An Ancient Longing (1)
The Holy Empire of Eliac. It was likely the oldest nation in this world. After all, its founder had been the 2nd Saintess. Incidentally, the current Pope—the former Saintess and my past life's mother—was the 79th. Since the Hero and Saintess were chosen every hundred years, that meant the empire boasted a history of roughly eight thousand years. An impressive country indeed.
Over that long history, it had weathered countless crises while maintaining its unbroken lineage. That feat must have been as difficult as the crises themselves. According to Benedict, its unshakable cohesion came from a powerful sense of unity and an unchanging method of electing the Pope. He mentioned two things, but they were essentially one and the same.
The empire's center of gravity was the Saintess. Only a Saintess could become Pope. In this world, only two beings were recognized as apostles of the gods—more precisely, apostles of the Goddess of Light, Lumentis. The Hero was a blade meant to slaughter threats to the world, while the Saintess was a shield meant to ward them off.
In a world where divine power existed as irrefutable proof of the gods, the nation founded by a divine apostle allowed only divine apostles to become emperor. Its legitimacy and unifying force were unmatched by any other. Combined with a structure that prevented any single bloodline or family from monopolizing the highest power, this created the Holy Empire of Eliac, which had endured for eight thousand years.
Because of this background, I had been targeted for assassination and marked by the Chaos Sect simply for being a Saintess candidate. Becoming the Saintess was tantamount to becoming the emperor of an entire nation. It had been a problem before I became the Saintess, and it remained a problem afterward.
“Eliac is fanatically obsessed with its legitimacy and center of gravity. Otherwise, why would they refuse to recognize the very first Saintess as the founding Pope, even though the actual founder was the second Saintess?”
My mother took a graceful sip of tea, her posture perfect and reverent. So that was the etiquette Benika had been trying to drill into me.
“They only recite the first verse. If anyone tries the second or third, they get accused of blasphemy and told to exalt her as the one and only Holy Empress instead.”
“What does that have to do with me becoming the Saintess?”
“Eliac has rotted from within.”
It was not the sort of thing one expected to hear from the Pope. Ironically, only the Pope could say it.
“If we do not correct it soon, it will contribute to the world's destruction.”
It was a heavy topic. One I did not want to hear.
“So what does that have to do with me—”
“Daughter, you are the key. The key that can cut away every last rotten piece in one stroke.”
“A key?”
“Yes. Benedict said you are the only way. He never expected it would be his son's reincarnation, though.”
“What way?”
“The only method to find the first Saintess. Do you know anything about her?”
“No.”
“I see. Then become the Saintess first. I will help you. Do not worry too much.”
“In short, if we find the first Saintess—the one the legitimacy-obsessed Eliac would have to acknowledge—we gain justification to purge the rot? And to find her, I have to become the Saintess?”
“Exactly.”
I understood the situation now. Just as I had half-jokingly, half-seriously said, Eliac really had rotted. On the surface it looked fine, but inside the water had stagnated and turned foul. Stagnant for so long it had fossilized and turned to oil. Well, with eight thousand years of history, how could it not?
The signs had been everywhere. The discrimination based on the presence or strength of divine power, branding people as failures and sending them to the Saint Front Knights in Entat Parish. The previous Pope who had ignored them. The birth of the Chaos Sect decades ago. The Clown's infiltration as their pawn. High-ranking officials trying to assassinate Saintess candidates, including me. The remnants that remained even after Mother—the current Pope—had swept them away.
“By the way, Mom.”
“Yes?”
“...Never mind.”
“How boring.”
“I get the gist. I need to think it over more carefully and talk with the others, so I'll head out for now.”
“Go ahead.”
“...Yeah.”
Since the private audience with Mother was unofficial, we were not given much time. We agreed to arrange another meeting later for a more detailed discussion. The treatment of the former Saint Front Knights members was already satisfactory, so I had nothing to demand. Most surprisingly, my parents—whom I had thought missing—were alive and well. That alone was a satisfying outcome.
Still... it felt a little lonely. Thirty years. It had been thirty years since I last saw Mother. From her perspective, it had been a hundred. A hundred years was an incredibly long time—long enough for her to treat her reincarnated son, now her daughter, with calm detachment.
Wait, but she got angry when I threw away the male idol goods? Just how much did she like them?!
“I'll be going now. See you later, um... I mean, Your Holiness.”
Pope Park Seonhui—the woman who had been called Sunny ever since arriving in this world—watched Levia's retreating figure as she opened the door and left. Though her body had nearly matured, she was only thirteen years old by this world's counting. After the battle in Minoris, some incident had caused her divine power to surge, with side effects.
Levia had calmly greeted the Pope and closed the door, but the Pope knew. She knew how bitter Levia truly felt.
“I'm sorry...”
The Pope remained silent, sensing Levia's presence until it faded far away. Only then did she speak.
“I'm sorry, my son.”
A single tear traced down the Pope's face. Soon it became two streams, then more, falling again and again.
“Lumentis. I hate you.”
From the mouth of the only person in this world who could directly convey her voice to the Goddess of Light came words cursing the divine.
“I hate Umbrio too, who cannot even hear my words.”
She cursed even the god whose voice would not reach her.
“From this day forward, I will hate you both. Forever.”
The Pope savored the faint divine power Levia had emanated moments ago. It was a desperate struggle to reclaim the time they had lost. With each passing moment, her hatred for the gods grew fiercer.
She and her husband—the former Hero—had been summoned to this world one day. They were Transmigrators, arriving while still alive. Yet their son, now the child named Levia, had been reincarnated here after dying for some reason.
Pope Park Seonhui, once a Saintess, knew there were many others who had died and been reborn in this world besides Levia. But reincarnators who retained memories of their past lives—the qualification of a Hero—were different. Their deaths were connected to the gods. In other words, the gods had intervened to turn Gu Gyumyung into Levia. They had killed her son, guided him to his death, or commissioned it for their own purposes!
“Why... why!! Why on earth!! My son! Gyumyung!”
—I'm sorry.
A woman's voice echoed in Park Seonhui's mind as she screamed. It was responding to her curses.
“Why didn't you tell me?! You brought my son here after turning him into a daughter!! Answer me, Lumentis!”
—It could not be helped.
“Don't give me that bullshit!!! When that day's events were settled, we made a contract. For a hundred years! We faithfully fulfilled our end of the bargain with you for a hundred years!”
“And this is how you repay us?!”
—...I'm sorry. But understand this. We do bear responsibility. However—
—It was not our intention.
“What?”
—Your son, Gu Gyumyung, was originally... because of that.
Park Seonhui could not understand the goddess's excuses.
“Levia being the only key to finding the first Saintess... that's what you meant?”
—Yes. That is why Levia must become the Saintess. The final Saintess.
“Haa... damn it.”
“Gasp! Lady Levia sighed!!!! Is it because of us?! Everyone, bang your heads!!”
“You idiot! You're late! I started banging my head the moment Lady Levia's eyebrows angled more than five degrees!”
“This crazy bastard, I wondered why he suddenly dropped to the floor—turns out he was quick on the uptake! You madman, I lost!”
Will you crazy old men get up right now?! Why have you become even more deranged?! Saint Front... no, Le... aaagh!!! Who the hell named the knight order something like that?!
“....Jacob.”
“Yes! Lady Levia!”
After finishing my brief audience with Mother, I was heading back to my assigned room when someone called out to me. Mother had said that all members of the former Saint Front Knights had been transferred, at their own request, into a newly established order within the Papal Palace. Their salaries had doubled, they received top-tier equipment, and their ranks had been raised by one or two levels.
The man who stopped me was Jacob, who had become vice-captain of the new order just as before. The moment he heard I had arrived at the Papal Palace, he had dragged me here, insisting on showing me the new Saint Front Knights.
And yet...
“Why is the knight order's name 'Saint Levia Knights'?”
“Because everyone wanted it?”
“And that got approved?”
“Yes, quite enthusiastically.”
Mother? Why did you approve that? A knight order named after me?
“Why?”
“Because it is Lady Levia's personal guard!”
“What?”
“Lady Levia's personal guard!”
Hmm. Did “personal guard” mean something different in this world? Was the vice-captain supposed to wear a headband that read “Lady Levia is invincible and divine”? Ah, over there the training captain's headband says “Long live the One True God Levia.” Haha, these self-proclaimed guards were founding a new religion right in the heart of the Holy See—the central headquarters of the Church of Light that served Lumentis.
Stop proselytizing in the corner! You crazy old man, Chunbong! This isn't a personal guard or a private organization—it's a cult, you lunatics!!! Why have you become even more unhinged while I was gone?! There weren't even any magic beasts! You spent six months lazing around! Gasp! Was it because of Grandpa Carlo? Did he get bored and work you harder? Grandpa, why?! I finally made them somewhat normal, and now they're even weirder!!
This won't do. I have to fix them again.
“Gentlemen.”
“Lady Levia called us!!! Everyone, be quiet!!!”
“You're the loudest one! Everyone shut your mouths—except you!”
“Gasp!”
“It's been a while, so I'm glad to see you, but before we catch up, let's have a little spar.”
I smiled brightly.
“Ah. Was the joke too much?”
“It seems so.”
“It's a reward...! I like it even more... that contemptuous look... kuh... this is it!”
“...”
We would have to catch up tomorrow. Why? Because these old men were all scheduled to pass out today.
...Though there was one terrifying thing: no one had objected when that old man said it was a reward.