Ch.62Chapter 62 – Aeterna Lumio Sol (1)

In this world, there are countless gods, but if you were to ask people which religious order has the undeniably strongest influence, they would say the “Solar Order.”

Epitrina created beings to manage this world on her behalf in order to minimize her direct intervention in the world she oversees.

The earthly creatures began to call these beings created by Epitrina “gods.”

Naturally, they started calling Epitrina the “Great Goddess” since she existed above these gods.

In any case, the managers created by Epitrina began to be called by different names according to their assigned attributes.

For example, the manager who governed the movement of the sun and daytime came to be known as the “Sun God,” while the manager who governed the movement of the moon and nighttime came to be called the “Mother of Night.”

The Mother of Night was initially going to be called the “Moon God,” but her followers thought the name wasn’t impressive enough, so she came to be known as the Mother of Night instead.

Through this process, the managers created by Epitrina received the faith of creatures and were completely reborn as divine beings.

In fact, thanks to them, Epitrina was able to manage this world comfortably.

But even this seemingly peaceful world occasionally faces crises.

The negative emotions of those living in this world gathered to form a spiritual entity, and this entity grew by feeding on the faith of those living in the shadows, becoming a demon god.

This demon god intervened in the world just enough to avoid Epitrina’s direct intervention, throwing the world into chaos.

To resolve this, Epitrina allowed the managers she created to appoint “apostles.”

These apostles are called by different names depending on the religious order.

Among them, the most influential Solar Order called the Sun God’s apostle a “Holy Maiden.”

‘I was a bit nervous about meeting the Demon Sword Destroyer, but they’re surprisingly interesting.’

And the current Holy Maiden of the Solar Order, Eterna Lumio Sol.

She was now meeting Pathos, the officially recognized Demon Sword Destroyer by the Great Goddess Order.

On the day the Great Goddess Order announced the Demon Sword Destroyer, Eterna received a revelation from the Sun God she served.

‘Go to Glesius Academy in the Gelebrio Empire. Meet the Demon Sword Destroyer, Pathos, there and protect him.’

The Sun God’s revelation was to meet and protect the Demon Sword Destroyer.

Eterna asked the Sun God why she needed to do this.

‘Why must I protect him? If he can destroy demon swords, isn’t he far stronger than I am?’

‘To overcome the coming crisis, you must join forces. No matter how strong he is, he cannot overcome the coming crisis alone.’

‘I understand. I will obey your words.’

She agreed to follow the Sun God’s revelation to seek him out to overcome the coming crisis.

‘Go. When you arrive there, you will instinctively know who he is. But remember. And finally, when you meet him, please don’t play any pranks on him…’

However, she didn’t hear the Sun God’s final words completely because there was a time limit when delivering revelations.

After receiving the revelation, she told the Archbishop of the Solar Order that she would act according to the revelation.

“I understand, Holy Maiden. I will pray that the Sun God’s blessing accompanies you on your journey.”

Having left the Solar Order’s Great Temple, Eterna was able to enter Arkenium using a disguised identity.

“I am Eterna, Heresy Inquisitor of the Solar Order. I’ve come to this city to meet someone.”

That disguise was as a Heresy Inquisitor of the Solar Order.

This was possible because she actually served as both the Holy Maiden and a Heresy Inquisitor for the Solar Order.

After entering Arkenium, before officially searching for Pathos, she decided to stop by a café for a refreshing drink.

There were hardly any such secular shops around the Solar Order’s Great Temple, and the variety of goods sold was limited.

The area around the Great Temple only sold clear tea good for spiritual cultivation, which didn’t suit Eterna’s taste.

So whenever Eterna ventured outside, she always made sure to visit a café.

‘What kind of drink should I try this time?’

There was a café she frequently visited when visiting Glesius Academy or its vicinity.

Visiting what was essentially her regular café, she ordered a drink and looked for a window seat.

The window seat was her favorite spot.

The warm sunlight was like the touch of the Sun God she served, so she particularly loved seats bathed in sunlight.

But what was this? Today of all days, all the window seats at her regular café were taken.

‘This is a bit troublesome.’

Of course, she could drink her beverage elsewhere, but without a window seat, she couldn’t fully enjoy the pleasure.

At that moment, her eyes caught a man with black hair wearing glasses sitting at a window seat.

Normally, she would have given up and sat as close to the window as possible.

But strangely, today her eyes kept being drawn to that man.

‘What is it? Why do I keep looking at him?’

Eterna wondered why her eyes were repeatedly drawn to the person sitting by the window.

The person sitting by the window was just an ordinary Eastern Continent man, albeit somewhat well-dressed.

But strangely, a peculiar energy flowed from him that wasn’t felt from other people.

She unconsciously moved closer to him, and when she was about five steps away, the concentration of energy flowing from him intensified.

‘This is… the Great Goddess’s energy?’

And she could recognize that the energy was that of the Great Goddess, Epitrina.

Eterna was able to notice this thanks to the power of the Sun God she possessed.

After all, the power originally possessed by the Sun God was Epitrina’s.

The Sun God’s power she possessed began to resonate with the power of Epitrina that the man had.

Needless to say, the man sitting by the window was Pathos.

Eterna had found the person she was looking for at her regular café.

‘Then, is this man the ‘Demon Sword Destroyer’ Pathos?’

Having met an Eastern Continent man with Epitrina’s energy near Glesius Academy, Eterna was convinced he was Pathos.

So she approached him and naturally asked to share his table.

“Well, I don’t mind. Feel free to sit here if you’d like.”

Fortunately, Pathos accepted Eterna’s somewhat impolite request.

Perhaps it was thanks to Eterna’s overflowing pouch of divine power.

“Ah! Thank you. I dislike dark places. I really appreciate your consideration.”

Eterna thought it was fortunate and joined him at the table, and soon her ordered drink arrived.

Drinking her ordered beverage, Eterna felt a refreshing sweetness she hadn’t experienced in a while, while Pathos felt the intense carbonation of his soda.

Seeing Pathos’s frown, Eterna realized he had ordered a carbonated drink.

‘Hmm, should I play a little prank?’

Seeing him suffering from the carbonated drink, Eterna unconsciously thought about playing a small prank.

Of course, the Sun God had told her not to play pranks on Pathos when she met him, but unfortunately, that part wasn’t properly conveyed to Eterna due to the time limit on the revelation.

Unaware of this, Eterna placed her hand on Pathos’s throat and healed him.

Eterna thought Pathos would blush because of her physical contact, but that was her misjudgment.

“Divine power…?”

Instead, Pathos was quite surprised to see her using divine power.

“The Holy Maiden of the Solar Order… Eterna Lumio Sol?”

She got goosebumps when Pathos knew her full name and exact position, even though she hadn’t revealed her identity.

“Oh my? Do you know me? That’s strange. Even among the Solar Order’s followers, hardly anyone knows me. Or are you someone who is hostile to me?”

So she unconsciously emitted a strong aura toward Pathos, pressuring him.

“N-No, that’s not it.”

“Then please tell me. How do you know who I am?”

“The Great Goddess Epitrina told me. She said I would meet the Holy Maiden of the Solar Order if I came here today.”

Pathos answered Eterna’s question, and she finally released the pressure. They exchanged names, and Eterna was able to achieve her goal.

But there was something she didn’t know…

“Solara.”

“Yes!”

The Sun God who had chosen Eterna as his apostle.

“Kneel.”

“Yes!”

He was currently being disciplined by Epitrina in his residence, the Sun God’s Palace.

Epitrina, looking at the Sun God Solara, was pouring terrifying anger at the Sun God, to the extent that she could be called anger incarnate.

“What did I tell you?”

“You told me to prevent Eterna from playing pranks on Lord Pathos.”

“And?”

Epitrina was looking at Solara with an expression that seemed to say, “Is that what you should be saying right now?”

“I’m sorry! I will set a date and properly educate Eterna!”

Feeling fear, Solara said he would educate her properly.

“I’ll let it slide this time since you’ve done well until now. But if Eterna does it again next time, then…”

Epitrina looked at Solara and clenched her fist, and simultaneously, the Sun God’s Palace began to shake.

“I will thoroughly educate her. So please, calm your anger…”

“Tsk.”

Epitrina clicked her tongue once and then disappeared from the Sun God’s Palace.

Only after confirming Epitrina had vanished could Solara rise from his place, and he immediately sent a revelation to Eterna.

‘The Great Goddess is angry. Never play pranks on the man called Pathos.’

It was the desperate struggle of a god called the Sun God to survive.