“……Sister?”

“……”

“……”

Charlie didn’t wake up despite Michael’s call.

Amazed that someone could fall asleep sitting up, Michael stared blankly at the sleeping Charlie with his mouth open.

Just as he was debating whether to wake her or not.

“Your Holiness! Your Holiness!!”

Rapha, who had come running in a hurry, knocked on the door of the prayer room.

Startled by the sound, Charlie looked around in confusion.

“……”

“……”

Then their eyes met.

“Did you sleep well?”

Michael said with a smile.

“……”

Charlie pursed her lips, belatedly realizing that she had been in deep sleep, even drooling.

If there were such a thing as death by embarrassment, her life would probably be on its 10th iteration by now.

* * *

The red flag of the Hunt family fluttered in the blowing wind.

Capes of the same color stood in an imposing array.

“What on earth is going on?”

The priests who had rushed out in droves murmured as they saw the Hunt Knights filling the front of the temple.

“Where are Cardinals Molech and Bael?”

“They haven’t been seen for a while.”

“Of all times……”

The Hunt family had a long-standing bad relationship with the temple.

Seeing the armed knights visiting the Grand Temple, the priests wore frightened expressions, sensing something unusual.

“Shouldn’t we at least report this to His Holiness?”

When a priest mentioned Michael, Molech frowned.

“If we wait, Cardinal Bael will handle it.”

“But still……”

It was then that Charlie, who was walking out with Michael, recognized the fiery red hair at a glance and started running as soon as she saw Leon.

“Sir Leon!”

Her clear voice drew the attention of all the priests.

There was a woman with the Pope, and moreover, her black cape was clearly embroidered with the Hunt family crest.

Seeing this, Molech’s eyes widened.

“That’s…!”

The crest covering the temple’s white stairs wasn’t just any family emblem.

It was the mark of the Hunt royal family, which only the head of the family could use.

Molech, a viscount’s son, couldn’t have mistaken it.

Wondering what was going on, Molech turned to look at Michael.

As Kaisis had predicted, Michael had brought Charlie regardless of the temple’s wishes.

Moreover, the Pope’s Espenon Temple was an area restricted even to cardinals.

After rejecting the imperial family, had they joined hands with the Hunt family?

The gazes of other priests became entangled.

“Enjoying the spectacle, are we?”

Michael’s voice cut through the chaotic atmosphere.

The priests finally bowed their heads to Michael.

Their awkwardly bent postures, as if forcibly suppressed, were quite ridiculous.

Until just a year ago, he had been a novice priest doing their errands, and overnight he had become the Pope.

It was natural for there to be some resistance.

“For priests of the Grand Temple to make such a fuss over mere knights. No wonder the temple’s dignity is at rock bottom.”

Michael’s steps halted in front of Molech.

“You know how to flaunt your petty pride, but you don’t know shame.”

“……”

Beneath his reluctantly bowed head, Molech’s face contorted.

Originally, the temple didn’t recognize titles bestowed by the imperial family.

It meant that before God, everyone was equally insignificant.

The prohibition of magic use within the temple was based on the same principle.

However, there were clear hierarchies and discrimination within the temple.

At some point, priests of common birth couldn’t even rise to the position of cardinal, and those who were nobles’ children treated them like servants.

And among them, Michael had been under Molech’s command.

“If anyone wants to meet the Hunt family, I’ll convey the message.”

But whether they accepted it or not,

Michael was undeniably the Pope who had received God’s oracle.

“If not, then withdraw.”

At Michael’s stern command, the priests quickly dispersed.

As Molech finally disappeared, Michael shifted his gaze to Charlie.

“Miss Charlie!”

Leon greeted Charlie with a bright smile, as if he hadn’t just been wearing a fierce expression exuding pressure.

“Oh, don’t run. You might fall.”

“Hehe-“

Despite Leon’s concern, Charlie bounded down the high temple stairs.

She truly looked overjoyed.

It was hard to believe they had been apart for only a few hours.

“Hmm……”

Michael gazed at her intently.

The once clear sky had now turned red.

* * *

“Lord Tanner?”

Charlie couldn’t hide her surprise at the long procession.

Magic items were prohibited inside the temple.

Therefore, everything had been loaded onto carts, making the quantity seem even more impressive than during the expedition.

“Yes, he was so insistent. My ears are still ringing.”

Leon joked, pretending to cover his ears.

It was understandable. The carts full of food supplies looked like they could last for months.

Charlie let out a small laugh at the unexpected scale of overprotection.

“Oh, and this.”

Leon placed a red magic stone in Charlie’s hand.

At that moment, a warm sensation enveloped her entire body.

“What is this?”

“It’s a magic stone imbued with fire magic. Since you’re sensitive to the cold, it should help if you keep it with you.”

“Ah……”

Charlie trailed off.

There was no need to ask whose magic was infused in it.

[What about His Grace?]

Charlie looked for Hector as soon as she saw Leon. But Hector didn’t come with him.

“Thank you.”

Though she tried to appear nonchalant, how could one not notice the regretful look on her face?

Leon, who had been looking at Charlie with a bitter expression, turned his gaze to Michael.

“This much shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Unlike when he was looking at Charlie, his eyes were full of hostility.

Michael answered with a silence that implied agreement.

“By the way, Miss Charlie, have you eaten? Your face seems to have gotten thinner in the meantime.”

Leon examined Charlie from various angles.

Charlie then realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since coming to the temple.

“Not yet……”

“What?! You still haven’t had lunch?”

Leon was aghast. It was well past lunchtime.

Michael was equally surprised.

“The temple doesn’t even feed you?!”

“……”

Leon’s face contorted as he glared at Michael. His hostility seemed about to escalate to grabbing Michael’s collar.

“Starving her! Isn’t this too much?”

Luke chimed in.

“Even hostages are fed……”

Percy picked up on Luke’s words, and Derek delivered the final blow.

“Forget prosperity, there’s not even a shred of compassion.”

“……”

Unable to refute as it was true that he had been inconsiderate, Michael could only move his lips without making a sound.

* * *

Inside the Espenon Temple.

The banquet hall was bustling with activity for the first time in a long while.

It was the first time Michael was receiving guests since becoming Pope.

“Miss Charlie, here.”

Leon pushed a plate of steak cut into bite-sized pieces towards Charlie.

Thanks to preservation magic, all the food was warm and appetizing as if it had just been prepared.

“We’ve also prepared plenty of desserts.”

Luke added as he filled the water glasses.

With her mouth full of food, Charlie nodded in response instead of speaking.

“Chew slowly and eat a lot, Miss Charlie.”

Leon smiled with satisfaction.

Michael didn’t stop the knights who insisted on watching Charlie eat.

He felt sorry towards Charlie, and it was dinnertime anyway.

He also hoped that Charlie’s first meal at the temple would be comfortable.

He was aware that Charlie had been constantly glancing at him nervously.

“Miss Charlie, this too.”

“After eating steak, it’s time for salad.”

Derek glared at Gerard as if telling him not to cut in line.

“There’s no such rule. You eat the delicious things first.”

“Eating only meat isn’t healthy.”

Charlie furrowed her brow slightly as she watched the knights each pushing a plate towards her.

“Stop, I’ll burst if I eat all this.”

But her stretched lips were raised high, making her cheeks puff out.

‘They’re just like mother birds.’

A look of relief spread across Michael’s face as well.

In fact, the significance of the Pope’s first guests was immense.

Previous Popes had invited the Emperor, after all.

But mere knights, and not even a Grand Duke? This was an event that would turn not only the temple but also the imperial family upside down.

However, no one seemed to care about such things.

Just as everyone is equal before God, there were no ranks or families at the banquet table.

It was simply a feast where delicious food was shared and trivial conversations were exchanged.

It was truly a banquet in every sense of the word.

Michael turned his gaze to look at Rapha across the table.

“Wow……”

Rapha repeatedly expressed his amazement at the lavish feast he had never seen before.

It would have been unthinkable for Rapha, a commoner and low-ranking priest, to sit across from the Pope and enjoy a banquet.

But Michael didn’t mind that either.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes, the meat melts in my mouth as soon as I put it in.”

“It’s all God’s grace.”

Knowing the sermon that would follow, Rapha quickly replied.

“Of course, even being able to taste is God’s blessing.”

Unlike the previous Popes, Michael was frugal.

Moreover, due to being ostracized even within the temple, everything in the Espenon Temple was so meager it was hardly befitting of a Pope.

That was also why he had allowed the items brought by the Hunt Knights to be brought in.

There would surely be shortcomings for Charlie’s stay.

And anyway, these were all for Charlie. There wasn’t a single improper thing intended to bribe Michael.

Just as all the food filling the huge table seemed to be directed towards Charlie.

“Our chef is quite skilled. He’s incomparable to those imperial cooks.”

Percy boasted.

Then he scooped some barbecue from a place Rapha couldn’t reach and handed it to him.

“This barbecue, in particular, is a work of art.”

“Th-thank you.”

Rapha carefully received the plate.

When he first heard that the Hunt Knights were looking for Michael, he thought his heart would drop.