When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 114



Only Noblemtl

114. The Pope Using Magic
2024.02.22.

It might not have been a simple fever. It might have been someone’s curse skill.

Listening to Luciana’s claim, Elodie asked a simple question.

“What’s the basis for thinking that?”

“It was too strange to be a simple fever.”

Luciana continued to explain.

“At that time, it felt unpleasant, as if something was inside me… and most importantly, it felt like I heard someone’s voice.”

“A voice?”

Luciana nodded and answered Elodie.

“The voice of an unfamiliar man. That voice told me… that he would come back to me someday.”

After saying that, Luciana let out a sigh.

“Of course, it could all be my imagination. However, I keep vaguely remembering him. The voice of the man who entered my body, his speech, and even his name.”

“What was his name…?”

“Ro… Moon.”

“… …!?”

The name faintly leaked out from Luciana’s lips.

The moment she heard that, Elodie’s shoulders flinched.

It was a name she also knew.

“Romun…?”

“Yeah. I don’t remember it perfectly, so I’m not sure if that’s the exact name. But I think I heard him say something like that.”

“… … You think he put a curse on you? But if you really did, how did you get rid of it?”

“His Majesty came to visit me.”

Luciana answered, then continued.

“After that, the symptoms completely disappeared. I didn’t get any sicker.”

“… … .”

“His Majesty may have used the power of his skill to lift my curse. For some reason, he tried to keep it a secret from me.”

After letting out a long sigh, Luciana carefully brought up her request again.

“So, I want to know. What exactly happened to me?”

“… … .”

“You’re a dreamer who can freely enter and exit dreams. Come into my nightmares.”

“… … .”

“Peek into my subconscious in those dreams. And I want you to restore my memories that are trapped inside.”

After listening to Luciana’s request to the end, Elodie fell into thought.

Silence continued for a long time.

When the silence had piled up as much as the dust that had accumulated in the cabin, Elodie’s lips finally moved.

“I’m sorry, but I have to decline.”

“… … Why? Is it impossible?”

“No, it is possible. I’ve entered someone’s dream and restored their memories in the past.”

Elodie did not want to lie, so she told the truth.

“A person’s dreams are a manifestation of the unconscious… So if you search your dreams carefully, you can restore forgotten memories.”

“… … Then why? Are you simply refusing because you don’t want to help me?”

Luciana’s tone became a little sharper.

Hearing that, Elodie thought of Nickelus.

The words he had said to her when he was angry.

-“… … I told you not to talk about the erased in front of Luciana.”

Nickelus had said that with a face full of anger.

I had emphasized several times not to talk about the erased ones.

If Luciana found out that the erased ones were after Luciana because they wanted to do something ‘harmful to the world’, she would feel guilty.

That was why Elodie could not help Luciana.

If Luciana completely regained her memories, she might learn who ‘Romun’ was, what his purpose was… the truth that Nickelus had tried so hard to hide.

“It’s not always a good thing to remember everything. It’s better to leave some memories buried.”

Luciana responded to Elodie’s words with silence.

Elodie continued to try to calm Luciana down a little.

“The reason you don’t remember that day may be because you’re unconsciously trying not to remember that day. Because the memory of that day is a terrible memory to you.”

“… … .”

“So don’t bother digging into it. It’s better that way.”

Luciana didn’t say anything until Elodie left the place. She

didn’t complain either.

But for some reason, Elodie couldn’t shake off her anxiety. She

had a feeling that Luciana wouldn’t give up just like that.

* * *

A night when three moons rose brightly.

When the group had all fallen into a deep sleep.

As promised, Black Moon Grandmother appeared.

I had already gone up to the deck and immediately told Black Moon Grandmother.

“Grandmother, there’s a problem.”

“Problem?”

“I can’t use the second form, Penetrating Full Moon. You clearly showed me a demonstration, but… …”

Originally, what Black Moon Grandmother had me do during the day was practice the Sharp Crescent Moon.

However, I had already mastered the Crescent Moon.

I couldn’t just sit back and practice what I had already mastered while the Erased Ones were targeting me.

So instead of the Crescent Moon, I practiced the Penetrating Full Moon that Black Moon Grandmother had once demonstrated during the day a few times.

Black Moon Grandmother’s eyes creased as if she wasn’t very pleased with me practicing something other than what she had told me to do.

“How presumptuous… . So did you think I could learn it right away after seeing a demonstration once?”

Black Moon Grandmother continued to scold me after scolding me like that.

『You managed to learn the first form so quickly, but from the second form on, it naturally takes a long time and effort.』

“A long time… … .”

『Probably ten years.”

“… … .”

『It’s a swordsmanship that takes that long to master. A swordsmanship that delivers a single blow with all your heart… Even if you’re very talented, you won’t be able to master the second form in a day.』

Ten years?

Surprised, I complained to her.

“But we don’t have time. Our enemies are after us.”

『Enemies… … ?』

“Yes. There are people who want to use me to do terrible things to this world.”

I continued complaining in front of Grandma Heukwol, who was silent as if telling me to speak more.

“That’s why I don’t have time to learn swordsmanship slowly. I need a shortcut.”

『There are people who are terrible… … .』

Grandma Heukwol seemed to be thinking deeply about something, buying time.

Then she bluntly replied.

『Yeah, you’re not the type of kid who would lie. I also relieved the resentment between Seon-gwan and Baek-mae.』

“Then are you going to tell me a shortcut?”

『Yes, I will tell you specifically. That’s what I mean―』

After slowly trailing off, Grandmother Heuk-wol continued to warn.

『You should be careful. If you climb the mountain by taking the steep shortcut instead of the gentle path, there is a risk of falling.』

It wasn’t long before

a message appeared before my eyes.

[The spirit “Heuk-wol” wishes to intervene in your memory. Do you accept?]

―Yes

―No

A spirit intervening in your memory?

I don’t know what it is, but it didn’t read with a good nuance.

I looked at Grandmother Heuk-wol with a slightly nervous gaze.

She smiled and reassured me.

『Accept it. I wish to pass on to you the memories I had while I was alive.』

In the first place, I was the one who asked her to tell me the shortcut to learning the Second Form, even if it meant taking a risk.

So, I decided to leave it all up to Grandmother Heuk-wol.

[You chose Yes. The spirit, the memories of “Black Moon” will be transmitted to you.]

It was not long after that message came to mind.

A strange memory slowly began to surface for me.

*

That memory was probably a memory from when Black Moon Grandmother was alive and learning swordsmanship.

When she was young, Black Moon Grandmother was standing alone in a forest with few people, making a stabbing motion.

She held the sword tightly in that position, and with the conviction that she would put her whole heart into one strike, she swung it.

Whoosh—

The sword extended sharply, cutting through the air.

But it was still not enough.

She took the ready stance again, and this time she swung the sword forward in the same way.

Whoosh—

She repeated the strike with all the strength she had squeezed out of her muscles.

Thousands of times a day. With the determination to put her life into each strike.

Her training never stopped. Even on days when heavy rain poured down, she swung without stopping.

Even on days when white snowflakes robbed her of her body temperature, she swung without stopping.

Then, on days when the full moon rose, she would briefly stop her training and secretly sob.

Missing the people she had left behind in the village, and feeling regretful.

– “If only I had just a little more strength… …”

That guilt and regret.

After being crushed by those emotions for a long time, the next day, she would swing her sword again with the determination to pour them all out on the tip of her sword.

And then one day.

Kwakwakwang!

The emotions she had suppressed became powerful forces and shot out from the tip of the sword.

The energy shot out penetrated dozens of trees in the forest, creating a large, round hole.

That was how the second form, the penetrating full moon, was completed.

*

Immediately after receiving the memories of Grandma Heukwol, I suffered from dizziness for a while.

The ten years she had spent practicing the full moon stab.

The memories of those years were thrust into my head all at once.

Naturally, my head was overloaded, and blood poured out of my nose.

“Are you okay? That’s why I told you. Shortcuts are a little dangerous, so be careful.”

“Phew… … . I’m a little better now. The dizziness has gone away.”

I wiped the

blood off my nose with a handkerchief and asked her. “Is this how you learned it?”

“Then there must have been another way. That’s how swordsmanship training was originally. Repeating the same terribly boring movements over and over again… … .』

Originally, it would have been like that.

However, I had just received the memories of the ten years of training that Black Moon Grandmother had done.

How she swung her sword, what tricks she had learned… … .

It was as if I had received the fruits of all her efforts in an instant.

“Let me try it, Form 2.”

This time, I really felt like I could succeed.

I took a stance according to Black Moon Grandmother’s memories that were being passed on to me.

The width of my feet, the height of my upper body, the angle of my arms. I followed the stance perfectly, without a single mistake.

Then, I unfolded Form 2. I

faced the endless horizon.

Boom!

That mass of energy that shot out from the tip of my sword.

It was perfectly round, like a full moon floating in the sky, and it was also radiating a bright light.

Black Moon Grandmother shook her head as the halo of light completely disappeared from my sight.

『It’s okay if I fail once or twice… How can you do it so well that it’s annoying?』

“Is that a compliment?”

『It’s both a compliment and an insult.』

As she said that, Grandmother Heukwol added.

『It’s a talent that far surpasses my younger self. Even if I had passed on the tricks to you through my memories, it would have been up to your talent to perfectly master the tricks and reproduce the formula.』

“It’s embarrassing because you’re giving me so much credit… … .”

『I’m not giving you credit, I’m just telling you the truth. However, when you learn the 3rd and 4th formulas from now on, you’d better be a little more tense.』

“… … ? Why? Is there something special about the 3rd formula?”

Grandmother Heukwol sighed and revealed

something I had no idea about .

『The 3rd and 4th formulas are different from the formulas you’ve learned so far. They are formulas that can only be performed by receiving ‘demon energy’ into your body.』