Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Choosing Dresses for the Popes
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‘I was wondering what kind of favor they wanted…’
They both had such serious expressions that I’d gotten tense right along with them, but it turned out they just wanted me to pick out dresses for the popes to wear to the upcoming banquet.
They also mentioned gifting formal attire for the knight captains while they were at it. The knight captains’ bodies stiffened rigidly at the mention of the popes personally gifting them dresses.
This was an event that didn’t exist in the original game—nor should it have—so I had no idea what might happen there. But since so many things were already twisted, I just shrugged it off.
From the start, taking down the DLC final boss wasn’t exactly normal progression. As long as the story’s main flow didn’t get derailed, it’d be fine. The rest would work itself out somehow.
We followed right behind Stella and Selene as we left the inn, and the battle nuns who’d been waiting outside immediately surrounded us. There had to be more than thirty of them, easily.
Walking like that naturally drew every eye. It felt like every person on the street was staring at us as they passed.
The battle nuns were fairly tall on average, but still shorter than Claudia or me, so the two of us got the full brunt of the attention. We exchanged wry smiles.
At least the heresy inquisitors kept people from staring outright.
“Inquisitor.”
I quietly called out to Stella. She turned her head the instant I spoke.
“Do you have something to say, honored guest?”
“What did you tell the nuns?”
“Pardon?”
Stella looked utterly baffled.
I repeated exactly what Lize had told me. Ever since I’d returned to the inn, they’d suddenly started insisting on helping her change clothes and the like, full of strange enthusiasm.
After hearing my explanation, Stella gave a troubled smile and fidgeted with her fingers.
“Ah… I’m sorry. They’re such devout girls. They must have followed my words a bit too faithfully.”
“What did you say to them?”
“His Holiness the Pope said to take special care of you honored guests, so I told them to be extra attentive.”
“…”
It clicked immediately why that had happened.
Right—if the pope himself said to look after us well, they’d invent volunteer work if they had to. And that’s how those behaviors cropped up.
Poke, poke. Someone was jabbing my side with a finger. I glanced down at my right arm. Lize was looking up at me with eyes demanding I spill what had happened later.
The other knight captains were much the same. Their stares screamed, *What kind of monster did you take down to get treated like this?* I ignored them as best I could, but the poking on my side intensified.
How long had we been walking like that when Selene suddenly stopped? Before I knew it, we stood before an incredibly ornate building.
“We’ve arrived.”
“This place is…?”
“It’s the foundation that crafts the finest holy garments. We’ve borrowed it just for today for Your Holinesses, so please relax.”
*Borrowed just for today*—did that mean we’d be stuck here all day? A sudden chill ran down my spine.
Stella and Selene courteously opened the door for us, and the battle nuns knelt on one knee with bowed heads. Unable to bear the weight of it, we hurried inside.
The interior was staggeringly lavish. Gold and jewels symbolizing the sun, silver and marble evoking the moon—all were used in abundance. It was overwhelming just to take it all in.
For all its extravagance, it didn’t feel over the top. Instead, it seemed perfectly harmonious, as if it could be no other way.
“You’ve arrived, honored guests.”
“We thank you for indulging our request.”
The popes greeted us with smiles. Their holy garments still boasted insane exposure levels, and the way their breasts swayed—proving they wore no undergarments—caught the eye first.
“We greet Your Holinesses.”
The knight captains bowed their heads in respect. Lize unfolded her arms and bowed as well.
Floretta took the chance to beam and wave at me. Beside her, Luna awkwardly mimicked her with a shy smile. Her smiles still didn’t come easy.
I waved back the same way. Standing on ceremony here would just embarrass the popes who’d greeted us so casually. I could see Luna’s cheeks faintly flush.
Once we’d exchanged greetings, the popes’ expressions turned solemn. Luna’s lightly flushed cheeks quickly returned to normal.
“Please raise your heads, brave captains of the Silver Dawn Knights. We did not come here to stand on ceremony.”
“W-We couldn’t possibly…”
Even after Floretta insisted several times that it was fine—and with Luna joining in—the knight captains finally lifted their heads hesitantly. It really drove home the weight of the title “Pope of the Holy Kingdom.”
“The reason we summoned you honored guests has surely been explained by the inquisitor and interrogator. It is to gift you attire for the banquet.”
“Y-Your Holiness, it’s truly not necessary. We can attend in our uniforms…”
Claudia raised her hand with an awkward, hesitant gesture and spoke. Hearing “uniforms,” I scanned the knight captains’ outfits in order.
I’d known for a while that the Silver Dawn Knights’ uniform was a white sleeveless top paired with dolphin pants the color of their hair, but the phrasing still didn’t sit right.
Floretta smiled kindly and let out a soft “Fufu.”
“We fully understand your sentiments, but the matter has already been decided within the Holy Kingdom. Surely you wouldn’t want to let our sincerity go to waste?”
With the pope putting it that way, Claudia couldn’t very well refuse further and backed down. The other knight captains wore similar resigned expressions.
They were probably just overwhelmed. All four of them were too kind-hearted to accept such excessive favor without batting an eye.
“This way.”
The popes led us much deeper inside. Holy garments of every kind hung on special racks lining the corridor, like transparent mannequins.
The clothes here were far from ordinary. They started somewhat normal but grew increasingly outrageous in exposure the farther in we went.
The fabric shrank, and undergarments vanished. By the corridor’s end, the outfits on the mannequins had so little material, I doubted it could cover even one of my arms if pieced together.
‘…Didn’t the knight captains wear stuff like that?’
I thought back to the sheer lingerie dresses they’d worn to the banquet and the holy garments we’d just passed. Which had more exposure? Conclusion: about the same.
That thought eased my mind a bit. It was ridiculous even to me. Maybe my tolerance for women’s exposed skin was rising.
At the corridor’s end lay a vast circular chamber. The nuns waiting inside dropped flat to the floor upon seeing us. When one lifted her head, the pope gestured.
“Show them.”
“As you command, Your Holiness.”
The women approached the curtained wall with graceful movements. The curtains parted carefully, revealing a lineup of dresses in every style.
They’d prepared thoroughly—at least thirty, conservatively. And that was a minimum, with another curtain beyond.
And every one had very modest coverage.
Dresses exposing just a bit of arm, collarbone, or shoulder were the most revealing. Most reached the ankles, with tops buttoned tight, showing almost no skin.
Of course, that didn’t mean they were plain. They were dazzling enough to hold their own anywhere. It was just that the exposure level was way off from what I’d expected.
“Since you honored guests lack holy power, we prepared dresses that cover the body as much as possible. However, if you desire, we can provide the same sacred garments as ours. Shall we?”
At Floretta’s words, one nun pulled back another curtain. There stood dresses far more revealing than the ones just shown.
‘So that’s why the Holy Kingdom’s women dress like…’
Floretta’s words explained why the women here covered up so tightly. It wasn’t that they didn’t undress—they *couldn’t*. To wear more revealing clothes, they needed that much more faith.
It explained the popes’ absurd sheer dresses and why Stella and Selene’s outfits exposed more than the other battle nuns’.
The greater the power, the more skin shown— this world never failed to leap past my wildest imaginings.
“N-No, that’s fine, Your Holiness. How could we dare wear holy garments? The dresses you’ve shown are more than enough.”
Erica stammered her reply. She seemed to accept without issue that exposure scaled with holy power.
“Very well, then. Please choose your dresses now.”
At Floretta’s cue, the nuns around us swarmed the knight captains, chattering away. The area erupted in noise instantly.
The knight captains, unused to such commotion, looked utterly dazed. The nuns practically dragged them toward the dresses.
Swish. The curtains closed again.
“…”
Naturally, I was left standing alone.
But I didn’t feel lonely at all. The nuns’ nonstop chatter filtered through the curtains loud and clear—escaping that madhouse was blessing enough.
As I inwardly sighed in relief, Floretta approached with a bright smile. Luna trailed timidly behind.
“You have a separate task, honored guest.”
“…A task?”
The two popes each grabbed one of my arms. Squish. The bare sensation of their cleavage pressed against my biceps.
“You must choose our holy garments.”