The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 45 Saint
Morwenna Toulus, the second daughter of the Duke of Toulus, a descendant of Toulus, one of the twelve founding knights, is also the contemporary saint who has been in power for more than sixty years.

But when she actually appeared in front of Eric, she looked like just an ordinary eighty-year-old woman—white hair, wearing an ordinary dark nun's robe, and there seemed to be more age spots on her face than wrinkles.

The saint sat in a wheelchair. She first glanced at Eric, who was dressed up carefully, then tilted her head slightly and looked at the nun behind her.

"Alaina, you greeted him."

"That's not the case, Your Highness." Alena lowered her eyes. "I didn't know about your plan until just now."

"You guessed it before you came back." Before she could answer, the Saint waved her hand again, "Forget it, it's not important."

Alena pushed the wheelchair into the room. The other knights and nuns who followed her stayed outside and closed the door.

Besides Eric, there were only two unexpected guests in the room, and he was the one who felt a little embarrassed.

——The saint did not respond to his greeting, and Alena did not even look at him when she came in. He was like the original resident who stood aside at a loss when the landlord brought the new tenant to see the house.

The strange silence lasted for a while.

"Is your uncle okay?"

Eric didn't expect that the Saint's first words to him would be to ask about his uncle's condition. He was stunned for a moment and replied casually, "He's fine..."

The saint leaned against the wheelchair, tilted her head slightly, as if reminiscing.

"Over twenty years ago, at the invitation of the Arsha royal family, I lived in their capital for a while, and Edgar made a point of visiting me at that time. He was about your age then, simple and carefree... I never imagined that in the blink of an eye, his nephew would become my heir."

Eric, who had kept his head bowed to show his humility, said, "No one could have imagined such a turn of events."

"Destiny..."

The old man finally turned his gaze to his face and stared at him for a long time.

"Edgar has been out there for over a decade. I've heard of his name, 'Demon Breaker', even in the Holy City. But after your father's death, for the sake of the family, he resolutely abandoned everything he had worked for and returned to inherit the name and honor of 'Kimino'... He's probably over forty years old now, but I heard he's still unmarried and has no children. I'm sure the burden of the family legacy will fall on your shoulders in the future."

"Demon-Breaking Sword?" Eric didn't expect that his uncle had such a childish nickname when he was young.

"..."

The old man's eyelids twitched, he didn't expect his attention to be here.

"I guess Edgar didn't want you to go down a different path, so he didn't tell you too much about your youth. But the characteristic of youth is that it is always inevitably influenced by the predecessors. For example, your bold and somewhat reckless courage, did you inherit it from your parents, or did you learn it from your adoptive uncle?"

"...You mean, personality?"

Eric looked at the Saint, "Maybe it's the environment that has a big impact. I've been hanging out with the guards and warriors in the City Lord's Mansion since I was a child."

The old man frowned and turned to look at Alena. "Is this kid pretending to be stupid, or does he really not understand anything?"

Eric was stunned.

The head nun looked at him deeply, then lowered her head to indicate that she didn't know.

"Didn't you stay with him for more than half a month?"

The Saint looked at her with dissatisfaction on her face, as if she had forgotten the original purpose of her visit. "Are you pretending to be stupid too?"

"Don't dare..."

Alena lowered her head even more. "It's just that Mr. Eric and I don't communicate much."

"I won't live long. For some things, it's better to rely on him than on me. I gave you such a good opportunity, but you've been deceiving yourself." The saint, who had been gloomy, now had a sharp look in her eyes. "Or are you trying to figure out my attitude, waiting to see how it plays out?"

Alena knelt down at once, "Your Highness..."

The old man frowned and looked at her for a while, then turned around and saw Eric with a tense expression, as if he wanted to say something but stopped.

"It seems that he pays more attention to you."

Alena kept silent.

"The kid from the Kimino family."

Eric immediately responded, "Your Highness the Saint."

The Saint looked at him and said, "Old man, you don't have much energy left to slowly explore. From now on, let's be straightforward."

"Any questions you have, I will answer truthfully," Eric said.

The Saint looked at him and asked, "Replacing your sister as my heir, is this your intention or Edgar's?"

Eric bowed his head and said, "This is what Yela meant."

The old man responded calmly, "What did Yela say?"

Eric replied, "If Irene becomes the Saint's heir, it will bring about an irreversible disaster. Although she is only part of the disaster that has swept the continent, the punishment she will receive will be heavier than anyone else."

"So you decided to replace her?" asked the saint.

"Yes."

The Saint looked at him and said, "In the final analysis, it was you who wanted to replace him."

Eric was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly, "...Yes."

"Then what is your purpose?" the saint continued to ask.

Eric replied: "To prevent that future disaster..."

The Saint interrupted, "I'm talking about your own plan." Eric opened his mouth, "Stop..."

"What are your plans!" the saint raised her voice.

"..."

Eric was silent for about ten seconds.

"Become the Saint's successor. After taking over, use your position to seize power and resources to prevent the disaster from happening. Even if I can't stop it, at least I have to save Irene and myself."

"Yes, that's it. Be honest."

The Saint leaned against the wheelchair, a look of fatigue on her face. "Everyone said not to let an old man like me test it again and again... Just talking to you for a few words makes me feel like I'm going to lose a few days of my life."

Eric almost couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "I'm not used to your old man's way of communicating yet."

"Honestly, you just need to answer honestly, and I can even ignore your rudeness and offense."

The saint muttered something and then fell silent, as if she was thinking, but she closed her eyes again, and Eric couldn't help but wonder if the old lady had suddenly fallen asleep.

Just as he turned his gaze to Alena, who was kneeling there, the Saint spoke again, "How did you foresee that meteor shower?"

Eric had a hunch that this was what the Saint was really concerned about. The previous two questions and her somewhat aggressive attitude were all preparations for this.

"This is also what the Holy Yela told me."

He had already thought of the answer. This was undoubtedly a miracle, and the only answer could only be the power of God.

"Yela said she would bless the creatures on the continent through a meteor shower, strengthening their ability to withstand the future disaster. Didn't you feel that after the meteor shower, you had more energy than before?"

The Saint nodded, "Yes, I did seem more energetic during those few days, but it's hard to say if it was because of the prophecy in your greeting letter that scared me."

Eric pursed his lips and then asked, "Is there any other possibility in your mind?"

The saint stopped talking.

After a while, she slowly shook her head, and her body seemed to slump as if she had lost all the energy.

"Yeah, it doesn't exist anymore...Yela...it can only be Yela. But why did Yela choose you?"

The old man muttered to himself, bowed his head and prayed, and at this moment he was no different from an ordinary believer.

"Lord of all things, supreme deity, omnipotent creator, are you testing my piety? ... Or is it that my aged body is no longer able to bear your will... God, please give this humble believer some guidance."

Alena also made a prayer gesture, and Eric waited by the side without saying a word.

For Yela's believers, although everyone's background, talents and even status are different, everyone feels that the favor they receive from God is the same - God has never truly favored anyone, and everyone is equal with nothing.

God exists, and God does not exist.

But now, someone claims to have heard God's whispers based on unquestionable miracles. Anyone who knows this will inevitably be shaken - but this favored person is a layman who doesn't look that devout.

After a long silence, the saint raised her eyes again and looked at the young man in front of her.

"The kid from the Kimino family."

"Your Highness the Saint."

"Why did Yela choose you?"

"Maybe it's because I was motivated enough to stop the disaster, or maybe it's just because I'm young," Eric said.

The Saint Lady seemed to be lost in thought, and then asked, "When will the disaster that you mentioned sweeping across the continent come?"

Eric lowered his head, "After you die."

The old man was startled, then he started laughing and shook his head.

"Hearing you say that, I actually feel a lot more relieved... Maybe that's why Yela didn't choose me."

At the end of the laugh, the saint sighed deeply.

"If that's the case, then it has nothing to do with me... No matter where the disaster originates or how many lives it consumes, I can't see it, and I can't control it. If you want to take my place and take charge, that's fine."

Eric looked at the saint, unsure if this meant she agreed.

"You said Edgar asked you to replace your sister..."

"--It has nothing to do with uncle." Eric reminded, pretending not to realize that this was another meaningless test.

"Oh, I misremembered. It was your idea."

The Saint calmly changed her words, "You said you wanted to use your position as a Saint to gain power and prevent disasters. What will happen to your family? How will it be passed down?"

"To me, this is something much further away than a disaster."

Eric replied, "And as you just said, my uncle is still unmarried and in his prime, so that's not a problem. He fully supports any decision I make."

"Full support..."

The Saint looked at him. "Well, let's get down to business now. The Kimino family has been far from the center of imperial power for many years. Not even a distant relative of the Kimino family sits in the Emperor's court. When you inherit my position, how will you exercise the power the Saint holds within the imperial court?"

Eric blinked, now genuinely confused.

"What...power?"

(End of this chapter)