The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed

“Y-Your Holiness?!”

Mayra, who had been indifferent to the fact that Karami was staying in such a luxurious inn, gasped when she saw Antonious in the room.

Despite his shabby appearance, his divine aura couldn’t be concealed. She had only seen him from a distance, but he was a man she could never forget.

Mayra immediately prostrated herself on the floor.

“I greet you, Your Holiness!”

“Raise your head, child. The man before you is no pope, nor anything else. Just a simple believer like anyone else.”

“How... how could I...?”

“Indeed. What pope am I? I have no place to go, and I’m merely an old man who eats the food I’ve bought with my own money.”

“You impudent wretch!”

As Mayra flared up, Karami quickly hid behind Mirabel.

“Grandfather, the clergy’s believer is getting angry at someone who has done nothing wrong, even at the one who took care of the former pope. Is this acceptable?”

“What can I do? I’m no longer the pope. I have no right to rebuke the child for anything they do.”

“The state of the clergy, huh.”

“Even if the clergy is corrupt, I don’t think I should be hearing that kind of talk from you, brat. Now get up already.”

“No... my legs are weak. I’ll stay like this.”

Well, this one’s peculiar.

Seems like I keep meeting strange people lately.

It must be Karami’s fault.

However, it was Mirabel who continuously caught Antonious’s attention.

“Nice to meet you, little one.”

“Hello.”

“Heh, such a polite child. Life sure has its surprises. To think I’d see such a young witch roaming the Holy Kingdom.”

She appeared to be a cute magic girl on the outside.

No matter how she was hiding her energy, Antonious, of his level, could easily perceive her true nature.

She didn’t seem like she intended to hide it in the first place.

Wizards in this world usually fall into two categories.

The arrogant wizard who parades around, flaunting their unimpressive skills.

The cunning wizard who hides their power as much as possible to provoke the enemy’s carelessness.

Mirabel was the latter.

She was a wise child.

At her age, most magic users would want to show off their powers. Being sneaky was highly praised in the wizarding world.

But Mirabel was both the latter and the former.

She had so much mana that even when she tried to hide it, the power still leaked out despite her efforts.

If she were an ordinary wizard, the amount would be so small it wouldn’t even be noticeable, but Mirabel’s mana was vast.

With the amount that leaked out, I can imagine what’s inside her...

‘She’s a monster.’

It was an uncomfortable term to attach to a girl, but no other word fit her better.

“So, what brings you to the Holy Kingdom? Did you come for revenge, feeling oppressed? Or did you come to bring down a god?”

Antonious smiled gently, like a grandfather to his granddaughter.

“I came to carry out my master’s orders.”

“Master?”

“It’s me.”

Antonious immediately furrowed his brow. The way he looked at Karami was as if he were a lowly worm.

“If you want to know, Miss Mirabel became a slave because she wanted to.”

“Ha ha ha, you look like a human, but the things that come out of your mouth are nonsense. The monsters from the East probably look like you.”

The crude insults didn’t bother Karami, as he was used to them.

“Why are you here, old man? With your abilities, you should be able to do anything, right?”

The position of pope isn’t something that’s just handed to you. He had always been God’s representative, protecting the church before the Saintess even appeared.

With Antonious’s power, he could solve the current crisis and restore balance.

“What could I do? What qualifications do I have? Even if I were to single-handedly resolve the current situation, would it even matter?”

Balance can’t be achieved alone.

That was what Antonious had realized during [N O V E L I G H T] his time as the pope.

“The world is in chaos because of one person, isn’t it?”

“Because of one person... ‘Is it really all because of the Saintess?’ Do you truly believe that?”

Antonious slowly spoke, as if reading the three of them.

“If only one person believes in God, they are a madman. But when thousands, tens of thousands believe, it becomes a religion.”

Antonious gazed out the window.

People in the square praying, condemning the innocent, burning the world in the name of God.

“Do you really think the Saintess changed the world on her own? Impossible. The world has been preparing for this for a long time. People just needed a leader. It didn’t matter who that god was, even if they were human.”

He sighed deeply.

“This nation has always been built on faith in God, but in truth, it’s the opposite. It’s not faith that created people, it’s people who created faith. Because they needed it.”

Mayra swallowed. The Pope Antonious she knew was someone who praised faith and represented the will of God.

But the Antonious in front of her seemed to pierce through everything and see something deeper.

Antonious muttered while staring into the void.

“God does not change. But humans who believe in God change. That change changes God, changes the world, and establishes a new order.”

“Are you not going to participate?”

“What they establish as the new order is what I report to God. That is my role.”

God does not intervene.

The order touched by God’s hand will quickly fall out of balance when faith falters.

Even Antonious, as God’s representative, is included.

“I see.”

Karami had expected that answer.

He was a spectator.

From a distance, he observed everything and judged. He would see how this story ends.

‘I wonder why those beneath him are so different.’

It’s ironic.

Karami stood up.

“We’ll be leaving now.”

“Are you going to the temple?”

“As it is your role to observe, my role as a master is to assist my slave.”

“Ha, you’re quite the amusing fellow. Even God wouldn’t have expected someone like you to emerge.”

Antonious clicked his tongue, laughing mockingly.

“Give me your hand, you fool.”

“I don’t hold hands with men.”

“If you don’t need it, don’t take it. You’re the one who’ll lose out.”

“If it’s free, I’ll take it.”

Karami extended his hand. Antonious drew something with his fingers on the back of his hand.

A light flashed briefly in the shape of the Libra symbol, then quickly faded.

“You said you’d stand for the slave? If your heart is true, the Libra will side with you.”

“Oh.”

“However, if it’s a lie, you won’t escape punishment, so keep that in mind.”

Antonious gave his blessing, the favor of the Order of Balance.

It was hard to receive, and the effect would depend on how one treated slaves and their reputation gained as a Tycoon.

The conditions were so strict that Karami hadn’t even considered it. He hadn’t thought he’d receive it.

It wasn’t a necessity, and he wasn’t going out of his way to act like a Tycoon either.

‘But the situation’s different now.’

Though Karami hadn’t intended it, there were businesses and factions operating under the Slave Reaper’s name even in this moment.

The slaves he had carefully raised had created something; their influence would follow their master’s inclinations.

“No matter how much the world scorns me, my heart for my slaves will never change. I’ll use this gratefully.”

“Hmph. Always acting so superior, it’s irritating. But if that’s a talent, so be it. If you’ve said what you needed, hurry up and leave.”

They left the inn.

Mayra, still unable to move her legs, didn’t follow them.

It was fine with Karami—if the burden fell off her, that was good.

He had confirmed that Antonious’s attitude hadn’t changed. If he had now said, ‘I’ll stand above the order,’ it would have been troublesome.

Now, it just needed to be corrected.

****

On the way to the temple.

As they approached the temple, increasingly powerful priests were guarding it.

Paladins and crusaders, skilled in freely manipulating their sword energy, along with priests who could turn those knights into mindless zombies.

Endless power.

An impregnable fortress created by humans.

If Karami were to try to break through conventionally, he’d have no idea where to begin, but Mirabel was doing it all alone.

“Don’t block my master’s path.” 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A tense atmosphere.

Every time Mirabel cast her magic, the path that had been blocked was cleared. She easily blocked bombarding attacks.

Not once did they stop.

Even with the handicap of not using magic that could kill, as per her master’s command, there was no sign of being pushed back.

Mirabel, the witch, could grow in countless ways. When all those aspects were combined, her power was of a completely different dimension.

“Isn’t it hard?”

“Not at all! It feels like I’m on a picnic with my master, so it’s fun!”

So she says.

While delivering an overwhelming sense of power, it would be interesting to wonder how those watching would feel.

But if it makes you happy, that’s all that matters.

Boom!

That was when the lightning fell.

A thunderous strike hit the magic barrier Mirabel had created, followed by a series of lightning bolts.

Finally, the two of them stopped walking for the first time.

“Retreat. Lower-ranked forces, step back.”

“Judge!”

Blocking the path to the temple was a girl who looked about the same age as Mirabel. The flawless Judge Sigrid.

But it wasn’t just her.

The divine hammer of judgment, Raimund.

Beatrice, the fervently fanatical believer.

Constantine, the brilliant knight of the holy cross.

Anselm, the forgotten apostle of scripture.

Yurian, the penitent pilgrim of asceticism.

Six guardians of the Holy Kingdom.

The apostles created by the Holy Kingdom emerged before them.