Chapter 43: Kingdom Crisis 2
Chapter 43 – Kingdom Crisis 2
The weather on the sea changed at the drop of a hat, just now the sky was clear and bright, this moment it was suddenly cloudy.
“No wonder I didn’t see many ships going out to sea today, I really should find an experienced old fisherman to ask about the weather.” Gleeman was very chagrined, turned to Queller and said, “I’ll use the carriage to send you back to the inn, in case it rains on the way it will still be able to block it.”
Queller gladly accepted, “That would be a pleasure, old brother.”
The two of them boarded Paul’s carriage, and the driver shook the reins and drove in the direction of the inn within the town.
Along the way, Paul was still considering the issue of the forces behind Giles, he felt that it was most likely to be the Holy See, and for good reason: there was a big conflict that had erupted between the last king of the Kingdom of Aldo and the Holy See.
To put it in perspective, it was nothing more than a clichéd conflict between the divine right of the church and the secular kingship.
That year, the Archbishop of the Kingdom of Aldo was called by the Lord, originally according to tradition, a country’s Archbishop of the vacant position, first by the Holy See and the country’s high level of the two sides of the air, negotiation of a satisfactory candidate, and then the Holy See issued a notice, the country’s high level and then publicly expressed recognition of all will be happy.
But that time there were two strong contenders:
One was a bishop from Aldo, who had joined the monastery at a young age, started as a presiding bishop of a rural church, and had served diligently for several decades before rising to the position of bishop of the region, and was a close friend of the old king, and had the highest reputation for succeeding the archbishop.
The other is a bishop from a foreign country who was parachuted in by the Holy See. He has not served in the kingdom for long, but he has served in the seminary of the Holy Capital and has taught students from all over the continent.
The old king, Rodney XV, was not a fool, and supported his own countryman and close friend as archbishop for both public and private reasons.
The Holy See is not a fool, the bishop of Aldo and the king’s relationship is well known, his own archbishop and the diocesan aristocratic forces embraced how to play, tit for tat in support of their own sent over to the exotic bishop.
Both sides around the archbishop’s position of the back and forth, openly and secretly exchanged countless, gossip that in a certain closed-door cordial talks, the old king under the excitement of his own dentures friendly “wear” in the face of the Holy See messenger.
In the end, the Kingdom and the Holy See reached a compromise: the archbishopric was given to the candidate supported by the Holy See, but in the future, the regional bishops of the Kingdom of Aldo would give priority to the appointment of their own countrymen, and half of the regional bishops would give priority to the appointment according to the recommendation of the royal family.
Though a compromise was reached, a conflict was formed, and Rodney XVI, who later succeeded as king, spent a great deal of time repairing relations with the Holy See.
Therefore, Paul guessed that the power behind Giles was most likely the Holy See, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was not.
The divine right and the king’s right to oppose things have happened before, the most common method of the Holy See is to openly excommunicate the ruler of a country that opposes itself, or to find an obedient agent in that country’s nobles, claiming that this is the legitimate ruler recognized by the Lord of Light.
Simple, brutal and effective, it is said that the Holy See once forced the monarch of a certain country to stand barefoot in the freezing snow for three days and three nights by means of excommunication.
Like this sneaky little action is not like the style of the Holy See, could it be that the Holy See feels that its influence has declined, and that it will lose out if it fights hard, so it has changed its strategy, but the Jars side hasn’t heard how enthusiastic it has been about the Holy See ah.
Then it’s the Gabella Empire? It is also unlikely ah, the Kingdom of Aldo and the Gabela Empire for several generations of marriage, the relationship between the two countries iron it.
Just when Paul was thinking nonsense, Queller who was sitting next to him sighed: “That Giles is extremely ambitious, if he possesses Aldo Kingdom, I’m afraid that he will have ulterior motives for the Horned Bay Alliance. I really don’t know what those chambers of commerce are thinking, they don’t even care about the interests of the country for the sake of money, I hope that the Convocation will take some action.”
It’s time for my brother to pretend, the opportunity is not to be missed, Paul immediately cleared his throat and pretended to be profound and said, “Queller ah, a philosopher said this sentence, as long as there is a proper profit, the capital will be bold, if there is a 10% profit, it will ensure that it will be used everywhere, there is a 20% profit, it will be active, there is a 50% profit, it will be desperate, there are 100 percent profit, it dares to trample on all earthly laws, and with 300 percent profit, it dares to commit any crime, even at the risk of hanging.” “Why haven’t I heard that before? But the saying does ring true.”
Quiller shrugged in agreement, “We, the Horned Bay Alliance, have built our country on commerce, and although we have established laws that seem incomparably perfect to outsiders, everyone has to both adapt to it and learn how to exploit its loopholes.”
Coming from a big family, Quiller had seen all those things before, tilting his head and resting his hands on the back of his head, “So yeah, after I turned 16 I dreamed of becoming an adventurer, wandering the world carefree and uninhibited, avoiding all those annoying rules and regulations.”
“So you ran off to adventure here in the Northwest Bay?”
“That’s right, and my old man commissioned the Lichtman Adventure Group to find me, it’s a godsend, I’d especially like to join them.” Quiller suddenly perked up.
“The Leachman Adventure Group? Those were the ones in the church the other day?”
“Yes, this adventuring group is a big name in our south and has solved quite a few crises.”
Paul asked a bit puzzled, “Are adventurers another name for mercenaries?”
“No, no, no!” Queller stretched out his index finger and waved it from side to side to negate Paul’s statement, “Although they are all about taking people’s money and eliminating people’s disasters, adventurers have their own ethical standards and a well-established set of industry norms.”
“And there are specialized institutions like the Adventurer’s Guild built in every major country and region, which on one hand provides adventurers from all over the world with services such as releasing commissioned quests and receiving rewards, and on the other hand also serves to restrain them, monitoring whether the adventurers are violating the industry norms and local laws.”
“In comparison, mercenaries are not subject to much discipline, and the lower limit for accepting commissions is relatively low; they are often active in wars between countries, and the job of killing people for their employers in order to get money is also often done.”
“Then can you introduce me to the Leachman Adventure Group? What are they each capable of?”
“Oh, I only know these four members of the group who came to my rescue. The girl with pink hair is called Meru Heimer, small but strong, with an uncommon weapon, a chain ball, and holds the position of leader.”
“The blue haired is youth is Dean Ithaca, specializes in the use of daggers, is quite agile, and is responsible for scouting, tracking, and other tasks.”
“The yellow haired youth’s name is called Kai, has a strong frame and is a giant swordsman.”
“The green haired girl’s name is called Lardy, this one is a bit more special, she is a scholar by nature, she joined the adventuring group in order to travel around to grow her knowledge, but she is also very skilled, she serves as a bowman in the group, and she is also well versed in some medical knowledge.”
Paul asked curiously, “A scholar who can use a crossbow is quite rare.”
“Exactly!” Quiller slapped his thigh, “That guy Dean said that Miss La Di could shoot a fly at a distance of 150 meters, I reckon that guy was bragging, it’s good that a girl can pull a bow.”
(End of chapter)