Preparation – 2

The next place I visited was, naturally, the dormitory where the Knight Captains resided. First, I had to explain the situation. I also had to convey that this time, I had to move alone.

Even if the Knight Captains wanted to go with me, they couldn’t. After all, they didn’t have the Rune of Rest in the Abyss.

The Knight Captains, who had thought I had just been discussing runes with Selene, made an utterly bewildered expression as soon as they heard my words.

It was understandable enough.

How could they not be bewildered when the guy who had just cleared a rune dungeon alone a few hours ago, after they’d only looked away for a moment, was now saying he’d go subjugate a monster beneath the Holy Kingdom?

Rije’s expression, in particular, was beyond words. Since I even owed Rije a debt of gratitude, I couldn’t even meet her gaze properly and subtly avoided it.

“Delta.”

Rije called my name. I flinched and cautiously raised my head. Her blue eyes were shining much more chillingly than usual. It wasn’t an angry expression, but that made me even more nervous.

“We’ll trust you to the end. You’ll surely come back safe and sound. I don’t know how great these secrets you’ve been hiding so tightly are, but you’ve always been like this.”

However.

A further remark was added.

“Don’t try to bear everything alone. We absolutely don’t want that. It’s the same for me, Erica, Iris, and Claudia. We can help you with anything you want to do, and we can assist you anytime. What I’m saying is, sometimes, rely on us too. Got it?”

Given all the things I’d done so far, I quietly nodded. If I were to retrace my actions towards the Knight Captains, I’d be speechless even if I had a hundred mouths, let alone ten.

After all, I’d pulled off all sorts of bizarre stunts and then just brushed them off with a single word: ‘secret.’ How I knew about the monster beneath the Holy Kingdom was, naturally, also a secret. So, my conscience couldn’t help but prickle.

Moreover, the Knight Captains weren’t simply trying to reprimand or criticize me; they were saying those things out of genuine concern. What could I say in response when they were doing it because they were worried about me?

“It seems you have a great many things you’re hiding.”

“…….”

Selene, with her characteristic poker face, uttered words that could have been either praise or insult. At first glance, it sounded sarcastic, but given her personality, it could genuinely have been meant as praise.

Leaving the Knight Captains’ farewells behind, I headed towards the Grand Cathedral of the Sun. Its front was still bustling with people offering prayers to the Pope of the Sun.

Among them, there were occasional people who recognized Selene and greeted her. Of course, Selene completely ignored all those greetings and walked past. Those who were ignored didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Over here, Honored Guest-nim.”

As we went around to the back of the Grand Cathedral, Stella, who had been waiting for us beside a door radiating brilliant sunlight, walked towards us.

“I’ve only hinted to His Holiness the Pope that Honored Guest-nim has something to say. Persuading His Holiness the Pope is Honored Guest-nim’s responsibility.”

“That’s enough. Thank you, Inquisitor-nim.”

“No need for thanks. I’m in just as desperate a situation. A lifeline that can finally be called hope has appeared, so I have to cling to it with all my might.”

Stella’s face, as she said that, bore her usual bright smile, yet at the same time, a strong bitter taste could be felt. Overall, it was a very bitter smile.

Stella must have suffered a lot emotionally during that time. The Pope of the Sun was struggling to find a way to save her sister, and the time for the Pope of the Moon to be sacrificed was drawing nearer, but the method remained completely unknown.

“Please go and come back, Honored Guest-nim. I’ll be waiting.”

“I wish for a good outcome.”

Receiving Stella’s and Selene’s farewells, I entered through the shining door.

As I closed and opened my eyes for a moment, just like last time, I saw the sunlight streaming through golden stained glass and a woman looking down from atop a towering staircase.

Since the sunlight was coming from behind the woman, it overlapped with her incredibly voluminous golden hair, literally making it seem as if a halo was shining.

“Welcome, Honored Guest-isiyeo.”

With a gentle smile, Floretta began to descend the stairs one step at a time.

Her clothes were still incredibly revealing. Though her private parts were absolutely not exposed, covered by just a single string, even without that, the exposure was so high that it practically made no difference.

Her large breasts, which seemed as if they would make a ‘flap-flap’ sound every time they swayed, were still the same. I desperately tried my best to meet Floretta’s gaze so as not to look elsewhere.

Even so, I couldn’t help but notice her breasts jiggling in the corner of my vision. Since a thin, sheer fabric and a single opaque string were all that held them in place, their jiggle was much more pronounced than Rije’s.

The Pope of the Sun, having descended all the stairs, approached right in front of me. Since she was shorter than me, Floretta naturally looked up at me, and I looked down at Floretta.

“I believe you have something to say to me.”

“Yes. I have come to ask a favor of Your Holiness the Pope.”

“A favor, you say…? What kind of favor is it?”

“Would you be able to teach me ‘Eclipse’?”

“…….”

On that face, where only a benevolent and merciful smile had always been present, a small crack appeared. Floretta quickly composed the crack that had appeared on her face and then put on a benevolent smile once more.

“I don’t know where on earth you heard about Eclipse. You truly are an amazing person, aren’t you?”

Hehe, Floretta chuckled softly. Despite it being a very brief laugh, her breasts jiggled up and down once again, fully flaunting their presence.

“If Honored Guest-nim wishes, there is nothing I cannot teach you. However, would it be alright if I attached one condition?”

“What kind of condition are you referring to?”

“What do you intend to use it for?”

Click, the sound of high heels was heard. It was the sound of the distance between us, which was already practically non-existent, shrinking even further.

“Eclipse is a sacred spell whose very existence is rarely permitted to be known. Yet, why do you seek to learn such a spell, for what purpose do you intend to use it?”

The moment I expected has come.

I took a deep breath, steeled my resolve, and then met Floretta’s eyes directly before opening my mouth.

“I intend to save the Pope of the Moon… no, Your Holiness the Pope’s sister.”

“…….”

Crack, an enormous fissure appeared on Floretta’s expression.

I came out through the same door I had entered.

Stella and Selene sent me a look asking what had happened. I silently tapped my weapon. Stella’s face brightened considerably, and Selene’s demeanor also noticeably brightened.

The next person I had to find was the Pope of the Moon. This time, Selene led the way, and Stella and I followed behind. As I followed Selene, I recalled what had just happened.

Floretta cried.

Her dignity as Pope, her position, her honor. She cast aside everything and, as a younger sister who cherished her older sister, she sobbed like a child.

Immediately after hearing my words, she stammered, asking what I meant, but as soon as I uttered the choice that appeared when persuading the Pope in the game, she embraced me and burst into tears.

The interpretation of the revelation. That was the very persuasion for Floretta.

If it was the Pope, especially the Pope of the Sun who was closer to God than anyone else, she would instinctively be able to discern the truth of that interpretation, so there was no fear of being accused of lying.

Even if the Pope of the Sun alone couldn’t perfectly interpret it, a player could. From the beginning, a player interpreting the contents of the revelation was one of the DLC storylines.

Originally, one had to go through slightly more complex quests, but I just skipped them all. It had been a long time since I’d memorized all the variations of the revelation anyway.

Floretta, instinctively realizing that my words were true, buried her face in my arms and sobbed for a long time, asking if she could really save her sister, if she wouldn’t have to kill her sister with her own hands.

Later, she cried so much that her voice was almost hoarse when she taught me Eclipse. And then, as a bonus, she burst into tears again when I told her I was leaving.

“This is the place.”

Selene stopped in front of a large cathedral. It was an enormous building, just like the Grand Cathedral of the Sun, but its color scheme was the complete opposite.

If the Grand Cathedral of the Sun was a building adorned with gold and jewels, the Grand Cathedral of the Moon was adorned with silver and platinum. Given the materials, it exuded a much more subdued atmosphere overall.

Other than that, everything else was the same. Its immense size, for instance, or its spires that soared so high they seemed to pierce the sky.

Perhaps because it wasn’t time for the moon to rise yet, unlike the Grand Cathedral of the Sun, there were no people praying around it, not even passersby.

Selene led us towards the back of the Grand Cathedral. A door shining silver, as if emitting moonlight, came into view. Stella and Selene stopped on either side of the door.

“Please enter, Honored Guest-isiyeo.”

“Even if I don’t give a heads-up to the Pope of the Moon…”

“She will have already grasped your presence. It would be a meaningless act.”

Understanding on my own, I stood before the silver door. Indeed, it was impossible for someone of the Pope of the Moon’s stature not to notice someone trying to enter her Grand Cathedral.

And, at the point where she offered no interference, it was as good as granting permission to enter. If she had truly intended to refuse me, she would have stopped me long ago.

“Honored Guest-isiyeo, may you be safe.”

Along with Selene’s concern, I stepped inside the door that emitted silver-gray moonlight. A bright light pierced my eyelids. I closed my eyes and continued to walk.

Then, at some point, only after the light before my eyes faded, did I slowly open them.

It was a space filled with silver.

In stark contrast to where the Pope of the Sun resided, it was a dim and chilly room adorned with marble, silver, and platinum. It must have still been daytime outside, but moonlight was streaming through the stained glass.

“For what purpose have you come to this place?”

From atop the towering staircase in the very center, a woman who had been facing away from me and looking at the stained glass spoke first. While not as much as Floretta, her hair was also quite voluminous.

There was an atmosphere that, for some reason, overwhelmed people. It was even more so because she showed no sign of hiding her hostility towards me. As I hesitated, the Pope of the Moon opened her mouth once more.

“I asked for what purpose you have come to this place.”

With the clicking sound of high heels, her body slowly rotated. The silver hair cascading down her back shimmered like a waterfall, reflecting the moonlight and shining with an even clearer silver hue.

Her purple eyes, which seemed like jewels, were directed solely at me.

“Do you truly intend to refuse to answer?”