"Why do I have to go through this though?"
"Well, it's the same as the robes you were wearing already."
"Hey, Allen. You sure you ain't doing this just cuz it's annoying for me?"
"Not at all."
"At least look me in the eyes when you say that!"
Kiel glared angrily at Allen, who was evading his gaze while trying to keep from laughing.
"U-umm, Master Kiel, could you please hold still if possible?"
There were multiple nuns helping Kiel put on his robes, so they did not want him moving around a lot.
"O-okay."
Kiel frowned and sighed, holding back from complaining any further.
Allen's party was currently inside the largest building in the city of Niel.
They had arrived in the Holy Land three days ago.
There they reported to the priest Nicolai everything that had happened so far.
They also informed him of the death of Gushara Serbilor, the founder of the Evil Cult.
Though when it came to the primordial Demon General Kyubel's secret plans and the lives gathered by turning people into Pagan Worshippers, Allen spoke on rather ambiguous terms.
Nicolai then decided to pass on that information to priests higher in the church's hierarchy.
Allen's party was told to wait in the building while that happened.
But they did not want to waste time like that, so Allen left a [Nest] inside the building, and went to northern Rosenheim to help with the war there.
He planned a strategy that would not let the Demon King's Army escape, and successfully killed a Demon General.
Thanks to that, he reached Level 92.
He no longer had to worry when facing a Demon General.
According to Rosenheim, the Demon King's Army there numbered around half a million entities, and he believed he had already killed most of them.
Once Rosenheim was largely clear, he joined the Ten Heroic Beasts with Prince Zew, and fought the Demon King's Army advance into the Central Continent.
The Demon King's Army forces there numbered nearly a million, but most of them had been killed as well.
There were way more Beelings birthed from Insect A summons, outnumbering the monsters.
Allen's motivation was always focused on not leaving a single enemy alive, so his plan involved a portion of his forces circling around the battlefield to cut off anyone who tried escaping.
Not even a handful of days were needed to kill the Demon General leading the Demon King's Army there.
While all that was going on, Princess Shea had not seen Prince Zew yet.
The war in Rosenheim and the Central Continent were important, but she decided to focus her efforts on the side of Clebeur.
Most of the priests from Theomenia had escaped to Niel, so the city now housed an immense number of priests that served Elmea's Church.
Allen's party had left in secret to help fight the Demon King's Army elsewhere, and while they were still away, the priests had finished talking and reached conclusions.
There were two conclusions. First, if everything Allen's party had told Nicolai was true, then they had to celebrate with a special ceremony in Niel.
They wanted as many people as possible to know about their deeds.
That would also instill hope into the many people who had lost their loved ones and families during the incident.
The second decision was to make Kiel their next pope, since they had lost their current one.
"I REFUSE!!" was Kiel's immediate response.
Giving him the position of pope had already been in talks before they split into three groups when leaving Niel.
Those in Elmea's Church believed anyone born with a Talent that allowed them to heal others, like saints, was gifted by the God of Creation Elmea.
And the priest who stood above all of them, the pope, had the duty to find those born with such Talents, regardless of their social standing or family.
Though there were no saints amongst beastmen.
The healing Talents granted by the Beast God Garm were different to those of Saints or Holy Maidens.
Kiel had the Venerable Talent, which stood a level above that of a Saint.
Now he had defeated Gushara and saved humanity from his evil.
But his Talent was not reason enough to turn him into the pope.
What made the priests so insistent that Kiel had to be the next pope was something that happened later.
Kiel had used his Purification Magic on the pope's bones, robes, cane, and cape, before returning them all to Elmea's Church.
He did that simply as a small and kind gesture, so 'the old man gets a proper burial', but the church accepted that in tears and deeply moved.
Many nearly revered Kiel for carrying out the heavy duty of relieving the pope from the suffering he had been subjected to.
When Kiel brought the pope's remains to them, many knelt onto the ground and thanked him profusely.
The titles and positions of Elmea's Church were as follows:
Popes and cardinals are elected inside the church.
Everyone from priests to archbishops can vote for someone to become pope.
Ministers to archbishops are chosen by recommendation of others.
Everyone below them reaches their positions through experience or duties carried out.
Pope, head of Elmea's Church, receives oracles from the God of Creation Elmea. Cardinals, the pope's advisers and assistants, there's multiple of them. Archbishops, leaders of Elmea's Church in every country, there's only one in each country. Bishops, aides to archbishops, there's multiple of them. High ministers, manage the churches in big cities and Dungeon cities. Ministers, aid high ministers, or watch over churches in moderately sized cities. Deacons, look over churches in small towns or villages. They also work as judges to oversee trials and make sure no injustice is committed. Priests, they're a step below deacons. The basic members of Elmea's Church. Priest apprentices, still underage and not yet in charge of any duties in Elmea's Church.
The entire organization had agreed unanimously on making Kiel pope.
Kiel was terrified hearing that, but Kurena saying "You'll be pope? That's amazing" with enthused eyes did not help.
Most of the rest of the party felt the same way.
When Kiel mentioned he had planned on returning to the Carnell territory once the war was over, the priests were moved even more.
They understood that this boy who had appeared so miraculously was not only trying to save the Holy Land, but the entire world from the Demon King's Army.
Kiel was following the path of grace laid out in front of him by Elmea, while most priests would just remain where they felt comfortable.
When Theomenia began to fall and crumble under the Pagan Worshippers' attack, many priests had been struck by fear and escaped, running for dear life.
But seeing Kiel had renewed their forces, giving them the motivation to stand up and fight again.
Many had resolved to never give up until Kiel accepted to become their pope.
"Please don't, that wasn't my intention at all. Just listen to me!!" Kiel continued trying to argue his way out of it, but the priests refused to give up.
While Allen and the others were helping over in Rosenheim, Kiel was stuck back in Niel, struggling to avoid the priests' insistence.
Dogora was also not taking part in the way in Rosenheim.
He had recovered considerably, but still needed to take a lot of care.
Ciel continued being the only one dealing the final blow to Demon Generals in Rosenheim.
In the end, Kiel was able to reach a compromise with the priests, and agreed to become a pope apprentice.
When Allen heard about that, he felt like Kiel had nearly lost the discussion entirely.
There probably had been some sort of talks with the higher-ups in the empire regarding Kiel as well.
This was the first time anyone had been granted the position of pope apprentice, so the church in the city of Carnell had to undergo major changes to accommodate that.
Unlike Allen's S Rank Adventurer title that already existed twenty years ago, this was the first time anyone had become pope apprentice.
Kiel had been granted the same position of power as a cardinal, while special arrangements were made to facilitate his future transition into becoming the pope.
Somehow he had managed to jump the ranks from priest apprentice to pope apprentice.
Just like how the Adventurer's Guild existed to protect people from monsters, Elmea's Church was an organization watching over the spirits of people.
Now Kiel stood nearly at the top of said organization.
If he handled things badly, he could cause many to lose faith.
That was Kiel's new responsibility.
Not to mention that he could get rid of the 'apprentice' part of his title at any moment if he wished.
The magic device was used again that day, informing the world that the dangers that prompted the distress signal before had been fully taken care of, and that Kiel had become the pope apprentice.
They also mentioned that he was part of the S Rank Adventurer Allen's party.
Anyone who dared oppose Kiel's position would be dealt with by the church.
"Isn't it a bit weird though? An apprentice wearing a crown."
"Not at all, it's not like the cardinals can take up the crown instead."
The nun said without much concern while fitting Kiel's robes.
Kiel's robes and cane had both been found in the S Rank Dungeon.
Usually he put them on alone, but everyone was trying to take care of him now.
They were also celebrating the coronation of the first ever pope apprentice, so he had to look his best.
Since Allen had used the Extra Attack on the Skeleton Pope, his crown had gotten rather damaged.
Kiel was wearing a provisional crown.
As aides of the pope, the cardinals had approved of letting Kiel wear the crown as pope apprentice.
They said that a new face being crowned in Niel's central square, and the ceremony afterwards, would instill hope into the people of the city.
There had never been a cardinal who was granted a crown before. But in reality they were doing that because Kiel was the closest one to the position of pope now.
Allen felt like Kiel was the only one bringing up the fact he was still an apprentice.
"You look incredible, brother!"
"Y-you think so?"
Kiel's little sister Nina was also in the changing room with him.
Some of Carnell's servants were there too.
Nina was the same age as Allen's brother Mash, and this year she would start attending the Nobles' School in the capital.
She had taken a leave from school to join the servants coming to look after Kiel.
Today was Kiel's big day, so she immediately said "I'm going too!"
The time was nearing, and the coronation was about to happen on the platform built on the city's square.
Originally Kiel would also have to give a speech to the Holy Land after being crowned, but he vehemently refused to do so, ultimately managing to convince a cardinal to do it for him.
Everyone in the party watched excitedly as Kiel was taken out.
Usually such a coronation would be conducted on the stairs leading to Theomenia's temple.
The citizens would look up the stairs and celebrate their new pope, but now they would have to make do with a wooden platform.
Apparently the square in Niel and most other big cities had some sort of connection with the stairs of Theomenia's temple.
That was likely also a reason why the special ceremony afterwards could be conducted there.
Allen's party was also allowed to step up onto the platform to watch Kiel's coronation from a corner of it.
"There's so many people here!"
Merle's eyes glistened as she watched the crowd of more than a hundred thousand people.
The platform had twenty simple steps leading up, and Allen's party with Nina were standing in a corner of the platform atop those stairs.
Even Shea, Lud, and Rath, had come to watch him.
(Hm? Merle?)
No one else stood in the center of the platform yet.
Allen's party was in a corner, waiting for Kiel to arrive.
Somehow Merle seemed to be pulled in by the crowd however, slowly inching forward and coming into view.
"Hey, shouldn't someone stop her?"
Dogora felt unsure if it was alright to let Merle there, even though it was such an important ceremony.
"Hum!"
Merle began striking her cool poses.
There was a crowd there.
Somehow that made her think that was the perfect situation to show off her poses.
She began letting the crowd see all the poses she had thought of so far.
The crowd had been waiting to see their new pope apprentice, looking at the platform excitedly, but for some reason only a small dwarf appeared there.
There were twenty steps between the platform and the crowd, making her look even smaller.
But there she was, little Merle trying her hardest to see the effect her cool poses had on the crowd.
(I kinda want to see more of this.)
It did not seem like it would take much longer for Kiel to come out and the ceremony to begin.
"Say Dogora, why don't you go show yourself to the crowd too?"
"Huh?! Are you crazy?"
"Just think about it, if you really want to become a hero, you need to show your face in public every so often too."
(Not to mention that apparently you managed to form a pact with the Goddess of Fire Freya.)
Now that Dogora was Freya's apostle, Allen had been thinking about various things.
He felt like if he showed himself in public, it could have rather good effects on his career.
'Ohhh, that's genius!! This truly is a magnificent crowd. You have to go! Step forward Dogora!!'
The Goddess of Fire Freya answered vigorously as well, her voice transmitted through the Divine Artifact Kagutsuchi.
Everyone was trying to push Dogora to step forward and strike a cool pose as well.
"Wait, no. That's not really the kind of hero I'm trying to be."
He did not know what type of hero he wanted to be, but he knew this was not it.
'What are you saying? You're my apostle. Go and fulfill your duty!'
"Woah that's hot?! What did you do that for?!"
Kagutsuchi looked like a regular iron battleaxe, but then it quickly began glowing red hot.
The Goddess of Fire Freya had regained a little of her power.
And even though Dogora was supposed to have [Fire Resistance], his rear began to smoke and burn.
Apparently Freya's fire was different.
The pain and heat made Dogora hop forward onto the platform.
"U-umm, if possible we'd like to start the ceremony soon."
The priest Nicolai spoke awkwardly to Allen's party, who were starting to make a lot of noise in their corner of the platform.
Merle was also surrounded by multiple priests who dragged her back to a corner.
(Oh, there's Kiel.)
Kiel came, accompanied by the cardinals, and he was taken to the platform atop all the steps.
It was finally time for Kiel's coronation ceremony to begin.
