Chapter 71

Betty’s expression was complicated, but she didn’t press the matter any further.

“…Candidate Nemesia, you haven’t undergone the Guardian Ceremony yet, have you?”

While I’d been unconscious after wiping out that fanatic underground cell, the other candidates had already completed both their guardian appointments and formal ceremonies.

I was the only one still putting it off.

‘Not that it matters, since Daddy and I are already bound as guardian and heir.’

Still, protocol was protocol.

“It’s scheduled to happen soon.”

“As I thought.”

Betty nodded.

“I imagine you’ll get the exact same pattern in your affinity test.”

An affinity test was one of the ceremony’s steps—it displayed a symbol showing how well the candidate and guardian matched.

At that, Daddy’s expression hardened. Outwardly, it looked serious, but from where I sat in his arms, I could see it.

The tips of his ears and his neck, flushed red.

“Ahem. Thanks for the compliment. If we match, that’s a good thing.”

“…That wasn’t a compliment, but… if it sounded like one, I suppose that’s fine.”

* * *

The Central Committee.

The full name was The Central Committee of the Papal Inner Court.

It oversaw all matters related to the Pope, including ceremonial protocol.

Once a pope was enthroned, these duties would be split with the Ceremonial Office—the department that prepared services and masses—but that wasn’t important right now.

For a while, the papal seat had been vacant. Even now, there were only candidates, no official pope.

Because of that, the work of the Inner Court was currently divided among archbishops and bishops.

“However, the Archbishop is presently brain-dead due to a vicious paranormal aberration and remains unconscious.”

The one explaining this along the way was, unexpectedly, Betty.

I thought she’d stay detached. She’d only been dragged along because Flora forced herself into the group, but apparently not.

‘Well, she’s on the decent side too.’

The irony was, in this Order, you couldn’t survive on righteousness and kindness alone.

People like Daddy often ended up used and discarded.

‘Though… her brand of “kindness” might be its own problem.’

Walking as if she could see perfectly with her eyes closed, Betty continued,

“Thus, the seven remaining bishops are running the Committee. But to reach them, we must first…”

“Go through the sub-offices below them, right?”

Betty hesitated.

“Hm? You’re quite informed… How do you know that?”

“I read the manual.”

Truth was, it was all in my head from the early days of the game. Back before the lore was fully released.

‘I’m the one who wrote that guide compiling each bishop’s personality and the hidden roles of their offices.’

The developers once mentioned a “hopelessly deep-dived player” in an interview? Yeah. That was me. Ahem.

“Don’t worry about those sub-offices!”

I beamed. Normally, you had to meet a slew of people and pass through multiple departments before you could go straight to the Central Committee.

But I’d brought along a master of verbal combat!

“Alexa’s gonna handle everything!”

“Haha! Don’t rely on me too much, ahaha!”

“…”

Betty didn’t reply. Instead, she quietly looked over at Daddy.

His expression said, Say something to her. Daddy gave a firm nod and said with confidence,

“My kid knows what she’s doing.”

Betty was at a loss for words.

See? No need to worry so much.

* * *

Betty Garner was considered an elite among clergy.

She’d grown up in a family that had produced generations of holy knights, and she was one of the rare cases who’d built her abilities as a cleric and then transferred into the holy knight corps.

Her family had been proud of her.

Of course, the relative who’d been proudest had nearly died fighting the creations of the Evil God, and the rest were no longer around.

Those still living all held positions in the Order.

Naturally, she was well informed about the Order’s inner workings—its politics, rivalries, and rumors.

She admitted she was somewhat old-fashioned and principled, but—

‘I’m fairly flexible, if you ask me.’

Especially after being chosen by a pope candidate who was both adorable and surprisingly fond of justice… yet prone to sudden, unexpected actions.

But now—

Her sense of reality was being shattered right before her eyes.

‘What on earth… is this?’

The cause of her bewilderment was none other than Alexa Michelle.

When Flora had suddenly volunteered to help Nemesia, Betty hadn’t thought much of it.

Even finding out that the person they were going to meet was Alexa Michelle had only surprised her a little.

“Alright, we’ll get through this in no time! Tch, you just had to make me raise my voice!”

“Honestly, Alexa, please think about my position too! Am I still the rookie you used to order around? That’s five years of debt repaid!”

“Fine, I’ll graciously forget about it. Lucky you’ve got such a good senior!”

Nemesia had said she wanted to go straight to the Central Committee, but that was far easier said than done.

The bishops who made up the Committee were among the busiest leaders in the Order—second only to the cardinals.

Even for a pope candidate, unless there were only three or four of them left, you couldn’t see them without significant cause.

And Nemesia had just cleared her first trial.

On top of that, there were three sub-offices to pass through first, each guarded by gatekeepers who were far from easy.

Usually, it took three days just to get through. Wanting to reach the Committee today seemed reckless.

“Our Alexa’s good with words!”

Before we entered the first sub-office, Nemesia said this—as if she’d somehow noticed Betty’s quiet concern.

And then…

Alexa really did talk her way through everything.

“Hey! What’s the point of having seniority if you’re gonna pretend you don’t owe me your life? I even saved your kid, and this is how you act?”

It was impressive.

True to her past as a respected member of the Azure Holy Knights who’d once led from the frontlines, she used her wide network of old comrades and juniors… mainly to bark at them.

Betty had doubted it would work, but it did.

“Tsk. Just this once! Now get moving!”

“Not like I had a choice. Thanks!”

And that was only the first hurdle.

At the next office, they were faced with a crotchety old cleric who droned on about procedures and traditions.

“Is that so? So you’re saying that what our candidate suffered—the vile, shocking ordeal she endured—means nothing to you? Is that why you’re blocking us?”

Alexa scolded him on Nemesia’s behalf, then leaned in to murmur just loud enough for him to hear:

“T-this is about rules and procedure!”

“Oh? So you haven’t heard about the miracle our candidate performed? When she takes a high seat later… you wouldn’t want to miss out on the benefits, would you?”

“I—I never said that! Tch, go on, go! As agreed, you’ll take the responsibility!”

With a little factual intimidation added in, the old cleric waved them through.

Betty’s jaw nearly dropped at the sheer bulldozer approach.

‘So this is what the Azure Holy Knights were like…’

The head of the final sub-office was meticulous, cautious, and worst of all, a complete coward.

Neither pressure, persuasion, nor bribery worked on him.

So Alexa went with the simplest method.

“Then sue me.”

“Lady Michelle!”

She actually lay down on the floor, arms crossed.

It was a truly awe-inspiring level of shamelessness.

When she asked, If our candidate fails to reach the Central Committee, will you take the blame?, even the last gatekeeper caved.

Betty couldn’t help but marvel.

‘Still… this was only possible because—’

Eyes closed, she glanced to one side.

There was Derek, holding the child in his arms, his face impassive. The former captain of the Azure Holy Knights, a living legend and hero of the Order.

The clergy were starting to realize it.

…The hero was returning.

Betty’s gaze dropped slightly, to the small figure curled up shyly in her guardian’s arms.

All of this… was a miracle brought about by this pope candidate.
 

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Translator: Japchae