episode_0194

Several days have passed since Chiron, having received the name Luminosa from the central clergy cardinals, was newly elected as Pope Martino.

Unfortunately, work was impossible in the main temple, which I had smashed to pieces leaving only one or two pillars remaining. Those who could move were all using the temple of the Third District as a temporary office, slowly cleaning up the mess.

First, the reconstruction of the main temple.

Even though work is possible in the Third District, the main temple holds religious significance, making it the highest priority.

And the treatment of the injured temple knights and commoners.

This wasn’t much of a worry, as the entire country was overflowing with healers, a collective of light mana users.

Re-establishing the temporarily disrupted systems and doctrines was also essential.

The scriptures, altered to the liking of the previous bald-headed pope, needed revision. Even I couldn’t understand the national secrets that apparently needed fixing.

Fortunately, even though that crazy bald-head had been acting against the doctrines as if it were second nature, everything ultimately connected to the single purpose of meeting the Light Goddess, Lumine.

Returning the country to normal shouldn’t take too long.

Naifrantz’s Second Knight Order also stayed a little longer in the Holy Kingdom, providing additional security forces.

The newly appointed Captain of the Holy Knights kept bowing his head in thanks, but unfortunately, this wasn’t an act of charity.

It was a kind of insurance, you could say.

Or, to put it simply, I intend to use this favor as a debt, and later utilize them cheaply.

Philip, the Captain, took charge of on-site command, and Tier, before leaving the Holy Kingdom once more, diligently worked, rotating through the hospitals of each district.

Naturally, I had time to spare and I was alone.

The priests of the Aiter Temple, who came with me originally? After realizing my true identity, they trembled every time we met; I decided not to be around them unless it was for something important.

Especially because of ‘that incident,’ they were even more confused.

Avoiding them is the most considerate thing to do.

Lying in the inn bed, counting the patterns on the ceiling, boredom erupted, piercing through that ceiling.

“Huu…”

Staying still is unsatisfying.

After enveloping myself in aether and casting an anti-perception spell, I left the inn.

With a feeling similar to when I secretly slipped out of the royal palace as a child, an intoxicating sense of liberation accompanied me as I wandered through the shopping district of the Holy Kingdom.

As I had a place to go soon, I swept through various stalls, filling my stomach with snacks and freely enjoying the Holy Kingdom’s culture.

The fruits, like raspberries, collected only from high-altitude areas, had a delightful sharp flavor.

My kingdom has forests, but to find high mountains, one must cross the Forest of Illusion or take a detour, so these ingredients are hard to come by.

‘Next time, I’ll bring Yuri and the others to eat these, too.’

Whenever something good happens, I instinctively think of the women I love. Especially when there’s delicious food; I want to have Yuri study the recipe, or maybe feed it to Nix and watch her reaction.

And suddenly, I wondered where Aspi was and what she was doing.

Across the shopping district, I found her looking around, just like me.

Aspi instantly pierced through my anti-perception magic and found me.

“Oh, Your Highness?”

“…Companion found.”

“What… Kyaat-”

I was already bored to death, but having someone to go with made my mood soar.

.

.

.

Perhaps Aspi was also someone who could join me.

“Your… Highness, why are we here…”

“There’s someone I need to see last. Will you come with me?”

“Yes, I will.”

It’s unlikely to be a pleasant experience. However, if I’m with Aspi, my loyal knight, I think we can avoid the worst.

We left the densely populated residential area and walked to the Second District, a bit further away.

This is geographically between the First and Third Districts, but elevation-wise, it’s the closest to the main temple among the high grounds.

It’s closely related to the main temple and manages important affairs that need to be kept close—the Holy Kingdom’s true center, you could say.

For security reasons, the person I had to meet couldn’t be kept in just any hospital, so they were being protected by a special institution here.

Soon, we arrived in front of a building with an extraordinary aura. It wasn’t opulent enough to be a mansion, nor simple enough to be a government office.

The moment a guard saw me, one of the guards at the entrance hurriedly ran upstairs. Soon a middle-aged man, who looked to be a bishop, greeted us.

“Princess Narita… we’ve been waiting for you.”

“Let’s continue the conversation inside.”

“Yes, let’s.”

I entered the building with Aspi, following the bishop.

Like the outside, the first floor was heavily guarded. Guards stood in front of the doors of every room along the corridor, and the same was true if we went up the stairs to check other floors.

Soon, we reached the top floor, the fourth floor.

Following the man, we walked down a corridor with almost no windows, and at the end of it, the door opened, and Cardinal Victor appeared.

“You’ve come.”

“What’s his condition?”

“…It’s likely he won’t survive tonight.”

He looked down, his expression unreadable. He sighed very quietly, so soft it wouldn’t have been heard by others. However, it was loud enough to reach my ears.

I nodded and went into the inner room through the door Cardinal Victor opened.

Thump-

“…Good heavens.”

The moment Aspi saw the scene inside, his face contorted with horror.

It was an ordinary private hospital room; nothing special.

Because it was private, security was tight—curtains were drawn over the window, and there were three or four guards inside.

However, the person lying on the bed was anything but ordinary.

“The punishment for his sins… will be dealt before he even reaches hell.”

Pope Gregorio—no, now an old man who committed the heinous crime of nationwide brainwashing. Pietro stared blankly into the empty air, his expression strange.

I approached the priest watching over Pietro’s condition from right next to the bed.

“Tell me more about his physical condition.”

The priest nodded.

According to him, Pietro was at the end of his life, and it was not unusual for him to die at any moment. As he had devised a grand scheme to meet the Goddess, he must have done something to his body to endure that long time.

His mana and life force, all of it, was poured into the ultimate sanctuary magic, [Lumine’s Cradle].

Thus, only his physical shell remained, weakly and thinly sustaining a faint consciousness.

“We were originally going to execute him immediately… but what’s the point now?”

“Is that why he’s been kept in this remote place?”

“Yes. If he had been laid in a normal hospital room in the Third District…there are countless people who would try to kill him out of spite.”

Cardinal Victor sighed again, this time audibly, loud enough for even the guards outside the door to hear.

Perhaps he realized he’d been a little impolite, he cleared his throat briefly and aired the room.

“Don’t feel burdened.”

“Yes, thank you.”

A public execution… that wouldn’t be bad either. Pietro certainly had many ill feelings against him. As a traitor, apostate, and heretic, he deserved Lumine’s judgment immediately.

But the cardinals unanimously opposed it.

Such negative emotions didn’t suit the newly launched Holy Kingdom of Lumine. Now that a new Pope had been elected and everyone was striving to return to life and worship, it was unnecessary to further inflame such emotions.

“The blood… will stain our hands as we leave.”

“Didn’t you say he’ll die naturally?”

“But we need to tie up loose ends.”

Loose ends. The words pierced my heart like a dagger.

Pietro on the bed was remembering the faint scent of the Goddess he had sensed just before collapsing. Savoring that lingering impression, he was about to leave this world happily.

Perhaps the cardinals’ “execution”… wouldn’t be a proper end.

“Cardinal Victor, I have a request.”

“Please, speak your mind.”

I slowly drew aether, creating a blade of pure white light from my fingertips.

“I will be the one to spill that blood.”

“That’s…!!”

Victor was startled and tried to stop me, but then hesitated, his outstretched hand paused mid-air.

“You all have seen it yourselves. My power… even can annihilate this man’s soul.”

“Your power is undoubtedly strong. But…”

“Why do you think I have come all the way here?”

I didn’t utter the hypocritical words, claiming to take responsibility. I merely wanted to prevent the man’s soul from dissipating into the world.

As I felt when executing Persona, good people and bad people alike, are equally turned into pure white souls when they die. They become many tiny, almost invisible fragments, reborn someday as new life on this earth.

That is the principle, the natural order. The fate of beings repeating birth and death.

However, my power defies fate.

“I will inherit all his feelings.”

If it had been an ordinary execution, Pietro would have died with that smile. As his pure white soul scattered into the world, he might even feel happiness once more, sensing the Goddess’s fragrance. And countless lives carrying the fragments of a wicked man would be born sometime.

I intend to sever that predetermined fate.

“As the proxy executioner of the Lumine Central Church, I will annihilate Pietro Aurelius, down to the last fragment of his soul.”

In the man’s eyes, which had been gazing into some distant void, the radiance from the pure white blade reflected.