Volume 2, Chapter 32-3 – My Precious Darling

By the time Stella returned to her private dorm room, she felt utterly exhausted in both body and mind.

When she pushed open the door, Lainia’s expected bitter and resentful face was nowhere to be seen. There was no figure huddled in a corner trembling either, much less a quivering “Master.”

The dorm room was empty. Only the bedding on her small bed bulged into a messy heap.

Stella walked over and touched the sheets.

Warm.

“…She ran off?”

“At this hour…”

Stella glanced at the empty water pitcher on the table, then thought of how Cheryl had generously topped up both her and Lainia’s meal cards before leaving.

An extremely reasonable guess surfaced in her mind.

Could it be that the moment the money arrived, Lainia ran straight to the cafeteria to gorge herself?

It was not impossible.

After all, back in the Holy See, most clergy practiced asceticism and restricted their diets. But the moment a feast day arrived, the way they wolfed down food was practically more terrifying than starving ghosts reincarnated.

“My God, why does everyone in the Holy See eat like they’ve never seen food before?”

Stella held her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

She vaguely remembered the doctrine saying that gluttony was one of the Seven Sins, but a bunch of people who treated ascetic cultivation like a daily meal always seemed capable of finding conveniently flexible doctrinal interpretations whenever food was involved.

But the problem was, how did Lainia know there was money on the meal card?

‘Forget it. Better full than starving to death.’

Stella sighed, locked the door behind her, and sat back down at her desk.

This was not the time to worry about that bottomless-pit nun. She had something far more life-threatening to deal with.

She took the Primordial Doctrine out from inside her clothes.

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Stella opened the book. Just as she was about to pick up her quill and write a question, the originally blank parchment seemed to come alive. Ink spread across it on its own, taking the initiative to form neat lines of text.

「Detected that the holder has successfully subdued one Apostle.」

「Although the method was somewhat gentle, a bond of faith constructed through maternal love is often more stable than one built purely through fear. The holder is advised to keep up the good work and expand the Lionheart Society’s armed forces as soon as possible.」

「Progress toward the first-stage troop reserve required to counterattack the Holy City: 0.1%.」

“Who wants to counterattack the Holy City…”

She could not help complaining inwardly.

God knew why this book was obsessed with making her lead a demon army back home to attack it.

Why had the Inquisitor insisted on having her obtain this thing in the first place? If she had known, she would have left it collecting dust in the library.

That was the Holy City.

The ultimate fortress of human faith.

Although Stella had never had the chance to enter the Holy City’s core district, that did not stop her from hearing its legends.

It was said that the Holy City was an eternally unconquered city of pure white, its walls built from blessed white obsidian, with sacred radiance flowing through every inch of its land.

And the one presiding over it was the current Pope, Celia IV.

There were many rumors about that Pope.

Legend had it that in the very year she became a Saintess at sixteen, she thwarted an invasion by the Pale Demons.

Celia IV wore a silver mask year-round, and no one had ever seen her true face.

Some said it was because she had suffered an indelible scar while fighting demons. Others said her appearance was too sacred for mortals to gaze upon directly.

Stella herself was only a Saintess candidate. She had never even seen the hem of the Pope’s robes.

Asking her to attack the Holy City, where knightly orders gathered in droves to defend it…

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She might as well wash up and go to bed.

“Put that aside for now. I have something urgent.”

Stella picked up her quill and quickly wrote a line in the blank space.

【How can I evade or remove the thorn contract in my palm?】

The ink rapidly faded, then an answer surfaced.

「Holder, the chains of the mark in your palm have already taken shape. It originates from an ancient decree of the Lord of Blood. Unless the ritual ends, or you die, the thorns will remain wrapped around you forever. Sanctity cannot affect the teleportation mark.」

The corner of Stella’s mouth twitched.

Who knew that merely opening a letter could forcibly bind a tracking marker to her? It was even more shameless than the Holy See’s tyrannical clauses!

‘Forget it.’

Since she could not avoid it, she could only find a loophole within the rules.

She raised her quill and continued writing.

【I have been forced to participate in a duel called the Laxia Ritual. Supposedly, I will be teleported into an independent space called the Corridor of Blood. If I do not want to kill the other person, is there any way to escape from that sealed space?】

The ink on the page paused for a moment.

Only when Stella had begun to suspect the book had crashed did several slightly messy lines slowly appear.

「Conventional methods will not work. The Corridor of Blood exists independently from the present world, like an island floating upon the sea of the Abyss. Breaking out from within is nearly impossible unless you possess power surpassing a Primordial.」

Half of Stella’s heart went cold.

But immediately afterward, another line of tiny text appeared below.

「However, it is not completely without loopholes. Although the physical dimension is sealed, if there exists a dimension that does not belong to reality and can be used as a stepping stone…」

「In short, so long as there is a medium capable of crossing the boundary between reality and unreality, it is theoretically possible to pull you out of that sealed space.」

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「In addition, unexpected circumstances cannot be ruled out. It is recommended that you increase your synchronization rate with Sanctity in case of emergencies.」

‘…A medium capable of crossing the boundary between reality and unreality?’

‘Hmm?’

‘What does that mean?’

Stella picked up her quill and asked.

【Can you explain that more clearly?】

「For example: the Mirror Realm, the Shadow Realm, or a high-level projection of a divine kingdom.」

“The Mirror Realm…” Stella murmured.

Her gaze instinctively swept toward the full-length mirror in the corner of the room.

A bolt of inspiration flashed through her mind.

Dorothy, and the girl inside the Mirror of Mithril.

If Remedios’s research topic was correct…

Since the Girl in the Mirror could walk out of mirrors and chop people up, then with Dorothy acting as an anchor, could the mirror also be used to pull someone from the real world into the world inside the mirror?

‘As long as there is a mirror inside the Corridor of Blood, or even just a pool of blood capable of reflecting light… then Dorothy might be able to reach a hand inside and fish me out?’

It was a bold idea, but it seemed feasible.

As for increasing her synchronization rate with Sanctity…

Stella subconsciously clenched her fist.

That unreliable Inquisitor had indeed casually mentioned it in her letter.

Sanctity would manifest in completely different forms according to the traits of its host, but up until now, Stella’s use of it had still been limited to simple and brute-force applications of Holy Light. She had no idea what raising the synchronization rate would even do.

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She could deal with that later. There was no time now.

A burning sting came from her palm.

Stella lowered her eyes and opened her hand.

The thorn mark that had only been a faint red trace not long ago had now turned vividly scarlet, as though several thorny vines had truly pierced through her skin and were taking root deep within her flesh.

It was condensing into physical form.

There was no time to hesitate.

Stella abruptly closed the Primordial Doctrine.

She had to go find Dorothy.

That bargain-bin daughter she had only just acknowledged was now her precious darling.

Author Note

Ps: I rewatched Kingdom of Heaven and got a ton of inspiration from it.

Translator Note

Yesss don’t kill Cheryl!!

Anyway, what’s Kingdom of Heaven? Is it a good movie? I never heard of it…