There are two gods in this world.
The goddess ‘El’ commonly regarded as the deity of humans, and the demon god ‘Asmodeus’ who is the god of the demon race.
These two gods, governing the day and night of the world respectively, were also sisters, but at the same time, they were adversaries.
Competing for dominance over the lower realm at every moment. Naturally, the adversarial relationship between these two gods was passed on to the humans and demons who served them.
After all, the influence a god can exert directly on the lower realm is limited, so it’s only natural that they try to extend their influence through their followers residing there.
And among such followers, the country of humans who serve the goddess ‘El’—the Holy Kingdom of Eden.
At the center of its capital, ‘E利亚’, inside the grand atmosphere of the Pope’s audience chamber, an elderly woman seated on the throne reserved solely for the Pope spoke.
“So… we still haven’t found the warrior Ain, have we?”
“That is correct, Your Holiness.”
In front of her, a nun with radiant platinum hair reported.
The elderly woman, the Pope, pressed her forehead.
“This is troubling. There’s still no news since his disappearance.”
“I apologize.”
“Yes, we owe an apology to the goddess herself. Failing to properly manage the warrior appointed by the goddess is akin to not fulfilling the duties of the saintess.”
“…”
Reprimanding herself outright, the blonde woman closed her mouth. The Pope stared at her intently.
“Warrior Ain, I’ve heard he has separated from his comrades this time. In fact, the other warriors seem to have eagerly taken his former teammates.”
“…”
“This isn’t the first time either. Warrior Ain may be lacking in some areas, but he wasn’t completely useless or incompetent as people mockingly say. He was indeed a warrior, recognized for his accomplishments and merits. It’s just that due to his inherent misfortune, being born a commoner, and lacking support or backing compared to other warriors, he hasn’t received proper recognition. In fact, his temperament was better than most warriors.”
Saying this, the Pope looked at the platinum-haired woman, Saintess ‘Ellen Silvenia,’ with a somber gaze.
“And if you knew that, we, at least within our Holy Kingdom, should have treated him appropriately. Managing the warriors overall was entrusted entirely to you, including those aspects.”
“…”
“You must know this isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned this. I have eyes and ears too. At the very least, I’m aware that Warrior Ain hasn’t been treated properly. Haven’t I repeatedly reminded you to take better care of it?”
“…”
“Do you have anything to say, Ellen?”
“…No, Your Holiness.”
Saintess Ellen bowed her head deeper as she replied. The Pope sighed.
“Ellen, I am an old woman now. Yet, I still cannot step down from my position.”
“…”
“For twenty years since the power struggle among the candidates for Demon King ended and the Demon King chosen by the Demon God emerged, the strength of the demons has grown stronger each day. You must know how often I’ve had to go to the front lines recently.”
“…Yes.”
Indeed, the Pope is one of the few renowned powerful individuals blessed with immense divine power from the goddess. Her absence from state affairs alone is a significant loss of manpower. Therefore, she occasionally leaves her duties to join the battlefield while still managing state affairs.
“In the midst of handling state affairs, I must also go to the front lines to care for the wounded. If even the management of warriors entrusted to you is like this, when will I ever get any rest?”
“…I apologize.”
“Seek forgiveness not from me, but from the goddess. Our failure to properly manage the warrior appointed by the goddess is our incompetence.”
“…”
With that, the Saintess fell silent again. The Pope dismissed her.
“Now, please leave. And continue searching for Warrior Ain.”
“…Understood, Your Holiness.”
The Saintess bowed deeply and exited the audience chamber.
“…Hmph.”
After dismissing the Saintess, the Pope sighed heavily.
Shaking her head, she rose from her throne and headed toward a door on the right side of the audience chamber.
Opening the door revealed a small empty space measuring barely four pyeong.
In the center, a circular magic circle covering the floor glowed faintly with blue mana.
It was a teleportation magic circle prepared for the Pope’s personal use. She stepped onto it.
Woooom!
The magic circle lit up brilliantly, and her body disappeared from the space.
She arrived in a vast white flower field.
The entire area was covered in pristine white flowers, with a large mansion-like building at the center.
She cautiously approached the building.
Suddenly,
-Waaaaaaah!
-Ahahaha!
-Sister! Show me again!
-Big sister! Show me your shiny magic!
Children’s laughter echoed not from the building but beyond it, in the flower field.
Noticing this, the Pope halted her steps toward the building and turned in another direction.
Approaching beyond the mansion into the flower field…
“Hmm~ I’d love to, but I can only show more magic to good children, you know?”
“I’m a good child!”
“I am too! I’m a good child!”
“We’re all good! Right?”
“Yeahyeah!”
Surrounded by several young children, a pure white woman chatted and laughed with them.
“Really? But I know everything about Tom playing a mean prank on Amy last time, don’t I?”
“Eek!”
“And Mary, didn’t you leave behind carrots because you didn’t want to eat them?”
“Eep.”
“And Hans…”
As the woman recounted each child’s “misdeeds,” she appeared exceptionally pure.
Her snow-white hair reflecting brightly in the sunlight and her luminous white eyes exuded a mysterious charm.
Her appearance radiated an ethereal beauty closer to that of a goddess or angel rather than a human, making her look like the reincarnation of a goddess.
“…Nu, Nuna!”
Just then, while she was chatting with the children, a boy approached her, hiding his hands behind his back and blushing.
Compared to the other children around 5-6 years old, this boy seemed older, likely around early teens.
“Huh? What’s wrong, Norman?”
“W, well…”
Norman, the boy called, kept blushing and hesitating before finally closing his eyes tightly and extending his hidden hands.
“I, I found this unfamiliar flower deep in the forest! I brought it to show you, Nuna!”
“Oh my.”
Saying this, Norman presented a white flower. Seeing it, the woman said,
“It’s a moonflower. Judging by its whiteness, it seems to be a subspecies…”
“Ah… Nuna, you already knew?”
“A little? But even I haven’t seen this white subspecies before.”
Smiling faintly, she patted the boy’s head.
“You said you wanted to show it to me, right? That’s impressive~”
“E, ehm…”
“But it’s a pity. Moonflowers only bloom at night.”
“…R, really?”
Upon hearing that it blooms only at night, Norman’s expression stiffened slightly.
Since the night belongs to the concept governed by the Demon God Asmodeus.
He thought she might get angry if she realized he brought this to show her.
“Yeah, and it’s also regrettable that you picked it. It would have been much prettier to see it bloom at night, wouldn’t it?”
“Ah…”
However, she didn’t get angry. Instead, she merely expressed regret that the flower was picked and that it couldn’t be seen blooming at night.
Then, smiling gently, she asked the boy,
“Norman, could you hand it to me for a moment?”
“…Uh, okay!”
At that, Norman handed the flower to the woman.
Taking it, she planted it in the ground.
An ordinary action that would have meant nothing to anyone else. But not for her.
Whoosh!
A cascade of white light gathered in her hand, causing the perennial moonflower stem to grow roots and firmly anchor itself into the soil.
“Waaaah!”
“It’s beautiful!”
The children exclaimed in awe. The young ones were fascinated by the sparkling energy emanating from her hands.
Only when they grow much older will they realize how miraculous this truly was.
“Alright. This way, we can all come back later to see it bloom at night together, right?”
“I want to see it!”
“Me too!”
“Ahaha~ Let’s do that.”
Turning to Norman, the woman said,
“Thank you, Norman.”
“Uh, yeah!”
Smiling with a wink, she made Norman blush and bow his head.
Quietly observing all this, the Pope eventually smiled and slowly approached them.
“Everyone, having fun?”
“Eh? Grandma! Grandma!”
“Sillia Grandma~!”
Seeing the Pope, Sillia Ersiel, the children affectionately called her “Grandma” and ran toward her.
“Sillia Grandma~ Welcome!”
The Pope gently calmed the children and, smiling warmly like the others, turned to look at the woman.
She spoke,
“Thank you all for welcoming me. Anyway, am I interrupting your fun by coming here as an old woman?”
“Not exactly~ Do you want to play with us, Grandma?”
“Ho ho, I’ll pass. I am getting old, after all.”
Shaking her head and saying that, the Pope asked,
“Anyway, why did you come? Did you miss us?”
“Of course, that’s part of it… Everyone, could you please go inside the mansion for a bit? I need to talk to her alone.”
When the Pope said this to the children, they glanced at each other briefly before nodding.
“Alright!”
“Hurry back, both of you!”
“Ah! And I want cookies!”
“Ho ho, understood.”
The children chattered excitedly and headed inside the mansion. Watching them go with a smile, the Pope then turned her gaze to the woman.
“…Serenity, may I speak?”
“Yes~ Go ahead~”
The woman called Serenity continued to smile cheerfully as she replied.
To her, the Pope said,
“…Could the Holy Kingdom possibly count on your help…”
“Nope, not interested~”
“…”
As soon as the mention of the Holy Kingdom came up, Serenity swiftly turned her gaze to the flower field.
When the Pope silently stared at her, Serenity puffed her cheeks slightly and said,
“But~ Wouldn’t tying a free-spirited and beautiful girl like me to such a rigid place be a loss for all humanity? Besides, if I join the Holy Kingdom, they’ll probably call me ‘Saintess’ or something, which sounds terribly stiff. I don’t want that~”
“…The Holy Kingdom is going through tough times lately.”
Sighing at her reaction, the Pope continued,
“One of our warriors is missing, and the scattered factions of demons, who used to fight amongst themselves, are now growing stronger under the Demon King. We need strength.”
“Strength for war, you mean?”
“…”
“Sorry, but I don’t want to get involved in such matters.”
Saying that, Serenity turned her back on the Pope and started walking through the flower field. The fluttering hem of her white dress and her flowing hair seemed especially mysterious in the wind.
Closing her eyes and smiling gently, she savored every moment.
“At least, I don’t want to make decisions that involve someone dying or getting hurt in war.”
“…But someone needs to break this cycle of conflict.”
“In a way where one side wins, right?”
“…”
“From my perspective, such victory is no different from failure.”
“…Then what counts as success?”
“Hmm?”
“…”
Serenity’s seemingly irresponsible statement left the Pope momentarily stunned. Serenity spoke,
“But I believe there must be another way.”
“…Why are you so sure?”
“Sure? Not really. I just believe it.”
“…”
“Just like how we believe in the existence of the gods and trust that the paradise created by them exists.”
“…Then why do you believe in him?”
“Hmm~ Well…”
Pausing briefly at the question, she turned back to the Pope with a bright smile.
“Because it’s much more romantic, isn’t it?”
