The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 57 The Pope's Wrath

Because Eric requested a detailed account of the history of the Dark Ages, in order to maintain continuity, the church history course was postponed for at least one day, and the second class in the morning was still theological classics.

Eric was in a low mood the whole morning and hardly spoke a word. Even Sophie beside him didn't bother him.

——She herself was equally shocked by the unprecedented horrors of the Dark Ages.

The history she originally knew began with the end of the Dark Ages: the Hero King and his twelve knights wiped out the demons, founded the empire, and continued to prosper to this day.

"Raphael said, 'With much wisdom comes much sorrow, and with increased knowledge comes much grief.' The Saint Prophet Raphael realized that the growth of wisdom and knowledge in the human world brings no joy or liberation; it is empty. True wisdom comes from the divine."

[Interpret the Holy Scripture and gain 1 point of Faith]

Eric was stunned for a moment when he saw the prompt that suddenly popped up in front of him, and then he came back to his senses.

This is a rare bit of spiritual comfort this morning.

When the class was over, Eric asked Sophie how she felt and told her that if she didn't want to go to class, she didn't have to stay with him that afternoon.

Sophie was silent for a moment and slowly shook her head.

"Your Highness, it's only today that I realize how little I know about this world. It's hypocritical to sing praises of God's grace without understanding suffering."

Eric looked at her for a moment longer, somewhat surprised. Her awareness alone was already stronger than many people in this city known as the most sacred on the continent.

"I feel that Sophie is more suitable to be the Saint's heir than I am. If it were you, you would be able to truly spread the light of God to every corner where it should exist."

Sophie immediately snapped out of the emotion she was in and her face quickly turned red.

"What are you talking about, Your Highness..."

With shyness and a little bit of joy, she pushed him unconsciously. When she reacted, her whole face turned pale.

Eric glanced at her and said, "I'm not that stingy."

Sophie smiled, "Your Highness..."

“But sometimes I feel bad.”

Sophie's smile faded. "...Your Highness?"

"But not now."

Sophie: "...Your Highness!"

Eric smiled and said, "Go eat something first. I'll go to the Knights."

"The Knights? Your Highness, are you going to conduct combat training again?"

"Ah."

Watching Sophie leave, Eric was once again glad for his decision yesterday: it really felt different to have someone accompany him to class.

On the way from the seminary to the Knights Templar, Eric saw a group of people carrying the saint hurriedly.

What happened?

Eric had just stopped to take a look when he was noticed by the saint, who called him over.

"Your Highness."

Eric saluted and looked in the direction they were going. "Is there something urgent at the Apostolic Palace?"

"His Holiness the Pope was very angry this morning." The Saint looked worried. "I just found out about this."

"Your Majesty is angry?" Eric was startled. "What happened?"

"I do not know either."

The saint shook her head and looked at him twice, as if considering whether to take him with her, but she quickly gave up the idea.

"I'll go take a look first. You can go to the Knights and have your fun."

"..."

Eric lowered his head and saw the saint off.

His Holiness the Pope is a few years older than the saint. Looking at his kind face, he doesn’t seem like someone who gets angry easily. What kind of thing could make him “very angry”?
Eric's doubts were not answered until the afternoon class ended and he went to greet the saint.

"Someone shot and killed His Majesty's messenger." The saint said, dropping a bombshell as soon as she opened her mouth.

"Shoot...the messenger?"

Eric was startled, and the scene of the winged man with white wings being hit by a cold arrow shot from the dark and falling to his death appeared in his mind.

"Who is it?" Eric asked. The Saint shook her head, indicating that she didn't know, but a sneer appeared on her face unconsciously.

She probably knows about it... or at least has her own guesses.

Eric thought about it and didn't ask any more questions.

"The Pope didn't learn of this until this morning, when the messenger's body was discovered in the forest of Gradia," the Saint recounted the information she had gathered. "Strangely, everything the messenger had was intact, including the letter Your Majesty sent to Lutia."

"Right now, a whole regiment of knights has gone to investigate that forest... The wood elves living there are probably in trouble, since those long-eared creatures are so skilled with bows and arrows."

"..."

Eric was speechless for a few seconds in shock. "This obviously has nothing to do with them. Who would dare to do such a thing in their own territory?"

The Saint said, "As long as there is an explanation, it doesn't matter whether it is the truth or not."

The wood elves are truly unlucky...

Eric had nothing to say except shaking his head.

The Saint Lady remained silent for a moment, thinking silently for a while, then suddenly asked, "Do you know this person called Xin Ma Gu?"

Eric's heart skipped a beat.

He knows it too well.

"High Priest Xinmagu?"

"So you've heard of this name before." The Saint glanced at him. "I thought Master Eric really didn't care about the affairs of the imperial court at all."

“…I’ve heard a lot about it.”

The Saint continued, "He was a student of His Holiness the Pope and was highly regarded. If he weren't so young, he would have already become a Cardinal... If he had remained in the Vatican, he would have been promoted to Cardinal by now. Unfortunately, eight years ago, the previous High Priest, Marcellus, died of illness in Lutia. Somehow, Sinmagu was appointed by His Holiness as the new High Priest, and he's been gone for eight years. The letter Your Majesty sent to Lutia was for him."

Is Xinmagu still a student of the old Pope?

Eric was a little surprised. This was a relationship that he had never known about in his previous life.

"Your Majesty intends to have Simmagu resign as high priest and return to serve as cardinal?"

"No, the high priest, like the saint, serves for life." The saint shook her head in denial, then added, "But if His Holiness the Pope truly wishes, the rules can be changed."

Is this possible?

Eric only knew the outcome: until the moment of his betrayal of the Empire, Sinmagu remained the high priest.

"If Archpriest Simmagu returns to the Vatican, will anyone be unhappy?" Eric asked.

The Saint suddenly looked at him, "Why do you think so?"

"A hunch," Eric replied.

“Keep that instinct.”

The old man smiled and continued, "Most cardinals are reluctant to see Simmagu return to the Vatican. He is a somewhat radical reformer. His Holiness the Pope has been conservative throughout his life, but he is very fond of him, perhaps hoping that this student will bring change to the Vatican in the future."

Eric was silent.

Although from his personal destiny, Xinmagu is an absolute villain, but in the previous life's "Crown of Thorns", Xinmagu was actually portrayed as a villain hero - although he betrayed the empire and humanity, causing countless deaths and injuries, he is a good person at heart and can be redeemed.

Eric thought for a moment and asked, "Then what does Your Highness think of Xinma Gu?"

The old man glared. "He said the Saint was completely unnecessary, just another tool to extort money from the nobles and commoners. What do you think I would think?"

"..."

Eric was speechless. No wonder Xinmagu had been ostracized to become the High Priest of Lutiyya. He was so radical—the Saint must have been one of the people who had ostracized him.

Just thinking about it this way, it is more likely that the person who intercepted the Pope's messenger came from within the Vatican.

"The new messenger has already departed," the Saint said. "And the letter His Majesty originally wrote to Simmagu contained no other content. It simply stated that he felt his time was running out and he wanted to see his student one last time."

Eric shook his head. "No wonder His Holiness the Pope is so angry."

The saint sighed, feeling sympathetic.

"In any case, treating an old man like this is really too much..."

Eric realized another thing belatedly: that is to say, in a few days, he would be able to see the high priest in the holy city?

(End of this chapter)