Chapter 531 During the Winter
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Heh heh heh… well, well. That sounds like it was quite the ordeal,” Archbishop Trantestar said.
”It wasn’t exactly a laughing matter for me…” I replied.
It had been a few days since my life-or-death struggle with Mother Marian.
I was visiting Archbishop Trantestar at the Canarias Great Cathedral.
I had heard that he, who hadn’t shown his face in quite some time, finally had a gap in his schedule today.
It wasn’t that I particularly wanted to look at this smirking old man’s face.
I wanted to hear his take on the Church’s direction now that the Wielope Empire had shifted its policy.
Plus, well, we had plenty of business to discuss.
However, before we could get to the main point, he hit me with a “Yeah, I heard the news,” and started prying about the situation with Marian.
Apparently, from his perspective, it was a shocking story that was also worth a massive laugh.
Must be nice, seeing it as someone else’s problem…
’”Well now, my apologies, my apologies. Still, it’s a good thing you can look back on it as a joke now. Your ‘little soldier’ is still attached, isn’t it? You don’t look like you’re in poor health, either,”‘ Trantestar teased.
”…Well, thanks to everyone’s help. As you can see, I managed to pull through thanks to the devoted nursing of my wives,” I answered.
”Heh heh heh… I see, I see. That is truly wonderful,” said Trantestar.
We were past the point of needing formal restraint, but this old man really was a piece of work.
I had exaggerated the story a bit, but it was true that my wives had looked after me.
Well, I call it ‘nursing,’ but it was mostly just mental care.
I had suffered a total defeat in my greatest field of expertise, after all…
If it weren’t for the sweet, submissive service s*x from my wives and my cute children, things might have been dicey.
Oh, you’re wondering about my d**k and my stamina? That part was perfectly fine. I went home, took a nap, and woke up with a morning wood.
”Still, to think it was that Mother Marian… From my position, the fact that you even got her into that kind of situation is surprising. Are you just that incredible, or has she changed? If it were her in her younger days, it never would have ended like this,” Trantestar mused.
Marian in her younger days, huh…
She still looks young now, so it’s hard to wrap my head around, but I can imagine her being even more rigid and sharp than she is today.
She must have been incredibly popular, but also a total ice queen. I’d heard stories that she once made a training monk—who had the balls to ask her for some ‘joint training’¹—e**culate on the spot with a single glare.
Well, enough about Marian. I cleared my throat and moved on to the main topic.
”So? What exactly has the Archbishop been doing for the last few weeks?” I asked.
”Ah, just a little business trip. Mostly to the East and the South,” Trantestar said.
”Wielope and the Holy City, then?” I replied.
”Well, something like that,” Trantestar said.
As I suspected, the shady Archbishop had been moving around behind the scenes. Knowing his usual suspicious self, I thought he might tell me it was a secret, but it seemed he didn’t feel the need to hide anything from me.
”How were things looking over there?” I asked.
”Let’s see… When the tide changes, all sorts of things happen. There are those who try to swim against the flow, those who try to stay right where they are, and those who just get swept away entirely,” Trantestar explained.
I nodded along to show I understood. From their perspective, the Empire had suddenly pulled a 180 on its policy, and they were currently in the middle of a mess.
By the way, from what I’d heard before, the family of my disciple Nina-Mailse probably falls into the ‘swept away’ category while trying to stay put. They don’t make big, flashy moves, but they want to keep their connections so they can hopefully profit from the new status quo. The real problem is the ones who are trying to fight the current.
”Was everything okay?” I asked.
”As you can see. I suppose it means they aren’t cornered enough to resort to extreme measures just yet. If the hammer’s going to fall, it’ll be in the spring,” Trantestar said.
”Spring…” I muttered.
”Yes. It was a blessing that winter arrived when it did. It seems the Imperial Army has decided to spend the season coordinating with the various nations. For the people currently acting like they own the place, it’s like having the ladder pulled out from under them. It’s only natural they’d demand some after-sales service,” Trantestar said.
I see. That was a detail I couldn’t get from Nina’s family back in the Empire. Until now, the Empire had been expanding by either charming or replacing the leaders of small neighboring countries.
With the sudden withdrawal, those who were propped up are panicking. But if the Empire really is leaving, they can’t complain too loudly, or they’ll be in deep trouble once the Empire is gone.
After all, these are people who collaborated with the invaders; they aren’t exactly popular. To fix that, they’ll be making their moves during the winter. Joining forces with the remaining resistance, fighting, fleeing—all sorts of things. They’re likely so busy they don’t have time to mess with an Archbishop.
”Is it going smoothly?” I asked.
”In some places, yes. In others, no. However, on the surface, everyone is in a welcoming mood. Though I imagine the people in the ‘Holy City’ are probably annoyed that they’ve lost their excuses to denounce the ‘Holy Eminence’,” Trantestar said.
Whoops, so the exceptions were inside the Church… They were the ones who had been criticizing how the ‘Holy Eminence’ handled the Empire. Or criticizing the response to the ‘Stampede’ incident².
But as soon as the ‘Holy Eminence’ left the ‘Holy City’ and came to our country, the Empire changed its tune. No matter how you look at it, it seems like there was some kind of backroom deal, and they can’t exactly keep criticizing the anti-Empire policy now. So, that means the next thing they’ll target is…
”What about the convent system… and the marriage of monks?” I asked.
”Ah, exactly as you’d imagine. The people who used to treat convents as cash cows—or ignored them entirely—are now talking very seriously about ‘ethics’ and ‘proper behavior.’ However, we aren’t hearing those complaints from the actual convents themselves. In reality, there was probably a lot of demand for this,” Trantestar replied.
The issue of monk marriage, which started with my beloved ‘Saint’ Sister Amelia. As one of the people involved, I had my anxieties, but if the other monks who are in the same boat aren’t turning into critics, then we can probably make it work…
”Well, that’s another thing that will wait until spring. The convents in the city are fine, but it’ll take time to gather the opinions of the training monks out in the middle of nowhere. You can just relax… and focus on making babies with that Elf named Carley,” Trantestar said.
”Oh, as for Carley, she successfully got pregnant the other day,” I said.
”…Hm?”
”I said, she’s pregnant,” I repeated.
”…My, you really do manage to surprise me every single time. I didn’t think the race known as Elves conceived quite so easily…” Trantestar muttered.
”Well, she’s pregnant regardless,” I said.
”…I see,” Trantestar replied.
The Archbishop had a look on his face that I couldn’t quite describe. Personally, I felt great, like I’d finally scored a win and paid him back for the earlier teasing about Marian.
Yes, Carley—the ‘Mother’ of Wielope and an Ancient Elf—had successfully conceived my child. Apparently, she had been using pregnancy-testing magic³ on herself every single day, and she was glowing when she gave me the report the moment she found out.
That news was great on its own, but it also meant the agreement with Wielope would be fulfilled. My only concern is sending a pregnant Carley back home, but for now, I’m relieved. I need to make sure she’s well-cared for while she’s still here.
”As for the rest… regarding the breeding of the Pororo Snails, that will also have to wait for spring. Things are going well for now, but the real test is whether they can survive the winter,” I said.
”I see. So that means you’re actually quite free right now… Ah, wait, there was still the matter of the guests from the Southern Continent,” Trantestar noted.
”That’s right. Actually, I’m surprised you knew about the Southern Continent situation,” I said.
”Of course I did. My subordinates who stayed behind said that the merchants from the Sylvaol Kingdom have been coming by to check in quite frequently,” Trantestar said.
The people he’s talking about aren’t the Uminari Merchant Guild or the Yuunari Merchant Guild that I usually deal with. He’s likely talking about the big merchant guilds who have been scrambling to get an audience ever since ‘That Person’s Messenger’ arrived from the Southern Continent.
That ‘Messenger’ is supposed to arrive in the Canaria Kingdom soon. I heard they’ve already left the maritime nation of Sylvaol in the southwest and are currently on the road. This is pretty much all that’s left on my winter to-do list.
”By the way, have you ever met someone from the Southern Continent before?” Trantestar asked.
”No, never. Is there something I should watch out for?” I asked.
”Heh heh heh… is that so? There isn’t much to worry about, but well, you should look forward to it,” Trantestar chuckled.
In any case, while feeling a bit annoyed that the Archbishop had gone back to his usual smirking self, our conversation for the day came to an end.
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Summary:
Protagonist consults Archbishop Trantestar regarding the geopolitical shift of the Wielope Empire’s withdrawal. Discussion shifts from Mother Marian to the shocking revelation of Carley’s pregnancy. Winter serves as a temporary reprieve before the expected chaos of spring arrives with Southern Continent messengers
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Trivia:
- The ‘Stampede’ incident was a major previous plot point involving monster surges
- Elven fertility is canonically established as extremely low in this world
- The ‘training’ monk anecdote serves as a power-scaling indicator for Mother Marian’s mental/sexual aura
- Pororo Snail breeding is likely a high-value economic venture meant to stabilize the kingdom’s finance
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Character Insight:
Trantestar displays rare genuine surprise at Carley’s pregnancy, while the protagonist shows increased confidence in playing political ‘wins’ against church authorities.
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Glossary:
Notes:
• Trantestar – A smirking, middle‑aged or elderly Archbishop of the Canarias Great Cathedral, he initiates the current trial, appears as a shrewd, suspiciously neutral figure allied with Kento while overseeing Church politics during the Empire’s retreat.
• Marian – Mother Superior of the Canarias convent, Ascetic Faction nun of the Church of Demon‑Subjugation, black habit, wavy purple hair, busty, tear‑shaped mole under one eye, Monroe walk. She confronts Kento about the Devil’s Stick, obsessed with Alex‑kyun, uses supernatural vaginal control to overwhelm partners, mixing playful provocation with ecstatic desire for union with the Shopkeeper.
• Nina-Mailse – Nina (Nina‑Mailse), a short‑haired violet‑haired Sacred Artificer from the Holy City, once a Purist Ward of the Wielope Empire, now wears thick bottle‑bottom glasses, is loyal to the Saint, quietly rebellious, and serves as Kento’s disciple and administrator of the Canarias convent. She reacts with suspicion and hidden enjoyment to his antics.
• Mailse – A surname paired with Nina. The Mailse lineage represents a faction within the Empire that prefers to remain stationary rather than actively resist or flee the changing political tides.
• Nina – Nina (Nina‑Mailse), a short‑haired violet‑haired Sacred Artificer from the Holy City, once a Purist Ward of the Wielope Empire who abandoned fundamentalism. She wears thick bottle‑bottom glasses, has a sharp mind, is loyal to the Saint and quietly rebellious. Now she serves as the protagonist’s disciple and shop user, while her family, bearing the Nina name, navigates imperial political shifts to secure their standing.
• Amelia – Light‑blue‑haired Sister of the Canarias convent, once shy and saintly, now pregnant and still wearing Kento’s ring on her left finger. Her blushes linger, ears and neck tinted red, voluptuous in habit. She runs soup kitchens and shop stock, once sought conception for faith, now the only sister who visited the protagonist for that sacred purpose, her devotion unchanged. A figure from his past, noted for being someone he could ‘bed’ despite her nature.
• Carley – Ancient Elf Haha-sama, called Mother, is a youthful elven beauty with long autumn-leaf green hair and a soft, flat-chested form—Captain of the Wielope Empire, one of Kento’s wives, and now a rare elven mother who has successfully conceived. A blunt, pragmatic matriarch to assassins and royalty like Emperor Dee-bou and Gustav, she grants Forest Blessings, steers church-state talks, remains unshaken by magic or tentacle restraints, and possesses extraordinary physical and sexual stamina in service of lineage and empire.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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