“Your Holiness, Grand Priest Hydra was attacked by Black Magic at the Abandoned Altar to the west! Almost the entire squad has been wiped out!”
The knight responsible for delivering the report rushed into the Divine Temple, but as soon as he caught a glimpse of the shadow within, he felt an immediate, crushing sense of pressure.
He instantly dropped to one knee.
For some reason, every time he saw this mysterious Pope, he could only see a tall, imposing figure.
It was as if a layer of blurry Black Mist was clinging to him, yet it simultaneously inspired a deep, instinctive awe.
“I see. You may leave.”
The Pope merely nodded dismissively before coldly driving the man away.
However, another intruder suddenly burst in.
“Your Holiness! Your Holiness! I have an urgent matter to report!”
The man who had recklessly charged into the hall, ignoring the guards outside, was none other than Ran, the old gatekeeper of the Imperial Capital Cathedral.
After being tormented by Idledra, he had been left with only a single breath of life.
He had long since thrown secrecy and loyalty to the wind; his only thought was survival.
Whenever he recalled the soul-crushing despair of Idledra’s Black Magic, every pore on his body trembled.
‘That terrifying woman… even when I served as the Temple Knight Commander, I had never seen such horrifying Black Magic…’
Driven by a desperate longing for life and a primal fear, Ran had fled the gates of the Imperial Capital the moment Idledra left, racing toward the Holy See’s Divine Temple.
The influence of the Holy See was never limited to the Empire.
It relied on the Empire’s power, yet it simultaneously threatened the Emperor’s rule.
One mountain could not hold two tigers.
The Holy See maintained its own forces throughout the Empire and even beyond its borders, and the existence of this Divine Temple was known only to the rulers and those in the highest positions of power.
However, when he finally arrived before the Divine Temple, he found that the Pope already knew the news.
What followed was a cold, ruthless dismissal.
“I know that the all-knowing Your Holiness already carries this news, but this matter is of great importance…”
Because he was in such a state of panic, Ran failed to notice that the atmospheric pressure within the hall was becoming increasingly heavy.
The knight standing beside him was already trembling so hard he could not speak.
If the former Temple Knight Commander had been even slightly calmer, he would have realized that the figure before him was deeply displeased.
“Gatekeeper, is this how you conduct yourself?”
It was only when that cold voice echoed through the hall that the old gatekeeper remembered how offensive his behavior was.
Feeling the invisible weight of those eyes, Ran involuntarily lowered his head, his throat tightening until he could no longer voice a rebuttal.
“Your Holiness… I have been rude. Please, punish me!”
The other man did not care about him at all.
He casually raised a hand to let him rise, staring at him coldly as if he were looking at a speck of dust.
“Your Holiness, please forgive my insolence, but the Saintess Idledra… she is a monster who possesses Black Magic!”
He had said it.
He had finally said it!
As long as the Pope knew the Saintess’s true face, he would surely take action!
“Oh? Are you saying that the Saintess I personally appointed, the Goddess Blessed herself, possesses Black Magic? Gatekeeper, watch your words.”
“It is true! I speak the truth, it is the Saintess! That ominous mana radiating from her… it must be Black Magic!”
After speaking, Ran waited with anticipation, hoping to see a righteous, furious expression on the Pope’s face.
Instead, his own face turned pale in an instant.
“Gatekeeper, what exactly do you see?”
The Pope’s tone turned curious.
Those eyes were no longer filled with majesty, coldness, or superiority.
Instead, they were filled with a mocking smile.
From the Pope’s body, a mana filled with the exact same dark aura began to radiate—a mana Ran was all too familiar with.
“Black… Black Magic… Your Holiness? Could you be…”
“Oh my, I’ve been discovered.”
The smile in those eyes turned into a playful glint, like a spider looking at prey caught in its web.
***
After a long while, the knight waiting outside the Divine Temple gathered his courage and stepped inside.
He saw only the gatekeeper, still kneeling at the foot of the stairs.
“Your Holiness, this…”
“The former Commander Ran is old. He has requested to step down from his post as gatekeeper. Relay my words to everyone—”
“Grand Priest Hydra attempted to frame the Saintess and conspired with evil magic, only to suffer the consequences of his own actions. He is hereby exiled from the Holy See.”
To the Pope, Grand Priest Hydra was like a pawn that had already been discarded.
Meanwhile, the Saintess he had worked so hard to eliminate was still alive and well.
***
“Hailey, I can’t get up. Hug me.”
“Honestly, you’re always like this…”
Although they hadn’t yet received news from the Holy See regarding Grand Priest Hydra, Hailey had decided to bring the temporarily blinded Idledra back first.
According to Fran, who had bid them a hurried farewell, Idledra’s eyes hadn’t completely lost hope.
Perhaps it was Hailey’s impulsive act that had prevented her from losing her sight forever, though it seemed she would need more “Mana Nourishment” like that in the future.
Despite her grumbling, Hailey still reached out and hugged Idledra when the girl consciously stretched her arms toward her.
‘How am I so different from her? I felt the same way when I was being hugged, but why was I so embarrassed?’
The result was that Idledra only had to say “hug” softly, and even though Hailey was the one doing the hugging, she felt even more ashamed.
“I say, why don’t you try learning from what I did before…”
“Did what?”
“You know, that… this, that… ‘cough’. The thing where you had to say you wanted me to hug you before I would do it…”
The more Hailey spoke, the more she lost her composure.
Finally, she just turned her head away, not daring to look at the other girl.
Seeing Hailey become red-faced just from her own internal thoughts, Idledra couldn’t help but let out a giggle.
She seemed to remember that day as well—sitting on the carpet, with a certain someone reaching out with a face full of reluctance…
Thinking of this, she rejected Hailey’s extended hand.
Ignoring Hailey’s confused look, she opened her arms wide once more.
“Hailey, hug.”
‘That’s more like it. You should be like I was back then, and then I’ll half-heartedly give you permission… Wait, why is she kind of cute?’
Hailey’s logic was simple: she believed the one being hugged needed to act weak and spoiled to gain sympathy. Yes, that was it.
But why did it feel like she was the passive one now? Idledra just had to say “hug” in that soft voice, and Hailey found it impossible to refuse!
This was definitely wrong!
“Hailey, hug!”
Since Hailey was shy, Idledra decided to be a bit bolder.
After all, from now on, Idledra was the only one Hailey needed by her side.
Hailey wanted to maintain her dignity a bit longer, but her hands had already subconsciously wrapped around Idledra’s waist.
She pulled her into a very gentle, soft embrace.
Idledra lazily searched for the softest spot on her “pillow.”
Hailey was soft, fragrant, and beautiful…
“Hey, don’t rub against me so closely. It tickles…”