Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Should Have Done What Needed to Be Done (1)
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The Pope's first impression was... well.
The textbook example might fit best.
He was a man who had transcended the boundaries of physiognomy.
A warm impression emanating from within him.
Even his offering spirit felt commendable.
"You've been waiting for me?"
"Indeed."
His demeanor was impeccably polite.
This Pope would surely show the same attitude to anyone else, not just me.
"..."
The senses dulled by spirit possession returned to normal.
Now it was my turn to handle things...
"We made many discreet efforts to find you... but ultimately failed to reach you."
The Church had been searching for me?
That was odd. Hans, Alard, and Old Man Klein had already met me.
"It began not long ago in the Astor Earldom..."
"The Earldom?"
They had tracked me down remarkably well.
That's where I had settled.
Where the shrine was established.
Even in a remote location, it wouldn't have been hard to find.
"A priest we dispatched in secret was chased off by some elf and came running back."
"An elf...?"
"He used a spatial transfer scroll and barely escaped the pursuit, according to the report..."
"Wait, could it be...?"
Spatial transfer in the Earldom.
Something came to mind.
It was when Irene had first divined me as nobility and left.
That day, strangely blocked by various interferences, I couldn't meet Irene right away.
There had definitely been traces of magic where I followed Irene.
"Hah..."
"Seems like it rings a bell."
At that time, Irene had come seeking me following the World Tree's will.
She must have chased after anyone suspicious connected to me.
The elves were in quite an urgent situation, after all.
"In fact, after that, we didn't send anyone to you."
"Why not?"
"We judged the time wasn't right yet."
"...?"
The time wasn't right...
Judging by the Pope Uncle's expression, there was a story I didn't know.
As if sensing my doubt, Uncle began his tale.
"Do you know of the oracle regarding the Continental War?"
"..."
I had heard it from Hans.
"The gods said, 'Night has come, yet it is not night. Dawn has broken, yet it is still night. Do not lose your way.'"
"And...?"
"The previous Pope and Saintess interpreted 'Dawn has broken, yet it is still night' as referring to the current situation."
It was a reasonable interpretation.
Dawn could mean the end of the Continental War.
And seeing the aftermath as now made sense.
But few people knew of this interpretation.
Even our old men thought the war was over.
"I can guess what you're thinking, but the Church had its own circumstances."
But still.
"What does that oracle have to do with searching for me?"
The Pope smiled warmly.
He looked like he had a lot to say.
"On the day the Continental War ended, the Saintess sacrificed her body to receive divine power."
"..."
"And she conveyed a revelation to the previous Pope and me. A story unknown even to those behind you."
A quiet oracle passed down, beyond what was publicly known.
They flinched.
Old Man Klein and Alard's bodies stiffened behind me.
It seemed they truly didn't know.
"...?"
"A thread connects, so wait. With the blue bell, life shall emerge."
"...Thread? Life?"
The blue bell matched the rattle I used.
"And it mentioned lightning striking, giving a rough location."
Somehow, it felt oddly...
Similar to the possessions I receive, rather than a typical oracle.
Not exactly the same, though.
Perhaps because it was a revelation received as she threw her body into it.
"You found me based on just that?"
"Heh heh... The Church's intelligence isn't lacking, and lightning doesn't strike clear skies without magic."
Impressive, I thought anew.
To pinpoint me in this vast continent with just that.
Seeing my admiring face,
Pope Uncle awkwardly scratched his head.
"Truth be told... things flowed naturally."
"...Pardon?"
"Suddenly, Sir Klein's disciple was with you. Until then, we didn't know it was you. We only knew the location."
Old Man Klein had reported, and Hans was with me.
From their subsequent movements, the Pope gained certainty it was me.
It must have been unmistakable.
From their position, a person receiving oracles alone with the gods.
"You seemed to have much to do. Enough to understand the 'wait' revelation. But..."
And at those words, a chuckle escaped my lips.
"The one behind suddenly ran off, then returned with you."
Truly a guy who never strayed from my expectations.
A disobedient rascal.
An immature child.
I recognized him the moment he came scampering back.
Alard broke into a cold sweat and spoke.
"I... I'm sorry...! If I'd known there was such a revelation...!"
He seemed quite flustered, probably due to the "wait" part.
Since it looked like he had forcibly dragged me here.
"Hey."
"Yes, Chris-nim..."
"It's fine."
"...Yes?"
Definitely, when the possession lifted earlier, nothing related to him was mentioned.
And since we had to come here anyway, Alard had actually done well.
Even if dragged in a weird way...
I'd let that slide once, so no issue.
"No need to worry."
"...Yes."
Alard shrank back and retreated.
"Allow me to apologize once more. I'm sorry we couldn't welcome you properly."
"Hmm..."
Well, nothing major had happened yet, so no point making an issue.
The Church's complicated circumstances could be learned gradually.
What I was curious about more was...
"How often do saints and saintesses receive revelations?"
"...Not frequently."
"What's the difference from regular priests?"
"They are born with divine sight and possess exceptional divine power..."
"As expected..."
Now the puzzle pieces were falling into place.
Not certain yet, but.
It had always been strange.
Even on the way here, hadn't I felt it?
The gods' attention toward them.
They received more love than most shamans.
"Hmm..."
A world without true divine vessels.
High elves were rare too, but they borrowed from the World Tree.
And even that performance wasn't great.
"...No wonder there are no shamans."
A shaman is one who conveys the gods' words on their behalf.
Comforting the dead and living, guiding the way.
Walking the path of spirits under their gaze.
A big difference from this world's clergy.
I have a divine vessel; they have divine power.
Here, the gods' influence manifests as divine power.
For elves, as harmony with nature.
"...Huh?"
Clergy different from them.
This felt just like...
"Am I really a heretic?"
Pope Uncle immediately countered.
"Absolutely not."
"...?"
"Heretics are those who worship gods not recognized by the Church. It's solidified as those who venerate demons."
They kept calling me a heretic, so I honestly thought so.
If it hangs on the nose, it's a nose ring.
If on the ear, an earring.
But they have their own standards, it seems.
Of course.
"Moreover, you are mentioned in the revelation. With the blue bell, that's already confirmed."
"..."
"Beyond that, you are an extraordinary figure, like a saint."
That made me sound like an incredibly important person.
I knew my fate was twisted, but it felt more seriously so than I thought.
And for quite some time...
"We didn't expect someone serving the gods like us."
Given how vague their oracles are, it's understandable.
Could be a grand mage or sword master.
Pope Uncle cautiously asked me.
"May I ask which god you serve?"
"..."
I turned, and Old Man Klein subtly avoided my eyes.
He apparently hadn't reported this.
"Well..."
What should I say?
Perhaps someone of the Pope's caliber could identify my possessing spirit?
"...?"
"What's wrong?"
"...?"
My mouth wouldn't open.
I clearly meant to say it was Grandmother's form.
But from that point, my lips sealed as if glued.
The same phenomenon repeated every time I tried that word.
"This... don't tell me... this is part of the task too...?"
Maybe the spirits haven't permitted their name yet.
Or...
"This comes first?"
This felt right.
I sensed the spirits' gaze, as if praising me.
I nearly wasted time figuring out who the possessing spirit was.
"Then... the reason for coming here first..."
If it's a task, it usually has a clear purpose.
In the elven forest, the black thing inside the World Tree.
In the mountains I just visited, questions as the clapping shaman.
So this time...
Suddenly, the possession words on the way here surfaced.
Unlike the scolding toward Klein and Alard, it had no destination.
It was directed at me.
"Kick away the blindfolded one... make another open their mouth...?"
Pope Uncle's bewildered face came into view.
"When do you receive the next oracle?"
"Soon..."
"Are you sure you can receive it?"
"...Without saints or saintesses, it's uncertain."
This seemed right, but vague.
No firm conviction.
What exactly was the task?
The spirits' gaze was serene.
Similar to last time when I tossed a question without asking.
If I threw a question without words, and I didn't catch it.
"Children who shouldn't die have died, so responsibility must be taken."
Children who shouldn't have died.
The reason they died.
Pope Uncle trying to speak to me.
I had to firmly stop him.
"Hold on. This is an important moment right now..."
The guests who came to me were two.
Ultimately, both led to those mountains.
The mountains where necromancers had long prepared something.
There, I chose to save people.
"..."
Even if I had come here first, it would have been divination leading there.
And I would have made the same choice to save people.
"Children who shouldn't die... responsibility... open their mouth..."
The mountains kept nagging at me.
How had I received the question...
"Necromancers on the mountain. People at the base."
And before them, Alard I saw first.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
No matter where I went first, it was what they should have done.
But didn't, so must take responsibility.
"Hey, Alard."
"...Yes! Chris-nim."
"Looks like you guys are in big trouble?"
"Yes...?"
The result of those who refused to listen.
"Where are the bastards who dragged me here earlier? And the ones who put them up to it."
For some reason, the person Grandpa boasted about was clearly defined.