Chapter 89 - Shironia, Goddess of the Moon

Alon knew about Cardinal Sergius.

Indeed, it would have been absurd not to know him. He was one of the main villains who appeared upon visiting the Holy Kingdom in Psychedelia, and the first person to show the player how corrupt the kingdom was.

Alon already knew that Sergius wielded considerable power within the Holy Kingdom of Rosario, and just how ill-tempered he was. In Psychedelia, he had even had dozens of innocent worshippers executed for disobeying him, falsely accusing them of not believing in the goddess.

In short, to Alon, who knew Sergius was a rotten piece of trash, the sight before him was deeply unsettling in more ways than one.

"Yes, so you proceed here like this. Yes, that's right. This is the route you should take. Once the chief cardinal arrives—"

Sergius was diligently explaining the arrangements while anxiously watching Alon's reactions.

'I was sure meeting him would be a headache, so I'd wanted to avoid him if at all possible.'

Faced with this unexpected behavior, Alon returned to the question that had been running through his mind for some time.

'... What on earth did she do to make him act like this?'

Alon was no fool. He knew Sergius was being so servile toward him because of Yutia, who stood behind him. Yet no matter how he thought about it, he could not imagine what would make Sergius this wary. The Sergius he had seen in Psychedelia might have been a corrupt villain, but he had kept his pride to his dying breath.

And so, with a silent '...', he discreetly shifted his gaze toward Yutia, who was still beaming away in the distance, and regarded her questioningly. But only for a moment.

"D-did you understand everything...?"

At Cardinal Sergius's next question, Alon nodded.

"Thanks to you, I understood it all."

"That is a great relief."

"Incidentally, there's no need to address me so deferentially."

Alon offered the suggestion cautiously. Noble of Asteria though he was, the man before him was effectively one of the highest authorities in the kingdom, below only the pope and the saints personally chosen by the goddess. In terms of rank, Sergius had no particular reason to show him such deference. However...

"No, no, no, no, no, no—how could I possibly do that? We are merely the goddess's messengers. How could I?"

He declined with so many repetitions of "no" that Alon lost count. The contrast was jarring.

'... Is this really the same villain who sneered at people every time I encountered him in the game?'

["I have never understood why I should speak respectfully to lowly creatures who do not even believe in the goddess, and I never will!"]

Remembering how casually Sergius had delivered that line in the game, Alon replied awkwardly.

"Is... that so?"

"Yes, of course it is!"

As Sergius gave a "Ha ha" that anyone could have recognized as forced, Alon cleared his throat for no particular reason and spoke.

"At any rate, thank you for taking such care. There was no need for a cardinal to come and explain everything in person."

"Not at all. I am overseeing the ceremony, so this is only my duty...!"

Alon knew such minor explanations were not normally the overseer's job, but he nodded without pressing the point.

"I see."

"Yes, yes—"

Sergius bowed his head. As Alon watched him bow and scrape, wondering where the Holy Kingdom's corrupt cardinal had gone, a question occurred to him.

"By the way, are you very close to Cardinal Yutia?"

Alon assumed they could not be, but asked on the off chance. However...

"Of course, Teacher. Cardinal Sergius and I often have long conversations about Lady Shironia."

It was Yutia who answered, not Sergius.

"Isn't that right, Cardinal Sergius?"

She turned the question to him with a radiant smile, as though seeking confirmation. Still frozen stiff, Sergius nodded like mad.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!! Of... course we do!!"

"Why are you nodding so vigorously? If you act like that, Teacher might think I'm making it all up. It could look a little strange, you know?"

"Ha, hahahaha! Was I a little awkward? Dear me, I only wanted to express how close I am to Cardinal Yutia. I suppose I was a little overenthusiastic...!!"

Sergius pleaded his case with desperate fervor.

"Yes, yes. Next time, just act the way you normally do. You understand, don't you?"

"Yes, I understand...!"

"Relax. Just relax."

"Yes!"

His responses were so rigidly disciplined that he could have passed for a soldier. Yutia nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Alon with a smile.

"See? We're close."

It felt as though he were watching a bullied high school student and the bullies insist to their teacher, "We're friends, you know?"

"I see..."

But Alon could only nod quietly.

... He was reminded anew that Yutia was one of the Five Great Sins.

####

Shortly after meeting Sergius and receiving a brief explanation of the investiture ceremony, Alon was talking with Yutia when he asked a question he had not gotten around to the day before.

"An Abyssal Core...?"

"Yes. Do you happen to know anything about it?"

He wanted information about the Abyssal Core Deus had brought him. Having heard that most of the Abyssal Cores on the market had gone to the Holy Kingdom, Alon had asked in the hope that Yutia might know something.

"Hmm, I have heard of Abyssal Cores... but I wasn't aware of that."

Yutia seemed to consider something carefully before giving her answer.

"You knew about Abyssal Cores?"

"Yes. Given what they do, it would be hard not to."

"Ah."

Alon let out a quiet sound of realization.

An Abyssal Core was certainly something the Holy Kingdom would take an interest in. Both Abyssal Cores and Abyssal Gems bestowed divine stature on a person, however faint it might be. To the Holy Kingdom of Rosario, such objects could only be considered deeply heretical, so it was hardly strange that Yutia knew of them.

"Since you've brought it to my attention, Teacher, I'll look into it. If someone in the Holy Kingdom is using an Abyssal Core, that would be a very serious matter."

"I'd appreciate that."

"Not at all. It's something the Holy Kingdom must deal with regardless."

Yutia nodded and continued.

"Oh, and I think you'll probably be able to enter the Chamber of the Holy Spirit tomorrow, Teacher."

"... Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

Alon was inwardly astonished.

'... Honestly, I thought I'd have to wait more than two weeks to get in.'

As far as he knew, whatever the case for bishops and those above them, priests of lower rank had to wait a long time just to obtain permission to enter the Chamber of the Holy Spirit. That was only natural. The Holy Kingdom had designated the very chamber itself as a relic.

Alon had therefore been prepared to wait patiently even if it took two weeks, making this entirely unexpected news.

... Not that it showed on his face.

"You haven't overdone it, have you?"

"Not at all."

Watching Yutia smile as she answered, Alon felt inexplicably uneasy. For some reason, Sergius's earlier behavior came to mind, and he asked again.

"Yutia."

"Yes, Teacher?"

"I'm only asking just in case, but you haven't used any improper means for my sake, have you?"

Saying "violence" would have sounded too blatant, so Alon had phrased the question more indirectly. Yutia answered with a faint smile.

"Of course not. Why would I do anything like that?"

"I see."

"Yes. I only had a little 'talk' with them. Nothing of the sort you're imagining happened, Teacher, so don't worry."

"..."

Alon answered with nothing more than a nod.

####

The following evening, Alon followed Yutia toward the Chamber of the Holy Spirit deep within Rosario's temple. There, they encountered a man.

"Cardinal Yutia."

"How do you do, Yuman?"

He was a young man in clerical robes, still youthful enough that he did not quite look like an adult. Yet none of the paladins or priests guarding the temple could look down on him merely because he appeared young.

The man standing before Yutia and Alon with a disgruntled expression was known as a saint in the Holy Kingdom of Rosario. He had been personally chosen by the goddess Shironia.

"..."

Yuman's eyes turned toward Count Pallatio.

"... Admitting an ordinary man who isn't even a worshipper into the Chamber of the Holy Spirit? You've gone too far."

His tone was unmistakably hostile. Yet Yutia maintained her smile.

"I understand the vote has already settled the matter."

"Ha. Didn't you exert your influence, Cardinal Yutia?"

"Surely you know the vote was conducted transparently, Your Holiness."

"That's precisely the problem with the vote itself—"

Yuman closed his mouth before he could finish protesting. On the surface, Yutia was right: her proposal to allow Count Pallatio entry to the chamber had been decided by a vote.

He gave a soft sigh and frowned.

"... It is not right to behave in this manner, Cardinal Yutia."

"Thank you for your concern."

Having delivered his warning, he shot Count Pallatio a brief glare and walked past him.

'... It seems I've gotten on his bad side.'

Alon felt a little uncomfortable at Yuman's obvious hostility, but soon shrugged. Even if Yuman disliked him, he was not particularly frightening. More precisely, Alon was not worried because Yuman was not cruel by nature.

He was a strict man of principle whose beliefs were grounded in his faith, but there was nothing evil about his character. In fact, he lived up to the title of saint so thoroughly that, had he been the protagonist, players would have hurled every curse imaginable at him.

Thus, without much concern, Alon reached the saint's chamber with Yutia.

"I'll see you when you come out, Teacher."

He stepped inside the Chamber of the Holy Spirit.

"... Oh."

An exclamation escaped him as he looked around.

As he remembered, the entire room was clad in pure white marble. But what had drawn his admiration was the stone statue of the goddess Shironia at the far end. It was so immense that it occupied more than half the chamber, easily overwhelming him with its presence.

'Normally, that statue would shine with brilliant light, and I'd be able to speak with the goddess.'

But that was something only the original protagonist, Ellevan, the saints, and exceptionally devout bishops could do.

'... Oh, come to think of it, didn't even bishops and cardinals fail to make Shironia's statue shine brilliantly?'

Alon recalled the lore that the brighter the statue's light, the clearer one's connection to the goddess. But that had nothing to do with him.

"Whew."

To obtain the object he wanted, he drew up a tiny amount of mana, formed a hand seal, and recited a phrase.

"Detection."

The instant the spell began to take form—

HUMMMM!!!

"?"

Pure white light began bursting from the goddess's statue.

####

Yuman, one of only two saints in the Holy Kingdom of Rosario and a man fervently supported by its people, did not like Count Pallatio.

Or, to be precise, he had recently come to dislike him.

Despite not being a worshipper of Shironia, the count had abused his connections to enter the Chamber of the Holy Spirit. And he had done so through Cardinal Yutia, who was manipulating the Holy Kingdom by coaxing the cardinals into doing whatever she wanted.

Yet even knowing this, Yuman could do nothing, because the goddess Shironia had said nothing about Yutia.

'Why on earth does the goddess leave her be?'

Yuman briefly lamented the situation. But soon he made his way to a particular room: a tiny chamber beside the Chamber of the Holy Spirit.

This small confessional, large enough for only one person and reserved exclusively for saints, afforded a view into the Chamber of the Holy Spirit next door. Concerned that Count Pallatio might steal something from the room full of relics, Yuman peered inside to keep watch over him.

"... Huh?"

Staring at Count Pallatio standing in the middle of the chamber, he could only utter that dazed sound.

For the statue of the goddess Shironia was radiating brilliant light.

... Light even more resplendent than when he, a saint, listened to the goddess's words.