Ch.341Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

The magical device developed by the Abas Intelligence Agency looks like an ordinary briefcase at first glance, but by consuming mana stones and employing a few tricks, it becomes a decent piece of equipment that can hold quite a lot of gear.

The important thing is that, if done ‘right,’ a person can fit inside this cramped bag.

Thanks to that, I was able to successfully infiltrate the cathedral where Lucia was staying.

After crouching and hiding in the bag for about an hour, I stretched my stiff body and said to Camilla.

“I need to change clothes, so keep watch for me.”

“Understood.”

While Camilla kept watch again, I pulled on the parachute cord tied to my ankle to haul up my luggage.

Inside the plastic bag attached to the cord was a neatly folded tunic worn by the Order’s monks.

Since it was naturally loose-fitting, I completed my disguise by simply stuffing myself into it and pulling the hood low over my head. Looking at me, Camilla said with a somewhat incredulous expression:

“Will that be enough? Wouldn’t it be better to disguise yourself as a priest?”

“If I pretend to be a priest, others would notice right away. But there are so many monks and nuns in Laterano that people are likely to just ignore me and move on.”

Besides, today happens to be the day when monks visit the cathedral where Lucia is staying.

The cathedral’s security knights and police, the papal guards responsible for Lucia’s close protection, and the clergy and monks managing the cathedral are all human. Veronica informed me that monks from outside come at least twice a week to replenish supplies because they consume so many goods.

Above all, preparations for the canonization ceremony are in full swing right now.

Everyone is already busy enough, and now it’s a day when outsiders are coming in too?

“They might as well have rolled out the red carpet for infiltration.”

“There will be many watchful eyes on the way to Lucia’s location.”

Camilla peeked out the door and surveyed the surroundings. Then she added:

“Given her status, they’re probably controlling access to prevent outsiders from approaching her in the cathedral. It might even be a secured area guarded by armed personnel.”

“You have a point.”

But isn’t that why my country pays me a salary? To break through such obstacles?

I tapped Camilla’s shoulder as she kept watch, and she nodded and spoke.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s begin.”

Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

The Order’s cathedrals are divided into four main types.

Ordinary cathedrals where priests typically reside,

Duomos where city’s senior priests are stationed,

Cathedrals where diocesan bishops are stationed,

Basilicas where the Pope or saints reside.

It seems like there might be complex criteria, but it’s actually quite simple. The determining factor is what position the residing clergy holds.

Globally, there are quite a number of duomos and cathedrals. They can be found in most major cities and regions.

However, there are only three basilicas in the entire world where the Pope and saints reside.

The Medius Grand Cathedral, seat of the Pope.

The Altiora Grand Cathedral, where the Order’s saints have traditionally resided.

And the Tranquille Grand Cathedral.

Among these, Lucia stays at the Tranquille Grand Cathedral.

After Lucia was recognized as a saint, it was elevated to the status of a basilica.

“…Wow.”

The first sight of the Tranquille Grand Cathedral after leaving the reception room was truly spectacular.

I already knew that this was one of the oldest cathedrals in Laterano, but there’s a big difference between knowing something intellectually and seeing it with your own eyes.

First of all, its size was extraordinary.

“How can a cathedral be this big…”

The Tranquille Grand Cathedral was massive, comparable to any cathedral I had seen in my life.

Until now, I had thought that St. Basilius Grand Cathedral in the northern Empire was the largest in this area. But coming here in person, I realized that was a misconception.

I couldn’t help but think that the Tranquille Grand Cathedral might even be larger than St. Basilius.

How am I supposed to find Lucia in this place?

After momentarily losing my train of thought due to the overwhelming scale of the cathedral, I finally came to my senses and began examining the map.

The map provided by Veronica showed the complete internal structure of the Tranquille Grand Cathedral.

I found a room highlighted in red. At the same time, I noticed a small note in Kyen language next to it that read “Lucia is here.”

-Thud. Thud.

Just then, the sound of a priest’s footsteps began to echo from a distance.

Hearing this, Camilla warned me through the crack in the door:

“Be careful…!”

I quickly stuffed the map of the Tranquille Grand Cathedral into my sleeve, pulled down my hood, and moved away.

*

Despite the bright weather, today the sunlight feels unusually heavy.

Warm sunshine tickling the skin.

Normally, I would have happily closed my eyes and lifted my face, but today I couldn’t look at the sun with a joyful heart.

“Saint.”

Lucia turned her head.

A nun from the Tranquille Grand Cathedral was softly calling for Lucia from beyond the door.

“Are you alright?”

“…Yes. I’m fine.”

The middle-aged nun was relieved to hear the saint’s voice from the bedroom, but couldn’t help sighing when she saw the tray placed in front of the door.

“Are you really alright?”

It had been over two weeks since the saint began staying at the Tranquille Grand Cathedral, one of only three grand basilicas in the Order with a deep history.

Those two weeks had been very meaningful for the clergy and monks of the Grand Cathedral.

A saint who receives everyone’s blessings and praise. Even devout clergy might see a saint’s face once in their lifetime if they’re lucky, but two saints had visited the cathedral.

One was Lucia, who had made the Tranquille Grand Cathedral her residence, and the other was Veronica, who visited daily to meet her.

Although rumors circulated within the cathedral that the relationship between the two saints wasn’t smooth.

Since neither Lucia nor Veronica were the type to treat their subordinates carelessly, and with preparations for the canonization ceremony in full swing, plus the entire Order being in a festive mood ahead of the major religious event, the Tranquille Grand Cathedral was filled with a bright and lively atmosphere. Some even eagerly awaited the possibility of witnessing the saint chosen by the oracle receiving divine revelation or performing miracles.

The middle-aged nun picked up the tray placed right in front of the saint’s room.

The tray was full of food prepared with utmost sincerity by the cathedral’s monks to boost the spirits and improve the mood of the saint who wouldn’t leave her chamber. Yet Lucia hadn’t touched the food.

“Skipping meals too… What will you do if you really fall ill, Saint…”

Hearing the nun’s concerned voice, Lucia, who had been looking out the window, quietly closed her eyes.

She could feel the sunshine tickling the bridge of her nose.

She could hear the sound of the nun walking away.

The chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves came through the glass window. With the slight warmth on her forehead and the throbbing headache, Lucia suddenly thought she would like to rest comfortably like this.

Of course, that was just Lucia’s personal wish.

“……”

On one side of the bedroom, the desk where she had been working until her office was prepared was piled high with documents for preparing the canonization ceremony.

Seeing the mountain of documents, Lucia got up from the bed and moved toward it.

*

Many people overlook the fact that life as a saint is not particularly luxurious.

Work-life balance is hard to find, and privacy disappears like a summer mirage.

Although not as much as the Pope who leads believers worldwide, there were quite a few followers who believed in and followed Lucia as a saint. And there were journalists everywhere who wanted to guarantee these followers’ “right to know.”

Especially after she used the loophole of not being canonized to set aside her status as a saint to enter the Magic Tower, and then jumped back into the northern conflict she had been involved in three years ago, public curiosity about Lucia grew day by day.

Someone else might have found the public attention burdensome, another might have used it as a stepping stone for advancement, and Veronica would have enjoyed it.

But Lucia paid no attention to the gazes directed at her.

If one had to describe her feelings, it could be explained as a sense of responsibility.

“……”

Looking back, Lucia had lived someone else’s life. It had always been that way.

Praying, blessing. Sometimes healing patients and providing aid in slums with the diocese. Lucia had always lived a life for others.

She hadn’t done it expecting any reward.

She believed that blessings and prayers weren’t rewards given to the devout, but gifts shared with the poor.

And giving something to the poor wasn’t sharing what was hers, but returning what they rightfully deserved.

Born to clerical parents and raised in the Order’s embrace all her life, Lucia believed this was natural.

However, at some point, Lucia realized that it wasn’t natural.

And that the world she saw was different from the world others saw.

-Tap. Tap.

Lucia tapped the quill pen to remove the excess ink and placed her hand on the document. But perhaps because she had dipped the pen too deeply into the inkwell, a drop of black ink fell onto the pristine white paper.

“…Ah.”

Emerging from her reverie, Lucia hurriedly tried to erase the ink stain, but it was already too late.

The spreading ink left long lines like a meteor shower across the white paper, swallowing up the words. It didn’t seem like particularly important text, but even if the obscured phrases weren’t very important, the meaning of a sentence could change with just one word difference.

As Lucia was frantically trying to restore the text, the head priest of the Tranquille Grand Cathedral came looking for her.

Announcing his presence with a light knock on the door, the priest cleared his throat with his hands neatly folded.

“Saint. I apologize greatly for disturbing your rest, but there is a visitor here to see you.”

“A visitor…?”

“Yes.”

The priest beyond the door nodded.

“I told them I wouldn’t be receiving visitors…”

“Yes, everyone in the cathedral is following your instructions. However, the person who has come as a visitor…”

Upon hearing the head priest’s subsequent words, Lucia jumped up from her seat.

“Ca-Camilla has come?”

“That’s correct.”

The head priest informed Lucia that her colleague, Camilla, had visited the cathedral. He also mentioned that she seemed to be here to deliver something important, as she was carrying a bag stamped with Saint Veronica’s seal.

“As you instructed, we are currently not accepting visitors, so I tried to deliver the item to you on her behalf. However, the warrior refused, saying that wouldn’t be possible, so we had to escort her to the reception room. What would you like to do, Saint?”

Momentarily flustered by Camilla’s sudden appearance, Lucia put down her quill pen and rose from her chair.

“I’ll go to the reception room myself. However, it will take me some time to prepare, so please make sure Camilla is comfortable while waiting, Father.”

“Understood, Saint.”

As the priest’s footsteps faded away, Lucia rushed to the bathroom and first looked in the mirror.

Perhaps because she had been confined to her quarters, her face had deteriorated noticeably in the past few days. Whether due to skipping meals or not, her skin and hair lacked luster.

Thinking of Camilla waiting in the reception room, Lucia first filled the basin with warm water.

Just then.

-Knock. Knock. Knock.

A knocking sound that seemed to pierce her ears.

Objectively, it was a gentle knock that wasn’t particularly loud, but to the anxious Lucia, it sounded like thunder.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Lucia.”

Lucia’s eyes flew open at the voice from beyond the door.

Sweeping her brilliant golden hair to one side, she approached the door, forgetting even to turn off the faucet.

And as she slowly turned the doorknob, wondering if it could be…

In mid-air.

Their eyes met.

“……”

Lucia, who had only partially opened the door, froze stiffly in place. She was so surprised that she seemed to forget even to breathe.

Seeing her blinking in shock, I removed the hood I had been wearing and revealed my face.

“I was worried when I couldn’t reach you, so I came to see you.”

“……”

“Do you have a moment?”