The paladin took a final step forward, pressing his hands against two large wooden doors and pushing.
A flood of light assaulted Leonel's vision, forcing him to squint. By the time his vision cleared, he could only shake his head.
The room was far too bright. Unlike the room he had woken up in after his battle with Lamorak, he found it difficult even open his eyes without a stinging pain assaulting them.
Embroidery of gold and silver raced across the room, forming up into a wide set of stairs that ended in a tall throne with a backrest that reached up to the ceiling.
On the throne, there sat a handsome middle aged man. In fact, Leonel found that just handsome didn't do him much justice. Even the movie stars of Earth women swooned over would look like piles of cowdung before this man. If Leonel placed great emphasis on his own looks, it was likely that even he would start to feel a bit inferior.
.
The man had a head of bright white hair. And, though his eyes were partially closed, Leonel could see that his irises held a deep silver color to them. The only thing that impeded his handsome disposition somewhat was the large headdress on his head.
Seeing this man, Leonel understood a bit of why The Church didn't take him as a Holy Son very seriously. The Spirit Pressure coming from this man was at the standard of a Three Star Magus.
Everything made sense now. This man was the fourth Holy Son of Camelot, a Three Star Magus of the Light Element, Pope Margrave.
However, what happened next truly left Leonel speechless.
The paladin respectfully crossed the bright room, climbed the first few steps leading to the Pope's throne, then respectfully knelt and kissed his feet. It was only then Leonel realized that the Pope wasn't wearing any footwear to speak of, his feet shone like gems at the base of his throne as though expecting to be worshipped.
"…?"
No matter what era Leonel was born in, something like kissing another's feet crossed his own bottomline.
The paladin retreated to the side, taking up his post among the guards that lined the walls of the room. He stood at attention and became like a statue in the blink of an eye. It was as though what had just happened had nothing to do with him.
"Greet His Holiness!"
The sudden roar shook Leonel out of his shock.
The paladins that lined the walls spoke as one, their voices rolling like rumbling thunder.
By now, Leonel had recollected his thoughts. He realized that kissing a pope's feet was actually quite historically accurate. It seemed that even though this was a Mythological Zone, it still touched on things that were rooted in real life.
However, at the end of the day, Leonel was still a teenage boy. He had already buried his discontent for so long. If he also had to kiss this man's feet, he just might lose his cool entirely.
Leonel was a person who didn't get angry very easily. Even now, he wasn't necessarily enraged. But, he wasn't a pushover either.
Lionus curiously observed Leonel for a while, seemingly curious. Seeing the latter step forward, he smiled and followed suit.
"Greetings."
Leonel gave the most medieval salute he could think of, greeting the Pope. But, he didn't climb the stairs, nor did he kneel. In his mind, setting down his pride to greet this Pope first was already asking enough of him.
"This Prince greets His Holiness." Lionus' smile widened, his actions mirroring Leonel's.
As the Crown Prince, he of course had no need to kneel or kiss feet. However, he still had to show this Pope due respect, whether it be as a magus or the leader of The Church.
At that moment, a surge of killing intent swirled around the room. It seemed to want to completely crush Leonel where he stood.
Leonel raised his head, but he noticed that the Pope's eyes were still half closed. The killing intent wasn't coming from him. Rather, it was coming from the paladins who stood against the walls of the room. It seemed they were completely infuriated by Leonel's actions.
'Hm?'
Leonel didn't show much of a reaction to the killing intent. His eyes weren't on the Pope anymore, either.
Leonel hadn't noticed it before because the room and Pope Margrave was too bright, but behind the throne, there were two young girls standing completely still. Their little feet stood on the cold marbled floors, their bodies adorned with a white gown. Each of them held a flower basket in their hands that held white petals.
Even from here, Leonel could smell the fragrance coming from the two baskets. It seemed that they were the reason this room seemed to have such an air to it.
However, this wasn't the reason Leonel was caught off guard like this. The main reason was because he recognized one of the girls. In fact, the little girl was also looking toward Leonel with a hint of shock within her large watery eyes.
This little girl was the very same little girl who almost caused Leonel to miss out on the Zone entirely. Seeing her familiar blue hair and large blue eyes, Leonel couldn't help but smile. This adorable little girl always seemed to be able to make him smile. Even though she had played the role of obstacle to him, he couldn't bring himself to be mad at such a cute little girl. Maybe this was the advantage of woman.
The little girl of the Adurna family blushed seeing Leonel's gaze and her eyes darted around as though looking for somewhere to hide.
Leonel couldn't help but chuckle, causing the paladins around the room to be shocked. Laughing in such a situation? Did he not want his life anymore? Even the Pope couldn't help but open his eyes just that slight bit more.
After his initial reaction, Leonel realized that this situation might not be too good. If this little girl exposed him, it could be troublesome. Although she couldn't do so directly without exposing herself, there were other ways for her to make insinuations.
He wasn't that naive. Though he had taken a liking to this little girl due to her innocence, it wasn't like he didn't realize the danger she posed.
In the end, Leonel chose not to worry about it. It was already too late to do much. He could only stay on his guard.
"Leonel, correct? Do you know the duties of a Holy Son?"
The Pope finally spoke. To now, the paladins hadn't said a single word out of turn. It was as though they knew their place and would never take a single step out of it.
"I do not, Your Holiness. Please advise."
Leonel refocused on the situation at hand.
"As the only Holy Son remaining not of the Royal Family, you have a duty to The Church. However, as a commoner, you haven't been taught the schools of religion or of thought. You will enter the Convent as a Canon of The Church.
"After serving for 12 years, you will be allowed to earn your way through the rankings of clergymen. Should your performance meet a certain standard, the role of Pope can be handed to you in the future."
Leonel's lip twitched.
Canon? The Convent? Wasn't this Pope asking him to become a nun?
And serve 12 years? That meant 12 years of fasting and observing religious rituals. And, even after all of that, he would still need to keep his chastity and observe strict rules.
If it was just a role he would take in the Zone, it would be fine. After all, Leonel didn't mind acting for a period of time. This Zone was just a fleeting existence, it's not like he would have to remain a virgin for life.
However, it was clear this Pope wanted to lock him away for 12 years. How could Leonel waste so much time? He was already on a time crunch to begin with. If he was locked away like this, he wouldn't be able to accomplish much of anything.
So, without hesitation, Leonel shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Your Holiness. I have no ambition to become a clergymen."
The atmosphere went cold once more.