Chapter 62: Hidden History

"Ah, this person is Saintess Sherria. Mochi, can you say hello?"

[ Saintess? Hello～ ]

Mochi had spent the previous night crying sadly, but after getting a good night’s sleep, it seemed to have recovered completely.

Today, it was full of energy again.

That was a relief.

Standing on Qiu Nuoya’s palm, Mochi trembled as usual while greeting her.

Of course, no one except Qiu Nuoya could hear Mochi’s voice.

"Um, Nuoya... What is this?"

"This is my familiar. A slime named Mochi."

"A familiar... The Saint... commanding a monster..."

"Uuu..."

Sherria looked as though she had received a terrible shock and collapsed.

Wait, was this really such a shocking thing?

Mochi was incredibly cute!

Because Sherria had fallen over, Qiu Nuoya was finally freed from the group of women surrounding him.

However, he was still told to wait in another room.

So now he was left wondering what exactly he was supposed to do.

"Nuoya, did the Saintess say anything to you? It seemed like your audience with her lasted much longer than it should have if it was only supposed to be a simple expression of gratitude..."

As soon as Qiu Nuoya left the appraisal room, Viktor immediately approached him with a worried expression.

"Um... She said something about coming to welcome me. She called me a Saint. That’s strange, isn’t it?"

Hearing Qiu Nuoya’s words, Viktor’s expression turned bitter.

"Click."

He clicked his tongue.

What kind of reaction was that?

Viktor’s face had suddenly become extremely serious.

"I did not expect the church to reach out to you this soon."

"Huh? Wait, wait. Viktor, did you already know something like this might happen?"

"If the church learned about your abilities, I thought it was possible."

Seriously?

But why?

Curious about why Viktor had considered such a possibility, Qiu Nuoya asked him.

Viktor let out a deep sigh before explaining. "Originally, the church was founded by someone who was once known as a Saint. If the church discovers that you possesses power comparable to that Saint, I believe they may try to elevate you as the new Saint." He paused. "The church likely wants to restore its authority within this country."

"The church’s authority?"

"Yes. The church once held power equal to that of the royal family. The royal family governed the country, the church established the rules and values by which people lived, and those chosen from among ordinary citizens judged crimes."

"Hm?" Qiu Nuoya tilted his head. "The separation of powers?"

It was a familiar phrase.

But something about it felt slightly different from the separation of powers he knew.

Or maybe it was actually the same?

If he remembered correctly, the three branches of power were.

Legislative power. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Executive power.

Judicial power.

So, the royal family handled administration.

The church handled legislation.

And those who judged criminals handled justice.

Was that how it worked in this world?

"However, in recent years, among these powers, the authority of the royal family has grown excessively strong." Viktor continued explaining. "Those who judge crimes are supposed to be chosen from among ordinary citizens. However, because of interference from the royal family, more and more lawless individuals have begun escaping punishment despite having committed crimes."

He frowned.

"Currently, corruption has spread throughout the administration, causing the country itself to become unstable. The church has been working to correct this situation, but the First Prince, who is a member of the royal family, treats his fiancée, the Saintess, with contempt and shows no respect toward her."

Ah.

The prince he had heard about yesterday.

The one who brought another woman along during the dragon investigation.

"The church is deeply concerned about the current situation. And then you appeared."

"Wait, what does that have to do with me?"

"It has everything to do with you. You are an existence similar to the reincarnation of the first Saint who founded the church."

"Reincarnation..."

That was the second time he had heard that.

It was true that Qiu Nuoya himself had been reincarnated and come to this world, so he could not completely deny the possibility of reincarnation.

But at least, he was not the reincarnation of that Saint.

"Long ago, the Saint married the first king who founded this country, and together they became the people responsible for establishing the nation." Viktor continued. "And that very person, the founder who helped create this country, was the first Saint, Qiu Tailang. He was also your ancestor."

"No, that’s wrong!"

Qiu Nuoya immediately denied it.

Somehow, Qiu Tailang had casually been turned into his ancestor. But he was sure he had clearly said that was not true!

How did the conversation even get to this point?

"I already told you before that Qiu Tailang is not related to me by blood, right!?" Qiu Nuoya looked at Viktor in disbelief. "And didn’t you say that person lived so long ago that he became the subject of fairy tales? I never heard anything about him being one of the founders of this country!"

"This is part of a hidden history, so it has not been spread among the general public."

"Huh?"

"That is precisely why it only remained in the form of a fairy tale."

Qiu Nuoya felt a strange sense of unease.

This was becoming increasingly mysterious.

Qiu Tailang... Just who exactly were you?

"Elves have much longer lifespans than humans, so they are able to preserve history more accurately over long periods of time." Viktor continued. "There is no mistake that the first king of this country and Qiu Tailang were married. However, that fact was erased from the history of the kingdom. Even the existence of Qiu Tailang himself was removed and turned into nothing more than a character from fairy tales."

"Why?"

"That is because..."

Viktor hesitated.

It seemed there was some deep reason behind it.

"The reason is that Qiu Tailang, who became the partner of the king, was a man."

".....Huh?"

Qiu Nuoya stared blankly.

He did not understand what Viktor was trying to say.