episode_0193

After thoroughly entwining ourselves until lunchtime on the second day, we collapsed like we’d planned it.

We woke up the next morning.

After washing up in the bathroom and changing into clean clothes, we went down to the dining hall on the first floor.

We received pointed stares throughout breakfast.

‘Is something wrong?’

I pretended nothing was amiss and shoved a mouthful of savory mushroom soup into my mouth, but…

Tier fidgeted with her spoon, her face flushed crimson and lowered.

After finishing our meal, we went to the counter to pay for an extra night in the luxury suite, and then walked towards the Grand Cathedral where the priests were waiting.

Even on our way, the attention didn’t stop.

People who spotted us gathered and started whispering; when we looked at them, they quickly averted their gazes, pretending not to notice.

One of the most awkward moments was when a little kid—

“Mommy, Mommy! That’s the big-boobed lady we saw yesterday!”

—shouted loudly, causing the mother to profusely apologize to us.

I laughed it off, but Tier’s face turned even redder, as if it would burst.

Nevertheless, she choked back tears threatening to spill and somehow managed to walk to the Grand Cathedral.

Upon arrival, we joined the priests of the Aiter Cathedral.

But at the very last moment, Tier couldn’t hold it any longer.

Because she witnessed Jay, who had been so pure, that bright and bold icon of purity…

glancing at Tier’s chest.

Thud-

“Waaaaah— I can’t get married now—”

Tier plopped down on the floor and burst into tears.

Alex had been frozen in place from the moment he first saw us, and Clement and Bertie were flustered, at a loss for what to do in front of Tier.

Only I could approach her and pat her head.

“Need to get married? You can just come to me.”

“Waaaaah— I don’t care, I don’t need anything—”

I held her in my arms, patting her back and slowly soothing her. I was in the same situation, but the impact was relatively less on me.

Regardless of others’ opinions, what matters is how we feel about each other.

Just as I said that the attention of others is unimportant and looked at the priests,

I caught Jay staring intently at the inside of my skirt.

Thud-

“Waaaaah— I can’t get married either—”

I also sat down on the floor and cried my eyes out.

…

…

…

Well, it was half a joke.

To stop Tier’s tears, a bigger shock was needed, something to make her forget the shocking reality.

Thankfully, she stopped crying soon and comforted me. As a result, the Holy Maiden’s Inn balcony full-body exposure public sex incident was settled.

In fact, it was just a brief little event.

The problems facing the Holy Kingdom were enormous, fateful issues connected to the nation’s very survival.

First, the faith they had believed in was a lie. As the Luminose Central Orthodox Church was the backbone of the Holy Kingdom, this was a monumental problem.

It is not easy for people to accept that what they believed to be the truth until the day before was actually a blatant falsehood…

The fortunate thing is that while some falsehoods were mixed in, the roots themselves were not wrong.

Even if mind control magic was used to unify everyone’s minds at will, a religion needs at least a degree of normal doctrine to function normally.

In reality, the system established by the previous Popes themselves was not distorted; it was simply manipulated by one person.

Second, the perpetrator of such an atrocious act was Pope Gregorio.

He exploited people’s vulnerabilities and used mind control magic, targeting all the people of the Holy Kingdom.

Could those who suffered even imagine?

That Pope Gregorio, whom they had always considered a divine being closest to the Goddess, had actually been using them as puppets.

That the Holy Kingdom, a loyal nation that served the Goddess and was considered a stage where she would one day appear, was actually a model garden manipulated by a single old man who mimicked the Goddess’s henchman.

Unless something was properly resolved, there would be continued chaos and suffering.

Just as our minds had been momentarily calmed by the exciting little episode, they revived again. The issues burned quickly and everything went back to how it was before.

To be honest, I didn’t care if the Holy Kingdom fell or not.

Isn’t that right?

A kingdom with a vacant throne will naturally crumble without any intervention. I could just watch from the sidelines and wait for the delicious Holy Kingdom meat to cook perfectly before it falls into my mouth.

Then I can annex up to the northern part of the continent into my kingdom.

Tier was a little different.

For her, the Luminose Holy Kingdom is her birthplace. She received life from her beloved parents, lived in the world, storing both good and bad memories in her heart.

I don’t know what emotions welled up inside Tier after her long journey home.

But one thing is certain.

She decided to serve not only me but also the Goddess of Light. She decided to keep both the name Tier Nifrantz, my wife, and the name of Holy Maiden Tier Aiter, shining light upon the world.

Then I have no objections.

Her will is my will, and my heart is hers.

There was only one thing ‘we’ had to do.

To support the Holy Kingdom, which was stumbling after losing its pillar, and to fully protect its innocent people and their fragile faith.

I brushed away the brown ether dye from my hair.

I wore my tiara over my original black hair.

…

…

…

The Grand Cathedral, its ceiling gone, was still littered with rubble, but it was an appropriately symbolic place to gather.

“…You have come.”

I called together everyone in the Holy Kingdom with the power to take responsibility for the current situation, to the highest place in the kingdom.

Thud- thud-

First, the proud pillars of the Nifrantz Kingdom.

Second Knight Commander Philips Carmoor, Vice Commander Aspi Lichteine, and many other squadron commanders including Len and Luke.

My sharp, strong swordsmen lined up one by one, knelt down.

“Nifrantz Second Kingdom Knight Commander Philips Carmoor, along with five others, we greet Her Highness Narita Florine Nifrantz.”

“Take your positions to my right.”

“As you command.”

Among the knights standing with their colorful hair swaying, I exchanged a slight smile with Aspi. She blushed and nodded.

Next, the small pillars of the Luminose Holy Kingdom.

The first to arrive were the four Cardinals who had been the Pope’s pawns for decades, struck by the Divine Word. Behind them, the Holy Knight Commander Chiron Schtrich followed, clutching his bandaged right arm.

“Luminose Holy Kingdom Central Orthodox Church, Grand Cathedral Cardinals Victor and four others. As you instructed… we greet Her Highness Narita Florine Nifrantz.”

“There’s no need to be so intimidated. You are not my subordinates, so I should be the one bowing.”

“Still… please accept our heartfelt devotion.”

The Cardinals, with lines etched deep into their faces, stood in a row, bowing to me.

The Ether waves flowing made me feel a range of complex emotions. Regret, self-reproach, despair, apology, and hope, joy, excitement and gratitude blooming like small lights within them.

While I couldn’t precisely know their thoughts, it was clear that they had gathered there worried about the future of the Holy Kingdom.

I nodded silently.

“Holy Knight Commander Chiron Schtrich, come forward.”

“…Yes.”

Thud-

His face was even more haggard than a few days before, perhaps because he hadn’t received prompt treatment after our battle.

More important than physical fatigue or injury was his severed right arm. He trembled, clutching his right arm tightly.

“Even with healing magic, it didn’t regenerate, did it?”

“How… how did you know…?”

“What I cut off that day wasn’t your right arm. I was moved by your fighting spirit as a knight, and I gave it my all; with my sword I cut the part of your soul that made you attack with the greatest bravery.”

The severed wrist was merely a bonus. I had cut away the hardest ether you had to wield your sword with ‘The Muyeong Sword’. This is why no matter how much healing magic you used, it wouldn’t heal.

Swish- Whirl-

I unravelled the bandages wrapped around his right arm, and placing my hand on the wound that had begun to heal haphazardly,

I returned to him everything I had taken that day.

Whoooooosh—

The pure white ether erupting from me bloomed like bubbles of light, seeping into Chiron’s wrist and recreating his calloused hand.

“Th… this is…!!”

“Something that couldn’t be healed with healing magic…!!”

The Cardinals watching this scene gasped, lifting their glasses.

Chiron, whose wrist had been restored, looked utterly bewildered, grasping the situation.

“Why… did you give it back?”

“It’s unnecessary.”

“…Yes.”

A single wrist of a brave holy knight… even on Danggeun Market nobody would buy it. It’s not like it’s Exodia anyway.

“Why such a disappointed look? You still have work to do with that hand.”

“What do you mean…?”

Behind Chiron, whose face showed his confusion, the final representative of the Holy Kingdom, Holy Maiden Tier, stepped out.

She approached me along the path that had cleared among the people. Soon, she straightened her holy robes and stood beside me.

“Before we work out the detailed plans, I want to conclude the most important matter first.”

“The most important matter, you say…?”

“The pillar. Now that we’ve expelled Gregorio from the church, we need to elect the next Pope immediately, don’t we?”

At my words, everyone looked grave, beginning to whisper among themselves.

After several hushed discussions, they all looked at Tier.

“Then, the candidate is…”

“This is my first proposal. I would like to nominate Holy Maiden Tier.”

Philip and Aspi nodded silently, and the Cardinals exchanged bright smiles.

“You’re right. Considering recent events, Holy Maiden Tier, who represents the Luminose Holy Kingdom and has brought the greatest salvation, is the prophet of Lumiose.”

“Then, let us suggest a candidate as well. Holy Knight Commander Chiron.”

Chiron froze, eyes wide, and I nodded.

“Good. I, too, am well aware of his devotion to the Goddess of Light and this country.”

Chiron cried out to the old men who were bumbling around, adjusting their glasses.

“Excuse me, Cardinals…!! I am absolutely unfit to be Pope-!! My only skill is wielding a sword to protect my master; I am absolutely not capable of leading everyone…”

“My, my… isn’t that enough?”

“Why…!”

The old men exchanged words with kind smiles.

“We haven’t much time left, we’re nearing our end. If we’re picking one, a young, strong one will do well.”

“If you lack the qualities to become Pope… then you can learn slowly from now on.”

“Exactly. If you lacked the leadership to guide others, you couldn’t have fulfilled your duties as Holy Knight Commander.”

The Cardinals, freed from the golden Divine Word, had warmth in their eyes, each shining its own colour. That feeling reached Chiron’s heart entirely.

Chiron too, gripping his regrown right hand to his chest, nodded firmly.

“If you say so… I will carry the burden of your wishes and fulfill my duty.”

“That’s good. Ho ho…”

Tier stood on one side of me in the centre, and Chiron on the other.

“That’s enough candidates. Now, everyone here will raise their hands to cast their votes.”

It was a proper papal election, though a modest one, with me acting as the proxy executor.

As each person held their thoughts close and prepared to raise their hands to vote,

The first person to raise their hand was…

“Then, allow me to withdraw.”

Candidate number one, Holy Maiden Tier.

Everyone had predicted this, and only Chiron’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Holy Maiden-!! Why…?”

“Well, I’m going on an adventure with Princess Narita from now on.”

That was the plan from the start. Mine, and Tier’s.

Also, those present who knew about yesterday’s “small incident” vaguely understood my carefully laid scheme.

Thus, the new Pope of the Holy Kingdom was elected.

He was young, strong, a devout man with outstanding charisma to lead people, from his work as a Holy Knight Commander. His devotion to the Goddess is not lacking, which is why I believe he will fully fulfill his duties.

I subtly stepped aside and extended my hand to Chiron.

“Then, new Pope of Luminose. Let’s talk about the future of the Holy Kingdom.”