“I won’t belittle your efforts, Duke, but I’ll spare my words. However, if you brought the monster stones, you must have known that the monster’s vulnerable point is its heart.”

“…”

“Lastly, I will ask you, Duke. Did you really not know this fact?”

Now, there was no mercy in the Pope’s question. His inquiry was merely for confirmation.

Calis, who had lowered his head, then lifted his face. Confusion was evident in his expression. After a while, he glanced shakily somewhere with dilated pupils. It was toward the high chair where a member of the Sahir Empire was sitting.

Examining something diligently, he soon revealed a disappointed expression. His reddened eyes seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment.

It was clearly the appearance of a man in despair.

“I knew… I knew it…”
“Why did you commit such an act?”

“…”

“To dare speak lies in the sacred Pantheon Temple, seeking personal gain through such actions! Are you in your right mind? This is blasphemy, Duke Calis Argen!”

The Pope shook his head in disbelief.

“Leave.”

“…”

“So that my god may not be angered, leave this temple before He becomes aware of your actions.”

After that, the Pope recommended that Calis leave this place.

Under the firm opposition, Calis had no choice. The apprentice priest who had been assisting on the side could only stand idly by.

“I apologize for my sins, Your Holiness.”

Calis apologized politely, albeit belatedly. However, even with his sincere apology, forgiveness was not granted.

Ignoring his apology until the end, the Pope called other priests to assist him.

The priests approached cautiously, and the Duke noticed their glances. Their careful hands lightly tapped his cape and crown.

“Hurry! We’re afraid the god might witness it!”

However, without waiting for the Pope’s urging, they moved their hands without hesitation.

The crown, the cape, and the sword prepared for the honorable knight – everything that had been prepared for him was now gone. All that remained by Calis’s side were cold stares and the air.

Calis walked once again on the red carpet that he had traversed when ascending the dais, but this time, he headed not for the platform but for the exit.

Pushed out by the Pope, Calis, the unfortunate figure, left. A schemer caught in the act of coveting someone else’s possession.

This was the final moment Calis Argen faced at the Pantheon Temple.

“So, you’re the one who defeated this monster.”

As the entrance that had opened to let Calis out forcefully closed, the Pope uttered these words.

His mutterings were grim, but it was evidently a demand for an answer.

Behind the veil, Clovis nodded.

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“In that case, you seem suitable as this year’s honorable knight.”

At the Pope’s nod, a few priests gathered around Clovis. As she placed her hand on the knight’s shoulder, her belongings were handed to her.

“No, these aren’t mine.”

Unexpectedly, she declared.

In response to Clovis’s answer, the Pope’s eyebrows shot up. It was not a look of dissatisfaction but rather one of keen interest.

“I did not participate as a knight in the hunting festival, nor did I contribute to the festival in any way. Even in your eyes, there’s no reason for me to be the hero of the hunting festival. I haven’t even drawn my bowstring for months.”

“Strange. What are you talking about?”

“Not a false modesty but the truth. I don’t have the ability to defeat such a colossal monster. It’s been just a few months since I pulled a bowstring.”

“Then are you claiming that there’s someone else who defeated the monster?”
“That’s not it either. I can confidently assert that my arrow destroyed the heart of the monster and extinguished its vitality.”

After a moment, Clovis gestured to the knight sitting behind her, indicating that he should bring something. The knight, understanding her intentions, promptly delivered an item.

“This is the arrowhead I used to defeat the monster. I hope you can examine it in the temple.”

Clovis glanced briefly at the man who was glaring at her with a displeased expression. She returned his gaze with indifference.

Now was the time to move on to the main point, the moment to seize the man who manipulated the puppet, giving Calis Argen a chance by falling off the cliff, utterly powerless.