Chapter 121

Since the old man was so fully armed, it was impossible for Sheffy not to respond in kind.

The six black wings slowly spread open to both sides.

The surge of magic stirred up a whistling wind, making the distant forest rustle loudly. The flowers and grass on the ground all lay flat, as if fearing that intensely oppressive magical power.

Xiarette continued to walk ahead of Sheffy. She narrowed her eyes vigilantly to observe behind the Pope, but she couldn’t see the “unknown presence” that Sheffy had mentioned.

Gustana, seeing the clear intent of confrontation from the other side, remained calm and composed. He continued sitting on the rock without moving.

His hands rested flat on his legs, covered by his gilded priestly robes. In his aged gaze was a clarity, a wisdom that seemed to see through all things.

“Little friends, I came today with no hostility. First, with your power, you could easily verify that besides myself, there are no other followers of the Theocracy nearby. Second, I’ve invited you here to share a certain secret, as a gesture of good faith for negotiation.”

After he finished speaking, the expected response did not come immediately.

After a moment, Sheffy’s light and melodious voice finally sounded, forming a sharp contrast to Gustana’s aged tone.

“Oh? But I haven’t seen the sincerity His Holiness the Pope claims to show?”

Just as the Pope lightly furrowed his white eyebrows in confusion—

The six-winged princess suddenly extended her hand and returned two fingers, as if directly responding to the two “gestures of good faith” he had just presented.

“First, besides you, there really aren’t any other followers of the Theocracy here. So, does that mean the guy behind you doesn’t count as one of your people? Second, you said you have a ‘secret’ to tell us, but I think I’ve already guessed what you’re going to say. If I’ve guessed it, then it’s hardly a ‘secret’ anymore, is it?”

Hearing this, the Pope didn’t show any surprise.

Instead, he appeared quite appreciative, nodding repeatedly in approval.

“Hoh… as expected, Princess Sheffy can see the ‘miracle’. You are no ordinary person…”

“Thank you for the compliment.” Sheffy nodded with a smile, but showed no sign of gratitude. “But rather than praise me for not being a normal person, wouldn’t it be better if His Holiness first followed through on his sincerity and told us what this ‘secret’ is?”

“Uh… I meant you are no ordinary person, not that you are inhuman… Ahem, but since the princess has already guessed, why bother asking?”

“Me guessing and you saying it are two different matters. If you don’t say it, then your so-called sincerity carries no weight—then I have no patience to stay here discussing pointless words.”

“What a sharp-tongued young lady… very well, very well. No wonder the Demon Domain thrives as it does…”

This cryptic exchange left the blockheaded Xiarette merely listening in silence.

She didn’t seem to have any opportunity to join the conversation!

Damn it, their intelligence is too high—I can’t keep up.

But even Xiarette could tell that in this brief exchange, it was clearly Sheffy who held the upper hand.

Though younger in age, she showed no humility speaking with an elder. But since each of them represented their respective nations, there was no question of seniority.

Sheffy even demanded the Pope to repeat what she had already guessed, subtly taking a higher position in the conversation.

But that wasn’t actually the case.

The reason Sheffy wanted him to say it was mainly because she feared that what she had guessed might not be what the Pope actually intended to say.

She had already said all those cool-sounding lines—if she guessed wrong, wouldn’t that be totally embarrassing?!

The Pope, however, didn’t think of it that way.

The elderly man slowly rose from the rock, his expression growing more solemn between his brows.

“According to reports from our church’s spies, some extremists from the Theocracy, who harbor deep hatred toward the Kingdom of Aurus, planted a [Explosive Magic] spell—ready to be activated at any time—in the waiting hall of the arena. Their intent was to detonate the spell at an opportune moment, making it appear as if a contestant’s magic accidentally affected the waiting area during a match, using the incident as a cover to assassinate an important individual located there.”

“An important individual in the waiting hall…?”

Xiarette frowned, thinking for a moment before she quickly recalled the figure patiently waiting in that very hall.

Princess Livra?!

You bastards actually resorted to such despicable assassination methods?!

A surge of powerful magic pressure slammed directly into the ground where the Pope stood, even causing cracks to spread across the solid rock behind him. Yet the Pope, as if under some sort of divine protection, didn’t budge in the slightest—his priestly robes didn’t even flutter in the wind.

Sheffy lightly brushed Xiarette’s shoulder with her flexible wings.

Xiarette took the hint and withdrew her magic pressure.

Whew… Don’t be rash.

Thinking carefully about what the Pope said—it meant that this hadn’t actually taken place yet.

The Pope bowed slightly, just a small gesture, seemingly to apologize on behalf of those “extremists” he mentioned.

“This matter… truly lies beyond what I can control. The Holy Theocracy of Coreia is such a vast nation… I cannot possibly manage every person’s thoughts. But please rest assured, the moment I received the report, I had those extremists captured in advance, and the explosive magic in the waiting hall has already been disarmed. The Third Princess of Aurus is completely safe—that is all I could manage to do. Hoh… but Princess Sheffy seems to have already guessed? Remarkable indeed… I myself had only just learned and acted upon this.”

Whether the Pope was genuinely surprised was hard to say.

In any case, Xiarette was not feeling reassured at all.

She even suspected that the Pope summoning her and Sheffy here was a diversion—a “tiger lured from the mountain”—while the true goal was to assassinate Princess Livra.

Xiarette, after all, was a member of the Wright Family, the Sword of the Nation. Protecting the royal family was part of her duty.

Not to mention, Princess Livra had worked so hard—heaven helps those who help themselves. Xiarette didn’t believe someone like her should ever face danger within the borders of their own nation.

What Xiarette worried about, Sheffy naturally also considered.

Livra’s recent actions posed a threat to the Theocracy. Those with ability were often the easiest targets.

But Sheffy had already made her preparations~

A light, flowing telepathic voice entered Xiarette’s mind like a cool stream of frostwater, quelling the anxiety in her heart.

“Don’t worry. Before the last match ended, I left that idiot Livra a black feather. That feather has the highest-level protection magic sealed inside. It’ll automatically activate if she’s attacked—and I’ll know immediately. For now, the old man hasn’t lied.”

“Whew… I was just about to say the Pope is one sly old fox, but Sheffy, you’re clever like a little fox yourself.”

“Who are you calling a fox?!”

Talking about the Pope.

Sheffy did not retract her six wings just because of the Pope’s words.

On the contrary, she spread her hands and showed open disdain for what he had said.

“Who knows? I have no reason to believe your claims. I don’t know whether this so-called Explosive Magic was staged by you yourself. But I think… Your Holiness, why not just be honest and tell us the real reason you summoned us here? Like I said earlier, I’m not the most patient person.”

“Naturally, the situation is slightly different from what I expected. Originally, I only invited Princess Sheffy. I didn’t expect the Hero to come along as well—but it’s no matter. Still… for the daughter of the Demon King and the Hero to become friends… that truly is unprecedented in all of history…”

“Spare us the pointless talk. From your tone, it sounds like you want to discuss matters related to war? Since the three nations’ key decision-makers are all gathered here, is this a proposal for a future non-aggression pact?”

“No.”

Without war, what peace is there to speak of?

“Sheffy!”

Xiarette quickly deployed a defensive barrier, focusing it entirely around Sheffy—because even she had seen it: that faint golden light cluster behind the Pope had suddenly taken shape, and the magical energy it emitted was rapidly intensifying!

Sheffy also cast a defensive spell on Xiarette.

But she wasn’t nervous at all.

Just as she expected.

The golden light cluster rose upward, and as the magic intensified to a point—not even particularly high—it suddenly came to a halt.

And right above the Pope, the formless glow had now condensed into a human-shaped outline.

Only an outline.

After all… one couldn’t make out any human features.

Only a flowing golden dress and rippling long hair were visible. Because it hovered so high, even its height was impossible to judge, let alone its face.

To be specific, it resembled a golden statue crafted from pure gold.

Only the head of this golden figure occasionally turned side to side, making the scene seem eerily bizarre.

The light from the humanoid figure continued to spread outward, and soon it had enveloped the entire surrounding area—covering the Pope, Sheffy, and Xiarette alike—sealing them inside a space like a domain.

No more trees, mountains, rivers, or sky—no stars or moon or sun—only a space filled with constantly surging golden meteors.

Yet this spectacular scene only earned a four-word critique from Sheffy, arms crossed over her flat chest:

“Overly theatrical…”

“Sheffy, should we break this place open?”

“No need. It’s not aggressive. Most likely, only in a space like this can that thing come out and speak. Just wait.”

What happened next was even more unexpected.

The Pope—the supreme authority of the Theocracy—actually dropped to one knee before that vague, hovering figure in the sky.

His eyes were full of longing and devotion, as if he would burst into tears the very next second.

He gripped the crescent-shaped pendant hanging at his chest tightly in his palm. For his aged body, even kneeling halfway like this was already a great strain.

“Ah… after all these years… this is the first time I’ve seen you reveal your true form… O Great Lady Aimeris, please bring your gospel to humanity… and etch peace into eternity!”

Huh…?

You call that thing revealing its true form?

All Sheffy saw was a golden statue!

So flashy, and still not speaking—right now Sheffy really wanted to pick up a rock and chuck it at her!

In fact—she did exactly that.

“Sheffy?!”

“Hey, it’s fine, it’s fine. I just wanted to check if that thing is solid or a projection. See? As expected, it’s just a projection.”

The stone passed straight through the golden figure without causing any disturbance.

But this caused the golden figure’s head to turn toward Sheffy.

Even though her expression couldn’t be seen, it was clear she was feeling both anger and confusion.

The Pope was utterly stunned.

He never expected someone would throw a rock at the deity worshipped by the Theocracy!

“You insolent girl! Quickly… kneel and apologize to the Divine One! This—”

“Pffft… Hahahahaha! Sheffy Harl, I did not misjudge you. You truly are a unique existence!”

“Lady Aimeris?!”

The Pope had assumed the divine would be enraged and that calamity would befall the world.

But to his astonishment, the deity of the Theocracy was… laughing?

Laughing?

Even Xiarette couldn’t help but chime in with a jab.

“Sheffy… that figure’s just bobbing side to side. Was that laughter? Or crying?”

“Crying, probably. Got hit by a rock and didn’t cry? She’s not a freak like Sylatrella.”

“Silence.”

A clear, ethereal female voice, echoing and resonant, swept across the space—this single word of “silence” bringing everything into stillness.

The insect chirps that had still filled the golden domain stopped.

The wind disappeared.

Even the Pope held his breath.

Yet one Sheffy continued her relentless chattering without pause.

“Uh-oh, must’ve stepped on a cricket by accident. No wonder it’s not chirping anymore.”

“Ughhh… Sheffy, just let her talk first! I swear that thing’s about to lose its mind from fury!”

36. Origin

Say what you will, but just look at that golden glow.

The projection wobbled violently—it was obvious she was about to explode with rage, right?!

No matter. Sheffy wasn’t worried, and neither was Xiarette.

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