“My name is Noah Cornelius. I serve as the Pope of the Kingdom of Caritas.”

When the girl in front of me bowed her head and said that, I didn’t know how to answer and looked around the room meaninglessly.

I’m in a room in the command center of the fourth barrier. It’s the room where I was with Ciel and the others before the attack of the Alghoul began. By the way, the others are not here. It’s because the girl in front of me wanted it.

I buried the undead that seemed to be the boss of the black corpse demon Alghoul in Titis Forest, and returned to the fourth barrier while protecting Miroslav and the advance team. I didn’t have time to listen to the situation on the way, so I don’t know anything about it.

However, I think I understood the purpose of that talkative skeleton from the girl’s self-introduction.

From the feeling of eating his soul, that skeleton was “not as much as a mythical creature, but still significant”. In fact, his level didn’t go up from “30”. If I hadn’t eaten a demon god on the island before, I might have gone up by one, but anyway, he was that kind of opponent for me.

However, it was also true that he had the power to destroy any town by himself. I can’t imagine that such a monster was wandering around Titis Forest for no reason. I think it’s safe to say that his target was the Pope.

The problem is, why is the Pope here – or rather, why is Her Holiness here? If my memory serves me right, Her Holiness should be on her way to the royal capital Horus by now.

To begin with, is this girl really Her Holiness?

I have never met Her Holiness in person. Before I was expelled from the Mitsurugi family, I attended a banquet as a proxy for my father and talked to her father, Duke Cornelius, but by then, Her Holiness had already moved from the Empire to the Holy Kingdom.

However, even if I haven’t met her, I hear rumors about her. Some of the rumors about Her Holiness mention her appearance, and the most famous one is that “the current Pope Her Holiness is one-eyed”.

However, the girl in front of me has a pair of gem-like eyes – and as I thought that far, she seemed to sense my doubt and said “Excuse me” before turning her back to me.

Then, she touched her face and hair and did something.

After a while, when she turned back to me, she had a round sto

When she noticed the understanding in my eyes, the girl moved her hair slightly and showed me her left eye. I let out a small breath when I saw the hollow there.

“I see, it was a prosthetic eye.”

“Yes, swordsman. It’s a product with magic applied to it, so once you put it on, no one else will notice. However, there are some people who have excellent observation skills and feel a sense of incongruity when they see me. Magician Miroslav and Sage Lunamaria were like that.”

The girl – Noah Cornelius, the Pope of the Holy Kingdom – said that and blinked two or three times to adjust her vision, then began to explain what had happened.

According to her, the Holy Kingdom had predicted the enemy’s attack from the beginning.

The holy city (the royal capital of the Holy Kingdom), where the Pope usually resides, is physically and magically well protected, and the undead monsters cannot easily enter. The Pope’s departure from the holy city this time was a great opportunity for the enemy.

The Holy Kingdom thought of turning this situation around. In other words, it was a good chance to catch the enemy who usually lurked in the dark.

According to this plan, the Holy Kingdom infiltrated skilled people into the group heading to Canaria, and prepared to counterattack the enemy who attacked them. Of course, the Pope was a decoy. This group is now heading to the royal capital from the south.

Meanwhile, the real Pope entered Canaria Kingdom with the advance team ahead of time. That was the whole plan.

If there was a one-eyed priest in the advance team, there was a risk of being exposed by a clever enemy. The prosthetic eye was a measure to avoid that.

I heard a series of events from the Pope’s mouth and understood them, but at the same time I felt a doubt.

“I would think that in such a situation, the commander-in-chief would normally wait for the success of the operation in the safe holy city.”

“If I didn’t move from the holy city, there was a risk of being exposed. Besides, if I waited for the success of the operation and then left, it would delay the construction of the barrier magic.”

That would inevitably increase the damage from the poison. On the other hand, if she entered Canaria Kingdom with the advance team, She could spend that much time on building the barrier.

After explaining that, the Pope looked down apologetically.

“After all, I caused damage to the people of this country while being exposed to everything. If I had made a mistake, even your companions would have… I have no words to apologize.”

“Please convey those words to the two of them. I don’t think it’s something for me to receive.”

“Very well. Then, instead of apologizing, I will express my gratitude to you, swordsman.”

She said that and looked into my eyes.

Her clear emerald eyes reflected my face.

“If you hadn’t defeated that impurity this time, I and everyone in the advance team would have lost our lives. I offer my heartfelt gratitude for your marvelous bravery. And in the name of Noah Cornelius, I swear here that I will repay this debt.”

“I am honored by your praise, Your Holiness. If my sword was of any use to you, there is no greater joy for me.”

I bowed my head as respectfully as I could.

To be honest, I don’t really need any repayment, I wanted to add. I’m truly grateful to Her Holiness. For risking her life to come to this country to build the barrier as soon as possible.

But well, it would be rude to say no to someone who said they would repay me in their own name. I decided to accept her gratitude honestly.

The problem is what happens next.

――How do I break the silence that has fallen in the room?

I’ve been feeling that way since I came to this room, or rather, since I met her in Titis Forest, but Her Holiness is hard to read. It’s not that she’s expressionless, but her facial expressions change little and briefly, making it hard to tell what she’s thinking.

I don’t know if this silence means she has something else she wants to talk about, she’s waiting for me to leave, or there’s some other reason.

Of course, I can get a general idea of her personality from the content of her conversation and her polite attitude towards me. Her Holiness’s personality is favorable to me.

However, I also felt that what I had seen so far was not all of Her Holiness.

Well, that’s obvious if you think about it. She’s the Pope and the king. There’s no way someone in such a complex and bizarre position doesn’t have a hidden side. It’s only natural that she has something indescribable.

As I was thinking about that, a clear voice suddenly shook my earlobe.

“――Swordsman”.

“Y-yes, what is it?”

“I have one, no, two things I want to ask you. Is that all right?”

She said that and tilted her head. Her expression was still dull, but her gesture was very cute. The tension in my shoulders slipped away.

“Please, ask me anything.”

I replied, and Her Holiness nodded and continued.

“I heard your name is Sora. Is this correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

I answered affirmatively, and Her Holiness thanked me politely.

The tension in my shoulders eased even more. Hey, maybe I was overthinking the indescribable thing. I started to think that.

Then, without a pause, Her Holiness asked me the next question – as if to take advantage of my lapse, with a sharp voice.

“Your real name is Mitsurugi Sora. That’s also correct, isn’t it?”