TL: Zimmings
Rage was seen on the popeâs pupils. When I didnât avert my eyes, he laughed again.
âItâs a pity that Iâm not the first person youâve held hands with, but Iâll understand.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âI know that one or two mistakes are normal for you, who are still young.â
Was he really crazy?
I looked at him with an astonished face.
âIf I make a mistake, it must be when I saved you from the back alley.â
âI will guide you to the bedroom.â
Pretending as if he hadnât heard me, he glanced at the wall.
The priests waiting by the wall approached me.
Then veiled women kneels before me for a moment and then said,
âI see you, saint.â
I have many nicknames, including a child, a lady, and a saint.
I followed them while staring at the pope.
I didnât want to argue with him anymore, and above all, I was in a bad condition and almost fainted.
âI have to find out how things are going.â
The place I arrived was a luxurious room. The bathroom had a toilet, a bedroom and a study room.
And it seems that the room is being redecorated, and the workers are diligently coming and going out.
âI apologize. I didnât expect you to wake up this early, so it was delayed. There is another room, but this roomâs security is the best and itâs close to my room, so I prepared this place.â
âWhat kind of surveillance is security?â
The pope introduced the men who brought me here.
âThey will serve you from now on, so please familiarize yourself with their faces.â
I laughed out loud.
These children were the most powerful female priest, dealing with women of the highest rank, such as the empress and empress dowager.
They are people I havenât even seen in my first life.
Seeing that they were attached to me, it seemed like the pope took my security seriously.
They kneel before me.
âItâs an honor to meet you, child.â
At that, the popeâs face became cold at once. Then the priest corrected their words.
âI made a mistake. Forgive me, saint.â
The pope looked around them and the workers with a stiff face.
âI order you not to put that word in your mouth that will remind her of the days of hardship.â
âEnough.â
âBut-â the pope said.
I looked at him with a twisted expression.
âIs that what the culprit who put me in trouble would say?â
ââ¦â¦.â
âIf you donât want me to remember the old days, you can go and die.â
Please die!
When I looked into his eyes, the pope bent his knee in front of me.
Those around him were terrified and took a breath.
âHow should I pay you back for not recognizing you? I will not ask for forgiveness, but I will fulfill everything you wish for.â
He looked at me as if begging.
âAll I want is for you to let me go! Or youâre going to die for me!
âYou still enjoy using extreme humor.â
âArenât you tired of distorting all my words?â
Iâm serious!
When I frowned, he smiled and said,
âLetâs have dinner together. Until then, rest.â
The pope stepped forward as he washed my face.
âWhy did I rescue him from the back alleyâ¦â
If I had known he would be such a crazy person in my next life, I would never have saved him.
I lay on the bed gloomily.
Meanwhile, the believers and workers were diligently moving luggages.
Most of them seemed to be Minaâs items.
I glanced at them and said.
âExcuse me.â
Then a slightly older woman bowed her head.
âWhat happened to Dubblede after I was captured? The empire? They didnât attack the temple?â
âHis Holiness has commanded us to be careful with words that may confuse you.â
âYou mean you donât want to answer that.â
I thought while holding my forehead.
There are wooden boards all over the window, so I canât even see outside.
The barrier surrounding the room was extremely strong, and it seemed to be at least as much as the imperial palace.
It was a holy barrier, so it couldnât be destroyed with people using mana and turn it into divine power.
In other words, it meant that 99 percent of people in the Dubblede couldnât penetrate it, as most of them are mana users.
âEscape is impossible.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Biting my lip, a young female priest said.
âIf itâs okay, I can bring you some toys.â
âEnou- thatâsâ¦â
I was going to say thereâs no need, but when I saw it in the hands of the priest I got up.
It was a strange form of cloth.
The cloth was woven in a round shape and had two straight strings attached to the back.
I am aware of that. Itâs what I saw in my first life.
âMinaâs bag.â
âLet me see it.â
âItâs the previous childâs stuff. Itâs impossible to keep it with the saintâ¦â
âItâs okay, so give it to me.â
She looked at the priest, who seemed to be her senior, with a difficult look on her face. The senior nodded as if she couldnât help it, and she handed me a bag.
âThis? Oh, this must be unique in this world. Itâs a bag. A backpack. I can open the zipper like this.â¦.â
Recalling Minaâs words, I carefully opened the zipper.
When the sound came out, the eyes of the priest became round.
Now that I see it, they didnât know how to open it, so they couldnât check the inside.
As it is an object not from this world, they must have been afraid that they would be cursed if they touched it.
When I opened the bag, everything I saw in my first life was the same.
Notes, books, pencil cases.
The notes were exceptionally thick with a small lock on it.
âHave I ever seen this before?â
I tilted my head and grabbed the lock. I searched the bag or pencil case to see if there was a key.
There was a small key the size of a finger in the pencil case.
I unlocked the lock with the key and opened the book.
[The night of the 93rd day since I came here.
I came to see my father from afar. Like in my memory, he was strong and beautifulâ¦]
âDiary? Itâs a diary!â
How lucky.
I might be able to know whatâs going on inside the temple.
Itâs written in Korean, so only I can read it.
I learned Hangul from Chul-soo, but I stuttered quite a bit because there were many difficult words.
âI wish Chul-soo was here.â
Still, I understand some, so I read Minaâs diary.
[Itâs been six days since they tested my body. Scales grew on my skin.
His Holiness said that he could return me as a human again after the war was over, but I am anxious. Could it be that I become a monster like this?
I want to believe him, but Iâm really worried because Icaron, the head of the experiment, canât make eye contact with me.
Iâm anxious. But even this must be an ordeal given to me by the gods here. Will I be able to overcome the ordeal and become a true savior?â¦.]
[The believers were very happy that the experiment was successful]
I couldnât understand them.
It was possible to become a holy beast a week ago, but why is it said that the experiment was successful only now?]
[Recently, I keep having strange dreams
When His Holiness reaches out to me, a strange jewel escapes from my body. Every time I do that, I see myself collapsing as if I were a jewel.
Why do I keep dreaming like that?
Is that really a dream?]
[I couldnât stand the anxiety and went to visit the pope. When I am next to him, I feel as relieved as if I were with Adrian.
He hugged me, who was afraid and said.
He will put everything in the hands of the saint.
The saint he said would be me.
I have to trust him. This anxiety must also be an ordeal given to me by the gods here.]
âThe experiment they did on Mina wasnât holy water.â
I thought of the jewel rising above Minaâs fallen body, or motherâs body.
What if itâs the jewel of âNew Starâ that Mina and my mom had?
ââ¦â¦The pope can freely use Minaâs power.â
I shut my mouth.
âThen the pope can summon devils?â
âSaint?â
The priests asked as if what was going on.
I quickly put the diary in the bag and closed the zipper.
âWhy?â
âWhatâs going on?â
âItâs not a big deal. It feels like a holy relic that has a strange power. Donât throw it away.â
Having said that, I smiled broadly.
âWhen do we have dinner? Iâm really looking forward to dinner with His Holiness!â
I need to change.
If that damn bastard can summon a devil, I shouldnât provoke him, I shouldnât take my chances away.
***
They were very pleased to hear that I expected a meal with the pope.
The young believers rushed to tell the pope, saying they would prepare a meal.
In the room, only middle-aged female believers, who appear to be the head, remained.
She, who was staring sideways at the door, said.
âIâll tell you about the outside situation.â
âCan you tell me that?â
âI am Adrianâs person.â
I looked at her in surprise.
âAre you from Adrian?â
âThatâs right.â
Adrian had immense divine power, and the temple educated him to establish him as a holy emperor.
I heard that he was educated here, but I didnât know that the head became Adrianâs person.
âOn the day that lady killed Mina, His Majesty the Emperor passed away from poisoning.â
âWhat?â
I stiffened and looked at her.
âI see. Thatâs why they attacked the tower that day.â
It was probably the temple that poisoned the emperor.
Aiming at a time when peopleâs eyes are focused on Mina and my battle!
âThe first prince, Andre Louerg, colluded with the temple and changed the game completely.â
âDid our family and other nobles see it?â
âDubblede and some nobles were unable to confront Andre Louerg because they were greatly damaged by the previous battle, and since Marche, Brivo and other noble people are supporting Andre Louergâ¦â
The moment she said that, I heard footsteps outside the room.
Suddenly, the door opened and the pope came in.
He looked like he was in a great mood.
âIâm glad you seem to have changed your mind. I told them to bring our meal to the room.â
âIf I became kind to you, you wouldnât touch my precious people?â
The pope narrowed his eyes for a moment and then smiled.
âOf course. If Dubblede no longer confronts the temple, I will not harm those whom Meria values.â
âPromise me youâll leave my lover alone.â
âThatâ¦â¦.â
I covered my mouth with one hand and made up the sound of crying.
âIf you promise not to touch my dear Andre, I will be with you!â
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