NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97.2
The priests gathered at the Papacy training grounds were sweating profusely.
In front of the apprentice priests were blue rocks the size of a child, placed there. A special type of rock from the Eshua lands that could only be broken by holy power.
Of course, it doesn’t break just by force alone.
It requires a perfect balance of mind and strength to break, making it quite challenging…
But for Isaac, not only one, but one, two, three… ten… oh, damn. There’s no end in sight.
‘How far does this stretch?’
‘…Why is the difficulty so much higher just for him?’
‘Isn’t it usually the opposite…?’
They couldn’t help but be disgruntled.
Sure enough, Isaac glared at the Blue knight examiner and pointed at the rocks.
“Hey, you. The number here seems a bit off. Clear them away.”
“Th-that’s the thing. Young master…”
The senior Blue knight stuttered in front of the direct descendant.
Right, right. No matter how you look at it, it’s strange.
It’s strange, but…
“It’s not strange at all. That’s your assigned amount.”
“!”
The one who spoke was the head of the Blue House, turning the pages of the scoring sheet next to the examiner. All the apprentices felt their eyes pop out.
‘Why is the Cardinal here?!’
Isaac got angry too.
“Your Excellency! This seems to be a mistake! Please explain the reason!”
“There is no reason.”
What, seriously?!
But that wasn’t all.
The preparation wasn’t just for rock breaking.
“Demons always tempt priests. Those who fight closest to demons must overcome temptation anytime, anywhere. In that sense, the Blue task is a greed test.”
At the head of the Blue family’s gesture, the Blue knights moved in perfect unison. And what they handed out to the apprentices one by one were huge jewel cases.
“The jewels inside become yours to keep, but if you take even one, you fail.”
Right… up to here, it’s the same as previous years.
Except for one thing.
What they placed in front of Isaac was a mountain of gems, gold, and coins that made everyone’s jaws drop.
‘Blue! That’s too blatant!’
‘Why is the amount of jewels only different for Isaac?!’
While the other apprentices only had about ten jewels in front of them, Isaac had a whole mountain.
“Let me reiterate, touching even a fingertip will result in failure. You must prove your genuineness by resisting greed.”
At those words, the priests were dumbfounded.
‘Who would fall for something like that?!’
Everyone looked at Isaac with disdain, but Shuri and the Blue team seemed quite convinced by the exam content.
‘Grandfather… you’re determined to take Isaac home.’
‘There’s no way Isaac can simply overcome that.’
To anyone watching, these were clearly tests designed to fail Isaac. Of course, the person in question just laughed disdainfully.
Is this family head guy for real?
“Unbelievable. To underestimate me this much…”
The Blue Cardinal placed a 304-carat diamond on the top as if decorating it with a swift gesture.
As soon as he placed it, Isaac’s eyes rolled back.
And just as Isaac was entranced and about to approach the jewel!
“Isaaac!!!”
The Blue team desperately stopped Isaac.
“Hey! Snap out of it! You’re not going to drop out of the Pentagon over something like that, are you?!”
“It’s unexpected that even the Cardinal came in person… Get a grip!! We have to protect the team!”
At that, the head of Blue family flickered his eyes as if telling them not to worry.
“Ah. By the way, the Blue Pentagon is an individual event, so don’t worry about that.”
“Ah, really?”
“If it’s an individual event, then… Hang in there.”
As the apprentices stepped back one by one, Isaac, who had snapped out of his trance, straightened up.
‘Ugh, this is wrong too!!’
* * *
Huff. I’m getting pissed off.
‘No, Grandpa, there’s no need to show favoritism like this…!’
Still, that’s too much. How could he be so determined to make his grandson fail! So Isaac went to protest, saying it’s too much, and what did he say?
-You are the one who will lead the Blue, and you are attracting people’s attention. You may fall into arrogance, so it’s necessary to hold your standards more strictly.
This bastard is really something!
And grandfather dumped a pile of books on Isaac, calling it a special assignment.
They were all about the teachings of the Blue.
-Reading all of this will greatly help your sacred techniques.
Help my ass.
They were all difficult ancient texts written in the language of the gods that only Cardinals and above could read.
Just looking at them, it seemed like he was aiming for Isaac to give up and run away, but what’s even more infuriating is the reaction of the people around him.
“Oho, it’s the successor’s training indeed…”
“So the rumors that Isaac was appointed as the successor were true…”
“So that’s why the Blue Pentagon was so strict only with Isaac…”
“There must be a reason for it. It’s already causing the nobles to start moving because of this.”
Yeah!
Strange rumors started spreading that the head of the Blue family had appointed Isaac as his heir!
Thanks to that, the nobles’ atmosphere and the way they looked at Isaac had completely changed. There were even those who tried to gain favor with Isaac.
While this was a good flow for Isaac, the reality was torturous.
[But it seems like it will be a good study?]
No, it’s torture! He even has to copy 100 pages each? When can he ever finish that?!
‘Ha, who does he think I am, the naive believer of patience from the Saintess’s family? A bunch of losers.’
That’s right! People have always used their heads! He had to use his head!
‘Being comfortable is the best! Who would bother in this day and age!’
[But, if you can’t do this, you won’t be able to pass the Blue Pentagon, right? The family head said he would give you the lowest score.]
At those words, Isaac grinned slyly.
‘There’s always a way.’
Isaac jumped up and dashed off somewhere. The place he ran to was where Lilai was, trying to enter the imperial palace.
“Uncle!!”
Lilai was greatly surprised to see his nephew running up to him and hugging him, unlike usual.
“Isaac! Why are you acting like this! Did someone make you cry!”
Good, good. A dramatic reaction is good.
Isaac snickered internally.
Well, he couldn’t really cry, so he just pretended, but it was still good either way.
‘The Blue Pentagon is managed by the direct descendants of Eshua in the end.’
So if he plays his privileges card appropriately, it’ll work out.
Lilai was his ultimate… last resort. Would he really do such a lowly assignment?
As expected, Isaac put on a gloomy expression.
“Uncle. I think I have to leave home.”
The surprised Lilai matched his eye level and sat down, holding onto Isaac.
“…What?! What are you talking about, explain properly. Why would you leave home! Don’t tell me brother Goel said something again?”
Good! Sell that expression! He took the bait!
“It seems like grandfather hates me.”
“…What?! What are you saying, why would grandfather, no, the family head dislike our Isaac!”
“Actually…”
After hearing the story, Lilai became enraged.
“No, a child can make mistakes too!”
Good!
“Should I just go back home like this? I can’t become a high priest like you, uncle.”
Isaac’s eyes twinkled like a child’s.
“Uncle.”
[Ugh.]
Want to lose?
[Do you really have to go this far?]
Shut up. It’s one step back for two steps forward.
[Who would fall for such a disgusting act...]
However, Lilai’s eyes wavered at his nephew’s request, as he was a fool for his nephew. (tl/n: fool for X / X’s fool – when someone adores another person so much and dotes over them, usually a child, to the point of doing foolish things and turning off common sense if it would make X happy.)