Ch.201201. Rebellion

After consuming all causality, the Administrator left with the words, “I entrust the world to you,” and disappeared.

Veronica, who had received the Administrator into her body, blinked her eyes as soon as the Administrator vanished and briefly tried to assess the situation. She seemed to have noticed that her memories had disappeared since entering this place.

“What… happened?”

“A revelation came down. In the form of borrowing the Saint’s voice.”

“C-could it be that the Lord Himself descended?”

“Yes. He said He had something to tell us directly.”

Not confident in his ability to explain the series of events accurately, he made the sign of the cross and gestured as if praying to God.

Seeing this, Veronica hurriedly knelt beneath the crucifix and began to pray.

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Gilbert felt a twinge of conscience watching Veronica pray with her hands clasped, but he hadn’t actually lied. According to the Administrator, the system was equivalent to a divine entity, so his dialogue with the Administrator was essentially a revelation.

“Lord Gilbert, did you get the answer you wanted?”

Veronica carefully rose from her position and asked. There was a certain expectation in her eyes—she seemed convinced that with the revelation, his selection as the Hero had been confirmed.

Gilbert, having received confirmation from the Administrator that he had been chosen as the Hero, chose to reveal this fact rather than conceal it.

After all, according to the Administrator, he and another possessor would be taking on the role of the Demon King, so it was best to use every card available.

Among them, the Holy Empire was an ally that would provide definite support without hesitation to defeat the Demon King.

No matter how much Gilbert had built his reputation as a hero in the Infractus Empire, if he suddenly started claiming that a Demon King had appeared and they needed to unite their forces, no one would take him seriously.

It had been thousands of years since the Hero and Demon King disappeared—who would believe him if he claimed that a revelation had come down, that he had become the Hero, and that the Demon King would soon invade?

This was clearly something that people wouldn’t believe regardless of his influence, simply as a matter of common sense. Even if someone did believe him, they likely wouldn’t take it seriously.

The era when Heroes and Demon Kings appeared was not the era of Giant Soldiers. Even assuming the Demon King was resurrected now, in the current age where Giant Soldiers dominated the battlefield, it seemed possible to stop the Demon King’s army.

Of course, Gilbert didn’t think things would resolve so easily. If Giant Soldiers alone could prevent the formation of the Demon King’s army, the system wouldn’t have needed to look for a Hero from another world.

Though he couldn’t get a definitive answer due to insufficient causality, he believed that a possessor would understand better than anyone the value of Giant Soldiers in warfare.

It might be an extreme thought, but Gilbert was also assuming that the possessor chosen as the Demon King might be someone who had played tactical combat games.

But does it matter how that guy acts?

Gilbert thought it was giving him a headache.

One of the questions he couldn’t ask due to insufficient causality was information about the Demon King himself.

He had obtained the significant information that the Demon King was a possessor, but that didn’t explain everything. He was curious about many things, such as why the Demon King was summoned here and what behavioral patterns the Demon King possessor might have.

Though he couldn’t say it to Saint Veronica in front of him, he was also wondering whether the Demon King truly needed to be subjugated.

The Administrator had said that to return to being Kang Do-jun, Gilbert needed to normalize the world, and for that, he had to subjugate the Demon King.

But if by some chance the Demon King possessor was someone who had been dragged here against their will, Gilbert wondered if he could bring himself to subjugate them.

No matter how determined he was to return, sacrificing an innocent person was not his way.

“So you really are the Hero, Lord Gilbert.”

“It’s not certain. I didn’t receive a definitive answer.”

“Lord Gilbert, while our Heavenly Father always watches over us, He doesn’t always speak to us. Direct revelations are now found only in history books. The fact that a revelation came down confirms that you are indeed the Hero.”

Veronica’s eyes, filled with firm belief, were brimming with faith. At a glance, it almost looked as if bright light was pouring out from them.

Wait, that’s actual light?

Gilbert was astonished to see warm, gentle holy power leaking out like light from behind the smiling Veronica.

It seemed that the appearance of the Hero had stimulated her faith, causing the holy power that usually overflowed to now actually leak out.

“Oh my, I didn’t mean to. I guess my training is still insufficient.”

Noticing Gilbert’s stunned gaze, Veronica contained the holy power leaking from her and smiled bashfully.

It was a moment when she, who had been acting as the noble Saint until now, returned to the lively girl she had shown herself to be earlier in the day.

Gilbert couldn’t help but think that this lively demeanor suited Veronica better.

“I’d like to hear about the future plans. What does the Holy Empire intend to do now that I’ve been identified as the Hero?”

After his momentary pleasant thoughts, Gilbert returned to reality. Though he hadn’t sorted out his thoughts about the Demon King possessor yet, dwelling on it now wouldn’t help.

What was more important was how the Holy Empire would respond now that he had been confirmed as the Hero.

Tapping her lips thoughtfully, Veronica sighed deeply.

“Nothing has been decided yet. We were tentatively considering you as the Hero, but the final confirmation is the Lord’s work.”

“But you must have a general direction.”

“First, we plan to focus on finding traces of the Demon King. The official declaration of the appearance of the Hero, the Saint, and the Demon King can only happen after finding traces of the Demon King.”

“It’s a matter of credibility.”

“Heroes and Demon Kings are things from thousands of years ago. In the current situation, if we just announced it, our credibility would be low, and people would think it’s our propaganda.”

Gilbert thought so too. The Holy Empire’s power came from its believers and their faith.

In the ancient world where the Demon King ran rampant, it might have been different, but now the Holy Empire’s power was on a downward trend.

In an era where even wars between humans for profit were disappearing due to consideration of greater damages, few people believed in religion as desperately as before.

This was a phenomenon prevalent in modern society as well—the era where religion equated to power was passing.

However, the Holy Empire viewed this phenomenon positively.

The Holy Empire believed that humans resolving human matters and entrusting the judgment and conclusion to the Lord meant the world was on the right path.

But other countries on the continent watched the Holy Empire’s every move, wary that they might stretch their influence at any moment.

Even though the Holy Empire had weakened, their power of excommunication was still certainly threatening.

Now that the Holy Empire’s power had weakened and Giant Soldiers had become the measure of national power, this power of excommunication couldn’t have as much influence as before.

Even if they declared excommunication and held holy trials, the power of each country wouldn’t plummet as it once did.

However, this could still serve as a justification for those eyeing the throne.

No matter how ancient the practice, such things could become sharp daggers in the political arena.

For this reason, each country wanted to prevent the Holy Empire from gaining power, so it was natural to think of it as propaganda if the Hero and Demon King appeared without any precursors.

What if they also announced, “Ta-da! The Saint has appeared too! A Saint who has heard revelations!”?

Gilbert could predict the outcome without needing much imagination.

“So, until we find traces of the Demon King, we maintain the status quo?”

“Yes, that’s the only way to avoid bringing chaos to the continent and raising the vigilance of other countries.”

Gilbert nodded.

He had done a rough analysis, and his mind wasn’t good enough to recall more detailed aspects.

He was specialized in carrying out strategies, not in formulating them. He could analyze to some extent given the battlefields he had traversed, but that was about it.

Moving forward in coordination with the Holy Empire and waiting for the right time seemed like the correct approach.

Compared to the uncertainty he felt before coming here, he had learned a lot, so there was no need to be hasty, Gilbert reassured himself as he slightly rolled his shoulders, which felt stiff, while looking at the deepening night.

“I understand. Then I’ll head back for today. I need to return early tomorrow.”

“That’s true. I should also get some rest early to prepare to follow you after meeting with His Holiness the Pope.”

“Prepare to follow?”

Gilbert, who was heading to the exit to leave the prayer room, stopped. Looking to the side, he saw Veronica shrugging with a puzzled expression.

“Of course, I’m preparing to follow you, Lord Gilbert.”

“Is there a reason for that?”

“What are you saying! How could I, the Saint, not accompany the Hero?”

She just wants to escape from the Papal Court, doesn’t she?

Gilbert swallowed the words that had almost escaped his throat.

He couldn’t bring himself to speak when he saw Veronica’s cheerful expression.

Besides, there would be no justification for the Saint to stay in the Infractus Empire, so regardless of her wishes, she probably wouldn’t be able to come—that was an additional thought.

Gilbert left the prayer room, imagining her disappointment when the Pope told her it was impossible.

Though the developments were unexpected, he had gained a great deal from this visit to the Holy Empire.

He was satisfied enough to think that things would go smoothly from now on.

***

“Gil! Come back quickly. There’s a rebellion!”

The next morning, Gilbert received an urgent communication from Briana.

All while grumbling that he never imagined his thought about things going smoothly would become a flag.