Chapter 114

What… The Heck?

I looked around at the other cardinals surrounding me, but they were all just staring blankly with glassy eyes. Were the cardinals… always like this? No. I’ve met with the cardinals often, but this is the first time I’ve seen them like this.

They were all supposed to be gentle, inspired people, befitting devout clergymen, but what is this? Those inorganic eyes.

“Continue the ceremony.”

I nodded heavily at the emotionless, inorganic voice. Cold sweat was still trickling down my back from the semi-transparent window floating in front of me and the pain in my finger, but as the head cardinal said, I couldn’t just throw a tantrum here because it hurt.

As if they had been waiting, the head cardinal cleared the way, and Diana, dressed in ceremonial robes, was waiting.

“Yurian?”

The question in Diana’s eyes as she tilted her head. Her eyes still held only affection and a little worry for me, not the same sense of alienation as the cardinals’ inorganic gazes.

Does Diana not know anything? If even Diana had become strange like the cardinals, I would have caused a scene right there, no matter the cardinal appointment ceremony.

I gave a small smile, meaning it was nothing, to the piercing gazes of the cardinals still lined up behind me, and approached her. Diana, who was standing on a slightly raised platform, placed her hand on my head and gave a blessing.

And divine power spread out from her. The same voice amplification magic as before was activated.

Originally, it was the turn for the newly appointed cardinal to give a simple confession of faith. Of course, I couldn’t end it that simply.

I was already thinking about it, so this is perfect. I’ll just go all out here. My finger is throbbing anyway, so I’m pissed off. Fine, bring it on. If that’s how it’s going to be, I have my own plans.

“I, Yurian, declare.”

It’s hilarious that I, who haven’t believed in any god in either my past or present life, have risen to the position of cardinal, the pinnacle of priesthood.

So, I’ll call out to ‘god.’ No, anything other than god is fine. God? System? Transcendental being? Anything is fine, call it whatever you want.

My voice echoed throughout the entire Holy Nation of Hespolte. My image was reflected on the large screen floating in the air, no, the magic mirror.

A young priest standing tall with the saint and cardinals as his background. The entire Hespolte fell silent at the words of the priest dressed in the cardinal’s characteristic crimson, ornate robes.

“Cardinal Yurian, upon being appointed as a cardinal of the Order today, earnestly prays. Please, let me be a tool to achieve the great purpose of reaching the will of God.”

Of course, the god I’m talking about here has a different meaning than the god the Order speaks of. So… are you listening, system? Main system or whatever, I’m pissed, so listen to me.

I know your purpose, to stop the Demon King. I’ll be a tool for your purpose.

“Your great will does not operate without the Saint, and we cannot know or love you without the Saint. I know that you bestow all talents and graces upon me, through the Saint, to those the Saint desires, when the Saint desires, as much as the Saint desires, and in the way the Saint desires. I also know that the secret to my faithful service as a member of the Order is to be completely in harmony with the Saint, whom you love so dearly.”

The Pope? Screw him.
I’m loyal to our Diana. I can’t openly flip him off, but this much is okay. The Saint represents the Pope, whom you can’t meet unless you’re a cardinal, and the Saint is nominally equal in position to the Pope. So, it’s okay to single out and elevate only the Saint, not the Pope.

Of course, most of the people listening to me won’t understand what this means. They’ll just think that I’m praising the Saint to the level of “the Saint makes grenades out of pine cones,” as befits the Saint’s closest aide. That’s fine. A few will understand.

I thought it was strange that the Order had been so unusually friendly to me, but seeing it today, there seem to be quite a few shady parts. Cardinals openly mentioning the system? And what’s with those glassy, inorganic eyes? Are they cyborgs?

I thought it was strange that the Pope hadn’t even shown his face, but the Order is a very uncomfortable organization. Then I’m loyal, loyal to our beautiful Saint.

I guess this is enough for what I have to say to the people.

“Therefore, holding in my hand the banner of faith that reveals all these facts before our eyes, I now stand before you as a soldier and child of God, declaring my complete reliance on the Saint. The Saint is the mother of my soul. The Saint’s heart and my heart are one, and with this one heart, I once again declare myself a servant of God, so please, grant salvation through me.”

And system.
Whether you’re a god or a system, you can’t act on your own, so you’re using someone to do your work. That’s fine. But don’t touch Diana.

I’ll use the abilities you gave me through the system to achieve your purpose, so don’t touch the Saint. I declared a holy war to stop the Demon King as you intended, and I’ll actively participate.

As the holy war was declared, a military flag was needed. Accordingly, referring to ancient documents, they adopted a design used in the old holy wars as the military flag. It was a circle cross, born from the combination of the circle representing the sun, a symbol of God, and the cross, a symbol of the Order. It was a cross with a circle around the intersection of the cross. This new cross symbol became the military flag of the holy war.

And now. Perhaps considering the holy war situation, they had set up huge flags with the circle cross on both sides, and I dramatically raised one of them as a performance.

The entire Hespolte erupted in enthusiastic cheers at the performance of the one who proclaimed the holy war, raising the flag of the holy war high and emphasizing his unity with the Saint.

Can you see it well, you god bastard? If you have eyes… no, if you’re a system, you probably don’t have eyes? Anyway, look closely. I’m waving this big flag, so you can see it well, right? If you touch Diana, I won’t stand still.

“Today, I firmly believe and pledge that through the power given to me by God, my weakness will be made into steadfast strength.”

I’ll make good use of the abilities you gave me through the system, so push me harder. I’m still lacking, so give me more! Stats, skills, items, anything is fine. Give me more!

“I dare to take a place in the holy war and serve faithfully. I will fully obey the rules of the holy war. These rules bind the participants of the holy war and me into a legion, and also prepare our ranks marching with the Saint to fulfill God’s will and bring about miracles of grace. Thus, the face of the earth will be renewed, and God’s will will spread in all directions.”

I’m acting like this, but I won’t rebel against you. I will faithfully participate in the holy war, obey the Order, and lead the holy war with Diana, faithfully following your will.

So.

“Deus vult.”

Soon after, a huge roar shook the city.

Don’t touch the people around me, and just give me support.
If you do that, I’ll follow your will as long as you want.

That’s how my cardinal appointment ceremony ended. The five cardinals just watched me with their glassy eyes, without saying anything else… I guess my message was delivered well?

The festival was over.
The central Order was once again filled with silence. Of course, the city was still in a festive mood, but the center of the Holy Nation of Hespolte, the central Order, was covered in heavy silence.

Although the five cardinals didn’t express any opinions about my outcry, it seems there’s a lot of debate about it among the people below. No wonder everyone was so lukewarm even when I, the idol of the temple, passed by.

It was only seen as me being loyal to the Saint, so it’s fine, but if they knew it was a message to the god presumed to be the system, it would have been a disaster, right? I treat the system or god like a stray dog, but it would have a completely different meaning to these fanatics.

By the way, the possibility of the system being a god. I should tell Cha Hyewon about it too. It’s still an uncertain assumption, but looking at the cardinals, it doesn’t seem impossible.

So, while the atmosphere of the Order was gloomy due to my blatant “the Saint uses teleportation” level of loyalty oath, Diana, the person in question, was thrilled to death.

“Ehehe. ‘Declaring my complete reliance on the Saint. The Saint is the mother of my soul. The Saint’s heart and my heart are one, and with this one heart, I once again declare myself a servant of God, so please, grant salvation through me.’ Uhehe~”
“…Diana. Can you not smile so sinisterly, Saint?”
“But~ Yurian, is Diana your mom? Yurian is a baby. A baby with a heart that’s one with Diana.”
“……”

I’m going crazy.
What should I do with this poor child who is not just excited but drunk? You have to consider the context, what are you going to do if you take it literally?

I don’t think Diana is really that clueless. She’s not that politically inept. She’s just teasing me. …Right?

“Now Yurian needs Diana even more, right?”

The Saint’s face, which was close to me and wriggling, was more annoying than usual today. This Saint… is it okay to be loyal to her? I’m uneasy, uneasy.

“Diana and Yurian are one heart, one body! We die together, we live together! Of course, Diana thought so too~ but I never thought you’d declare it at the cardinal appointment ceremony. Kyaa~ Diana is embarrassed.”
“……Can you stop it?”
“You did so well, our baby. Good boy. Do you want milk? Ah, that’s right! Diana will give you a present~”

Why are you touching my thigh while saying it’s a present?

“Wait. I’m serious right now. You haven’t seen the Pope, have you?”
“Uh-uh. I haven’t.”
“Don’t you think it’s strange? How long has the first Pope been doing it? Is he even human? And why is it that only cardinals can see the Pope? That’s strange too.”
“Uh-uh. It is.”
“……It’s, it’s suspicious. The Order. That’s why I went and flipped them off today. It’s a serious situation.”
“Uh-uh. I see.”
“Haa… are you really going to be like this? We’re serious right now, you know?”
“Uh-uh.”

I’m done for. It’s already over.
Diana’s blue eyes, which glanced at me, were already burning with desire.

What desire? Of course… sexual desire.
Well, it’s been a while since we did it. ……But still, isn’t it too much? Sexual desire is the priority in this serious situation.

“Because you’re a good boy, Diana will give you a present~ Are you curious what it is?”
“Not really.”
“You’ll be curious~ right~?”
“…Y, yes~ I’m curious! Oh, I’m curious!”

I’m, I’m going to burst. Diana’s hand, which had been tightly gripping my balls, slightly loosened and started to rub my scrotum.

She used to subtly lead me to give the answers she wanted, but now she’s forcing me to make the answers. Where did the cute old Diana go? It’s sad.

“It’s that~ Diana will do it with her mouth first. How’s that?”
“That’s amazing. R, really! Wow, I’m excited! I’m really excited!!”

So, don’t put strength in your hand! It’s really scary. This is really scary!

“S, so, Diana.”
“Uh-huh?”
“Irian is outside, you know? Let’s… restrain ourselves.”
“……? Yurian, did you care about that? You tormented Diana even when Sir Irian was listening before.”
“……Tormented? When did I ever.”

That’s a scary thing to say. When did I ever torment her? …Thinking about it now, could it be that all the training, no, the education I gave Diana was all this girl’s intention? Nah, probably not. …It can’t be. Probably.