Chapter 68

The Medieval-Modern Man With A Gamer Mindset 68

68. Am I by Any Chance…?

Saint.

When those who were recognized for their faith in Lux Stella during their lifetime receive a miracle after death, the Church proclaims them as saints, exemplary figures to be admired.

And saints tend to be revered according to the field they worked in during their lifetime, their birthplace, or their region of activity. In some remote areas, faith in local saints can be stronger than faith in Lux Stella.

After all, a saint who became a great being in human form would be more familiar than the incomprehensible Lux Stella. People believed that the remains and relics of saints protected the world.

Those with extremely secular and rational mindsets would laugh at such capricious beliefs. However, those in the Church who concealed the truth within mysticism would be wary of the unexpected insights possessed by the common people.

The Mother Superior, who was leading the way to the vault, and I, who followed behind her, knew this fact well.

Now was the moment when those who knew the truth had to share their secrets. Enon, who would undoubtedly get in the way, had already been handed over to Carina. If Miriam was a capable woman, she would gradually close the distance while using Enon as a pretext.

What mattered was the relic that the Saint Ariata Order was protecting here. Sёarch* The NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Would I be able to determine if it was a genuine relic? If it was a genuine relic, what role would it play? My expression must have clearly shown these questions.

The elderly Mother Superior tilted her head once and spoke carefully.

“How much do you know, Your Grace?”

“How much?”

“About the relic… It seems you haven’t received the official handover yet.”

Ah. I don’t particularly like this kind of roundabout beating around the bush.

Still, I could generously overlook it since this was like getting a sneak peek at my posthumous fate. Above all, it was a secret that the Church was trying to keep hidden. If the price was respecting the other party’s pride, I could pay it without hesitation.

“I’ve heard it’s my future.”

“If Your Grace is canonized, then that will be the case.”

“You know about canonization, I see?”

“Yes. However… Your Grace, our order may be lacking in many ways. But we have faithfully carried out the role of passing down the knowledge handed down from our ancestors. May I prove it to you?”

I couldn’t help but click my tongue at the roundabout rhetoric of medieval intellectuals.

This convoluted speech, more tangled than a ball of yarn, meant that they would tell me what they knew, so I should overlook any shortcomings in their evaluation criteria.

If they had offered me some hidden wealth or a beautiful woman who was nothing to write home about, I would have dirtied my blade with their blood. But… in exchange, they would reveal a secret that the Church was hiding.

There’s a saying that goes, “When the time comes, you will be taught.”

However, there is one thing I have already learned from my school days. When the time comes, you won’t be able to keep up with those who have already prepared and moved ahead. It was the same now.

This wasn’t about uncovering a secret on a whim, but simply studying in advance what I would eventually learn anyway.

It’s not private education, but pre-learning. That’s what this is.

“I permit it. Tell me.”

It was then that the Mother Superior’s tense face broke into a smile of relief.

The Mother Superior sighed deeply and, placing a candle on the side table at the top of the leading stairs down to the basement, said,

“Sainthood is not something that just anyone can attain. Even if you are a Stigmatic, there is no guarantee that you will be canonized after your death.”

“Is that because of political reasons?”

“That is what the worldly scholars believe. However, there is a more important reason.”

It was the first time that the unworldly and anxious nun had looked serious.

The Mother Superior gently lifted the slowly burning candle and, from beneath the deep wrinkles on her forehead, began to pick up the fragments of a legend from her memory.

“The legend that our order has passed down by word of mouth is a story about the end of the rebellion that marked the dawn of humanity and the human kingdom that once existed on this land.”

***

In the distant past, when various races ruled the world, there was only one among them that did not look down on humans as inferior beings.

When the otherworldly races, who had even grown tired of the cries of humans begging for salvation, moved to exterminate all of humanity, the only one who had ever shown compassion for humans stood on their side.

This is the introduction to the Lux Stella myth.

In the age of humanity, the extraterrestrial god who is said to have brought about the human race, united the scattered humans and, bestowing powerful miracles upon them, defeated the otherworldly hordes. The epilogue that followed is relatively simple.

Thanks to Lux Stella, the people lived happily ever after, the end.

…Or so I thought.

There was more to the epilogue than I had imagined.

Relying on the warm candlelight, the Mother Superior calmly told me about that part as she descended the spiral staircase one step at a time. Why had the Church cut out and hidden so much of the myth?

As soon as I heard the Mother Superior’s story, I understood in an instant.

“Our mighty and noble god, Lux Stella, drove out the otherworldly beings, but he did not finish them off.”

“He didn’t finish them off? Why not, when he had driven them to the brink of oblivion?”

No.

Listening to the nuances, it sounded as if he had not delivered the final blow to the Silphs, who had been on the verge of complete defeat, but had simply let them go. I couldn’t understand why he had suddenly decided to troll them so mercilessly after doing so well.

When I couldn’t hide my sense of absurdity, the Mother Superior replied with a look of understanding and a sigh.

“The Starlight of Humanity proclaimed himself the god of all humans. Because of that, his noble light extended even to those humans who had turned their backs on him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He would not decide their fate until all of humanity was in agreement. This is said to be the final revelation that the Starlight of Humanity left before he withdrew.”

I couldn’t bear the frustration and covered my face with my right hand. Lux Stella. I had had a feeling about him ever since he had been so strict about vows and oaths, but now I could see that he was a complete idiot.

Just a little bit more.

The remaining Silphs would probably just end up living miserable lives, crawling around like maggots, so it would have been better if he had just finished them off for their own good.

“However, even as he withdrew, he left behind an arrangement to prevent the otherworldly beings from making a comeback before humanity had decided their fate.”

It would have been strange if I hadn’t noticed after such an obvious hint.

I wiped my face with my right hand and let out a deep sigh.

“A Saint, then. A Holy Relic, to be exact.”

“As expected, your insight is exemplary.”

It was a suffocating story, like trying to swallow dozens of potatoes without a sip of water. Thanks to that, my steps towards the vault seemed to quicken.

As I was unable to contain my boiling indignation and began to lightly pound my chest, a thick steel door appeared.

The Mother Superior placed the candle on the candle holder next to it and, taking out a large key from her bosom, began to fiddle with the door.

“A Holy Relic is a miraculous object in which the starlight of Lux Stella dwells. Its mere presence brings comfort to people and repels the evil wield influenced by the demons of humanity.”

Clank.

The dull steel door, devoid of any carvings, swung open. The Mother Superior put the key away and made the sign of the cross in front of the open door.

“At the same time, because of its great power and preciousness, it is targeted by pagans as an offering for their sacrifices.”

Every reliquary I had ever seen was adorned with a shimmering casket beneath an extravagant canopy. But the interior of Saint Arietta’s Abbey’s vault was the complete opposite. It was bare and drab, so much so that it wouldn’t have been out of place with cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, save for the absence of decoration.

The only thing in the dimly lit, dark green chamber was a plain wooden casket resting on a pedestal in the center.

Had it not been for the prickling sensation on the back of my hand, I would have thought I was in a storage closet.

The abbess inclined her head in the direction of the reliquary, whispering to me with the utmost reverence.

“Behold, the finger bone of Saint Illenio, which we safeguard.”

“…”

Having been taken by Edelgard, chased after by Terebear, and then grilled by Bishop Ganista, I hadn’t had a chance to educate myself on relics.

But the relic before me was real.

The warmth of the relic against my skin, like a heat pack on a cold day, and the tingling sensation that ran through my body were proof of that.

“Do you know of Saint Illenio?”

“I have heard that he led the remnants of a fallen kingdom and perished as soon as they arrived in Illenfoot.”

“Heh heh heh… The church has kept his last testament a secret. Only those who are worthy may hear it.”

“What’s so secretive about it?”

“Because, my child, that secret is the most important element in protecting this land.”

I was about to turn around and start rifling through their account books if it wasn’t anything special.

“The Lonely King of the Fallen Kingdom.”

“?”

“The remains of the king who did not know of Lux Stella, whose body was gifted a miracle by Lux Stella at Saint Illenio’s request. As long as a fragment of the fallen kingdom remains in this land, this land shall belong to man.

-That is the last anecdote about Saint Illenio that the church hides.”

Suddenly, I recalled the inscription on the monument I had seen when I first visited Illenfoot.

[Saint Illenio, the refugees…]

That part.

[…ravaged by disease…]

A bit further.

[But his heart still bound to this land, he breathed his last, mourning his fragmented kingdom, before the starlight reached him.]

As I chewed on the legend that had been passed down, there was certainly a meaningful part to it.

Fragments. I had thought it meant simply the refugees of the fallen kingdom, but now I see that it also meant honoring the last king. As I recalled all this, a strange pang settled in my chest.

Facts that I had ignored until now, thinking this was a stereotypical isekai, were starting to feel different.

A country that was invaded and destroyed by pagans.

The title of Lonely King.

The remains of one who did not believe in Lux Stella, yet was designated a relic after death.

Though the evidence was scant, my mind began to race with possibilities.

“The Lonely King of the Fallen Kingdom. If his remains were also designated as relics, then… are they fragmented? Like Saint Illenio’s?”

The abbess shook her head sadly as if recalling the tragic end of the kingdom.

“…Regrettably.”

“Hm.”

Well, of course. If the legends are true, then relics are a kind of air purifier, so it would be more efficient to break them up and place them in different locations. Since they’re made from human bodies, it makes sense to use them sparingly.

Just as I was coming to terms with it,

The abbess continued.

“Legend has it that the Lonely King’s remains were torn to pieces by the invading pagans and offered to their respective gods.”

“….”

“Moreover, the relic of the lonely king is a secret that the Church holds very important. Simply put… it is said that what Saint Illenio had last was only a small part. hehehe… what a pity.”

Sulma’s suspicion ended there.

Well, there are more than a few countries that have been destroyed by pagan invasion, and the title of the lonely king is just a bluff, a bluff. In the first place, the king is originally a lonely profession. It’s a profession where you have to make decisions alone, so how can you not be lonely?

There must be dozens or hundreds of kings who didn’t believe in Lux Stella and crossed the sea because they didn’t believe in Lux Stella. I’m ashamed of myself for thinking that I might be the one because I had only three similar points.

Even if it’s a disease, it’s a disease when self-consciousness is this excessive.

However, I had no choice but to sigh with regret and sadness for the nameless king who had fought bravely and was torn apart and offered as a sacrifice for human sacrifice.

“Hmm. It’s a pity.”

“Yes… If I had believed in the stars of grace during my lifetime, I might have been able to protect the country, but it’s a tragedy that I couldn’t because the time was not right.”

“Hmm. I agree.”

Thinking about how he couldn’t rest even after death.

I’m glad I decided not to be a king like that.