Chapter 720: The Lord’s Incarnation May Become the Pope

"Even a lost lamb may one day find its way back. If they can truly realize that they have strayed from the path they were meant to walk, turned their backs on the resplendent glory depicted in the cathedral’s stained-glass windows, and are willing to atone for it, then that is indeed a good thing."

Astrid elegantly crossed her legs. Flecks of soft light fell upon the intricate layers of her night-sky-colored gown, sinking into the smooth, lustrous black silk beneath. As her legs moved, the fabric wove together into a dazzling sheen.

"However, no matter how they atone, the mistakes they made can never truly be undone. Whether they deserve forgiveness should not be decided by an elite high-ranking individual such as myself, who has only set foot on the battlefield a handful of times. That decision should be left to the people of the two nations who suffer because of them."

"What do you think, Miss Monica Angelis?"

The Church of Light had many more people to eliminate than just the few high-ranking fighters already captured by the Expeditionary Army.

There were clergymen who had made fortunes from the war during the holy crusade, false believers who had been swept along by the tides of the era and joined the Church for personal gain while disregarding its teachings, and opportunists who had sold cathedral lodging permits at exorbitant prices during the outbreak of the plague.

Which of them didn’t need to be dealt with?

Upon hearing Astrid’s words, Monica maintained her prayerful posture, kneeling with both knees on the floor. Her delicate hands, covered in ice-silk gloves, were clasped tightly together against the snowy fullness rising prominently beneath her robes.

"Your Highness Astrid possesses a magnanimous heart, willing to show mercy to sinners who have committed grave mistakes. Your universal love is tempered at all times by impartiality, making you a perfect example of strength and gentleness in harmony."

"I have no objections."

The Imperial Expeditionary Army had initially marched under the banner of punishing only the chief culprits, that was, purging the kingdom’s upper echelon who had initiated the war. It was only after the Church of Light forcefully interfered that this evolved into a call to pass judgment upon the pope.

Based on Monica’s understanding of Astrid, the latter was not someone easily softened by mercy. If Astrid had said that the people on her list were to die, they would most likely have no chance of escaping.

Instead, their conversation only made Monica even more certain that Astrid Calliste, as the Lord’s incarnation, could not only view matters with the impartiality of an arbiter, but had also remained an immensely compassionate and gentle heart.

Beyond judgment, she possessed the same tolerance and mercy as the Lord.

Astrid looked at Monica, who knelt before her with her knees bent, her veil draped over smooth brown hair while snowy white fullness strained against her saintess’s robes, and spoke again.

"I heard from Elise that Miss Monica’s late-night visit is also related to the Sacred Relic?"

Half the reason Astrid had gotten out of bed to receive a visitor instead of resting properly with her little maid at this late hour was because Monica had mentioned the Sacred Relic slumbering inside Lyra.

Monica nodded, causing her saintess robes to sway and drape over her pale, silk-clad thighs. Kneeling with her legs pressed together, she rested her weight on her calves, while the soft fabric of her robes settled around her. Her white stockings stretched smoothly over her shapely legs, completing her graceful appearance.

"That is correct, Your Highness Astrid."

After speaking, Monica finally moved her gaze away from Astrid and turned toward Lyra, who was sitting quietly nearby. Her pink lips parted gently.

"I have heard Commander Kales’s report on the battle. Miss Lyra came into contact with that crown-shaped Sacred Relic and placed it upon her head."

"Since then, two Sacred Relics originated from the same source have dwelled within a single person. All believers, myself included, believe that such a miracle could only have been made possible through the blessing of the Lord’s will."

The Sacred Relics were gifts bestowed by the Lord. Their ownership largely conveyed the Lord’s will.

That was why, when Lyra possessed only one Sacred Relic, Hebrew could still denounce her as a rebel who had usurped divine glory. Yet when Monica chose independence and withdrew from the church with a Sacred Relic, the overwhelming majority of the church’s bishops began to waver, even if they had not answered the call of the newly established Church of Light.

Perhaps they had misunderstood the Lord’s will.

Or perhaps the Lord’s intentions had changed.

Hearing this, Astrid slightly raised her distant-mountain brows. The hand resting upon her black-silk-clad thigh lifted to support her chin as she gently added,

"Besides so-called destiny, Lyra’s own unwavering conviction was even more important in bringing her this far."

Without the years of ceaseless accumulation at Elizabeth Academy of Magic, without spending every holiday submerged in the library and training tower, and without the determination to never surrender before a powerful enemy, Lyra might have died long ago at Liya Tower Fortress, or beneath Hebrew’s unrestrained magical bombardment.

"How could one watched over by the Lord rely solely on luck?"

Her exceptional affinity for the light element was the magical talent that set the fated heroine apart from the masses, but talent was not the only reason Lyra had reached this point. There had also been her own hard work and struggle.

To erase all the sweat and blood Lyra had shed along the way with a single phrase like "the blessing of the Lord’s will" was far too narrow-minded.

The pink-haired girl pursed her lips and turned to look at Astrid. Her fair fingertips lightly fiddled with her skirt, points of light wavering within her blue eyes.

In truth, she didn’t think it was anything remarkable...

Monica had probably only said that to emphasize that the Church of Light’s idol project, which Astrid had always wanted to promote, was steadily progressing in a positive direction...

"..."

Still, Lyra was very happy that Astrid would say such things on her behalf. She could feel the importance and concern Astrid placed on her.

It was a little like those serialized novels Astrid wrote, the domineering prince, or princess, would declare her claim before outsiders, boasting that she was super, super incredible, then privately said something strange like, "Only I’m allowed to bully you."

Wait. Hadn’t Astrid actually done something like that before?!

A faint sweetness welled up in her heart. Lyra pricked up her ears, the heel of her slender, white-silk-clad foot gently tapping the corner of the bed as she continued listening to their conversation.

"Your Highness Astrid is entirely correct. It was Miss Lyra’s outstanding performance that earned the Lord’s attention, rather than the Lord’s attention creating Miss Lyra’s excellence. Cause and effect must not be reversed."

After saying this, Monica shifted the topic to the matter Astrid was currently most concerned about and softly questioned the pink-haired girl beside her.

"Sacred Relics cannot be wielded by ordinary people. Even the former Pope Hebrew and I could only barely borrow one ten-millionth of their power."

"Has Miss Lyra noticed anything unusual?"

Being capable of containing one sacred relic already demonstrated Lyra’s extraordinary gifts. The fact that she had fused with two Sacred Relics without exploding and further dying proves the uniqueness of her constitution.

Lyra glanced sideways at Astrid. After receiving a look that indicates she could reveal an appropriate amount, Lyra moistened her lips and spoke softly.

"...A little."

She then recounted that portion of her experiences to the Saintess of Light before her. Monica appeared thoughtful after listening and spoke a moment later.

"After being chosen as the Saintess of Light, I spent long periods in contact with the sacred relic. I did indeed experience something similar to what Miss Lyra described."

It was merely that, because her own aptitude was relatively dull, the sensation had not been nearly as distinct. Each time she finished interacting with the relic, she had only felt as though her soul had been purified and certain negative emotions had disappeared like smoke.

"How did Miss Lyra alleviate this condition afterwards?"

"..."

Several seconds passed before Lyra replied in a low voice.

"It was through... Astrid...."

Lyra did not describe things in as much detail as she had when speaking privately with Astrid. She merely told Monica that physical contact with Astrid strengthened her sense of reality while weakening that peculiar sense of detachment.

A trace of astonishment flashed through Monica’s eyes, but it quickly became a look of understanding.

"Your Highness Astrid possesses a special identity. It is not strange that Miss Lyra can strengthen her own perception through contact with you."

The omniscient and omnipotent Lord was an incomparably exalted existence. Since Astrid was the incarnation through which the Lord walked upon the earth, even if she herself had no awareness of it, and even if she did not possess such overwhelming and readily apparent power, the lofty nature she had been born with would still reveal its effects without her noticing.

Lyra was an excellent example.

"Miss Monica often came into contact with the sacred relic. You must have accumulated considerable insight?"

Astrid spoke at the appropriate moment, asking Monica for information regarding the Sacred Relics. The latter, however, shook her head and parted her pink lips.

"Your Highness Astrid, my understanding of the sacred relic is quite limited. I cannot offer any constructive advice."

"However, if Miss Lyra’s sensations are accurate, then the sacred relic will not easily influence her in the short term."

"The Sacred Relic possesses both immense inclusiveness and a certain degree of exclusivity. It is not the Lord in its entirety, but rather the embodiment of light. As long as Miss Lyra does not excessively invoke power from a plane of existence incompatible with her current strength, she should be able to maintain her present condition."

Of course, it would be best for her to remain beside the Lord’s incarnation at all times.

Having received assurances from both Lyra and Monica, Astrid remained outwardly composed. She lowered her right leg from where it rested atop her left knee, her cool and delicate lotus-like foot in black silk hooking her shoe as she gently shifted into another position.

"That was a very detailed answer. I understand."

The person closest to light and the believer closest to the Lord had both reached the same judgment. The great stone weighing upon Astrid’s heart finally settled completely.

The black-gowned beauty sat on the bed gently swept back her silver hair and continued speaking with Monica for nearly another half hour. It was not until the tower bells rang that both parties simultaneously realized how late it had become.

"Your Highness Astrid, there is one more matter..."

"Go ahead."

Having received Astrid’s permission, Monica moistened her throat. She gazed devoutly at the woman beside the bed and spoke in a solemn tone.

"The Kingdom of Velys has been torn apart by the flames of war, and even the Holy City of Seville is soon to fall under the Imperial Expeditionary Army’s control."

"The warmongers will bow their heads before the blade, and the fires of war that have raged for months will finally leave this land. The old order has collapsed, and a new order shall be established. None of this could have been achieved without Your Highness Astrid’s will."

"Your devout believer, Monica Angelis, asks Your Highness Astrid to assume the title of Pope and continue guiding the people upon the radiant path as the surging tide of a new era arrives."

The Saintess of Light’s snow-white, flawless face was reflected in Astrid’s beautiful crimson eyes. Upon hearing this, Astrid narrowed them slightly.

"Me? The Pope of Light?"

She barely used light magic. At most, she frequently came into contact with the person she used to research light magic. Her greatest elemental affinities were exceptional-grade ice and outstanding-grade darkness, so how had she somehow ended up being asked to become the Pope of Light?

Moreover, everyone knew that the Imperial Regent’s silver hair and crimson eyes were exceedingly rare, and she especially favored cool-toned black gowns in daily life.

If she stood upon the Pope’s elevated platform to receive an audience with the omniscient and omnipotent Lord, the overall aesthetic would be more than a little incongruous.

"If Your Highness Astrid can end the war between the two nations, promote the development of magitech machinery, and lead humanity into a new age constructed through magical science, your achievements will be second only to the Creator and Lady Gemini, the founder of modern magical science."

"Such magnificent achievements deserve to be praised for generations to come. Moreover, if Your Highness Astrid becomes the Pope of Light of the newly established Church of Light, it will fulfill the words recorded within the New Testament."

Monica lifted her head. Her moist eyes gazed at the silver-haired beauty before her, reflecting Astrid’s graceful figure entirely within her pupils.

"When the apocalypse arrives, the savior shall be the omniscient and omnipotent Lord, the incarnation through which the Lord walks upon the earth, and the true leader of the Church. Although these three stations may appear different, they are fundamentally one and the same, all pointing toward a single existence."

"Your Highness Astrid, you are that one and only destiny."

She had always believed that the destined woman before she would disperse the gloom shrouding the heavens and carve out a brand-new path for humanity through a future overgrown with thorns.

"..."

Astrid looked down at Monica, the Saintess of Light kneeling before her, separated by no more than a few centimeters from the upturned tip of her crossed leg. She fell into brief contemplation and did not respond immediately.

If she assumes the office of Pope of Light, her control over the Church of Light will undoubtedly reach its peak. She would no longer even need to rely upon Monica to mobilize the church’s forces.

Thinking of it that way, acquiring a religious office seemed to offer Astrid nothing but benefits. The only thing she needed to consider was the level of support within the Church of Light.

However, with the incumbent Saintess of Light Monica and Lyra, the woman watched over by the Lord, both publicly supporting her, it should not be difficult to get overwhelming approval.

Then again, if she became the new Pope of Light, would there be opposition from within the Valeria Empire?

After all, resisting the Church of Light’s doctrinal infiltration was an ancestral command left behind by generations of Kalist emperors. As Imperial Regent and the current Empress’s elder sister, rashly accepting the title might create unnecessary risks.

"..."

After a long while, Astrid replied softly,

"I will consider it."

There was still enough time for her to write Amalia a letter and discuss the Empire’s position.

Seeing that Astrid had not rejected her immediately, a trace of joy flashed through Monica’s eyes.

"Thank you, Your Highness Astrid, for being willing to spend your precious time considering its considerations."

For her, as a saintess, it would also be an honor to witness the prophecy recorded in the holy scripture come true.

"Additionally... noble Your Highness Astrid..."

Monica ended her prayerful posture and lowered her body even further. Her hands separated and grasped the ribbons on either side of her saintess’s robes, allowing even more of that proudly raised snowy expanse to enter Astrid’s sight.

"After tonight’s battle, Your Highness must surely be exhausted. Do you require me to..."

"Attend to you personally?"

A subtle, captivating fragrance lingered around Monica, blending her natural feminine scent with the delicate sweetness of her scented bath lotion.