chapter 9

The Vatican has been struggling lately with Thanksgiving.

The people of the empire began to pour out petitions to the Vatican after seeing the Third Prince's impulsive behavior on Thanksgiving Day.

[Unleavened bread and grain tea are out of date!]

[The Vatican must stop discriminating against potatoes now!]

The main gist of the petitions was to replace unleavened bread and grain tea with Coke and Pringles as the official church "communion."

Petitions containing such content were piling up in the Vatican at the rate of hundreds a day.

But it was a topic that could not help but be difficult for the Vatican.

That is because grain tea and unleavened bread have been a long-standing tradition since the beginning of the church.

Its history and tradition could not be abandoned overnight because of a wave of fashion.

But the number of petitions coming in was too many to ignore.

"I don't know why Prince Leon is acting like this."

"It is clear that there is some resentment towards the church."

It was only recently that Third Prince Leon reported that cola was a product of black magic.

But then they suddenly changed their tune and used Thanksgiving as a promotional tool for Pringles and Coke.

The cardinals could not understand what the Third Prince's intentions were in carrying out such acts.

"The problem is that there is no use in asking Prince Leon about it now."

The protests have already left the archery range.

However, it was not possible to expect the Third Prince to go back on his words.

These are the words spoken in front of tens of thousands of imperial citizens.

To go back on that statement would be an act that would diminish the authority of the imperial family.

Needless to say, the Third Prince's personal image fell.

So, there was no way the Third Prince could solve the Vatican's problems.

"Well, there's no way the royal family will come out, and things have become really difficult."

The cardinals were left scratching their heads over the Pringles problem.

At that moment, the young cardinal who had been fiddling with the table opened his mouth.

"In any case, it seems clear that a new sacrament must be created in order to appease the discontent of the congregation."

"… … ."

Everyone just looked at each other, and no one contradicted the young cardinal.

Pope Paul XII, who had been silent, opened his mouth with a somber expression.

"…Does it really have to be that way?"

"Your Majesty, the young priests are turning away."

"Why?"

"After all, the unleavened bread and grain tea are… so tasteless."

The young cardinal averted his gaze, as if he were sorry to speak.

The grain car was just a fancy name for a car, but it was really just grain mixed in water.

Even the unleavened bread was just a lump of flour.

Since food made a thousand years ago has been passed down as is, it was natural that the process was primitive.

"Cardinal Roan, do you think so too?"

"…I am sorry, Your Majesty."

"Huh, so you really have to accept the flow of the times?"

The Pope closed his eyes as if in regret.

He never dreamed that in his generation he would have to change the Eucharist.

"But I think cola and Pringles are a bit… … too radical. And it's not like we can change the Holy Communion either."

"Then how about adding rather than changing?"

"If you say add…?"

"It's not like Pringles and Coke, but we're adding some food to the communion that will satisfy the congregation."

"But what the churchgoers want is Pringles and Coke, right?"

"… … ."

Silence fell again among the cardinals.

Then the young cardinal who had suggested adding the Eucharist opened his mouth.

"How about asking the wizard of the White Tower, who invented Pringles, for help?"

"Are you talking to the developer?"

"Yes. If the developers themselves come forward and say that Coke and Pringles are not the Eucharist, things will calm down to some extent. The Vatican can also follow suit and make a statement that it will develop a new Eucharist."

"Oh, that's a good idea. But I wonder if the wizard will grant our request."

"I guess I'll have to pay the right price."

The worried cardinals' faces brightened as they saw signs of a solution to the problem.

"Haha, I'm going to end up in debt to the church."

It was a thought that could be made without knowing that the person behind the 3rd Prince's actions was the developer of Pringles.

"Then let's contact the White Tower. I will ask Cardinal Bruno to prepare a statement."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

The cardinals, having concluded their meeting, left the church.

There was no separate discussion about who would go to the White Tower.

Because all of the important external activities of the Vatican were presided over by the 'saints.'

*

"We're in trouble!"

Aria, who came running in a hurry, shouted.

"Sir, the saint is coming!"

"…who?"

"It's the saint!"

Were there any other saints besides the Vatican?

'None.'

I looked around in bewilderment and asked.

"Lord of the Tower, have you heard anything?"

"Oh, it's not there!? What's going on!?"

Lagna, who was lying on the sofa reading a new folk magic book, got up in a hurry when she heard that the saint was coming and put on the robe hanging on the wall.

"Yuri. What about me? Don't I look strange?"

"Yes, it's okay."

White hair, amber eyes. A billowy robe.

It was the usual Ranya.

The head is slightly raised, but it's cute so I'll leave it alone.

I looked at Aria and asked.

"Why did the saint suddenly come to the magic tower?"

"I think I have something to say to you, senior."

"To me?"

"yes."

"What do you want to say?"

"I don't know. I just heard that you left a message saying you were visiting."

"hmm."

Why on earth does the saint come to see me?

It was when I was just tilting my head because I couldn't figure out why.

"Let me explain that to you myself."

A beautiful voice was heard.

The person who came through the door was a woman I had never seen before. But I knew it the moment I saw her.

"…Saint?"

Because the woman with long, flowing silver hair exuded a sacred aura.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Josephine, and I am from the church. I hold the title of saint, albeit a humble one."

"… … ."

The third prince left, and this time the saintess came to visit.

Why?

*

"I should have contacted you in advance, but I apologize for coming here so suddenly."

The saint bowed her head.

"No, there must have been some circumstances."

"Thank you for understanding."

"So why did you come to me?"

"Before I tell you why, may I ask you one question, Wizard?"

"Yes, go ahead and ask. I'll tell you, as long as it's not too difficult to answer."

"Thank you."

The saintess asked with a faint smile.

"What do you think about tradition, wizard?"

It's a tradition.

A difficult question arose.

This is open to interpretation depending on the listener.

The saintess smiled brightly as if she had read my thoughts.

"You don't have to think too hard about it, I just want to hear your thoughts, Wizard."

Well, if that's the case... ... .

"I think it is something that should be respected."

Tradition is a history that contains the identity of a culture.

Of course, there are traditions that may be out of date and difficult to understand.

However, I don't think we need to unconditionally reject them just because they are difficult to understand.

Just because I don't understand doesn't mean it's wrong.

The saint smiled brightly, as if she was satisfied with my answer.

"It's easier for me to say that now that you think so."

There were times when I wondered what he was trying to say that made him hesitate like that.

"The food items developed by the wizard were being harvested, and the Vatican was in trouble."

Was this it?

I thought I knew roughly why the saint had come to see me.

As expected.

"The Vatican is being flooded with petitions to have Coke and Pringles made into official communion items. The reason I came to see you was to see if you could help me with that."

"… … ."

"Oh, that doesn't mean it's the wizard's fault. The one who put cola and Pringles on the harvest festival was the Third Prince."

The saintess spoke as if to tell me not to misunderstand my silence, but this was a misunderstanding and there was nothing to be done about it.

In the first place, the reason the Third Prince ate Pringles on Thanksgiving was because I asked him to.

'I didn't know it would spread like this.'

Of course, I only asked to eat it, I didn't ask to change the Thanksgiving menu to Pringles.

It was, after all, something the Third Prince had done on his own. Still, it still pricked my conscience.

Fortunately, the saintess seemed unaware of this fact. If she had known, she would have demanded responsibility and compensation instead of help.

So what's the problem with this?

It's a big problem.

The Third Prince's actions were as outrageous as putting fast food on the ancestral rite table, if we were to use a modern metaphor. And they were all done in front of the imperial citizens of the capital.

Processed foods are challenging the authority of the church.

The saintess came to me because she thought, 'I can't curse the prince, so please help me.'

"I'm sorry to ask such a difficult favor, but I have no one else to ask of you but you, the wizard."

"No. Of course I should help you."

If you make one mistake, you could be arrested for blasphemy.

"Thank you so much, Wizard. Thanks to you, the church will be one less thing to worry about."

The saint's shadowy face brightened.

"And just so you don't misunderstand, I'm saying this in favor of it?"

"…yes?"

"Grain tea and unleavened bread, they're actually not tasty, are they?"

"… … ."

"I also often just pretend to eat."

The saint only pretends to eat… .

Is it true that the world you eat and spit out doesn't discriminate?

By the way.

"… … Is it okay for you to say something like that to me?"

"So what? No one is listening. The wizard won't spread it, right?"

"I won't do that."

Well, it was only natural that a saint would want to eat delicious food, even though she was a human being. I wondered if it was okay to be so honest.

"So, can I get some Pringles?"

"yes?"

"You know, Pringles are still banned in the Vatican."

"So this was your goal."

"May I ask you something?"

The saintess winked.

*

The day after the saintess took the Pringles and left the tower, I wrote and made public the fact that cola and Pringles were not the 'Holy Communion'.

Then, in line with my announcement, the Vatican also published a statement.

But this statement of position ended up going in the wrong direction.

"They say that even God would be jealous of cola and Pringles."

"I heard that God actually wanted to eat Pringles as communion?"

"It's a shame, the Eucharist isn't something that can be easily changed."

"So are we eating cookies that even the gods would be jealous of?"

"That makes sense, haha!"

The craze spread even further as rumors spread among the people of the empire that Coke and Pringles were foods that "even God would envy."

and.

"Another grant has arrived."

This grant came from the Vatican, not the Empire.

"Oh, how much is it?!"

"You got three million gold?"

"Ugh-!"

Lanya's breathing became rapid.

It's not a crowd.

That was six times more than Coke's first month of sales.

In other words, it was the amount of money needed to remodel the rooftop six times.

'Isn't the Pope a bit generous?'

I also tilted my head at the amount, which was larger than I expected.

So I took out the letter that came with the application for the grant and opened it.

What was written there was a fairly long letter.

[I would like to go and express my gratitude in person, but please forgive me for not being able to do so due to being busy.

We sincerely thank you for your assistance in the work of the church.

But unfortunately, I have to ask you one more favor.

The church has made a major decision regarding this incident…