章 265: The Season of Redemption (4)
Dolores L Quovadis.
She sneaked out of her dormitory before afternoon to visit a temple of the Old Testament here.
" ...If I do this, I won't get caught, right?"
Dolores, her face and body covered with a black hood and cloak.
Camouflage. She intended to examine the temple as an ordinary person, not as a saint.
Dolores moved through the crowd in a manner that seemed suspicious to anyone and hid in the darkest corner of the temple.
'Good. It was perfect.'
But against the white floors, walls, and columns, Dolores' outfit only stood out.
Only she didn't realize it.
The purpose of her visit to this Old Testament temple today was quite complex.
The current state of affairs in the Faithful Quovadis is one of chaos, with the Old and New Testaments in such violent conflict that they can barely keep up with the rest of the Empire, and heresies and cults are springing up everywhere.
Dolores had come on a mission to address these issues.
Her already serious expression was even more so today.
"By the way, this same issue came up in the second round of the University League, didn't it?
She recalled a quest from Quovadis that she had seen in the University League not long ago.
Faithful Holy Family / Difficulty [★★★☆]
The Empire is currently groaning under the growing plague of heresies and cults.
Put yourself in the position of Quovadis's Inquisition and suggest ways to combat these cults and raise the status of the Lun Church.
Contents related to the Quovadis family's 'Inquisition'.
I thought this was a quest prepared by the Inquisitor Mozgus, but it turns out that the task was given by someone higher up.
For reference, the person who submitted the response to this quest was Sinclair, a first-year student.
'The Pope himself read Sinclair's solution.'
Dolores later asked Sinclair.
He asked Sinclair what he'd done to solve that problem and how he'd gotten the Pope to approve it.
But Sinclair simply laughed and avoided answering.
'Oh, it wasn't much, it was rejected for being too radical in the end, though I did manage to pass with flying colors for originality, ehhh-'
Dolores swallowed hard.
'The only way to get rid of heresies and cults is for the Old and New Testaments to reconcile and join hands, or for one or the other of them to disappear, or for all of them to be wiped out in one fell swoop, but the last is impossible....'
So Dolores came to investigate the root cause of all this: the Old Testament.
As a New Testament saint, Dolores would surely be a show-off, so she had to go undercover to investigate.
" ... There's a lot of people here."
Dolores muttered to herself as she looked at the long line of people that had lined up several times around the temple.
Compared to the New Testament temple, the Old Testament temple had far more people.
The amount of money collected was also different.
'I originally knew that the Indulgentia family accounted for a large portion of the donations coming into the Old Testament faction... I guess that wasn't really the case.'
Despite the disappearance of the Indulgentia as an affiliated family, the Old Testament's funding stream remained strong.
How did the Old Testament maintain its wealth even though Guilty, or rather Dantalian, was dead?
Simply by selling indulgences? Is that really it?
'Although there are many people lining up to buy indulgences, most of them are small buyers. I don't see anyone who's committed a heinous crime or who can afford to pay a lot of money, although that's to be expected.'
People who can afford to pay big money for indulgences are unlikely to come to the temple in broad daylight.
If they did, they'd send a proxy or do it in writing, not in person.
'Then where do the high-ranking priests of the Old Testament get their VVIPs from?'
A source of funding. That's what Dolores was wondering.
... Just then.
A large, ornate carriage pulled up to a corner of the temple.
The white shield, the holy symbol of the Quovadis, could be seen glistening with oil.
From the carriage stepped a fairly tall, middle-aged man who smiled as the crowd cheered.
"...!"
Dolores paused when she saw him.
The person she was most reluctant to see in this world had appeared.
"Humbert Humbert L Quovadis.
A man who held the rank of Cardinal, the highest dignity within the Old Testament, a position so exalted that there was no place higher except for the Pope.
At the same time, the father of St. Dolores.
Ironically, Dolores feared her father.
Ever since she became his foster daughter, a long time ago, because she was born with divine powers.
Especially before she went to bed, when his gaze would sweep over her body as he said goodnight, and she would feel as if snakes were wrapped around her entire body.
"...ugh!"
Dolores felt her heart sink and she pressed her back against the stone pillar.
Just hold still. If she held her breath and stayed still, Humbert wouldn't look her way.
But her wish was not granted.
"Hmm?"
Humbert was a sharp man.
He sensed the gaze that was momentarily and intensely focused on him and turned his gaze towards it.
"Just a moment, Adjutant. There's something on my mind, and I need you to take a quick look around before entering the temple."
He gestured to the adjutant who followed him, then began to walk toward the stone pillars.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
Wherever Humbert steps, a path appears.
Each of the Lun's believers took off their hats and bowed their heads, clearing a path for Humbert.
Dolores felt her heart pounding like it was going to burst.
Humbert's footsteps kept getting closer and closer.
Each time, it felt like a huge snake had wrapped itself around Dolores' heart.
The nervousness reminded her of the time she almost ran into Guilty in the hallway.
However, there is no good male junior who helped her at that time.
It was just a fluke.
"...."
Dolores swallowed hard.
Just as she was desperately trying to think of an excuse to make in front of Humbert.
"Who is this?"
There were two men blocking Humbert's way.
Both were men with their faces covered by white hoods and robes.
Humbert's expression furrowed slightly.
"...who?"
"Oh, come on, look at me! Hehehe- this, with my face all covered up."
Then, with a hearty laugh, the white hood was pulled off.
An old face was revealed, a face that looked like it had suffered a lot.
He was an elderly man, somewhere between an uncle and a grandfather.
A person with a warm appearance and a rather short build that can be easily seen anywhere.
But when Humbert saw him, he couldn't help but stiffen.
"...It's been a long time, Cardinal Luther."
One of only two cardinals in the Holy Family of the Quovadis.
The two most powerful men directly under the Pope.
One was Humbert, and the other was this man in front of Humbert.
'Martinluther L Quovadis'.
A prominent priest who had come all the way from a poor, cramped pioneer temple on the far side of the world. The leader of the New Testament. Humbert's greatest rival.
He is Cardinal Martin Luther.
Behind him, Archbishop Mozgus, a large man who also belonged to the New Testament, stood with his back straight.
Humbert asked politely, with a friendly smile on his face.
"What brings you here, Cardinal Luther?"
"Hehehe~ I came to spy."
"...yes?"
Humbert asked, his expression hardening, and Luther chuckled.
"My temple only attracts flies every time, but the temples that Cardinal Humbert travels to are always crowded with believers like this, so I have to be able to endure this. Hahaha~ So, despite my shame, I came here to gain some know-how."
Humbert could only force a smile at Luther's friendly tone.
"Is there any reason why there are so many believers? it's just that it's a good place and has a large population."
"Haha~ is that so? I'm learning something new, I guess it's all because of my immorality."
Unlike Humbert, Martin Luther's method of evangelizing was quite unique.
He rarely preached doctrine or gave rousing speeches.
Instead, he sought out the old, the sick, and the poor, always saying,
'If you are hungry and tired, come to me.'
'If you suddenly feel sick or have no energy, come to me anytime.'
'If you need someone to sincerely congratulate you on your wedding day, come to me anytime.'
'If you're having a funeral and need someone to grieve with you, come by anytime.'
'If you're really sad about something and want to cry a lot, or just talk about it, you can come to me anytime.'
'If you can't sleep because it's too cold or too humid at home, come by anytime.'
'If you need to lift something heavy or otherwise exert yourself, feel free to come by.'
'Besides that, please come by anytime.'
We don't ask how many times you've read the Bible, how many hymns you know by heart, how many times you've evangelized your neighbor, how many times you've been to the temple, how many times you've given an offering, etc.
Instead, he would go to the room of an old man who lived alone, morning and night, to see if the floor was warm and the wind was not blowing, to a sick child to see if he had a fever and if he had eaten some food, to a disabled person to see if there was any work to be done, etc.....
Martin Luther and the New Testament priests under his wing always seem to be somewhat weak and lacking.
Barely enough to eat, barely enough to clothe themselves.
They were the opposite of the Old Testament priests, who were refined in appearance, speech, and dress.
The biggest difference, of course, is the amount of money they collect.
Humbert turned to Luther and half-bowed his head.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend."
"Oh my gosh, this old man took up too much of your precious time."
Luther smiled, bowed, and drew a holy symbol on his forehead.
Humbert turns politely and is about to walk away.
Luther suddenly recited a passage from the Bible.
"The earth is full of demons, and they seek to devour us."
Humbert stopped dead in his tracks.
Behind him, Luther continued speaking.
"Do not be afraid, but stand. We will overcome with the truth."
A large crowd of people who had gathered to buy indulgences were watching them.
To their faces, Luther continued.
"Even if my relatives, wealth, honor, and life are all taken away."
Humbert is silent and does not turn around.
Luther ended his speech in a gentle but firm manner.
"The truth will live and make the empire eternal. Lunmen."
* * *
It was certainly unusual for two of the most powerful men in the Holy Family of the Quovadis to meet in the same place on the same day.
A large crowd had gathered to witness the sensational event, and Dolores had managed to slip through the crowd unharmed.
Dolores, who hid herself in the corner of the temple to avoid Humbert's gaze, tilted her head with a sigh of relief.
'What could Cardinal Luther possibly be doing here?'
Martin Luther had been making fewer and fewer appearances in public lately.
Dolores is already worried that the Pope's dementia symptoms are getting worse as he gets older.
She was very dissatisfied with the contrasting actions of Humbert, who was recently increasing his external activities, and Martin Luther, who was reducing his external activities.
'I need to be more active, even if it's on my own.'
That's the way to make the New Testament visible to the public.
That's what Dolores thought.
... But unlike the ideal, the reality is difficult.
Dolores was still a student, and being a saint was only a title, with little real power.
She couldn't help but feel that she would never be able to do anything on her own.
'... If only He were here.'
Suddenly, Dolores remembered a person.
Someone whose presence was comforting.
Someone who, for the first time in his life, made Dolores want to lean on.
And for the first time in her life, she wanted someone else to lean on her.
'Night Hound.'
With him, she felt confident that she could accomplish anything, no matter how difficult or difficult.
Indeed, they had defeated even the most fearsome of demons together.
'With him, nothing would be too much trouble.'
If Night's Hound was by her side, the Old Testament, the heretics, the cults, and Humbert would be no match for her.
'... I miss you.'
Dolores admitted her feelings honestly.
Perhaps for the first time.
But the way to meet him was elusive.
Maybe he had already forgotten her.
Just once, that night in the orphanage.
It might have ended in just a one-night stand.
"...haa."
Dolores didn't even try to stop the sigh that escaped her.
Just then.
"Is it this way?"
An unfamiliar voice called from behind a stone pillar.
Startled, Dolores turned her head behind the pillar and saw a familiar face walking toward her.
It was Humbert's adjutant.
Before entering the temple, Humbert had sent his adjutant to pursue the gaze he had felt earlier.
'Uh, what should I do!?'
Dolores whipped her head around in a panic.
However, this is a dead end, and there is no way out.
Eventually, she would be discovered by the adjutant.
With that, Humbert's adjutant stepped swiftly forward and poked his head out from behind the innermost stone pillar.
...and.
"As expected, there is no one. Cardinal, I heard you've become much more sensitive these days."
The adjutant shook his head and turned away.
And above his head.
"...! ...! ...! ...!"
Dolores was struggling on the side of a stone pillar several meters away from the ground.
"Eup-eup-eup?"
Dolores looked away, very embarrassed.
A man holding Dolores' waist with one hand and tightly covering her mouth with the other.
A man wearing a black dog mask that is commonly sold on the street and that children would play with can be seen standing close to a stone pillar.
An invisible, sturdy wire is holding the weight of the two men.
Dolores recalled a past memory from the rough hand covering her mouth.
'Surely this has happened before...?'
In the past, when she'd confronted Guilty in the hallway, she'd been dragged through the locker room by a strong hand.
It must have felt similar then.
"...Vikir?"
Dolores asked, without realizing it.
But the answer that came back was something else entirely.
"...shhh."
A low growling voice. A hoarse, hurt-filled voice.
The mask had changed, but the momentum and aura were the same.
Night Hound.
He came to see Dolores.
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tl/n: Rune -> Lun
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