I Became The Pope, Now What?

C9 Workshop of the Holy Land. It was where the new weapons and ballistic technologies were researched for mass production to ensure the hegemony of the faith of Solis.

The one who oversaw the Holy Land's entire manufacturing sector was Sylvester's loyal Cardinal, Robert Maxim.

Sylvester met the man directly at the workshop as his idea needed to be implemented immediately since he had to leave for Sorrow Kingdom soon and could not spare any time for 'inventions'.

"Lord Bard." Cardinal Robert Maxim arrived in the private chamber soon after.

"Your eminence," Sylvester spoke, his voice low and urgent. "I have come to speak of a plan, a means by which we might vanquish bloodlings without risking the lives of our soldiers or relying on the might of our powerhouses."

Cardinal Robert shifted into his seat, knowing very well that Sylvester never joked about such matters. The prospect of winning against Bloodlings easily was too great, and it scared him to even think of what Sylvester had in mind.

"Just a moment, Lord Bard." Cardinal Robert got up and ensured the private chamber was tightly shut and nobody could hear them talk. "What's the plan?"

Sylvester took out the orb from his bag and a sheet of paper. He drew some diagrams on it and showed them. "The C9 department was wrong when it came to research. We didn't need a canon; we required a beam. This lens in the diagram comprises neatly and precisely placed prism glasses. Together, they can work in two ways.

"One is to concentrate the light rays on one point. In this case, you hold the side with the pattern towards the light source, and then on the other side, all that light will concentrate on one spot. The other usage is the opposite, as you can use a small light source to magnify its light — perfect for usage in lighthouses. What we need is the first type, as we can use light crystals to emit a strong beam and Solarium crystals to ensure the beam carries the extra punch."

[A/N: Search on YT - Fresnel Lens Melting Rock.]

Cardinal Robert silently heard the simple explanation while observing the drawn diagram of the small contraption. He could see from the image how the light would be bent.

"What about the size?" Robert asked.

"It needs to be big if we want the focal point of the light to be distant. So the bigger it is, the farther its focal point will be. If we make it right, I believe it can easily melt stone, and if we add the right punch, it might just harm a Bloodling. Get multiple of these, and the Bloodling might die." Sylvester finished his little pitch meeting.

Robert looked at the diagram with focus and did all the calculations in mind. "To make a glass two metres wide, it'd take ten Gold Graces, if not more. Making a frame will be easy, while the crystals will be the biggest expense."

"It shouldn't be a problem." Sylvester interrupted. "We are the Church of Solis. We are rich. Furthermore, it's a small price to pay for peace from Bloodlings."

"How will you test it? We will need a Bloodling."

Sylvester chuckled. "Last I heard, more than twelve thousand bloodlings had been reported. So we have enough targets to practice, your eminence. I just wish you could provide me with a timeframe until the first prototype."

Cardinal Robert rubbed his thin, stubble beard as he pondered. He was, after all, a scientist before anything else. He was a simple human with no wizardry or knightly magic talents, yet he attained the high rank of Cardinal.

Sylvester had complete faith in the latter's intelligence.

"Lord Bard, the calculations are the easy part. I can do that in my mind itself. The problem will appear when creating the glass. It needs to be clear and effective, which will take multiple attempts. At best, I can provide you with a prototype in a month's time."

Sylvester clapped in satisfaction and got up. "Fabulous! You are doing a great service to the faith, your eminence. I will be outside on an assignment next month, so you may speak directly with the Lord Inquisitor. I will inform him before leaving."

Cardinal Robert felt his feet go cold at the mention of the scary lord of the Inquisition. He wished to never meet that man, but how could he disobey Sylvester's advice?

"Understood, Lord Bard."

"Ah! How is your sister… Helga Maxim? What about her two kids? I hope she's living merrily in the Guild Peninsula. Here, give this Gold Grace to the kids. Tell them to eat something nice." Sylvester extended a small gold coin.

Cardinal Robert was taken aback and stupidly stared into Sylvester's sincere eyes. "Y-You remember her name?"

"Why would I not? She's the sister of the most talented alchemist I know. Alright, good luck with work. May the Holy Light enlighten us." Sylvester waved his hand and left the small private room.

In silence, Robert felt Sylvester's words echo in his head. Yes, he never thought that Sylvester saw him as someone important. Instead, he felt he was just another pawn, being used by someone decent this time.

But talking to Sylvester made him feel needed and valued. He was not there just to take orders. He didn't have to prove himself for not having any magic.

'Archbishop at eighteen years… I wonder how old he will be when he becomes the Pope.'

He had a few doubts in the past, but now he believed it. Sylvester was destined for the highest seat, and it was a mere matter of time.

…

Sylvester galloped out of the Holy Land and headed to Bard's. The time for Sir Dolorem's eye surgery had come. Yes, Sylvester felt nervous as he had no idea if it would be successful, as the eyes he wanted to give to the loyal knight were unique. He feared they could create some sort of complication.

'Sadly, I don't know enough about complex medical equipment other than simple concepts.'

In no time, he arrived at Bard's. It was full of customers, as always. Many outdoor tables had been set, and people enjoyed eating ice cream on the warm, breezy morning.

He greeted the staff and moved to his room on the upper floor. Then, he sneaked to the basement and entered the hidden labyrinth carefully. The moment he stepped inside, the light stones on the ceiling activated through a complex rune scheme.

"Chonky, be on your best behaviour today. I cannot take you inside the operation room since your fur might fly around and infect Sir Dolorem's open wounds."

Miraj didn't argue this time. "Got it, Maxy. Go make Dol-Dol good again. He's very kind. He even gives me fruits as tributes. But tell him only to give bananas next time."

'He used to do that?' Sylvester heard that for the first time.

"Alright, I will. Now sit here and wait for me. Take a long nap if you want," Sylvester placed Miraj outside the final door that led to Healer Hendrix's lab.

Inside, there was a tiny lobby where one had to disinfect oneself. Sylvester designed it after teaching Healer Hendrix about particles that cannot be seen by the naked eye, including microbial germs. It took the man a lot of time to confirm Sylvester's words personally, but eventually, Hendrix became a better-learned man.

In that small lobby, he first changed his clothes to a white gown meant for the operation room. He also put on a cap and a mask on his face. Then he used an alcohol-based simple disinfectant to clean his hands and the clothes he had worn.

Once done, he had to magically activate a small rune that opened the door, allowing him to not touch anything.

Inside, he bypassed the many small corridors between rows of tables. It was the main lab where all the research was done. The operation room was further inside, isolated from everything else. It had a unique sprinkler system to spew disinfectant steam after every use.

Sylvester had tried his best to create a safe environment for the operation.

"Healer, good morning." Sylvester finally entered the operation room. It was brightly lit with many light crystals on the ceiling that were changed regularly. There in the middle was a steel table, beside which were high trolley tables with all the needed equipment. There was even a glass bottle hanging by the bed with a thin tube connected to it. It was the IV and injection system Sylvester had developed.

"You're late," Hendrix grunted and continued cleaning Sir Dolorem's face with a cotton piece and some special solution. The loyal Inquisitor knight was still awake, albeit with heavy eyes. He was being put to unconsciousness with the help of a medicinal plant.

"Forgive me, but I had to meet with someone. If my new invention works, we might have a ranged weapon to kill Bloodlings without engaging them."

At Sylvester's declaration, even Healer Hendrix stopped moving and looked at him in shock, amazement, and a lot of worship scent.

But Hendrix was Hendrix, a man who liked to act tough from the outside. "Good, now come and start the preparation. Just hand me whatever I ask for."

Sylvester diligently acted as the assistant and prepared all the tools for his side. But they had to wait an hour more before Sir Dolorem fell unconscious. Once that happened, the instrument was placed to keep the eyelids open the whole time.

Contrary to the common surgery that Sylvester knew, where just the eye's cornea was transplanted, here, the entire eye needed to be transplanted since the whole eye was special. Thankfully, Healer Hendrix had learned to do just that, but with the use of a lot of magic.

"Empty jar."

Sylvester forwarded the empty jar with a special liquid. In it, Sir Dolorem's old eyes were placed neatly.

"New one, the left eye first."

Sylvester picked a different jar with the word 'left' written on it. He opened it and presented it to Healer Hendrix.

After that, what happened was nothing but magic. Without even touching the eye, Healer Hendrix used his strange magical power to hover the eyeball out of the jar and slowly landed it down on Sir Dolorem's left socket. Once placed, Healer Hendrix covered the socket with his palm, which started to shine bright green.

Six layers of runes appeared underneath the healer's palm, and he chanted something with it. It was the highest and the most complex feat of healing magic being performed by the best healer in the world.

"Right eye."

The exact process was repeated, and the two eyes were soon placed in the correct sockets. The bright green light treatment continued for four hours constantly, and even Healer Hendrix started to sweat, revealing how taxing the magic was on Solarium reserves.

But eventually, it all came to an end, and a bandage was tied around Sir Dolorem's head, covering the eyes. But the special part was that two Solarium crystals were placed on the bandage where the eyes were.

"This is for?" Sylvester inquired.

Healer Hendrix took a long tired breath. "Huh… It is to ensure no complication occurs. Those eyes have Future Sight, which means they eat a person's Solarium reserves. I merely ensured Sir Dolorem did not run out of solarium. But those two were my last Solarium crystals —  they are too expensive."

"Don't worry. I got a few hundred outside in my bag." Sylvester blurted.

"..."

"A few hundred? That's worth nearly a thousand times your current salary. Did you find a secret mine or something?" Hendrix mocked.

"I did find a mine, actually."

"..."

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