Chapter 182: Yurasia (1)
The Sacred Empire of Yuras had a long and storied history. After passing through the warp-gate that stood at the south of Yurasia, the capital city of the Empire, one would emerge in the ‘Plaza of the Sun,’ which had been praised as the most beautiful and sacred place in Yuras.
This square held all the statues of the saints who had been revered in Yuras throughout the ages.
The Thirteenth of April happened to be one of Yuras’ anniversaries.
‘...Anise’s birthday,’ Eugene recalled.
In Yuras, the Faithful Anise was considered their most famous Saint, her fame exceeding even that of the founder of Yuras, the Incarnation of Light. This was because the people of Yuras felt much closer to the Saintess, who was said to have slain three Demon Kings alongside the hero, the Great Vermouth, three hundred years ago than they did to the Incarnation, who founded Yuras so long ago.
Perhaps that was why followers of the Light gathered to Yuras from all over the continent on the Thirteenth of April. The same went for this year as well. Although there were still a few days left until Anise’s birthday, the warp-gate and the Plaza of the Sun were already packed with followers of the Church of Light.
Mingled in with the crowd, Eugene looked up at Anise’s statue.
It was located in the center of the Plaza of the Sun. The statue of Anise was floating in the sky with a pair of outspread wings. It was a truly grand statue made up of various magical minerals, gold, and jewels. The different bright shades of the materials shone even more in the sunlight, and in the dark of the night, when the sun went down, the statue would emit its own light in order to light up the plaza.
In this plaza, Anise's statue was the only one that had been made with such effort and cost that it could even float in the sky like this. While the statue floated in the sky, the visitors who came every day could only look up to see it from far below, but on Anise’s birthday, the Thirteenth of April each year, her statue would descend to the ground, giving the believers a chance to get a closer look.
Eugene stared up at Anise’s statue for quite a long time.
In his previous life, he had never visited the Holy Empire. When he first became a member of the party in his past life, Vermouth had already become the Master of the Holy Sword, and the Saint, Anise, was already at his side.
So there was no reason for them to go back.
‘I also haven’t heard that much about it,’ Eugene thought.
Anise, who was from Yuras, didn’t say much about the place where she had been born and raised. Whenever one of them would start talking about their hometown, Anise would just observe from a distance and had never once participated directly in such a discussion.
Even a tactless fool like Molon knew that Anise didn’t have any fond feelings for her hometown. Eugene was also aware that Anise’s feelings towards the Holy Empire had been closer to hatred.
He just didn’t know the reasons for this.
The outstretched wings on the back of Anise’s statue were beautiful. The wings had been made out of stained glass. Hundreds and thousands of differently colored glass feathers had been overlaid to form these wings. And whenever the sunlight shone down at them from the skies high above, rays of colored light would scatter out from inside of those winds.
“It’s so beautiful,” Mer muttered, looking up at Anise with dazed eyes from Eugene’s side.
It was just as Mer said. Among all the statues in this plaza, Anise’s was outstandingly beautiful. Seeing it float in the sky, with rays of light pouring out from its wings, it felt like even someone without any belief in the God of Light might start having faith. This statue was one of Yuras’ most resplendent and beautiful tools of propaganda.
“Is this what you wanted?” Eugene muttered.
“Huh?” Mer tilted her head in question as she heard Eugene’s murmur.
Instead of responding, Eugene recalled a conversation that he had had with Anise.
Anise had wanted to become a shining light of faith by continuously accumulating good deeds. By doing so, she hoped to become a sun that would be able to lead all those who had lived and died in that era toward heaven.
Eugene wasn’t sure if Anise had really been able to become that sort of light after she died, but she had become an angel.
She had gotten her just rewards for continuously performing miracles without taking care of her own body, resurrecting people who just wanted to die over and over again. Anise had also left a beautiful statue of herself on this earth, which had served in converting countless nonbelievers to devout followers of the Church of Light.
‘But it feels like you wouldn’t like that statue very much,’ Eugene silently said to Anise.
At this point, it was still hard to tell what Anise had thought of Yuras. With a wry smile, Eugene turned around.
He hadn’t come to this country to celebrate Anise’s birthday or participate in Yurasia’s festivities.
‘Though it might be another question if this were the anniversary of her death,’ Eugene considered thoughtfully.
If that had been the case, he would be more than willing to participate in the events. Even if it was for the sake of the memories from his past life, he’d feel obliged to have a drink for himself, pour one out for her, and even shed a few tears depending on what events from their past he could recall.
The Holy Sword had shown him a memory of what had happened back then in that grave at the bottom of the desert. Sienna, Anise, and Molon had all shed tears over Hamel’s death. The only one whose tears hadn’t spilled in that grave was Vermouth.
Eugene sighed, ‘Since you cried for me, I should be able to cry for you as well.’
Birthday? What about it? It wasn’t like they hadn’t celebrated each others’ birthdays before, but it had been three hundred years since. It would be funny to be celebrating it now.
These were Eugene’s thoughts as he started walking towards the plaza exit.
But he wasn’t able to keep walking for very long. Because he met the gaze of someone standing a little ways away from him. Her blue eyes drew a shallow curve beneath the deep shadows of her hooded robe.
Eugene let out a sigh as he walked over to the woman dressed in these robes. It appeared that she had no intention of holding a conversation here as she turned around and moved to leave. Eugene leisurely followed behind the woman without being in a hurry to chase after her.
“Were you intoxicated by the statue’s beauty?” the woman suddenly asked.
Once they had left the plaza, the crowd noticeably thinned. Only after they had come this far, the young woman slowed her steps, allowing Eugene to approach her side.
“It was a bit too sparkly for my tastes,” Eugene critiqued. “Isn’t it a bit too extravagant?”
“The Faithful Lady Anise wanted to illuminate the darkness for all eternity. That statue stands as the embodiment of Lady Anise’s wish,” Kristina Rogeris replied to Eugene without lifting her deeply drawn hood.
The reason for the concealment was understandable. Anise’s birthday anniversary was just around the corner. The believers who had gathered in the vicinity of the plaza were all people who had come here to take part in the festivities and offer up their worship.
Statues of Anise hadn’t just been erected in the Plaza of the Sun; there were more all over Yuras. Since there was no way that the believers who had come here to celebrate Anise’s feast day wouldn’t recognize her appearance if they were to see Kristina, who so resembled Anise, well — it wouldn’t be strange for a few of the more older and fragile followers to faint on the spot.
“How long has it been? Aren’t you going to say that it’s nice to see me again?” Eugene teased.
Lifting her head at these joking words, Kristina stared unwaveringly at Eugene for a few moments before nodding slightly and saying, “It’s been a long time, Sir Eugene. I feel it’s quite a blessing to meet you in such an unharmed state.”
Eugene attempted to bluff, “Unharmed state? And what does that mean? When have I ever been—”
“I’ve heard all about what happened at the Black Lion Castle,” Kristina interjected as she drew closer to him. She looked up at Eugene, who was taller than herself, and her eyes softened gently as she said, “I’ve heard quite a huge incident occurred. I’m not an expert on ‘those’ sorts of things, so I wasn’t called to go to the Black Lion Castle, but I was able to hear in detail what transpired there through Inquisitors Atarax and Hemoria.”
“Well, what else can I say?” Eugene hesitated, “I’m not sure what they told you, but… um…. It was quite a huge incident, but I came out of it unharmed without a single scratch—”
Kristina interrupted again, “I’ve heard that your body hadn’t fully recovered even after a few days of bed rest.”
Eugene fumbled for a response, “Ummm….”
“There’s no way the Black Lion Caste would be lacking in healing potions. If you had just requested it, then I, as the Saint, would have come looking for you personally to tend to your wounds. However, there was no such request,” Kristina said accusingly.
“Shouldn’t you also be aware that healing potions aren’t all-powerful?” Eugene tried to argue. “Even an Elixir has its limits. Also, it wasn’t like I was injured enough to need a priest—”
“You were bedridden for several days,” Kristina pointed out.
“So what—”
“Did you happen to use that? The name… you called it Ignition, didn’t you? That’s basically a suicide method that destroys both your body and your heart while carving away at your lifespan.”
“I think calling it a suicidal method might be a little harsh.”
“It isn’t. What’s ‘harsh’ is how you, Sir Eugene, abuse your body with such reckless techniques.” While staring at Eugene through her narrowed eyes, Kristina continued speaking, “I should have already warned you about that technique back in Samar. That technique requires you to lie down for several days after using it just once, and while you’re lying down like that, it would be difficult for you to control your body, so you would need someone to help you.”
Her voice was gentle, yet it also had a sharp and piercing quality.
Eugene didn’t really want to recall what had happened in Samar. It felt good to have been able to use Ignition to kill Barang, but he had shown such an ugly scene during his first time suffering from the recoil of that technique since his reincarnation. Eugene hadn’t even been able to walk on his own feet and was forced to allow himself to be carried on Kristina’s back. Then, for the next three days, he had been forced to eat the food that Kristina scooped up for him and drink the water that she trickled into his mouth….
It’s not like… she had done anything to despise him. In fact, she had behaved so respectfully that he had felt like she was going overboard….
But for some reason… for some reason, it felt like his pride as a person was being undercut….
“It’s alright if I’m at your side. If it was me at that time, I would have been able to respond quickly to your injuries, and I’m familiar with how to take care of your worn-out body. However, it was far too reckless to use such a technique when I wasn’t with you,” Kristina complained.
“Well, that’s…,” Eugene hesitated. “I was left with no choice but to do so… I didn’t really want to use it either….”
“I also heard that you fought with the Rakshasa Princess in Kiehl. When I heard that news, do you know what kind of thoughts went through my head?” Kristina asked.
“How would I know that?” Eugene replied.
“I regretted the fact that I couldn’t be there with you. As the Saint, if I had been there with you, I might have been able to help you deliver justice to that evil leader of the Dark Elves.”
“Let’s not talk about something that’s already in the past—”
Kristina’s steps came to an abrupt halt. While wondering what she wanted, Eugene also came to a stop and turned to look at Kristina. At that moment, her hands reached over to grab Eugene’s own.
“Sir Eugene,” Kristina said as she grabbed Eugene’s hands and held them together. She noticed the ring on the ring finger of Eugene’s left hand but chose not to say anything about that for now, instead saying, “Please recognize what a special existence you are. You are a Hero who has been acknowledged by the Holy Sword. As the Saint, I am ready to die for you, Sir Eugene. If you were to be injured, I would do everything in my power to perform a miracle to heal you.”
Eugene listened to this silently.
“As the Hero, you need to fulfill your duties. In this world, the only duty that a Hero absolutely needs to accomplish is to slay the remaining two Demon Kings. As such, pleas—”
“Is something wrong?”
Eugene glanced down at Kristina’s hands. They weren’t shaking, and there wasn’t any sweat either. Even the pulse he could subtly sense through their joined hands was calm. However, for some reason, Eugene felt a strange sense of foreboding.
Perhaps it was due to the smile that Kristina was currently wearing. Eugene wasn’t unfamiliar with that sort of smile; he had seen it once before. That’s right, it was back when he had first met Kristina, right before they entered Vermouth’s tomb. When he had mentioned Kristina’s resemblance to Anise and had asked about her birth parents.
Kristina had worn the same sort of smile at that moment. Even though it looked peaceful, the feelings behind it certainly weren’t. It was a smile that seemed to have been cultivated with great care over a long time so that she could activate it almost unconsciously and not look like a facade even though it was. At first glance, that smile just seemed to be benevolent and befitting her title as the Saint.
If this had been Eugene’s first time meeting Kristina, and his relationship with her had still been shallow, then he wouldn’t have felt any discomfort from that smile. However, Eugene had spent several months with Kristina within Samar. Together, they had made it into the elven domain that no one had visited in centuries, and Kristina had even been able to calmly face the risk of death with him when they met Barang.
It had only been a few months. However, if he added the years from his previous life on top of that, it didn’t feel that short. That was how much Kristina resembled Anise. If you examined each of their features separately, one by one, they might not be exactly alike, but it wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to say that they appeared to be twins judging from the air they both gave off.
As such, Eugene couldn’t read her. Kristina had also given that sort of smile right before they parted ways at the Lionheart mansion. When they had first met, that smile had seemed artificial and pretentious, but after experiencing several crises in Samar, her true feelings had started to slowly emerge.
“...What are you talking about?” came Kristina’s late reply.
After blinking her eyes a few times, Kristina tilted her head to the side and changed her expression. Her smile faded away, and her expression grew doubtful.
“You had a strange look on your face,” Eugene explained.
“Are you saying that my face looks strange?” Kristina asked.
Eugene replied honestly, “It feels like you’re forcing yourself to laugh.”
“That’s not the case, but… if you truly feel that way, it may be because I’ve been laughing more forcefully than I realized. It’s been several months since I last met you like this, so it may be that my expression is a bit awkward,” Kristina claimed as she let go of Eugene’s hands. Then she immediately diverted her gaze and looked at Mer, who was blinking up at her from Eugene’s side now. “Well now, to think that this small, little girl is the familiar that the Wise Lady Sienna created personally.”
“My name is Mer Merdein,” Mer introduced herself.
So Kristina was finally paying attention to her. Although Mer had met many, many different people over the years, Mer felt a certain feeling for the first time upon meeting Kristina, something that felt indescribable and unpleasant.
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Familiar. Ah… would it be rude of me to call you that?” Kristina said hesitantly.
“Um… No, I’m fine with that. Although I may have been made over two hundred years ago, it’s true that I am a cute and adorable little girl who looks exactly like Lady Sienna,” Mer declared proudly.
It was impressive that Mer could say something like that with her own mouth. As Eugene thought this, he stared down at the crown of Mer’s head.
In fact, Eugene had also said some things about his previous life as Hamel, like that his face wasn’t bad and that he had had the charm of an untamed wild stallion, but that was before he had revealed himself to be Hamel. And it wasn’t like he had spitted out such shameless and daring things about his own current face.
“Fufu, that really does seem to be the case. I’ve also seen Lady Sienna’s portrait and statue before, but it seems that Miss Mer really was made in Lady Sienna’s exact image,” Kristina said with a faint smile as she stared into Mer’s eyes.
Mer didn’t avoid meeting this gaze. She was still feeling this unknown sensation from Kristina and was struggling to figure out what it was.
“So, you’re the one who asked me to come here,” Eugene spoke up, breaking this short silence. “Why did you tell me to come here? While I did have my own reason for wanting to see you, I didn’t expect that you’d be the one to call me over first.”
“What are your reasons for wanting to see me, Sir Eugene?” Kristina asked.
“The ones who instigated the plan to kill you and I weren’t the Pope and his Cardinals,” Eugene calmly informed her, as if it wasn’t a big deal.
However, he still made sure that their surroundings were clear. A theocracy like this was absolutely riddled with religious zealots walking around with normal faces. Let alone their God, it wouldn’t be strange to be stabbed in the eye if anyone was caught slandering the Pope or the Cardinals out on the open streets.
“Ah,” Kristina made a noise of acknowledgment as she nodded lightly. “Indeed, so that was the case. While I had my suspicions in the beginning, I thought they would have no reason to do something like that… so it really was just like that.”
Do you trust the Pope and the Cardinals? Eugene had asked Kristina something like that in the past. He could clearly recall the answer that she had given at that time.
No.
But they wouldn’t want to have the two of them die from something like this.
“I hope you will begin to fully trust me after this incident,” Kristina earnestly insisted.
“I already told you I trusted you,” Eugene assured her.
“Yes, you did say the same thing to me back then. However, it seemed like you still needed concrete proof rather than just my word. So I was willing to return to the Holy Empire to investigate our suspicions regarding the Pope and Cardinal Rogeris. However, it seems like that didn’t accomplish much,” Kristina admitted with a chuckle as she resumed walking. “In a situation where even our letters are monitored, I made sure to use ciphers and even conveyed my letters to you through one of my few friends. So, Sir Eugene, I hope you appreciate how much effort I put into earning your trust.”
“I told you that I trust you,” Eugene firmly insisted.
“I know. I’m saying this because I hope you would be a little more considerate of me and a little more…,” Kristina trailed off for a few seconds.
In that brief moment, Eugene noticed a slight change in Kristina’s expression.
The fake smile disappeared, and the smile he had seen on Anise rose in its place.
Kristina resumed speaking, “A little more… haha… although it might sound strange to you, Sir Eugene, but yes, I hope you come to trust and value me just a little more than you already do.”
“Value you?” Eugene repeated.
“Please don’t misunderstand me. As the Saint, I will surely continue to accompany you on your journey, Sir Eugene. However, I believe that a bond of camaraderie has yet to be forged between you and me,” Kristina’s genuine smile faded away. “As such, I need to build our bond step by step.”
“You’ve got quite the picky personality. In any case, why did you ask me to come all the way to Yuras?” Eugene demanded.
“In a few days, on Lady Anise’s birthday, I will be confirmed as the Saint,” Kristina announced.
“Confirmed?” Eugene repeated in confusion. “Weren’t you already acknowledged as the formal Saint instead of just the Saint Candidate?”
“Only a few are aware of that fact,” Kristina explained. “Even in Yuras, only the Pope and three of the Cardinals are aware that I have become the formal Saint.”
Now that she mentioned it, the Heresy Inquisitors belonging to the Maleficarum, Atarax and Hemoria, had also called Kristina the ‘Saint Candidate.’
“Of course, now that I have formally become the Saint, it will be an enjoyable and honorable affair to be officially confirmed and announced as such. I will also be receiving blessings and a baptism. However, that also means that on Lady Anise’s feast day, I will be asked to recite a prayer in the Plaza of the Sun and right in front of the statue of Lady Anise at that…. It makes me feel like there’s a heavy burden weighing down on me. Once that’s done, I may be regarded as the Second Coming of the Faithful Lady Anise,” Kristina said with some self-doubt.
“…….”
“...,” Eugene listened to her quietly.
“However, I have no ability to veto that decision. It’s not like I can just reject that arrangement because of the burden it places on me,” Kristina complained.
“Are you saying that I’m needed for your confirmation?” Eugene asked as he unfurled his cloak. “Or could it be that what you really need is the Holy Sword?”
“The fact that Sir Eugene is the Hero won’t be revealed,” Kristina promised. “After all, the existence of the Hero is a much more weighty affair than the existence of the Saint. My confirmation as the Saint will take place in one of the deepest, most secretive locations in the Vatican. If Sir Eugene would be there…. Please watch over me as I am confirmed as the Saint,” Kristina pleaded.
“But that doesn’t really matter,” Eugene spoke up as he flourished his cloak outwards. “It’s a bit petty to be so focused on the fact that your identity as the Saint is being announced.”
“What do you mean by that?” Kristina asked in shock.
“Not only shouldn’t you worry so much about me, but you also don’t need to be so overly conscious of the fact that the Saintess has to devote herself to aiding the Hero,” Eugene informed her.
Unable to think of a reply to this, Kristina’s eyes widened in disbelief. Eugene watched as the smile faded from her face and all expression seemed to disappear.
“You especially need to stop saying that you will die in my stead,” Eugene instructed.
Although it was strange for him to be saying something like that considering how he died in his past life.
“I really hate those kinds of words,” Eugene spat out.
But it was because he had died like that, that Eugene, more than anyone else in this world, felt he was qualified to say such a thing.