Special Side Story 12

“Th-that person is… Pope Prion…”

“How is Pope Prion here…”

“To think I’d see Pope Prion with my own eyes…”

The people in the inn murmured loudly as they recognized Prion.

Some were even completely dumbfounded.

It wasn’t simply because he was the Pope.

The Eastern Kingdom was a country with lower faith in the deity compared to other countries.

Yet the reason they were so shocked and moved was because the Pope who had suddenly appeared was none other than Prion.

Pope Prion, who was famous on a different level from previous popes.

Pope Prion was the first Pope of common birth and had reconnected the oracle that had been silent for a hundred years.

And that wasn’t all.

Together with a hero chosen by the deity, he had saved this world, and he was said to possess the strongest holy power among all the popes in history.

Thanks to Pope Prion, the temples that had been declining rose again to prominence.

So even those with no interest in the temple couldn’t help but know Pope Prion.

Beyond faith, he was like a hero of turbulent times.

People cheered, and as proof of his popularity, his portraits had sold out in record time.

With such a great Pope appearing before their eyes, in a small inn no less, how could they not be surprised?

As the murmuring grew louder, the Donghwa County magistrate, who had been gaping, came to his senses.

The Pope, who was now standing before the magistrate.

The magistrate hastily tried to show proper respect.

“I have the honor of meeting the great servant of the deity…”

If only Prion hadn’t gently declined.

“The greeting is unnecessary. Didn’t I rudely interrupt your conversation first? So please raise your head.”

“Ah…”

The magistrate, who had straightened his posture awkwardly, looked at the Pope with a bewildered expression.

“But why is Your Holiness, the Pope, suddenly… here…”

Interfering in my affairs?

Unable to finish his words because the Pope’s status was so much higher than his own, the magistrate let his sentence trail off, but the Pope seemed to understand everything and said:

“I came to meet a friend and heard such an absurd claim that I couldn’t just stand by. If I’ve offended you, I apologize.”

“Not at all. Being offended is the last thing on my mind.”

Finding the polite apology burdensome, the magistrate hastily waved his hands.

Then he paused at one point.

The Pope just said he came to meet a friend…

Could that friend possibly be…

Just as the magistrate’s hair stood on end, the Pope’s gaze turned to the mercenary couple.

Soon, the Pope was the first to greet them.

“It’s been a while, Sir Kail. Lady Lien.”

Addressing them by name so familiarly.

His suspicion was correct.

To think that the friends the Pope mentioned were the mercenary couple he had come to arrest.

This was truly an enormous variable he couldn’t have imagined.

I should back down at this point.

Though it was regrettable to lose the money Lien’s holy power could bring, it would be foolish to confront the Pope, especially the most venerated Pope in history.

True to the principle of bullying the weak and cowering before the strong, the magistrate quickly made a decision, but Alice was a step ahead.

“Your Holiness, please help us!”

Alice gestured toward the guards surrounding them and urgently continued:

“As you can see, we’re being threatened.”

“Threatened…”

Though your husband seems far too relaxed for someone being threatened.

Prion swallowed the latter part of his thought, but Alice saw it.

The skeptical look in Prion’s eyes as he gazed at Kylus.

But Alice pretended not to notice.

The moment Prion appeared, she had quickly changed her plan.

She decided to let Prion resolve the situation instead of handling it herself.

No one here would dare ignore Prion’s words.

If Prion helped, they wouldn’t even need to go to the authorities.

Of course, it was suspicious why he suddenly came looking for her, but…

That damned magistrate comes first.

How dare he try to escape quietly.

Today is your funeral day.

Alice cried out desperately to Prion:

“Yes. They’ve placed false accusations on us and threatened us. They said they’re going to take us away right now. Since they won’t listen to reason, please help us, Your Holiness!”

“False accusations…”

Prion narrowed his brow and turned his head toward the magistrate.

“Is this true?”

It was a brief question, but the effect was certain.

Everyone who had been in doubt about whether Alice and Kylus were real criminals turned their heads toward the magistrate, and the guards also flinched and retreated.

The atmosphere had changed in an instant.

Unfavorably for the magistrate.

Sensing this, the magistrate hastily said:

“It-it’s not true! This is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”

Alice frowned and pressed the magistrate:

“Now you say it’s a misunderstanding? You clearly stated earlier! That my husband stabbed your subordinate with a sword, that there were more than a few witnesses who saw it.”

“Well… that…”

The shoulders of the once imposing magistrate shrank.

In his cornered state, not knowing what to do, the magistrate’s ears caught Alice’s words:

“Are you saying that Baegun and the guards lied? That you were deceived too?”

This is the way to survive!

The magistrate urgently exclaimed:

“That’s right! That guy, he must have enticed the guards to tell lies! I was deceived too!”

Not knowing that it was a bait thrown by Alice.

The guard’s eyes widened as he saw his master disowning him right before his eyes. But the magistrate raised his hand high, as if telling the guard to remove that look. Just as the magistrate’s hand was about to head toward the guard’s cheek, tap—Kylus grabbed the magistrate’s wrist.

“Urgh!”

“It’s not over yet, so wait quietly.”

Kylus’s chilling voice resonated in the ear of the magistrate, who let out a groan.

As Kylus perfectly subdued the magistrate, Alice approached the guard as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Trying to hit an injured person, that’s really too much.”

Alice clicked her tongue before placing her hand on the guard’s bandaged shoulder.

Flash—

Light emanated, and her holy power completely healed the guard’s shoulder.

Alice whispered quietly to Baegun, who was looking at her with surprised eyes:

“Are you going to remain loyal to someone like him until the end?”

Baegun’s wavering gaze.

Alice removed her hand from Baegun and asked loudly:

“Baegun, tell the truth. Did you really try to deceive the magistrate alone and frame us?”

Baegun clutched his healed shoulder with his other hand and lowered his head.

“…No. It was all on the magistrate’s orders.”

“Baegun!!”

The magistrate shouted sharply, but Baegun confessed without even turning his gaze:

“The magistrate stabbed my shoulder with a sword and told me to say it was done by the mercenary Kail. He said that was the only way we could use Kail to capture the mercenary Lien. The magistrate intended to capture the mercenary Lien and make her sign a slave contract.”

After all, the Donghwa County magistrate had betrayed Baegun first.

Even if it was Alice’s trap.

“You bastard!! How dare you!!”

The enraged magistrate flung himself toward Baegun. Kylus didn’t bother to catch the magistrate. He just subtly tripped the magistrate with his foot, hidden from others.

Crash—

The magistrate fell forward hard, breaking his front teeth and bleeding profusely.

“Krrgh…”

The magistrate frowned in pain and sharply turned his head toward Kylus.

But the moment he saw Kylus’s murderous eyes, he couldn’t say a word.

At that moment, the holy clerical robe appeared before the frozen magistrate.

Pope Prion.

He lowered himself toward the magistrate and took out a handkerchief.

Prion pressed the handkerchief firmly against the magistrate’s mouth, which was bleeding profusely, to stop the bleeding.

“My, the bleeding is severe. Hold this firmly until the authorities arrive.”

The magistrate nodded at Prion’s concerned words, clutching the handkerchief.

Amid all this, Prion was the only one who extended a hand to him.

Perhaps because of that.

The magistrate didn’t realize.

That despite being a wound that could be completely healed with a single use of holy power, Prion deliberately chose not to use it.

Also, that Prion had called the authorities to punish him.

The magistrate, foolishly, only realized these facts when the authorities arrested him.

And so, as the magistrate and the guards were taken away by the authorities in succession, the commotion at the inn came to an end.

But Alice’s troubles were not yet over.

She still had business with Prion.

Alice looked at Prion.

“You didn’t just happen to see me while passing by and come here… did you?”

Prion answered with an apologetic look:

“No. I didn’t. Lien…”

“Lien is a term of address only I can use.”

Kylus, who had been quiet, spoke up.

Is that… really… important right now?

Prion’s bewildered gaze turned to Kylus, but Kylus was serious.

Kylus particularly disliked Prion calling Alice by her pet name.

Once upon a time, albeit briefly, Alice had tried to take Prion’s hand instead of his.

And Prion had treated Alice specially, different from other women.

So to Kylus, Prion was always his top priority for vigilance.

“Haha, I see.”

Alice gave an awkward smile at that moment.

But she didn’t particularly stop Kylus.

Prion, observing the two exchanging affectionate glances, changed his form of address.

“I’ve made a mistake. Lady Alice.”

For the first time in his life, feeling the loneliness of his empty side.

Prion continued:

“I came because I have an urgent request for Lady Alice.”

As expected.

Alice wasn’t particularly surprised because she had anticipated this.

She just looked around.

The Donghwa County magistrate was gone, but more and more people were gathering.

To see Pope Prion.

“It seems difficult to talk here due to your popularity, Your Holiness. Is there a place we can go?”

To Alice’s question, Prion nodded with an embarrassed face.

“Yes, there is. Let’s go to the Temple of Light.”

And so, Alice took Kylus’s hand and followed behind Prion.

They left the inn and arrived at the Temple of Light.

When only the three of them remained in the high priest’s office.

Alice asked Prion what she was most curious about:

“How did you know we were at that inn? Did Lord Helios tell you by any chance?”

Helios, the prime suspect who knew their every move.

But surprisingly, Prion quickly shook his head.

“No. I received no message from Lord Helios.”