I’m Going to Destroy this Country

Isaac strode into the Pope’s room like a wealthy lord.

Whisper said something as if worried about Isaac.

[Are you really okay? Leaving just Shuri Eshua there? Isn’t he only 6th rank, not enough to handle the Pope’s grandson?]

At those words, Isaac snorted derisively.

Does he think I gave him the God of Wealth and Holy Spirit for nothing?

‘Shuri is strong despite appearances.’

[!]

Kina must be going crazy by now. Shuri’s endurance, grown from being beaten by me, is in some ways the strongest in the Blue.

[He’s a priest though.]

Yes, a priest. I raised his endurance like an undead… no, like a roly-poly toy.

‘Kina’s disarmed fists are just water fists in front of that endurance.’

Well, Shuri would be in danger without the God of Wealth, but still.

‘Kukuku. The God of Wealth will be quite troublesome.’

Does he know how hard it was for me to seduce the God of Wealth!

Isaac reeducated the God of Wealth over several years. First he confined… no, enshrined it in the Crown Prince’s garden and fed it the wealth it likes.

-God of Wealth. You like this, right?

-Gasp! Where did you get such high purity precious gold!

-Here, there’s more! Take it all! I don’t want anything in return. Just let me enshrine the respected God of Wealth here. You can call all your disciple family members to stay here peacefully too! It’s all free!

-Oh! I didn’t know there was such a good child in the Blue!

Doing that, the God of Wealth really called all its disciples. Then they diligently farmed to increase wealth in the Crown Prince’s garden.

After feeding them well and letting them completely settle in, Isaac tied them all up and threatened them.

-Well, you had fun, right? If you used the land, you need to pay rent.

-Wh-What?

-If you can’t pay rent, then listen to the landowner.

-W-Wait a minute!

-Oh you don’t want to? You don’t care what happens to your subordinates? Ah, gods of wealth have bodies made of gold and jewels, I wonder how much I could get if I plucked them off one by one and sold them.

-Gasp! You think the gods would forgive you if they knew about this!

-What? You’re a Gold God but you embezzled Gold’s wealth and handed it over to the Blue?

-I-I never!

-You don’t know? This land is the Blue’s land. All wealth from this land is mine.

-What? Isn’t this Imperial land!

-Ah, didn’t I tell you? His Highness the Crown Prince sold me this garden.

-What did you say?!

-By the way, you know you can’t do anything rash here either, right?

-What??

-Why are you pretending not to know? You know this is the Imperial Family’s exclusive domain that gods can’t monitor. Knowing that, didn’t you also quietly embezzle the higher gods’ wealth?

-…!!

-Now, if you understand, follow my words. You need to save your subordinates too, right?

At those words, the God of Wealth ended up listening to Isaac while whimpering. The Crown Prince, who had given up the garden, nodded as if understanding something as he watched.

Anyway, Kina will be blocked by Shuri.

“I just need to steal this.”

Isaac looked at the large statue erected in the center of the room. Sharp features, overbearing, with an aura of a monarch even greater than the Emperor.

[It’s Sylvester, right?]

Saint Sylvester.

Among Popes, those who were especially outstanding have ‘Saint’ attached in front as proof of sainthood.

And Sylvester was a Pope from a few hundred years ago during the Skeleton King’s era. As he had the longest reign, of course he saw the Skeleton King the most.

‘Well, I fought all Popes seeing all sorts of unsightly things.’

The reason Isaac looked at this one especially with disgust and gritted his teeth was separate.

-Isak, I’ll definitely be waiting.

Saintess Ines who had proposed peace to him. This was the culprit who branded her as the Skeleton King’s minion, a witch, and executed her.

-Execute that witch.

The events of that time were still vivid in his memory even after hundreds of years.

The day he had promised to meet Ines, who said she had almost persuaded people. The execution was held in that Delos land where True Demons were.

When Isaac arrived in Delos, the execution was already over, so all he could see was Ines’ head hanging on the city wall.

Sylvester had the Saintess beheaded as if to show off and fed her to beasts.

[Wasn’t Delos one of the rare human territories Master destroyed?]

Well, back then I was a skeleton so I felt no emotion even seeing that head. But now that I’ve become human…

Isaac, who was briefly recalling those events, let out a heavy sigh.

“This is the one drawback of becoming human. It makes you feel emotions you don’t want to feel.”

[What?]

Anyway, how strong are this damn Sylvester’s genes. Even his descendants all look similar to this bastard’s face, geez.

‘I want to torment even the descendants. Puhehehe.’

Well, at least only up to the Gold Cardinal is a carbon copy, thankfully Kina doesn’t resemble him.

As Isaac glared at the statue, Whisper, who had been giggling, suddenly gasped in surprise.

[…Don’t tell me you’re going to destroy it again?]

What?

[Don’t tell me you came here to destroy this?!]

It was a reaction asking if he had gone that crazy, but Isaac picked his ear.

‘Why are you like this? No matter what, it’s the Pope’s statue. I’m not that thoughtless.’

[Oh, then…]

Bang!!!!

Along with Isaac’s gesture, the statue crumbled.

[You destroyed it!!!!]

‘I left the face, didn’t I.’

[…Instead, all the things down there flew off though?]

Isaac touched the gap at the base of the statue as if to say who cares. Then a hidden door appeared.

Isaac grinned as he discovered something inside.

“As expected, I knew it would be here.”

[What is this?]

Instead of answering, Isaac opened a box he took out from inside.

Inside the box was a special necklace.

[This is the Stigma, isn’t it?]

‘Yes, it seems to be used as one of the pillars of the Berit territory barrier now.’

Like the Emperor’s crown, the Stigma, the Pope’s symbol, was not an item passed down through generations.

It was a sacred object bestowed by God after receiving approval on the day of the coming of age ceremony.

‘Simply put, it’s a soulbound item.’

An exclusive item that changes with each Pope.

And as such, it naturally causes rejection if it’s not the owner.

What does that mean?

‘If the current Pope is a fake Pope, it means he can’t use the Stigma.’

[Huh? But the current Pope was wearing the Stigma, wasn’t he?]

‘Of course it’s fake.’

[Eek, you’re saying no one noticed the fake?]

‘Well, even if it’s fake, it’s not a knock-off. How could a mere human make an exact copy of such a divine object?’

[Then…]

Isaac looked at the back of the Stigma he had taken out. The owner’s name was engraved there.

-.

Seeing that name, Isaac grinned as if he had expected it.

‘As I thought.’

Whisper was surprised.

[Julio is the current Pope’s… no, the current Pope’s older brother’s name, right? Why is the older brother’s Stigma here?]

‘Why else? Since the Pope’s older brother had the accident after his coming of age ceremony, of course he would have received the Stigma?’

[!]

‘But the younger brother isn’t the chosen one, so if he uses this it will cause rejection. That’s why it was kept here.’

[Then, what’s the Stigma the current Pope is wearing?]

‘What else? It belongs to this statue’s owner.’

[Sylvester’s Stigma?!]

Isaac smiled wickedly like a fox.

‘Anyone could use that bastard Sylvester’s Stigma.’

[Wow… How do you know that?]

‘Because I saw it myself.’

[Wow?!]

‘And why would the Pope deliberately not use his own and use an ancestor’s? It’s clear proof he’s fake.’

[Eeek. Then why did you send the Blue family head to the Pope? You didn’t need to do it if the evidence was here!]

‘He’s pissed off. To rough him up a bit.’

[Oh my. He could have done the opposite then.]

‘Using my body doesn’t suit me. That’s for priests whose brains are all muscle.’

Well, it was killing two birds with one stone.

If Grandpa catches that Pope bastard, we can verify with this.

‘If we bring this to him, it will cause rejection.’

What would happen if we show the Stigma causing rejection in front of everyone?

[It would be perfect evidence to make him step down from the Pope position. The next Pope election would be moved up.]

‘Yes. And if Grandpa takes Sylvester’s Stigma…’

[Aha, you’re thinking of offering this together as evidence? As expected…!]

‘Are you crazy?’

[Pardon?]

‘I’m going to secretly switch it with a fake.’

[What?!]

What does he think I brought the dragon for!

‘Right! A dragon should be able to make a forgery!’

[Even a dragon wouldn’t try to make that…]

‘Make it! I’ll seduce her by saying I’ll marry her!’

[This person’s karmic debt is piling up…]

‘I’ll send him to his grave with the added crime of forging a fake Stigma!’

[No, by that logic you’d also be guilty of forgery…]

‘It’s fine if I don’t get caught! Even if I do, I’ll just say the Supreme God ordered it!’

[…Somehow it feels like karmic debt is piling up for the Supreme God too.]

What, man?

[…At this point it feels like even the Supreme God wants something from Master and is just watching…]

Whisper muttered, but regardless, Isaac smiled wickedly.

‘With just Sylvester’s Stigma, I can use that power even if I don’t become Pope.’

The fact that anyone can use it means I can use it too.

And with just that, I can go to the divine realm and summon gods. I could also embezzle various things from the Pope.

‘Of course, it’s also possible to summon the god that awakens Saints.’

[Ooooh!]

‘A god that eats living sacrifices probably isn’t a noble higher god. Then I’ll beat it to death to tame it, and make it only eat food I give.’

[Ooooh! You’re going to offer the Pope’s family as food?]

“No? I’m going to throw in anyone who disobeys me.”

Whisper fell silent.

[…Um, Master. That’s tyranny…]

“The Imperial Family is in my grasp too, so what’s the problem? I’ll show you what terror politics is.”

…Is this country really okay?

Is he really becoming Pope? Won’t he receive divine punishment?

But it was then.

Suddenly Isaac hurriedly turned his gaze.

“Ah, it’s over.”

[Huh? What is?]

“The fight is over. Both Shuri’s side and Grandpa’s side.”

[Oh! Which side won?]

“Shuri is as expected, and Grandpa is…”