chapter 169
“It seems many of the high-ranking officials with decision-making power have made up their minds to get rid of her.”
“That would be troublesome if it became public knowledge.”
“They could easily argue that the saint is a heretic, and it would be settled with just a word. After all, very few know that possessing the stigmata proves she is not a heretic.”
The Holy Kingdom seems quite rotten to the core.
“Weren’t you one of the high-ranking officials?”
“Though I am a high-ranking official, I merely have a foot in the politics of the Holy Kingdom.”
“Regardless, aren’t you in a position to help?”
“Hmm… I don’t wish to get involved any further. The risk is too great.”
He maintains an attitude of absolute ignorance.
“This situation is truly absurd.”
Of course, it’s not the saint’s fault. It’s the fault of those who think her ideals would harm their own interests.
“Hmm… I have one question.”
He looks toward Luna.
“Luna Bazylin. When you look at her, does it not affect you at all?”
“I dislike her.”
“That’s the same reason for me. From the moment a bearer of God’s stigmata—one loved by Him—dislikes it, I find it hard to look favorably upon her.”
What is this? Are demons and angels the same in this regard?
“This is so hard to get used to… A demon, known as the most blasphemous being against God, being deeply faithful…”
Melissa, seemingly sharing the same thought, murmured despite knowing it was rude.
Then Luna, who had been crossing her arms and not hiding her displeasure, said as if throwing the words out:
“That’s the strange thing.”
“What do you mean, strange?”
“Just don’t bother trying to understand. That’s just the kind of person he is.”
It was still hard to get used to. A demon serving God.
Despite Luna’s sharp reaction, Dibel didn’t seem to mind.
Rather, his attitude suggested he fully understood her behavior.
“However, her existence is factually important. That’s why I’m breaking from my original plan to send this information.”
He continued with a faint smile.
“I like humans.”
“Pardon?”
“Seeing innocent children playing fills me with warmth, regardless of their race. But I do not like their politics.”
In other words, he likes humans and finds joy in serving God, but he wants no part in their politics.
Nevertheless, he stepped forward because he understood the importance of the saint’s existence.
He was an observer.
“I’ve had enough experiences where rash interference caused someone irreparable pain.”
His gaze briefly turned to Luna and then away.
Something clearly happened in the past, but I didn’t ask.
With those words, he rose from his seat.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Cooperate.”
Luna demands briefly and firmly.
“I am an observer, Luna Bazylin.”
“Diablo.”
Luna, calling his name, opened a subspace and threw something she retrieved from it to him.
Thump!!
“This is…”
His eyes widened as he caught it.
What Luna threw was the demon’s ornament found in the mine.
The slandering demon, Diablo? So that’s why he went by Dibel?
“How… how did you come to have this…”
“I picked it up. It’s yours, right?”
At those words, a whirlwind of complex emotions swept across his face.
“I’m in checkmate.”
“Is it an important item?”
“Yes. It’s a gift from the first human I met when I came to this land. I lost it long ago and thought I’d never see it again.”
He carefully turned the ornament over in his hands.
—
Diablo’s position as a neutral figure seems quite substantial even within the Holy Kingdom.
Well, those who possess the golden cross brooch are mostly respected figures.
Luna recruited him on the grounds that she would give him the ornament if he helped with this matter.
Thanks to that, they’ve effectively gained a major force within the Holy Kingdom.
It was actually a fortunate outcome since the ornament was something they had no use for anyway.
Sitting on a reclining chair on the terrace, lost in thought while gazing at the night sky, Luna, who had arrived at some point, cautiously watched my reaction.
Seeing her roll her eyes nervously as if she had done something wrong, I grabbed her arm.
Then I seated her on top of me, as if laying her over me.
It was an uncharacteristically flirtatious gesture.
Seeming conflicted, she buried her face into my chest as if burrowing in.
“Were you upset that I just gave it away?”
After a long silence, those were her first words.
Was she talking about the demon’s ornament she gave to Diablo?
“No, honestly, I’d forgotten about it, so you gave it away at a good time.”
“Might have been useful later if we kept it.”
“No need?”
From what he said, it was a gift from the first human he met when he came to this land—a little girl.
I don’t know why such a simple item was on that altar, but it was clearly something he had been searching for a long time.
Meanwhile, Luna still hasn’t found the Fate Road.
That’s probably part of why she seems troubled.
An angel is fixated on a single ring, and a demon makes such an expression over a single ornament.
It feels like common sense is shattering in so many ways.
“Let’s go look for that ring again after this is over.”
Instead of answering, she gripped my collar a little tighter.
Soon, her face flushed red as she slowly rose, and I hoisted her onto my back.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
Melissa was asleep, and the saint and Diablo were also staying in their guest rooms, so she and I were the only ones awake at this hour.
We left the mansion, and with her on my back, we strolled through the domain.
Luna simply stayed on my back, burying her face in it, feeling the warmth.
“I honestly don’t really know what you were in the past or why you can’t talk about it now.”
She flinched slightly at my words.
“But since I’m not very good with relationships, let’s just focus on the present for now.”
She tightened her arms around my neck.
“Leon, put me down.”
At her request, I set her down, and she glanced around.
“No one’s watching.”
“Hmm?”
At the same time, she grabbed my collar, pulled me down,
and pressed her lips to my cheek.
Stunned by the action, I stared blankly at her. She clasped her hands behind her back, took a few steps away from me, and smiled brightly.
“Leon.”
She said my name.
Then, she slowly opened her mouth.
“If things don’t work out… I’ll step in.”
What she meant by that, and what it meant for her—someone who dislikes her own existence—to make such a choice…
I couldn’t not know.
Because I couldn’t not know what her existence truly is.
And at the same time, I also knew that she truly hated it.
—
When morning came, the three of us—me, Melissa, and Luna—
gathered in one place with the saint of the Holy Kingdom and Diablo.
One is the symbol of the Holy Kingdom.
One is the head of the neutral faction who had stepped back from the political arena of the Holy Kingdom.
Apparently, the two don’t have many points of contact.
But Saint Nadia seemed somewhat afraid of him.
Thinking about why, it was obvious.
Even more than Luna, he didn’t bother hiding his dislike for Saint Nadia.
Seeing it now, it’s clear the authority of the saint isn’t all that high.
“Saint.”
“Y-Yes!”
“You are the symbol of the Holy Kingdom. Straighten your shoulders.”
“W-Well…”
“The more you shrink, the more the subjects of the Holy Kingdom will shrink. I won’t tell you to do well. Just be confident.”
“I’ll… keep that in mind.”
He sighed briefly.
“Since I’ve accepted something important, now that I’ve started, I should see it through. I’ll likely have to retire after this.”
“D-Dibel, High Priest! R-Retire?!”
“Saint, it’s merely a personal promise. Don’t concern yourself too much.”
“Still…”
“Ahem! I clearly told you. As the saint who bears the stigmata, you must never shrink back!”
“I-I’m sorry…”
Seeing them now, it felt less like dislike and more like watching a strict teacher and student.
“I hadn’t planned to get any further involved in this matter, but because of this ornament Luna Bazylin gave me, I have no choice but to share the same boat.”
Meaning that the ornament is so precious to him that he’s willing to partly give up his beliefs, or something fundamental to his way of life.
“First, I looked into the situation in the Holy Kingdom last night. It’s absolutely appalling.”
“Why? Did they go so far as to officially declare the saint a heretic?”
It was an absurd joke, but when I asked, he fell silent.
Really? They’ve lost their minds, I see.
“Yes. Currently, Saint Nadia Ten Lillibel has been branded a heretic. They claim her stigmata are fake.”
This was on a completely different scale from simply branding High Priest Nabel, whose identity was unclear, as a heretic.
“The cause is the reckless removal of holy relics from the sanctuary, and using those relics to awaken a monster in the forbidden zone.”
At those words, Nadia’s eyes went wide.
“What are you…”
“Do you know about the giant monster that appeared in the Painas Archipelago? The Holy Kingdom is currently spreading the story that the saint commanded that monster to lay waste to Remilish Island. I hear it’s already been officially announced.”
Though fabricated, she did cause massive slaughter as a result, so they’ve formally defrocked her and branded her a heretic who betrayed God.
“At this point, even blowing off the enemy’s head wouldn’t mean anything.”
He nodded at my words.
“Yes. There is only one way to break the current deadlock.”
He glanced alternately at Saint Nadia and Luna.
“Let’s put on a play. The descent of an angel.”
Understanding what he meant, at the same time, I crushed the cup in my hand.
“You’re thinking of using Luna?”
A chill started to creep into my voice, but he shook his head.
“Saint, let me be honest. Can you perform a large-scale miracle?”
It wasn’t the saint but Luna who answered.
“Impossible. She cannot accept the stigmata, so all she can manage is the reverberation.”
At Luna’s sharp criticism, Nadia hung her head, at a loss for words.
“Correct. You cannot do it now, Saint. And it’s not something that can be resolved in a short time.”
