Chapter 207: Chapter 207: Main Headquarters

To get straight to the point, nothing major happened.

The flickering of the medallion and Helena’s panic didn’t last long.

Eventually, the medallion regained its original light, and Helena felt the presence of the Righteous Radiance again, feeling relieved.

Well, Helena was still a candidate for sainthood, not a saint yet.

And it seemed the Righteous Radiance overexerted itself by giving me power, so it might be resting.

…I had a subtle feeling that something was happening, but a few days passed by without much thought.

Finally, the carriage arrived at its destination.

The easternmost edge of the Eurelia Continent. The place where the sun rises. The brightest land. The holy land where the gods sleep.

That’s right. The main headquarters of the Church of Righteous Radiance was just ahead.

“Is this….”

“Is it your first time here, Carla?”

“Yes. It’s quite far from where I usually am.”

Carla, with her mouth agape, was staring at the scenery outside the window.

Well, the view was quite impressive.

A tall cliff with a pure white temple built on top. Now, the sun was already high in the sky, but at dawn, you could probably see the sunrise from the closest distance.

“Um… I’m not going to get attacked or something just because I’m the daughter of a cultist, right?”

“No. Were you worried about that instead of admiring the view?”

Just as I sighed in disbelief, Helena, who had recently gotten quite close to Carla, chuckled and spoke up.

“Don’t worry. At most, they might avoid you a little. Moreover, since you are Brother Yandel’s slave, no one will treat you carelessly.”

“Master’s… Hehe. That’s a relief.”

Carla’s face relaxed as she leaned on me with a wide smile.

But I couldn’t laugh at all. And for a good reason.

“Excuse me. Sister Helena?”

“Did you know? The main church changes color depending on the time. At this hour, when the sun is fully up, it shines white, but at dawn, it turns crimson.”

“Oh… That’s amazing. By the way, I have something to say…”

“Oh, and many vampires, like Professor Iona, live here. During the Great War, many of them received the blessing of the sun as a reward for siding with humanity, allowing them to live during the day. Some of them thankfully decided to serve the Righteous Radiance.”

“That makes sense. Being drawn to light is a biological instinct. On that note, I have a few questions for you, Sister Helena…”

“Oh, I forgot to mention this! Although this place is part of the Beast Kingdom of Crasius, the city around the main church has been promised autonomy, like other main headquarters of different churches. Its official name is the Papal State of Solaris Radiance. It’s a bit long, isn’t it?”

“Uh, Sister Helena? Can you hear me?”

“The laws of Crasius are secondary to the church’s rules here, so please keep that in mind. Of course, we don’t impose strict standards on those who don’t know the doctrine well, so don’t worry too much.”

“…….”

Helena deliberately ignored my words, not even glancing in my direction.

For some reason, things have been awkward between Helena and me since we cleared the dungeon.

I still don’t know the exact reason… but now that we’ve arrived at the main headquarters, I need to resolve it somehow.

Determined, I stood up from my seat and sat next to Helena.

“Well, I’ll be off to do my daily prayer now!”

“Sister Helena?!”

As soon as I sat down, Helena blushed and quickly moved away.

My hand, reaching out towards her retreating back, hovered aimlessly in the air before stopping.

Feeling slightly dejected, I lay back down on Carla’s thigh.

“Carla… Did I do something wrong?”

“Hmm. Master didn’t do anything wrong… except for the ominous words you said while handing over the sacred relic to the church.”

“Why? Wasn’t that kind of cool?”

“…Master is always cool!”

For some reason, Carla, who had a similar expression to Faye earlier, began to force a smile.

Then, as if to gloss over it, she carefully patted my head.

I had a lot to say, but I decided to enjoy the sensation of Carla’s slender fingers running through my hair.

After enjoying Carla’s therapy for a while.

Thud.

The carriage stopped. We had arrived at the main church.

“Krrk! The sun… the sun…!”

As soon as Iona got off the carriage, she exaggeratedly flailed her hands in the strong sunlight.

“Professor, I know it doesn’t affect you, so please stop joking.”

“No, no! It’s not a joke. If I get directly hit by this strong sunlight…”

“What will happen?”

“My skin will burn completely…!”

“…….”

I knew it.

Sighing deeply, I looked at Faye. Understanding my thoughts without me saying a word, she sighed deeply as well and handed over a small container from her subspace pocket.

The sunscreen I had made plenty of before we left.

As I applied it to Iona, who was quietly facing me, she finally raised her arms and shouted.

“Iona reborn!”

“Woohoo….”

Clapping lifelessly, Iona enjoyed herself by striking various strange poses.

Iris clicked her tongue at the sight and used Elisha’s voluminous bun hair as a parasol.

To me, they both seemed equally troubled.

As I formed a shadow with my hands over Elisha’s head, a group from the main church came to greet us.

A face that looked like a kind old grandfather, with hair mixed with gray and wrinkles showing the passage of time, but his body was robust beyond measure.

A height close to 2 meters. Broad shoulders. Muscles like those of a last-day warrior, clearly visible even through the ample priestly robe.

The moment I was unconsciously overwhelmed by the bizarre atmosphere of the old man, who seemed like someone had grafted only the head of an elderly man onto a bodybuilder.

The old man made a sign of the cross with a sunny smile that felt burdensome.

“May the sun light your path. Welcome, Brother Yandel! And welcome to Sister Faye and Professor Iona as well.”

“Th-Thank you…?”

“Heee….”

“Nice to meet you all!”

His voice was so booming that it made me flinch without realizing it. By the time he got to Faye, she had already hidden behind me in fear.

Only Iona responded with a bright smile and a polite greeting.

The old man scratched his nose awkwardly, as if this wasn’t the first time this had happened, and then he turned to Helena and smiled.

“It’s been a while, Helena. …You’ve grown so much in such a short time. It seems sending you to the academy was the right choice.”

“It’s been a while, Cardinal Gilbert. It’s all thanks to the Lord, so please don’t praise me too much.”

Helena, humble and blushing, stood modestly.

So this person was Gilbert. His first impression was so strong that I couldn’t immediately place who he was.

Gilbert was a character who only appeared in Helena’s route and acted like a father figure to her.

He recognized Helena’s talents when she was growing up in the church and sent her to the main headquarters, continuing to support her as a patron.

No matter how talented Helena was, she wouldn’t have become a candidate for sainthood without Gilbert.

She was talented but still hadn’t fully matured. That was Helena now.

She still hadn’t completely fixed her problem of getting overly excited during battles.

By the way, Gilbert was a tragic character who died while fighting at the forefront in every route.

Like many mentor or father-figure characters, he felt complete through his death.

Depending on Gilbert’s death, Helena either crumbles or rises again, which splits the route.

It would be best to save him if possible.

Was my inner thought showing on my face?

Gilbert, who was chatting with Helena about recent events, suddenly realized something and spoke.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Oh dear. I introduced myself too late. I am Gilbert. Thanks to holding the position of Cardinal, I am honored to welcome such distinguished guests. Helena, you may go and rest now. I will take it from here.”

“Understood, Cardinal. Everyone, thank you for your hard journey. I will now take my leave…”

“Wait.”

I stopped Helena, who still couldn’t properly look at me.

I didn’t know why she was avoiding me, but Helena was a valuable party member candidate.

In a party with unstable extreme DPS magicians, she was a precious talent to handle tanking and healing.

I couldn’t let our relationship get awkward.

This time, I firmly grabbed Helena’s forearm to prevent her from escaping.

“Eek!”

I felt a bit hurt seeing her react as if she had met a pervert, but I continued resolutely.

“Sister Helena. You’ve been avoiding me lately, but… do you remember the promise we made last time?”

“P-Promise, you mean…”

“Yes. That promise.”

“Aah! Here, in this place… with Cardinal Gilbert watching…!”

Whether she lost her strength or was just pale with fear, Helena collapsed on the spot.

I quickly supported her by the arm I was holding. Then I boldly asserted my right.

“As promised, Helena, you will guide us through the main headquarters.”

Helena, who was trembling, stared blankly with her golden eyes.

“…Pardon?”

Even Gilbert, who had been approaching with a serious expression since I grabbed Helena’s arm, looked equally stunned.

“…Huh?”

Only my women nodded as if they understood everything.

What is it?

Why do only you understand?

Tell me too!