Chapter 80……………
“Is that so….”
The Pope looked openly disappointed, then soon shifted to a carefree, almost lazy expression as he let his gaze drift toward the balcony.
Wow.
“I just told him I wasn’t sure if I could communicate with the Goddess, and look at him already acting like we’re done here.”
That bright, refreshing smile he had shown me before—it must have all been for the sake of talking with the Goddess.
I shook my head inwardly.
“I don’t have any divine power.”
“Yes, I can see that. I don’t sense a shred of the Goddess’s energy from you.”
“That’s why I came to the temple, isn’t it?”
At my words, the Pope straightened up from his slouched posture. Tilting his head, he asked,
“Ah… So you’ve never had a medium to connect with the Goddess?”
“That’s right. Like I said, I don’t have divine power.”
If I’d had it, I’d have tried anything—no matter how foolish—to invoke the Goddess. But I was born with barely a trace of mana, and with absolutely no divine power at all.
“And someone like me is supposed to be the Goddess’s representative? Nonsense.”
Unless the world turned upside down, such a thing was impossible.
Apparently, that was why the Pope had been so startled on the first day we met, when he realized no divine power flowed from me—he had at first mistaken me for the Goddess’s representative, the “Saint.”
“The Goddess told me to come to the temple. So isn’t this temple the channel through which I can speak with Her?”
“That is true, but… hmm.”
Pope Maridris paused, then stood. He turned his gaze toward me.
“It seems I am to bring you to that place.”
“Where?”
“You’ll know if you follow me.”
The Pope held out his hand.
I looked at it for a brief moment, then took it. He helped me up and led me toward the inner part of the reception chamber.
Puzzled, I asked,
“Where are we going? What’s inside the reception room?”
“There’s a door.”
“A… door?”
As we stepped deeper inside, the Pope stopped and fixed his eyes on a spot.
The chamber contained cupboards and decorative bookshelves, but behind them I noticed something I hadn’t before—a door.
It was an ordinary wooden door, plain and undecorated. The Pope opened it.
And I widened my eyes.
“What in the world is this place…?”
Beyond the door was another space. A space that looked as though a piece of the natural world had been transplanted indoors.
And it was vast.
“Why is grass growing inside a building?”
It must have been the power of the divine—lush weeds and towering trees filled the space. In the center stood what looked like a miniature replica of the Iridium Temple.
A large altar, and behind it, a statue of the Goddess.
Still holding my hand, Pope Maridris asked, “Will you enter?”
I swallowed.
“Yes. I’ll go in.”
“Then keep this place a secret. Even the priests of the First Division are not aware of it.”
“Understood.”
After securing my promise, the Pope led me into the mysterious space and closed the door behind us.
“What is this place?”
“This is the only space where priests first commune with the Goddess. To put it simply—it’s where the initiation ritual is held.”
“The initiation ritual?”
“Not just anyone can become a First Division priest. Even if they’re overflowing with divine power, if their faith is lacking, they cannot. This is also a place where excess divine power is reclaimed.”
He added that some lost their lives in the process—though only a rare few—and most simply lost their memories.
I nodded.
“So this is the place where the Goddess herself judges whether someone is truly a worthy vessel of divine power… or just someone trying to borrow her name.”
It was essentially a judgment seat.
“You brought me here because this is the only time the Goddess directly communicates with humans—during a priest’s initiation, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“But as you can see, I don’t have a drop of divine power.”
“Do not worry about that.”
Maridris led me to the altar. Standing before it, he stretched out his hand.
Fwaah―!
As he poured in divine power, mechanical grinding noises echoed. The altar responded.
A square-shaped hollow appeared, about the size of a man’s palm. The Pope signaled with his eyes.
“Place your hand inside.”
“H-here…?”
“It’s not dangerous. I’ll be doing it with you.”
Since the Goddess herself had appeared in my dream and commanded him to guide me, he couldn’t dare harm me—not unless he wanted divine retribution.
I shut my eyes tight and slid my hand into the hollow. The Pope’s large hand covered mine from above.
“Close your eyes. To be attuned with my divine power will require immense concentration.”
“…Are you saying you’ll lend me your divine power?”
“Yes. Though not entirely. If I were to force my divine power fully into you, the pain would be unbearable.”
The Pope smiled kindly.
“Wait, what?”
To lend divine power meant to connect one’s body to another.
If magicians had mana conduits, priests and popes had divine conduits.
“But me… I have mana conduits, not divine ones. I never had divine power at all.”
In other words, he was going to force a divine conduit into my body. A dangerous process—for both him and me.
A forcibly created conduit would need regular infusions of divine power, or else…
“So this is why you suggested a ‘communion’ with me, isn’t it?”
“You are more perceptive than I expected.”
Of course.
“He claimed he didn’t want to make me indebted, but now he’s making me indebted anyway!”
Ever since he realized I had no divine power, he must have anticipated this.
I gave him a tired look. He noticed and chuckled.
“No matter how much the Goddess commanded me to support you, unpaid passion isn’t very dignified, don’t you agree?”
Yeah, yeah, you’re so clever.
“Actually, this works better. If it were pure goodwill, I’d feel obligated to repay it. But if it’s a mutual agreement… then I can freely rely on him, and he gains prestige by backing me. Fair trade.”
I smirked.
“Maybe we’ll get along better than I thought.”
“I think so too. Then, if you meet the Goddess, please tell her how deeply I revere Her.”
“Of course. I’m a princess who knows the value of give-and-take.”
With that, I closed my eyes.
I had to adapt to the divine power the Pope was forcibly threading into me.
Cold sweat poured down my face.
My whole body shivered. Soon, it felt like all warmth was draining out of me.
It was the feeling of dying.
And when I opened my eyes again—
[You’ve come. Did you accept Maridris’s power?]
The Goddess sat elegantly upon her throne, one leg crossed over the other.
