Lola's Past

"The Chosen One?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Based on everything I have investigated, you... share countless similarities with the first Pope."

"What do you mean?"

Lola's words caught me off guard. Her statement was so abrupt; what did she mean by 'countless similarities'?

"Your Highness has only been a Saintess for a year, and under the control of the witch Martha, you were unable to access much knowledge. It is natural that you are unaware. Have you ever wondered why the first Pope appeared so suddenly a thousand years ago? How he suddenly established the Holy See and how it suddenly became the most powerful nation among the human race on the continent?"

"Well... while it might seem unconventional, heroes are born of their times. Wasn't that precisely during the demon invasion?"

In times of war, shouldn't a hero be the one to turn the tide?

"Yes, you are correct. But what you do not know is that in all of existing human history, how many people have achieved the standard of reaching the god-rank in two classes simultaneously?"

"How many?"

"One."

Only one?

In other words... in all of modern human history, only the first Pope successfully trained two classes to the absolute limit of the human race?

"Have you ever wondered why... the first Pope possessed such heaven-defying abilities?"

"Is there... something specific to consider?"

I already had a faint idea of what Lola was trying to say, but I still found it hard to believe.

Was that first Pope really a transmigrator like me!?

"Although it is not officially recorded in the history of the Popes, based on Baker's investigation, I am certain... the first Pope, just like you, underwent a complete personality change overnight. He suddenly possessed a vast amount of knowledge he previously did not know. From that moment on... it was destined that His Holiness the first Pope would become the first person in history to crush the top powerhouses of other races with individual strength!"

I took a sharp breath.

According to what she said, there was no doubt about it. Anyone from Earth would know—

This was absolutely the kind of cheat benefit only a transmigrator would have.

However, as shocking as these words were, there were still some points that puzzled me.

"You mentioned Baker's investigation? You already knew him from before!?"

My close confidante had actually known a gossip monger leader for a long time?

"Please forgive me for not informing you of this matter, as I was not certain at the time if you were the Chosen One."

"...In other words, you pretended not to know Baker well and introduced him to me?"

"Yes."

Lola nodded, then gathered the long hem of her robe and knelt on the ground.

"I have hidden such an important matter from Your Highness and am willing to accept punishment. Please, Your Highness, punish me."

A confidante I relied on was actually calculating against me in secret. Even if it was for my own good, it felt very uncomfortable.

But... I didn't blame her, nor could I.

After all, she was also betting her own life and future.

I fell into a long silence, watching the sweat beads on Lola's forehead. It proved she wasn't unafraid of my authority.

She truly felt she had no choice but to hide it.

"...Get up. I do not blame you for this, but I hope that in the future, you will have no other secrets from me."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Lola breathed a long sigh of relief. After all, the relationship between us as ruler and subject hadn't existed for long, and there were boundaries to everything.

As the saying goes, being with a ruler is like being with a tiger. A smart person like Lola should know this better than anyone.

"So, according to you, these Document Tablets were also specifically taken from the warehouse by you?"

"Yes."

She had prepared them long ago, but she couldn't bring this matter to light. She could only prepare everything in the shadows, waiting for the day a miracle would descend.

Lola nodded, her slightly trembling hand pushing up her dark lenses, revealing the turmoil in her heart.

"So, those three people were also intentionally guided to me by you?"

I had been puzzled before about how she had found those three so accurately. After all, Lola was just an ordinary scribe before, making it difficult for her to contact the top power players of Brilliant City.

Lola took a deep breath and responded sincerely:

"Although I did not explicitly guide Your Highness to contact Victor, Camilla, and Anton, if Your Highness had not summoned them, I would have used other methods to bring them into contact with you."

It seemed she had planned everything.

Although being guided forward like this made me feel a bit uneasy, Lola wasn't wrong. From her position, she had to consider every possible outcome.

"The purpose of doing all this was to have me sign these Document Tablets?"

"Yes. Only the Document Tablets can prove you are the true Chosen One. Even the current Pope cannot manufacture the original Document Tablets. Only the Chosen One... can truly create them."

Lola paused, looking me straight in the eyes, speaking word for word:

"Including... the authority to bestow titles."

Fine, through her confession, I more or less understood her thinking.

"But Lola... you still haven't explained why you are doing this. As I said before, with your abilities, you could succeed anywhere. There is no need to waste your youth here in the Temple of the Kingdom of the Moon."

"...Your Highness, I told you before that I was an orphan, didn't I?"

"...Yes, you said it. I remember you said you became a nun at the age of six."

"Correct. But Your Highness might not know that when I was three years old, I watched my parents be killed by the demon race. And my grandparents were killed shortly after... by nobles."

"How could that happen?"

It wasn't strange for demons to kill humans; that was how this world was set up. But... why would nobles kill her grandparents?

A bitter smile touched the corners of Lola's mouth.

"Your Highness does not know that the current nobles have seized almost all authority within their territories. During that small-scale demon attack ten years ago, my grandparents were the only ones who escaped from my village with me. It was quite simple... my grandparents were accused of being demon spies and were executed in public. As for me... I was shown mercy by a prison guard who secretly took me out of the jail and sent me to an orphanage."

"How is that possible? Did they dare to execute commoners without a trial from the Temple?"

Any situation involving the demon race required a trial by the Temple. If they were truly commoners, the truth could have been tested with Holy Water!

"Do you think... the churches that have been decentralized can still avoid being tainted by those nobles?"

Speaking of this, Lola added another point.

"That includes the ten thousand knights and tens of thousands of soldiers you are about to recall. How many of them have not been tainted by the decadence of the nobility?"

I took a sharp breath.

I hadn't expected the Kingdom of the Moon to be so rotten!

"Lola... strictly screen all the recalled knights. Every batch must be rigorously investigated and recorded. Once found out, do not make a scene for now. Wait until all the recalled knights have returned to Brilliant City before dealing with them."

If I dealt with a portion of the knights without absolute control, the remaining guilty knights would surely be terrified and refuse to return. They might even turn their spears against the Temple!

At that point, the Kingdom of the Moon would truly fall into civil war!

Knights were the most effective blades in the Eight Nations of the Holy Church, but if this blade was turned against their own people, it was also a weapon capable of destroying the nations!

A knight's rebellion would be the greatest disaster on the continent.

Even if it was only ten thousand knights!

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Lola, that noble who executed your grandparents... which one was it?"

"Why does Your Highness ask... about that? I no longer care. I was only three years old then. Although I remember it, the emotional connection isn't deep."

Clearly, Lola was a super-genius with an extraordinary mind. Her intelligence was at a mutant level if she could clearly remember her grandparents at age three.

"You might not care, but I do."

"?"

Lola's eyes widened as she looked at me in disbelief.

"Your Highness..."

"No one is allowed to bully my people. Not in the past, not now, and certainly not in the future!"

The moment those words left my mouth, the area behind her glasses turned red, and tears... began to well up in her eyes.

"It was... the current head of the Garnet family, Barry Garnet."

"I see... what is his current rank?"

"To answer Your Highness, he is a second-class Duke."

"Issue my Divine Oracle: demote Barry Garnet to a third-class Duke."

Lola stood frozen in place, stunned.

"Your Highness... this, this does not comply with the regulations, nor does it follow common sense. Stripping a rank without any reason will cause the nobles to unite!"

"That is not for you to worry about. You only need to give the order. Furthermore, spread the word about your past so that all the nobles know. Also, I remember the Garnet territory is adjacent to the Kingdom of the Sun, right? Have the border soldiers clear a path. After tomorrow, there will be reinforcements..."

The Document Tablets were such a massive profit chain that no nation could refuse them.

And what I was facing now was the demon race, the public enemy of every race on the continent!

Whether in name or in logic, it was both just and proper.

I was going to borrow troops!

It would have been difficult before, but now... with the Document Tablets in hand, which nation could refuse my request?

Rather than a request, it was a trade!

None of the Eight Nations of the Holy Church would refuse this deal!

Even if this was just a tiny bit of collateral interest, they would certainly be willing!

No one could refuse the temptation of the Document Tablets. Once I clearly understood the difference between the replica and the original, I was even more certain... the current Kingdom of the Moon had the potential to stand on equal footing with the Holy See!

That Pope would surely covet my Document Tablets, but he would never dare use force to seize them. Otherwise, the other six nations would never sit idly by!

It would lack legitimacy, and even the knights under his command would not agree.

Although the knights of the Kingdom of the Moon might have been tainted by decadence, the vast majority of knights still held onto the virtues of a knight.

This was something every knight had to learn before becoming one.

Therefore, I was certain that without a legitimate reason, the Holy See would not dare move against me!

Once I completed the trade of the replica Document Tablets with the other six nations, the Holy See would be even less able to move against me!

Because in that case, the other six nations would surely pressure the Holy See!

The current Holy See already held four types of tablets: Saintess, knight, bishop, and Pope. If he were allowed to obtain the other three types of Document Tablets, then... no one would truly be able to stop that Pope's ambition!

The Document Tablets... were like a full moon suddenly lighting up the dark night sky, illuminating the path ahead for me!

Putting aside why a transmigrator would be favored by God, at the very least, this proved... my arrival in this world likely wasn't a coincidence!

Could it be that God is watching me from somewhere?

Like watching a TV series he produced himself?

Then this God has a really twisted sense of humor.

Of all the ways to make someone transmigrate, you had to let me... die from that kind of overexertion.

Don't you know that whenever I recall it now, I still have the urge to go die immediately!!

I shook my head, deleting that spine-chilling memory.

Even if I couldn't delete it, I had to suppress it deep in my heart and never recall it again.

Tomorrow... when the trade with the Saintess of the Sun is complete and I successfully borrow the knights, will those nobles dare to resist even a casual Divine Oracle of mine?

Absolutely not!!

Furthermore, it wasn't just the Kingdom of the Sun. Snow Country, the Kingdom of Flame, the Kingdom of the Sea, the Kingdom of the Highlands, and the Kingdom of Sand would all certainly send troops to help!

At that time, even if I really slaughtered a portion of the nobles, they wouldn't dare resist!

However, such methods would surely bring negative effects and disrupt the development of the entire Kingdom of the Moon in the long run.

So I wouldn't use such a reckless approach.

I would deal with them slowly, like ingredients in a pot, simmering them over a low flame until I took them all down one by one!

"Is Your Highness planning to use the Document Tablets to borrow troops?"

"Heh~ if you think it's just about borrowing troops, Lola, then I'm afraid you still have much to learn~"

Borrowing troops was merely taking advantage of the situation to apply pressure on the nobles of the Kingdom of the Moon. After all, large-scale demon invasions had been rare for many years.

This time, the demon army had driven straight in, all the way to the foot of Brilliant City. This inevitably brought some negative effects to the Holy See and would make those nobles contemptuous.

If at this time, the other six nations of the Holy Church responded by sending troops to help, then no matter how much those nobles looked down on the Holy See, they would never dare to easily raise the flag of rebellion!

Because they wouldn't know under what circumstances the other six nations might suddenly intervene.

If they truly angered the Holy See, those nobles would be completely wiped out!

"Your Highness, but..."

"There are no buts. If your grandparents hadn't been killed back then, would you have thought about changing the Kingdom of the Moon? The reason you want to change it is because you still remember that scene. You aren't without emotions; you've just suppressed them."

A three-year-old child had watched her grandparents be executed.

That was definitely a massive psychological shadow.

"Lola, leave it to me. I will make them pay the price!"