485 Chapter 485 – Engagement Ceremony [1]
Arriving in front of the church's long stairs, the twins opened the carriage door. As I climbed down, they stood side by side, bowing their heads.
Many people had already arrived. Thankfully, the church knights had already secured the area and kept the civilians away from the entrance.
I could see Rania was busy ordering knights around with Sophia while wearing full silver armor. The other three girls from my knight squad were standing at the end of the lines with their arms spread, trying to push back the civilians who wanted to get closer to me.
They worked really hard.
My lovely fiancees hadn't arrived yet. They would probably arrive late when I was ready in the aisle to meet me later.
"Well then, Your Holiness. Please excuse us."
"We will escort the others."
"I am counting on you." I nodded at them and saw them leave.
After a while, Rania ran toward me and stopped right on my side.
"Arthur, go inside right now. The church knights are troubled trying to block the people off." She whispered, "It's not even morning yet, and they are already here to witness your engagement ceremony... Ugh, I am jealous, but I will wait. My turn will come soon, right?"
I smiled at her, "Yeah. I promise that I will marry all of you once I finish everything. Sorry, but… You have to wait for a while."
Yeah, Hell's Cult just made my plan go awry. They made my girl jealous because I couldn't really be engaged to them at once due to me needing to watch my reputation.
'I plan to propose to them after traveling for a month. But, yeah… That's not possible, I guess. I might need two or three months to finish everything.'
They were like cockroaches. Hiding in a place that I couldn't reach. To finish them all, I needed to go around the world.
"Let me escort you inside. Archbishop Sana left me a message that Her Eminence has been waiting for you." Rania said in a low voice as she began to walk. She stopped near the stairs and gestured for me to go up, announcing loudly. "Sir Arthur, please this way."
From everyone's point of view, she was my subordinate and Vice-Captain. There was nothing wrong with her calling me Sir instead of Your Holiness. Also, it was perfectly natural that she was the one to escort me.
'She was the woman called to be the closest to being a Paladin in the past. And she's famous enough that I see some men are captivated by her beauty. Heh, poor them. This masochistic sister of mine has already fallen into my hands.'
I followed Rania climbing the stairs. The church knights behind me began to move and allowed the citizens to get closer, but not to the point they climbed the church.
For today, no one but invited people could enter. Not only was the church was currently used for the Paladin's ceremony, but the Pope was also present. The guard around this place couldn't be tighter than this.
Waiting for me near the entrance was Sana and Pope Juriel, dressed in a white ceremonial robe and wearing a pontiff hat. She still had a white blindfold around her eyes, but I could feel that she was looking at me.
"My Paladin, it's been a while." She smiled brightly and tilted her head slightly. "I extend you with my utmost congratulations to your engagement. Fufufu, your fiancees are truly lucky girls."
"Thank you, Pope Juriel. I really am happy that you will be the one who blesses us in this ceremony." I smiled back and stopped before her.
Rania stood behind me in a ready position. She looked around with her eyes narrowed like an eagle.
"Also, my fiancees are both my childhood friends and hearts. It's me who is lucky enough to be able to get engaged to them."
"How romantic. Fufufu," She giggled, "Putting that aside, shall we enter the church and talk about the schedule inside. Little Sana will tell you the details."
Talk inside, huh?
And I already knew about the details of the ceremony, so there was no need for her to tell me that.
That meant there was something else that the Pope wanted to talk with me about and she used Sana as an excuse.
"Sure. Let's head inside." I answered. Then, I turned to Rania and instructed her in a low voice, "Watch out for the cultists. If there are any, you don't need to catch them for interrogation and just kill them. I already have enough information from them."
"Okay." Rania nodded in understanding, "Umm, good luck, Arthur. You look handsome in that clothes."
With that, Rania turned around and left with her face slightly red.
"Is she the candidate for your next wife?" Pope Juriel asked playfully as we entered the church. She walked on my side while Sana followed a few steps behind. "She looks like a good girl… Well, a strong and good girl."
"She is," I affirmed without denying it. "Well, we grew up in the same orphanage together, that's why we are also close."
"Ah, you have too much childhood love." Pope Juriel commented with an amused tone, "It doesn't matter whether you have his memories or not. You are you." She added.
"I understand that already, Pope Juriel."
Two people, or maybe three, if I included Tris, knew that I was from the other world. Maybe Pope Juriel said those kinds of things to make me feel better about myself. I was me. Nothing more than that.
"So, Juriel." I spoke seriously, "Is there something I should know about your visit more than blessing my engagement?"
"Yes, and you probably already guessed about it already," Juriel answered without stopping.
I could feel Sana's nervousness even without seeing her. She was probably informed beforehand by the Pope.
"Is it about the world border acting funny?"
"Indeed," Juriel confirmed, "No monsters could be seen passing through the border. It's as if they are preparing for something. So, Sir Arthur…"
We stopped in front of the Holy Room on the third floor, where Juriel usually stayed when she was outside the Holy City.
The Pope looked at me behind her blindfold.
"I hope you stopped by the Holy City before journeying to the Sin Kingdom. We probably will need your strength."
