When A Mage Revolts

"Director Benjamin… You have really made a big stir out of things this time."

In the tavern of Pearl Lake, Duke Collin met with Benjamin once again. However, this time, his expression was a rather mixed one; he looked at Benjamin as though he was looking at a monster.

Nevertheless, Benjamin answered with a smile. "Of course. If we can't make big enough fuss, then wouldn't we've wasted our efforts?"

By that time, it had been two days since the posters had been put up all over the kingdom, but the effects of it were still brewing. For some strange reason, the Church was handling the matter at a slower pace than usual. Their ban on the discussion was not as swift as before. Instead, it was causing the people's focus on the matter to increase. There was not a single person who had not heard or did not know about it.

There were even graffiti, similar to the comic on the poster, appearing on the streets in some of the cities. Their authors were unknown, but they all seemed to be criticizing the Church. It was obvious that there were idealistic citizens amongst the people who had been inspired by Benjamin's actions, and were beginning to express their dissatisfaction. Amongst them were those who immediately redeemed the mages; these were probably the actions of the extremely rare Native Mages of the Kingdom of Helius.

This had caused Benjamin's hope to rise.

Not everyone was being kept in the dark. Although the Church had been brainwashing them every day, this country still maintained a clear sense of self consciousness.

Because of that, he was meeting Duke Collin again today not just to fulfill the nobles' wishes to see the King, but also for plans to go on to the next stage.

"...Whatever it is, I've helped you ship that batch of goods through the main gates. You should fulfill the promise you made at the start now, shouldn't you?" Duke Collin was slightly hasty. "Where is His Majesty? I need to see him."

"His Majesty is in this village. After we are done with our discussion, you can go and meet with him, naturally," Benjamin, however, waved his hands, and turned the topic around. "Now, there's another issue I wish to have a little discussion with you about."

Duke Collin frowned. "What issue?"

It was obvious that he had another bad feeling about it.

"Is it still possible to implement the coup you've mentioned before?" Benjamin gradually lowered his voice. "Right now, the matter of the Church putting His Majesty under house arrest is being discussed by everyone outside, so isn't His Majesty regaining his power… Something that everyone is hoping for?"

There was a huge change in Duke Collin's expression.

"What, what are you saying? Ha ha ha… What coup?" At the mention of the topic, he began to act ignorant and amazed. It was really something. "Director Benjamin, some things must not be simply said. The royal army has always been the wolfhounds under the command of the Church, how, how is it possible for them to betray the Church?"

"...Duke, sir. Do you really want to play games with me?"

"No no no, Director, I think I do not quite understand what you're saying."

Hearing that, Benjamin shook his head helplessly. It was clear that Duke Collin was prepared to act dumb until the end. However, the situation before them now was definitely the best opportunity they had to retaliate against the Church.

Because of that, he continued his persuasion. "Although the royal army is the puppet of the Church, that is only because the royal family has always stood on the side of the Church. Furthermore, after the defeat of the battle at Icor, as well as their house arrest of the King this time, the reputation of the Church is no longer what it used to be. The royal army may not obey them as obediently as before."

"...You really intend to fight the Church now."

"From the moment I was tied onto the stakes, I have always been fighting them."

Duke Collin gave a sigh.

"I'm unable to predict what the outcome would be of such matters, and you had best not expect us to be your spokespeople," He spoke slowly. "So far, there are fifty thousand men of the royal army stationed in Havenwright. It is impossible to get them to stand on your side. However, if you could make them all maintain a neutral stance and not strike, we would be able to help His Majesty back onto the throne. Of course, all these have to be done without the Church's knowledge."

"How would they not know?"

Duke Collin shrugged, "That… Is not within my capabilities. We'll have to depend on you, Director sir."

Benjamin rubbed his chin quietly.

It would not be an easy task to help the King regain his throne and take his power back. If it were possible, a coup would be perfect. Snatching control of the royal army would render the Church helpless against them. However, if the nobles were unwilling to help, Benjamin would never be able to obtain military control.

The nobles had always tended towards a soft approach for change in government. They would not go against the Church publicly. Nevertheless, St. Peter's Cathedral and the palace were tightly intertwined. How was it possible to escape the eyes of the Church if they wished for a coup.

Should he use some ultimate spell? Use himself as a lure for their attention?

Moreover, even if they were to succeed, things would only go back to the way they had been before. The Church would still be the overlord of this kingdom, as always, and the King on his throne, along with the nobles, would just create a bit of harmless, underhanded trouble at most. Everyone would seem to be united and harmonious on the surface, eating the scraps that fell from between the fingers of the Church.

The nobles seemed to be content with such an outcome, but that was not what Benjamin wanted.

"What I want is simple. To have the entire Church go to hell. However, your plan, sir Duke, seems unable to achieve that," Therefore, after some consideration, Benjamin spoke coldly.

"Such… Such matters must not be rushed, they must be done step by step," Duke Collin was shocked by his words at first, before he began to persuade him again, in a hurried manner. "We should first help His Majesty regain his power, and use the current momentum to suppress the Church's position. Then, the mages can return to the surface. If we can wait until the mages are allowed to walk about publicly in the country, we would not even need to take action for the Church to slowly decline by themselves."

Benjamin expressed doubt. "You can abolish the kingdom's ban on magic?"

"Of course we can't," Duke Collin waved his hands. "But His Majesty can."

"The Church will never allow such a thing to happen. To stop and abolish the ban on magic would be to take away their lifeline, especially for those fanatical believers," Benjamin shook his head. "You do not wish to fight the Church publicly, but simply putting such a suggestion forward, there is no difference with you throwing off your pretenses."

"It's exactly because of that, that we should go slow…"

Duke Collin was about to say more, but Benjamin was no longer interested in listening to him further. With a wave of his hand, he cut the other party off.

The conversation so far had clearly shown everyone's stand. The nobles were reformists who wanted to take the gentle path of reformation. They did not want bloodshed, nor were they willing to make sacrifices; they wanted to slowly press the Church down with political means to achieve their final goal. This path, however, was far too slow for mages.

Also, the Church would never allow the nobles and the royal family to unite and pressure them. A long delay would make hitches more likely to happen. It would be difficult to prevent any unexpected incidents, and it was hard to say when the Church might turn on them and kill them.

Benjamin had a better idea.

In actual fact, the seeds planted in the Kingdom of Helius had sprouted. The mages or commoners who had been inspired by the posters, had harbored discontent in their hearts against the Church. Their existence in this country was already enough to build the foundation of the Church's destruction.

These people might only be drawing graffiti on the streets now, and exchange some negative statements about the Church in secret during their conversations. However, with careful guidance, they could become a tremendously frightening force.

"Duke, sir. As our ideas differ, our conversation ends today," Thus, Benjamin stood up from his chair and turned to leave.

"Wait…" Duke Collin hurriedly called after him. "What about His Majesty? I've helped you guys, you should at least let me meet His Majesty, yes?"

Hearing that, Benjamin stopped. After thinking for some time, he nodded.

"Follow me, then," He opened his mouth to speak. "However… Compared with before, His Majesty has changed his perceptions a whole lot. If you still wish for him to cooperate with you on your plan to 'go slow', you should prepare to be disappointed."

Having finished speaking, he opened the door and left the room. Seeing that, Duke Collin took a deep breath and followed him out.