Chapter 35: Work in seongguk

Holy Nation.

A nation of gods, established around a colossal Church that has existed since ancient times.

Regardless of the grand epithets or legends passed down, the Holy Nation is a more ordinary country than one might expect.

It is merely a land where the gods’ gazes and interventions are stronger than elsewhere, and it is slightly more blessed.

The only distinctive feature is that the Pope, not a king, governs the country.

Even this doesn’t significantly impact ordinary citizens, making it hard to see as a noticeable difference.

However, that is merely from the perspective of ordinary citizens…

To the Holy Maiden, a powerful figure within the Church and known to be closer to the gods than even the Pope, the Holy Nation was more troublesome than any other country.

“Yulia.”

“Yes, Holy Maiden.”

Her escort knight, Yulia, immediately responded to the call of the venerable Holy Maiden.

She was waiting for orders, a glowing mana orb floating in one hand.

Arie, watching this with a disgruntled expression, opened her mouth.

“Are you doing that to be petty?”

“I’m not sure what you mean?”

Even as she spoke, Yulia subtly inflated the mana orb, as if showing off.

This was homework given by their practical combat instructor.

Arie had long forgotten the detailed explanations he had painstakingly given, but she vividly remembered the mana orb he had personally demonstrated at the end.

The mana orb maintained a perfectly spherical shape without any additional mana supply.

A mana flow that was circulating, yet as still as if it weren’t circulating…

To her, a novice in mana, it seemed like an exceedingly high level of mana manipulation.

That’s why, when she was told to complete the exact same mana orb before the end of vacation, she almost mistook it for a joke.

…Unfortunately, he was serious…

Arie let out a small sigh and shifted her gaze to the pile of documents in front of her.

This was the result of her insistence on enrolling in the academy.

“Huhu… This damn Church…”

“Holy Maiden! What kind of vulgar language is that?!”

Yulia was fuming at Arie’s annoyed remark, but Arie, used to it, casually skimmed through the documents and ignored her.

‘The Pope’s workload must be much greater than this, how does he manage to handle it all…? Is it because he’s a Transcender, perhaps something different…?’

It was work that began as soon as she arrived in the Holy Nation, but she hadn’t even finished half of it yet.

Unlike Yulia, who was simply standing by, Arie had a mountain of tasks to do besides paperwork.

Thanks to this, she could only watch Yulia, who was openly refining her mana orb next to her, passing the time.

Seeing Yulia diligently practicing, Arie thought to herself.

‘At this rate, I might be overtaken by Yulia…’

No matter how cute her junior was, she had no intention of losing to her.

Arie resolved that once she finished all the important tasks, she would immediately begin practicing.

Arie began to speed up her document organization, while Yulia, next to her, continuously attempted something, generating mana orbs…

As they each attended to their duties, time gradually passed.

Before long, the sun began to set, and just as the word “quitting time” grew largest in people’s minds…

Someone came to Arie, who had been looking at documents for a long time.

– Knock, knock!

“Come in.”

It was Yulia who responded first to the polite knock.

Since all matters concerning the Holy Maiden passed through Yulia, who assisted her, receiving guests was always Yulia’s duty.

Although those boundaries had blurred considerably at the academy, now that they were back in the Holy Nation, she had to diligently fulfill her role again.

Soon, the tightly closed door opened, and someone dressed in a priest’s robe carefully entered.

“Greetings, Holy Maiden.”

“What is your business?”

Despite the dignified greeting, Arie received the priest casually, making it clear she was busy.

For a moment, Yulia’s lips twitched, but perhaps mindful of the other cleric present, she said nothing and let it pass.

The priest omitted a casual greeting and immediately stated his business.

“The Pope is calling for you.”

“The reason?”

“I haven’t been given a specific reason, but I was told to convey that you should come to the Papal Palace immediately upon hearing this.”

The Pope, who handled most of the Holy Nation’s affairs and external activities.

It was impossible for him, the highest authority in the Church, to summon the Holy Maiden, another highest authority, without any particular reason.

Yet, the fact that the priest hadn’t been informed meant it was a matter important enough that it shouldn’t be revealed to outsiders…

“Hmm, I understand. I’ll go right away.”

Arie, grasping the situation immediately, dismissed the priest and prepared to go to the Papal Palace.

“I’ll go alone, Yulia, so please wait here.”

“Understood.”

Normally, Yulia would have insisted on accompanying Arie wherever she went, but this time, she sent Arie off without a word.

While she thought it would be safe given they were in the Holy Nation, the decisive reason was the Pope’s summons.

No matter how close an escort she was to the Holy Maiden, she was ultimately just an escort…

She knew very well that it would be presumptuous to intrude on a conversation among the highest-ranking figures of the Church.

“Huhu, I’ll be back, Yulia… Should I bring you something tasty when I return?”

“It’s fine. Holy Maiden, please be careful on your way.”

With a light joke as her last words, Arie departed…

Left alone, Yulia quietly refined her mana orb.

****

The most austere room in the Holy Nation.

The Pope, its owner, didn’t particularly enjoy decorating, making the already spacious room appear even larger.

Arie entered the mysterious, entirely white but not at all dazzling space, and gave a slight bow to the man who was writing something amidst an endless pile of documents.

“It’s been a while, Pope. Why did you call for me?”

“Hmm, yes… It has been a while, Arie…”

Unlike Arie, who had not yet attained transcendence, the Pope was already a Transcender who had lived for a long time.

As his concept of time differed from that of ordinary people, the phrase ‘It has been a while’ was merely a formal greeting.

To him, it would have felt like just a short outing…

“You must be wondering why I called you?”

The Pope rose from his seat and stood before Arie.

Strangely, where he had been sitting, something like a doppelganger, identical to him but composed entirely of light, was still looking at the documents.

The Pope flawlessly executed a visibly high-level technique without any prior preparation.

However, to Arie, who had seen it several times already, it wasn’t a particularly surprising sight.

Rather, in her eyes, she was gradually grasping the rudiments of the technique the Pope had used.

She was truly nearing transcendence.

“I called you because there is something you, as the Holy Maiden, need to know in advance.”

“Is it important?”

“It is a matter that must absolutely not be leaked to outsiders…”

At the Pope’s words, Arie felt her body tense involuntarily.

Her intuition, though not as sharp as Hestia’s, was warning her of the danger of the story she was about to hear.

The Pope, perhaps having anticipated Arie’s reaction, waited for her heightened senses to calm down.

Soon, Arie, having calmed her restlessly surging intuition, bowed her head.

“I apologize. I’ve been a bit sensitive lately because of recent events…”

“…It’s because of him…”

“……”

“Don’t worry. The gods are always watching over you.”

Arie couldn’t bring herself to mention that even the gods’ eyes had been veiled.

In any case, the gods themselves were keeping silent without informing the Pope, so unless Arie personally spoke to someone, the events of that day would remain known only to her, the person involved.

But if, somehow, the events of that day reached others’ ears and became known even in the Holy Nation…

Who knows what chaos would erupt among the citizens of the Holy Nation, who lived solely by the gods’ blessings.

‘As the Holy Maiden, I must at least prevent such a disaster.’

Arie felt her shoulders involuntarily grow heavy and sighed inwardly.

“The greetings are over, so let’s move on to the important matter.”

The Pope finally began to bring up the important topic.

“The flow of stars is unusual.”

As he swept his arm through the air, the pure white room was enveloped in darkness, and the forms of countless stars appeared.

He spoke, taking in each of the countless starlights floating in the air.

“Yet, what’s truly strange is… the movement of the stars hasn’t changed from before.”

“……?”

Arie tilted her head, having heard two contradictory statements.

In this world, the existence of stars is synonymous with the existence of gods…

The gods gaze upon the world through starlight, and clerics borrow the gods’ power through stars to use divine power.

In other words, stars were the foundation, the root, and the essence of the Church.

Among them, the Holy Maiden was closer to the gods than anyone else…

She could read the gods’ gazes and wills through the stars.

Of course, that was only when the gods didn’t intentionally hide something.

If they truly wished to conceal something, even the Holy Maiden couldn’t discern it.

But the Pope, who had attained transcendence, was different.

He could read beyond emotions or wills, even the history and flow of the stars.

No matter how hard the gods tried to hide something, it was difficult to perfectly deceive the eyes of him, a Transcender.

For him to seriously say ‘it’s unusual,’ yet have it contradict itself, was certainly strange.

Arie racked her brain and voiced her deduction.

“The flow of stars can be read, but there’s no movement?”

“More precisely, it means that despite there being a flow, the gods did not move at all.”

“……Is that possible?”

“Since they also manipulate flows, it’s not impossible. The problem is…”

The Pope sighed, then, as if troubled, he pressed his forehead and spoke.

“The same phenomenon is occurring in all stars.”