Volume 6, Chapter 60 – The Curtain Is About to Rise on the Play

The sun, representing light, sank into the mountains. When a faint purple hue painted the distant sky, night fell.

The cold wind of midwinter swept across the fields, its temperature enough to freeze water into ice. It happened to be snowing as well, and crystal-clear snowflakes drifted down from the sky. If a wandering bard were to pass by this place, they would surely have improvised a song in praise of this scroll painting that displayed the beauty of nature. However, Yisi and Evelyn had no such thoughts at the moment.

The two of them were in a quiet, secluded forest, surrounded by steam. Thanks to Evelyn’s insistence on taking a bath, Yisi had brought her to this place that was originally a secret base—an open-air bath that Yisi had created in the forest.

Because the bathtub in the inn was too small, she had created such a place for her companions and herself to use.

First, she moved the surrounding trees, then used earth magic to cause the ground to collapse into a bedroom sized pit. Then, she used brute force to compact the ground until it was as hard as stone. Finally, she paved it with smooth, edgeless pebbles for beautification, and the shape of the hot spring was thus fixed.

As for the water source, considering the issue of cleanliness, Yisi chose the far north, north of the Pescia Territory. She shattered the thousand year old ice cap and brought it to the hot spring to melt. As for the heating method, Yisi still used the old method, burying an Eye of Dusk at a suitable depth below the surface. As long as the distance was right, the hot spring would be neither too hot nor too cold.

And with the precedent of the Eye of Dusk being stolen last time, Yisi had buried a magic barrier around it this time. Unless it was an existence with a higher level than her, no one could dig out and take away the Eye of Dusk. In the eyes of outsiders, this was just a strange hot spring. Of course, the location Yisi had chosen was very difficult to find. The Ymir Territory was a hilly area, and the city of Mitters Bayer was surrounded by mountains. This was both deep in the forest and surrounded by tall trees, so even a flying bird would not notice this hot spring.

“Haa—this is absolute paradise.”

Sighing with emotion, Evelyn narrowed her eyes in great comfort, her expression turning into a contented face.

The steam rising from the hot spring condensed into a white mist in the cold air. Even though Yisi and Evelyn were soaking in the same hot spring, Yisi would not be able to see Evelyn, who was speaking from the other end of the hot spring. This was the main reason why Yisi had brought her here.

“I’m glad you like it, Evelyn. You scared me when you first asked why the bath was steaming. I didn’t expect you to have never been in a hot spring.”

Just as Yisi had said, when Evelyn arrived here, her whole face was filled with curiosity, and her deep green eyes even had star-like symbols of amazement.

Evelyn used cold water when she purified herself in the temple, and there were no facilities like hot springs in the city of Mitters Bayer. In addition, bathing was a rather luxurious thing for ordinary people in this world, so even when she was young and her parents were still around, Evelyn had never taken a hot bath.

Perhaps she had only had a hot bath once when she was born. In Evelyn’s world, bathwater was always cold.

Yisi couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity. Although she was the next Pope, she didn’t even know the happiness that an ordinary person should have.

Evelyn pouted, but the happy look on her face did not diminish in the slightest.

“You can’t blame me for that. No one ever told me about these things. And because I need to purify myself every day, I don’t feel uncomfortable when I go back to my sleeping quarters. This thing called a hot spring is really great. Did you make it yourself, Yisi? Like building a house.”

“Hot springs are naturally formed.”

“Is that so?” Evelyn pouted unhappily. “I was hoping you could help me build one in the church too, so I could enjoy this thing called a ‘hot spring’ every day.”

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“Julius would hold me accountable.”

Yisi couldn’t help but smile wryly.

The reason the church built the purification bath in the inner sanctum instead of the underground was because of the ritual component. If the water inside were replaced with hot water, the sense of ritual would be completely gone, and it would become rather ambiguous.

“Tsk, that meddlesome old man. Then can you tell me where this is, Yisi? I’ll come here when I have time in the future—I really want to soak for a whole day.”

“You’d probably faint after soaking for an hour, Evelyn. This is my secret base. I’ll tell you when you become the Pope.”

Although the two of them were separated by the steam, and Evelyn couldn’t see her face, Yisi still couldn’t help but avert her gaze. This place was located in the outskirts of Mitters Bayer, and she had blindfolded Evelyn and led her through the city’s alleys before using teleportation magic to get here, so she couldn’t explain the location for now.

“Become the Pope…” muttering under her breath, Evelyn sat in the hot spring, which was less than half a person’s height, her back against the edge of the bath, her hands spread out to her sides, and her head tilted back to look at the dark night sky. In a semi-reclining, lazy posture, she said to herself, “I never intended to become the Pope from the beginning…”

“Because of Julius?”

“There’s no one else but him. You know, the title ‘old fossil’ is not just for show. He has witnessed the aging of three successors. I saw the previous successor die of old age on his sickbed with my own eyes. And at that time, I was right by Julius’s side. His calm expression, as if he were already used to it, I still can’t forget it to this day. I should go to a place that is more suitable for me, instead of placing my hope on something I cannot control.”

Instead of speaking to others, Evelyn’s words were more like she was speaking to herself.

“Have you never tried a coup, Evelyn?”

“A coup?” Evelyn’s voice rose a notch. It seemed she had raised her head, and the sound of splashing water was heard in the hot spring. “That guy has run the church for two hundred years. What can I, who has only been in office for less than ten years, do? I’m sure that as soon as I show the slightest sign of wanting to take his position, he will use some unknown method to pull me down. When I was still at the starting line, he had already won the medal.”

So unconfident.

But this was also a matter of course. If she were in Evelyn’s shoes, she would be even worse off than her. She wouldn’t even have the courage to run away and would forever be content with the position of the next Pope.

Without dwelling on this topic, Yisi changed the question.

“What was the ‘reckoning’ you mentioned to the paladins before? When you said that word, the paladin’s expression became very bad. It probably wasn’t just the literal meaning, right?”

“Ah, that refers to blowing up the entire city with the Tower of Ymir. It is the last resort used by the church when facing a life and death crisis. The last time it was used was a thousand years ago, when the first Blood Clan Queen almost captured Mitters Bayer. At that time, the administrator of the Tower of Ymir drained the magic power of the surrounding ley lines and detonated it, causing the first Blood Clan Queen to suffer heavy losses, and the main force of the Blood Clan was almost completely wiped out. This bought a lot of time for the entire human alliance. The name ‘reckoning’ has been passed down since then, becoming a word for taking the enemy down with you at a critical moment in exchange for a new life.”

“So that’s how it is…” For some reason, Yisi had a very uncomfortable feeling. Shaking her head, she drove this discomfort out of her mind. “Have you already decided to go to the Blood Clan’s territory, Evelyn?”

“The premise is that Andrea is willing to take me in. I’d be very happy if you could put in a few good words for me in front of her.”

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“Go and say it yourself. If I were to ask Andrea to consider taking you in, she would surely agree in a heartbeat.”

“Wouldn’t that be great? Just think of it as a request from your big sister. Help me out.”

There was a hint of a plea in her tone. Evelyn might have already clasped her hands together in a pleading posture. However, matters concerning the future of the Blood Clan should be decided by Andrea herself. The ‘take in’ Evelyn was talking about was not to be a freeloader, but to participate in government affairs.

“No, go and say it yourself.”

“Tsk, if the Blood Clan doesn’t take me in, I’ll go to the southern empire or the elf race to find opportunities. Although in terms of a stage, the orcs are the most suitable, but they are too ugly. I really don’t want to go unless I have no other choice.”

“If they heard that, you wouldn’t have a last chance, Evelyn.”

“Anyway, there are only the two of us here, so there’s no need to worry.” As if she had thought of something, Evelyn’s voice, which had been getting smaller, appeared again. “Speaking of which, I’ve had something on my mind recently, and it’s related to you, Yisi.”

“My heart already belongs to someone. Well, since it’s a request from a beautiful girl like you, Evelyn, although it’s a bit mean, it’s not impossible to make a little room.”

Because Evelyn’s sexual orientation was very normal, she was able to make this kind of joke.

As expected, Evelyn made a disgusted sound.

“If you were a man, Yisi, I might have considered it. But I’m sorry to say I refuse same-sex relationships.”

It would be bad if she didn’t refuse.

Of course, Evelyn couldn’t hear Yisi’s inner complaint and continued to add.

“I was trying to say that maybe you are a chosen one by a god, just like me. Otherwise, how could you use the Staff of Divine Retribution?”

That was because the Staff of Divine Retribution could only be wielded by someone with over a thousand magic points, and her magic points were 4720.

Without telling the truth, Yisi, while combing her water-soaked silver hair, said in a tone that showed she didn’t believe Evelyn.

“It was just a coincidence. You can think of the Staff of Divine Retribution as a weapon that can only be wielded by someone with exceptional talent, and I just happen to be one of them.”

“If I hadn’t experienced it myself, I wouldn’t have seriously said such a silly thing as you being a child of God. You should remember what my ability is, right, Yisi?”

“Anyone you touch, Evelyn, will have their negative emotions instantly disappear.”

“Mm, but it was ineffective against you at that time.”

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It was ineffective because her mental strength was strong enough to be immune to mental magic.

As for when ‘at that time’ was, Yisi thought it should be when she had brought Mary to meet Evelyn for the first time in the central temple. Evelyn had inconspicuously touched her shoulder, and as a result, she herself had fallen into a daze for a moment.

But Evelyn’s next words overturned Yisi’s conclusion.

“It might make you have other thoughts, but there is not a single falsehood in my following description. When I touched you, Yisi, I had a feeling of finding a family member. Not between sisters, but the feeling of a child for its mother. That warm, reliable, unique, and reassuring feeling like returning home. The moment I touched you, that was the only feeling left in my heart.”

“…Could it be that I was wearing an accessory that blocks mental magic, so when you touched me, it caused a backlash?”

“Mental magic? My ability is a power bestowed by a god and cannot be compared to mental magic. Besides, not to mention that an accessory that blocks mental magic would not be effective against divine power, even if it could be effective, it would not be able to cause a backlash against me, unless you used mental magic on me at that time.”

But she hadn’t done anything at that time.

Yisi frowned slightly, stood up from the bath, and walked in Evelyn’s direction.

“Hmm? Didn’t you not want to come over all this time? Why did you suddenly come over?”

“I want to try again. Try touching me and see if it has any effect, Evelyn.”

“It’s useless to try. Ever since the divine power was taken back by the Goddess, no matter how I touch you, Yisi, I don’t have that feeling from that time—no.” Halfway through her sentence, Evelyn put away her lazy posture, rested the knuckle of her index finger on her chin, her brows furrowed with only seriousness. “If you are a child of God, even after I have lost my divine power, touching me should still have an effect. Or rather, the effect should be even stronger. But as it turns out, it only worked when I had my divine power, that feeling of a child clinging to its mother… Could it be that you are actually the Goddess, Yisi?”

“Pfft.” Amused by Evelyn’s deduction, Yisi let out a laugh. “How could that be? The statue of the Goddess looks nothing like me.”

But Evelyn’s deduction was not without some inspiration for her. Yisi thought of something that might be related.

[Master of Valhalla]

That was one of the many buffs she had when she was in her [Third Form Awakening]. The reason she could remember it was because she was very familiar with the name Valhalla, which in Norse mythology was the palace of Odin, the king of the gods. At the same time, Valhalla was also the name of a very difficult dungeon in [Ragnarøk].

It was more like a title than a buff name. Even though she was the controller, she had no idea where Valhalla was, nor had she ever seen a place called Valhalla in any history books.

Perhaps she could only find out by asking the demons who secretly controlled the situation on the continent and had a near-infinite lifespan.

Hmm… I’ll have a cup of tea with the Demon Lord when I have the chance. The last time the Fallen Angel Sandra was freeloading at my house, she was taken away by her master, the Demon Lord Tartaros. In that black hole made up of countless dark arms, I had felt the power of the Demon Lord Tartaros. Although it was very powerful compared to the people of this world, it was not an existence that I couldn’t handle. It was just that compared to ordinary people, the Demon Lord was a bit more troublesome.

“Well, I also know you can’t be the Goddess. Otherwise, you would have been wise enough to tell Julius to get lost and let me take the position of Pope.”

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No, no, from a certain perspective, she did have such a plan.

The sound of water came from Evelyn’s direction. Yisi judged that Evelyn had stood up from the hot spring.

“It’s useless to think about these incomprehensible things. Let’s focus on that group of monsters. With the attack in the afternoon, those merchants who sell magic scrolls should also know the terror of the monsters. By now, they might have already taken the initiative to hand over the scrolls to the church for safekeeping. Tonight, we just need to pile up those magic scrolls and wait for the monsters to walk into the trap.”

“Tonight? Aren’t you going to rest, Evelyn?”

“I want to rest, but time waits for no one. One, the growth potential of the monsters is too strong. It’s hard to imagine what they will be like when they grow up. Two, it’s that group of believers who hope to receive salvation from me. The monsters’ attacks will make them even more anxious, and this anxiety will eventually fall on me. I don’t want to not even be able to sleep well, so I’ll execute it tonight.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Although the plan should be flawless, Evelyn was too fond of acting recklessly. It would be bad if she got injured.

Evelyn glanced at Yisi in surprise. Since Evelyn had taken the initiative to approach her, there was not much distance left between the two of them, to the point where Yisi could vaguely see her facial expression.

“You’re going too, Yisi? Although it might be inappropriate to ask, why are you helping me to this extent? I’ve never promised you any reward.”

“I’m satisfied just by seeing you happy, Evelyn. Your smile is the reward, and it’s priceless.”

“I’m sure that if you were a man, you would have already deceived countless innocent young girls by now.”

My heart actually fluttered just now.

Evelyn sighed.

“Get dressed and go back. I have to arrange for manpower beforehand.”

“Mm.”

They were silent for the rest of the way.

Yisi’s hands tensed slightly.

Everything was finally on the right track. Now it was time for the two sides to wrestle.

—Not the angels, but Julius.