I’m Going to Destroy this Country

The place Isaac headed was none other than the Papacy. Shuri couldn’t help but be bewildered.

“What’s this? Why are we coming here instead of the Imperial Palace??”

“Why? I came to take it back.”

“What?! Are you kidding?”

So that’s why we came back to the Papacy!

“I’ll take it back and show it to Shablis.”

At Isaac’s words, Shuri was dumbfounded.

Taking back something already submitted once? And the Skeleton King’s body at that?

“Do you think that’s possible? You know how the Skeleton King’s body is treated! It’ll be guarded more strictly than anything else?”

However, Isaac just chuckled.

“If it’s not possible, I’ll make it possible.”

…What, man?

While Shuri felt not just ominousness but fear at that laugh, Leia just giggled, saying Isaac was cute.

“If Isaac says that, he’ll definitely bring it back.”

No, Sister?! It’s a problem even if he brings it back?!

‘That bastard won’t do anything normal.’

With that worry, Shuri followed Isaac. As soon as Isaac entered the Papacy, people recognized him from everywhere.

“Huh? Lord Isaac!”

Not only did they recognize him, but they even stood up abruptly from their seats and greeted him.

“Lord Isaac, you’ve come!”

“How come you’ve come to the Papacy again!”

The Papacy priests not only welcomed Isaac greatly, but treated him almost like a state guest.

“To think you brought the Skeleton King’s body! It’s a great honor!”

“Yes.”

Shuri looked at the Papacy priests as if he found it creepy. Those bright smiles, heads bowing automatically, polite hand positions…

Are these really the same arrogant Papacy priests?

Papacy priests, especially those working at the Papacy headquarters, were officials managing all clergy. Maybe because of that, they had a somewhat arrogant side.

‘Well, if it’s the Papacy headquarters, it’s understandable to be haughty.’

Even successors of the Five Great Families weren’t spared.

They only treat Cardinals, who are right below the Pope, respectfully, so that says it all.

But look at how they’re treating Isaac…

“Lord Isaac!”

They even call him ‘Lord’. Usually, they would just call him Priest Isaac.

But the haughty Papacy priests were welcoming him happily with sparkling eyes.

“I still can’t believe it!”

“Yes! To think there’s someone who brought that among the unresolved missions!”

“We respect you! As expected of the Blue!”

“We knew it from when you took all those new recruits!”

“By any chance, are you not accepting new recruits this time? There’s someone I really want to send!”

“Me too!”

It seemed that Isaac bringing the Skeleton King’s body was quite a shocking event.

‘Well, anything related to the Skeleton King is a top-grade mission.’

Just possessing that body raises a country’s status. He had offered such a thing to the Papacy.

“And that’s not all!”

“To think you caught the Black Angel!”

“Not only did you defeat that Black Angel, but you even captured him!”

The ‘Black Angel’ was practically an enemy of the Holy Empire. They were chasing him especially carefully because he had destroyed several countries and was trying to destroy the Holy Empire too.

But.

“Even though he was an S-class wanted criminal and a genius at escaping, no faith could catch him!”

“Yes! Even the Red Faith, the geniuses of tracking, gave up!”

The Papacy priests looked at Isaac as if admiring him.

“Blue is a genius not only with demons but in pursuit too!”

At that reaction, Isaac coughed, ahem.

‘Well, there was another reason why the Black Angel didn’t run away.’

Isaac recalled when he brought in the Black Angel. To him, who had fainted by Shabnak and woken up in the Empire, Isaac said this:

-Listen carefully. There’s a reason I caught you.

-I thought it was strange, so you had a deep meaning! Then…!

-In that sense, enter the Papacy’s prison.

-What? Prison? Not terrorism? What meaning is there in that…?

-The Holy Empire will fall by you being captured.

-…Pardon??

-I can’t tell you in detail, but anyway, it’s an important move to destroy the Empire.

-Just by being captured?

-Yes. So stay quietly in prison. Don’t think about escaping, just wait quietly and I’ll come to rescue you.

-Yes! I’ll wait for Master!

That’s how the Black Angel quietly entered the Papacy prison.

Isaac coughed, ahem. Well, he felt a bit sorry remembering those sparkling eyes, but what can he do? Who told him to be fooled?

‘I got the bounty and achieved merit, so it’s fine.’

He had accumulated two high-level merits at once. It’s not strange at all for the Papacy priests to treat Isaac as a VIP.

‘As the Papacy’s reputation rises, other countries will flock to it.’

Not only did he raise the Papacy’s status, but what reason is there not to entertain a priest who can raise it even more in the future?

“Anyway, thank you so much for donating that Skeleton King’s body to the Papacy.”

“We’re sorry for misunderstanding the Blue all this time. Everyone is saying how amazing you are.”

“It was quite something because of the Black Angel, saying the Imperial Family was incompetent.”

“The Imperial Family?”

Isaac asked back as if it was an interesting topic.

Then the Papacy priests disparaged the Imperial Family, or more precisely, the Crown Prince, as if they had been waiting for this.

“Isn’t the Holy Empire’s barrier collapsing anyway? Intruders are increasing through those gaps.”

“Well, this is all because of the Imperial Family who can’t summon the Sacred Dragons.”

“His Highness Shablis too. He received the promise of the Crown Prince position in return for taking on that role, right?”

“But he can’t actually summon the Sacred Dragons, so the Empire’s barrier is in this state.”

“What’s the reason he can’t summon them?”

“They say they don’t know the reason.”

“Well, I understand. Would those noble Sacred Dragons want to come to a cursed black-haired Crown Prince?”

“Pft. At this point, doesn’t he lack the qualifications for Crown Prince? In fact, His Holiness the Pope ‘allowed’ the Crown Prince position because of that role.”

The Pope ‘allowed’ it.

Isaac’s eyes frowned as if it bothered him. Who is he to allow or disallow the Crown Prince position when he’s not even the Emperor?

But the Papacy priests smiled at Isaac as if telling him not to worry.

“Don’t mind it. It’s not for nothing that the 3rd Prince is a candidate for the throne.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, His Holiness the Pope has already set his eyes on him. Actually, we prefer the 3rd Prince who is pro-Papacy too.”

No, I don’t like it. You bastards. If the 3rd Prince ascends to the throne, won’t the Pope’s family continue in the Pope position?

Are you crazy?

But well, that’s not what’s important right now. Isaac probed as if confirming the main point.

“Ahem. So what about my promotion?”

The priests who had been coldly disparaging the Crown Prince immediately changed to have sparkling eyes as if they had never done so.

“Yes! It’s in progress right now! The certificate has already been issued, and we plan to officially deliver it the day after tomorrow. You received the contact, right? The day after tomorrow, along with a banquet recognizing Lord Isaac’s achievements…”

Isaac spoke as if that was exactly what he wanted.

“Ahem. I’ll pass on the banquet, can I receive that certificate now?”

“What?”

“Do we need to make such a fuss over something so trivial? I don’t want to waste money, and it feels a bit…”

At those words, the Papacy priests seemed very moved.

“Ohhh…! As expected of the Blue!!”

Isaac continued.

“It seems better for the Papacy to use the money that would go into that banquet for the Empire’s people, or to help the unfortunate.”

The Papacy priests were on the verge of tears.

“My goodness! Other nobles insist on having an official award ceremony, making it big and splendid, even for much smaller achievements!”

“To achieve such merit and yet! How frugal, humble, and great!”

“As expected of the Blue!”

The Papacy priests looked at Isaac as if they couldn’t believe it, and at the same time, very moved.

“We’ll let everyone know about this!”

“It will be an example for the new recruits!”

At that sight, Leia chuckled and Shuri, with his arms crossed, looked at Isaac as if dumbfounded.

‘That… scammer.’

As they waited in the waiting room for a while like that, a Papacy priest came running with an item. It was a scroll wrapped in high-quality golden velvet and string.

“The certificate is here. With this, you’re officially a 2nd-class, intermediate priest!”

Isaac immediately unrolled the scroll and checked the contents. Along with Isaac’s name, there was the Papacy’s official seal approving him as a 2nd-class priest.

“With just this, I have the qualification to take the 1st-class, that is, high-ranking priest exam, right?”

1st-class priests held ultra-high positions including archbishops and cardinals.

As it was a position for the elite among the elite, practically the country’s leadership, the exam was famously extremely difficult.

Usually, most don’t reach 1st-class and spend their whole lives as 2nd-class bishops. It’s truly the highest position for the chosen ones. At the same time, it was essential to inherit the family and Pope positions.

“You know well. That’s right. Especially for Lord Isaac, because your achievement this time was so outstanding, you’ll be given special benefits in the exam! It’s already been conveyed to the exam management department too.”

Isaac chuckled.

“Hmm. Good.”

Isaac put the certificate into his chest as if afraid it might be taken away.

‘Phew. Then shall we begin.’

Isaac grinned.

Along with that smile, an explosion occurred in the Pope’s tower.

Bang!!!

“Uwaak!”

“Huh! What’s happening!”

The Papacy, with grounds as large as the Imperial Palace, became chaotic.

“Emergency! Emergency!”

“An explosion occurred in the storage vault where offerings are kept!”

“What?”

The priests urgently mobilized paladins and rushed towards the storage tower. There was no need to ask what happened.

“It seems something’s wrong in the storage where the Skeleton King’s body was kept!”

“What did you say?”

“Is it going berserk? Or an intruder?”

The Skeleton King’s body was a precious item of the highest security level even in the storage.

The priests’ faces couldn’t help but turn pale.

“Either way, it’s an offering that Lord Isaac brought us! We must protect it at all costs!”

“Hurry!”

Shuri, who had heard Isaac’s plan in advance, couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

‘So he started.’

Of course, he didn’t hear the details.

All Isaac said was ‘I’m going to make the Skeleton King’s body explode.’

‘He said he put an explosion divine technique just in case, how meticulous.’

He said he put it there as a Blue member to stop anyone targeting the Skeleton King’s body. Of course, that was Isaac’s blatant lie.

As proof, Isaac chuckled, watching the busy priests.

‘It’s not just a simple explosion.’

No, in fact, there was no explosion at all. The one who caused the commotion was none other than ‘Whisper’.

Isaac had connected the body and magical power to suck out mana even from a distance.

The magical powers are connected? That meant Whisper, being magical power, could move there anytime.

‘It’s nothing for Whisper to cause a riot.’

Sure enough.

As soon as Whisper emitted magical power and caused a riot, the storage went into chaos.

The priests will probably rush to check if the item is okay in a panic. Then naturally, the storage door will open.

Isaac just needs to aim for that.

But there was another real reason why he sent Whisper. He wasn’t waiting for the door to open in the first place.

Because that’s not enough to retrieve the body.

‘It will probably come.’

If it’s really looking for the Skeleton King, it will come the moment it feels the ‘real’ Skeleton King’s magical power.

‘Yes, that Sacred Dragon bastard.’

Along with Isaac’s cunning gaze, a loud sound resounded.

Bang!

“There’s an intruder!”

“Gender still unknown! They’re clearly after the Skeleton King’s body!”

“It’s a person with platinum blonde hair!”

At the news coming from the upper levels, Isaac couldn’t hide his laugher.

‘You’ve come! You brat!’

Isaac raised the corners of his mouth as if everything was going according to plan.

A Sacred Dragon is coming?

‘I’ll get my body back, smash the Papacy, and can give a gift to Shablis too.’

If I do well here, not only the remaining Skeleton King’s body, but my merit for protecting the Papacy is a bonus!

‘Puhihihi! Perfect!’

Isaac headed to the upper levels as if purely surprised.

“Oh my! An intrudeeer!”

“Ah, Lord Isaac. Are you helping?!”

“Of course! The Skeleton King’s body is in danger! We must protect it!”

Shuri just stared at Isaac as if he found it ridiculous.

That… where’s your conscience?