Fire Emblem Protagonist 24

"Thank you for meeting me so late." Emilia politely bowed.

Even as a candidate, she needed to show proper respect to the person they were talking to. An Archbishop of the Church of the Divine Dragon...

While the church didn't have direct political power, with none of their members holding a seat in the Council of the Wise Men, they still had a powerful influence in the country. The next king would literally be chosen by their god after all. So this meeting was undoubtedly very important.

The old man put on a smile. "Worry not Lady Emilia, it is an honor to receive a candidate on these halls."

Emilia's face became filled with suspicion. "Even so, you have my thanks."

Heitor was not skilled enough to read the Archbishop and know if that smile of his was fake or not, but he knew how to read Emilia, and she definitely believed the smile to be a fake.

But nonetheless, she pressed on. "And so, to not waste your time, let me get straight to the point. I wish for the Church of the Divine Dragon to sponsor me in the Royal Selection." As expected, this is what she had been after.

The Archbishop sighed. "I see... Well, then you have our support." No way it could be that easy. "As do all other candidates, naturally. You were all picked by the Divine Dragon and his wisdom." Ah, so it was that.

They were trying to remain neutral...

Emilia squinted her eyes. "True, but some candidates have shown more piety than others, wouldn't you agree?" Geez, she was going to say that right in front of Al? "Crusch Karsten wishes to break the covenant, would you lend her your aid?"

She brought up a good point however. Most of the candidates had one problem or another with the church...

Crusch's was obvious and Emilia had already talked about it. Priscilla and Anastasia came from countries that weren't really religious, even if the people didn't know of Priscilla's origin. Which meant Emilia... and Felt, would naturally be the ones to reach out to the church. Though he didn't know if Felt had done it already.

The man scratched his beard. "It hurts my heart to agree, but yes, you are sadly correct Lady Emilia..."

He nodded his head to himself. "It's good to see one such as you, showing reverence to the Divine Dragon despite the dark blood which flows under your veins. I pray your journey towards atonement is a clean one."

It took a moment for Heitor to realize what the man had said, and once he did... he immediately scowled. He controled himself however, this was Emilia's battle, starting something like he had done at the beginning of the Royal Selection would only have messed up whatever plan she had.

The Archbishop continued. "But alas, prayers are all that I can offer you, Lady Emilia."

In the end, even if Crusch had outright renounced the Divine Dragon, Emilia was still in a less privileged position when it came to the church. Honestly, they should just be glad none of the faithful had thrown stones at her.

Emilia put a hand on her heart. "Is there anyway to change your mind?"

The man smiled. "My heart is set, Lady Emilia—"

"I've killed an Archbishop of the Witch's Cult. I will kill another." The man immediately became silent. "And as of today, House Astrea stands behind me. The blood of the Sword Saint follows my lead." He... actually hadn't thought about that.

But it was only natural the house of descendants of one of the Three Great Heroes would have a lot of ties with the church. While the Sword Saint Reid and the Sage Shaula weren't seen as straight up gods like Volcanica was, they were extremely important nonetheless.

The Archbishop's face became completely seriously. "Truly? Has Reinhard Van Astrea abandoned Lady Felt?"

Emilia shook her head. "No. Lord Heinkel however—."

"Lord Heinkel is not the Sword Saint." And that was that. "And Lord Heinkel has ever been a... Let us just say it does not surprise me he had chosen your side, Lady Emilia."

In the end the Deputy Commander may have been more of a hindrance than a help when it came to the church...

Heitor suddenly began wondering if the reason Felt had yet to approach the church, was because she knew she would have them in her pocket with one conversation, and decided to use her time with more difficult tasks. What a pain.

Heitor tried once again opening up the conversation. "Um... Perhaps a pilgrimage could help show Lady Emilia's commitment to the faith?" Though he didn't even know how that would work, he had just thrown the idea out there.

The Archbishop hummed. "And who are you, young noble? A servant of the Astreas, perhaps?"

Heitor bowed. "No... This may sound outrageous, but I am the husband of Priscilla Barielle." Would he even know about their marriage already?

His lack of shock seemed to say yes. "Ah, so the young man that caused such a stir in the palace today." Yeah, he definitely knew. He also knew about Sloth, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise. "And from what I know, you caused a stir during the beginning of the Royal Selection too, defending Lady Emilia..."

Heitor nodded. "It's only right to defend the one chosen by the Divine Dragon." Also, she is cute and nice.

"Indeed... I must wonder however, why are you here and not by your wife's side?" Was the man smelling gossip or what?

There wasn't anything really that interesting to say however. "Lady Emilia is my dear friend, and Lady Priscilla is my beloved. I shall aid both of them whenever I am asked."

Once again the man scratched his beard. "A fine reasoning... Then know this, should Lady Barielle step here, she shall receive a warm welcome. It was in her lands that Sloth fell after all, and it was you, her husband, who lead the charge."

This guy... was a cold fucker. Emilia had used the death of Sloth as one of her bargaining chips, and now the Archbishop had straight up said Priscilla deserved the credit for it more than she did.

Heitor sighed. "I'll... I'll be sure to tell her." In the end, he wouldn't throw away Priscilla's opportunities for Emilia.

Emilia cleared her throat. "Lady Priscilla aside, the idea of a pilgrimage—."

"Would indeed help." It would!? "If I may suggest something... how about a pilgrimage to each of the Five Great Cities? The final one being Flanders of course, the place where the Three Great Heroes met."

The city did house arguably the greatest church in Lugunica... Heitor said arguably because truthfully speaking, most of Lugunica's big churches had more or less the same power. There was no big seat of the faith.

Or more accurately, it depended on where the Dragon Priestess currently resided. Since this Royal Selection was to choose someone to be a Dragon Priestess however, the church was naturally in quite the disarray, lacking one of its most important figures.

The Archbishop's smile became wider. "And to truly show Lady Emilia's devotion, she should pray for a hundred and fifty days in each city, naturally without leaving the church in question." That's...

"So, how does that sound? Should you agree, I shall write letters informing of your arrival to my fellow faithful. They shall take care of you during this time of course." That sucked. It super sucked!

One hundred and fifty days for each city!? That would eat up way too much time for the Royal Selection... and all for something that wasn't even guaranteed.

Emilia seeemed to be genuinely considering though, lost in thought...

And then Al snorted, maybe he was too tired of staying silent and just had to say something. "You might as well have asked her to go to the Pleiades Watchtower."

The gladiator shrugged. "This was clearly a miss, so let's just go home already. Winning over the Astreas is good enough for one day." True enough.

Emilia may have failed to win the church over to her side, but she did make crazy progress. She wasn't someone that had to use Priscilla's charity to compete anymore. Hell, in some ways she had gained a bigger support base than Felt.

Al's comment had sparked something in Emilia however. "I wouldn't mind that."

The gladiator tilted his head. "Hey, you aren't thinking of..."

Resolve had returned to her eyes. "A pilgrimage to the Pleiades Watchtower should be more than enough to show my piety? Is it not?"

The Archbishop raised an eyebrow. "I canno deny that, but... To be honest, that sounds ludicrous Lady Emilia. Many a faithful have tried to make the trip in the past, none have succeeded. Not even the current Sword Saint has." Reinhard actually failed at something!?

He frowned. "Not only is the desert filled with sandstorms, but the Sage kills any who approach... Not to mention how the journey is said to be endless. To make it there, it would take..."

Emilia finished it for him. "A divine miracle, no? Then I can only pray I shall receive one." She took a deep breath. "I will journey to the Pleiades Watchtower, and if need be I will win the Sage's support!"

At that point she wouldn't even need the church. If she got the Sage on her side, it would be like getting endorsed by a second Volcanica... Or that would be the case if Emilia was any other candidate. As an half-elf however, doing such a thing would only make the competition even.

The Archbishop didn't seem to have any faith in her at all. "Very well. Do as you wish Lady Emilia... should you make such a journey, naturally the faith will endorse you. Do remember that pride is a sin however, not one as disgusting as envy, but one nonetheless."

She nodded. "So is sloth, and I have no plans to be anything but diligent in the Royal Selection. I will make it to the tower."

Well, Heitor was down for it. As a Fire Emblem protagonist, he was basically legally bound to raid that tower at some point.



//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////



"I see... things seemed to have gone well for you, half-skank." For once Priscilla seemed to genuinely congratulate Emilia.

Even someone as prideful as she, couldn't deny the miracle Emilia had managed to pull off with the Astreas, even if the church thing was a shame.

Felt yawned. "Yep... Super and nice and all. I'm happy for ya, big sis." The small girl looked like she had just woken up. Probably because she had.

Heitor and his group had arrived back super late at the hotel, so they had most likely woken both Priscilla and Felt up. Even if Priscilla didn't really seem like she had rushed out of bed...

Emilia giggled. "Thank you. Especially you Lady Priscilla, I have learned a lot by watching you." Not a good sign! Though it was kind of amazing how the half-elf could genuinely thank her competitors.

Priscilla huffed. "I care not." And now she was back to normal mode. "Now harlot, explain to me why you and my husband arrived so late? Perhaps you desired to test my patience?"

Emilia tilted her head. "Um...? I don't rea~lly remember saying I would come back early though." A-a sassy reply with no hesitation!

Priscilla's eye twitched. "I am far too tired to argue with you, so—."

Before things could escalate any further, Heitor interjected. "Sorry that we woke up Priscilla, but it's not like we knew things were going to take so long..." Maybe they really should have come back home after the talk with Heinkel.

Priscilla's glare immediately silenced him. "I was not asleep you buffoon. I was forced to stay awake to wait for you!"

He scratched his neck, and looked away. "Why? You could have just gone to sleep..."

Priscilla's glare only got worse. "I could not! Not while I worried about you! N-now, stop making me say such ridiculous words!" O-oh...

Oh! "S-sorry...!" He couldn't help, but look away.

Al raised a hand. "You were worried about me too, princess?" Of course the biggest simp in the world couldn't miss this opportunity to get some affection

"Yes, I was worried you would come back. Alas, mine worries became reality, Al." Ouch.

The gladiator just took it as usual though. "Just being on your mind already makes me happy. My bad that I didn't drag cousin back sooner though, I should have known you would be like this..."

Priscilla waved him off. "Just don't make that mistake again, Al. And... thank you for returning mine husband safely."

Al was shocked for a moment, but eventually he recomposed himself. "As long as you're happy, princess."

Emilia clapped her hands together, getting everyone's attention once again. "Oh, and since we are on this topic, there is one more thing I would like to ask of Heitor..."

He smiled. "I'm all ears, Lady Emilia." He wouldn't mind helping her go on another recruiting spree.

She blushed. "I know it's absurd of me, since I have only taken so far... But would you help me reach the Pleiades Watchtower? W-with you by my side I'm su~re I can do it!"

He sent her a thumps up. "I'll be there for you, no worries." As if he would miss what was obviously a very important event!

Al interjected. "Wow, wow, wow cousin. Let's think a bit before we start undertaking legendary journeys. Especially without your wife's permission..." He looked at Priscilla. "Ain't that right, princess?"

Ah, Heitor hadn't thought about that, but the gladiator was right. She had let him make deals with Anastasia, and accompany Emilia at night, but this matter of the Pleiades Watchtower was different. For starters it was way more dangerous.

Priscilla just shrugged however. "He has mine permission of course. Or have you forgotten how I've allowed mine husband to do as he wishes when it comes to the candidates?"

She then scowled, clearly remembering that talk they had about the system. "Although there are indeed some certain exceptions...! A piggy in the end must wear a leash, like a dog." That sounded pervert.

Al recoiled. "B-but princess, this isn't a small issue! This is the Pleiades Watchtower we are talking about!" A perfect place for a protagonist to reach!

Felt, who had mostly observed thus far, agreed with the gladiator. "Yeah. I've got not horse in this race, but it's might weird you're worried about your husband coming late, and then letting the guy do shit like that."

Priscilla smirked. "Do not mistake mine worries for before as mineself thinking my husband to be incapable. I shall not hold him back from chasing glory as long as he likes."

Basically, she thought he could do whatever he wanted to, but still got worried when he got back home late. That was... strangely cute? Strangely cute for Priscilla at least.

She continued. "I have no desire to turn him into a neutered dog like your knight after all." Um? Was this gonna turn into a surprising bully Reinhard session?

Felt snorted. "Heh, fair enough! I would watch what your say though, sooner or later I'm gonna make sure Reinhard shows some spine, even if I have to shove it inside of him."

Emilia shily looked down. "So... does this mean you will come, Heitor?"

"Yep! You can count on me!" She just needed to call him when she was ready.

She smiled. "Then I will start the preparations as soon as possible." Preparations which probably included talking with the Astreas, and finding Puck a crystal, if he had to guess.

Priscilla has a annoyed look on her face. "Now that this is all done, let us go to sleep piggy, I'm tired... and we have something to do tomorrow."

He tilted his head. "Um? What do you got in mind?" It went without saying that since he helped Emilia, he wouldn't hesitate to help his own wife.

"The Valkyrie wishes to meet us tomorrow and discuss her little plan involving you, that's all." So he was finally gonna learn what Crusch had in mind for him...

He could have jusf asked Priscilla at anytime of course, the baroness clearly knew what was going on. However, he had stayed not knowing for so long that he wanted to hear from Crusch's mouth.

Seeing her again would be nice too. "I'm looking forward to it then."

They began preparing to head to sleep, however... Priscilla suddenly scowled. "Actually, there is one thing I'm curious about..." Why did he have a bad feeling about this? "Why is the half-skank still here?"

Emilia blinked in confusion. "B-because why wouldn't I be...?" And Heitor was just as confused as her.

Priscilla rolled her eyes. "Fool. You have made Heinkel Astrea into your servant, have you not? Stay with the Astreas then." She made a shooing motion with her hands. "I've no need to shelter you anymore."

She... she actually had a good point now that Heitor thought about it. Although he wasn't sure he could trust Heinkel to guide a candidate... but then again, with the Fire Emblem, hurting Emilia wouldn't exactly be wise.

Heitor put a hand on his chin. "Huh, now that you mention it, it's true that Emilia finally found her footing."

The half-elf suddenly looked nervous. "Even so, I would rea~lly appreciate it if Lady Priscilla let me stay..."

The baroness clicked her tongue. "You may stay." Emilia let out a sigh of relief... and then regretted it. "But only for tonight, since it's already so late. I better not see your hideous visage tomorrow."

The half-elf's face became filled with panic. "B-but...! Y-you are letting Felt stay!"

Priscilla grinned. "The rat stays here because she's a nobody who owns nothing."

"Fuck you, bitch." Felt went ignored.

Seriously, Priscilla didn't even bat an eye. "While you, as you have proudly stated, have gained the loyalty of Heinkel Astrea." She started clapping. "Congratulations, men with awful taste do exist."

Emilia's lips trembled. "B-but... I want to stay here..."

Priscilla laughed like a super villain. "Too bad! To want and to have are two different things! Unless you're me of course!"

The half-elf looked at Heitor for support, with tears in the corner of her eyes. "H-Heitor, please convince her otherwise..." Geez, there was no way he could resist that look.

"Hey, Priscilla, I know that—."

"No."

Welp, this was inevitable.