Rafaella Holy Nation – 5

“…….”

We, who had witnessed the unprecedented situation of the Pope of the Moon wielding violence against the Pope of the Sun right before our eyes, could not say a single word.

My mind raced furiously. The situation of two Popes gathering in the same place was something I had never seen in the game, but for them to even show such behavior was even more unexpected.

I calmly reviewed their conversation.

The Pope of the Moon rebuked the Pope of the Sun, who couldn’t abandon meaningless hope. That hope must have been related to what she herself had said about ‘destiny’ or a ‘predetermined path’.

At the words that destiny cannot be changed, and that even the Sun and Moon must walk a predetermined path, Floretta tried to protest that she couldn’t give up on her older sister, and was slapped.

‘It seems the Popes here are also blood relatives.’

The fact that the two were sisters itself was not surprising at all. In the game, the Pope of the Sun and the Pope of the Moon were brothers. If their genders were changed by a mod, they would naturally become sisters.

The point I really needed to consider was how they thought of each other. Firstly, it didn’t seem to be a relationship where they regarded each other with indifference, like in the game.

If that were the case, the Pope of the Moon wouldn’t have come here, nor would the Pope of the Sun have had such gloomy eyes.

“……Yes, I am sorry, Pope of the Moon-isiyeo.”

The smile completely disappeared from Floretta’s face. Floretta, who was looking at the Pope of the Moon with sad eyes, bowed her head and offered an apology.

“If you understand, that’s enough.”

The Pope of the Moon withdrew her hand. As if she had gotten the answer she wanted, she turned her body with a chilling aura, and again, with the click-clack sound of high heels, began to walk away.

The sound of high heels stopped right next to me.

Purple eyes, emitting a chilling aura, turned towards me. Overall, her appearance was almost identical to Selene, the Inquisitor, but the Pope of the Moon had a much more mature feel.

“I will warn you in the name of the Pope of the Moon, stranger.”

Beautiful violet eyes, that would never be outdone even when compared to jewels, were chillingly raised. In the eyes directed at me, there was clear hostility.

In contrast to the Pope of the Sun, who had never seen me but said she really wanted to meet me and showed an unusual amount of favor, the Pope of the Moon, who had also never seen me, showed an unusual amount of hostility.

Isn’t there no need for them to be complete opposites even in such aspects?

“If you interfere in the affairs of us sisters, I will never stand by and watch. It means don’t harbor vain delusions.”

‘……Vain delusions?’

I haven’t done anything yet, so I couldn’t understand at all what she meant by ‘vain delusions’.

“Do you understand?”

As my answer was delayed, a chilling warning immediately returned. An unknown power was felt from her voice. It felt like something was tightly constricting my neck.

Since there would be nothing good to come of it if I were to make an enemy of the Pope of the Moon here, I obediently nodded my head and replied.

“Yes. I understand, Your Holiness.”

The Pope, who heard my answer, once again walked away with an expressionless face. No one opened their mouth. In the hall, only the click-clack sound of high heels echoed.

The gray figure disappeared at some point, as if melting away like snow.

It truly happened in the blink of an eye. I was clearly looking at her back, but only after the sunlight shone down on the empty spot did I realize that the Pope of the Moon was gone.

As the moon disappeared, the moonlight also gradually faded. The place where darkness and white light had disappeared was filled by warm sunlight. We, dumbfounded, looked at Floretta.

Floretta stood still, holding with one hand the cheek she had been slapped by the Pope of the Moon. Even though she had unilaterally suffered verbal abuse and violence, not a single trace of anger was visible on her face.

Rather, only very contradictory emotions for a victim of violence to possess, such as sadness and pity, were present.

Floretta, who noticed the gazes staring intently at her, quickly composed her expression. Her slightly red and swollen cheek completely subsided. On her face again, a bright smile appeared.

However, because of her face full of sadness that she had shown just before, she only looked even more pitiful.

“I made an unsightly display.”

“……Your Holiness, what was that just now?”

“It’s nothing important. It was merely a simple difference of opinion. Would you please forget what just happened? It’s because it’s a shameful secret.”

Although they were words offered with a benevolent smile, at the same time, they were words that felt like an unknown power. Even the Knight Commanders, who seemed to have many questions, could not defy those words.

Of course, it was not a memory that could ever be forgotten just because she asked them to. Realizing that fact, Floretta’s smile changed slightly to self-deprecating.

“It seems our meeting today ends here. If it’s not a rude request, would you perhaps be able to stay a few more days in the Holy Nation? I promise you the best hospitality.”

We looked at each other, gauging reactions. Staying here longer itself was not a problem. But having witnessed such a scene right before our eyes, whether we could rest comfortably was questionable.

The silver eyes and pink eyes glanced back this way. Seeing the de facto number one and the nominal number one naturally seek my opinion made me feel strange.

In the end, since it seemed I had to give the answer, I stepped one pace forward.

“If so, begging your pardon, I will excuse myself for a moment, Your Holiness.”

“Thank you very much for your difficult decision.”

Sunlight bloomed from her body.

ㅡInquisitor-isiyeo.

Floretta’s voice spread out, drawing a subtle circular wave. It seemed to be a type of divine word imbued with holy power. As the wave swept over us, a warm sensation enveloped my entire body.

The hall’s door burst open. Stella, smiling brightly, walked in.

“Yes. Did you call me, Your Holiness?”

“Please provide lodging for the honored guests.”

“I understand. Now, Honored Guest-nim? Please follow me. Seeing that His Holiness the Pope is speaking to this extent, it seems you will have to stay here for a few days. You can put your worries aside. I will give you the best place.”

We carefully bowed our heads, showed our respect, and left the Grand Cathedral.

Green eyes were watching our backs gradually moving away for a long time.

The building Stella guided us to was incredibly luxurious. According to the Knight Commanders, it was a place that wouldn’t fall short even when compared to the Imperial Palace of the Empire.

I lay on the soft bed, so soft that I felt like I was sinking into liquid, and worried all night about future matters. By the time I barely finished organizing my thoughts, the morning sun was already rising.

No, actually, there was nothing to really worry about. What I had to do from now on was already decided long ago.

Catching the final boss of the DLC. That was unconditionally the top priority. If left alone, the Holy Nation would be destroyed and even the Empire would suffer immense damage, so how could I leave it be?

Since the story was already completely twisted, there was no guarantee that the DLC story would flow exactly like the game, but if the result of neglect was world destruction, it was always right to assume the worst outcome.

And the first quest of the ‘Awakening Evil’ DLC was this.

“You want to spar with me?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

To have a mock boss battle with Stella, the Inquisitor directly under the Pope of the Sun.

In the end, I, who had stayed up all night, moved at dawn and headed to the place where the Inquisitor and battle nuns trained. Anyway, even if I just lay there, there was nothing to do.

Stella was sparring with the battle nuns in the same place as in the game when she saw me enter the training ground and stopped her arm.

“What’s the reason?”

“To have a match, do we really need a reason?”

I returned the exact words the Inquisitor had said when challenging the player to a spar in the game. On Stella’s face, who heard those words, an expression of ‘Oh, look at this’ appeared.

But the answer that came from her mouth was far beyond my expectations.

“As you can see, my weapon is like this, you see. I might not be able to control my movements as precisely as with a sword. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to take that risk. His Holiness the Pope also told me to treat you as honored guests.”

Stella tapped the mace she had placed vertically on the floor. If it were the game, she would have gladly rushed in as soon as I said those words. It seemed her personality had changed to be quite cautious.

From her perspective, it might be a very unappealing thing, but I absolutely needed a spar with Stella. Only by winning here would the next quest be unlocked.

“What if, while sparring with me, Honored Guest-nim were to die? I don’t even want to think about the aftermath. So, I’m sorry, but I will refuse.”

“…….”

I hadn’t thought of such a situation. I, who heard Stella’s refusal, stood foolishly in place. What do I do now? Do I really have to wait until Stella challenges me to a spar?

“If so, I will help you.”

At that moment, as the moon descended, someone appeared. Confirming the woman’s identity, Stella’s expression twisted sharply.

“……Inquisitor. What brings you here?”

It was Selene.