episode_0155

Chapter 6 Episode 11 – Search for the Virgin Mary 2

As I walked into the orphanage, I immediately heard the children’s noisy voices. Children playing happily on the playground in the orphanage. The clothes looked good, the toys seemed to be plentiful, and most importantly, the nutritional status seemed to be in good condition.

In fact, Joachim himself was dressed simply and looked tired, so it seemed like he was a good director who did not steal the donations that came in and spent all of them on the children.

‘Is it because I look so stressed because I’m tired from taking care of my children?’

Well, this guy’s situation is none of my business. All I need to know is where Maria is.

Perhaps because the appearance of new people was surprising, the children who were playing began to gather one by one. All the children’s attention was focused on Veronica, probably because they thought she was a new friend coming to the orphanage.

Veronica was taken aback by the gathering of children and froze, not knowing what to do. Perhaps because she was as pretty as a doll, the girls began decorating her diligently.

A crown, a necklace with a heart-shaped decoration, a bracelet, and even a flower hairpin. There is no such thing as a very princess.

“Wow, she really looks like a princess!”

One of the girls shouted, and Veronica came to her senses and faced the children surrounding her. The boys seemed to have fallen in love at first sight and were mesmerized, while the girls were looking at them with longing.

If it were a normal adult, she would have thought it was just a child’s cute gaze and played with it appropriately, but in Veronica’s case, she is truly intoxicated by the gaze and is showing an arrogant side.

“It’s not like a princess. I am a real princess.”

I have seen this somewhere. Watching her imitate the graceful gestures of princesses from cartoon movies, she is truly at the level of a child. I have a lot of friends here, so should I just leave it to them?

“Rion, please watch the kids with me. Control your strength well.”

Leon nods his head with a solemn expression. Why were you so nervous? Are you afraid that you might not be able to control your strength? Like a famous actor who is scared of chicks.

‘…I don’t think anything will happen.’

I followed Joachim, who was waiting ahead of me, into the drawing room.

Freshly brewed black tea was steaming on the small table in the living room. Maybe it’s because I once got hit in the head while drinking tea, but I can’t control my hands.

“So why did you come to see me?”

“……”

How should I explain the current situation? Is there any need to spin it around?

“The Virgin Mary’s life is in danger.”

“……What does that mean?”

“I don’t know the details of the situation. Because of regulations, they could not tell me through revelation, so they told me to come find it in person. That’s why Priest Joachim, who knows the Virgin Mary’s residence, came to see you.”

“……I am not Joachim.”

“Ah, yes. Let’s roughly put it like that.”

It sucks.

“……As a believer, if Our Lady is in danger, of course I will help. But how can I trust you when I first see you.”

“Hmm… . Surely you can’t trust someone you meet for the first time.”

I took out a piece of paper from my pocket and spread it out on the table.

“I hope this builds a little bit of trust.”

“This… . Stigmata?”

The stigmata is a sacred symbol engraved on the body of the Virgin Mary when she was given the power of the Virgin Mary, and is located above the coccyx.

Of course, the Virgin Mary would not appear in a dream wearing something like a crop top, so knowing the form of the stigmata could at least be interpreted as meaning that one has great trust in the Virgin Mary.

‘Of course, it’s just my guess.’

Looking at Joachim’s reaction, it seems my guess was true.

“How do I do this… .”

“The Virgin Mary herself showed it. It’s not accurate because it’s a transcription of something I saw in a dream.”

When Mary first appeared in my dream, she showed me the stigmata to prove that she was the Virgin.

‘You damn bastard.’

I don’t know how I got the stigmata in the first place, so what if I show it to you?

In any case, it was fortunate that Joachim knew about stigmata. Of course, there was a very high possibility that he would know since he was in charge of the Virgin Mary’s education and was like a father, but if he had not known at all, it would have been a hassle to persuade him.

“……Is the Virgin Mary really in danger?”

“Yes. I have received many revelations, but this is the first time I have asked for help. It’s not normal.”

Joachim’s face was filled with worry. Is it because of her deep religious faith, or because she is like her own daughter? Either way, he is greatly shaken by the fact that the Virgin Mary is in danger.

“Our Lady needs your help.”

Joachim drove in the fact that he could help the Virgin and at the same time, if he did not help the Virgin, he would be responsible if anything went wrong.

“……”

Joachim, who was in agony, wrote something on a notepad, then tore it up and handed it to me. Judging from the address written down, it appears that this is Maria’s residence.

“Please save the Virgin Mary… . And if you ever meet him, I would appreciate it if you could tell him you are sorry.”

Nod. Joachim bows his head.

Suddenly, I remembered what Banshee had told me. It is said that the training to become a Virgin Mary was quite harsh. Does Joachim regret that? That’s why I asked you to convey my apology.

“Okay.”

It’s not that difficult to just spread the word.

*

*

“Ha… . As expected, I had to drag Aslen by force.”

The address I received from Joachim was quite far away. After traveling 4 hours by high-speed rail, you have to drive another 3 hours from there.

In addition, perhaps because they had intentionally chosen a place with few people, they had to go into the forest at some point, so they had to abandon the car and walk. Almost over an hour.

Originally, since I had left the management office, I had planned to contact the person who found and recorded the Virgin Mary. She had just woken up after being unconscious for almost a month, and was unable to even walk properly. Even if I had to use an assistive device to walk, my body’s nutritional status was so bad that I had to recuperate for at least two days.

‘Those two days were really the minimum.’

Anyway, if you’re having this much trouble every time you go out, I think it’s better to tackle it all at once. If I have to make a fuss about being in contact with someone who records again… . Wow, I’m so tired just thinking about it.

“Zeke… . hot… . I’m thirsty… . it’s hard… .”

“Be patient. Here’s the topic you’re most comfortable with.”

I have now become accustomed to Veronica’s disgruntled voice coming from behind.

She is currently moving forward with being held by Leon. My physical strength is trash, but Veronica’s is even worse. I can’t believe you complain about such a topic once a minute. As expected, like a beautifully grown flower in a greenhouse, it has no guts.

“Rion… . Please send it a little faster.”

“Ah, yes. Can I do it like this?”

“Wow, it’s cool.”

Leon fanned Veronica, who was sweating profusely, with a large leaf he had picked along the way. Should I support Veronica with one hand and fan her with the other? You look so busy.

Anyway, it feels like the two have become unusually close. Rion seemed to find Veronica cute in his own way, but Veronica found Rion irritating. He came out to play with me, but he must have thought I was an uninvited guest. However, after going to the orphanage, the two became quite close. What on earth happened?

‘It’s good if we get along well, right?’

The reason why Veronica’s eyes look at Leon is so hot must be because of her mood.

“Oh, did you see that?”

A house with an interior that blends in with nature in the middle of a large vacant lot. It was too simple to be the Virgin Mary’s residence, but it seemed even more fitting as the Virgin Mary’s residence.

“……Something smells strange.”

“Smell? What smell?”

As they got closer to the house, Veronica frowned and pinched her nose.

Leon was shocked for a moment, then put his nose to his body. I don’t think it comes from you. Did you start to care because I said I smelled before?

“I’m not sure. It smells like something rotten.”

“……”

After walking for a while, my nose began to smell faintly. This smell… . It’s a bit dangerous.

“Rion, can you feel anything inside?”

“…I don’t know.”

If Vir had been there, he would have easily figured it out, but it’s a shame that Rion’s detection ability is poor.

“Go and check inside first. Unless it’s a woman, it doesn’t matter if you subdue it a little too harshly.”

“I understand.”

Leon slowly approached the house, muffled by his footsteps. Afterwards, I carefully opened the door, but it was not locked.

Afterwards, Leon went inside the house and came out shortly after.

She takes the X-shape with her hand. It was a sign that no one was inside.

“It’s empty inside? What about the Virgin Mary?”

I followed and searched the house, but it was empty. Looking at the remaining traces of his life, it is estimated that he was away from home for over a week at most.

“……Oh shit.”

Why aren’t my fucking premonitions wrong?

The food left unattended was rotting and flies were flying around. Was this the identity of the odor? Veronica secretly has a good nose. Is it because I always smell only good scents?

Anyway, the Virgin Mary was away from home. That was quite a long time ago. Or maybe this house didn’t belong to the Virgin Mary in the first place. Joachim fucked me, I don’t know.

I tried to control my frustration and searched the house, but there was nothing that could give me any clues. When I trudged out of the house, I saw Veronica and Leon digging in the ground.

“What are you doing?”

“Here, the soil is unnatural.”

Veronica covered her nose and spoke in a strange voice.

“Soil is unnatural?”

I had an uneasy feeling. No, this is not a hunch, it is a intuition. A leap in thinking called intuition, where numerous experiences are accumulated and a conclusion is quickly reached without having to think.

“…Veronica, go inside the house.”

“What? no. I feel rotten.”

“It’s in.”

Veronica was taken aback by my firm voice. As if Rion had noticed the situation, he added a word.

“Bell, you’d better go inside.”

“……Sii. Why only me… .”

Veronica goes into the house grumbling. Afterwards, I motioned to Leon to dig further.

“……It’s a coffin.”

A pure white coffin large enough to fit a person. In the center, an eye symbol, a symbol of the Virgin Mary, was drawn.

When I carefully opened the coffin, I found inside a pale woman, as if she had been powdered white, with her face covered by a veil, as if she were sleeping, with her hands neatly folded on her chest.

‘Was it embalmed? There was no corruption going on at all.’

Whose body is it? I tried to take a closer look, but a note stuck on the side of the body caught my eye.

“Diary?”

As I flipped through the pages of the irregularly written diary, a photo suddenly fell out.

When I picked up the photo and checked it, it showed a young Joachim and a girl.

‘Is this Maria’s childhood?’

I couldn’t be sure because she was young and her face was somewhat different from the current Maria, but it was strange to say she was anyone else.

If the person in this photo is Maria, then the owner of this diary is also Maria. Then naturally, the woman in this coffin… .

I felt strong.

The woman’s attire was the kind of clothes that Maria usually wears: light, pure white clothes with little exposure. Additionally, the woman’s hair was white and long, similar to Maria’s.

“……No way.”

I removed the veil and was shocked to see the woman’s face covered.

“What is this? Who is it?”

The woman in the coffin was a woman I had never seen before.