The World I Was Supporting Was Real - Chapter 46



Episode 46. My First is Yours

The news of the Emperor’s visit!

Upon hearing this from the priest who delivered the message, Ophelia bowed her head and said,

“Then I must go out to greet him immediately. Thank you.”

“No, we will also prepare for his audience right away.”

As a result of working with her colleagues until today, the duties of a holy knight were divided among three people, rotating in turns.

Unless it was something significant, it was inefficient for all three to stick together, so they naturally divided the tasks.

Although this might change in the future, for now, it was divided into three main tasks.

Helping the priests in the cathedral, exploring the area around the dungeon where the miasma was rising, and working on relief activities in various territories and nearby villages.

Of course, there were many other tasks to be done. The weight of the title of holy knight was heavy enough that it was hard to bear without a devout heart.

However, perhaps it was the will of Lord Gwodun. The issue of overwork was almost resolved by having three holy knights.

Historical records show that previous holy knights performed an enormous amount of work, to the point where overwork was the norm… but having three knights significantly reduced the burden on each individual.

Currently, Luca was in charge of relief activities, Linnea was in charge of exploring the dungeon area, so naturally, Ophelia was responsible for helping the priests in the cathedral—

And naturally, it was her duty to greet the visiting Emperor.

“Then, I entrust this to you. Although His Majesty the Emperor is currently taking a very conciliatory stance towards religion, you never know when the story might change… So, please take care of it.”

Watching the priest leave after saying that, Ophelia fell into thought.

‘His Majesty the Emperor…’

As far as Ophelia knew, until not long ago, the Emperor was not very close to the religious community.

No, it wasn’t just that they weren’t close – the Emperor was displeased with the religious community.

This was something she learned while competing with Linnea, who was the biggest rival in the selection of the Holy Knight before the concept of ‘a plate of Holy Knights’ was proposed by the deity.

She couldn’t help but know, as people around her kept saying, ‘Linnea was only nominated because of the royal bloodline, but Ophelia, who possesses excellent skills as a knight and is second to none in piety, will surely be recognized by the deity.’

There were even rumors that the Emperor wanted to take control of the religious community and that the Holy Knights were just a stepping stone.

Of course, the deity made such human political games meaningless in an instant.

Becoming a Holy Knight was her lifelong dream, but Ophelia, who had resolved to never stop her training to understand the deity’s words, never expected the phrase ‘three on one plate’ to come out.

And a few days later, the Emperor, who had been so hostile to the religious community, suddenly changed his attitude and designated the Guoden religion as the state religion –

From that moment on, the number of Guoden believers began to noticeably increase.

And today, it was the moment she would finally face the Emperor, who had changed his mindset.

“Rabbit Gong. His Majesty the Emperor will be arriving soon, so it would be good to prepare your mind.”

“Igogodon.”

“His Majesty the Emperor is the highest person. Should I say he is the one who rules this country?”

“Igogodon.”

“Of course, compared to the one and only deity Igogodon, he is an infinitely lowly being. So… it would be good to think of him as the leader among the creatures.”

While chatting with the rabbit –

“His Majesty the Emperor is arriving!”

Before she knew it, Emperor Eirene had arrived at the cathedral.

Ophelia immediately moved towards the main entrance of the cathedral.

* * *

In the end.

In the end, she came to the cathedral.

Unable to contain her burning heart for the deity Igogodon, Eirene, who had come to the most sacred place where she could connect with him even a little, could already sense her heart pounding.

‘Deity Igogodon…’

Since that day when she bathed with the saint in the hot springs and reaffirmed her devotion to the deity.

Eirene, quite audaciously… was facing the deity – her master, whom even the saint could not receive in her dreams every night.

She knew that dreams were not reality… but even so, the dreams were so sweet that she couldn’t help but lose sleep every time.

In the most recent dream, the master, in the guise of the man depicted in the portrait, slowly approached Eirene, who was lying in bed, and whispered sweet nothings to her.

Eirene, who woke up from the dream, stayed up all night with her eyes wide open.

Her stomach was unbearably ticklish, and her thighs tingled so much that she couldn’t fall back asleep.

For her, who had lived as a virgin for many years and knew nothing of men, it was an unbearable stimulus!

They say that those who realize things late are more frightening. Eirene was exactly like that now.

And so, as soon as the day broke, she went to the cathedral.

She had something she desperately wanted to say to God.

When she set foot in the grand cathedral she had longed for—

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

A red-haired female knight, kneeling and greeting her, came into her view.

It was a familiar face. Ophelia Transrente. Before she accepted the plain facts of the one she longed for, she considered Ophelia her foster daughter Linnea’s rival and was most wary of her.

Thinking back now, she felt like hiding in a mouse hole, wondering why she had such foolish thoughts—

As much as she realized late, Eirene thought that as an emperor, it was her duty to support those who worked for God without questioning His choices. She smiled sincerely at Ophelia and replied.

“Nice to meet you, Ophelia. I’ve heard a lot about your illustrious name. Have you had any inconveniences while carrying out the duties of a holy knight?”

“None in particular. Not only the priests but also we are grateful for the generous funds you send for our activities.”

The funds Eirene sent to support the relief activities for the poor were an unimaginable amount in the past.

Thanks to that, they could spread the teachings of the church to much farther places and more people.

Considering that such a range of relief was impossible with the church’s budget alone, it was safe to say that the emperor was indeed a great help to the church.

“No, I just did what I had to do. I can support more if needed, so feel free to let me know through the saint if there’s anything lacking. By the way, what is that on your head?”

“It’s a rabbit ball. It’s a messenger of God.”

“……?”

Before she could ask what a messenger of God meant—

Hop, it jumped into Eirene’s arms.

Eirene was a little surprised but caught it safely with her excellent reflexes.

And then—

“Zarigotgodon.”

“……!!!”

She was more surprised by the word it uttered than by the fact that the rabbit spoke.

What the hell?

If I didn’t hear it wrong… that is…!

“Rabbit ball. It seems that Your Majesty was surprised, so coming back this way-“

“Ah… No. Hmm. Didn’t they say this rabbit is a messenger of God? It felt like God was welcoming me… I liked it.”

“Is that so? Then that’s a relief…”

“Jarigotgodon.”

It nestled in Eirene’s arms for a while, repeating ‘Jarigotgodon’, then soon jumped and landed safely on Ophelia’s head in one leap.

‘Jarigotgodon… well ripened…?’

The pronunciation was a bit slurred, but… maybe it meant ‘well ripened’?

As a messenger of God, if it was directly conveying ‘God’s will’ to me…

‘Ah… Igogodon-nim… If you say such things to me again…’

Eirene, who somehow endured the tingling sensation in her thighs once again, couldn’t hide her reddened cheeks, coughed a few times, and then opened her mouth.

“Well, I came here today to speak to God…”

“Please come this way.”

Following Ophelia’s guidance-

There was an altar where priests could offer prayers in an empty space with nothing but chairs.

“Due to the work of removing the old things, it feels a bit empty… but this is the place where believers have traditionally offered prayers to Igogodon-nim.”

“Empty, you say? That’s nonsense. Isn’t all of this God’s will? Then, excuse me.”

Eirene immediately knelt down.

In the past, she would have been extremely displeased with the fact that ‘the emperor knelt before a religious symbol’, but not now.

What dominated Eirene’s mind was not such trivial political logic, but the deep feelings she had for her master.

‘Igogodon-nim. It’s Eirene. The one who used the name Rinasita, the one who spent time with you in the monastery, Eirene.’

Thump, thump.

Recalling the moments spent with God, her heart began to pound violently once again.

It was the first time. To speak so directly to God about that moment.

She calmed her bursting heart… and carefully whispered the words she had always wanted to convey.

‘From the moment you forgave me for lying and not believing in you. From the moment you wiped my tears, telling me not to cry. From the moment you reached out your hand, asking me to believe, and saved me from my doomed future, and… from the moment you told me I was well ripened… I’ve had only one thought.’

‘Igogodon-nim… Master… Please… even if it’s just in a dream… take my first.’

She kept dreaming of God.

Most of the dreams were on the bed. Igogodon-nim kept tickling Eirene with a kind and gentle voice. But he never crossed the line.

Thanks to that, her body heated up several times, but she couldn’t do anything… she wanted to convey her feelings like this.

‘Everything of mine belongs to Igogodon-nim. From the moment you gave me the sense of security that can only be felt when you trust someone, after I lied and didn’t believe in you, I have been determined.’

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‘I, I am… okay. As much as you want. If it’s you, Lord Igogodon, my one and only master… I can give you everything I have.’

‘So, please. Please give me… Lord Igogodon’s “plain facts”… Share them with me. Deep, deep inside… Until my head spins… As much as you want, Lord Igogodon… Please.’

‘I won’t ask for the same love and attention you give to the Saint. Just… even if it’s only in my dreams, even if it’s just for a fleeting moment, please hold me. Until that moment comes, I promise to keep my body and mind pure.’

People might laugh at her… but Eirene was sincere.

She loved God. In a slightly different way than ordinary believers.

She was sure that He would accept even such childishness. Because Lord Igogodon was… really, really wonderful and kind.

The rabbit sitting on Ophelia’s head, watching her, spoke in a small voice, hopping slightly.

“Zarigotgodon. Zarigotgodon.”

“As you said, Her Majesty’s devotion to God seems truly sincere.”

Ophelia thought as she watched Eirene pray.

This is God’s miracle.

This is God’s… sticky…?

“Igogodon.”

“…Ah, right. Plain facts. Yes. Thank you, Rabbit.”

This is God’s plain fact.

She could have been surprised that her mind was reading, but Ophelia was more concerned about something else.

‘It’s not good to keep receiving help like this forever…’

Although she was in a situation where she kept getting confused with sentences without the help of the Rabbit…

Like Lady Eirene, who came to believe in a God she would never have believed in, if she kept trying, would she also be able to memorize the “plain facts” without confusion someday?

Thinking that, she watched Eirene praying.

Eirene’s white profile, shining in the sunlight streaming through the stained glass…

It seemed as if God was gently stroking her as she prayed.

* * *

A few days later.

The incident happened on the day Ophelia was assigned to explore the area around the dungeon.