The Holy Scripture Chief Priest turned his head and glanced at Elizabeth, remaining silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating something, or perhaps waiting for Elizabeth to provide him with further explanation.
"I think, if the Emperor of the Empire intended to betray Theocracy, there would be no need for so many theatrics. He could have just acted directly when we arrived at the Empire, no need to wait until now," Elizabeth said, looking around the room.
"Several layers of anti-eavesdropping and anti-peeping magic have been set up, and there are Steel Rank Adventurers guarding the door..." Elizabeth's gaze fell on the pen, ink, and paper on the table.
"Important information is also intended to be conveyed via paper. The panic he showed after seeing Ainz Ooal Gown himself didn't seem like acting. I noticed earlier that the dignified Emperor of the Empire was so nervous his palms were sweating when facing Ainz Ooal Gown, and he secretly wiped them on his clothes... So! I think if it was premeditated, there wouldn't be such an elaborate play put on for us," Elizabeth said.
"Hmm... you might have a point, but if it 'leaked,' then it 'leaked'... whether the Emperor did it on purpose or not..." the Holy Scripture Chief Priest said, but his tone had softened considerably.
"We... we were all outsmarted by the Magic Caster King! This is a trap, the Magic Caster King's wisdom surpasses mine. Please believe me, I did not betray you. I'm sure the current situation is also part of his plan..."
Jierunifu had no idea why the Elizabeth in front of him was speaking up for him. Logically... the situation just now was the ideal state to 'force' the Empire to a dead end, but that Female Devil actually spoke up for him. Was there some more sinister scheme at play? Or some other hidden reason? Regardless, for now, he could only go along with what she was saying.
"Alright, I'll believe you!" the Holy Scripture Chief Priest said, turning his head.
This made Jierunifu sigh in relief, and he felt a bit grateful to Elizabeth. If the connection with Theocracy were severed, the Empire would truly be isolated and helpless, and the previous talk of an alliance plan would be nonsense.
Hmm? Wait a minute... didn't Ainz Ooal Gown and Elizabeth already know about the alliance plan? His public stance was an alliance, but secretly he intended to unite other countries to form an anti-Ainz Ooal Gown alliance. Didn't they already know about that?
Could it be! Why was he so stupid! He should have just directly refused Theocracy when they expressed interest in meeting him! Now he had played right into their hands!
But if he had refused... it would have directly caused dissatisfaction from Theocracy, and they might have even directly attacked the Empire.
At that time, the Magic Kingdom would only need to use the excuse of 'an ally is in trouble, so I'll help' to send its army into the Empire's territory and launch a counterattack against Theocracy in the name of the Imperial army... the result would still be the same!
So, what was the Female Devil's intention in insisting on maintaining this line between the Empire and Theocracy? She had promised him that day that as long as the Empire obediently listened, she wouldn't do anything to it.
But the key was... although this meeting wasn't initiated by him, he had agreed to it and arranged it so meticulously. His actions in no way looked like something someone who was "obediently listening" would do!
"Chief Priest is wise..." Elizabeth respectfully bowed to the Holy Scripture Chief Priest and offered a compliment.
"Not at all... if you hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have noticed these details. It seems the higher-ups were right to send you, Clementine," the Holy Scripture Chief Priest replied.
Jierunifu was stunned, thinking, 'This isn't right, is it?' Was this the cunning Elizabeth? In his impression, Elizabeth, whether in her outward or inner personality, had never flattered anyone...
"Even if His Majesty didn't betray us, you did indeed assist Ainz Ooal Gown, that Undead monster, as a monarch. There is no doubt about that," the Firegod-Official of the Church next to him said.
"..." Regarding this, Jierunifu was completely unable to retort. It was indeed true... he had indeed brought this evil Magic Kingdom to the surface by foolishly trusting Fulda's words. This mistake was indeed his to bear, but who would have thought Fulda would betray him!
Since things had come to this, there was no point in saying anything. It would be better to see how the Church would treat the Empire. The Church usually didn't interfere in politics, but a Church that intensely loathed the Undead certainly wouldn't stand by and do nothing while such a powerful Undead allied with the Empire. The worst-case scenario was the Church directly withdrawing from the Empire.
It was important to know that the people's faith and spiritual redemption were all held by the Church, and they also held the medical system. If they withdrew from the Empire, it would only be a matter of time before problems arose within the Empire, deprived of medical means.
Didn't Elizabeth, when she first arrived with those two Undead monsters, intend to do just that? No matter how he struggled, he still couldn't escape the fate of destruction. Thinking of this, Jierunifu couldn't help but feel dejected.
"I think His Majesty the Emperor's choice in that situation was unavoidable, wasn't it? Two Chief Priests, honestly, if your Church was also blocked at the door by an intelligent and incredibly powerful monster, would you fight to the last person? Or would you choose to back down for a while to preserve your strength, and wait for an opportunity to unite with your reinforcements to attack from both inside and out?" Elizabeth snickered, once again speaking up for Jierunifu.
"Naturally, we would fight to the last person! Facing Undead monsters! The Church will never retreat!" the Firegod-Official said indignantly.
"Haha! So your Church is that shallow...? Then there's nothing more to discuss. Please leave, you're no longer needed. Next, our Theocracy and His Majesty will continue to discuss the future survival of humanity!" Elizabeth snickered again, her tone full of disdain and mockery.
"You! What do you mean! How can an unknown nobody question the Church's ideals! Aren't you Theocracy the same!" The Firegod-Official was instantly enraged by Elizabeth's contemptuous tone.
"Please watch your tone!" the Holy Scripture Chief Priest said, a little unhappily. The Firegod-Official, hearing this... felt somewhat smug and wanted to continue to attack this Theocracy Official who had disrespected him. After all, the Church's influence was vast. Although the other party was a religiously unified and independent Theocracy, they should still show the Church some respect in this regard!
"I'm talking about you! Chief Priest of the Fire Church! Please mind your words and attitude! If you dare to disrespect Black Scripture of Theocracy again, I will lodge a protest with the higher-ups of your Church!" the Holy Scripture Chief Priest of Theocracy said.
"You! You!!" The Firegod-Official was instantly speechless, not expecting the Holy Scripture Chief Priest of Theocracy to give him no face at all, right? Although they shared a unified belief system, there were still slight differences. Theocracy believed in the Six Great Gods, while the Church only believed in four of them, excluding the God of Life and the God of Death.
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