Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 402

“I offer all glory to my Lord, who looks down upon the world.”

The soft, clear voice echoed through the empty space.

As the words ended, a sacred blue light poured onto the brow of the silver-haired woman kneeling before the altar.

The blue light, like bright liquid sapphire, poured through a small hole in the chapel’s ceiling. It was so bright that people outside had to shield their eyes.

– Ah!

– Gods above!

– Her Holiness!

Exclamations burst from voices outside the chapel.

Prayers started to fill the air around the chapel. Ilia, who had made this miracle happen, gently opened her eyes.

“Hmm, finally… fully contained.”

She tilted her head from side to side, opening and closing her hands, as if inspecting an unfamiliar place.

Ilia calmly rose and gazed into a mirror on the stone wall of the small chapel.

“Hmm. How long has it been… ?”

She touched her face, muttering to herself, looking quite mad. Even the blue pupils in the mirror were vertically elongated.

“Ah, humans don’t have eyes like this.”

No sooner had she spoken than her pupils rounded.

Ilia stared at her reflection, muttering as if in conversation with herself.

“Be patient, my servant, even if it is stifling. Once I have finished all my business in this world, you too shall dwell with me in paradise.”

A faint shadow flickered within her blue eyes.

It was as if the silver-haired woman was weeping.

But Ilia paid no further attention to her reflection.

As Ilia stepped out of the chapel, an elderly priest, who had been waiting, bowed with a broad smile.

“Your Holiness, congratulations on your recovery.”

“Aye.”

“…Pardon?”

The old priest looked momentarily startled. ‘Aye?’ he thought, surprised by her casual word.

Ilia rarely spoke informally to those beneath her, especially to elders.

But as he met Ilia’s gaze, he was reminded that the young priest before him was now the leader of the Holy Kingdom.

‘She has always been kind to me. I shouldn’t expect so much respect?’

Pulling himself together, he bowed even lower, as if repenting his lapse.

“What is it?”

“Ah, it’s just that I wanted to ask about the sacred light that shot up from the chapel a moment ago. The priests around here are quite astonished by the holy vibrations that shook their very souls.”

Now that he mentioned it, there were indeed several priests standing a short distance away, heads bowed, not daring to approach.

This was a lot of respect, even for the most important church leaders.

But Ilia, or rather, the Apostle and Avatar of Amun, God of the Sea and Change, accepted the excessive courtesy as her due.

Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she uttered a startling pronouncement.

“There has been a Divine Revelation.”

“Pardon!?”

A Divine Revelation, no less.

The eyes of everyone within earshot, including the old priest, widened in astonishment.

Divine Revelations were very rare. The last real one was almost a hundred years ago. There were some fake ones before, when the Pope before the last one was shown to be a liar.

“Gather the servants of God. I shall explain the revelation I have received.”

Thus, the priests did not dwell on the slightly odd tone of the Saint and Pope.

“Understood.”

“Hurry, now!”

“A Divine Revelation…”

At the Pope’s command, the priests bustled into action.

Philip and Harmon, on their way to request an audience after hearing news of Ilia’s recovery, also heard the news.

“A Divine Revelation?”

Philip merely tilted his head in puzzlement, but Harmon’s reaction was quite different.

“Indeed! A true Divine Revelation! The will of the Nine Gods, who watch over the world, delivered to Earth!”

His face flushed, he looked as though he would have bolted ahead had Philip not been there.

Philip would have happily let him go, but he had his own business to attend to and could not easily release the Holy Sword.

“Ah, that’s good news. But I trust this won’t prevent me from seeing Her Holiness…?”

“Of course not. Let us go see her at once. If a Divine Revelation has truly occurred, the Holy Kingdom may become very busy indeed. Before that, we must attend to the request of our ally, McLaine.”

The Holy Sword dismissed it as a request from the kingdom of McLaine, not an individual, but Philip did not bother to correct him, as it was not far from the truth.

‘Our kingdom is an ally… is it?’

He felt a flicker of doubt but simply smiled and nodded.

Shortly after, another piece of news reached the two men as they entered the central temple.

– McLaine has won the battle against the Empire!

– The Sun of McLaine has defeated the Sword Demon!

– A complete and utter defeat for the Empire!

After sending away the holy knight who had delivered the news, Harmon turned to Philip, his eyes wide with astonishment, while Philip beamed, his chest swelling with pride.

“To kill that Sword Demon… a truly remarkable feat. But I heard that the ruler of McLaine is quite young?”

Philip could not help but feel proud.

He felt his shoulders broaden and his nose lift.

“He will be 28 years old after this winter,” Philip said, his chest swelling with pride. “But, of course, such a thing is entirely possible for our Emperor.”

In truth, he had not expected it at all.

But Philip’s expression remained calm, for he had steeled himself to be surprised by nothing.

“…28 years old, or rather, 27. Hmm… truly unbelievable.”

Harmon had merely humored Philip as he enthusiastically recounted the achievements of Logan McLaine, but now he seemed genuinely astonished, his expression unwavering.

“You will find yourself increasingly astonished as you come to know our Emperor. I have been so frequently surprised that I now simply accept most things as they come.”

Philip laughed, mixing jest with earnestness.

“Well, well, a new power has risen in the eastern continent. But does this not render the request you were about to make somewhat meaningless, Merchant Lord?”

“Wait, did I even say what I was going to ask?”

“But isn’t it about asking the Holy Nation for help with MacLane?”

“We already helped by sending priests to the battlefield… Oh, sorry.”

Philip stopped talking quickly when he saw Harman’s face change.

Luckily, they were alone. Harman frowned, looking serious.

“Even if this becomes known later, I don’t want it to start with the Holy Nation or MacLane.”

Breaking the Temple’s neutral position in politics.

You don’t need to know all the complicated problems this would cause.

Just the fact that it could give the Empire another excuse to invade the Holy Nation.

That alone was enough for Philip to realize the need for secrecy.

‘Maybe this Holy Sword, who is known for being very strict… would have been against it.’

Philip bowed again.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But that shows how much help we’ve already gotten. His Majesty knows the Holy Nation can’t act right away now.”

*Yes. For now, at least.*

“……Then?”

“Like I said, it’s not the King’s request. I told you it’s a personal favor from Lord Viktor, but you didn’t believe me. I’m a little offended, Commander.”

Harman looked surprised.

Philip laughed and waved his hand.

“Haha, just joking! You know Lord Viktor and the Saintess – or Pope – are very close. So, I’ll talk about the details with the Saintess, or Pope, directly.”

“……Very well.”

If it was just a small request, why hide it? Philip wasn’t exactly lying, but he wasn’t telling the whole truth either.

It was so clear, so easy to see through, that even someone as serious as Commander Harman could guess it.

‘The head of MacLane’s big merchant group visiting the Holy Nation’s Pope with a personal request?’

And the Pope agrees?

No one would believe that!’

But that would leave a record that this meeting wasn’t for an official alliance between MacLane and the Holy Nation.

That was enough.

Because of the Divine Revelation and the Empire’s defeat, the priests in the usually quiet Central Temple were rushing around, excited by the unbelievable news.

It wasn’t clear if it was because MacLane won or because of the Divine Revelation, but luckily, their being busy didn’t make us wait longer for our meeting.

Perhaps it’s because of our status.

“Philip of the MacLane Merchant Guild greets Her Holiness the Pope.”

With a courteous greeting, kneeling on one knee like a knight, Philip raised his head.

The special chair for the ruler of the Holy Nation was quite simple. The Pope’s chair, just a little higher than the floor in the big hall, seemed to show that the Temple wanted to avoid power and choose simple things.

But the woman sitting there was so beautiful that even the simple chair looked grand.

‘Indeed, a remarkable beauty.’

It wasn’t just that she was beautiful.

This amazing woman had made herself who she was. She had gone from being a criminal in a religious court to becoming a Cardinal, and then the Pope, the Saintess who saved the Holy Nation.

That amazing woman, Ilia, responded to Philip’s words with a composed expression.

“MacLane Merchant Guild?”

“They work directly for King Logan, Your Holiness,” Harman added.

Ilia’s eyes widened, showing she was very interested.

‘Of course, she would.’

Considering the current relationship between the Holy Nation and MacLane, it was a natural reaction.

“His Majesty expressed his sincere gratitude for the Temple’s help. He was very sorry that he couldn’t communicate directly due to being on the battlefield and the timing not being right.”

Even lies sounded like the truth coming from Philip’s mouth.

What he said was also perfect for the situation.

But the reaction that followed was a little strange.

“Help? Ah, right. That child did something unnecessary… ahem.”

“Yes?”

“……?”

As those listening showed strange reactions simultaneously, Ilia let out a small sigh before giving a bright smile.

“I’m tired from the long prayers, so I misspoke. Given my condition and the current state of affairs, I’d like to get straight to the point.”

Harman nodded as if he understood, but Philip couldn’t. He felt like the Saintess was acting like a very experienced merchant, something he knew well.

At first, her smile seemed nice, but it was fake. Only her face muscles moved.

‘Well, maybe people in high positions in the Holy Nation are like that.’

He felt a little uneasy, but he accepted it for now.

“……Yes. Since you say so, I will convey His Majesty’s message directly.”

Now is the really important part.

Philip took a deep breath and began to convey the monarch’s intentions as clearly and concisely as possible.

“King Logan is worried that if MacLane can fight off this attack from the Empire – oh, you already know about the news, but anyway, if that happens – the Emperor himself will make the war bigger. The King hopes the Holy Nation will help make peace, to save many lives from a pointless war, and because MacLane and the Holy Nation have been helping each other.”

“Hoo?”

The Saintess’s eyes brightened. She looked at Harman, and he bowed his head and spoke.

“Our Temple has said we are neutral by stopping our war with the Empire. We can help secretly, but it’s hard for us to help openly.”

Words that directly contradicted Philip’s, who had been having a friendly conversation until the audience.

It was a display that perfectly showed the character of the man named Harman Killbrew.

Philip smiled again and added, “Because the Empire has made a false accusation against us. Just show that it’s not true.”

“Ah, the Black Serpent…”

Harman looked at the Saintess with a troubled expression, and the Saintess looked at Philip with a strange smile.

Philip felt a renewed sense of unease at that artificial smile.

“Helping officially is hard, like Commander Harman said. But how about we help you like MacLane used to do?”

“……Yes?”

“For example, Commander Harman could dress up in disguise and join the war.”

“Your Holiness?!” Harman shouted, shocked by what the Saintess said.

Philip’s face became serious.