Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: The Sun Pope, Floretta
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Her golden blonde hair was so vibrant it could rival the sun itself, cascading down in such abundance that it seemed it could wrap around her entire body and still have plenty left over, flaunting its lushness in every direction.
The ends of her hair trailed nearly to the floor, while neatly parted bangs framed her forehead on either side, fully exposing it.
Between her eyelids, emerald-green eyes sparkled with a refreshing clarity, as if they held the full essence of verdant foliage. Around her neck hung an ornament embedded with a gem matching the color of her eyes.
Her appearance was striking enough on its own, but what truly left me speechless was the woman's attire.
It was clothing so sheer it was practically see-through, leaving more skin exposed from her shoulders to her toes than covered. Even Stella's nun outfit had been quite revealing, but this woman took it to another level.
Collarbone, upper arms, cleavage, breasts, abdomen, sides, navel, hips, lower belly, thighs—every spot my eyes landed was essentially as bare as if she were naked.
No, even if she had stripped off every last piece and stood there completely nude, it probably would have seemed less lewd than that outfit.
Her breasts, thrust forward as if on full display, were as massive as Lize's. They were so full that her upper arms were partially obscured by the swell of sideboob.
The only thing covering her vital areas was a single strip of gossamer-thin fabric. It draped down from behind her neck to lightly veil her breasts, then converged at her lower abdomen to conceal her most intimate region.
And that fabric was so perilously thin that even the undersides of her buttocks peeked out slightly between her thighs—need I say more?
With an outfit like that, there was no way she was wearing underwear.
No trace of any undergarments was visible in the deep valley of her cleavage, right up to the brink of exposing her nipples, and nothing showed between the garter belt hugging her hips and iliac crests either.
In other words, the only clothing on her body was that near-transparent sheer fabric, a single opaque strip narrower than her own forearm, plus a garter belt and stockings. That was it.
Even I, who thought I'd seen every outrageous outfit imaginable, was struck dumb by this one.
Not even the sheer dresses worn by the knight commanders at banquets had exposed vital areas so brazenly, and Aurora's dress had been the same.
"I have been longing to see you."
The Pope greeted us with a smile.
Overwhelmed by the innate elegance and aura emanating from her, compounded by the sheer presence of what could barely be called clothing, I could only stand there stammering incoherently, utterly unable to speak.
Looks alone weren't the issue. Step out on any street, and you'd trip over beautiful women. Major NPCs, in particular, were off-the-charts existences that made "beauty" seem like an understatement.
But that absurd getup was something I couldn't even fathom.
Reminding myself that this, too, was a custom creation by the modders, I had to concede that human creativity always surpassed imagination.
"Delta? Should we head in—"
The knight commanders reacted much like I did.
Iris froze solid upon entering and catching sight of the Pope. Claudia, Lize, and Erika, filing in behind her, met the same fate.
Without their armor, their expressions were plain to see. According to Stella, wearing helmets in the Pope's presence was blasphemous in itself.
But the emotions they felt seemed entirely different from mine.
While I was shocked by the impossible exposure of the Pope's sacred robes, they were awestruck by the overwhelming grace and holiness radiating from her.
"Welcome. Captain of the Silver Dawn Knights, and all of you as well—I bid you welcome in the name of the Sun."
The Pope took light steps forward. Her robes fluttered at the hem, her breasts bouncing heavily with the motion. The fabric crossing her body to cover her vitals swayed back and forth.
Despite all that movement, it was clear the fabric wasn't fixed in place anywhere—yet her private areas never once came into view.
"First, allow me to introduce myself."
Stopping about ten paces from us, the Pope spread her arms wide before drawing them together in front of her lower abdomen, flashing a bright smile. It was a paradoxical expression, both cute and mature.
"My name is Floretta Evangelina."
A halo erupted behind her, blazing even brighter. The light was so intense I instinctively raised a hand to shield my eyes. Squinting through my fingers, I peered at the woman called Floretta.
"I am known as the Sun Pope of the Holy Kingdom of Raphaella."
The very heart of the Holy Kingdom, the Vicar of God herself—the Sun Pope—stood right before us.
"Have your hearts settled a bit now?"
Floretta gazed at us with a benevolent smile. Just seeing it moved the knight commanders deeply, their faces alight with emotion. They paid no mind to her attire whatsoever.
I wanted to ask what they thought of her outfit, but holding a petty chat among ourselves in front of the Pope would surely be the height of rudeness, so I swallowed the urge.
"You must be the one Stella spoke of."
Her emerald eyes turned to me.
"...You knew?"
"How could I not?"
The Pope let out a soft, "Fufu." Even that simple gesture overflowed with elegance. If not for that insane outfit, she would have perfectly embodied the office of Sun Pope.
"For the rudeness committed by the Heresy Inquisitor, I, Floretta Evangelina, apologize on her behalf."
Her head dipped slightly forward. Before we could recover from our surprise and try to stop her, it had already lifted back up.
Erika spoke up in a faltering voice.
"Y-Your Holiness need not bow your head to us..."
"Rank and status are irrelevant, Captain of the Silver Dawn Knights. What matters is who committed the wrong. I have wronged you as well, so seeking forgiveness is only proper."
"Wronged us... how?"
"Do you recall the actions of Inquisitor Stella?"
Claudia, Lize, and Erika flinched in unison. So did I. Of course I remembered. It was the kind of memory you'd never forget, no matter how hard you tried.
The battle nuns stripping naked en masse right in front of us under the guise of heresy detection, and then forcing my hands onto their breasts—how could anyone forget that?
"It was I who tipped off the Heresy Inquisitor that you had unleashed a demon. And it was I who, even after sensing the demon's presence had vanished, ordered the holy crusade nonetheless. Now do you understand my sin?"
I'd half-expected as much.
In the game, the Heresy Inquisitor answered solely to the Sun Pope's commands. Conversely, the Heresy Interrogators bowed only to the Moon Pope.
For the Inquisitor to leave the Papal Court and invade imperial territory? Only one person on the entire continent could issue such an order.
"I will not deny my fault. However, might you understand that it was an unavoidable choice?"
"...Unavoidable how?"
"To fully dispel the Heresy Inquisitor's suspicions toward you, it was essential."
The smile on Floretta's lips faded slightly.
"Poor child. Her parents were sacrificed before her eyes to demon worshippers, and she alone was barely rescued, devoting herself to the divine will ever since. How could someone like me presume to imagine the hatred and resentment she harbors toward demons?"
I'd heard snippets of that backstory before. It matched the game's lore perfectly.
The Inquisitor's penchant for torturing demon worshippers stemmed partly from personal taste, but also from childhood trauma—half revenge for her parents.
Of course, as an NPC who treated players with holy or divine power stats below a certain threshold like absolute trash, plenty of users despised her regardless of her tragic past.
"Not long ago, you were all connected to a demon."
No point denying it, so I nodded calmly. The knight commanders, embarrassed to admit demonic ties before the Pope, blushed and nodded more timidly.
"Though faint, the scent of demon still clings to you. An ordinary believer might miss it, but our cathedral's battle nuns or the Heresy Inquisitor would surely detect it."
"And now it's purified and gone, since we've met Your Holiness."
"You knew? How astonishing."
Floretta beamed at me with overflowing compassion. It was a detail the game hammered home endlessly after slaying a demon boss and talking to the Pope—impossible not to know.
I'd planned to stay quiet until she brought it up, but the knight commanders' faces darkened so quickly that I spoke first.
Even if it had no real effect on them, having a demonic scent on your body was never a good thing. Must have creeped them out bad.
"Had you first encountered the Heresy Inquisitor within the Holy Kingdom, the fallout would have been far worse. Rather than starting with heresy detection, they would have charged in blindly, convinced demon worshippers had infiltrated, and sought to purge you without hesitation."
True enough. They'd only attempted detection because we'd met outside. Inside the Holy Kingdom? No detection—just straight to extermination.
Either they got wiped out, or we all died. Fight to the finish.
"Thus, it was necessary to clear the misunderstanding before entering the Holy Kingdom, and I ordered the crusade to meet you myself. I could have simply declared you non-heretics directly, but reaching me inevitably meant passing through her first—making it counterproductive."
'...Huh?'
Hold on. Something's off.
"Your Holiness. May I ask one thing?"
"Of course. What troubles you?"
"Why is it a given that we're coming to the Holy Kingdom?"
She'd said it so matter-of-factly I'd almost glossed over it. Her words all presupposed our arrival there.
We would visit, sure. But not until the main story hit the late game.
The only worthwhile item from the Holy Kingdom was an enchant-type divine spell from the Sun or Moon Pope quests. Everything else was pointless.
I wasn't building a priest build anyway.
"You noticed?"
Floretta's smile bloomed even brighter. She began walking toward us, her high heels clicking rhythmically through the space. Her breasts swayed softly with each step.
Reaching me, she gently took my hand in both of hers, smiling warmly.
"Because I wanted to meet you."