Damn Reincarnation

that because of that damned Hamel.]

Was that really Hamel’s fault?

Kristina couldn’t be sure of the answer to that question, so she just kept her mouth shut without making any sort of reply.

[In the end, my life as a Saint was full of regret and failure.
However, the merciful Light didn’t forcefully lead my soul upwards but instead took me in as an angel.
That is how I could remain in this world and now dwell within you.]

‘Ah… yes, that was truly fortunate.’

[Yep, that’s right.
It truly is fortunate! But what do you think you’re doing? Even though you’ve been bestowed with so many blessings, you are still sympathizing with the plight of that foal and substituting yourself in its place.
Why should I, who lived so miserably, be forced to deal with such feelings of sadness that don’t even belong to me?]

‘Th-that’s….’

[Listen carefully, Kristina Rogeris.
We may have been unhappy, but we deserve to be happy.
In the end, the so-called Saint is nothing more than an illusion, so whether or not our flesh is pure has no effect on the power of our miracles.]

‘Th-that’s ridiculous…! How did you discover such a fact, Sister? Could it be—’

[Don’t get the wrong idea! I lived my whole life as a Saint should.
However, after dying like that and becoming an angel, I just realized that the body is of little importance or significance when it comes to things like the Light and performing miracles.]

‘But that’s… that’s….’

[Why spout such drivel at this point? Kristina, didn’t you molest Hamel’s butt thoroughly because of your furtive lust?]

Kristina tried to drown out the voice, ‘Ahh, Ahhh! Sister, it wasn’t like that.
It was just all part of taking care of Sir Eugene while he was wounded….’

[Yes, yes, I get it.
No matter how furtive you are, once again, I guess I can overlook it….
But Kristina! With how unstable your current posture is, being trapped inside of you, I’m even more anxious than you are.]

Kristina smoothed out her expression as she checked her posture.
She was sitting in the very back of Apollo’s saddle, holding on tightly to the horse’s torso with her legs.
Then, she reached down with both hands to hold on to the saddle.

It wasn’t even that precarious.

There would be no problems for her to continue sitting by herself.
The miracles that had been imbued into Apollo completely prevented any chance of his riders falling.
Not only that, Kristina was able to summon Anise’s wings, so all she would have to do if she fell was spread those wings and fly.

[Nope.
My wings are just for show.
It’s impossible to actually fly with them.]

‘Huh?’

[Is that really the important thing right now? Kristina! Hurry up and hold onto Hamel’s waist.]

‘There’s… there’s no real need to….’

[If you say that you don’t want to, then I will have to forcefully try and move your body to do so.
Do you know what that means? It means that I will be taking away your initiative, so you won’t be able to do anything but watch what happens from the inside.]

‘Sister!’

[I’ll do things beyond your wildest imaginations.
For a furtive person like you, wouldn’t that actually work out better? So just think of it as something that can’t be helped, and enjoy the view from the inside….]

Kristina stopped listening to Anise’s words and lifted her hands from the saddle.
Then she hesitated for a few moments before placing her hands on Eugene’s waist.
Her hands tightened on his sturdy sides that didn’t have a trace of fat.

“…Ahem… ahehem!” Kirstina coughed in self-inflicted embarrassment.

She had expected Eugene to turn his head and say something suspicious to her, but Eugene didn’t show that type of reaction.

Instead, Eugene asked, “Just what have you been pondering for so long?”

Kristina coughed once before answering, “Ahem… I was just meditating and praying for a while.”

Since Raphael was sitting in front of them, Kristina felt she couldn’t talk about Anise.
While relieved that Eugene didn’t seem to suspect her of anything, Kristina carefully stretched her arms even further.
After continuing like that, the moment that she finally tried to lean her body forward while fully wrapping her arms around his waist….

Slap!

A hand shot out from inside of Eugene’s cloak and lightly smacked the back of Kristina’s hand.

“Don’t cross the line,” Mer warned.

Kristina argued, “Just what line have I crossed? Lady Mer, please don’t make some sort of strange misunderstanding.
I was just doing something like this because I don’t want to fall off the pegasus….”

Mer stuck her head out of the cloak to silently glance at Kristina.
Knowing that any further excuse was futile, Kristina slightly averted her gaze and loosed her hands’ grip on Eugene’s waist.

“Get that look off your face,” Kristina’s lips suddenly began to move by themself.
“Because if you don’t, I might just smack it off.”

As her lips said these words, Kristina didn’t feel any need to try too hard to stop them.
Instead, her jaw dropped open.
Then, while pursing her lips, Mer stubbornly looked into Kristina’s eyes before she ended up being pulled into Eugene’s arms.

“Sir Eu-Eu-Eugene!” Mer stammered.

“I know… I know, but… it’s still difficult for me to say anything in this sort of situation…,” Eugene muttered.

“Sir Eugene!” Mer protested once more.

“That’s… um… try not to be too mean to this kid…,” Eugene meekly requested.

“If that young familiar makes sure to consider my feelings, then I’ll do the same to her,” Anise said with Kristina’s mouth.

In the end, Mer couldn’t muster up any more interference for Kristina.
Thanks to that, Kristina was able to hold on to Eugene’s waist during the flight, while Mer also spent half the flight embraced in Eugene’s arms.

“…Haaah…,” Eugene let out a long sigh as he was sandwiched between the two women.

He missed the peaceful times back at the Lionheart mansion.

* * *

The capital of Yuras was Yurasia.
At the heart of that huge capital city lay a magnificent and beautiful palace.

This was the Vatican.

In the sky above the palace, a four-winged pegasus was circling with its wings outspread.
This was the beloved steed of Raphael Martinez, the Commander of the Knights of the Blood Cross and a Divine Horse bestowed by the Light, Apollo.

The knights guarding the Vatican bowed towards the light that was circling in the sky.
Of the hundreds of Paladins assigned to the Vatican, only the Crusader and his Divine Horse, Apollo, had the privilege of descending directly from the skies over the Vatican to the White Palace that stood at its center.

“There’s quite a lot of them,” Eugene observed.
“Just how many are there?”

“In terms of Paladins alone, there are at least five hundred,” Raphael answered.
“About two hundred of those are from the Knights of the Blood Cross, while the rest of the Paladins are from other units.
If you count the Church Soldiers on top of that, they get into the thousands.
Yuras is extremely huge and has done all sorts of things, so… she also has many enemies.”

“Well, that’s true,” Eugene hummed in agreement.

“Well, the truth is, rather than its enemies….
Hmm, Sir Eugene, you might find this amusing, but the Vatican has so much security mainly because of all the zealots,” Raphael admitted.

Eugene burst into laughter, “Bwahaha!”

“I knew that would amuse you.
While the believers who live in Yurasia aren’t like that… but occasionally, believers who live in the countryside come to the Vatican hoping to somehow meet with the Pope and at least touch the hem of his robes,” Raphael said as he lowered his gaze.

Currently, Eugene was in the saddle in front of Raphael, but he couldn’t sit properly and was instead draped over the saddle.
This was to create the illusion that he had been brought here after being overpowered by Raphael.

Kristina was also sitting quietly behind Raphael.
According to the setting of their illusion, Kristina had innocently been caught up in the rampage of the fallen Hero.
While she was in the midst of being kidnapped like this, she had been rescued by Raphael.

“They currently can’t see you, Sir Eugene,” Raphael informed him.
“In their eyes, Apollo only looks like a huge source of light.
That’s part of the reason why Apollo is called a Divine Horse.”

“Can I have him?” Eugene immediately asked, leaving Raphael speechless.

“The ceiling of the White Palace has opened.
The only ones with the privilege of descending down directly from the sky into the White Palace like this are Apollo and I,” Raphael said while ignoring the previous question.

Eugene accepted the change in subject, “Doesn’t that mean that they don’t have the slightest suspicion that you might betray them, Sir Raphael?”

“Yes.
I have served as a loyal knight and follower of the Light for decades.
If they thought I would betray them, would they really have sent me to meet with you, Sir Eugene?” Raphael asked with a chuckle as he pulled on Apollo’s reins.
“Though that doesn’t really bring me much happiness.
They… they don’t have the slightest clue that what they are doing is committing blasphemy.
They are convinced that they are undeniably in the right and merely fulfilling the will of the Light.
They can’t be said to be completely wrong, as the benevolent light has continued to bless them with its brilliant illumination.”

The circular ceiling of the White Palace had opened, revealing the entrance to a passageway that led straight down.
Apollo furled his four wings and slowly descended down the passageway.

From now on, Eugene had to start playing dead.
He stopped talking to Raphael and restrained his breath and all traces of his presence.
Kristina also adjusted her expression, bringing back the familiar mask and covering her face with it.

Eugene didn’t completely trust Raphael.
Although he had agreed to accompany Raphael all the way here, Eugene still considered the possibility that everything Raphael had said might be a lie and that this could all be an act.
During their planned surprise in the Audience Chamber, Raphael’s sword might be aimed at Eugene’s neck instead of the Cardinals or the Pope.

So Eugene still kept his right hand hidden within his cloak.
But instead of holding the Holy Sword, his hand was resting on the Moonlight Sword.
No matter what the situation might be, Eugene was convinced that he would be able to break through it by releasing the rays of the Moonlight Sword.

Eugene trusted Kristina and Anise.
Raphael might still betray them, but those two definitely wouldn’t betray him.

‘It’s a good feeling,’ Eugene smiled as he felt something ticklish inside his chest.

This sensation was partly the tension of not knowing how things would turn out but also the knowledge that he now had comrades who would absolutely never betray him.
After being reincarnated, it was hard to once again get accustomed to his comrades’ familiar presence, which he had once taken for granted on those battlefields three hundred years ago.

Especially since they were in a predicament like this one.

They reached the basement of the White Palace, the place known as the ‘Audience Chamber.’ This wasn’t part of the Pope’s quarters.
This was a place where believers were said to be able to hold an audience with the Light that resided in the heavens up above.
This was where the Light would bestow a revelation and choose the new Pope from among the stigmatized Bishops.

Under the original circumstances, Kristina would receive the recognition of some other holy relics that had been stored here, and she would have completely transitioned from a Saint Candidate into a Saint.
After all that was done, Eugene and the Holy Sword would have received the confirmation of being the new Hero in front of the Pope and his Cardinals.

But in the end, all these ceremonies were just meant to force the Hero, who had already been ‘chosen’ by the Light, to prove himself once more to the Pope and the Cardinals.

[Kristina Rogeris,] Anise spoke to her from inside Kristina’s anxious mind.
[You are not someone who needs to receive their recognition.]

Kristina got down from Apollo and stood on her feet.

[Instead, they are the ones who will need to prove their faith to you.]

Raphael was carrying the limp Eugene in both hands.
Like that, he strode over to the door of the Audience Chamber.

There was no need for him to knock.

The doors to the Audience Chamber opened by themselves.

The following room looked just like a courthouse.
A long white table stood at the raised head of the room, and three middle-aged men were sitting behind it.

The seat where Sergio Rogeris should have sat was vacant.
Beside his empty seat were two other Cardinals in clerical robes with red cloths draped over their shoulders.

A middle-aged man wearing a three-layered crown on his head, along with a platinum ring and a staff in one hand, sat in the center between them.

This was Aeuryus, the Pope who had led the Church of Light for the past few decades.

“You’ve done a good job, Lord Raphael,” Aeuryus said.

He looked down at Raphael, standing below them, and Eugene, who had lost consciousness.

Aeuryus requested, “I would like to hear what you saw there and also what you did.”

“Of course, allow me to inform you of what happened without a single omission, Your Excellency,” Raphael said as he bowed his head.
“But before that, please instruct me on what needs to be done with this fallen one.”

“Bring him closer.
Even though he has fallen, he is still someone with a certain status, and since he was the Hero chosen by the Light…,” Aeuryus said as he raised his staff.

The platinum ring that the Pope wore on his index finger began to emit a soft light, then, as if resonating with the staff, the light spread and began to emanate from both items.
Raphael didn’t raise his bowed head but instead raised both arms that were carrying Eugene into the air.

Tap.

Raphael didn’t attempt to say something secretly.
Instead, he lightly tapped on Eugene’s waist with his fingertips.
Then he slowly began walking up to the raised dais at the head of the room.
As Raphael approached closer, Aeuryus rose from his chair.

The other Cardinals didn’t rise from their seats.
Their eyes were on Kristina, not Eugene.
One could see their eyes were full of questions.
But in those eyes, the only things that could be seen were a concern for the progress of the ritual and whether Kristina had been completely transformed into the Saint; there was no mourning for the deceased Sergio.

As the distance between them grew closer, Aeuryus slowly held out his staff.

Raphael lifted Eugene even higher as if he was offering him up as a sacrifice.

Raphael’s fingertips tapped on Eugene’s waist once more.
This time, the strength of the tap was stronger than before.
The moment he felt those fingertips on his back, Eugene’s body floated upwards slightly.

Crackle!

Moving like a bolt of lightning, Eugene bounced off his back and shot up into the air.
Frightened by this, Aeuryus thrust his staff forward.

Fwoosh!

A burst of light engulfed Eugene’s body, but the Moonlight Sword that Eugene pulled out of his cloak cut that light in two.
Having opened up a path forward with that, his left hand drew out the Holy Sword.
While drawing the sword, Eugene unleashed a sharp slash.
Aeuryus’s right arm, which had been holding the staff, was sliced off and sent flying into the air.

“Haagh!” a shocked gasp was heard from the Cardinals.

The Cardinals, who had been about to respond quickly to this change, found themselves unable to move from their seats.
This was because Raphael’s greatsword, which had rushed over in an instant, had stopped right in front of their necks.
Raphael had drawn his greatsword so close to their necks that there were slight cuts on their throats.

Even though his arm had just been amputated at the elbow, Aeuryus didn’t let out a scream.

Instead, he just glared at Eugene with cold eyes and demanded, “Just what are you planning to do?”

The Holy Sword and the Moonlight Sword were held crossed over each other.
The two swords were squeezing Aeuryus’ neck from both sides like a pair of scissors.

Eugene called out, “Kristina.”

At this call, Kristina nodded her head and stepped forward.

Whoosh!

Eight wings emitting rays of light covered everything in the Audience Chamber with their light.

1.
Anise uses the English word for Sister here, probably referring to how nuns call each other Sister.
☜

2.
Here, Anise uses the Korean word that a girl uses to call her older sister.
☜