"...."
We, who witnessed with our own eyes the unprecedented incident of the Pope of the Moon wielding violence against the Pope of the Sun, were speechless.
My head was spinning wildly. The fact that two popes were gathered in the same place was something I had never seen before in a game, and for them to act like that was even more unexpected.
I calmly revisited their conversation.
The Pope of the Moon rebuked the Pope of the Sun for not being able to give up his vain hopes. These hopes were probably related to the words he himself had spoken of, such as destiny and a predetermined path.
Fate cannot be changed. Even the sun and the moon must walk their own path. Floretta tried to protest that she could not give up on her sister, but was slapped in the face.
'I guess the popes here are related by blood too.'
The fact that the two were sisters wasn't surprising at all. In the game, the Sun Pope and the Moon Pope were brothers. If their genders had been changed in the mod, they would have been sisters.
What I really had to think about was how they thought of each other. First of all, it didn't seem like a relationship where they looked at each other like cows or chickens, like in a game.
If that were the case, the Pope of the Moon would not have come here, and the Pope of the Sun would not have had such gloomy eyes.
"...Yes, I apologize. Your Holiness the Moon."
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 know, that's fine."
The Pope of the Moon took his hand away. As if he had gotten the answer he wanted, he turned around with a cold wind blowing, and began walking again, making the sound of his high heels clicking.
The sound of high heels stopped right next to me.
A pair of purple eyes radiating a delicate aura turned to me. Overall, her appearance was almost similar to that of the Inquisitor Selene, but the Pope of the Moon seemed much more mature.
"I warn you in the name of the Pope of the Moon. Stranger."
The beautiful eyes that were as beautiful as jewels were delicately raised. There was clear hostility in the eyes directed at me.
In contrast to the Pope of the Sun, who had never seen me before but was strangely friendly and wanted to meet me, the Pope of the Moon, who had never seen me before, was strangely hostile.
There is no need for things to be completely opposite like that.
"If you interfere with the affairs of our sisters, I will never stand by and watch. This means that you should not have vain fantasies."
'… … A vain delusion?'
I haven't done anything yet, so I don't understand at all what this nonsense is.
"Do you understand?"
The answer was delayed, and immediately came back with an eerie warning. There was an unknown power in the voice. Something was squeezing my throat.
Since there was no good to come from arguing with the Pope of the Moon here, I nodded obediently and answered.
"Yes, I understand, Your Holiness."
After hearing my answer, the Pope walked away again with a blank expression. No one opened their mouths. The only sound in the hall was the clicking of high heels.
The gray shadow disappeared at some point as if snow was melting.
It happened in the blink of an eye. I was clearly looking at his back, but it was only when the sunlight poured into the empty space that I realized that the Pope of the Moon was gone.
As the moon disappeared, the moonlight gradually became fainter. The darkness and white light disappeared, and the warm sunlight filled the space. We looked at Floretta, dumbfounded.
Floretta stood still, holding her cheek with one hand, where she had been hit by the Pope of the Moon. Despite the one-sided verbal and physical abuse, there was not a trace of anger on her face.
Rather, only the extremely contradictory emotions that victims of violence feel, such as sadness and sympathy, took hold.
Floretta, who noticed the gazes staring at her, quickly straightened her expression. The slightly reddened cheeks completely disappeared. A bright smile appeared on her face again.
But because of the sadness on his face that he had shown just before, he ended up looking even more pitiful.
"I showed you a disgrace."
"...Your Holiness, what happened just now?"
"It's nothing. It was just a simple difference of opinion. Can you please forget what happened a little while ago? It was such an embarrassing mistake."
It was a word spoken with a kind smile, but at the same time, it was a word that felt like it had an unknown power. Even the knight commanders, who seemed to have many questions, could not go against those words.
Of course, it is not a memory that can be forgotten even if you ask it to be forgotten. Floretta's smile changed slightly to a self-mockery when she realized that fact.
"I think this is the end of our meeting for today. If it is not too rude of you to ask, could you please stay in the Holy Land for a few more days? I promise to treat you with the utmost care."
We looked at each other. There was no problem with staying here any longer. However, I wondered if I could rest easy after witnessing such a sight with my own eyes.
Silver and pink eyes glanced in my direction. It felt strange to see the actual number one and the nominal number one naturally asking for my opinion.
Since it seemed like I would have to answer in the end, I took a step forward.
"Then, if I may excuse you for a moment, Your Holiness."
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"Thank you for your difficult decision."
Sunlight rose from his body.
-Oh, heretic judge.
Floretta's voice spread out in a gentle circular wave. It seemed like a kind of divine word. As the wave passed through us, a warm sensation enveloped our entire bodies.
The hall door opened wide. Stella walked in with a bright smile.
"Yes. You called, Your Holiness?"
"Please provide accommodations for our distinguished guests."
"Understood. Now, distinguished guests? Follow me. Since His Holiness has spoken like that, I think you will have to stay here for a few days. Don't worry. I will give you the best seats."
We bowed our heads carefully to show our respect and left the cathedral.
Her green eyes stared at our backs for a long time as we gradually moved away.
The building that Stella guided us to was incredibly luxurious. According to the knight commanders, it was a place that was on a par with the imperial palace.
I lay on a soft bed that felt like I was submerged in liquid, and spent the night thinking about what to do next. By the time I finally finished organizing my thoughts, the sun was already rising.
No, actually, there was nothing to worry about or do. What I had to do from now on had already been decided.
Defeating the final boss of the DLC was the absolute top priority. If we neglected it, the Holy Land would be destroyed and the Empire would suffer enormous damage, so how could we neglect it?
Since the story has already become completely twisted, there is no guarantee that the DLC's story will flow exactly like the game, but if the result of neglect is the destruction of the world, it is 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."
Fight a mock boss battle with Stella, the inquisitor directly under the Pope of the Sun.
After staying up all night, I moved at dawn and headed to the place where the heretic judges and combat nuns were training. There was no point in just lying down anyway.
Stella was sparring with the combat nuns in the exact same place as the game, and when she saw me entering the training ground, she stopped waving her arms.
"Why?"
"Do I really need a reason to fight?"
I repeated exactly what the Inquisitor said to the player when he challenged him to a duel in the game. When Stella heard those words, she looked at me with a look of 'Look at this.'
But the answer that came out of his mouth was far beyond my expectations.
"As you can see, my weapon is like this. It may not be able to hold the sword with precision. I'm sorry, but I don't want to take that risk. His Holiness even told me to treat you like distinguished guests."
Stella tapped the iron hammer that was placed vertically on the floor. If it were a game, she would have jumped at me as soon as I said that. It seemed like her personality had changed to something quite cautious.
It may not be something I particularly like, but I absolutely needed to spar with Stella. I had to win here to unlock the next quest.
"If by any chance you die while sparring with me, I don't want to think about the aftermath. So, I'm sorry, but I have to decline."
"...."
I never thought of this situation. After hearing Stella's rejection, I stood there dumbfounded. What should I do now? Should I really wait until Stella challenges me to a duel?
"Then let me help you."
At that moment, the moon set and someone appeared. Stella's expression suddenly distorted as she confirmed the woman's identity.
"...Heretic Inquisitor. What are you doing here?"
It was Selene.