintess is a guarantee issued by the Cult, certifying that person as the most outstanding healer of the era, above even a high-rank healer.
It doesn't matter how many of them exist in one era, but because the Cult's prestige is on the line, they have to be cautious with canonization.
In this case, accomplishments were merely a reference in the canonization process, not a condition.
That is why Director Schun had not been canonized as a Saint until now.
“As you know, Director Schun does not meet a single one of the five conditions. Is that not why we have been bestowing blessings on the medicines he has created until now?”
But they couldn't just ignore his great accomplishments.
The Cult had been circumventing the issue by blessing his medicines instead of Director Schun himself.
But now, at this very moment, the Holy King was proposing to break that long-standing custom.
“Your Holiness. Is there a passage of scripture that I have overlooked?”
Cardinal Stuma's strict gaze was directed at the Holy King.
The Holy King slowly shook his head.
“There is no passage written about this in the scripture.”
“Then why are you making such a proposal all of a sudden?”
“It has become impossible to postpone any longer.”
Holy King Ferrett's weary voice echoed in the meeting room.
“Director Schun performed a miracle of divinity without using any divine power at all. On a scale that would have required dozens of high-rank healers. He even performed resuscitation, which is impossible even for a high-rank healer, so is divine power really that important? Weren't those five conditions just criteria to measure skill?”
The meeting room fell silent.
No one spoke in rebuttal.
There are already 3 Saints and 3 Saintesses in this era.
But none of them could perform a miracle on the level of Director Schun as written in the report.
“...”
Cardinal Stuma let out a low groan.
Cardinal Wendras brought his clasped hands to his forehead and then lowered them.
“I have no dissent with His Holiness's words.”
A cardinal stated calmly.
“I have none either.”
Another cardinal.
The agreements grew one by one.
But the agreement had not yet reached a majority.
While Director Schun was undoubtedly a great figure,
it was difficult to readily change a rule that had been upheld for the past thousand years.
Besides, the moment they made one exception, they would have to face countless controversies in the future.
They had no choice but to be careful in their decision.
But just as the cardinals who had not yet agreed were deliberating, the Holy King spoke.
“Information has come in that the Empire is preparing to bestow a title of nobility upon Director Schun.”
For a moment, the air in the meeting room froze.
“A title of nobility...?”
“That is correct.”
The cardinals' expressions hardened all at once.
Originally, a person with a title of nobility cannot become a priest, and a person who becomes a priest cannot receive a title of nobility.
This was the result of the intersection between the Empire, which upholds the principle of separation of church and state, and the doctrine that the eldest son who serves God must not swear loyalty to the Emperor.
That is why the Empire, as much as possible, did not bestow titles of nobility on those who had proven their abilities with divine magic.
Because they knew the Cult would take them anyway.
But now, the Empire was breaking that unwritten rule.
“Director Schun... a title of nobility?”
The cardinals' minds went blank.
Even if Director Schun became a noble of the Empire, the weight of authority in the healing arts would not shift toward the Empire.
Because Director Schun had always maintained a friendly stance toward the Cult.
But that was not the problem.
The real problem was the fact that the Cult could lose him completely.
In that moment, the cardinals discovered that they had, at some point, come to think of Director Schun as one of the Cult's own people.
“...That must not happen.”
“If such a thing were to happen, we would become a disgraceful College of Cardinals that would go down in the Cult's history.”
“Actually, his canonization was too late to begin with.”
“Tradition exists for the sake of people, after all.”
The cardinals all agreed one after another.
Even Cardinal Stuma, who had fired the opening salvo, was in agreement.
He was even rushing the Holy King with his gaze.
As if to say, 'What are you doing not making a decision quickly?'
In response, the Holy King slowly rose from his seat and said.
“Then... let us decide by unanimous decision, here and now. We shall canonize Doctor Schnabel as the Black Saint.”
Thus, the most exceptional Saint in the history of the Cult, one without divine power, was born.
