Chapter 144: Pope Glacia Part 4

“No way, I didn’t expect the Pope to act like that. Honestly, it’s pretty annoying, isn’t it? Suddenly bringing up Noah and all that… Ugh.”

Syria shuddered as if she were disgusted.

“I feel the same way. But if you think about it, aren’t you the same?”

Back when no one knew who I really was, she kept pestering me nonstop.

And now she’s saying something different.

“Oh. No, I only said at first that you were similar.”

“That guy also said it was similar.”

‘Seriously, why is everyone around me so strange?’

I have no idea why.

“Well, as long as you don’t get caught using magic, it might be fine?”

That’s true. As long as I’m careful with magic, I won’t get caught like Syria did.

“That guy is even worse than you.”

“Huh?”

“It’s already impressive that old man manages to look that young. But do you know why he’s been in the Pope’s seat for so long?”

There’s always a reason for these things.

‘Honestly, why has a man like him, practically another version of the Emperor, stayed in that position for so long?’

And in a renowned theocracy, where faith in the goddess is absolute.

The structure of the Church’s political system is an issue, but the most important thing is that the old man has a special ability.

And I’m not just talking about the ability to make himself look young.

“Why is that?”

“He can see into people’s hearts.”

Not just good or evil—he can see the color of a person’s soul.

That guy has that kind of power.

Of course, he’ll be able to see my soul.

That’s just the kind of person he is.

If he noticed that I’m similar to Noah, then he’s already seen my soul.

I wonder what he thinks of me.

***

“In what way?”

“In many ways.”

It’s not about detecting truth and lies.

That’s something he could probably figure out just from experience.

What I mean is, he can see into people.

He sees their souls.

I can barely sense it when I use forbidden magic, but that guy can do it at will.

Like, ‘Show me your soul!’ level of ability.

“Wait, you’re saying that’s real?”

“Have you ever seen me lie?”

‘What do you take me for? My lies are always true.’

“Besides staying young, what else can he do? That guy’s a total cheat. Having the ultimate ability for women, and on top of that, being able to see into people’s hearts?”

A man like that is always weak when it comes to his own bloodline.

Honestly, if you think about it, William should have been exiled from the Church ages ago.

“Who knows? Maybe this time, now that we’ve come here, things will get messy.”

“Just in case, make sure to pass the word to Kise and the Mage Division as well.”

Kise had come to the Church with the Mage Division this time.

A day later than planned, but still, their purpose was diplomatic exchange.

Kise wanted to follow me, but the responsibilities of a division leader were heavy.

Tsk, tsk. Poor girl.

***

“Aren’t you overreacting?”

Like this is the first time something like this has happened.

I already got a feeling the moment I saw William.

“I have a bad feeling. An unusually bad one.”

Anxiety. Extreme anxiety.

Yeah. Something is definitely going to happen.

“Yeah, something’s definitely going to go down.”

“Right?”

“Yes. After all, things always go sideways wherever you are, Noah. I’ll pass the message along.”

Yeah. That’s not wrong.

I decided not to argue.

Looking at William’s face, he was definitely up to something.

But since this is a Church matter, I don’t want to give off the impression that I’m meddling unnecessarily.

“Oh, by the way. We need to stick to the cover story.”

“Cover story?”

‘Oh, I didn’t mention it?’ Syria won’t get to slack off on this trip to the Church.

I bet she was planning to just stick by my side, enjoying my misery.

Unfortunately for her, unlike me, she’ll have her own troubles.

“You know how people talk about you being my bodyguard despite being from the Mage Tower?”

“Yeah. That’s why we’re going with the teddy bear puppeteer story.”

“Exactly. That’s what I meant by sticking to the cover story.”

***

“Right. We’re saying you’re here as a teddy bear puppeteer. Officially, you’re considering opening a teddy bear shop in the Church nation.”

“What does that even mean?”

She tilted her head in confusion, as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

But that’s not something I can help.

For my sake, we have to stick to the cover story.

“You know how the Mage Division practically worships me, right?”

“Yeah.”

One use of void magic, and those little mages practically had stars in their eyes.

To them, my void magic was like a new accessory, a dress, a luxury cosmetic item.

So, of course, admiration for me followed naturally.

On top of that, they had seen my abilities firsthand during missions.

It was only natural that they started seeing me as some kind of idol.

And that’s where the problem began.

***

“They admire me, and you’re known as my close aide.”

“Yeah.”

Despite being a puppeteer, she had joined me on missions, which made people look at her strangely.

“Could that person not be a simple puppeteer?”

“I know, right? Those dolls seem a little too combat-oriented.”

“A puppet mage, maybe? Trying to gain Olivia’s favor?”

Yeah. That’s it.

Puppet Mage Syria.

She had somehow transformed into a puppet mage in their eyes.

To ease their suspicions, we needed to play our roles properly.

“They say you’re by my side, assisting me. And apparently, some of them are feeling jealous of you. On top of that, you even followed me to the Church. That’s practically begging for people to get suspicious. So, no acting like a mage. You have to pretend to be a puppeteer.”

It’s very specific.

Kise’s intent to openly mess with Syria is strongly felt.

In other words, Kise is quite jealous of Syria.

Back when we were kids, our master used to be with me all the time, but now they spend time with Syria instead.

That must be what’s bothering Kise.

But even if that’s how Kise feels, there’s nothing that can be done.

Even if Kise is the one who got left behind, the truth is, I still find Syria more comfortable to be around.

“No, what the…”

Of course, she’d be dumbfounded.

Honestly, so am I.

Kise isn’t usually this childish.

No, calling her a child would be unfair at their age.

‘But if there’s anyone who would go this far just to mess with the future Master of the Magic Tower, it’s only Kise.’

‘Is this some kind of rivalry?’

Honestly, it’s a problem if it is, since our fields are completely different.

Kise is a mage, but they’re closer to a magic swordsman.

“So, when you go see Kise, make sure to always carry the teddy bear. Also, check for any signs of her looking for a place to open a shop or anything like that.”

Well, she can handle that part themselves.

“…Alright.”

Even if she stare at me like that, there’s nothing I can do.

This isn’t my fault.

It’s entirely Kise’s fault, and honestly, it’s the fault of being from the Magic Tower.

***

The Holy See

“That was far too rude. How could someone be so disrespectful?”

Returning to the Holy See, Glacia shook his head as he watched Elias fume in anger.

“Oh, that guy—no, that woman—she can act like that.”

“Rather than saying she can act like that, it’s more accurate to say that even if you tell her to behave, she just won’t listen.”

“And she knows her personality isn’t great, so…”

“Um… Excuse me, Your Holiness, but even so, those words are a little…”

Seeing him say whatever he wanted even in this situation, it was clear that this was something that needed fixing.

“Haha. You really never know how things will turn out, do you?”

The Pope let out a bitter laugh.

“What?”

“The mage Noah seems to be dead.”

That much is certain.

“If he were alive, he wouldn’t have simply vanished, and there’s no way someone carrying a fragment of his soul would have come to the Holy See otherwise.”

“Dead? By whose hand? Other than the Demon King, is there even anyone capable of defeating him?”

Elias knew.

Even if that Noah was unbearably arrogant, he was strong.

No, he was so strong that he could afford to be arrogant.

He was strong enough to be openly disrespectful even before the Pope himself.

That’s why, even though Elias resented him, she endured it.

‘But now he’s dead?’

‘Did he actually fight the Demon King?’

“The Demon King is dead, isn’t he? The mage went after him alone.”

“No way…”

‘Then, is that ridiculous possibility actually true?’

She had only heard rumors, but she never thought it was possible.

Not that Elias had much reason to look deeply into Noah in the first place.

So she never bothered to find out more.

“He probably self-destructed. They both died together. Then again, considering that hopeless Hero’s party, it’s no wonder he got sick of it.”

“Yeah, maybe he just wanted to get away from that frustrating Hero and decided to blow himself up.”

“It’s a shame, but there’s no other way to interpret it.”

“No one could have predicted that his soul would somehow merge with the soul of the Ashtar family.”

“Is this for real?”

“Well, the Demon King is dead, so it’s a good thing… but something still feels off.”

“The Demon King has been defeated, yet the world is still in turmoil. There’s still the Four Heavenly Kings. Recently, the Saintess of Ashtar managed to capture Berna, but…”

“Maybe it’s because the mage, not the Hero, was the one who defeated the Demon King? For some reason, the Four Heavenly Kings seemed even stronger than before.”

“What? But if he killed the Demon King, isn’t that a good thing? That trash Hero didn’t get to take the credit, at least.”

“…That Saintess is here?”

‘Wait. The Saintess?’

The Empire’s situation is unclear, so she doesn’t know much about her past, but one thing is certain.

At first, she was known as a notorious villainess in Atlerina.

But looking at her now… she doesn’t seem that bad.

Villainous, sure, but not the kind of person who would proudly earn the title of the most wicked woman in Atlerina.

Maybe she should look into it later, but one thing is clear—she’s definitely not the same Olivia from before.

Besides…

It seems the Demon King hasn’t completely disappeared after all.

No, actually… ‘Looking at this… maybe the Demon King really was meant to die by the Hero’s Holy Sword after all.’

‘Why is the mage’s soul mixed with the Demon King inside the Saintess’s body?’

A long time ago, Glacia had seen a fragment of the Demon King.

Now, within the Saintess’s body, the Demon King, the mage, and the noblewoman of Ashtar were all intertwined.

“What?”

“…You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

No, actually, if he explained this the wrong way, it could lead to an even bigger mess.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just take it at face value. That Saintess is someone important.”

“Whether or not she was truly Noah… or just a chaotic fusion of different souls…”

“One thing was certain—looking at her, the Hero was completely useless. And judging from appearances, the one truly in control was the mage.”

“Yeah. If the Demon King really was an entity that could only be slain by the Hero…”

“Then wasn’t this mage an even greater evil?”

“Maybe the Hero wasn’t even necessary in the first place.”

“Do we even need a Hero?”

“Good question.”

“Do we, really?”