Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Side Story (4)

It was a dark night. There were empty bottles of liquor on the desk and fruits scattered in front of them. There was only one drinking glass, and it was still full. The moonlight shone through the window, reflecting off the glass.

The one who had poured the glass was none other than Pope Ross. He had already downed several bottles of wine, but his frustration persisted with great tenacity.

He had too many things to worry about.

“Damn it...!” Ross cursed under his breath, his expression as dark as it could be. During the day, he was the embodiment of benevolence, blessing believers with unmatched kindness. But at night, the anxiety accumulated during the day would explode, making him emotionally unstable.

He had been living like this for several years at this point. The reason for his unending torment was simple.

On the day Henry warned him about the Church of Nephram, Ross ordered Logger to wipe out the church. But by the time Logger had arrived, the entire church had already disappeared.

And Ross hadn’t been able to rest since that day.

He had tried to track down the Church of Nephram by deploying all the Holy Knights at his disposal to no avail. Of course, he had falsely reported to Henry that he had successfully carried out his order.

Ross was certain that reporting on his failure would’ve been the end for him. His eyes twitched. He still couldn't forget the way Henry looked at him when he lied to him.

‘That fucking snake!’

Even in his drunken stupor, Ross could distinctly remember Henry’s expression. Back then, Ross could tell from Henry’s eyes that he knew he was lying.

Henry’s expression had been full of disbelief, but he had ultimately accepted the false report, allowing Ross to serve as the Pope of the empire’s state religion without much trouble.

Even though things had turned out well, Ross knew that Henry wasn’t just any person but the greatest wizard on the continent. Besides, the issue Henry had presented to him back then was one that could compromise the emperor’s honor.

If the Church of Nephram were to show up again in the future, the demise of the Church of Peace would be inevitable.

‘And I’ll probably be executed. Or I might even be used as a test subject for the Medical Spire at Killive.’

And so, every day was a nightmare for Ross. He was tormented day and night because he had been greedy for something small.

“Ha... Fuck...”

Ross was wasted, but he quickly downed the glass of wine in front of him, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to sleep without it. But right after gulping down the glass, he suddenly lost consciousness and fell from his desk.

Thud!

***

That night, the Pope had a dream. Usually, he wouldn’t dream after drinking, but this night was different for some reason.

The dream was rather strange. He was in a mysterious place surrounded by pure white cloth. He hadn’t the slightest clue where he was. The only thing he knew was that the cloth that spread everywhere seemed sacred for some reason.

As Ross stared at the cloth, light suddenly shone upon him. It almost felt like sunlight, but it had a more sacred energy to it, and it was warmer. Ross couldn’t exactly explain it in words. He soon raised his head and looked at the light.

But then...

- Ross Borgia.

An unfamiliar voice echoed in his head as if he were in a cave. Even though he hadn’t heard this voice before, Ross found it strangely familiar.

“Wh-who is it...?!” Ross asked in an apprehensive tone. He was startled because this mysterious entity knew his name. The past him wouldn’t have been so fainthearted, but the anxiety accumulated over the years had taken a toll on him, causing him to lose confidence in himself.

But then, the voice echoed in his head once again.

- I am Irene.

“What...?”

He knew he hadn’t misheard the voice. The female voice clearly identified itself as Irene, the goddess of peace. As soon as Ross heard her, he came to his senses.

“Go-Goddess? Are you really Irene?”

- Yes.

The goddess spoke to him in a kind voice. At her response, Ross fell to his knees and started sobbing.

“Ah, Goddess! Why would you descend to see someone so insignificant like me...!”

It didn’t matter if this was a dream or not. The important thing was that the goddess had descended upon him to speak directly to him. Throughout his years of worshiping Irene, this was the first time Ross experienced something like this.

Ross, overwhelmed with emotion, couldn’t stop sobbing. Just hearing the goddess talk seemed to heal him from the anxiety that had been suffocating him all those years. The more he cried, the more emotional he became.

Just like a child apologizing to their mother, Ross brought his forehead to the ground and confessed his sins to Irene.

“I am sorry, Goddess! I am an unworthy sinner, and I have dishonored your name...!”

Ross felt his emotions crumble as he poured out his sorrow. He was doing this with the intention of confessing his sins, but in reality, he was just letting out his anger and frustration.

Truth be told, Ross couldn’t care less whether he was confessing or just venting. He was just glad that he could finally reveal his secret to someone.

After listening to the Pope pour his heart out for a while, Irene said something to him. Ross was in shock after hearing her answer.

“Huh!”

In fact, he was so shocked that he immediately woke up from his drunken slumber.

“A dream...?”

Once he came back to his senses, he saw the fruits and drinks in front of him. Dawn had yet to come, and the moon still shone brightly on the sky. However, he could still hear the goddess’ voice ringing in his ears.

“A Saint...!”

The goddess had told Ross that a Saint was about to be born.

***

The sun was up. Ross hadn’t managed to go back to sleep because of the goddess’ revelation.

‘A Saint...?’

His head was throbbing, and he couldn’t tell if his subconscious had just messed with him or if Irene had actually spoken to him. Regardless, the emergence of a Saint was undeniably a significant event.

‘Whichever it is, I need to check.’

The birth of a Saint was a very important event for any religion. Thus, as soon as the sun came up, Ross secretly sent for Logger. Once he received word, the Holy Knight came running and stood in front of Ross with a very nervous expression.

“Logger.”

“Yes, Pope.”

“Goddess Irene blessed me with a revelation last night.”

“Th-the goddess, sir?”

“Yes, she told me about the birth of a Saint who would carry on her will.”

“...!”

At this, Logger’s eyes widened. The goddess’ descent was obviously surprising, but he was even more surprised by the news of the Saint. If what Ross had said was true, he had to inform all the believers right away and celebrate.

“Congratulations, Pope! A Saint has finally been born in our Church of Peace!” exclaimed Logger, his voice brimming with excitement. He was genuinely happy, as this was the first Saint to emerge within the Church of Peace.

Moreover, given that the Saint’s birth had been divinely revealed, her nobility would be far greater than the Pope’s, making it an occasion worthy of celebration.

However, the more excited Logger got, the darker Ross’s expression became.

“Yes. It’s something to celebrate...”

His face darkened because, unlike his own position, which could be attained by becoming the head of a religious order, a Saint’s nobility came from the divine revelation of her birth. Naturally, this meant that a Saint could have more authority than the Pope in some cases.

Under normal circumstances, Ross would’ve been pleased about the birth of a Saint. Even though the emergence of a Saint was an unprecedented event, they wouldn’t be able to surpass the power of a Pope who had already established a firm foundation within the religious order.

Therefore, the emergence of a Saint would typically only improve the status of the Church of Peace and, in the long run, make the Pope stronger.

But Ross was anxious because of the risk that the Church of Nephram might re-emerge from out of nowhere. And if they were to resurface, it would not only be the end for him and his title as the Pope, but it would also put the very existence of the Church of Peace in jeopardy.

However, if the Church of Nephram appeared at the same time as the Church of Peace officially accepted the Saint, things would be a bit different. The Saint would likely replace the Pope. And on top of that, Henry had already given Ross a warning.

If the Nephrams emerged after the Saint’s birth, the Saint would still be innocent and face no punishment, but that wouldn’t be the case for Ross. In fact, he would be the only one to be punished.

Ross was sure that the empire would view him as the instigator and promptly punish him, as it would be the most convenient course of action.

‘I can’t let that happen! Do they even know what I’ve done to make the Church of Peace the state religion of the empire?’

Ross’ eyes were full of madness. They weren’t the eyes of a selfless, pious Pope.

‘If I die, then so will the Church of Peace! I won’t pass it over to someone else as an inheritance!’

Greed took hold of Ross, making him completely different from the person he had been in the dream with the goddess.

“...So go to where I told you secretly and check if the news about the Saint is real.”

“Okay, leave it to me!”

Ross clearly remembered the place the goddess had told him about in his dream.

‘Taking care of her can wait.’

After Logger left, the Pope looked himself in the mirror, his eyes burning with determination.

***

Milean Village—that was the village that Irene had mentioned. Given that Logger’s mission was a secret, he went into the village by himself and looked for the daycare center that the Pope had told him about.

While all the adults in the village were working to make a living, all the children played and studied at the daycare center, and this included the Saint as well. However, she wasn’t there because her parents were busy working.

Thinking that raising her would be too difficult, her parents had abandoned her at the daycare and run away.

In other words, the Saint was an orphan. But the nanny who worked at the daycare hadn’t kicked her out. In fact, after consulting with the director, they had decided to take care of her.

As soon as Logger spotted the Saint playing in the yard, his eyes sparkled.

‘So it was true!’

Just as Pope Ross had told him, the Saint from the revelation was at the daycare center in Milean Village. All the pieces were coming together. And although others may not be able to tell, Logger could clearly feel the divine power she possessed, even from afar.

Logger brimmed with excitement. He wanted to get back to the Pope as soon as possible and bring the dignified Saint to him.

‘The heyday of our church is finally here!’

He hurriedly left the village, and shortly after, a shadow emerged from where Logger had stared at the Saint a few moments prior.

“I guess it’s true.”

The strange shadow was none other than Henry. He saw Irenae, the young Saint, playing in the daycare yard from far away. The rumors he had heard in his past life about the Saint’s origins turned out to be true.

Milean Village would eventually be exempted from taxation on account of being the village that had given birth to the Saint, and the director and nanny of the daycare center would also receive a large sum of money as a reward.

However, that wasn’t until later, only after the Saint had grown considerably. Nevertheless, the Pope had pointed the Church of Peace to this village, and he made a public statement that he had found the Saint thanks to the goddess’ revelation.

‘I can’t believe that what Viram said was true. So people who are passed out drunk are more susceptible to illusions... But still, how did someone like the Pope fall under such a low-level illusion...?’

The Pope’s so-called revelation had actually been Henry’s illusion, which he had learned from Viram. To Henry’s surprise, the results had been outstanding.

The Pope’s mental anguish had caused him to easily fall under the illusion, which had ultimately led him to send Logger here, in Milean Village.

So far, everything had gone according to Henry’s plan. He had known for a long time that the Saint was at the daycare center in Milean Village. However, it had been somewhat difficult for Henry to check her divine powers because he had lost his.

Thus, he had needed a high-ranking priest like Logger for confirmation. And now, Henry knew the answer to his question.

‘I should get moving now.’

Now that Logger had confirmed the divinity of the Saint, Henry’s plan was ready to unfold. He nodded and snapped his fingers, vanishing from Milean Village.