The Holy Kingdom. The holy land of the clerics who serve the Sovereign God. A religious nation where the Pope and the Virgin Saintess, along with various other clerics, gather to live.
Kail’s reason for heading to the Holy Kingdom was his firm belief that there might be some clue related to the Evil God’s last will here.
“Why the Evil God is evil, why the Sovereign God is sovereign… To truly understand, I must go to the Holy Kingdom.”
Of course, clerics who studied in the Holy Kingdom and even its highest leader, the Virgin Saintess, were already present at the Academy.
However, Kail wanted more detailed information. He didn’t just want to hear myths; he wanted a story that would hit close to home.
“So… you’re going on a journey?”
“If you think about it, we haven’t had our honeymoon yet. The Holy Kingdom doesn’t seem like a bad travel destination.”
Upon hearing Kail’s words, Yuri stared at him without any change in expression. If this suggestion of going to the Holy Kingdom instead of a beautiful resort where other nobles usually went for their honeymoon were made to any ordinary noblewoman, it probably would have been interpreted as a challenge.
But the person in question was Kail. There was no way he could have any deep thoughts behind it. Thinking so, Yuri quietly nodded.
“You’re not meeting a woman, are you?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I’m asking if you’re going to meet a woman. By coincidence, the Virgin Saintess will be there too.”
“Are you crazy? Bringing my pregnant wife along…”
Hearing Kail’s words, Yuri smiled contentedly and clung to his arm.
That’s right. Despite how Kail might appear to be interested in women, in reality, he was quite the opposite. Whenever women approached him, he pushed them away.
Given her past experiences observing him, if she couldn’t trust him, then who else would?
“Alright. When are we leaving?”
“The sooner, the better.”
“Then let’s go now.”
“…Now?”
“Yes, now.”
The Academy territory, half in ruins due to all sorts of terrorism and the descent of the Evil God. Yuri didn’t want to stay here a moment longer. She felt the Evil God’s miasma rising from everywhere could negatively affect her child, and most importantly…
“Yeah, I need to distance myself from that wench.”
She wanted to quickly escape from the place where there was a lewd knight trying to use a certain lizard, which dared to call her husband “Daddy,” to form a marital relationship with Kail.
And so, Kail set off towards the Holy Kingdom together with Yuri.
***
The entry procedure for the Holy Kingdom is extremely complicated. This is because it is a nation that enforces the rules created by God, beyond just believing in Him.
Committing sins outside the Holy Kingdom is unavoidable. God cannot always monitor crimes committed on the continent tainted by the Evil God’s corruption.
However, breaking the rules within the Holy Kingdom is unacceptable. This is one of the few sacred sites where the Sovereign God constantly watches over. If one were to break His decrees or laws, there was a possibility that the disappointed God might abandon His followers and leave forever.
Therefore, those wishing to enter the Holy Kingdom must pledge not to commit any crimes and acknowledge that they could be “dealt with” even for breaking the smallest rule.
“Next! Your permit?”
“I was told showing this would suffice.”
However, Kail was able to enter very simply without any special procedures. The sacred mark engraved on his body made it possible.
Seeing the sacred mark on Kail’s hand, the gatekeeper frowned, wondering what it was, but upon sensing the majestic holy power emanating from it, he quickly changed his demeanor.
“T, this is… Welcome! Hero!”
“Welcome!”
“Ah, yes. Is it okay if I enter with my wife?”
“Of course!”
“We will guide you!”
“No need for that… Just do your job as a gatekeeper.”
Kail refused the gatekeepers who tried to follow them and entered with Yuri. True to the reputation of the Holy Kingdom, which adhered to God’s rules like laws, a spotlessly clean city came into view.
There was no filth or beggars on the streets. Thinking they might have been deliberately cleaned up, Kail peeked into a back alley and found that even the hidden corners were meticulously cleaned.
It was an almost paranoid level of cleanliness.
“Come to think of it, they did say God’s gaze reaches everywhere here…”
Kail turned his head slightly to look at the largest building in this land, the headquarters of the clerics who act as intermediaries for God—the Vatican.
The statue of God atop it seemed to be watching them.
“It’s tidy.”
“Indeed.”
The dust-free environment pleased the soon-to-be mother. Realizing this, Kail smirked and wandered around the city with Yuri.
After wandering for a while, Kail paused as he saw the Knight Order blocking his path.
“We’ve been looking for you, Hero.”
“What is this…”
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you come with us?”
Seeing the trembling eyes of the paladin, Kail sighed and nodded. After all, it made sense for the paladins to track down a hero marked by the Virgin Saintess roaming the city freely.
They probably wanted to get a glimpse of him since he came to the Holy Kingdom. Following the paladins, Kail wore a bitter expression as he felt the gazes upon him.
The Holy Kingdom is an extremely static nation. It’s a country with no progress or change beyond following the rules established under God’s name.
Naturally, every visitor from the outside was pure entertainment for them.
Kail tried to ignore the stares directed at him as he entered the capital of the Holy Kingdom, the Vatican. Whether pre-informed or not, the high-ranking priests of the Vatican came out to greet him.
“Welcome, Hero.”
“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.”
“Welcome. Please come inside.”
They didn’t ask Kail why he came. They simply welcomed him blindly, following the scripture’s commandment to love thy neighbor.
Thanks to this, Kail received state guest treatment and entered the Vatican with an uncertain expression, sitting quietly and being served by nuns and priests.
After drinking the tea they served and waiting for a while, the Pope appeared after finishing mass.
“Haha, sorry to keep you waiting, Hero.”
“Not at all. On the contrary, thank you for welcoming me despite my unannounced visit.”
“Our Lord says not to mistreat any silent visitors. Haha.”
Kail looked at the face of the Pope seated before him. Anyone could tell he was the Pope from his benevolent expression, a face that seemed capable of forgiving even if stabbed in the belly. From this, Kail could roughly gauge his character.
Sipping his tea, Kail cautiously explained the reason for his visit.
“I came because I have some questions.”
“Ask anything. I’ll answer to the best of my knowledge.”
“The records of the Sovereign God… That is, I’m curious about the history of the Church and the Holy Kingdom.”
“Oh—Hero taking interest in mythology. What wonderful news!”
Even though it was a very simple question that anyone could answer, the Pope personally answered Kail’s query.
He recounted the history of this world’s Sovereign God, starting with the well-known [Let there be light].
Of course, it wasn’t entirely identical to the Bible Kail knew from Earth. In this world, actual superhumans existed, and an Evil God opposing God was real.
The Sovereign God sealed himself along with the Evil God to protect this world and its people. Monsters disturbing the world were creations of the Evil God meant to bring chaos.
Demons and monsters—all things tormenting humanity were born from the Evil God, while everything beneficial to humanity was created by the Sovereign God. Hearing this, Kail tilted his head quizzically and asked,
“—Then who created humans?”
“As I said earlier, they were crafted by the Sovereign God.”
“Including humans who kill other humans?”
“Unfortunately, humans originally did not kill each other. However, the malignancy of the Evil God spread to humanity, causing them to develop such sinful thoughts.”
Kail listened to stories about how the Bible contains the proverb ‘Thou shalt not kill thy neighbor’ and how the first murder in human history was committed by an Apostle of the Evil God Cult. Nodding as if he understood roughly, he said,
“Thank you. My curiosity seems to be mostly resolved.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Hero. If you have more questions, feel free to ask anytime. Hahaha.”
Hearing the Pope’s words, Kail expressed his gratitude and organized his thoughts.
The Evil God is evil.
Because he tries to destroy the perfect world created by the Sovereign God.
And that perfect world created by the Sovereign God is the static world Kail witnessed upon entering the Holy Kingdom.
A world that strictly follows predetermined rules, forces daily routines, and punishes any refusal—a highly game-like world.
The Evil God is evil for wanting to destroy this NPC-filled world to grant them freedom.
