episode_0067

“You know what? Saint?”

Hearing the saint’s voice and realizing love brings back memories of the past.

I was imprisoned in Tartarus, the deepest prison of the Tower of Babel.

[What do you mean?]

“In the past, when a saint was talking about what love was, I dismissed it as bullshit.”

[Yes, I remember all the times I spent with Joker.]

Is there energy in love? Does it have form, mass, and magic power?

I answered no at that time.

There is one. I didn’t know then, but I know now. Why? Because I experienced it myself.

Inspire one person. It’s easy. Because humans are beasts of change.

Inspires a demon. It’s difficult. Because demons are more dominated by their nature and wild nature.

It inspires me. I thought it was something close to impossible. Even the Lord and Heavenly Emperor failed.

But the saint succeeded.

Therefore, I acknowledge love. I pay tribute to the saint who made me an apostle of love.

of course… Although it is only a subjective love.

“Ahaha, I really appreciate those words.”

[no. But, what are you trying to say by saying that? ?]

“Why, I have to explore that love soon.”

[yes?]

“Saint, do you know her as Saint Irowell?”

The sound coming from across the rosary stops as the words flow from between my parted lips. I stopped to think of something.

[If it is Saint Irowell… Are you talking about the saint of reform?]

“Uh, she was Nioh’s lover. No, the one that Nioh loved.”

[It’s famous. Once he decided to do what was right, he pushed through it until the end… She was a saint approximately 300 years ago when I was born.]

“Do you know anything about Irowell’s life? I was alive when Irowell was alive, but since I was only in the demon world, I didn’t know much about it.”

[I read it in a book, but… Why are you suddenly asking about Saint Irowell?]

There is something sharp about the saint’s question. As if sharp thorns had sprouted.

I know why the saint acts like that. Because of jealousy. Since Saint Irowell is also a woman, I wondered if I would keep her by my side like Aru and Beatrice.

“Ahahaha! As expected, seeing the saintess jealous always makes me laugh!”

[Oh, please answer quickly! Why do you suddenly mention Saint Irowel!]

“Ha… It’s been a while since I cried. Holy woman, I understand what you are worried about, but you can put that worry aside. Irowell was already dead at this time. It is now the year 414 of the imperial calendar. It’s been a long time since I died.”

[ah… okay. I was so stupid that I forgot.]

The saintess’s tongue twitched, as if she was ashamed of the fact that she felt the wrong emotion called jealousy. If we had been trapped together in Tartarus, we would have been able to leisurely tease him for a long time, but it was a pity. Because the phone time given to me wasn’t that long.

[Anyway, to tell you more about Saint Irowell, she is famous as a saint of reformation, as everyone knows. In particular, when it comes to the driving force of work, it was considered the best on the continent.]

As if the saint had not forgotten that fact, she quickly returned to the original topic. The saint had no hesitation when she knew that I had no intention of meeting Saint Irowel in person.

[Do you know anything about the marriage system of the Sacred Church and the history of its transformation?]

“Originally, the Holy Order did not allow priests to get married. Because priests who serve God must be pure and chaste.”

[yes. However, following the Messiah’s doctrine of ‘be fruitful and prosper’, the church has allowed marriage among clergy since 114 of the Imperial Calendar. but… Well, like any other religion, the holy kingdom gradually declines and becomes corrupted. Indecent priests would go to the citadel in violation of the doctrine that allowed them to have only one spouse, and the denominations where most such priests were located knew about it and tolerated it.]

The words are spoken calmly, but there is a subtle sadness within them. The saint is like the embodiment of the Lord’s doctrine. Confessing the wrongdoings in the history of the church she believes in would not be easy, even if it was not the saint herself who committed them.

However, the saint does not hide it at all. The most important part of her values is constant self-reflection and self-reflection. We correct and reflect on the sins committed in the past and move forward. That is Saint Mary.

Saint Irowell also had similar thoughts.

[But not everyone lived a life steeped in pleasure. Saint Irowell early on called for reform in the corrupt church, and eventually went so far as to change its doctrines under her authority. That is, it was a major incident that strictly prohibited all clergy within the church from lusting after the year 394 of the imperial calendar.]

“That’s why she is still called the saint of reform.”

[Yes, many believers left the denomination due to the reform at the time, but ultimately the change was successful. As in the early days, the Holy Church once again embraced piety and became close to self-discipline. In the aftermath, the Holy Kingdom in the 700th year of the imperial calendar, when I was born, was considered one of the best countries on the continent.]

This is why Saint Irowell will continue to receive much love in the future. To put it mildly, would he be called the greatest priest after the Messiah, along with Saint Mary?

[Not only that. At that time, when the empire announced on the continent a plan to destroy the forest, most of the country agreed to the plan, but Saint Irowell opposed it. The reason for this is that the forest is also one of the natural ecosystems and the only home for some animals. Nevertheless, when the empire tried to push forward with the plan, Saint Irowel ended up going to the Masurim in person, leading a single body with blood and blood.]

“Two hundred years later, it was revealed through the mouth of King Nio that Irowell died in the Masurin. King Nioh himself said that he loved Irowell with all his heart. In reality, Nioh was a huge lover, right? Even after hundreds of years passed and we returned to the civilized world, I always remembered only Irowell.”

[I heard it. This is all I know. Was it helpful to you?]

The saint asks carefully. I responded by unconsciously nodding towards her who I couldn’t even see.

“Oh, that was helpful. Memories that had been vague became clear.”

[Fortunately, the. I’m glad I could be of help to you.]

Well, I definitely feel like a bunch of memories are coming back to me. I remembered that memory.

Was it twenty years ago?

At that time, Demon King Kanos announced his intention not to invade the continent for the next 200 years.

The reason was that it was not worth invading a continent that was too weak compared to itself.

It was obviously good news from the continent’s perspective, but it caused another headache for the continent.

A ‘Hero Party’ raised in preparation for the devil’s invasion.

They are an important force that is indispensable in the decisive battle against the Demon King, but if the Demon King does not fight, they are nothing more than money-grubbers.

Think about it. The number of people required to train one warrior is hundreds. Numerous top teachers and education, top-class meals, housing, servants, power, etc. that must be supported every year… .

There is not just one hero. The warrior’s party includes wizards, archers, warriors, porters, and many others… Countries must provide full support to each of them.

why? Because the warrior party is noble. Because I have a great destiny to save the world. It is difficult to bring them down through methods such as framing them.

A party of warriors chosen by God are ugly people? Even if a person is truly ugly, that fact must be covered up. If it turns out that the hero’s party, which is nothing more than the people’s fantasy, is in fact dirty, it will be directly related to the power of kings and priests.

In a word, it is a miserable complex. It would be nice if they could at least be used as war troops, but this is not possible due to the rule that the warrior party only moves for the sake of peace on the continent. In the first place, isn’t the warrior party itself selected and educated by the empire from the most talented people on each continent?

The Empire, which was contemplating what to do with the complex, finally comes up with one solution. The Demon Forest, a cursed land and a place where the dimension between the continent and the demon world is distorted, is forbidden to the people of the continent.

He came up with a plan to destroy the demon forest. To be precise, a plan to eliminate the hero party using the demonic forest.

From the empire’s point of view, either way is beneficial. It’s good because even if a hero party that doesn’t help at all and eats up the budget dies, it can be treated as a noble sacrifice, and the destruction of the Demon Forest can also earn you the reputation of destroying the evil land on the continent.

However, the plan comes to a halt in an unexpected place. This is because Saint Irowell opposed it, saying it was not morally correct.

What happens after that… It’s just like I talked to the saintess earlier.

[Do you want to meet Nioh?]

The saint asks as if she senses something.

“Huh? Did you manage to figure it out?”

[Because he is the only one in the forest at this time. Well thought out. Since Nioh does not interfere with the human world, history will not be distorted, and since he has outstanding military power, it would be a great help if he was recruited. and… .]

“And?”

[Noh-sama is a ‘man’. Huhuhuhu-.]

Somewhere, the eerie laughter of a saintly woman enters my ears.

“… .”

What on earth made the Maria I knew look like that? Ah, I did that.

hmm… .

From now on, I think we should bring in more female companions.

If this goes on and I meet the saint 300 years later, she will be like a gumball that sticks to me all day long.

*****

There is a hut made of wood. It is not a hut that appears to have a special aesthetic sense. It is a hut that pursues only practicality and simplicity.

Inside the hut, a middle-aged man is sitting quietly. He has a bushy beard under his chin, and his large, muscular body is covered in animal skin.

When seen at night, its appearance is such that one might mistake it for an animal such as a gorilla. However, contrary to that barbaric appearance.

“Love… do… .”

He was speaking slurred but clear ‘sentences’. It was the language of the people of the continent. This is hard to hear from the monsters residing in the Demon Forest.

In the barbarian’s hand was a silver cross. It is a cross with a soft light. The barbarian cherished it in his heart as if it were a treasure that could not be exchanged for anything in the world. With a chest covered in muscle and chest hair.

“Today too… hunt… .”

Even though there was obviously no one around, the savage muttered to himself and stood up. A huge body stretched out all the way to the top of the hut.

It was a struggle not to forget language and letters. It was a goal that anyone who did not know the circumstances of barbarians would never think of.

Sigh-.

A wooden door, crudely designed with vines and pieces of wood, opens. It was the moment when the huge savage, crouching down and barely able to get out of the small door, raised his head under the pouring sunlight.

“Hello! We provide comfortable and convenient revenge to all those who dream of revenge in the world! This is Oscar from ! Although he is just a sales employee now, he will one day become the president of the Moonlight Wolf Association!”

A man wearing a white suit, white hat, and white mask appeared in front of the barbarian. The man spread his arms wide and shouted out words cheerfully and loudly.