Chapter 685 It has to be Aiwass!
March 3rd, 12 noon.
In previous papal elections, this is the time when the new pope is announced.
All the cardinals will vote among the three candidates - the saint herself can be chosen as a candidate, but will not have the right to vote.
After each round of voting, the three candidates will choose a "supporter" from among those who voted for them to give a short speech to vote on their behalf. Candidates can also choose to speak themselves.
After the speeches are finished, another round of voting will be held until someone gets more than two-thirds of the votes, which means they have received the approval of an "absolute majority."
When there were 21 cardinals, 15 votes would be needed; now that one is missing, 14 votes are needed.
If no one has achieved an absolute majority after 33 consecutive rounds of voting, the person who has achieved the most "relative majorities" in the 33 rounds of voting will be elected.
At that time, a piercing beam of pure white light would rise from the twenty-first ring, reaching the heavens—the twenty-second ring. Afterward, the crystal screens on every floor of the Theocracy would display the new Pope's name, appearance, and identity, along with other basic information. Then, the people would know that a new Eternal Pope had been born in the Eternal Theocracy.
——But things are different this year.
Because the entire process of the Pope's election was broadcast live... As early as two hours ago, the elves of the Theocracy already knew who the next Pope would be.
In the third round of elections, Aiwas Moriarty from Avalon had already won an absolute majority.
In the first two rounds of elections, there was also some "favor voting." That is, before the actual voting, other cardinals who were friendly with these cardinals would choose to cast a few favor votes to let them know that "someone still supported them." This was also to prevent the other party from losing too badly—it would appear that everyone was against them.
Because of this, Aiwass only received six votes in the first round, but in the second round, he received thirteen votes and was almost elected directly.
In the third round of voting, Matilda voted for Aiwass.
The general meaning is: That’s enough.
So in the third round, Aiwass received 17 votes.
Except for Fafner and Galatea who voted for each other out of courtesy, everyone else voted for Aiwass. Aiwass, in turn, voted for Cardinal Fafner.
By then, the Theocracy already knew the final election results.
They got a human pope who was only nineteen years old!
Nineteen years old... In pure-blood elf families, children of this age are still illiterate. They are probably only half a meter tall at most, still in a carefree childhood, without any knowledge or learning.
And at this age, Aiwass became the eternal pope!
...Although he is only the "acting pope", he is essentially the agent of the Pure White Saint.
But it’s still undoubtedly an amazing thing!
The elves rushed to tell each other - the assassination of the saint and the human pope, these two pieces of news together were enough to become the topic of conversation for dozens of days, adding a lot of embellishment to the elves' peaceful and boring lives.
Although there are some elves who dislike humans, they are usually extreme.
Since they already dislike humans, it is naturally impossible for them to support Fafner's pro-foreign ideology of helping other races in a down-to-earth manner. Compared with Fafner, it is better to support Aiwass.
Similarly, Galatea is the most classically conservative. Simply put, they are the "old-fashioned" people that the "Controlled Fire" faction hates the most, and the elves who most support the "heir is more noble" faction.
——Although Aiwass himself was the one who killed Cardinal Loki, he was at least a professional, much better than Galatea!
Perhaps electing Aiwass, a professional, would further advance the professionalization of the Church...
Such thoughts emerged in various places in the Church.
The elves were surprisingly satisfied with this result.
He also believed that the election process was very fair - since the Saint's appointed agent, Aiwass, was a human, then if the other two electors were elves, the election process would appear less fair and less pure.
Because a cardinal who favors the interests of the elves might choose that elf without a second thought, while a cardinal who favors xenophobia might deliberately not choose that elf. This would appear less respectable, and the result of the election might be unacceptable.
But since the three candidates are all races other than elves, it's fair...
At this moment, in the tavern of the second ring.
A dwarf finished a pint of cold beer, smacked his lips, and suddenly said, "I actually think it's not a bad idea to let Aiwass take the position."
"really."
The lizardman who was eating skewers beside him nodded in agreement, "I feel like any cardinal who takes the stage might cause a quarrel.
"For example—I don't want Cardinal Galatea to become Pope. If she becomes Pope, I'm afraid we won't be able to enter the two levels of the ruins. In that case, what are adventurers like us for?"
"That's right. I've thought about it carefully, and it seems that no cardinal can satisfy everyone."
"Actually, the Saint is the best. She is the most fair and impartial. But who made the Saint suddenly get assassinated?"
"I know that poison! I have an elf friend who was in amber last month because of the poison spread by controlled fire. Now she even has difficulty walking..."
"Is Her Highness the Saint all right?"
"It should be fine. The amber condensation is very small. It looks like it's less than three centimeters in diameter."
"This just proves that His Highness is usually in good spirits!"
These short-lived species discussed this result.
At higher levels, pure-blooded elves hold completely opposite views.
The eighteenth ring is considered the "prison" of the entire theocracy.
But the Church didn't like to imprison people, because that meant the prisoners weren't doing anything, and instead needed guarding. In the Church, anyone who violated a taboo was exploited... clergymen offered free treatment, alchemists synthesized elixirs. Even those without a knack for anything could learn a new craft and serve others.
At the same time, this is also the location of the "Decomposition Institute".
For those who have committed serious crimes punishable by death, their flesh, blood, bones, souls, and other elements must be utilized to the greatest extent possible. Only in this way can we compensate for the losses and damage they have caused to others and to the entire Theocracy.
Because of this, this is the most eerie and cold place in the entire theocracy.
Several old elves were drinking tea in the decomposition courtyard and commenting on the results of the election of this generation's Eternal Pope:
"It's better than having that kid Fafner be the Pope."
"Yes, she's a black dragon, gloomy and tyrannical by nature... Who can control her now? I feel pity for her child. I've submitted two reports, hoping to give the child to other cardinals to raise."
"If Fafner becomes Pope, the Theocracy will become a construction crew. If we give too much, and humans get used to it, then reducing our support will only lead to resentment. Even when helping others, we shouldn't do so without limits."
"It's not just this issue. I strongly disagree with the Homeland faction's proposal for one reason—if we take over all of these projects, with high quality and low cost, how will humans be able to be independent? This is the technology they were supposed to develop themselves."
"That's right! I've always said this is a problem. What if humans get used to our help and then think their own construction teams are too expensive? What will we do then? It's just like the trolls in the south who can't develop farming techniques. Because in the southern continent, if you sow a handful of beans, they will grow everywhere, all over the mountains and plains, and they can't eat them all."
"If we really want to help them, we can't let them think these things come too easily. We need to wait a few decades, so that they can first understand the importance of these technologies. When they reach the threshold, we can then patiently guide them and train their own scholars to solve this problem. This is the long-term solution..."
(End of this chapter)
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