Pope Maria Queenpin (1)
- Hiss...
What the hell is this?
No matter how heavy-handed the goddess's interventions get,
she's not the type to mercilessly confiscate holy power on a whim.
I never dreamed Queenpin, the Pope herself, would throw her body on the line like this to protect a wooden goddess statue.
It makes me feel kinda silly for fretting that the one May gave me might get scratched.
"N-no, not this child. For my sake if nothing else, please... just this once, withdraw your wrath..."
"Anyone hearing this would think I'd done something awful to you, Your Holiness."
I let out an awkward chuckle, not knowing what else to do, and numbly extended my hand to her.
But Queenpin didn't take it and stand. Instead, she trembled even harder, handing the goddess statue back to me with the utmost care.
"Lady Valoa is just sixteen years old! It was ignorance that led to this blasphemy, so please... please show mercy!"
"...You're talking to the goddess, right?"
At my dazed question, Queenpin bowed her head even deeper instead of answering.
She looked just like a priest begging mercy before an angry deity, which only made my position here even more awkward.
"......"
I have no idea how things spiraled this far.
But staying silent isn't the smart play here.
One wrong move, and Valoa could end up like Joachim and the priests before her—stripped of her holy power by the goddess.
Times like this, I've gotta step up as the one in the middle.
"Ahem. Calm down first."
I took the statue from her and spoke as steadily as I could.
"Seems like there's a big misunderstanding. The goddess isn't that ruthless."
Only then did Queenpin cautiously lift her fluttering eyelids at my quiet words.
She drew a ragged breath, throat bobbing as she swallowed hard.
"The goddess surely knows how vital Lady Valoa is to this world."
She's not just anyone—she's the top elite candidate for next saintess, groomed by the Holy Haven Papal State.
Sure, the demon stigma made her act out a bit extremely,
but you can't deny her potential and faith entirely.
"Besides, I'm not gonna get offended or pissed over something this minor."
"Lady Vivian..."
I kept my voice even, recalling all the chaos I'd faced just getting to the Papal State.
Queenpin, Valoa—even Lumina, who had slipped out of the prayer room to silently watch—held their breath, staring at me intently.
"Th-thank you... truly, thank you..."
"No need for thanks. I'm sorry for causing the commotion."
Somehow, we smoothed things over.
I let out a small sigh of relief, my head drooping with the weight lifting off my shoulders—right then.
- Tick
A familiar yellow orb lay plump at my feet.
"...?"
What?
Isn't this a holy power orb?
Joachim's got turned into material for Lumina's sword and vanished.
So why's one rolling around here out of nowhere?
"Beatrice Valoa, what in the world do you think you're doing?"
"Y-Your Holiness..."
"I told you explicitly: never set foot in the prayer room."
This makes no sense.
Is it Valoa's holy power?
No way.
The goddess knows better than anyone how crucial Valoa is to this world.
Which leaves...
"I-I've committed a mortal sin, Your Holiness...!!"
"You're lucky Lady Vivian showed mercy. You nearly caused a disaster."
"I just... I couldn't accept a demon—humanity's enemy—becoming a saintess..."
"That doesn't justify defying the goddess's will. Was your faith so flimsy it crumbled to mere prejudice?"
Queenpin.
By process of elimination, everyone else here...
The owner of this orb at my feet had to be Pope Queenpin.
She did nothing wrong. Why her?
Joint liability or something?
"Lady Vivian is the goddess Freyja's messenger, noble enough to forge even a holy sword."
"H-holy... sword...?"
"Judging by your reaction, you hadn't heard that part."
Damn it.
I barely stopped Valoa's holy power from getting yanked,
and now something even worse happens.
How do I fix this absurdity?
Extracting the Pope of an entire nation's holy power? What the hell, goddess...
"Y-Your Holiness...!!"
As I stamped my feet in panic,
Captain Bella's urgent voice rang out from the prayer room entrance.
"How can Your Holiness, Pope of a nation, prostrate yourself on the floor like this?!"
Her voice was frantic, but her steps were cautious, her whole body quaking like a leaf.
In her arms, Lumina's Sword of Salvation rested like a priceless treasure.
"Please, maintain some dignity!"
Everyone's eyes flicked to the entrance at Bella's dramatic arrival.
Seizing the moment, I bent down quick, snatched the orb at my feet, and stuffed it into my bosom.
Proper thing would be to return it to Queenpin right now, consequences be damned.
But sadly, once holy power solidifies into an orb, it never returns to its owner.
Joachim proved that.
"Ah, Captain Bella..."
"My heart nearly stopped. How can you be so reckless?"
"Sorry. It was just so urgent, I..."
Standing beside Queenpin at last, Bella exhaled shortly in relief.
"Please be more careful next time. Seeing Your Holiness throw yourself on this cold floor... it breaks our hearts."
"Captain, you're exaggerating. This body is perfectly fine—no need to worry."
Good to hear she's unhurt.
But... why's she so calm?
Her holy power got pulled out—hasn't she noticed?
"......"
No, impossible.
Even Joachim, far beneath the Pope, noticed instantly when his holy power vanished.
Queenpin couldn't possibly miss it from her own body.
"Lady Valoa."
"...Yes?"
"Did you lose your holy power by any chance?"
While Queenpin and Bella talked, I sidled up to Valoa and whispered carefully.
"N-no... it's still inside me, fine."
She shook her head weakly, face pale.
Not Queenpin, not Valoa—leaves Lumina and Bella.
Lumina already absorbed holy power from me, and Bella wasn't even here.
"Hmm."
"I-is something wrong...?"
Maybe it was Queenpin's desperate slide.
Valoa's earlier bravado had deflated completely, hitting rock bottom.
Well, who'd keep their fire after the Pope goes that hard?
She looked a bit pitiful all wilted, but that's not the priority now.
"No, nothing."
Beats me.
Didn't drop from the sky.
Has to be from someone's body.
But the top two suspects feel no change.
Whose is it, then?
"...Ah."
As I racked my brain,
a thought flashed through my mind.
Me?!
If no one here owns it, that leaves only me.
Why didn't I think of that sooner?
Why'd I rule myself out from the start?
"......"
I placed my hands gently on my chest and peered inward.
Faintly, I sensed the murky demon mana clashing with a warm, alien energy.
- Scratch...
Huh, no real change?
Holy power inside feels the same.
I figured maybe I messed up somehow and lost some,
but if not... then what?
"Anyway, Beatrice Valoa. We'll hold you strictly accountable for this."
"Y-yes?!"
"Thanks to Lady Vivian's mercy, we avoided the worst—losing your holy power—but you nearly endangered the entire Papal State."
"N-no way..."
Queenpin's cool, firm declaration drained the color from Valoa's face.
Bella nodded gravely too, adjusting her careful grip on the sword in her arms.
"Steel yourself. This won't be brushed off lightly."
...Yeah, no clue.
Queenpin shows zero reaction.
Valoa flat-out denied it.
No point agonizing further.
"L-lies... I just wanted the best for the Papal State... no, for all humanity's future..."
"Silence, Beatrice Valoa! Who do you think you're making excuses to?!"
Valoa mumbled weakly, and Bella instantly raised her voice, frowning fiercely.
But moments later—
"Um... sorry to interrupt the lecture, but can I ask something real quick?"
All eyes snapped to me at my sudden question.
Queenpin, Bella, Lumina.
Even Valoa, slumped on the floor, looked up at me with teary eyes.
Still, I blinked calmly and pressed on steadily.
"I just picked up this orb. No idea whose it is, no matter how I think about it."
I pulled the holy power orb from my bosom and held it out plainly.
In that instant, the prayer room air froze, as if time itself had stopped.
"If the owner doesn't show in thirty minutes, I'm putting this orb into Lumina's Sword of Salvation."