I seem to have been able to run into him lately, and I seem to be very lonely...... Also, I came to Salonia alone and didn't know anyone...... He's changed a lot since then...... The eyes, which used to be as clear as water, are now covered with a layer of frost, and every time I see them, it is particularly stressful...... Really!

In a classroom at the White Academy of Magic in Milko, Salonia, there was a girl who was staring out the window with her chin propped up, not noticing that the professor standing in front of the class seemed to be surprisingly angry...... "Katerina Catherine Lattimore! How many times do you want me to call you?!"

The girl subconsciously turned her head and tilted her head blankly.

"Yay?—I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry......"

A few minutes later, Katerina walked out of the classroom with her book in her hand, and seemed to notice the scene, when a girl ran down the corridor and laughed and teased, "yes, I've been taught a lesson again!"

Katerina looked up, smiled a little, and greeted, "Chrissy......"

"What's the matter with you these two days, I always see that you can't give up," the girl named Chrissy looked at Katerina in surprise, and wondered, "Did you quarrel with your henchmen?"

"What a follower, how many times have I said it, they are my brother......" Katerina grumbled angrily.

"Brother?" Chrissy grimaced and asked in a low voice, "Have you heard, one of your brothers seems to have been taken to the academic office again, and it looks like he is in trouble again, right?"

"Is it Geller?"

"Yay?"

"Only Geller is impulsive enough to fight someone else, Eddie and Gert are both calm and ......"

"Yay?" Chrissy looked at Katerina in surprise, and then whispered, "Can you help me with Eddie, just this week......"

"This," Katerina said in embarrassment, looking at her friend's expectant eyes, "Eddie has been busy dealing with paladin's qualifications lately, I'm afraid ......"

"What about Gert?"

"Gert is generally not interested in this kind of thing...... I think I can help you with ......."

"Geller?" said the girl, her eyes wide, "Forget it, I don't want to be with that violent guy, by the way, let's make an appointment to go out of town in a few days, together?"

"Hmm...... Forget it," Katerina shook her head and sighed slightly, "I didn't pass my last study paper, and the qualification of a nun, alas, ......"

"You haven't given up yet, come on, I think only a stupid enough guy would say something like giving everything to God......"

"Chrissy!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, so be it, I'll go first, goodbye. ”

"Well, goodbye!"

Saying goodbye to her friends, Katerina walked home alone, recalling the experience of going to the Empire, and she was more impressed by the Riox School of Magic than the unchanging dogmatic education of Thessalonia.

Astrology, enchantment, alchemy, potions, these are all things that are not found in the Mill Academy of Sciences, and here, in addition to firm faith, is firm faith.

Faith is the premise of everything here.

Even Eddie and Gert say that the professors of Reox are more human, and after accepting the students' requests, the professors will help the students fulfill their wishes without violating the house system, just like the masquerade ball, but in Salonia...... This kind of thing is unthinkable...... "Well, if only I hadn't gone to Riox at that time......"

Sighing faintly, Katerina passed by the edge of a river in the city, and suddenly she saw a familiar figure standing on the bridge, supporting her body with the railing, looking down at the flowing river.

"Thorth!" Katerina shouted.

"Huh?" The boy on the bridge turned his head, glanced at the girl, and said lightly, "Oh, it's you, [I'm sorry]......"

"What!" said Katerina, a little indignant, as if grumbling, "it's Katerina, Katrina Catherine Latimore!" she said, as if noticing her tone, and hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have used that tone of ......."

"......," the boy rolled his eyes weakly, turned his back against the railing, and said angrily, "stop here, won't you be late again?"

"What, today's lesson is over!"

Following the girl's line of sight and glancing at the sunset in the sky, the boy scratched his head lazily and said lightly, "It's so late......"

"I see?" Katerina asked in a whisper, "you won't be standing here since the morning, will you?"

"Of course not!—just noon!"

“......”

Glancing at the boy looking up at the sky, Katerina whispered, "Are you missing your family and friends?"

"Perhaps......" the boy replied faintly, as if he didn't want to say anything more.

Feeling this discordant atmosphere, Katerina bit her lip and changed the topic and said, "By the way, the color of your hair is so strange, I remember that when I saw you yesterday, it was black, and today it is back to dark gold, so strange......"

"Yes!—maybe you're mistaken!" the boy replied faintly, his eyes glancing at his right arm.

"How could I be mistaken...... "Katerina muttered a little, leaning against the railing of the bridge like a boy, feeling the feeling of being blown by the breeze.

I don't know how long later, the boy suddenly stood up straight, and seeing this scene, Katerina asked curiously, "Are you leaving?"

"Hmm!" Soth nodded, raised his hand to the other side of the river, and said lightly, "Free time is over......

"Huh?" Katerina was stunned, and glanced in the direction the boy was pointing, and suddenly saw several people in dark red robes standing behind the house.

This style of magic robe, isn't this a holy magistrate?

Before Katerina could ask his inner question, the boy slowly walked in the direction of the Holy Inquisitor with his hands in his pockets, and said lightly, "I should go, you should go back too, your friend is coming to you!"

"Yay?" Katerina was stunned, and subconsciously turned her head, but saw Eddie, Gert, and Geller coming from a distance, and waved hello.

"Hey," as if seeing his beloved sister, Eddie smiled and waved his hand, and said with a smile, "I just got two days off today, and when I went to look for you with Gert and Geller just now, I heard from your friend that you have already gone back, so I ......" As he spoke, he glanced at the back of Soth on the other side of the bridge, frowned, and said, "I investigated, and I heard my mentor, Archbishop Webrinton, say that it was Archbishop Andrew who brought this little ghost back...... The identity of this imp seems to be very special, Archbishop Weblinton didn't say much, now it seems to be protected by some holy magistrates, it can also be said to be surveillance, I heard that the archbishops of the Holy See have different opinions about him, as if this imp has a powerful demon parasitic in his body......"

"Holy Salonia, there are demons?" Grad grinned and laughed, "If it weren't for those Holy Inquisitors, I'd love to teach that stinky little imp a lesson, and make him understand that this isn't the Reoks ......"

"What an unrealistic extravagance!" With a sneer, Gert helped his monocle and said lightly, "If you are taken away by the Holy Inquisitor because of trouble, then it is not a few reviews that can solve the problem, besides, I don't think you are qualified to teach him a lesson, an impulsive, reckless, and brainless guy like you, he can level you with one finger, he is really too lazy to talk nonsense with you......"

"What?" said Grad, his eyes wide, his hair irritatedly, "how dare that little imp say that?"

"No, I said ......"

“...... You bastard!"

"Alright," Eddie whispered, shaking his head angrily, "let's go back, Grad won't trouble that imp in the future, Gert is right, he can tolerate your provocation because you can't do him any harm at all, don't you pay attention to his eyes, the kind of arrogant look that doesn't take anyone into his eyes...... When you meet him in the future, just pretend you didn't see him! Don't get too close to him!"

"But......" said with a little sigh, and Katerina said quietly with the book in her hand, "he looks lonely......

At the same time, Soth was walking in the direction of the Holy See with the Holy Inquisitors, and the one who spoke to Soth was none other than the Holy Inquisitor, Brother Cheshe, who had been with Soth for a long time.

“...... Your Excellency, you will make it difficult for us to do this, His Majesty the Pope has commanded that we must not appear in front of the common people......"

"Isn't that okay if it doesn't show up?"

"But...... We are ordered to protect you!"

"Hey," Soth smiled faintly and said contemptuously, "That's nice, it's not so much protection as surveillance, and I still need your protection?"

In the face of Soth's taunt, Brother Chesher did not show the slightest dissatisfaction and atmosphere on his face, and still said with a blank face, "In any case, there is no consensus within the Holy See on your attitude, and the powerful dark power in you is exactly what those Bishops are worried about...... So, I hope you can stay in Salonia honestly and don't do anything bad, for example, sneak back to the empire......"

"What if I did?"

"Then, we in the Inquisition will see you as an enemy, even if you are the heir of the Lord!

"Hey...... I see!-let's go, I'm tired!"

"Yes!"

Under the watchful eye of the Holy Inquisitors...... Ah no, under protection, Soth returned to his own residence, and His Majesty the Pope had prepared a room for him inside the Holy See.

So, apart from the lack of some freedom, Soth was treated well.

As he passed by the garden garden, Soth saw His Majesty the Pope of the Holy See tending to the flowers in the garden like an ordinary farmer, and it was hard to imagine that this kind and charitable old man was the ruler of the whole of Salonia.

As if he had heard the footsteps of Soth, the old man said with a smile as he carefully trimmed the branches with small scissors, "How have you been today, child......?

"It's all right!" said Soth, sitting on the railing against the courtyard pillars, "Didn't you say you wanted to teach me the magic of the Holy Light?

"Ah, I said that," the old Pope nodded, stood up and said with a smile, "But you don't even have a foundation in other holy light magic, I want to teach you the basics, but, didn't you sneak out?"

"Just sitting stupidly is called foundation? Didn't I tell you? Meditation didn't work on me!"

"Hehehe," the old pope smiled slightly, shook his head and said, "It's not for you to meditate, your magic power has accumulated strong enough, I just asked you to calm down, didn't you notice, your power is too violent, this, it is also the responsibility of educating your Reoks Academy, well, it should be said that the education method of the entire empire is like this, learning magic has a utilitarian surname, just like you say now, isn't it just for you to learn white magic for revenge?" I have repeatedly warned you that the power of white magic comes from firm faith, and faith comes from the human heart, and a heart full of hatred and anger cannot derive great power!—I hope you will forget that hatred, and forget it unreservedly, so that you will not feel lost or carried away by power!"

"......" Glancing deeply at the old Pope, Soth shook his head and said angrily, "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm going to rest!"

Looking at the back of the boy leaving, the old pope sighed secretly and muttered, "Poor child, I am still reluctant to give up that dark power......

"How could it be possible to give up willing......ly? It is because of this that such people are swallowed up by darkness, how sad!" At the other end of the corridor, an old man dressed in the red archbishop costume walked out: Bishop Gary Weplinton, one of the twelve archbishops of the Holy See.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you, Gary!"

"It's only been a little over a year, Your Majesty!"

"Oh, yes...... The two looked at each other and smiled.

Glancing in the direction Soth had left, Bishop Weplington frowned and said, "I heard about that child, what does Your Majesty plan to do about it?"

"Headache, headache," the old pope said, shaking his head, putting on his white papal coat, and sighing, "I feel that this kid is even more stubborn than us old men, and even two [stigmata] can't suppress that dark power...... Speaking of which, it is a powerful dark force, after all, the ancient will is a collection of powerful minds......"

"You've found it?" asked Bishop Weblinton, surprised.

"Well," the old pope nodded, frowned and said in a deep voice, "According to Andrew's investigation data, and the child's story, I went through all the materials of the ancient ruins, and the ancient will behind Argus should be [endless **-greed]......"

"Mammon?" said Bishop Webrinton, stunned, "that is the legendary god of darkness from the primeval age! even older than the legends of the gods......

"Yes, I always thought it was just a legend, but who knows what it is? Isn't the demon god also reappearing? Legend has it that the demon god is a subordinate of the dark god, the commander of the evil army, and was once the actual ruler of this continent, but after the great war, he lost a trace, and only a few words of information were recorded on the stone tablets of the ancient ruins......"

"The battle of the primeval relics?" Bishop Weplington frowned slightly, and pondered, "The ancient mechanical civilization [Merkande] is also a branch of the Great Ancient Relic, I always thought it was just a legend more unrealistic than the gods......"

"[Merkande] has a great mechanical civilization that transcends history, and it is said that the ancient ruins left behind now are the war fortresses they once built, such as the [Vander] Mage Tower in Sgdal, compared to the ancient civilization, we humans are too small, so if there is an existence like the ancient will, this world will become very bad...... Especially now we are facing two ......"

"Two?" Bishop Weblinton frowned and subconsciously asked, "...... that kid?"

"Hmm!" the old pope nodded with his hands behind his back, and said in a deep voice, "Those are all evil wills, that child is carrying, if the information on the ruins is not wrong, it should be [Evasive **-Sloth], which also belongs to the most terrible evil will, this level of evil will, has the power to deceive the laws of the world, in other words, the power of God......"

"One is already hard to deal with, two ...... That's too bad," Bishop Weblinton asked, frowning and surprised, "and what are you going to do?"

"Don't worry, our supreme God hasn't given up on us, has he?" the old pope teased with a smile, and then said softly, "Maybe it's really God's will, and that child will become the staunch guardian of our Holy See......"

"But only if he improves his opinion of us, right?" Bishop Webrinton shook his head with a wry smile.

"We don't have to worry about this, didn't I say it, maybe it's really God's will!" said the old pope with a smile.

At the same time, Soth was lying on the bed in his room, looking at the two stigmatas on his left hand...... One of them belonged to Father Andrew, and the Pope said that if it weren't for Father Andrew, maybe he would have been swallowed up by the power of Sloth, the power of [obliterating existence]...... Being consumed by this power has only two ends, one is to erase oneself, as Slos said, and the other is to erase the world, becoming a puppet that loses its mind and only destroys and destroys...... Call!

It's called 'being affected a little'? Sloth, that bastard!

But this second stigmata ...... St. Charles George ...... Belonged to the Holy Magician of Salonia...... Twenty years ago, the most dazzling figure in the One Year War between the Empire and the Holy See...... But what does this have to do with him, and why does the power of stigma that belongs to him appear in his hands?

Looking at the first stigma, Soth closed his eyes a little tiredly.

In the dark, he seemed to see a peaceful town, a dilapidated chapel, and an old man squatting in a flower garden to sort flowers...... No wonder I always feel a little familiar when I see His Majesty the Pope's actions, as if I have seen it somewhere, no wonder...... [Remember, child, magic can't bring happiness to people......]

St. Charles George?

But...... [Soth, Soth, the proprietress of the bakery gave me a basket of bread, oh, it's still hot!]

[You are not allowed to blasphemy, Soth!]

[To learn magic, you have to save a lot of gold......]

Who is she?

Another figure, who is she?

Why do you suddenly feel so sad and uncomfortable?

Why can't you remember?

Who the hell is she? who is who? who is who? who is who? who is who?!

"Hoo ......"

When Soth opened his eyes again, the beautiful moonlight outside the window was slowly shining like a silver glow in the room, but he had no interest in appreciating it at all, just leaning on the window with a pair of pants and looking at the deep dark night.

After a long time, he came to the garden of the courtyard wearing only a long coat, perhaps under the influence of Sloth, who preferred the quiet of the night, whether or not there was a deadly danger hidden in the darkness.

Somehow, in the entire Holy See, only the flowerbeds arranged by the old pope could completely calm Soss, as if facing the deepest picture in his memory.

"What's the matter, can't you sleep, kid?" came the voice of the old Pope behind him.

"Hmm!" Thos nodded slightly.

Glancing deeply at the boy in front of him, the old pope shook his head and whispered, "I sense that your heart is very scared and uneasy, and this stems from the lack of firmness of your faith......"

"I'm sorry for what you call God, but I don't have that kind of faith!"

"Yes to yourself," said the old Pope, shaking his head, "you have become too dependent on that dark power, and it is not good for you, and you are afraid, and you are afraid that after giving up this power, you will still have the ability to seek revenge on Argus, right?"

“......”

"But revenge, is it really that important? In order to take revenge, you don't hesitate to be controlled by the darkness? people, always complaining that they have lost too much, and even have nothing, but they don't understand that there are still people in the world who care about them......"

"What do you want to say, Your Majesty the Pope?" said Soth with a faint scoff.

In the face of Soth's faint taunt, the old pope smiled slightly, sat next to the boy, looked at the bright moonlight in the sky, and said, "Magic, is it a power used to protect, is there anyone you want to protect, child?

Seeing that the old pope suddenly diverted the topic, Soth was stunned and nodded hesitantly.

"What's it called?"

“...... Dia!"

"What a beautiful name, where does she know now?"

"Vander's Bar......"

"Why do you say so uncertainly?—regret it?"

"Regrets?"

"That's right, I left the person I liked for revenge, and I almost never saw her, just to get revenge......"

Glancing at the old Pope, Soth lowered his head slightly, and said lightly, "It's a little bit......

"That's why you're afraid, isn't it? Argus is so powerful, so strong that you don't believe that you can defeat him without giving up the dark forces, and your heart is so uneasy and terrified that you don't even believe in yourself, how can you be faith?—people who don't believe in gods are very trusting of themselves......"

"Average......

Glancing at Soth, the old pope shook his head slightly, and said softly, "Power is not everything, child, I hope that you can face yourself from time to time while learning white magic, and don't become a second Argus!—think about what you want to be in the first place, and don't get carried away by anger and hatred, those are terrible thoughts...... Okay, I'll go back and rest, I'm old, and my spirit can't compare to you young people......"

Second Argus ...... Glancing at the back of the old pope leaving, Soth looked up at the sky.

(To be continued)