Preparation – 1

“You may wait here, Honored Guest-isiyeo.”

I arrived at the place a Battle Nun had guided me to and sat on a sofa. Soon, steaming tea and a uniquely shaped pastry that looked like bread were served.

It seemed that serving refreshments while waiting for someone was common, whether in the Empire or the Holy Nation.

“The Inquisitor will be here soon.”

The nun who brought the refreshments flinched when she saw me, then stammered out her words and quickly disappeared.

The nuns I had encountered on my way here were all faces I had seen at least once before. Since they had performed a strip show right in front of me to determine whether I was a heretic or not, there was no way I couldn’t remember them.

The memory from that time seemed to be firmly etched not only in my mind but also in the minds of those who had exposed themselves. The nuns were flustered and couldn’t even properly make eye contact with me.

Whenever our gazes happened to meet, they would often scamper away. It was unclear whether they were acting like this because of the memory of performing a strip show in front of me, or because they had accused me of heresy.

I turned away from the Battle Nuns, who had vanished from my surroundings at some point, and took a sip of tea.

‘Hmm. Not to my taste.’

And I shuddered at the taste.

It was incredibly bitter. It was so bitter it made the kudzu juice or red ginseng my parents sometimes made me drink before I was transmigrated seem like nothing. As soon as the tea touched my tongue, my face automatically scrunched up.

I tried my best to maintain my expression and picked up the bread-like pastry to cleanse my palate.

‘…….’

It didn’t really cleanse my palate.

This one was also incredibly dry and chalky. I wondered if leaving a boiled sweet potato at room temperature for about three days would feel like this. It felt like the moisture in my mouth was being sucked into the pastry.

I gave up on the refreshments and glanced to my side. Selene was staring straight ahead without even a twitch, her face blank as if her soul had literally left her body.

It seemed the shock had been too severe.

I had no desire to disturb Selene, so I kept quiet. Only silence hung in the air. Very occasionally, only the sound of me shuddering as I sipped tea or chewing on the dry pastry echoed.

“I’m sorry. Have you been waiting long?”

Just as I had drunk about three sips of tea, Stella flung the door open and entered. Her green eyes lingered on me for a moment before turning to Selene, who was sitting on my left.

Then, seeing Selene’s dazed, frozen state as if she had lost her wits, Stella tilted her head.

“Why is the Inquisitor like that?”

“Well, something happened that would warrant it.”

“It must have been a considerably big deal, for her to be so completely out of it.”

Stella sat on the sofa opposite me. With the rebound, her chest heaved powerfully. The breast covering, which concealed her nipples and areolas, also flapped up and down, creating a precarious sight.

“What brings you here, Honored Guest-nim?”

“I came to ask the Inquisitor-nim for a favor.”

“A favor that cannot be told to the Battle Nuns, that only I must know, and that even requires the presence of the Inquisitor who has lost her wits?”

“That’s right.”

“Just what kind of favor is it?”

Her green eyes sparkled faintly. They seemed half-filled with curiosity. I wondered if she could maintain that smile and gaze even after hearing what I was about to say.

“Stella Inquisitor-nim.”

I changed my expression to be as serious as possible. At that, the curiosity sparkling in her green eyes dimmed a little.

“Would you be able to help us persuade His Holiness the Pope of the Sun to open the path to the Holy Nation’s underground?”

“……Huh?”

As soon as Stella heard my words, her smiling face stiffened with a crack. Her eyes vibrated ceaselessly. It was the exact same reaction Selene had when she first heard my words.

After stammering and blinking her eyelids for a while, Stella finally answered haltingly after a long moment.

“Ahem, ahem. You’re quite the joker, Honored Guest-nim. The underground? There’s no such place in the Holy Nation-“

“It’s already a matter that has been discussed and concluded with the Inquisitor-nim.”

“…….”

At those words, the smile finally vanished from Stella’s face. She looked at me with an expression that could be seen as troubled, or perhaps at a loss, then let out a deep sigh.

It was a sigh filled with worry and concern.

“How much do you know, Honored Guest-nim?”

“That a monster, which even His Holiness the Popes couldn’t handle, is sleeping in the Holy Nation’s underground. And that the Pope of the Moon intends to sacrifice her own life for His Holiness the Pope of the Sun. Do you need more?”

“No, no. That’s enough.”

Stella leaned back on the sofa and stared blankly at the ceiling. This posture naturally emphasized her already prominent large breasts even more.

Her underboob and sideboob were fully visible, but Stella, seemingly unconcerned about the state of her chest, pondered for a long time before sitting up straight and meeting my eyes.

“Honored Guest-nim. Since you seem to know everything, I won’t beat around the bush. That monster in the Holy Nation’s underground is a creature that even His Holiness the Pope failed to subjugate. It’s an existence we can do nothing about.”

“Didn’t the Rune Dungeon that was subjugated recently receive the same assessment? The Holy Nation failed to subjugate it multiple times, and it’s a place they couldn’t do anything about, so it must have been a dungeon sealed off by a barrier.”

“On the surface, they might seem similar. I admit that. But it’s completely different from that.”

“How is it different?”

“The Rune Dungeon was a place that would have been no problem if His Holiness the Pope had personally stepped in. They only neglected it because they couldn’t reveal themselves freely due to the monster in the Holy Nation’s underground.”

Ah, so that’s why they left it alone.

In the game, many people wondered why the Rune Dungeon near the Grand Cathedral was neglected, and why the Pope couldn’t just go subjugate it himself. Now that question was finally answered.

“But the monster isn’t like that. Even the holy power His Holiness the Pope personally wields was barely enough to prevent the evil aura from overflowing… How could the Rune Dungeon and that monster be the same?”

Stella finished speaking and stood up. Then, she walked around the table, clack-clack, to my side, and perched on the sofa, tightly grasping my hand.

“Honored Guest-nim. I don’t know how you obtained information about that monster, but I appreciate you thinking of us. Still, this is a matter for the Holy Nation, and it’s something we must resolve. The Pope of the Moon’s resolve is already firm as well.”

“His Holiness the Pope of the Sun doesn’t seem to have given up yet, though?”

“His Holiness…”

Stella trailed off. She seemed to be at a loss for words. I don’t know if she knew what happened inside the Grand Cathedral, but if she did, she would have even less to say.

“……Anyway, I’ll just accept your sentiment. Please forget about it. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said, so you, Honored Guest-nim, can also comfortably forget about it. You don’t need to worry about us.”

“I cannot do that.”

“Why?”

Why, she asks.

The answer was already decided. It was a very simple and clear reason.

That the Pope of the Moon’s sacrifice would be a meaningless act, and if left alone, His Holiness the Pope of the Sun would also die miserably, and the monster would awaken, causing the Holy Nation to be destroyed by its aftermath, so I had to beat that thing down.

Although it was a bit rough, it wasn’t entirely wrong. The Rune of Rest in the Abyss was already subjugated to me. No one except the person who possessed this rune could even enter the Abyss.

But how could I say this openly? That the Pope’s sacrifice was useless and that the Holy Nation would be destroyed without me-it would be fortunate if it wasn’t considered blasphemy born of self-admiration.

Especially since the Pope of the Moon was said to have accepted fate and closed her heart after countless attempts to twist the prophecy, having tasted only failure and despair.

“Well. Why indeed?”

However, it was also true that I had no other reason to put forward.

I just vaguely glossed over the answer, mumbling appropriately. It’s best to just let them imagine whatever they want in such cases.

“…….”

Stella kept her mouth shut, still holding my hand. She seemed to be imagining what the reason could be. I don’t know what she was imagining, but her cheeks flushed slightly and then returned to normal, repeating the cycle.

It was quite some time later that her mouth opened again.

“……A method.”

“Yes?”

“Since you’re speaking with such confidence, you must know a way to deal with the monster. Please tell me. How do you plan to deal with it?”

I glanced at Selene. Her expression showed that she had somewhat regained her senses. Although I had already told Selene this to persuade her, it wouldn’t wear out if I said it twice.

“First, I need to receive the ‘Solar Eclipse’ holy spell from His Holiness the Pope of the Sun. It would be good to receive ‘Lunar Eclipse’ as well, but the Pope of the Moon is unlikely to cooperate with this. So, I’ll just have to try that for now.”

“Where did you hear about the Solar Eclipse… No. Please continue.”

Stella seemed about to say something but then closed her mouth as if resigned. She seemed to assume that I had acquired the information on my own, as usual.

“And with this rune I obtained from the dungeon, I can walk perfectly fine through the Abyss. Even without divine power.”

“……Really?”

“Yes. The attempt to drive out the Abyss with divine power and enter it was the first button they buttoned wrong. No matter how powerful the divine power His Holiness the Popes can wield, that place is practically its home.”

“What then? What will you do after encountering the monster?”

To the question asking the most important detail, I grinned and replied.

“It’s simple. I’ll hit everything I need to hit, and dodge all of the monster’s attacks.”

“……Huh?”

Stella froze in place as if a video had been paused. I deliberately repeated what I had said.

“I’ll hit everything I need to hit, and dodge all of the monster’s attacks-“

“That’s not what I’m asking, Honored Guest-nim.”

Squeeze! The grip on my hand tightened.

“If you’re trying to make a joke, it’s not funny at all. Please tell me seriously.”

“I am speaking seriously. It’s a strategy that always works. If I land all my attacks and dodge all of the opponent’s attacks, I can seize victory in any fight.”

Although I had started by saying I would explain everything in detail to Selene, this was actually the whole truth. Selene, of course, was dumbfounded when she heard it.

So I proved it directly.

The fact that her mind hadn’t fully returned yet was also a result of that.

Stella, who clearly couldn’t accept it, seemed about to open her mouth again, so I preempted her.

“Don’t you remember our 1-on-1 sparring session where you couldn’t land a single hit and were unilaterally defeated? You can think of it as the same thing. Only the opponent changes from the Inquisitor-nim to that monster.”

“…….”

When I mentioned the previous sparring session, Stella became speechless, like a mute who had eaten honey. After all, her being completely overwhelmed by me in a 1-on-1 was also an excellent example.

“I neither lie nor boast. Both the 1-on-1 sparring with the Inquisitor-nim and the subjugation of the Rune Dungeon. I said I could do both, and I actually succeeded. Isn’t that enough reason to trust me one more time?”

“…….”

Stella was silent for a moment, then let out a sigh with a ‘phew’.

“Honored Guest-nim. Do you have no regrets? Truly?”

Regrets? How could there be any?

The story of The Awakening Evil DLC was a choice between me dealing with the monster in time or letting it awaken and destroy the world. Who would choose the latter?

“Do I look like I do right now?”

“……Alright. I’ll help you.”

Permission was granted surprisingly easily. What I was trying to do now was nothing short of pure coercion, so if permission was granted with just a few words, the situation was resolved incredibly easily.

A case full of distrust, like Selene’s, was something I had been prepared for since the moment I made the plan. Rather, considering the special nature of her position as an Inquisitor, Selene was probably persuaded quite easily for an Inquisitor.

It seemed that not only having subjugated the Rune Dungeon alone, but also bringing Lucia’s Holy Catalyst, played a significant role in her trust towards me.

Suddenly, Stella stroked the back of my hand.

“Although it’s nothing but an absurd and preposterous notion, Honored Guest-nim, you have already shown us things akin to miracles multiple times. I also have a personal debt of gratitude, and a favor to repay. That’s why I’m trusting you. The possibility that perhaps, if it’s you, Honored Guest-nim, it might be possible.”

Her hand dropped. Stella rose from the sofa.

“How can I help you?”

“First, I need to have an audience with His Holiness the Pope of the Sun. Would that be alright?”

“I’ll give them a heads-up. Are you leaving right away?”

“Not yet.”

There was one place I had to stop by before that.