NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 73
“…….”
We, who witnessed the unprecedented event of the Pope of the Moon attacking the Pope of the Sun, could only stare in silence.
My mind was racing. The mere fact that two popes were in the same place was something I had never seen in a game, and their behavior was even more unexpected.
I calmly reflected on their conversation.
The Pope of the Moon reprimanded the Pope of the Sun for not being able to let go of her meaningless hope. That hope was likely related to her own statements about destiny and the predetermined path she had mentioned.
Destiny cannot be changed; even the Sun and Moon must follow their set paths. In response, Floretta had argued that she could not give up her sister, only to be slapped.
‘So the popes are related by blood even here.’
The fact that they were sisters was not surprising at all. In the game, the Pope of the Sun and the Pope of the Moon were also siblings. If their genders had switched in this mod, then it made sense they would be sisters.
What I truly needed to consider was how they viewed each other. It seemed like they did not relate to one another as if they were indifferent.
If that were the case, the Pope of the Moon would have no reason to come here, nor would the Pope of the Sun have such a gloomy expression.
“……Yes, I’m sorry, Your Holiness of the Moon.”
Floretta’s face lost all traces of a smile. Bowing her head, she apologized to the Pope of the Moon, her sad eyes locked onto her.
“Understanding is enough.”
The Pope of the Moon withdrew her hand. Perhaps she had received the answer she wanted, for she then turned around, letting out a click click of her high heels as she walked away.
The click click sound stopped right next to me.
Her piercing purple eyes fixed on me, exuding an unsettling spirit. Although her overall appearance was almost identical to that of the Inquisitor Selene, the Pope of the Moon seemed much more mature.
“I will warn you in the name of the Pope of the Moon. Outsider.”
Her beautiful eyes, unmatched even by jewels, glinted dangerously. Clear hostility lurked in her gaze directed at me.
In contrast to the Pope of the Sun, who had extended bizarre goodwill towards me despite never seeing me, the Pope of the Moon displayed an odd level of hostility despite being a stranger.
Did it really have to be the opposite in every regard?
“If you interfere with the matters between my sister and me, I will not sit idly by. This means do not indulge in vain delusions.”
‘……Vain delusions?’
I did not understand at all what could be considered a vain delusion when I had not done anything yet.
“Do you understand?”
As my response was delayed, a chilling warning came back. I could feel unknown power in her voice. It felt as if something was tightening around my neck.
Since going against the Pope of the Moon would not end well for me, I nodded and replied obediently.
“Yes. Understood, Your Holiness.”
Upon hearing my answer, the Pope resumed her emotionless strides. No one dared to speak. The only sound echoing in the hall was the click click of her high heels.
The gray silhouette vanished as if melting away into thin air.
It happened in the blink of an eye. I was surely looking at her retreating figure, but it wasn’t until the sunlight poured into the emptiness that I realized the Pope of the Moon had disappeared.
As the Moon vanished, the moonlight gradually faded. The warm sunlight filled the space where darkness and white light had disappeared. We stared at Floretta in dazed silence.
Floretta stood still, one hand cradling her cheek that had been slapped by the Pope of the Moon. Despite being the victim of verbal and physical violence, there was no trace of anger on her face.
Instead, only sorrow and pity remained, which were feelings quite contradictory for a victim of violence.
Noticing the gazes fixed upon her, Floretta hurriedly composed herself. The slightly swollen, red cheek returned to normal. A cheerful smile emerged on her face once again.
However, due to the sadness that had just filled her features, she ended up looking even more pitiful.
“I’m sorry for the scene I caused.”
“……Your Holiness, what just happened?”
“It’s nothing serious. Just a simple difference of opinion. Please forget about what just transpired; it is a source of embarrassment for me.”
Though her words were accompanied by a benevolent smile, they carried an air of unknown power. Even the knight commanders, who seemed to have many questions, dared not challenge her words.
Of course, asking me to forget would never lead to forgetting such an event. Floretta seemed to realize this, and her smile turned slightly self-mocking.
“It seems our meeting ends here. If it’s not too rude of a request, could you perhaps stay a few more days in the Holy Kingdom? I promise you the best hospitality.”
We exchanged cautious glances. Staying any longer was not an issue. However, it was doubtful that we could relax after witnessing such a scene right before our eyes.
The silver-eyed and pink-eyed figures glanced over at us. Seeing the actual first and nominal first rankers seeking my opinion felt somewhat strange.
Since it seemed I needed to provide an answer, I took a step forward.
“If that’s the case, I must apologize for my imposition, Your Holiness.”
“Thank you for making a difficult decision.”
Sunlight radiated from her body.
ㅡInquisitor.
Floretta’s voice resonated softly, creating a gentle circular wave. It felt like a type of command filled with divine power. As the wave washed over us, a warm sensation enveloped my entire body.
The hall doors burst open. Stella stepped in with a bright smile.
“Yes. You called for me, Your Holiness?”
“Please provide accommodations for our distinguished guests.”
“Understood! Now, distinguished guests? Please follow me. With the Pope making such an effort, it seems you’ll need to stay a few days. You can rest easy; I will give you the finest positions.”
We cautiously lowered our heads to show respect and exited the cathedral.
The green-eyed figure watched our retreating backs for a long time.
The building Stella guided us to was incredibly luxurious. According to the knight commanders, it was in no way inferior to the Imperial Palace.
I lay on the extraordinarily plush bed, feeling as if I were submerged in liquid, contemplating the events ahead. By the time I managed to gather my thoughts, dawn had already begun to break.
Well, there wasn’t much to worry about. The tasks ahead were already decided.
The first priority was to defeat the final boss of the DLC. There was no way I could let the Holy Kingdom perish and put the empire in jeopardy.
The story had certainly become completely twisted; there was no guarantee that the DLC’s events would unfold like the game. However, if the consequence of inaction was the end of the world, it was always wise to assume the worst.
And the first quest of the ‘Awakening Evil’ DLC was this.
“Are you saying you want to spar with me?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I needed to engage in a mock boss battle with Stella, the Inquisitor directly under the Pope of the Sun.
Ultimately, having stayed up all night, I started moving at dawn towards the training ground where the Inquisitor and battle nuns were training. Lying still wouldn’t yield anything.
Stella stopped as she was sparring with the battle nuns upon seeing me enter the training ground.
“What’s the reason?”
“Is a reason really necessary for a match?”
I returned the words the Inquisitor had once said to the player in the game. Upon hearing that, I saw an expression of “look at this” cross Stella’s face.
But her response was far more unexpected than I anticipated.
“As you can see, my weapon is like this. I may not be able to be as precise as handling a sword. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to take that risk. You are being treated as distinguished guests by the Pope, after all.”
Stella tapped her flail, which she had placed vertically on the ground. If this were the game, she would have charged at me immediately after my comment. It seemed her personality had become somewhat more cautious.
While it would surely be an unwelcome situation for her, I needed to spar with Stella badly. Winning here was essential to unlocking the next quest.
“If by any chance you were to die while sparring with a distinguished guest, I wouldn’t even want to think about what would follow, so I’m sorry, but I must decline.”
“…….”
I hadn’t anticipated such a situation. Hearing Stella’s refusal left me standing there dumbfounded. What should I do now? Would I really have to wait for Stella to challenge me?
“Then I shall assist you.”
At that moment, the Moon descended, and someone appeared. Stella’s expression twisted as she recognized the identity of the woman.
“……Inquisitor. What are you doing here?”
It was Selene.