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'Was there any event that warranted the Emperor sending a letter directly at this time?'
I thought about the story carefully, but nothing came to mind. In the first place, the Emperor should not have been interested enough to send me a separate letter at this point.
I'll just think of him as a moderately talented knight and move on, and then gradually take an interest in him as the story progresses.
I didn't have the confidence to handle the Emperor's extremely erratic personality and words and actions from the beginning to the middle of the story. It was definitely wrong, but I don't know where it started.
"Can I just unfold it like this and check it?"
"Yes. Before you look at the contents, be careful not to reveal them to us first. Oh, and you know that you must not damage the Emperor's seal, right?"
I stopped my fingers that were trying to remove the seal. Aurora, who saw my fingers standing still, closed her mouth for a moment as if she was speechless, then after a long pause, she muttered in a voice that seemed to be incredulous.
"...You didn't know?"
"I didn't know."
"A letter with the Emperor's seal means that His Majesty took charge of the entire process. From choosing the letter paper, writing the letter, sealing the letter, and even stamping the seal. That's why you absolutely must not damage it. Keep it safe and return it when you meet His Majesty the Emperor."
"What happens if I lose it or something?"
"Want to hear?"
"...I think it would be better not to listen."
I gave up quietly. With Aurora saying that, I didn't really want to look into the abyss to satisfy my curiosity.
"I was glad I made a comment just in case. If I had just let it go, I would have been in real trouble."
Aurora swept her chest. I felt the same way. I never would have thought that there would be a mine hidden in a place like this. And not just any ordinary mine, but an anti-tank mine.
How could I possibly know such detailed information as not to damage the Emperor's seal, and to keep it neatly and return it when I later meet the Emperor?
I moved my fingers even more carefully. I gently removed the Emperor's seal and placed it on the table, then untied the red string that wrapped the parchment.
'Do I have to return this string later too?'
He stared blankly at the string in his hand and placed it next to the seal. He wanted to keep it just in case. If he took it, at least he wouldn't lose anything.
The scroll made of parchment was a luxurious object at first glance. It had a slightly springy, squishy texture that bounced when touched, but was much softer than paper.
It may seem strange for paper to have elasticity, but at least that's how it felt to me.
"Wait a minute. Is there any manners or etiquette that I must follow when opening or reading this?"
"It's not like there aren't any at all."
"Oh, is that really true?"
"Every single action that must be performed in front of His Majesty the Emperor is determined by a set of rules. Things like how to breathe, how to kneel, and where to look."
"...."
Suddenly, I felt a lump in my throat. In front of the Emperor, even the way I breathe and roll my eyes must follow certain rules? Really?
"But that only applies when you meet His Majesty the Emperor in person at the palace. You don't have to worry about that here, so don't be nervous. Just read it however you want. Just don't treat it too roughly."
"That's fortunate."
I meant it sincerely.
I slowly unfolded the rolled-up parchment, holding onto the edges. My eyes caught sight of letters written in black ink on the slightly yellowish surface of the paper.
-Go to the Holy Land. Caecilia Libanus.
"...?"
For a moment I doubted my eyes.
There were only two sentences written on the long parchment, which looked like three or four sheets of A4 paper glued together vertically. In fact, the number of characters in the text, including the emperor's surname and name, was greater than the number of characters in the text.
I looked more closely at the parchment, wondering if I was seeing things wrong, and I even pulled the scroll all the way to the end to see if there was more writing at the top or bottom.
But really, those two sentences were the end. The order to go to the Holy Land, and Kaikilia's full name.
"What is it that makes you look so serious?"
Aurora asked a question. The other knight commanders seemed curious as well, but since it was a letter sent directly by the Emperor, they seemed unable to bring themselves to ask.
"Uh… I'm just asking just in case, is there a magic that hides text and only reveals it when certain conditions are met?"
"Well? I'm not a wizard. I wouldn't know that. Why? What's the story?"
I handed over the parchment without saying a word. Aurora, who received the parchment, read it, and then her eyes widened just like mine, and an expression that was half mysterious and half absurd was made.
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This time, it was the knight commanders' turn to resolve their curiosity. Aurora turned the parchment with a complicated expression, and the knight commanders also looked at it once and made the same expression.
The silence that had settled in the reception room continued for quite some time. After each person's teacup had been emptied and filled twice, the first one to break the silence and speak was Aurora.
"Isn't there something more?"
Aurora picked up the parchment with a face that was clearly filled with the emotions she was probably feeling at that moment.
"No matter how much I think about it, there's no need to personally write a letter to convey a single order to go to the Holy Land. There must be something more to this."
"I agree with you, my lord. I think it would be more accurate to say that this letter has been magically processed in some way."
Iris agreed with that statement. The other knight commanders seemed to have similar thoughts.
"Then my first question is this. Why do you have to go to the Raphaella Sanctuary?"
This time the reaction was mixed.
While Aurora and Iris looked like they had no idea why it had to be the Holy Land, Claudia, I, Lize, and Erica looked like they had an idea.
It was necessary to talk anyway, and perhaps now was the time. The decision was made quickly. After exchanging glances for a while, it was Erica who finally took up the gun.
"Maybe it's because of what we've been through."
Erica told us everything that happened right after we defeated Arachnainera.
As they set out to find an antidote for Claudia, who was addicted to alcohol, Stella, the heretic inquisitor of the Holy Land of Raphael, and her warrior nuns appeared.
The incident where Stella declared us heretics and surrounded us with her warrior nuns.
And then, claiming to be judging heresy, he took off his holy clothes, exposed his chest and private parts, and when he determined that I was not a heretic, he made me rub his chest while saying that he could not accept it.
Finally, he lost his mind and said that he felt divine power from me, and told me to go to the Holy Land to cure Claudia and let her meet the Pope of the Sun.
Even after the explanation was over, Aurora and Iris remained silent for a while.
"...To summarize what Erica said."
Then suddenly, Aurora grabbed her forehead.
"Delta was judged a heretic by the heresy judge of the Holy Land of Raphaella, and the method of judgment was to lift her clothes and fondle her breasts, right? Before that, he lifted her clothes and showed her nipples and vagina?"
"I'm a little concerned about the wording you used, but I think you got it right."
"That woman, the heretic judge, is she a pervert? Or is she an exhibitionist or something?"
Even Aurora herself, who said such things, was dressed in a way that was far from normal.
The dress exposed her chest, collarbone, and even her armpits, and she wasn't wearing any underwear underneath. Talking about her outfit like that wasn't convincing at all.
Besides, didn't the knight commanders wear semi-transparent see-through one-piece dresses that revealed their bare skin and lingerie that matched their hair color when they went to banquets?
'It's also like calling it a holy garment.'
Neither Aurora nor the other knight commanders questioned the fact that Erica called her crazy outfit, which seemed to completely expose her nipples and scrotum if the wind blew, a holy outfit.
From my point of view, it was a case of fifty against one hundred.
"If the Inquisitor promised to allow us to meet the Pope of the Sun, it is highly likely that the Holy Nation has already relayed the news to His Majesty the Emperor. That is why His Majesty must have sent this letter."
"That quickly? It'll take a long time to get from the place where we subdued the demons to the Holy Land...."
"I might have used some tricks. Among the highest level magics, there is a magic of teleportation, so even with divine spells-"
"That's correct."
A third person's voice was heard from somewhere. It was a voice I had never heard before.
The response was quick. The knight commanders instantly drew their weapons and aimed them at the place where the voice had come from, and the maids immediately clung to Aurora and wrapped her with their bodies.
By the time I could barely react and started to move my body, the knight commanders were already ready to fight.
"Who are you? This is the mansion of Lord Aurora. If you do not reveal your identity, I will consider you an enemy."
In front of the large window of the reception room, a woman stood wearing a robe of mixed gray and silver, pulled all the way over her head. Even through the flowing robe, the curves of her body were clearly visible.
"Put down your weapons. I am not the enemy."
"It's up to you. I won't talk much. Show yourself. Whether it's a conversation or something else, that's what happens after that."
"...All right."
A slender hand in leather gloves reached for the robe that concealed her face. There was a small swishing sound as the robe was removed, and the voluminous gray ponytail hidden within it spilled down her back.
The purple pupils caught the light of the chandelier and shone purple. The purple eyes, like jewels, slowly swept over us. There was no hostility in those gazes.
"My name is Selene."
The woman opened her mouth with a blank expression.
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"I am an Inquisitor belonging to the Pope of the Moon."