Chapter: 386
As I wiped away the tears falling on Benedict’s face, my hand reached out.
It wasn’t the kind of action a mesugaki would typically take, but nothing hindered my movements.
Thanks to my trip to the military islands, my prior restrictions had eased a bit. Maybe this was exactly the kind of action Lucy hoped for, who knows.
Watching Benedict’s expression turn blank made the emotions swelling in my heart gradually clearer.
And so, I realized how Lucy felt about Benedict, her father.
“Lucy.”
The child suffering under a curse had blamed her father. She hated him for leaving her alone in hell. She wanted to bestow on Benedict the original sin of not saving her mother.
However, this resentment didn’t last long. Benedict’s dedication had lifted that resentment.
“Lucy…”
But Lucy couldn’t convey her feelings to Benedict. Before realizing Benedict’s dedication, she had too many wrongdoings to admit.
How could a child, deprived of her truth by a curse, know how to acknowledge her mistakes and express her true feelings?
“Are you forgiving this useless father?”
Reading all these feelings, I was still convinced that Lucy resided within me.
You want me to convey the words you couldn’t say to Benedict, right? Lucy?
If that’s your wish, I’ll gladly do it.
“Lucy?”
I didn’t respond to Benedict’s question. I knew that the curse of the mesugaki skill residing within me would distort the words of forgiveness. Instead, I knelt and walked toward Benedict before attempting to embrace his waist…
Only to fail miserably.
No way! I stretched my arms as best as I could, and not being able to hug him is absurd?! This guy is just unnecessarily big!
Having failed my original goal, I took a step back and looked up at the kneeling Benedict, then spotted my next target.
Hugging his waist was impossible, but maybe I could manage that. Jumping up and clinging to Benedict’s neck, he finally carefully picked me up.
“This is instead of an answer.”
Benedict laughed through tears. Understanding my intention, he kept crying without end.
While he embraced me, he sat down and let out the tears he had been holding back.
Though the amount flowing from him was disturbingly too much, I couldn’t escape from his hug.
After all, I still couldn’t overpower Benedict.
Even amidst his wailing, his embrace was careful enough not to suffocate me, but I was still stuck in his grip.
Long after Benedict had sobbed for a while, he regained his composure when my clothes were soaked as if it had rained.
Having escaped his embrace, I made no effort to hide my displeasure.
The word “father’s love” wasn’t enough to swat away my annoyance.
Noticing my irritation, Benedict, with a face so swollen it could scare even orcs, stammered out apologies, but the golden opportunity had long passed.
If he had any sense, he should have let me go when I was grumbling earlier.
“Pervert Papa. Do you feel good, making your daughter all wet like this?”
“No. I mean. Lucy, you know it’s not what I wanted.”
“Claiming diminished responsibility? Got it, Papa. I’ll make sure to hear all the details from behind bars.”
“Lucy?!”
“It’d be hilarious if the hero who protected the kingdom was actually a pervert targeting his daughter, don’t you think?”
“W-wait a moment, Lucy! This foolish father did wrong, but it’s not a crime that warrants death in society!”
Benedict, desperately flailing his arms while trying to defend himself, was quickly subdued by my cold gaze.
It was inevitable. Even if he were forgiven for past sins, the fact that he was a doting dad wouldn’t change.
Am I feeling no guilt for tormenting this doting dad?
But you know, even as I’m putting the screws to Benedict, the absence of any feeling makes it clear that Lucy thinks this is right. So, why should I feel guilty?
While I tormented Benedict under Lucy’s watchful eye, I finally stopped when he started to plead for forgiveness, saying he’d do anything.
“Really? Papa? You promised to do anything, right? You’re not going to be like a sloppy fool and say, ‘This isn’t allowed, that isn’t allowed,’ are you?”
“…Uh, Lucy. I’d still prefer it to be within the bounds of common sense.”
“If you keep being sneaky, I’ll spill everything about what you did wrong in front of Mama’s grave.”
“I’ll take responsibility. I’ve messed up, so please, don’t say anything to Mira!”
Benedict, who fell heroically to my ultimate move, promised to agree to whatever I said, but his anxieties were plainly visible.
Him, used to the past Lucy, might be expecting something extravagant.
Of course, right now I had no thoughts at all. I was just talking to mess with Benedict.
Is there anything I should ask Benedict now? Thinking it over, nothing really came to mind.
…Ah. A good idea hit me.
As soon as we returned to the kingdom with Heyshan, Karia took him to the Second Queen, so the quest should be completed within a few days. Then, stat bonuses would be given.
That would raise my four stats over 100. Thinking about the rise in specs that would come from that, wouldn’t I be able to take a hit at Benedict?
Imagining that scene, I couldn’t help but smirk and called out to Benedict.
“Papa.”
“What are you planning to ask with that smile?”
“I’m going to smash the sloppy fool Papa with my mace!”
“…Huh?”
“Has your face morphed like a troll, so your brain is also a troll’s? Why can’t you understand something so easy? sigh Alright, I’m kind enough to explain to dumb Papa: let’s have a duel. A. duel.”
*
After finishing all the church duties, Phoebe was alone in her room, staring blankly at a blank page before finally slamming her forehead against the desk.
“What should I do? My mind has gone blank.”
Originally, Phoebe wouldn’t have struggled with the contents of the morning prayer.
She had yeoman’s work when she was still inexperienced at being a saintess, but over the years of doing the same thing, she had been able to prepare everything in about thirty minutes.
The reason she was agonizing now was that one face had filled her head, preventing her from thinking about the morning prayer.
“If I knew this would happen, I would have finished everything and reached out to the Young Lady!”
Phoebe understood Lucy through their communication via the transmission sphere a little while ago.
The content itself wasn’t anything special, but Phoebe still couldn’t forget the landscape of their conversation from just a few minutes ago.
It was unavoidable. Lucy, who always had a playful, arrogant smile. She had finally shown her first innocent smile like a child, something that seemed impossible for her before.
The genuine smile that appeared on the already beautiful and divine person possessed enough power to bring down the saintess of the Jushin Church.
“Ugh. It’s so unfair and agonizing. I want to see the Young Lady’s smile with my own eyes too. I want to laugh and talk with her.”
In the privacy of her room, where nobody else could see, Phoebe flailed about, then eventually sprawled on the desk and sighed heavily.
She still had plenty to do at the church.
Once the new year arrived, all official events would conclude, and she could escape the holy land, but realistically that was nonsense. There were plenty of things Phoebe, as the saintess, had to do.
Looking back at her experiences, it seemed like she’d manage to see the Young Lady only after the academy opened.
Having known warmth greater than the sun, she felt despondent at the fact she couldn’t be by her side for a while, when suddenly a knock on the door startled her, and she looked up.
“Saintess, could you come out for a moment?”
The voice from outside the door was someone she knew all too well.
The current head of the Jushin Church. A figure of authority that others hardly dared to approach. A stoic legend with no trace of wavering, even in old age. Someone who definitely played a role in making Phoebe a false saintess. Thus, the one she least wanted to meet.
The Pope.
“I’ll be out shortly, Your Holiness.”
“It’s not urgent, so take your time to prepare.”
Phoebe quickly straightened her outfit and checked herself in the mirror.
The girl who had been whining just a moment ago was nowhere to be found. The reflection that greeted Phoebe was immaculate enough for anyone to say she looked like a saintess.
Taking a deep breath to steady her heart, Phoebe carefully opened the door, greeted by the Pope’s kind smile.
“It’s been a while, Saintess.”
“…Indeed it has, Your Holiness.”
Phoebe politely bowed her head, remembering what had been reflected around the Pope.
Why can’t I see anything around Your Holiness? No warmth. No coldness. None of that shows at all?
Certainly, the divinity contained within that person must be incredibly vast compared to anyone else, but why is that?
“Looks like your time at the academy has brought you some enlightenment.”
Phoebe’s thoughts were disrupted by the Pope’s words. He noticed her change right away upon seeing her. It seemed deceiving the Pope was impossible.
“Yes. I was able to meet good people there.”
“That too is a guidance of God. Truly a good thing.”
The Pope’s gaze, fixed on Phoebe, was endlessly kind. It was hard to believe he was the one who had chosen her as a false saintess.
“Saintess.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
“Would you consider taking a short vacation?”
“A vacation? You mean?”
“That’s a story after the New Year’s events are over. You’ve worked so hard; you deserve a fitting reward.”
Caught off guard by words she hadn’t expected, Phoebe froze while the Pope said he’d send further details in writing and left the room.
Left alone, Phoebe blankly stared at the spot where the Pope stood, tilting her head.
What on earth is Your Holiness thinking?
*
Two days had passed since Benedict had cried as if he were making a well, and on a morning after a blizzard had ceased and the sun emerged for the first time in a long while, I stood facing Benedict with my shield and mace raised.
Benedict, standing across from me, bore no armor, yet no one dared point that out.
Benedict was a monster whose very flesh was a weapon.
“Lucy, are you really going to duel?”
Despite the palpable pressure emanating from him, Benedict’s expression was filled with anxiety. He was probably worried about accidentally hurting me.
“Are you saying this useless Papa can’t control his power?”
I understood his feelings, yet I wasn’t backing down. I was curious to find out just how strong the one called the strongest on this continent truly was.
“It’s not that, but there’s the possibility…”
“Well then, you useless Papa should just stand still and take it! ♡ It’s perfect! ♡ Because the useless and foolish Papa is big! ♡ You’ll make a great punching bag! ♡”
I also wanted to show Benedict just how much strength I had right now.
Despite my earnest provocation, seeing Benedict hesitating, I couldn’t help but smirk and squeezed my grip tighter on the mace.
My objective was straightforward.
To land a hit on Benedict.
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