CH 139

At the same time, the cold and heavy sound of footsteps echoes across the marble floor.

A handsome man with silver hair, who seemed to have been blessed from head to toe by the grace of God, was walking down the aisle of the Vatican.

As evidenced by his well-fitting uniform, his gait as a trained knight was moderate and dignified.

He was the Thesilid Argent of the ‘17th round’.

The floor, which had changed from marble to carpet, ate away the pleasant sound of footsteps.

Shortly thereafter, Thesilid reached his destination.

He stood in front of a cardinal’s door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Even the tidy sound of knocking seems to resemble his pristine self.

“Ah, Sir Thesilid.”

The door opened and an apprentice sister in charge of attending appeared.

Thesilid smiled softly, with perfect courtesy as if he had painted it. 

“It’s a peaceful night, Sister. I’m sorry for the late hour, but could you tell Cardinal Cattleya that I’d like to see her for a moment?” 

“Yes! Ho-hold on!”

The girl’s face, which was disappearing in a hurry, was burning red. 

He was a knight with good looks and manners that thrilled many women, so it was inevitable.

Furthermore, as the regression continued, the freshness disappeared and a strangely languid and detached atmosphere was added, so it was close to impossible not to feel the charm.

Soon the girl peeped out with a shy face. 

“Would you like to come in?”

After expressing his thanks with a silent bow, he took a step forward.

He was guided to a private study. Due to the area being densely packed with theological books, a heavy and pious air seemed to fill in the space.

Cattleya, reviewing the papers, glanced at Thesilid and fixed her glasses.

“Sir Thesilid, please have a seat.”

“Thank you for your time, Your Grace The Cardinal.”

With the low table between them, Thesilid sat upright on the couch across from Cattleya.

The apprentice sister served tea and tactfully walked away. Cattleya seemed to have said in advance that they would be alone. 

Well, she was quick-witted since long ago. Even now, a subtle tension was flowing in the air.

It was obvious that Cattleya Gillette was wary of Thesilid Argent. On the other hand, Thesilid’s attitude when he asked for a face-to-face meeting was as usual. He smiled drowsily as he ran his fingertips over the handle of the teacup.

It was Cattleya who opened her mouth first and her words were simple.

“What brings you to see me?” 

“I came here because I had a personal curiosity. It’s a little embarrassing because it’s a trivial thing.”

“No trivial thing is truly trivial.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m rather worried. You came all this way but I wonder if this is a question I can answer.”

“You don’t have to worry. It’s a question that anyone with the Eyesight of Vitality can easily answer.”

Thesilid was still smiling like a still picture in front of the flinching Cattleya.

“Was I too straightforward?” 

“A little.”

Strictly speaking, it was not surprising.

Just as Cattleya recognized Thesilid as a regressor through the Eyesight of Vitality, there was no law against him recognizing her ability.

Even more so if he was a regressor who has experienced various things on countless timelines. 

However, the problem was the time he had accumulated as a regressor. The number that popped above his head aroused suspicions that perhaps he knew more about Cattleya than she did herself.

Overwhelmed, Cattleya couldn’t help but be nervous. Enough to swallow dry saliva with tea served right in front of her.

Thesilid opened his mouth. In a tone as calm as the scent of the tea in his mouth.

“If it is the experienced Cardinal you will also understand. As the years go by, it becomes difficult to count the exact age.”

“……”

“On top of that, I’ve reached the point where my sense of time has become dull and paralyzed. That’s why.” 

His point was.

“How old am I?”

“……”

Cattleya drew in a small breath.

When her wrinkled lips did not answer after a long time, Thesilid laughed bitterly in trouble.

“Is that such a surprising number?” 

“……”

“Well, it was over four digits long ago.” 

“……”

“But I think we still have a long way to go to five digits……” 

“……”

“Ah, as expected it’s hard to calculate because my natural life span got twisted later, so I’d really appreciate it if Cardinal Cattleya, who has the Eyesight of Vitality could at least tell me the first digit.” 

The old woman’s lips trembled.

“You……what kind of life have you been living?”

It was only when Cattleya finally brought it up that the expression on Thesilid’s face slowly sank. He stared ahead with a desolate face with nothing left. 

Eyes facing the front, but not really containing anything. It was fleeting as if it had seen the end of the world.

“Well. Life……can this be called human life?……”

“……”

“Of course, I have nothing to say because I only paid for my sins.” 

“……In other lines of time…have you sinned?” 

“Yes. I have committed a great sin. At least in the last timeline where I lived like a human being.”

“Then after that……”

“Ah, come to think of it.” 

He had the cardinal in front of him, but he didn’t mean to confess. Thesilid’s eyes turned to Cattleya, who stopped talking. 

“The Eyesight of Vitality made a great contribution to punishing me. Because you, who knew I was a regressor, gave me a very ingenious life sentence.”

Every story has an unknown after story.

The being that came from beyond the limits of the original story had distant eyes. Then, realizing that he was about to sink into the abyss, he came to his senses.

“Well, I don’t mean to resent you, so don’t worry.”

Having returned to his usual self, he asked the original question. 

“I’m just curious. How long have I been trapped in that abyss?”

✠

After the private meeting with Reed, I strolled alone outside the building for a while.

No, not alone.

<Ellet, are you okay?>

“I got better after drinking the potion.” 

Agnes is here too.

[‘The World-building God’ says you are not even a time-limited female lead, so why are you vomiting blood?]

[‘The Spoiler Inspector’ criticizes ‘The World-building God’ for not being able to properly crack down on believers.]

[‘The World-building God’ asks ‘The Spoiler Inspector’ to raise his own apostle to see if it will work out the way you want to.]

[‘The Critic who adjusts the balance’ suspects that late puberty has kicked in, saying that she seems to have started to go astray from the time of that one bad God Fever.]

[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ is worried that this will lead her to have a relationship like a pushover, remembering that there was always the main character involved when she rebelled.]

There are also Gods who accompany us with warm and nonsense nagging. What a very reliable life.

<By the way, since earlier your divine power is……>

“It’ll be back in a day.”

<It was a dangerous thing to do in front of Reed.>

[‘The Spoiler Inspector’ says you are a first-time offender so he warns you that if your criminal record increases, your sentence will increase exponentially.]

I can’t believe I became a civilian even though it’s a level of SS difficulty. Let’s vow to never do it again.

As I was thinking so.

[‘The Eyes that watch over the chaos of all things’ pupils shake like an earthquake and he urgently calls the Head of Development Headquarters.]

[‘The World-building God’ calls for an emergency meeting with a serious face.]

[‘The Critic who adjusts the balance’ enters the meeting room puzzled.]

[‘The Troubled Architect of the Tower of Trials’ enters the meeting room nervously.]

[‘The Spoiler Inspector’ follows with special authority.]

[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ tries to sneak in together, but gets barred at the entrance.]

I think it might be the bug problem that I reported last time.

Maybe it’s because it’s been quiet since the Gods have left. The garden of The Vatican, where the night fell, felt belatedly elegant.

As I was about to return to my place by going around the road fully appreciating the summer flowers, I bumped into a person coming out of the building across the path.

“Terry?”

“Eli.”

The building he just came out of was far from his quarters. I approached him at once and asked.

“Where are you coming from?”

“I had someone to meet.”

“Who?”

“Cardinal Cattleya. What about you? Did anything happen with the Pope?”

“……”

Unlike my usual, I hesitated for a moment. 

“Have you not met the Pope?”

There was a slight hint of nervousness in him but I did not want to cause concern.

“No, that’s right. We met. As you said, nothing happened.”

“……Okay.”

Before I could erase the remaining doubt in his eyes with a fresh smile my necklace rang.

<Ellet, Reed is……>

“Agnes.”

I stopped the flow with a smile on my face.

“Later.”

<……Ah yes.>

It shouldn’t have been awkward.

We started walking side by side. The direction of our accommodations was different, but he followed me as if it was natural.

“Why? Are you coming to my room at this hour?”

If the Cardinals heard these words, they would be shouting warnings of behavior at the top of their lungs.

It was a mischievous prank, but as always, our faithful paladin only showed a plain reaction.

“I want to see you off.”

“Yes. Because you have a duty to be kind.”

Because of ‘The Commandments of the Seven Holy Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins.’

Oh, it’s not fun. 

As I quickly lost interest and kicked a stone on the ground.

“Not because of duty.”

“Then?”

“Because I want to do it.”

“……”

I stopped walking without realizing it. 

The night wind passed between us for a long time and for a moment, I felt a bit dazed, as if my mind had been swept away as well.

A low laugh broke the silence.

“Got you.”