Chapter 196

Chapter 194 – Mutation – 5

Whoosh As I dodged the attack, the unfortunate corridor wall suffered a beatdown instead of me. Debris and shards of glass fell down into the imperial palace garden like rain.

Those Knight Commanders will handle that on their own.

“What the heck, are you trying to demolish the palace?”

Even with my sarcastic remark, there was still no change in their expressions.

I glanced sideways. The corridor wall was already partially destroyed, revealing the outer scenery. I peered into the garden through the gaps.

Clink The knight commanders, pieces of debris in hand, were nervously looking up. They waved with a grin, as if to say everything was fine. Upon seeing that, the commanders freaked out.

Lize stomped her feet and shouted.

“Hey! Is this the time for waving hands?! Focus on the battle!”

I glanced at the entity possessing what was a golden knight commander; it was debatable to even call it golden armor now, but whatever, it used to be the Golden Dusk Knight Commander. They hadn’t finished getting into position yet, so it was fine.

Of course, it wasn’t an action I took thoughtlessly. Would I have leisurely waved while that greatsword was flying? I did it because there was an opening, to ease their tension.

‘…Let’s hold back next time.’

But it turned out to be counterproductive.

Swish Deflecting the swinging greatsword, while the enemy prepared to rampage, I stepped back to reduce combat fatigue and quickly rolled three times to dodge to the opposite side. The creature cleaved through the empty space.

‘I think it’s about time.’

I looked around the corridor. It felt like only a few minutes had passed, but it was likely nearing the arrival of either the Inquisitor or Inquisitor.

If it’s Minerva, it wouldn’t take even a second to reach the Holy Kingdom, and with demons appearing, there’s no reason for the Holy Kingdom to delay either. Considering that, it could be regarded as late already.

—Whoosh!

‘Ah, here they come.’

Just as I had that thought, a bright divine power began to rise from behind the former Golden Dusk Knight Commander. It was golden. That meant the Inquisitor had arrived first.

Feeling a much larger divine power behind, the creature instinctively turned back. I too lowered my sword tip. With the Inquisitor arriving, I could leave the fighting to them.

Soon, the silhouette of a person emerged within the divine power.

“Stella, you’ve come well…?”

I was about to greet Stella, but I paused momentarily upon noticing the long hair flowing from behind the silhouette. Stella’s hair wasn’t long enough to touch the floor like that.

Gradually, the light mass formed the complete shape of a person.

Long, wavy golden hair that was about to touch the floor. Jewel-like green eyes. A cute smile on the face.

A chest much larger than her head, and an opaque Y-shaped cloth barely covering the important areas. A translucent black see-through garment revealing body curves and skin.

The figure that emerged from the light mass wasn’t Stella, but Floretta.

“Flore… Pope of the Sun?”

I instinctively almost called her what I usually did, but recalled that there were still eyes watching us in the garden, and quickly switched to an honorific. The knight commanders could likely hear us from this distance.

Upon me showing courtesy, Floretta’s eyes narrowed slightly. But that displeased expression didn’t last long; she confirmed that there were indeed eyes in the garden beyond the ruined corridor wall.

A smile blossomed back on her face.

“Yes, distinguished guest.”

“How did the Pope end up here…?”

I was dumbfounded. I never expected Floretta would come in person.

“I came to assist a distinguished guest, what more need I say?”

“…Me?”

“That’s correct.”

As we were having a calm conversation, the golden armor in between didn’t move at all. It appeared to be completely overwhelmed by the aura exuding from the Pope.

Her green eyes shifted slightly. Those were eyes filled with a chilling indifference, completely different from when they were directed at me. I even felt a chill for a moment, being a step outside her gaze.

“However, before we catch up, I believe there are matters we must address first.”

Floretta raised her right hand. Only then did I notice the staff she was holding. It was the Easter Egg weapon I had given to the Popes.

Wait, hadn’t I told them to keep it stored and not to use it?

“Pope, that’s——”

Before I could stop Floretta, a tremendous light burst from the small sun at the tip. It was such an immense light that it felt like another sun was rising.

Yet, strangely, it didn’t blind my eyes at all.

The light, which was like a small sun, blazed fiercely enough to cover the surroundings, and even while staring right at it, I found it didn’t dazzle my eyes.

It seemed the knight commanders in the garden were the same; they all wore confused expressions.

“Graaahhh!”

Unlike us, who were unaffected by the light, the former Golden Dusk Knight let out a terrifying metallic sound, writhing in agony. Smoke was billowing up from all over its body.

‘…What’s going on?’ I blinked in disbelief, alternately looking at the brightness escaping from the small sun and the entity in agony, directly hit by it.

Why was that staff called a flashlight? Because it literally had no abilities besides emitting light. If it had had abilities, I would have attempted to use them somehow.

It wasn’t for nothing that the advice to carry it as a torch was the best strategy.

‘…Is it really some weapon exclusive to the Pope?’

Suddenly, the possibility crossed my mind. If it was a weapon that players couldn’t wield but Popes could, then it explained what I was seeing now. Or perhaps it was a weapon only NPCs could wield.

‘Wait a minute.’

If something like that existed, shouldn’t there be an option to give it to the Pope? Grumbling about that, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

If that Easter Egg weapon was indeed a weapon exclusively for the Pope, I had no idea how my actions would be interpreted.

“……”

While I was shivering internally, the former Golden Dusk Knight collapsed to the ground. Only the slight twitching of its limbs indicated that it was not dead yet.

Floretta, who had been radiating sunlight and nearly incinerating it, approached me with a smile back on her face. I quickly moved to the still intact wall to shield our appearance.

It wouldn’t matter if it was just the knight commanders, but the light had just caused both the Silver Dawn Knights and Golden Dusk Knights to start looking up with curiosity.

There was no good in letting the general members see me chatting intimately with the Popes.

“Distinguished guest, I trust you’ve been well?”

Floretta, who had approached closely, set her staff vertically beside her and clasped my hands tightly.

“I’ve been okay… but what’s that?”

Whispering as softly as possible, I pointed at the staff. It was a ridiculous question to ask when I had given it to her, but I couldn’t help it.

However, Floretta only smiled sweetly.

“That is the sacred relic you bestowed upon us. The will to eradicate evil with this is something we have fully embraced.”

‘…What am I supposed to do?’

The will to eradicate evil? Me?

‘I just gave it to you as a decoration.’

I never expected that this Easter Egg weapon would hold such a secret.

Realizing that Floretta and even Luna had both fallen into a grand misunderstanding, I knew there was no atmosphere to reveal the truth now.

For a while, Floretta, who had been holding my hands with a benevolent smile, suddenly seemed to realize something. She exclaimed softly and opened her mouth.

“Your blessing appears to have diminished greatly, distinguished guest.”

“Are you going to renew it?”

“Yes. The deity is surely looking after you, so our blessings will surely become a much greater power.”

I wanted to say it was okay, but I recalled a possibility and kept quiet.

It could very well be that Floretta’s and Luna’s blessings were crucial in drawing upon divine power. Perhaps the blessings have weakened and thus failed to grant that power.

I nodded silently. Floretta’s smile grew brighter. The already narrow distance shrank even further.

Just as Floretta was about to close the gap for a kiss, she seemed to remember something and pulled her head back slightly.

“Distinguished guest. This time, I intend to bestow a more powerful blessing upon you. Would that be alright?”

“A more powerful blessing?”

“Yes. The deity holds you in very high regard, so I believe it is possible for you.”

“Alright.”

Since the Pope herself said so, there was no reason for me to refuse. After all, I was hearing about the blessing for the first time. The Pope would know better than me.

Floretta’s face lit up with a bright smile. Her delicate fingers grasped my wrist. Then, she brought my hand to her chest.

“Please, touch me, distinguished guest.”

“…Huh?”

Touch what?

At my question, Floretta pulled my hand with more force.

“As you do when we become one, I asked you to touch me as much as you wish. If you do not wish to touch over the sacred robe, you may remove it.”

As she said that, Floretta genuinely tried to undo her sacred robe.

As the delicate collarbone visible through the thin see-through began to show, just before the opaque string was about to reveal pink protrusions, I freaked out and stopped her.

“No, wait. You don’t have to do that, so stop. Why the sudden change? Is this the stronger blessing you were talking about?”

“Indeed, distinguished guest. To receive a stronger blessing, we must touch more intimately, so please massage me.”

“……”

Floretta firmly took my hand.

My hand landed on a chest too large to hold with just one hand. Just that was enough for my fingers to sink deep into her flesh, almost concealed by the softness.

‘This is how I’m supposed to receive a stronger blessing?’

I initially had doubts, but it seemed Floretta wouldn’t lie about this, so I reluctantly accepted it.

After all, in a world where blessings were bestowed through kisses, anything could happen.

As I started to massage her chest, Floretta pressed her body closer to mine with a slightly flushed face. Without hesitation, she kissed me.

Now, as if it was familiar, her tongue invaded between my lips. A warm, soft flesh landed on my tongue. She pulled it inside with a firm tug. The familiar scent and taste spread.

“More… murmur… please… murmur…”

I heard whispered words through her lips. It seemed to mean to squeeze her chest harder.

I complied as asked. The flesh resting on my tongue trembled. Spit dripped from my lips, trailing down Floretta’s cleavage.

My hand massaging her chest grew bolder. I was aware of that fact myself. I wasn’t merely massaging anymore, using my palm to squeeze from below toward her sensitive areas.

Floretta also seemed to be growing bolder, as she moved my left hand to the center of her chest. The pleasantly firm protrusions felt under my palm.

As I rubbed it up and down, Floretta’s body began to quiver. Hearing her increasingly deepening moans made me wonder if this was really what a blessing meant.

I cautiously opened my eyes. Floretta was moaning lewdly between our lips while eagerly intertwining her tongue. While I was momentarily mesmerized watching that scene, I suddenly remembered we were in the imperial palace.

‘Wait a minute.’

Thinking back, Floretta being here meant—

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly, a chilling voice echoed from afar.