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Chapter 19
It Is Your Share.
The Pope and several Cardinals headed toward the room where the “Book of Origins” was being kept.
“This is the place, Your Holiness.”
A holy scripture as large as a human torso rested on a pedestal. A faint white light flowed from it.
“Ho… This is the first time I have seen the scripture shine like this since becoming Pope….”
“It is the same for me, Your Holiness. Then I shall show you immediately.”
Marcel put on white gloves, approached the scripture carefully, and turned the pages.
The title of the new chapter read:
「Record of Turbulence」
The Pope muttered after seeing it.
“A record of turmoil…. Does this mean the world will enter a period of upheaval from now on?”
Marcel answered.
“That appears to be the case. However, not much has been written yet, so I cannot say for certain.”
“Then we should first read the contents.”
“Yes.”
Marcel turned another page, and sentences began to appear.
「1-1. Fate is not completely fixed. If one deeply desires to change oneself and acts upon that desire, then fate itself may be twisted.」
The writing continued.
「1-2. However, fate is like a great wave, appearing impossible for mere humans to stop.
Even so, do not fear. I am watching over you, so endure and act.
If one righteous person steps forward, others shall rise beside them and become a breakwater against the waves.」
Then, when they saw the next page, everyone could not help but be shocked.
「1-3. Kael, descendant of Luminara, is proof that fate is not predetermined.
The sword wandering the wilderness finally advances like a rhinoceros. His blade is the hammer that changes destiny.」
「1-4. At last, the fate of the world begins to shake.
Those who kneel in fear shall be swept away by the raging tides.
Yet even if the waves cover the heavens, do not fear, little lambs. Look forward and act. The path lies within you.」
That was where the writing ended.
Silence filled the room for a long while before the Pope finally spoke.
“The world’s fate shakes, and waves cover the heavens…. This is no different from a prophecy.”
“It seems so.”
The others nodded in agreement, and the Pope continued.
“If Kael Luminara’s name appeared in the first chapter of this turbulent age, does that mean the world’s upheaval begins because of him?”
“That is likely the case. Above all, this is the first time in 102 years since Saint Eldoras that a new chapter has appeared in the scripture.”
Saint Eldoras.
Within the Holy Nation, there existed the Seven Great Virtues, saints from history. Eldoras represented Humility.
Although Eldoras had been the strongest holy knight in the history of the Order, he always lowered himself and respected everyone.
The Pope stroked his beard as he spoke.
“Turbulence…. Considering Inspector Kael’s recent actions, he truly is extraordinary. In only a short time, he has already dealt with two heretics within the Holy Nation. An apostle of the Black Scripture Society and a corrupted bishop.”
Cardinal Varun spoke.
“Yes. Light always reveals itself during chaotic times. Everything he has done so far deserves praise.”
“I agree.”
Several Cardinals nodded.
Marcel asked:
“Then how does Your Holiness intend to handle this matter?”
If this became public knowledge, the Holy Nation would descend into chaos.
After all, for the first time in 102 years, the Goddess’s words had appeared again.
“For now, only the people in this room shall know of this. Let us continue observing the situation.”
The Pope answered calmly.
“It is our duty as followers to spread the Goddess’s words, but the record is still incomplete. Even I cannot yet give a proper interpretation. If we cannot answer the believers’ questions, great confusion will surely follow.”
“That is true.”
“So let us watch for now. I do not think it is time to act yet.”
“Yes.”
“However….”
The Pope smiled faintly.
“I only pray that this turbulence will benefit both our Holy Nation and humanity.”
“Yes. I pray for the same.”
At Varun’s answer, the Pope smiled warmly and nodded.
“Then let us go.”
Leaning on his staff decorated with two sprouting leaves, the Pope began walking.
“The trials ahead will only make humanity stronger.”
* * *
“From now on, we are going to obtain a saint’s holy relic.”
While riding on horseback, I spoke to Bella.
Bella blinked several times before asking back.
“What?”
“More specifically, we will obtain the relic of Saint Vertior, the Virtue of Charity among the Seven Great Virtues.”
A holy relic.
An item blessed with the Goddess’s power.
The Goddess had once blessed the belongings of the Seven Great Saints after being moved by their deeds, and those objects possessed mysterious powers.
Any human could use a holy relic, but the amount of power one could draw from it differed from person to person.
“But holy relics are incredibly rare treasures. Is it really okay for us to just take one?”
“It is.”
At present, the Holy Nation possessed only one relic.
The staff of Saint Serabio, the Virtue of Diligence.
That was the very staff passed down to every Pope.
“Originally, the Holy Nation believed all relics should be collected. But too much blood was spilled during that process without much success, so their thinking changed. Even after retrieving relics, someone would always seek them again.”
Fifty years ago, the Holy Nation had even fought a war against evil forces to protect the relics they possessed.
During that “Relic War,” the relics became scattered across the world.
“So the current Pope abandoned the idea of collecting relics, saying the relics would naturally return to where they belonged anyway. Something about it being the Goddess’s will.”
Of course, it was not exactly a wise choice.
In my previous life, most relics had ended up in the hands of villains.
“Though perhaps the Pope simply chose to watch. To let the villains use the relics as they wished.”
Bella looked around in surprise, but there was nothing but empty fields nearby.
“Anyway, the important thing is that even if we obtain a relic, the Holy Nation will not care too much. Others may complain, but the Pope will probably just say we should be observed.”
I had never met the Pope in my previous life, but I roughly understood his nature.
Sometimes Rudian had said he could never tell what the Pope was thinking.
“I understand it won’t be a huge problem if we possess a relic. But why the relic of Charity specifically?”
“Because I know where it is.”
The relic of Charity was something I had used in my previous life as well.
That was why I already knew where it would be around this time.
“First, we head to the Rustven Territory.”
* * *
As soon as we arrived at Rustven Territory, we headed straight for the slums.
This time, there was no need to gather information, so we planned to visit the local diocese afterward.
The streets of the slums were sticky, and the smell of waste mixed with faint blood filled the air.
Most people would find it disgusting, but to me, it was familiar.
In my previous life as a villain, I had spent most of my time in slums beyond the reach of the Holy Nation.
‘Thinking about it, it really is strange. The slums are where people need the Goddess’s grace the most, yet they receive the least of it.’
Of course, poor people were not automatically good.
In fact, poverty made it easier for people to fall into darkness.
But it was also true that some people would never have become villains if someone had simply helped them.
And even within this darkness, there were still people trying to remain good.
If someone had helped them, perhaps there would have been fewer villains in the world.
‘Well, that is not something I need to concern myself with. There is only so much I can carry.’
At that moment, Bella asked:
“So that guy is here?”
“Yes.”
The heretic I came to catch this time was Mordak, known as the “Chain Hunter.”
He had originally been a mercenary, but after learning the taste of money, he became a loan shark in places like these slums.
He had already committed countless crimes, making him more than worthy of interrogation.
‘Though that is not the only reason I came.’
In my previous life, when I met him, he possessed a holy relic.
Since that happened shortly after I killed Baron Scalen, he should still be in these slums.
“Where did you get these sandals?”
“S-Some brat had them…!”
“Did you kill him for these sandals?”
“No, I just cut off his ankle because he could not repay the debt…. Getting the sandals was just coincidence….”
“Why would a child borrow money from you?”
“To buy cold medicine for his little sister….”
“That should have been an easy amount to repay.”
“We are loan sharks.”
That meant the interest had become enormous.
“I see.”
“Aaaagh!”
After that, I cut off his ankle and visited the child’s house together with him.
Inside, a small skeleton was waiting for the older brother who would never return.
After quietly staring at it, I spent an entire hour taking revenge for the boy.
‘This time, I should not be too late.’
Remembering my previous life made my steps quicken.
“Follow me.”
“Yes!”
* * *
In one alleyway, a young boy named Rak handed over one silver coin to two men.
“H-Here is the principal and the interest….”
One of the men accepted the coin and let out a low whistle.
“Oh? How did you earn this much money in just one month?”
“I saved it while doing odd jobs….”
Rak’s hands were rough.
He took whatever work he could find to earn money. Few people were willing to hire a child in the first place.
“T-Then the debt is finally paid off now, right? I only borrowed money for cold medicine….”
Rak had borrowed enough for one day’s worth of medicine.
Even if medicine was expensive in the slums, he had already repaid more than enough.
At last, this horrible debt should finally end.
“What are you talking about? You still owe money.”
But the men were even more vicious than Rak imagined.
“What? But that was several times more than the interest….”
“Ah, that was true until yesterday. But starting today, the interest rate increased.”
“H-How much…?”
The man grinned.
“One silver coin.”
“What…?”
Even earning one silver coin had been incredibly difficult.
If not for a kind employer taking pity on him and giving him money, there was no way a child could earn that much in only one month.
“What you paid today covered the previous interest. Now you only owe one more silver coin.”
“You…!”
“Look at that face. Want me to hit you?”
“No matter what, this is too much! I only borrowed money for cold medicine!”
“Ha, this bastard’s funny. Did we threaten you into borrowing it?”
The man poked Rak’s chest hard.
“You came begging us for money, remember? Then why are you whining to us now?”
“You never said the interest would be like this!”
“That is why you should have read the contract properly. Idiots who know nothing are always like this.”
“You bastards…!”
Rak glared at them with bloodshot eyes. One man frowned and stepped closer.
“This little shit….”
At that moment—
Thud.
A large hand suddenly landed on top of the man’s head.
Startled, the man turned around.
A strange man completely out of place in the slums stood there expressionlessly.
“When did you—!”
The next moment, the man’s vision slammed downward as his face smashed into the ground.
BOOM!
The man collapsed without even managing to scream.
The priest-robed man who had appeared out of nowhere looked at the other thug.
“T-This crazy bastard…!”
The man met Kael’s eyes and immediately tried to run away in terror.
“H-Huh?”
But for some reason, he could not move forward.
Feeling something tugging him, he looked back and saw Kael firmly gripping the back of his clothes.
“Why are you in such a hurry? Need to take a shit?”
“L-Let go!!”
The man smacked Kael’s hand away and tried to flee.
Kael watched him calmly before lightly kicking off the ground and instantly catching up.
BOOM!
Kael’s fist crashed down like lightning, smashing the second thug into the ground as well.
After defeating both men in an instant, Kael slowly approached Rak.
“U-Uh….”
Flustered, Rak lowered his head.
“T-Thank you….”
Soon, Kael stopped right in front of him.
Even his presence felt completely different.
Unlike the usual street thugs who acted tough because they were big.
This pressure was cold in a way Rak had never experienced before.
Surely Kael had not helped him out of kindness. He probably just removed obstacles standing in the way of taking the silver coin.
Because this world was not a place filled with kindness.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
But the question caught Rak completely off guard.
“…What?”
“I asked if you are hurt.”
Still stunned, Rak answered.
“N-No… thanks to you….”
“I see.”
Kael suddenly walked over, picked up the silver coin from the ground, and handed it to Rak.
Not understanding, Rak only tilted his head.
“Take it. It is your share.”
“N-No. You helped me, so you should take it….”
“Then I guess I will just throw it away.”
Kael pretended to toss it, making Rak quickly shout:
“N-No! I’ll take it!”
“Good choice.”
Kael placed the silver coin onto Rak’s small palm.
Feeling the unexpected weight, Rak tightly clenched it in his hand.
Kael quietly examined him.
More specifically, the large worn-out sandals Rak was wearing.
‘Good. I was not too late.’
Those sandals were the holy relic of Saint Vertior, the Virtue of Charity among the Seven Great Virtues.
And they were also the sandals Kael had worn throughout his life as the Sword Demon.
‘Now I can deal with that bastard peacefully.’
Kael touched the hilt of his sword and smiled inwardly.
(To be continued)
