Chapter 179

Chapter 177 – Sun and Moon – 6

One thing I can notice here is that Stella and Selene are subtly, no, pretty much outright hoping that I connect with the Popes.

It might be understandable considering the list of things I’ve done in the Holy Kingdom.

‘I never imagined I’d end up using it like this.’

I walked in front of the Pope of the Sun, the Pope of the Moon, the Inquisitor, and the Inquisition, internally smirking.

I could never have imagined that I’d find myself trying to escape from the Popes pulling me into bed by seeking out an Easter Egg weapon hidden beneath the Sun Cathedral and Moon Cathedral.

Even I found that amusing.

Of course, there was no real reason for me to reject the Popes’ temptations like this. Mixing it up with those voluptuous beauties was definitely something to welcome.

This was purely a matter of self-control. If I got too deeply buried in the Popes’ embrace, I might really find myself unable to escape. Floretta and Luna had that kind of destructive power.

If I could take down all the bosses and even subjugate the Creature that Devours the World, things might be different, but for now, I shouldn’t let my guard down. I shouldn’t even entertain the thought of loosening up.

I know my personality better than anyone. Once I start to slack off, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to return to the way I am now unless someone forces me. That increases the odds of something going wrong.

Enjoying myself can always wait until after I’ve dealt with all the threatening events or bosses in the story.

“Stella, what time is it? It can’t be noon yet, right?”

“Yes, esteemed guest. There is still about an hour left.”

I woke up early in bed, having talked to God and fainted in between, and yet there was still about an hour remaining. That was more than enough.

“Floretta, could you clear the area in front of the Sun Cathedral until ten minutes before noon? It doesn’t have to be precisely ten minutes, just as long as it’s before noon.”

“Of course.”

Floretta accepted my request without the slightest hesitation. I was slightly surprised that I was the one questioning her resolute attitude.

“Aren’t you going to ask why?”

“I trust you, esteemed guest. What more do I need?”

Floretta said that with a wink. Seeing Luna nodding as if she agreed made it clear that she had the same thoughts as Floretta.

In fact, there was no need to clear the area in front of the cathedral.

It wasn’t an Easter Egg that would be impossible if there were people around, nor did it require any special preparations. All that was needed was my body and the exact noontime when the sun rose directly above.

Still, I made that request to Floretta largely because I felt that leaving people around would draw an immense amount of attention.

Honestly, I was already overwhelmed with the attention I was receiving now. Names of the Pope of the Sun, the Pope of the Moon, the Inquisitor, the Inquisition, and the elite battle nuns of the Holy Kingdom were all on that list.

If I executed the Easter Egg in front of everyone with the Popes and the Inquisitors there, my name would be known throughout the entire Holy Kingdom.

After all, who wouldn’t notice the person who created a sacred relic by concentrating the sunlight that fell on the Sun Cathedral?

Even in the game, when a player activates an Easter Egg to obtain a sacred relic, NPCs in the Holy Kingdom bow their heads to the player until they manage to insert it for the first time.

What would happen in reality?

‘And Kaiquilia would find out too.’

I shook my head while thinking of the Emperor, whose personality could go anywhere.

“Oh, you don’t need to empty it out too far. Just make sure the people can’t see what’s happening in the plaza in front of the Sun Cathedral. Is that okay?”

“Of course, esteemed guest. Selene.”

“Please carry out the guest’s command, Stella.”

Floretta and Luna called out to the Inquisitor and the Inquisition.

Stella energetically bowed her head and then rushed down the hallway at an incredible speed, while Selene lightly inclined her head and melted into the shadows.

“By the way, esteemed guest, what do you intend to obtain from the Sun Cathedral?”

Luna, who had attached herself to my left arm, spoke up. Floretta also looked at me with curiosity filling her green eyes.

I already had an answer in mind that would likely leave the Popes astonished, but since it seemed my favorability was nearly MAX, it probably wouldn’t matter much.

I replied briefly.

“Sacred relic.”

On the surface, the Popes were the ones who asked directly, but in reality, it was almost like I was doing the asking, so Stella’s and Selene’s speed in handling things was astonishing.

By ten minutes before twelve, rather than emptying it, it had barely been ten minutes since I asked, and the plaza in front of the cathedral was already completely empty.

‘……This is kind of creepy.’

While waiting for noon, I glanced around chatting with the Popes. It felt a bit eerie not seeing any worshippers, as the area that was always bustling was now completely deserted.

Paths leading out from the plaza, and the plaza itself, the buildings around, the walls, and even the decorations were all covered in white, yet not a single soul was visible anywhere.

I checked the time again. Only about two minutes left.

“It’s almost time. Just a moment.”

“Yes, esteemed guest.”

“Understood.”

The two who had been rubbing their chests against my arm and wouldn’t let go, Floretta and Luna, obediently released their elbows at my words.

I walked towards the center of the plaza. Now that it was almost noon, the sun in the sky was about to be directly above the spire.

‘……This feels a bit off now that I’m actually setting it up.’

With Floretta, Luna, Stella, and Selene all looking at me with eager expressions, I felt a bit strange preparing to take ‘that gesture.’

What could I do? I had to do it.

‘Alright, let’s go.’

Thirty seconds before twelve, I took my stance.

Facing the direction of the sun, I straightened my back, neck, and waist while keeping both feet closely aligned so my body faced the same direction.

I raised my arms overhead, letting my palms face each other, and slowly began to spread them apart. A posture not unlike the letter Y. My body was probably at a rough 45-degree angle.

Just as I completed the last step, lifting my heels, the hour, minute, and second hands pointed to twelve exactly, overlapping perfectly. I had just struck the pose.

This gesture is called ‘Praise the Sun.’

It’s also known as the gesture ‘Long Live the Sun.’

And it’s the gesture to obtain the Easter Egg weapon from the Sun Cathedral.

‘……It does feel gratifying.’

Before doing it, I felt embarrassed, but now that I had the pose, a bit of pride bubbled up my throat as I realized I had recreated this cult-following pose straight from the game.

Praise the Sun.

The exact name is that, but among users, it was simply referred to as Long Live the Sun. It rolled off the tongue better that way.

This gesture could be obtained after completing the quest given by the Inquisitor and then finishing the quest from the Pope of the Sun, where you would receive a solar eclipse along with it.

As with any gesture, if it’s not for achievements, collecting them doesn’t mean much, so aside from its quirky posture and the background story tied to Brightest Darkness 1-3, it wasn’t particularly seen in-game.

‘At least, not until the Easter Egg connected to the Holy Kingdom was revealed.’

It all started, as always, with a bored hardcore player.

One hardcore player, driven to the brink of boredom, began messing around with gestures and suddenly focused on the description of a gesture.

‘When you gaze at the sun and strike this pose, an unknown mystical feeling arises,’ it stated, and among nearly a hundred gestures, only two had such a description.

‘Praise the Sun,’ and ‘Praise the Moon.’

These two gestures were the only ones with such meaningful descriptions, so it didn’t take long for equally bored users to latch onto the bait and rush in.

Hardcore players, unable to contain their excitement now that they finally had something to do, started searching every nook and cranny of the map, and the Easter Egg was discovered within a few months.

It required meeting specific conditions to be triggered for just one instance during a short time of one minute in real-time, at the ‘noon’ hour of the Holy Kingdom, by striking this gesture at the center of the plaza in front of the Sun Cathedral.

Originally, various conditions had to be met to unlock the ‘noon’ hour, and to obtain the gesture, players had to complete numerous sub-quests from the Holy Kingdom. However, now that wasn’t necessary at all.

Noon came back around once a day, and one didn’t even need to obtain the gesture to strike the Long Live the Sun pose.

I was convinced as I saw that even an event that could have allowed a player to obtain the gesture caused no changes whatsoever.

“Evangelina, look, the spire of the cathedral….”

With Luna’s dazed voice, a Light Mass gathered near the tip of the spire and intensified.

“What’s happening…?”

The spire produced a clearly visible column of light, shooting right toward me. A beam of light starting from the top of the spire connected my toes and the spire.

‘Got it.’

From the column of light that rested at my feet, something slowly began to manifest.

A slender, staff-like body with intricate patterns drawn on it, two pairs of angel wings blooming from its end, and finally a round orb appearing atop the wings.

Among all those, the orb on the angel wings floated up into thin air by itself, paused between the two pairs of angel wings, and started to radiate a brilliant light.

Just like the sun.

I grabbed the long staff-like object without hesitation. As I grasped the weapon, the light column descending from the top of the spire gradually faded away.

‘The design is quite nice.’

I gazed at the sun slowly spinning between the angel wings.

The appearance itself looked just as cool as I saw in the game. Its golden and orange hues mixed together with elegant patterns carved onto the body, topped off with a small sun as the finishing touch.

The only problem was its grim performance, which could rival that of a broken straight sword.

Unlike the Wingless Nightmare, which had absurdly insane performance that justified its ridiculous acquisition requirements, this was merely regarded as an entertainment weapon to be used when hardcore players had nothing else to do.

It didn’t even boast any special abilities; it was just about raising the staff above my head to emit sunlight. There was no damage or even super armor while doing so.

By the way, if you perform the ‘Praise the Moon’ gesture in front of the Moon Cathedral, the Easter Egg weapon obtained also simply emits moonlight as its special ability.

Thus, the two were nicknamed flashlights.

‘How do I tell them this? Should I say not to use this in real combat and just keep it as decoration?’

While pondering how to express that the Popes shouldn’t use it in actual combat, I turned my head to see the four faces staring at me with awestruck expressions.

Having anticipated this reaction enough, I approached them while recalling the excuses I had prepared in advance.