"...The Inquisitor? Affiliated with the Pope of the Moon?"
"Yes, that's right."
Perhaps because the gray-haired woman had honestly revealed her identity as an Inquisitor, the murderous intent overflowing from the Knight Commanders had subsided a little.
The Pope of the Sun is affiliated with the Inquisitors, and the Pope of the Moon is affiliated with the Inquisitors. There is only one letter difference, so many users use them interchangeably, but the two are clearly different organizations.
In the game, there is a clear difference between the two, with the Inquisitor's combat priests wearing heavy armor, using maces and great shields, while the Inquisitor's combat priests wearing dark robes, without shields, and using only a rapier.
Both of them had something in common: they were famous to the people of the continent in many ways.
Just as the Inquisitor and his combat nuns were known as the best and most powerful military group in the Holy Nation, the Inquisitor and his combat nuns were known as the best and most powerful assassination group in the Holy Nation.
There were even rumors that if the two groups joined forces, an entire huge territory would disappear overnight, so even the knight commanders could not have been unaware of this.
But even though his identity was revealed, he didn't completely let his guard down. His words changed from "I'll kill you right now" to "I'll listen to your story." The tip of the sword was still pointed at the gray-haired woman.
Especially Iris, who had just heard that the Pope of the Sun's Inquisitor had arbitrarily called her a heretic and then tested her purity by taking off her clothes and touching her breasts.
"What is the Holy Nation's Inquisitor doing here?"
"Just now, you said with your own mouth that the Holy Nation must have contacted the Emperor for something. Do you have any guesses?"
"...So you were the means of communication."
"You hit the nail on the head this time too."
The woman, who called herself Selene, raised both her hands slightly to head height, indicating that she had no intention of fighting.
"As I said before, I did not come here to fight. So, please put down your weapons."
"That's not for us to decide."
"That's right. It's not up to the Knight Commanders to decide. It's up to me to decide."
Aurora walked out from behind. Erica and Claudia tried to dissuade her, saying that it was dangerous to get close, but Aurora simply dismissed their worries with a wave of her hand.
"Yes. You told His Majesty the Emperor to give such an order to our Delta, right?"
"I simply relayed the Pope's words, Lady Aurora. Do you think I have the power to change or sway the mind of your Emperor?"
"Well, my aunt isn't the type to do that. Then what's the reason?"
"What is the reason?"
"The reason I told my aunt that Delta was going to the Holy Nation. We don't have to do that, we can travel between the two countries at any time. The relationship between the Aeternum Empire and the Holy Nation of Raphaella isn't so bad that we need permission to travel between them. It's not even necessary, so why do you do it?"
"No, it was definitely necessary."
"So what's the reason? Do you want me to keep repeating the same thing?"
"To prevent a conflict between your Emperor and the Pope of the Sun."
When the insane answer came back, "To prevent a conflict between the Emperor and the Pope," Aurora gasped for a moment as if she was speechless. It was the same with the other knight commanders.
I had nothing to say.
Only the maids had expressions that were no different from usual. Whether they were truly unsurprised, or were trying to maintain their composure despite being surprised, or did not realize the significance of those words, was something only they knew.
"...I guess this is something we should talk about between ourselves. Isn't that right, everyone?"
It was a polite way of expressing a request to leave the room. The maids who noticed the intention bowed their heads and left the reception room in a line. With a click, the last maid closed the door.
After confirming that all the maids had left, Aurora sighed and touched her forehead.
"Tell me more. A dispute? And between His Majesty the Emperor and His Holiness the Pope?"
"Didn't you know?"
Selene answered blandly.
"The Emperor cares much more about that man than you think. That is why I came here, because it was necessary to inform His Holiness of our purpose in advance so that he would not feel that we were trying to steal the man away from him."
It was a remark blurted out, but the repercussions of that answer were enormous. I was so shocked that my body froze.
'What did I just hear?'
The emperor cares about me?
Even the act of simply visiting the Holy Land to meet the Pope was so extremely guarded that someone as high as an Inquisitor had to come and personally tell him that he had no such intention?
The only time I remember properly encountering it was when I blocked an attack like in the game's event when dealing with the lord. Why on earth?
I had a feeling something was wrong when I first received the letter with the Emperor's seal, but it was chilling to discover that the Emperor's interest in me was much greater than I had thought.
My head hurt. I had never heard of an emperor showing such great interest in the protagonist from the beginning. Thinking about the main story that would unfold in the future, I was already feeling overwhelmed.
Everyone except Selene, the one who had said those words, had an expression full of shock on their face, as if everyone else was feeling the same way. Lize, in particular, looked even more serious.
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"Now that I've told you why I'm here, are you ready to put away your weapons?"
"...Everyone, put down your weapons."
Aurora said, biting her lip. The knight commanders slowly put away their weapons.
"Okay, I understand. I'll have to think about this more later."
I said I would think about it, but even if it was Aurora, there would be no other way than to accept it quietly. If the emperor were to take interest in me, who could stop him?
"If you came to deliver a message to His Majesty the Emperor, why did you stop by to see us? Surely you wouldn't just say you were just passing through?"
"Of course not. I have come to escort you to the Holy Land by order of the Pope of the Moon."
"Escort? Not surveillance?"
"Pure escort. The realm of the sun and moon is inviolable. As long as the sun welcomes you as its guests, the moon will never interfere."
"Inviolable? You will never interfere?"
Aurora snorted.
"The fact that you came here is a violation of that. The Pope of the Sun invited us. Then why did the Inquisitor come instead of the Inquisitor? Weren't the two Popes' territories inviolable?"
"This contact has been ordered by the Pope of the Moon. Ask me and I will tell you nothing. However, I have no doubt that you will mean something."
"Ha. You really are good at beating around the bush when you really don't want to talk about it."
Aurora sneered as if she didn't like the current situation itself. Selene accepted the sarcasm indifferently.
"Strictly speaking, it had nothing to do with my will, but since the end result is the same, you can think of it however you want."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll take that to mean you don't want to talk."
Phew, Aurora let out a deep sigh.
"When are we leaving? I don't know if you know, but it hasn't even been an hour since our kids came back from subduing the demons. Anyway, there's no departure date written in your letter either. I want to give them at least two days off. Or maybe even more."
"You may depart whenever you wish, but I recommend that you limit your rest period to three days or less. Your emperor is far from patient."
It was true. Since the Emperor had personally ordered us to go to the Holy Land, we could not afford to linger here for a few days. It would have been right to rest for two days at most and then set off.
Selene must have known that fact very well, which is why she calmly responded to Aurora's half-threat that she could stay here for months if she got caught.
"Finally, all the knight commanders must accompany the Holy Kingdom."
"Why?"
This time, Iris took a step forward. Her weapon was lowered, but her eyes were still full of wariness.
"I don't know, since it is a recommendation from the Pope of the Moon."
"That can't be. One of us must remain and protect our lord."
"Don't worry."
Selene's eyes briefly lit up. Then, shadows rose up from various parts of the reception room, and began to change into human figures. I was startled, but the other knight commanders were calm.
The shadows that rose up and down transformed into perfect human figures. They were all women, and they wore black veils on their heads.
The outfit was incredibly revealing in another sense.
If the clothes worn by the combat nuns under the Inquisitor's command revealed more than they covered, the clothes worn by the combat nuns under the Inquisitor's command were less revealing, as they were wrapped up completely.
That's because the body is wrapped tightly in translucent black tights.
The tights clung to the person tightly, as if they were vacuum-sealed. They clung so tightly that it made one wonder how anyone could put them on or take them off.
It didn't sparkle like latex, which is similar, but because the material was translucent, you could clearly see the flesh inside. That was my firm 11-pack abs, and my belly button right next to it.
If it weren't for the fact that the leather jacket looked like it was cut off just below the nipples, it would have shown the peak of her breasts. It seemed like she was wearing it to emphasize her breasts rather than hide them.
It was fortunate that I was wearing underwear underneath. If I hadn't had that, the secret between my legs would have been visible.
I really don't know why he wears that garter belt all the time.
"I wondered when you would show up. If by any chance you left and they didn't disappear, I was planning on cutting them down."
"Did you notice?"
"Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
"I didn't mean it that way. If you felt that way, I apologize."
While Selene and Iris were conversing, battle nuns emerged from the shadows, knelt before Selene and bowed their heads.
There were twelve of them, all with dark silver hair and purple eyes mixed with gray. Considering that all the combat nuns under Stella were blonde and green-eyed, it seemed like there was some kind of secret.
But right now, I'm so confused because of the Emperor that I don't have the brain to think deeply about such things.
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"The combat nuns under my command will protect you. I will watch over you every moment, so you can put your worries to rest."
As Selene snapped her fingers, the combat nuns who had been bowing their heads in front of her melted into shadows and disappeared. Aurora looked around with a bewildered expression.
"I feel really bad about being watched all day."
"We only monitor the outside of the mansion. Unless something special happens, we won't look inside."
"...Well, then it doesn't matter. Anyway, I understand."
"Yes. I will now take my leave."
With those words, Selene pulled her robe back over her head. Her dark silver ponytail was swallowed up by the robe, and her purple eyes disappeared.
Selene, who looked exactly the same as when she first appeared here, said goodbye for the last time.
"Get some rest. I'll see you when we leave."
Immediately afterwards, the robed figure disappeared as if moonlight was breaking apart.
In the place where the moon had disappeared, sunlight was shining again.