The Absurd Proposal

"You seem to have talked for quite a while. Is Old Madam not planning to stay?" Elizabeth walked in, glanced around the room, and asked casually.

"She hates the Magic Academy that much, so of course she doesn't want to stay here." Benjamin wore a helpless expression and shrugged. Then he added, "All right, the Mage Inheritance Society matter is settled for now. It's time to talk about the Hori Kingdom. You came all the way to visit the academy, so you surely weren't just here to show me the way, were you?"

"Of course not."

Elizabeth nodded. Then, she took a map from her pocket, placed it on the table, and slowly spread it open. Benjamin looked over in puzzlement, only to find that the buildings depicted on it seemed somewhat familiar.

"This is..."

"The complete interior layout of St. Peter's Cathedral," Elizabeth said slowly. "Perhaps you have other channels and don't find this particularly rare, but for the nobles within the kingdom, obtaining this requires a great deal of effort."

A flicker of surprise crossed Benjamin's eyes.

St. Peter's Cathedral...

That was the Church's lair. Although he had once peered inside through the omniscient perspective of the Elemental Plane, he had never thought of doing anything there. Yet now the Wood Family had slapped this map right in his face. That made things rather intriguing.

What exactly had happened in the Hori Kingdom?

He cast a few more glances over the map. Suddenly, he pointed at a room marked with a red cross and asked with a frown, "What does this cross mean?"

Elizabeth replied, "That is where the Church is holding the king under house arrest."

Benjamin froze slightly.

A guess that seemed almost absurd to him suddenly surged into his mind.

"You... aren't planning to infiltrate