Chapter 282
Chapter 282
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 282
Chapter Title: Where Divinity Leads
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Holy City Trumpet Hall.
From the towering spire of a grand palace overlooking the faithful below, a child in ornate robes and an adult were chatting amiably.
If they shared one thing, it was that their gold-embossed garments suited them not one bit.
The Pope's vestments on the child were oversized, with sleeves dangling loose, and the heavy jewelry and massive crown seemed less "worn" and more "hung" upon him.
The adult, too, wore a finely tailored hero's uniform, but his clear discomfort made it look awkward and stifling.
Though their situations differed, the pair shared similar woes, and they vented them on a refreshing gust of wind.
"The more I learn, the heavier the crown feels. Part of me thinks I shouldn't be Pope at all... but another part says I must work hard to become someone worthy of it..."
"You're doing just fine. You learned your letters faster than me, and now you even speak better. That's leagues ahead of an incompetent hero."
"But Finn, so many people praise your name? You're a splendid hero."
"That's... exactly the problem..."
They were none other than the little Pope and Hero Finn.
Despite gaining immense authority as one of the three pillars of the massive Goddess Church, Finn's head was filled with utterly mundane worries. When could he retire? Did his hero stint even count as experience?
No... if he wrote "former hero" on a mercenary guild application. It'd probably snowball into trouble again.
Specifically, something like, "You were a hero? Then you must be strong! Go slay that ogre for us!"
Maybe he should change his name. To something like Pink...
As Finn grumbled inwardly, his reputation as a hero was surprisingly solid. Amid the purge of all fallen hero candidates, he'd stood alone—a "proof of purity" that bolstered his religious standing.
And his humble conduct had made him a model for many.
Thus, the little Pope thought: If Finn could handle the heavy hero's role so well, maybe she could become worthy of the Pope's seat by following his example.
Gazing up at Finn longingly, eager to grow up, the little Pope asked,
"Hero, how did you become a hero? How can I fulfill my duties properly?"
"...I never wanted the hero gig."
"But you haven't quit, have you? If it were truly too burdensome, you could pass it on and step down. I think that's admirable, Finn."
No, that was because...
The pink-haired agent had threatened to kill him if he didn't.
He couldn't quit, not that he wouldn't.
But the innocent boy lacked the experience to pierce Finn's tangled circumstances. With no cardinals pinching his side in sight, he assumed it was all Finn's own will.
His eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Seeing you bear the weight and shoulder the responsibility, even while grumbling... it gives me such great, great... Hee, hing?"
"...great strength. Thank you always, Hero Finn. I'll muster my courage like you and become a wonderful Pope!"
"........."
Wide-eyed and sparkling.
Hero Finn broke into a cold sweat under that gaze.
Better to stay uninvolved after all...
He'd first met the little Pope while being introduced to the church's top figures. If only he'd played dumb then, but he'd heard the story from Saintess Tara.
Manipulated like a puppet by old, ugly cardinals, the child's tender skin was bruised, and he could barely speak properly.
Saintess Tara and her aide Niore had tried to care for him, but they were swamped—hunting scattered corrupt cardinals, reforming systems, buried in endless tasks.
So, though Finn bore the hero title, as a mere figurehead with time to spare, he decided to look after the little Pope himself.
Visiting daily to eat together.
Calling priests for reading lessons.
And per the old adage that work alone doesn't raise a child right, handing him sticks for tag or hide-and-seek.
Before long, they'd grown too close.
The little Pope was a genius. A short chat revealed his brilliance; now he even communed directly with the Goddess. Finn, by contrast? Just an ordinary guy saddled with the hero role by rotten luck.
Unequal stations. Like nobles and commoners not dining together, a Pope and a mercenary scrub couldn't share a table. Even so...
"Finn, what tradition shall we study today...? Oh, if you're busy like Tara, piled with work, I'll read in the library."
"I'm never busy. Today, we'll learn the wisdom of ancient saints through a treasure hunt."
"Ah, the tale of Saint Virtuoso! I can't wait!"
"...Y-yeah, Virtu-whatever. That's the one. I hid paper cranes all over the palace on my way here—find them before the priestesses clean them up!"
"......!!"
The little Pope flitted about the spire entrance in a panic. Eager to search but too young for ladders unaided.
Like a glitched game character spinning in circles, Finn hoisted the little Pope on his back and descended.
Yeah... how could he leave a kid this eager to play?
Just... a few more months like this. Once Bennett, Tara, and Niore solidified their power base, the holy city's unrest settled, and the kid grew a bit more.
Then plenty would care for the Pope without him, and Finn could shed the hero mantle for mercenary life.
But reality is cruel.
Soon, Hero Finn received this from the Goddess:
"U-um... Hero Finn. The Goddess asks if you'll be my grand guardian. But what's a grand guardian? A big axe?"
"........."
The Pope's grand guardian. Daunting on paper, but...
If it just meant playmate to one kid, why not? Finn accepted—and sealed his place in history.
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"Hero Finn, right? Punctual as ever, haha... You arrived right on the dot."
The sky-blue-haired man scratched his shaggy head with a timid expression, greeting Finn familiarly. He looked like a kindly uncle at a glance, but...
His name was Dakiten Julius. Former cardinal, former field priest, and now...
"Hello, Cardinal Dakiten... Why the summons today?"
"The Saintess will explain."
He was a man who'd reclaimed his cardinal seat thanks to the reformists' meteoric rise.
Finn sat cautiously in an empty chair, awaiting the leads. Unlike his nominal hero title, these three truly gripped the Goddess Church's core.
Thud, thud. Overlapping footsteps echoed as the door opened.
And they appeared—woman-man-woman—arms linked in unison. Anyone else might call it an eyesore, but Finn knew they were monsters. Terrified of eye contact, he bowed his head.
『Saintess』 Tara.
Stripped of her saintess title by the Goddess, yet she extracted holy power from others to keep up the act (per the little Pope). Once famous for skimpy outfits, she'd toned it down lately.
『Saintess Adjutant』 Niore Restman.
She seemed a kindly woman with one overly prominent feature, but she'd orchestrated the holy city's 『Great Purge』. Her keen eyes had instantly rooted out the ousted cardinals' remnants.
『Sword of the Saintess』 Bennett Hilton.
The holy knight who'd infiltrated the black mage forces as a double agent, crushing their plots. Her combat prowess was legendary; lately, she'd even opened trade routes with the elves somehow.
Above all, the holy sword's chosen modern 『Hero』.
"...I don't see the difference, Goddess."
Finn was baffled by the intruding voice.
Here's what happened.
No quick fix for the corrupt cardinals' spaghetti code. But they couldn't idle; to prevent abuse, boost reformist prestige, they needed the 『Holy Sword』's authority somehow.
With the little Pope's help, they listed constraints:
Heroes must curl their left pinky toe in selection, meet holy power quotas, be swordmasters. Amid countless conditions...
Heroes must hail from specific bloodlines. The most malicious one.
"The cardinals obsessively purged records, but... we found it. The previous hero was from the Restman house."
"Niore's from a hero bloodline?! Then make her the hero..."
"But is she a swordmaster...?"
Bloodline met, other conditions iffy.
Thus.
"Goddess, I'll marry Niore, have kids, raise them right. That child would have blood and nurture—prime hero material. Doesn't that make me provisionally hero stock?"
Sandcastles of sophistry crumble. Only procedure is just.
Acknowledging system flaws── Providing temporary procedure to accept this sophistry.
Grateful for the sincerity, a one-time pass.
But a snag: Tara, eyes blazing at the marriage news.
"...Bennett, wanna get stabbed in the side?"
"I'd never leave you alone. Tara, marry me too."
-So, two brides at one wedding, Bennett? Quite the greedy one.
Thus, Bennett wed Tara and Niore in a joint ceremony, shocking his freshly awakened sister Berta from a time-skipping slumber.
Waking to find two new sisters-in-law...?
Then, after the little Pope tinkered with the system, the temporary admin process succeeded.
And so.
With marriage insecurities gone, Tara switched to modest attire save the bedroom—meta shift complete.
The chaste saintess (not a saintess) returns to the Goddess Church at last!
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The reformists gathered for this reason:
"How to wield the Goddess's power—we must decide."
"...Dakiten, how'd the previous one use it?"
"As you know, for selfish gain."
"Useless reference."
Setting the Goddess Church's course.
What to do with divine power?
Corrupt cardinals had poured it solely into power and longevity, degrading welfare and charity to vestiges.
Zero base. Starting from scratch.
Tara gnashed her teeth.
"...Ugh. Wanna kill those cardinals."
"If I may, I'm the current cardinal, Saintess."
"Wanna kill all the excommunicated ones then. Better?"
"Enough chit-chat. Let's proceed."
The Goddess's power was mighty yet rigid. Their task: reshape the system for a better world.
The little Pope piped up first.
"What if we ask the Goddess to make everyone happy?"
A pure wish. The adults smiled warmly.
"What a fine child!"
-Let's have one just like that, Bennett.
"Our cause lacks nothing; fine idea, Pope. Candy?"
Bennett offered one; the little Pope shook his head.
"Hehe... Candy rots teeth, they say. Just the thought, Shadow Hero Bennett."
"...Who calls me that?"
"Hero Finn."
Bennett glanced at Finn; Finn looked away, muttering inwardly. Shadow Hero? Fits—you hog real power, hide the title.
The Bennett party shared in turn.
"Desperation breeds evil. Provide relief to the cornered. The church must be someone's star."
"Purge heretics, deceivers, misers hoarding power. Cockroaches breed eventually. The church needs periodic cleansing."
-Um... Learned this from roommate Selbia. Trials foster growth, self-confrontation. Like an academy Trial Tower...?
The little Pope listened with shining eyes, then fixed on Finn.
"And you, Finn?"
"Huh? Uh, well..."
"What do you think? All three sound vital. Tough choice. What should the church prioritize?"
All eyes on Finn. Sweating bullets, he blurted a life lesson.
"Uh, food... would be nice. Most folks have unstable income—mercs too. Starving turns people to bandits or thugs..."
He eyed them warily, bracing for scorn. Surprisingly, good reception. Great, even.
"Food aid. Solid."
"Yeah, loot the exploitative priests' wealth for it."
-Right, start with what we can do now over grand schemes...
Wide-eyed sparkle!
The little Pope's admiring gaze stung. No, just common sense—who likes starving? Nothing grand.
And it rolled out radically.
The renewed Goddess Church's first welfare: free rations. Tara hustled, fleecing guilty clergy.
With Hero Finn's name plastered huge as idea guy, he seriously eyed post-retirement plastic surgery.
Time passed.
Layered corruption couldn't vanish overnight; goodwill taints easily. Yet the massive church lumbered toward a radiant path.
Stabilizing swiftly, lingering rogue ex-cardinals stirred outside, but they'd prevail.
High above, the mechanical Goddess smiled at last.
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Later.
"Hero Finn?"
"Y-yes, Saintess."
"Organization's stable... Close ties with the Second Prince too. I'll grab my academy diploma. Honeymoon souvenir. Take care?"
"Huh? No, work's piling—wait! You can't just ditch like this...!!"
Hero Finn got the short end again.