Chapter 125

“It’s my first time being on a plane for so long.”

And it’s also my first time being on such a fancy airplane.

I haven’t never been on a plane before in my past life. I’ve taken a few overseas trips, after all.

I wasn’t exactly rolling in dough. Naturally, I only ever flew economy class. I had just heard about business class and seen pictures of it.

I thought they wouldn’t put me in the economy class—

“…Um, Ria.”

“What?”

“Is it okay for religious figures to be traveling in such nice seats?”

I asked Ria with a pretty serious expression.

For a moment, Ria looked a bit taken aback.

Well, I guess Ria might have flown on a plane before. And that seat was probably a nice one too, considering she’s the daughter of a well-to-do family.

Who knows how nice that seat really is—but if she had a chance to fly with someone important, it makes sense that she would get a good seat.

The plane we were on was more akin to a private jet.

I had only seen pictures of business class, so seeing an entire cabin decorated like a big room was a first for me. The seats were practically sofas.

There was a giant TV and drinks and snacks prepared in abundance.

When one thinks of a chartered plane, you’d picture something considerably smaller, but this one was huge. The Vatican is in the Vatican City, and obviously, a small plane wouldn’t have enough fuel to reach it. Even if it was a plane that used magic.

The plane we were on was a massive one that airlines typically filled to the brim with passengers to make a profit.

“……”

Initially, Ria seemed ready to answer my rather silly question, but soon seemed to change her mind.

“So, you think you’re that important, huh?”

Ria replied like that.

Um, but doesn’t it feel like she’s explaining things step by step to someone who genuinely knows nothing?

“Being humble is a nice way to endear yourself to others. But it’s not something that works everywhere. If you keep saying it’s fine, people will really think it’s fine.”

“Oh, but I’m okay with a slightly smaller seat…”

“That’s just it, it’s not just about having a smaller seat. They’d look down on everything you do. It’s about time for those fools who think it all happens just by sitting and praying to come out.”

“Uh—”

“…Don’t say it’s okay.”

Ria said that and suddenly grabbed my hand.

In the palm of her hand, there was a small wound. It looked like she had gotten pricked by something sharp.

“Can you really say that after seeing something like this?”

Even if I said my injuries were minor compared to what others face, it would just irritate Ria more.

I chose to quietly nod instead.

*

The Vatican was, well, the Vatican.

In other words, there’s nothing else to explain other than that.

Isn’t it the most religious place in the world? A city-state with a population of less than 1,000, which might even be ambiguously called a real country.

Even that population is more symbolic; it’s not like people born in the Vatican receive citizenship. It’s more like Cardinals are granted citizenship and become Vatican citizens. So, among that less-than-1,000 population, barely more than half actually live in the Vatican.

Of course, if there were only clergy in this real city, it wouldn’t function normally, so people from other countries come in to work. At least most of the shops inside are operated by Roman citizens, and as for military strength… in the past, you’d think of the Swiss Guard, but now there are official Knight Orders, not just one or two, but plenty.

Well, even if we’re talking about military power, most are Hunters or Heroes.

Honestly speaking, my heart raced a bit. It was my first time in Europe. The scenery I was seeing was completely different from my home country.

I usually stand out quite a bit with my looks. Even in the highly globalized Republic of Korea, people who looked like me were still a minority.

But here, my appearance blended in more smoothly than Ria’s. I had definitely tucked my dyed hair away under my veil, so it didn’t stick out.

The nun’s attire was a bit snug, but—well, each order has slightly different designs, so you could think of it that way.

Since there’s a state religion in Korea, there’s a state religion here too. In some ways, you could say that the current Vatican is much stronger than the historical one.

If we had only stayed within the Vatican, it might have been a bit disappointing, but the final destination we were headed to was not the Vatican, but Rome. The Lateran Basilica where the Pope resides is located in Rome.

It had been a while since the Gate Incident, and Rome had once again become a bustling city filled with tourists. But as I entered the thick walls of the basilica, the outside commotion seemed to fade away.

The air felt somewhat heavy. I found myself carefully stepping as people with completely different cultures from those I usually met ambled down the corridor.

“I assume you’ve heard about the Pope’s health?”

Sister Maria said, walking beside me.

“It’s such a famous thing that it’s been said we need to elect a new Pope.”

I knew that much. I hadn’t really paid much attention to it, but given that I was in the church it was bound to come up at least once in discussions at the dining hall.

The Pope had been secluded for almost five years now.

That doesn’t mean he completely shut himself in; he would come out if he had to officiate important masses or attend events, but the more he did, the more it seemed like he was aging and getting sick… I had seen that a few times on the news.

Even I, who didn’t know much, could see that. His pale skin and the deep shadows under his eyes gave him a rather strong impression.

I heard he was injured in the past.

Is there really nothing the Pope or other clergy can do about his health?

“…Normally, there would have been a lot more procedures. Ah, of course, it’s not that those procedures are there to question the Saint Candidate. It’s about various events.”

“Like a welcoming ceremony?”

“Exactly. I heard you danced too.”

No, who the heck—oh right, I did attend with the church folks.

My face inexplicably flushed.

“The church’s welcoming ceremony probably isn’t that entertaining. Besides, you don’t seem to enjoy those things very much. And…”

“And perhaps about the Pope’s condition…?”

Sister Maria nodded. Her expression wasn’t very good.

Are she and the Pope close on a personal level? But of course, a nun and a priest being personally close would still be more like a boss and their subordinate, exchanging a bit more dialogue.

“…I…”

Sister Maria seemed like she was about to say something but then fell silent and shook her head.

“I think it’s better not to discuss this right now.”

With that, we stood before a pretty large, thick door.

A few exchanges happened. Italian words were spoken, and the fully armed knight guarding the door slowly opened the massive door.

With a creak, the heavy door opened, revealing the back of a frail old man.

And—

“…Huh.”

I muttered.

The Pope was praying. It goes without saying, but kneeling and maintaining that posture for prayer isn’t a particularly good position for health. It’s not a great posture for an elderly person with bad knees and back.

Right now, the Pope appeared to be on the verge of collapsing but was still praying sitting down.

This wasn’t some simple religious ceremony.

It had a more practical significance—

“…Anna.”

Ria called me and gently touched my arm.

With careful fingers, she pointed to something.

A very tiny dot.

Hovering in midair.

A magic sphere.

But it was somewhat different from anything I had seen before. It didn’t even appear to have an eye shape, nor did it seem to move like a living thing.

Even if I weren’t a priest, I would have thought that something that small could easily be removed.

We slowly approached the place where the Pope was. I caught a glimpse of the side profile of the Pope, which had only been seen from behind.

His hands, praying with beads of sweat beading on his head, were turning dark as if dead.

“Oh my.”

I muttered involuntarily.

So, the Pope’s ‘dying reason’ must have been due to this.

This magic sphere.

“It appeared right after the Gate Incident. Ever since then, the Pope has been praying daily for a set time.”

“……”

“We don’t know what it is.”

Sister Maria spoke softly, not wanting to disturb the Pope.

“But up until now, we’ve tried every means to eliminate it. The government of this country knows about it, and so do neighboring countries—but they haven’t disclosed it beyond that.”

And so, I found hope.

Perhaps I was that hope for these people.