Chapter 1232: Side Story – Saintess of the Vatican (3)

Somehow, we arrived at the Vatican Holy Kingdom, accompanied by numerous priests.

Due to security issues, we couldn’t install a warp gate inside the Holy Kingdom, so crossing the border via a gate in a neighboring country took a bit longer… but anyway, we managed to arrive at the Vatican Holy Kingdom.

“Taekyung, from here on, it’s the Vatican Holy Kingdom~!”

Lulusia guided me, walking ahead with slightly faster steps than usual.

The tension and atmosphere itself weren’t much different from Lulusia’s usual self, but separately, a strange tension was also palpable.

‘Indeed, perhaps because it’s a Holy Kingdom, it really is only women…’

Wherever you looked, it was a scene full of people wearing veils on their heads or long priestly robes.

And no matter how I turned my gaze, not a single man could be seen.

“Do men really not live here at all?”

“Well, it’s a Holy Kingdom. To obtain Holy abilities, one needs to grow up suppressing desire for men as much as possible.”

“……”

Was the reason so many awakened individuals who obtained Holy abilities emerged in the Vatican Holy Kingdom due to this environment?

Intuitively, it wasn’t easy to understand, but thinking about it simply, it was a rather plausible theory.

The biggest cause of damage to Holy abilities is losing one’s chastity to a man.

Viewed from that perspective, the fact that women of the Vatican Holy Kingdom, who have relatively less contact with men, obtain Holy abilities must be like a rule of the world.

Just like how women who gain sexual satisfaction regain their awakened abilities that had once weakened.

“What you see over there is the First Cathedral of the Vatican Holy Kingdom. It’s the oldest shrine in the entire Holy Kingdom, and it has a sanctuary inside.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“And over there is the symbol of the Holy Kingdom, the Giant Saintess statue. And over there is…”

…Well, I had somewhat expected this ever since I asked you to come to the Holy Kingdom with me.

As Lulusia said, there wasn’t much that was particularly interesting or worth seeing. Even the fact that it’s a country with only women became somewhat familiar, so it didn’t feel that novel anymore.

Besides, the Hunter’s Guild itself is a female-dominated group, and our guild is even tailored to my preferences to the extent that its regular staff is entirely composed of women… so how should I put it, it doesn’t feel that different compared to what I usually see.

Everyone’s attire was quite similar, which contributed to that feeling. As for who’s enjoyable just to look at, should I say the guild members of Hope City Guild have better style?

My wives too, except for people like Eunyoung Noona or CEO Seo Ok-hee, are all affiliated with the Hope City Guild.

‘…I think I need to ask Lulusia too.’

Just like the other women, I have to ask her too whether she intends to be with me in the future.

Of course, in many ways, Lulusia was in a slightly ambiguous relationship with me, unlike my other wives.

While I definitely feel affection, how should I put it, that affection doesn’t feel like it’s directed solely at me, but rather like agape love, equal to all – how should I express it?

And opportunities for interaction were relatively few. As a Saintess, Lulusia is busy day by day, finding it difficult even to create opportunities to meet.

If we’re talking about the number of times we’ve met or talked alone, I wonder if it’s not even less than Cheon Jihee. It’s probably around that much.

In such a situation, even if I were to suddenly ask her, ‘Do you intend to bear my child?’, I wonder if I’d get a good answer.

Especially since the moment she loses her virginity, she also loses her Holy abilities, so she would have to judge carefully when choosing a husband.

‘…In that sense, I’m not really that great of a husband.’

Having wives already numbering more than ten, and still increasing even now, becoming the wife of a man like this probably wouldn’t feel great for a woman.

I can’t promise to only look at one person for life, and the advantages I do have are only economic power and satisfying sexual desire, that’s all.

For Lulusia, who is called a Saintess of a nation, it must be an unsatisfactory position in many ways. The position of being the wife of a guild leader of a small-to-medium guild in South Korea, especially being one among many wives.

“Taekyung, what are you thinking about so deeply~?”

“…It’s nothing, Lulusia. I was just spacing out for a moment, amazed by your hometown.”

“Well, it might be strange for you, Taekyung, in many ways. As for me, I’ve seen it every day since childhood, so it’s not particularly strange!”

“Come to think of it, were you born entirely in the Vatican Holy Kingdom, Lulusia?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Contrary to my complicated thoughts, she answered nonchalantly, leading me around the Vatican Holy Kingdom.

In the increasingly awkward atmosphere, as I quietly followed her deeper into the Holy Kingdom, I strongly felt gazes directed particularly towards me from my surroundings.

“Over there, that person….”

“…Is that a man? Really?”

“Isn’t that him…? The male Hunter…”

Some people just stared as if it was strange that I was a man, and although only a few, some people occasionally seemed to recognize who I was.

Well, even in a Holy Kingdom, it’s probably not like the internet or TV doesn’t work. Even if they haven’t seen it directly, through overseas news…

“Oh, that’s right, Taekyung. For your information, there’s neither TV nor internet in the Holy Kingdom, so you’ll have to make external contact after entering the accommodation.”

“…Huh? Is that really true, Lulusia?”

“Yes. If, by chance, curiosity about men arises due to external media, the possibility of obtaining Holy abilities decreases. Still, since there are landlines, you don’t have to worry about contacting Korea itself~!”

“……”

Increasingly thinking it was a country exuding a strangely suspicious aura, I moved my steps deeper into the Holy Kingdom, following Lulusia.

From the surroundings, the gazes of the female priests directed towards me felt like they were unknowingly getting stronger and stronger.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

As soon as I returned to the accommodation, after contacting home via landline, I leisurely lay down on the bed.

Usually, when I have free time like this, I’d be looking at my smartphone, but that wasn’t an option either. As Lulusia said, since there was no internet, there was really nothing to do.

Due to the warning that some problem might arise if I, being a man, wandered around alone in a place like the Vatican Holy Kingdom, I ended up in a situation akin to temporary confinement.

Of course, even if I wandered around, there would only be similar ruins or the like throughout the country, so I wasn’t particularly disappointed, but still, it’s Lulusia’s hometown for the first time in a while, and staying only in the accommodation like this felt quite strange.

‘Besides, I can’t ask the busy Lulusia to just stay by my side.’

She seems busy right now too, having returned to her hometown after a long time with various reports, and I can’t insist that I’m bored and ask her to stay with me.

So I just ate the snacks seemingly prepared for guests and read the books available in the accommodation to pass the time. Most of them were Bibles or religious texts, so they weren’t fun, but.

Like that, about three hours might have passed after arriving at the accommodation.

-Bang!

“S-sorry, Taekyung… D-did you wait long…?”

Seeing Lulusia glance at me and cautiously enter the room, I felt relieved thinking I could finally escape this boring time.

“I didn’t wait long, Lulusia. It’s been a while since I’ve had leisure time like this.”

“I’m truly sorry… It took some time to persuade the elders, because of that…”

“The elders?”

“…Yes. To be with Taekyung in the future as well, I needed to persuade the elders.”

“What?”

Lulusia approached, reaching out her arm towards me while saying something I didn’t understand.

Wondering what she was trying to say, as I quietly focused my gaze on her, I heard her voice speaking carefully, like a whisper into my ear.

“…Taekyung.”

“Yes, Lulusia.”

“Did you know that the priests of our Vatican Holy Kingdom cannot marry just anyone normally?”

“…What does that mean, Lulusia.”

“It’s just a natural thing.”

Not understanding what she was saying, Lulusia quietly continued her explanation in response to my questioning inquiry.

“The Vatican Holy Kingdom is a place where men are forbidden. To get married, it’s inevitable that a man must be brought into the Holy Kingdom, and within the Holy Kingdom, they strictly limit the men who can enter and exit. Your arrival in the Holy Kingdom today is just a very, very special exception.”

“…Yes, it seemed that way.”

“Aren’t you curious why the Holy Kingdom permitted your entry?”

“…I was curious, but since you didn’t say, Lulusia, I wasn’t prying into it.”

“The reason the Holy Kingdom permitted your entry is because they want you to take on the role of the next generation’s ‘Father’.”

“…Father?”

“Yes, it’s Father, Taekyung.”

Although I heard the expression ‘Father’ for the first time, somehow, just from this subtle reaction, I felt like I understood its meaning.

One thing is certain: Lulusia didn’t just bring me here to introduce her hometown.