Chapter 129
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Coronation Ceremony - 6
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Was this how livestock felt being dragged to the slaughterhouse?
The emperor's selfish antics were giving me one hell of a headache.
In that mess, it was the Pope who came to my rescue.
'She's truly beautiful.'
True to her nymph nature, just gazing at the Pope was purifying enough to cleanse the eyes.
And for someone like me, who'd been cohabitating with nymphs for a decent stretch now, reading their thoughts from their expressions was a piece of cake.
'Hero, I'll buy you some time, so get out of here right away.'
'Thanks a ton.'
I seized that brief window when everyone was spellbound by the Pope's beauty and slipped free from the emperor's clutches.
Even the emperor—a 2nd Hierarchy powerhouse—was utterly helpless against the miracle she unleashed.
'What an absurd cheat. Gotta ask her to teach me later.'
A miracle that deceived the target's senses for a short while.
If wielded skillfully, it held boundless potential.
"Hero? What brings you here?"
"Oh! Sir Peredil!"
On my way fleeing the temple, I ran into Peredil, the Holy Kingdom's famed Holy Lance.
"Fate must've brought us together—mind lending me a hand?"
"What's going on?"
"I'm being hunted by the emperor. That pervert."
"Pardon?"
Emperor and pervert.
Peredil blinked at the mismatched terms, but as a disciplined holy knight, he hid me without hesitation.
"Come this way first."
"Much appreciated."
With that, he led me to a room.
And inside was a patient.
"Ah, Hero. I trust you've been well?"
"Clack? What the hell happened to you?"
Clack, the Holy Kingdom's First Apostle, was a total wreck.
His nymph-specific halo was cracked so badly it could shatter any second, and lightning-like red veins bulged across his body.
"I'm fine. No need for the Hero to worry about me."
"No, you're clearly not fine at all."
Clack spoke matter-of-factly, but his face was drained of all vigor.
Nymphs wore benevolent smiles no matter how weary or exhausted they were, yet Clack lacked even the strength for that.
"The First Apostle was wounded blocking Behemoth's advance."
"Those monster gods, right?"
"Yes."
"How's the treatment?"
"We're using the Holy Kingdom's medical arts and the Tower of Wisdom's knowledge. But he won't be able to resume apostle duties like before."
Peredil was his usual blunt self, but not this time—he looked downright gloomy.
'Just as Helen is like a mother to Camilla, Clack must be a father figure to Peredil.'
I wanted to help if I could.
Not only had Peredil aided me several times before, but with the First Apostle hale and hearty, the world would be a tad more peaceful.
But what could I even do?
My medical knowledge was a drop in the ocean compared to the Holy Kingdom's vast repository, and adapting it for nymphs was out of the question.
'Hold on.'
Like the fabled blessing of Athena, goddess of wisdom, an idea struck me like lightning.
"Sir Peredil, Hestia the goddess created the nymphs, correct?"
"Indeed. Records state she wove together the divinities of various gods with her own to craft them."
"Then Hestia's divinity must act like potent medicine for nymphs, right?"
"I see where you're going. You intend to channel Hestia's divinity through your holy power and infuse it into the Apostle."
"Exactly. Might just heal him."
My nymphs at home—Helia, Forest, and Ravi—all adored our house, infused with Hestia's divinity.
Helia served Hestia, sure, but the other two didn't—yet they still loved it. So maybe Hestia's divinity served as an elixir for nymphs in some fundamental way?
"Da-dangerous."
Clack rasped his objection in a voice like death's door.
"Overusing holy power overloads the soul. Even as a Titan, Hero, you're not a god yet. Save that power for worthier—"
And then he passed out.
Seemed he'd burned through his last reserves just to speak.
"I'm good, but what do you think, Sir Peredil?"
"..."
Peredil mulled it over briefly before answering firmly.
"I know it's shameless, but I'd like your help, Hero."
"Not shameless at all. You've helped me plenty too. We look out for each other."
We dove straight into treating Clack.
I was about to summon a doctor first.
"No need. I'll assist with the procedure from the side."
"Are you versed in medicine, Sir Peredil?"
"Not to nymph levels, but as a seeker who's lived ages, I know the basics."
"Ah..."
Lately I'd been thinking: everyone around me is ancient. Not just old—mouth-droppingly ancient.
'They all breeze past 200 like it's nothing.'
At a mere 21, wasn't I basically a kid among them?
Should treat them kinder.
"Hero?"
"Ah, sorry. Got lost in thought."
At his nudge, I pulled out Hestia's divinity and began infusing it into Clack.
'Whoa, the efficiency is nuts.'
I fed in 10 units of Hestia divinity; nine just fizzled away uselessly.
'No wonder he warned against it.'
If I matched Helen's skill, maybe—but at my level, I'd collapse before Clack did.
Good thing I had Peredil, a 2nd Hierarchy knight, on hand.
"I'll assist."
He wove his aura into fine threads, pierced Clack's halo, and charted the path for me.
This was human mastery?
'I'm just a brute-force meathead, huh.'
True powerhouses wielded skills that left you slack-jawed.
Time to live humbler from now on.
How many hours had we been at it?
"Halo's repaired."
"Phew... Crisis averted."
The halo—nymphs' life source—was mended.
"If word of this leaks, the world will erupt."
"Really? Didn't seem that impressive."
"It's historic. Many tried your approach on nymphs, but all failed."
"Any key reason why?"
"Yes—no human could handle Hestia's divinity like you. Botch it, and the holy power couldn't withstand the strain, turning them into vegetables. The Holy Kingdom banned it as taboo."
"So we're taboo-breaking traitors now."
"Forgive me. My selfishness..."
"Haha, no apologies needed. Fail, and we're criminals; succeed, and we're miracle healers, right?"
The Pope would smooth it over since the outcome was golden.
As things wrapped up, Peredil suddenly dropped to his knees before me.
"Hero, thank you."
"Sir Peredil? Really, no need."
"No. I'll repay this grace, even if it pits me against the Holy Kingdom."
"Hey, don't go picking fights with the Holy Kingdom, man."
True to his stubborn looks, Peredil was bullheaded as hell.
I insisted it was fine over and over, but he swore to repay the favor... How to cash this in later?
As I pondered, a visitor arrived.
"Knew I'd find you here, Hero."
It was Rachel, vice-captain of the 2nd Holy Knight Order, who'd supported Helen alongside Camilla.
"Rachel? Long time. But why the long face?"
"Explanations later—chaos outside."
"What, a monster god popped up?"
"Not quite. Clash between the emperor's faction and the Pope's."
"Why?"
"His Majesty thinks His Holiness is sheltering you and is throwing a fit, demanding you."
"???"
...
'In the end, it's come to this.'
Pope Esther sighed at the standoff between the Empire and Holy Kingdom.
She knew His Majesty was mulling the Holy Kingdom's purpose, but she'd never imagined it'd blow up like this.
'I get His Majesty's heart, but it's too rash.'
She'd received direct reports on monster god Behemoth too.
Like the emperor feared, she believed the Empire could crumble anytime from dormant monster gods dotting the continent.
Without Clack's sacrifice, the east would swarm with disaster refugees; without the sky-devouring tiger's timely arrival, casualties would've skyrocketed.
But the emperor didn't know everything.
He figured the Black Tiger appeared due to betrayal, as Sian had said; Esther suspected why it'd ripped out Behemoth's spirit core.
There lay the difference.
'His Majesty lacks Mother's trust.'
Proof: the emperor, tasked with overseeing all, was in the dark on key intel.
In a sense, it was inevitable.
Unlike past emperors, current Emperor Kaina rejected bonds with nymphs.
Kaina didn't want a partner dying on her account.
Esther regretted it as Pope, but respected it as a nymph.
In a way, it'd been the sole sane choice amid madness.
Yet on the Titan, even the Pope couldn't bend.