Ch.100100. The Shepherd’s Corruption

“I’m with The Moderates.”

Kathy and the priest’s cold gazes pierced the back of Amon’s head, but he paid no attention.

“You can’t force someone into heaven. Shouldn’t I make myself feel like heaven to others?”

The archbishop, however, nodded as if he understood.

“That’s a shame then.”

“But as the Saint showed us, whether we’re Moderates or Radicals, we all remain brothers and sisters who should love one another, don’t we?”

An ordinary person would have simply nodded and moved on.

But the archbishop realized what Amon was trying to say.

“Ah, the Gospel of John. ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another, and you shall all become brothers.'”

Amon’s face brightened at finally finding someone who understood.

“Do you also know First Corinthians, Chapter 5?”

“That’s one of my favorite passages. ‘If anyone who calls himself a brother is sexually immoral or greedy, worships idols, is verbally abusive, gets drunk or commits sins…'”

“‘He is not your brother, so cast him out. Those who are outside, the Mother will judge.'”

The two men shook hands.

Behind Amon, Kathy put her hand to her forehead.

‘Good grief. Two people like Amon in this world.’

Afterward, Amon and the archbishop fell into their own world of conversation.

Since all their dialogue consisted of biblical verses, participation was limited to just the two of them.

After talking non-stop for nearly an hour, the two men shook hands with satisfied smiles.

“That was truly a heart-warming conversation, brother. This is the first time in my life.”

“I feel the same. I can’t find anyone in the Vatican who can have such a satisfying conversation. Have you ever considered becoming a priest?”

Amon shook his head.

“I’m afraid I love freedom too much.”

“The Goddess has repeatedly emphasized human freedom as well. I respect your choice.”

“Farewell then, brother.”

“May peace be with you on your journey.”

And so the meeting with the archbishop ended warmly.

Watching the archbishop’s retreating back, Kathy expressed her disgust.

“I didn’t know there was another person like Amon.”

Sonia agreed.

But the squint-eyed priest had a different reaction.

“Well, we’ve gained a reliable ally. So, where do we start?”

“We’ll start with the Cardinal first.”

“”???””

The two women couldn’t follow the conversation between Amon and the priest.

What were they suddenly talking about?

The priest explained for their benefit.

“In the Vatican, the Bible is often used as a code. I use this method when I receive requests for dangerous exorcisms.”

“Ah~”

“But Sonia, I understand Kathy, but aren’t you attending seminary? How could you not know this?”

“I’m only learning Divine Magic. Tehe.”

“Good grief.”

The priest lamented.

Of course, faith tests aren’t particularly important for knights these days.

But isn’t it a problem not to know such things when she’s about to be canonized as a saint?

Sonia had nothing to say on this matter and tried to smooth it over with aegyo, sticking out her tongue.

The priest sighed deeply and turned his attention to Amon.

“But it’s curious. I know you haven’t attended seminary, so how do you know the code? Have you met knights before?”

“What? You use this as a code?”

“…Then what was that conversation just now?”

“Well, there was that meaning exchanged, but I wasn’t particularly thinking of it as a code. Brother Heinrich wasn’t either, was he?”

The priest recalled their final exchange.

– “I can’t find anyone in the Vatican who can have such a satisfying conversation…”

Could it be.

“Did you… memorize all those passages?”

“Shouldn’t everyone memorize them?”

“???”

The priest looked at Amon as if he were some strange creature.

As always, a subtle madness gleamed behind those clear eyes.

After trying to gauge the depth of that madness, the priest soon gave up.

*

After the conversation with the archbishop, Amon’s group immediately began preparing to purge The Decadents.

They had already communicated with the Pope, the leader of The Moderates, and gained the support of The Radicals through the conversation with the archbishop.

“This should be enough.”

The Decadents are the largest faction in the Vatican.

But if Amon’s group joined hands with the other two factions, the story would change.

“The plan doesn’t change much.”

Amon said, pointing to Sonia.

The plan was simple.

Once Sonia is elevated to sainthood, they would use her authority to hold a religious trial against The Decadents.

However, with the support of The Moderates and The Radicals behind them, they could now take bolder actions.

“I’ll raid the homes of high-ranking Decadent priests before the canonization ceremony.”

Amon said, putting on his robe after a long time.

The original plan was to collect evidence after Sonia became a saint.

Evidence would be destroyed if they started late, but moving earlier had too many risk factors.

But when circumstances change, actions must change too.

“I’ll be back.”

Amon spent the night jumping across the rooftops of the Holy See. In this way, he secretly infiltrated the homes of corrupt priests and brought back evidence.

Meanwhile, Sonia and the priest diligently handled their tasks at the lodging.

The squint-eyed priest organized the materials Amon would bring and had brought.

Sonia repeatedly familiarized herself with the content she would use to denounce them before the canonization ceremony.

The problem was Kathy.

“Sonia, is there anything I can help with?”

“Hmm? Want to practice a mock religious trial with me?”

“S-sure.”

But Kathy wasn’t much help.

She was excellent as a lawyer, but her religious knowledge was too sparse.

Of course, she had picked up some things being around Amon, but it was nothing compared to those who debated religion over meals.

For someone who fought with money, statistics, and public opinion, religious trials were too unfamiliar.

So in the mock trial with Sonia…

“I denounce you for violating this passage.”

“Uh…”

“You can take your time looking it up.”

When a passage was pointed out, she stumbled once trying to find it,

and even if she found it, she stumbled again not understanding its meaning.

In the end, she wasn’t much help.

“Sorry…”

“It’s okay.”

“I’ll go buy some sweets from the café instead.”

“Please do.”

Kathy left the lodging with her spirits low.

Her steps toward the café were heavy.

“Haah…”

In this Holy See, Kathy Julia was too useless.

It wasn’t just the Holy See.

Since Europe, her precognition ability hadn’t been very meaningful.

– “Precognition? That’s just a basic ability.”

Crack.

She recalled the dog-headed demon who had mocked her future sight.

After that battle, she began to lose confidence.

She hadn’t worried while at headquarters, but as soon as she left, the memory of that time tormented her.

And the torment intensified in this Holy See.

Among the many precognitives who resided here, no less capable than demons, Kathy’s precognition held little significance.

Kathy continued to sigh.

‘Do I really matter to Amon?’

All the demons they would fight in the future would have precognition abilities, and her corporate power was limited.

Even in this Vatican, her knowledge was useless.

Of course, Kathy’s influence might strengthen again after leaving the Vatican.

But even that confidence was shattered during the meeting with the archbishop a few days ago.

Moreover, Sonia had awakened some powerful force and had grown far beyond her reach.

It wouldn’t be strange if someone like Kathy no longer caught Amon’s eye.

‘I must be the nest… I must be the nest…’

She kept repeating those words to herself.

Recalling the happy future with Amon that she had once glimpsed.

But the anxiety wouldn’t go away.

Tsk.

“What’s the point of worrying.”

Kathy shook off her thoughts and entered the café.

She gathered sweets for Sonia and was about to head back to the lodging.

That’s when she spotted a group of men and women sitting in a corner of the café.

A knight had two women on either side of him.

The problem was that all three were wearing the same ring.

Kathy frowned.

‘Even so, that’s going too far…’

A clergyman with a harem, of all things.

But when she imagined herself as one of those women, her face flushed.

Because she realized she wasn’t much different.

She fled the café in shame.

‘Let’s just get back quickly.’

With an armful of cakes, she returned to the lodging.

On the way, she met Amon, who was returning from his evening mission.

“Oh my! You startled me. Why does it feel like your stealth has gotten even scarier than before?”

“It’s true that since that day, I’ve developed a sense for hiding myself? I can sort of feel people’s gazes now.”

“How far are you going to go… you’re becoming less human.”

“Who knows.”

Amon took some of the cakes.

The two walked side by side, chatting.

During their conversation, Kathy naturally mentioned what she had seen at the café.

“Can you believe, I…”

Even as she brought it up, she berated herself.

‘Am I in any position to criticize others?’

Though she had seen a happy future with Amon, she didn’t know the specific process.

She had deliberately avoided looking at the middle part to utilize Amon as a wild card.

So all she knew was that when she came to her senses, she would be Amon’s lover.

If the method involved adultery… she might be too ashamed to choose that future.

In the midst of her thoughts, one comment from Amon pulled her back to reality.

“That? It’s not a problem according to the denomination.”

“???”

Kathy was bewildered.

“What… do you mean?”

“If you don’t study in detail, you might not know, but even within the Church of Goddess, there are different denominations. As you said, there are denominations that prohibit polygamy, but there are also those that permit it.”

“Huh? Isn’t that heresy?”

“Don’t say that in public. It’s an official classification. The Mother also emphasized freedom of choice.”

This was something that had surprised Amon when he first came to this world.

While idol worship was strictly prohibited, there was room for interpretation of doctrine within the essence of worshipping the Goddess.

The Saint’s 12 disciples each understood the teachings in 12 different ways, and accordingly, 12 denominations were recognized.

If compared to graduate school, it was like 12 specialized majors.

‘The Goddess herself approved it.’

The Goddess didn’t take issue with differing interpretations.

Because she valued freedom as much as love.

“Just to be clear, that doesn’t mean it’s okay to be like The Decadents.”

They weren’t just different; they were wrong.

Freedom of interpretation didn’t mean twisting doctrine to suit one’s taste.

To Kathy, it sounded like double standards, which left her perplexed.

Amon understood her feelings.

“That’s why we don’t bother explaining the divisions to ordinary people.”

You needed to study enough to earn a high priest position in the Vatican to roughly grasp the complexity.

“By the way, the priest, the archbishop, and I all belong to different denominations.”

“Um… which one are you closest to?”

“Why?”

“Just curious.”

“Just so you know, you shouldn’t decide based on me. The 12 denominations should be chosen purely based on what you’re drawn to.”

“I know. Just tell me quickly.”

“I’m denomination number 11.”

“Number 11?”

“It’s the Simon denomination, but if you look it up in the Vatican library under number 11, you’ll find it.”

Afterward, Amon and Kathy returned to the lodging and shared the cake with Sonia.

The next day.

As soon as Kathy opened her eyes, she headed to the library.

Using the access pass she received from the Pope, she went deep inside.

She couldn’t understand the original texts, but she found an easy-to-understand interpretation of denomination number 11’s doctrine.

[On Marriage]

– <The Mother is a symbol of fertility, so abundant love itself is not reason for reproach.>

– <It is far better to give children multiple parents than to leave them without any.>

– <If one can treat multiple spouses fairly, this is permitted. However, only when all parties involved have consented.>

– <A maximum of three wives or two husbands is allowed. In this case, the other side must have only one.>

– <However, monogamy is generally preferred.>

Upon confirming the content, Kathy held her forehead, feeling dizzy.

What in the…

As Amon had said, that knight hadn’t actually violated any doctrine.

Of course, monogamy was still recommended for ordinary people, but polygamy was partially permitted.

Kathy barely recovered from the shock as she left the library.

‘Of course, this isn’t why Amon likes this denomination.’

According to what she found, this denomination advocated for somewhat extreme methods of punishing heretics.

Gentle in proselytizing, but merciless to demons and heretics.

It was clearly Amon’s style.

But…

‘If it’s like this… I can’t help but have expectations.’

Kathy headed back to the lodging, barely managing to control the corners of her mouth that kept trying to rise.

When she arrived at the lodging, Sonia tilted her head curiously.

“Did something good happen to you?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You seem to be in a better mood than yesterday.”

Kathy touched the corners of her mouth for a moment, then shook her head.

“No, nothing special. But Sonia.”

“Yes?”

“Can you help me study the Bible?”

“Why so suddenly?”

“I can’t come all the way to the Holy See and do nothing.”

Sonia gladly accepted.

Though she couldn’t compare to Amon or the squint-eyed priest, her knowledge was nothing to scoff at.

“Now, this part emphasizes the humility of priests…”

Listening to Sonia’s explanation, Kathy kept nodding.

Once again recalling her happy future.