Now, the next day around noon.

　Hercule and Gregorius began their meeting.
　It was originally scheduled for the morning, but Gregorius had a hangover, and the meeting was postponed until ......

　As a result, the meeting was postponed until noon.

　Now, Hercule felt that he had overdone it a bit, so he changed his mind about the rudeness of his behavior and became polite ......



　There was no way that he was going to be able to deal with her in a polite manner, and his rude and friendly attitude remained intact.




　Gregorius, holding his throbbing head, ......
　Gregorius, with a throbbing headache, was dealing with this very annoying emperor.


　There was a reason why he was not angry with Hercule.
　It was ......


　"Well, okay.
　"It's between me and you, Gregorius!
　I'll forgive you that much!



　He was incredibly tolerant.

　Gregorius was aiming to raise his status to at least the same as that of the originally existing medium.

　If left in the hands of that little girl Cecilia, the Emperor of Lemuria would take over the Church of Messiah.
　But if you leave it to me, I'll make the Church of Messiah grow into an organization that can give the Emperor of Lemuria a run for his money.
　Please, give me your vote!

　And with that, he persuaded the cardinals and clergy from all over the country, staged a coup d'etat, and became the Pope.

　Once the words were out of his mouth, he could not take them back.
　Since he wanted to be able to compete with the Emperor of Lemuria, the minimum requirement was to have the same status as a priestess (medium).

　It was thought that this negotiation would be difficult.
　But ......


　So all the rights, duties, and interests of the Medium shall be passed on to the Pope, is that correct ......?

　"Hmm ......, there is only one equal to me, the leader of the messianic world, the medium. But now that the position of medium has been vacated, it must be filled. I acknowledge the Pope as the heir to the throne.

　Hercule nodded easily.
　And the ...... sign is exchanged.

　Gregorius was taken aback.
　Hercule was an egotistical man who rarely gave in, and one of his brains, Todoris Todorianus, who was in charge of diplomatic negotiations, had a reputation for being very troublesome.

　But what if you open the lid?
　Aside from being annoying, Hercule nodded so easily that I wondered if he really understood what we were saying.
　And Todoris is just smiling in the background.

　Rumors are not to be trusted.
　Gregorius judged Hercule to be capable of war, but not of negotiation.

　A young man of little more than twenty, if you think about it.
　Gregorius regretted that he and ...... others were too afraid.


　Now, ......, I actually have a favor to ask you as well. Gregorius, will you listen to me?
　"I'll have to wait to hear your story before I can judge. ...... What is it?

　Gregorius smiled.
　I'm not sure I can judge until I hear your story.
　He was willing to accept almost anything.

　"Would you please release Kronos Clorius first?　The truth is, I'd like to tell you to ...... Cecilia, but that would be difficult. If you don't bring back at least the custody of Cronus Clorius, my reputation will be ruined.

　I see. ......
　Gregorius thought for a moment.

　Gregorius had heard that Hercule had been asked by Millennia Peter to protect Cecilia and Cronus Clorius before he died.
　It would certainly not be good for him if they were both executed.

　"As long as Cecilia disappears, there will be no problem, right?　If Cecilia dies, Cronus Clorius will have no influence at all. ...... My Lucanus Lucarius and Cronus Clorius are great friends. I'm sure you'll be sad to hear of his death.

　When he heard Hercule's words, Lucanos, who was standing by his side, twitched.
　Lukanos hated Kronos.
　But he could not deny the monarch's words at this point, and he held back his expression from being distorted by the spirit. ......

　I'm sure you're not the only one.

　(Hmmm ...... it is true that Kronos Clorius has no influence at present. But the man's political skills are troubling. He could turn the tables on us. So what do we do now? ......)

　At this point, however, Cecilia's face suddenly appeared in Gregorius' mind.

　So far, Cecilia has not shown any signs of surrender, and even after removing her claws, she still talks less.
　Even after I punched her in the face and stomach, she wouldn't stop glaring at me.

　(The reason why the little girl is still defiant is because she thinks that ...... the Emperor of Lemuria will help her. She's convinced that a white prince will come to her rescue. ...... She's cute, isn't she? I wonder what he would look like if he found out that the prince he asked for had cut him off. ......)

　That sounds interesting.
　Gregorius couldn't help but give a wild grin.

　'Very well, ...... I will release Cronus Clorius. In exchange, you will have to give up Cecilia Peter.
　Oh, okay. Gregorius, I'm glad you're a man who understands.

　Hercule smiled.
　And ......

　"One more thing. Cecilia is under suspicion of witchcraft, but ...... I've actually lent her some books. Some of them are very valuable. I'd like to retrieve them, so take me to the place where her personal belongings are kept.



　Why don't you tell me the title of the ...... book and I'll send it to you later?

　I don't like people touching my books with their dirty hands.

　"I don't like people touching my books with their dirty hands," said Hercule.
　This annoyed Gregorius to no end. ......

　"...... Aren't the witch's hands dirtier than mine?

　Then Hercule ......
　Then Hercule began to belly laugh.
　The sound of laughter echoed through the room.

　No, I'm sorry, ...... Gregorius, your joke was just too funny.
　"That's ...... fine. I'll show you.

　Gregorius was annoyed. ......
　Gregorius was annoyed, but he held his ground, knowing that if he got angry, all his negotiations would be for nothing.
　He had just accepted everything in a good mood.

　I don't want to lose my good mood here and have everything repeated.
　Gregorius really wanted to leave as soon as he had finished his business.

　I don't want to have any more conversations with this rude man.

　"These are the witch's personal belongings that we seized from her room.
　"I see, I see. ......

　Gregorius led Hercule to the storage room where Cecilia's personal belongings were kept.
　Cecilia's personal belongings consisted of books, minimal clothing, and small furniture.

　Hercule took about five books from the pile of books packed in there.
　Then he looked around and ......
　He found a tea set and held it as well.

　That's all. Thank you, Mr. Gregorius. Thank you, Mr. Gregorius. I'm glad you're a man of your word.
　No, ...... I'm also glad that Hercule is a man who understands.


　Thus ended the meeting of the day: ......
　The next morning, Hercule was to return to his country.









　"Ha, ha, ha. ......

　Cecilia breathed out wildly.
　There were tears in her eyes.

　The only nail that remained was her left thumb.
　Two nails were removed for not being removed yesterday.

　"Hang him.

　Gregorius ordered me to stand up from the restraint chair and hang myself from the chain that was hanging from the ceiling.
　It was adjusted to a height where I could just barely stand on my tiptoes. ......
　In the event you're not sure what you're looking for, there are a few things you can do.

　"Oh, God. ......

　Cecilia moaned in pain.
　It was only natural that it would hurt if she stood on her toes with all of her toenails removed except for her left thumb.

　Cecilia strained her hands, trying to reduce the weight on her feet.
　But there was a limit to her muscle strength.
　In addition, from being hung day after day, there was a black and blue bruise under the manacles.

　The shackles bit into the bruise and ......
　To escape the pain, I would relax my hands and shift my weight to my toes.

　Watching Cecilia do this for what seemed like an eternity, ......
　Gregorius smiled with satisfaction.

　"Huh, hah ......, God is watching .......

　Cecilia glared at Gregorius, her face contorted in pain.
　There were dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, but they still held a strong light.

　Gregorius grabbed Cecilia by the cheek.

　If you confess, you'll feel better. It's already painful, isn't it?
　"This is not ...... painful.

　Cecilia retorted stoutly.
　But it was clear that this was a thinly veiled attempt at patience.

　"Oh, yes, ...... speaking of which, ...... the Emperor of Lemuria paid a visit here the other day.

　Cecilia's eyes fluttered at Gregorius' words. ......
　Cecilia's eyes wavered.

　(I knew it. ...... I knew it. ...... I knew it.

　"It seems he approves of my position. I am now the official emperor of Lemuria.
　"No, no way. ...... No, no way. ......

　Cecilia's eyes wavered in the same way.
　I'm not sure what to make of it.

　In return, Cronus Clorius released. I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that.
　I'm glad to hear that, .......

　Cecilia's voice was a mixture of relief and anxiety.
　The relief is that Kronos' execution has been averted, and the anxiety is that ......

　(...... me?)

　Cecilia felt ...... her throat to her chest.
　Cecilia felt something cold come down her throat and into her chest.

　"The Emperor of Lemuria, having completed all his requirements, will leave here tomorrow morning. I think I'm going to get along just fine with him. Do you know what ...... this means?

　"Oh, ......, no, that can't be .......

　It's true. You've been abandoned. That's all for today. Tomorrow is exactly twenty days, the last finger. Soon after that, ......, we'll begin the full-scale interrogation. Be prepared.



　He just left Cecilia in tears of silence. ......
　Gregorius left.

　All that was left was the sound of sobbing.