episode_0134

A room for travelers.

In other words, I moved towards the guest room, which is for guests who come to this grand church, Crua, with Lucy.

Walking together, I realized that this Lucy girl seems to have better charisma than I thought.

“Greetings, Lucy-nim.”

‘Nice to see you, Brother David. I remember there was talk of you undergoing the trial of the goddess before I left. Did you overcome it well?’

“Lucy-nim! I heard you were assigned to an external dispatch task. You’re back now!”

“Yes. I went quite far this time. It was an interesting experience. Has Sister Liselnia been doing well?”

Most of the people we met spoke to Lucy first.

“You… you’ve been living quite earnestly, haven’t you?”

“Of course. Even though I look like this, I’ve lived in a way that I’m not ashamed of as a nun.”

“A nun who isn’t ashamed tried to kill a hero?”

As if dumbfounded, I frowned and said this, and Lucy avoided my gaze for a moment, then stuck out her tongue slightly and said.

“Dehet♥”

“Geez.”

Walking and bickering with Lucy, pretending to flick her forehead, naturally increased interest in me as well.

Then, when their gaze reached my forehead, I heard voices filled with doubt, wondering, ‘Why is Lucy-nim with the witch’s contractor?’

However, Lucy didn’t seem to care much about those people’s reactions, as she simply smiled and talked to me.

“L, Leon-nim?!…”

“Huh?”

“Oh?”

At that moment, I heard a somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar female voice.

Turning my gaze in the direction of the voice, I saw a priestess with the same snow-white hair and golden eyes as Lucy staring at us with surprised eyes. I pondered for a moment who she was, then remembered her name and called her name.

“Noren?”

“R, Really… are you the Hero-nim?”

She looked at me with very trembling eyes.

Her eyes have a different feel from just meeting an acquaintance?

* * *

Noren.

The priestess of Hero Leon’s first party, she doesn’t have great skills or divine power itself, but she’s a woman with a kind heart and a certain persistence. Thanks to that kind heart, she was chosen as a member of the hero party.

However, for the reason of protecting Hero Leon, she prostituted herself to other heroes.

Well, it wouldn’t matter if it was just that, but from a certain point on, what was important to them was not Leon’s well-being but their own pleasure. In other words, you could say they were corrupted.

‘That’s why Leon called me in… and why I’m going through this trouble now.’

That’s right.

Getting revenge for Leon may not actually be that important.

The most important thing is…

‘You guys stressed him out so much that Leon called me!!…’

I need to get my revenge too.

“L, Leon-nim… um…”

Just as I was thinking that, Noren looked at me with still trembling eyes.

To be exact, she looked back and forth between me and Lucy, who was standing next to me.

It seemed Noren knew Lucy as well, and she seemed confused as to why Lucy was with me.

And there was no way that the quick-witted perverted succubus vampire nun Lucy wouldn’t notice Noren’s feelings.

She chuckled and clung to my side, linking arms with me.

“Leon-nim. Let’s go quickly♥ The Pope is waiting~”

Lucy’s voice was full of aegyo.

It sounded like a woman flirting with a man, or like a voice exchanged between lovers whispering sweet nothings to each other.

The important thing was, it wasn’t the kind of voice or behavior that would come from the perspective of an ordinary nun and a hero.

“L, Lucy-nim?!…”

Noren also knew that, so she looked at Lucy in surprise. But Lucy didn’t care about that.

“What’s wrong? Sister Noren.”

Lucy said with a smile.

But am I mistaken? It feels like Lucy’s voice calling Noren has a subtle edge to it.

“W, What is your relationship with Leon-nim…if I may ask…”

“Relationship?… Relationship…”

She pondered for a moment, or rather, pretended to ponder, while looking at me.

Her gaze was asking, ‘How should I answer? Hero-nim?’

When I shrugged as if I didn’t care, Lucy nodded lightly and turned her gaze to Noren.

Of course, Noren was watching all of this.

“Hmm~ An open relationship?”

Even as she said that, Lucy hugged my arm even tighter, intentionally leaning her body against me.

At this sight of Lucy, Noren trembled and looked at me in disbelief.

What do you want from me by looking at me?

In addition, Lucy seemed to dislike even the fact that Noren was looking at me, so she narrowed her eyes slightly and opened her mouth.

“Come to think of it… didn’t Sister Noren join Hero Abel-nim’s party?”

“Ah… th, that’s…”

At those words, Noren began to read my expression.

Did she think I wouldn’t know? I decided to just stay still because I found this situation funny.

“Did Hero Abel-nim come to the Holy Nation?”

“N, No, that’s not it. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“…”

Noren hesitated, unable to say anything.

Seeing that, Lucy, who had a faint smile on her lips, released her arm from mine and gently approached Noren.

Then, she carefully hugged Noren.

“Are you trying to switch again?”

“!”

Lucy whispered the story in Noren’s ear, but unfortunately, I heard everything. Of course, Lucy would think that I was hearing everything, but Noren was completely unaware of such a situation and looked at me with a pale face.

In that situation, Lucy attempted an additional attack on Noren, whose life was close to zero.

“The Goddess is kind. Even if you can’t resist your own desires and live a life stained with pleasure, losing your original purpose… if you sincerely repent and regret, she will forgive you and embrace you.”

“Ah… ah…”

“But… people are different?”

Like a fragile animal placed in front of a ferocious beast, Noren’s body trembled so much that it was pitiful to watch.

Noren’s face turned pale blue, almost as if it had turned completely white, and now she couldn’t even meet my gaze and began to look at the floor.

As if she liked Noren’s appearance.

Lucy raised her hand and patted Noren on the back, saying.

“People are very selfish… even if they have hurt others, they avoid guilt by thinking that it was all for the sake of the other person. Sister Noren… you wouldn’t be such a person, would you?”

Is that something you should be saying.

I almost blurted out those words, but barely managed to hold back.

“So… get lost. Whore.”

“!!”

Short and concise.

After whispering those words in Noren’s ear, Lucy smiled and returned to me as if nothing had happened.

“What did you talk about?”

“It wasn’t anything special~ Leon-nim. Shall we go greet the others?”

“Yeah, well… Noren.”

“Y, Yes!…”

I stared at Noren, who was trembling as if she was afraid of something, for a moment.

Back then with Tirith, I just thought vaguely that I had to get revenge for Leon!! and pushed Tirith’s mind, but seeing her current appearance, I no longer had the desire to do anything more.

Maybe… a strong feeling that she would collapse on her own even if I didn’t do anything? I had such a feeling.

“Take care.”

“Ah…”

After saying those words, I turned my body.

Then, I heard a short sigh from behind, but Noren didn’t stop my steps and just watched.

* * *

“Young master! Are you alright!”

“I was surprised to be suddenly captured.”

“Did the witch you met in the Demon Nation do something?”

“Don’t worry. I was surprised too, since I was the one who was captured.”

As soon as I arrived at the room for travelers, I was bombarded with questions.

I felt a little touched because I knew that all those questions were asked out of concern for me.

But… one person is missing?

“Where’s Levia?”

“Levia-ssi is in another place for a while to confirm her aptitude as a saint.”

Lucy answered my question.

But aptitude?

“Didn’t you say she had the aptitude?”

“It looked that way to me, but you never know? Maybe I was wrong. Well, it’s just a formality anyway. More than anything… in order to be chosen as a saint, you have to go through a corresponding ritual. So, she’s acting separately for ablutions for that purpose.”

Only after hearing Lucy’s detailed explanation did I nod.

“Alright~ then let’s go meet the Pope quickly. If we delay any longer, I’ll be scolded by the Pope.”

“Who?”

“Me, of course.”

Then we can go slowly.

Not long after joining Baek-ryeon and the others, we immediately moved to meet the Pope.

I heard that the Pope is in the innermost part of the grand church.

“Here we are.”

“It wasn’t as far as I thought.”

“Pope~ I’m here~”

“…”

Lucy walked in with a casual atmosphere as if she were visiting the house next door.

Acting like that in a place that should be solemn in every way, it can only be said that she’s ruining the atmosphere in many ways.

I, Baek-ryeon, and Seol-lin exchanged glances with each other, and eventually followed Lucy inside.

The inside was quite a spacious room.

There were several chairs there, and a woman sitting in the most ornate chair at the very back caught my eye.

The noble divine power that I could feel just by looking at her.

I could be sure that she was the Pope, or the saint.

“Welcome. Hero. I have heard of your exploits.”

“…It’s an honor.”

“This will be our first time meeting, won’t it.”

She said that part with strange emphasis on the ‘you’ part.

She already knows that I’m someone who came from another world.

Then… is that person the Saint?

“My name is Anastasia. I have the undeserved title of the Goddess’s representative.”

She was the Pope.

Why does the Pope look so young?