Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Audience with the Moon Pope
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The next place I headed to was, naturally, the knights' quarters where the captains were staying. I had to explain the situation first. And I needed to let them know that this time, I had to move alone.
The knight captains wanted to come along but couldn't. They didn't have the Rune of Repose in the Abyss, after all.
The knight captains, who had thought I'd only been discussing runes with Selene up until now, wore expressions of utter bewilderment the moment they heard my words.
It was understandable enough.
Just a few hours earlier, this guy had soloed a rune dungeon and come back, and now, after taking my eyes off him for a moment, he was saying he'd go subjugate the monster in the underground of the Holy Nation. How could they not be stunned?
Lize's expression, in particular, was beyond words. Since I owed her a debt in my heart, I couldn't even properly meet her gaze and averted my eyes.
"Delta."
Lize called my name. I flinched and cautiously lifted my head. Her blue eyes gleamed far more sharply than usual. It wasn't an angry expression, but that only made me more tense.
"We'll trust you to the end. You'll surely come back safe and sound. I don't know how amazing this secret you've been hiding so tightly is, but you've managed it so far."
But.
She added those words.
"Don't try to shoulder everything alone. That's not what we want at all. Not me, not Erika, not Iris, not Claudia. We can help with whatever you're doing, anytime. Sometimes, lean on us too. Got it?"
Given all the things I'd done up to now, I quietly nodded. If I reflected on the antics I'd pulled in front of the knight captains, I wouldn't have anything to say even if I had a hundred mouths.
I'd caused all sorts of bizarre incidents and brushed them off with a single word: secret. How I knew about the monster underground in the Holy Nation was, naturally, also a secret. So my conscience couldn't help but prick at me.
Moreover, the knight captains weren't just rebuking or criticizing me—they were saying those things out of genuine worry. What could I even say when they were worried about me?
"You seem to be hiding quite a lot."
"......"
Selene uttered words that could be praise or insult with her usual expressionless face. At a glance, it sounded sarcastic, but given her personality, it might really have been meant as praise.
Leaving the knight captains' own farewells behind, I headed to the Grand Cathedral of the Sun. The area in front was still crowded with people offering prayers to the Pope of the Sun.
Among them, some occasionally recognized Selene and greeted her. Of course, Selene ignored every single greeting and passed by. The people who were ignored didn't seem to mind at all.
"It's this way, honored guest."
As we circled to the back of the grand cathedral, Stella, who had been waiting beside a door radiating brilliant sunlight, walked toward us.
"I've only informed His Holiness the Pope that the honored guest has something to say. Convincing His Holiness is up to you."
"That should be enough. Thank you, Inquisitor."
"Save the thanks. I'm in just as desperate a position. Finally, a lifeline worth calling hope has appeared, so I have to cling to it with everything I've got."
Stella's face bore her usual beaming smile as she said that, but it was laced with a heavy bitterness. Overall, it was an incredibly wry smile.
Stella must have been through a lot mentally too. The Pope of the Sun was struggling to find a way to save her sister, and the time when the Pope of the Moon had to sacrifice herself was drawing ever closer, with no solution in sight.
"Come back safe, honored guest. I'll be waiting."
"We pray for good results."
Receiving farewells from Stella and Selene, I stepped into the glowing door.
I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them, and just like last time, sunlight streamed through the golden stained glass, illuminating a woman gazing down from the high staircase.
With sunlight pouring in behind her, her luxuriantly abundant golden hair overlapped with it, creating what looked exactly like a halo.
"Welcome, honored guest."
Floretta smiled benevolently and began descending the stairs step by step.
Her outfit was still outrageously revealing. The intimate areas covered only by thin straps weren't exposed, but the exposure level was so high that it hardly mattered.
Her enormous breasts, which seemed like they would jiggle with a "plump plump" sound with every movement, were as prominent as ever. To avoid looking elsewhere, I desperately locked eyes with Floretta.
Even then, I couldn't help the shaking breasts at the edge of my vision. With nothing but ultra-thin see-through fabric and a single opaque strap holding them in place, they jiggled far more than Lize's.
The Pope of the Sun, having descended the stairs, came right up to me. Since she was shorter than me, she naturally looked up at me while I looked down at her.
"I understand you have something to say to me."
"Yes. I came to ask a favor of Your Holiness."
"A favor... What kind of favor?"
"Would you teach me 'Eclipse'?"
"......"
A small crack appeared on that face, which had always borne only benevolent and merciful smiles. Floretta quickly smoothed over the crack and smiled benevolently again.
"I have no idea where you heard about Eclipse. You truly are remarkable."
Hehe, Floretta let out a small laugh. Even in that brief moment, her breasts jiggled up and down, assertively proclaiming their presence.
"If the honored guest desires it, I have no reason to refuse to teach you. However, may I attach one condition?"
"What condition?"
"What do you intend to use it for?"
Clack. The sound of high heels rang out. The distance between us, which had already been practically zero, shrank even further.
"Eclipse is a divine spell so sacred that even knowing of its existence is exceedingly rare. So, what do you intend to use such a spell for that you seek to learn it?"
Here it comes.
I took a deep breath, steeled my resolve, and looked straight into Floretta's eyes before opening my mouth.
"I intend to save the Pope of the Moon... no, Your Holiness's sister."
"......"
Crack. An enormous fissure appeared on Floretta's expression.
I exited through the same door I'd entered.
Stella and Selene shot me looks asking what happened. Without a word, I tapped my weapon. Stella's face lit up, and Selene's demeanor noticeably brightened.
The next target was the Pope of the Moon. This time, Selene led the way, with Stella and me following behind. As I trailed Selene, I recalled what had just happened.
Floretta had cried.
Casting aside her dignity as Pope, her position, her honor—becoming nothing but a little sister who cherished her older sister, she had sobbed like a child.
Right after hearing my words, she stammered in disbelief, but the moment I uttered the choice line from the game for convincing the Pope, she threw her arms around me and burst into tears.
The interpretation of the revelation. That was the persuasion tailored for Floretta.
A Pope—especially the Pope of the Sun, closer to the gods than anyone—could instinctively discern the truth of that interpretation, so there was no worry of being dismissed as a liar.
Even if the Pope of the Sun alone couldn't achieve a perfect interpretation, the player could. After all, one of the DLC storylines involved the player interpreting the contents of the revelation.
Normally, it required going through more complex quests, but I'd just skipped them all. I'd memorized all the variations of the revelation long ago.
Floretta, instinctively realizing my words were true, buried her face in my chest and sobbed for a long time, asking if she could really save her sister, if she truly didn't have to kill her with her own hands.
Later, her voice hoarse from crying so hard, she taught me Eclipse. And when I said I'd come back, she burst into tears again.
"This is the place."
Selene stopped in front of a massive cathedral. Like the Grand Cathedral of the Sun, it was an enormous building, but the color scheme was the complete opposite.
If the Grand Cathedral of the Sun was adorned with gold and jewels, the Grand Cathedral of the Moon was adorned with silver and platinum. Because of the materials, it exuded a much duskier atmosphere overall.
Everything else was the same. The outrageous size, the spires soaring as if to pierce the heavens.
Perhaps because it wasn't time for the moon to rise yet, unlike the Grand Cathedral of the Sun, there wasn't a single person praying around it, not even anyone passing by.
Selene led us to the back of the grand cathedral. A door gleaming silver, as if emitting moonlight, came into view. Stella and Selene stopped on either side of the door.
"Please enter, honored guest."
"We haven't informed the Pope of the Moon......"
"She has already sensed your presence. It would be a meaningless gesture."
Convinced, I stood before the silver door. Well, a Pope of the Moon wouldn't fail to notice someone entering her own grand cathedral.
And at this point, with no interference, it was as good as permission to enter. If she truly intended to refuse me, she would have blocked me long ago.
"Honored guest, may you return unharmed."
With Selene's concern, I stepped into the door emitting silvery-gray moonlight. Blinding light stabbed at my eyelids. I closed my eyes and kept walking.
Then, at some point, when the light before me faded, I slowly opened my eyes.
It was a space filled with silver.
The complete opposite of where the Pope of the Sun had been: a dim, cold room decorated with marble, silver, and platinum. It was clearly still daytime outside, but moonlight streamed through the stained glass.
"What brings you to this place?"
From atop the tall staircase at the center, a woman who had been standing with her back to me, gazing at the stained glass, spoke first. Her hair was quite abundant, though not as much as Floretta's.
She had an atmosphere that somehow overwhelmed people. It felt even more so because she made no effort to hide her hostility toward me. As I hesitated, the Pope of the Moon spoke again.
"I asked, what brings you to this place?"
Clack, clack. Accompanied by the sound of high heels, her body slowly turned. The silver hair cascading down her back rippled like a waterfall, catching the moonlight and shining an even more vivid silver.
Her violet eyes, gem-like in their beauty, fixed solely on me.
"Do you truly intend to refuse to answer?"