Chapter 215: The Saint (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 215: The Saint (4)
There’s a term: asymmetrical power.
It refers to a weapon that, if used, can land a solid blow on an enemy stronger than you, but in the process, it fucks you up too.
The secret of the Saint's identity was exactly that.
“...Are you actually insane?”
The Saint must be a man.
That was a rule of the church even I, a non-believer, knew.
The day this fact became public, the entire Holy See would be turned upside down. Believers and clergy from all over the world would undoubtedly rise up in outrage.
Even a Saint would be brought before a religious tribunal and would likely be sentenced to death for blasphemy.
Either that, or I’d be taken out by an assassin from the Holy See before the rumor could spread.
Whether I died, the Saint died, or we both died.
I could only see a bleak future.
That's right.
This was a secret of secrets, something that must never be spoken aloud, something to be taken to the grave.
Of course, it wasn't like I was crazy enough to go around blabbing about this.
‘What on earth is she thinking?’
But what truly baffled me was the Saint's attitude.
She was spilling a secret like this without even knowing what kind of person I was?
If I were a priest, maybe it would be a different story, but I was a mage.
It was a well-known fact that the church and mages didn't get along.
If I were to reveal this to the magical community, she wouldn't last long.
“Please, believe me. I have no intention of harming you, Hyun-woo.”
I swallowed a heavy sigh.
Does this woman not realize her own life is on the line?
“...Have you considered the possibility that I might spread the fact that you, the Saint, are a woman?”
In response to my words, the Saint replied with a calm expression.
“Then wouldn't the Holy See also learn that you received an apostle proposal from a demon?”
Well, thankfully, it seemed she wasn't completely thoughtless.
But didn't this mean we were now holding each other's lives in our hands?
A dry laugh escaped my lips.
“May I ask just one thing?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you go so far as to help me, taking such a huge risk?”
There was no reason for the Saint to take such a risk for me, a complete stranger.
“Because it's not the right thing to do.”
Beyond her eyes, I met the gaze of the cross, which radiated a brilliant light.
I no longer felt the suffocating pressure that had constricted my entire body earlier.
“To frame an innocent person as a demon worshipper and take their life for such a flimsy reason is an unforgivable act.”
“Is that something you, the Saint, should be saying?”
At my words, she gave a self-deprecating smile.
“Just because I'm the Saint doesn't mean I can do whatever I want.”
Seeing her troubled expression, I fell silent.
It seemed the Holy See had its own share of problems.
Then again, people are the same everywhere.
“Hyun-woo, would you please accept this?”
The Saint placed the rosary from around her neck onto the table.
It was a simple silver rosary, without a single jewel or even a decent ornament. It seemed far too plain for a Saint to wear.
But its plainness was only skin-deep. The aura it exuded was anything but ordinary.
“It's a rosary imbued with my divine power.”
Ting—
[Information on the newly acquired item is being collected.]
[Saint's Rosary
Grade: Epic
A rosary containing the divine power of the Saint.
The divine power, strengthened by consecration, will protect the user.
- Natural recovery rate is greatly increased.
- Grants immunity to poisons below a certain level.
- Temporarily imbues the user with divine power when facing anything related to demons (魔).
- Recovers from a fatal wound once.]
The moment I saw the description floating before my eyes, I was at a loss for words.
“It's not much, but if you would accept it as a token of apology for my and Sir Felix's rudeness...”
“Your Holiness!”
“Eek?!”
Thump!
I shot up from my seat and grabbed the Saint's hand.
“Rudeness? Your Holiness, you risked your very life for me, a non-believer! How could I possibly denigrate such grace by calling it rude!”
“H-huh?! M-my hand...”
“If you hadn't helped me, I would have met my end at the executioner's block. I am the one who should be repaying this kindness, sob...!”
I squeezed out some fake tears.
The Saint's Rosary.
Based on the description alone, it was the best Epic-grade item I had obtained so far.
Moreover, a rosary personally consecrated by the Saint was an object whose value couldn't be measured, even setting aside its performance as an artifact.
A reaction like this was the least I could do.
“I will surely repay this kindness one day!”
“N-no... y-you're touching my hand...”
After that, I spent a good while expressing my gratitude with all my might.
The Saint said something in the middle of it, but I was too distracted by her face, which was flushed red as a ripe persimmon, to hear her.
She didn't say anything else after the investigation ended, so it probably wasn't important.
What was stranger was the Saint's reaction. She abruptly ended the investigation, claiming she suddenly felt unwell.
With that much divine power, shouldn't it be harder for her to get sick at all?
Well, if that's what she said, it would be weird for me to question it.
After the investigation concluded, I left the reception room and went to find a priest to restock on holy water while waiting for Noel's questioning to finish.
Since I was buying mostly top-grade items, just a few bottles cost me billions.
‘Did I buy too much...?’
It wasn't that I was out of money, but most of my assets were physical—gold bars, jewels, and gold coins—so I was short on cash.
But converting them to cash was a problem in itself.
Without a proper record of entering a gate, they could be treated as stolen goods.
For now, my only options were to ask Grandma Choi Young-ok to exchange them for me or to enter a suitable gate.
Sighing inwardly at the constant stream of problems, I contacted Kim Yujun and Yang Suho.
The Saint would probably handle it, but just in case.
I warned them not to mention the apostle contract, no matter what.
Whether they were quick on the uptake or not, neither of them asked why.
After waiting for about twenty minutes, Noel came out of the reception room.
Unlike me, it seemed Noel had only been asked a series of formal questions.
The Association's investigation was scheduled for tomorrow, so we headed straight home.
“Ah! Master, the phone!”
“Ah.”
I almost forgot.
We stopped by a nearby store and got Noel a new phone.
The process was surprisingly complicated and took quite a while, but Noel seemed satisfied.
Afterward, Noel and I returned home, and I immediately opened the shop and bought the ‘Heavenly Flower Moon Shadow Sword (天花月影劍)’.
[Heavenly Flower Moon Shadow Sword (天花月影劍)
Grade: Unique
A martial art created by the Sword Empress (劍后) Yu Harin, who gained enlightenment after seeing her own shadow cast by the moonlight while admiring the blooming plum blossoms on a spring night with a full moon. It is rooted in Mount Hua's Moon Shadow Sword (月影劍) and is currently a lost art.]
I didn't get many coins since most of the monsters in the last gate were familiars of that demon worshipper, but I had enough to buy this.
I could make several copies and give them to my women.
Like Cheon Yeo-hwa, Yoo Sowol, or Sylvia.
“Hmm, what should I do with this...”
I took out a large, magnificent green antler from my inventory.
[Millennium Deer Antler
Grade: Epic
The horn of a male unicorn that has lived for a thousand years. Consuming it allows one to seduce female unicorns.]
Going by the description alone, I had no idea what the hell I was supposed to do with this thing.
But an item's description wasn't everything.
“They say unicorn horns are good for virility, right?”
Of course, I was already overflowing with virility, but for a man, it was a case of the more, the better.
I briefly considered looking up how to brew deer antler online, but this thing was surprisingly soft. It seemed I could just chew on it.
Of course, a normal person would probably break their teeth.
‘With my bite force, enhanced by internal energy and mana, couldn't I rival a tiger?’
I wasn't entirely sure.
Crunch—
I put the horn in my mouth and chewed.
Hmm, it felt like eating cartilage.
As expected, it had no taste.
“Master...? What are you doing right now...”
“It's good for virility.”
“Hurry up and eat it. Should I feed it to you?”
Ha, her intentions were so transparent. Just like a rabbit in heat.
It took about five minutes to finish the horn. It wasn't an elixir, so I didn't need to perform any special Qi circulation, which was convenient.
‘Did it get better?’
I'd have to conduct a detailed performance test later tonight.
Now, all that was left was to train in my new martial art, the ‘Crimson Cloud Thunder Art (赤雲翻雷功)’.
But before that.
“...Should I go see my master? It's been a while.”
That pure white fur and those sharp eyes... I suddenly missed my master.
I thought about taking Noel with me, but it seemed difficult to pull the rabbit away from her new phone, so I headed to the dojo alone.
*
“Thank you for your hard work.”
At the back door of the temple, the archbishop who had come to see her off alone bowed his head.
“You've worked hard as well, Your Eminence.”
Ellyn also bowed her head slightly and got into the vehicle.
The car she was in headed towards her lodgings along the wide-open road.
The night scenery of Seoul flew by.
‘Haa...’
Ellyn stared blankly at the view, sighing inwardly.
Contrary to her original plan, the investigation of those involved in the incident had ended late at night, so her departure had been postponed until tomorrow.
Of course, that wasn't a big issue. It wasn't uncommon for schedules to deviate from the plan.
Besides, spending a day somewhere outside the Holy See was a very fresh experience for her.
It was something that happened maybe once a year.
Normally, she would have been humming a tune in anticipation of the hotel meal, but not today.
‘His hand... it was so big and firm...’
The events of the day kept replaying in her mind.
It felt as if the warmth and texture she had felt then still lingered.
Her cheeks, which had turned red without her realizing, were hot as if she had a fever.
‘...It was my first time.’
To be precise, it was the first time she had held a man's hand while in her female form.
It had been twelve years since she and her younger sister were taken in by the Pope after wandering the slums.
From that day until now, she had always lived as a man.
It always felt suffocating, like wearing clothes that didn't fit.
Fearing someone might see, she couldn't even take off the ring while she slept.
At first, she thought it wouldn't be difficult.
But as five years turned into ten, it became a heavy burden that pressed down on her.
Yet, she couldn't confide in anyone.
The only ones who knew she was a woman were the Pope and her younger sister, Elysia.
The Pope was certainly a good person, but whenever the topic of her male disguise came up, he became frighteningly strict.
After being severely scolded as a child, she found herself unable to bring it up again.
And she couldn't tell her younger sister because she worried about the guilt her sister would feel.
After all, she was the one who had chosen to live her entire life disguised as a man in her sister's place.
‘Hoo...’
As always, Ellyn swallowed her frustration alone.
She looked up at the unusually bright night sky.
But today, she was quite different from her usual self.
It wasn't the expression of someone forcing themselves to endure hardship.
‘...I wanted to hold his hand, just one more time.’
It was the look of someone who seemed to be longing for something.