Chapter 153 (1): An Angel Shouldn’t Sleep in a Cold Bed
“Master!” Mona shot to her feet, sensing the surging holy power in her body. She was so overjoyed that her eyes brimmed with tears.
Other than the initial pain when her thoughts were divided, the process of forming a contract was delightful, as if she were hovering in the air and lying on warm clouds. The heavenly sensation was addictive.
The wings behind her back were entirely different from the ones conjured with holy light. It wasn’t energy, but it wasn’t a physical manifestation, either. She couldn’t quite put the strange feelings into words just yet; she only knew for certain that the wings were just like her limbs, which she could conjure any time and manipulate at will.
Gunther looked at the stigma on the back of Mona’s hand and then at the Sacred Tome of Golden Law. With a smile, he asked Wayne, “Venerable Angel, are you not going to say something?”
(ﾟДﾟ≡ﾟДﾟ)
Wayne’s gaze darted between Mona’s stigma and the hovering sacred tome. What was he supposed to say? This wasn’t in the textbook! Eyes wide, he began to question everything. Could it be that he was a reincarnation of an angel?
But no, it wasn’t possible. He had transmigrated to this world. A foreign soul couldn’t have been an angel.
Gunther had made it clear that an angel’s stigma was etched in their soul, persisting even across reincarnations. The fact that his didn’t show after he entered heaven proved that he wasn’t an angel.
That begged the question: why did Mona get one after forming a contract with him?
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m not done!” Wayne raised his hand. “First, I don’t have a stigma, period. If you don’t believe it, have Mona check me in another room. Check every nook and cranny of my body!”
Mona nodded like a chick. She would like that very much.
Seriously?! You’re a clergy woman, and you even have wings now. Won’t you act the part?
Wayne rolled his eyes and skipped the body search, adding, “Moreover, Mona’s stigma appeared after the contract formed. She hasn’t formed a contract with me personally, but the Golden Law in me.”
“So?” Gunther and Mona asked at the same time. They were tired of the angel being contrarian and denying the fact even now.
Atori looked around. Feeling out of place, he echoed, “So?”
“So, based on what I said, Mona’s stigma has nothing to do with me but the Golden Law,” Wayne said with certainty.
That was right. That had to be the truth. The Golden Law in him was ninety percent from the reincarnation altar of the Lord of Pride and ten percent from the sacred tome. Ignoring the ten percent, the dominating ninety percent meant that Mona’s stigma had derived from the Lord of Pride!
“Venerated Angel...” Gunther sighed, speaking in a resigned tone. “Even Legendary-rank clergy members can only borrow the Golden Law with the permission of angels, and they cannot hold it for long. May I ask how you acquired your share?”
“That’s—” Wayne caught himself. It was from the Lord of Pride, but he couldn’t say that, could he? He stared at Mona and ordered, “Be good and tell the Archbishop what you saw.”
“That Master has the Golden Law!”
“...”
Wayne was ready to tear his hair out. While he knew the right answer, he couldn’t say it to prove himself. It was beyond frustrating. It took a moment for him to find the words, going for self-disparaging, “I groped Mona’s bottom because I wanted to. Where would you find a perverted angel like that? It doesn’t make sense, does it?”
“You were trying to save me,” Mona said with a smile, entirely unfazed. “When we were undercover, we had to play our part to avoid being exposed. I understand that you had no choice.”
The angel had even knelt before a demon and called him ‘master’ to foil the demon’s plan and save Londan. Given that sacrifice, why would it matter that she was groped a few times? Besides, the angel didn’t actually want to harass her; the groping was a means to lower the demon’s guard.
Gunther also smiled at Wayne. Should they give him more time to come up with a better excuse? Since every angel was difficult and short-tempered in their way, he didn’t say those words in case the angel lost his temper.
“This is the worst.” Wayne sighed and resisted vehemently, “I’m not an angel, I’m really not. Although the evidence points to me being one, I know I’m being framed. This is a demon’s scheme. If I say that I’m an angel, you’re going to hold me accountable in the future.”
“Don’t worry,” Gunther said indulgently. “No one’s holding you responsible.”
“Whatever. I just want to make it clear upfront that I’m not an angel, and Mona’s stigma has nothing to do with me. If something goes wrong in the future, you’ll only have yourself to blame.”
Wayne made the disclaimer loud and clear. Just in case, he had Gunther formulate a written waiver. As the Archbishop, he confirmed that if they ever found out the angel was something else, it would be Gunther’s fault. Whatever losses the Church of Heavenly Father suffered would have nothing to do with Wayne.
Gunther quickly signed it, as if he were eager to be the scapegoat.
Wayne’s eyes twitched. He had been as patient as he could be in denying the lie. If they insisted on giving him access to the storage of the cathedral, don’t blame him for being greedy.
Where’s the Holy Maiden? I want company tonight!
“Does our church have a Holy Maiden? I’m tired. I’ll be staying the night. Tell her to prepare for a seance!” Wayne gave Gunther a withering look. “You get what I’m saying? I’ll be the angel entering the medium. The seance will involve me injecting her with holy light.”
A similar situation would be Bo and his girlfriend Timmy, but that was the Church of Death’s version. Instead of an exchange of holy light between an angel and a medium, Bo would be the undead shooter, and his girlfriend the undead rider.
Wayne believed that Gunther should understand the innuendo after such a detailed explanation. Bring the Holy Maiden in now!
“Venerated Angel, the church does not have Holy Maidens.” Gunther almost laughed out loud when Wayne began to grasp for words thoughtlessly. So what if you’re an angel? I still know how to make you do my bidding.
“An angel can’t retire to a cold bed. Tonight, Mona—” As soon as Wayne pointed at her, she nodded eagerly. He pointed at Atori instead. “Mona’s captain, prepare dinner. I’m starving.”
After a pause of surprise, Atori left the room to prepare food.
“Hey, I only want food. Don’t gather any little boys. I’m not like you.” Wayne shouted at the top of his lungs, feeling better about everything when he saw Gunther’s darkened expression. With his back pressed to the cross, he pontificated, “It’s been all over heaven. You shameless freaks keep fighting for little boys with demons. Don’t be scared, kids, I’m gonna drive away all the devils. Bah, you deserve to go to hell.”
Gunther and Mona fell silent. They didn’t know if the morbid jokes were indeed going around heaven, but the angel’s uncharacteristic outburst made it evident how foul his mood was. They should stop pushing him to admit his identity.
Gunther told Mona to hide her wings and the stigma, lest the angel, in a heated moment, stormed out and spread the morbid jokes about the Church of Heavenly Father. That would be a real mess.
Just imagining the potential chaos made Gunther break into a cold sweat. He didn’t know if another angel would do that, but this one certainly would.
“Lead the way. I need to get something from the storage. When I descended, I lost some treasure in the human world. Based on the geographical location, I’m certain they were picked up by Saint Paul’s Cathedral.” Wayne held the waiver to his chest. At least he was getting something out of this false accusation.
Gunther couldn’t say no to that. He led the way while Mona trailed after Wayne. She whispered, “Master, you think just like Bruce.”
She even sounded proud about it.
Wayne shot her a glare. Knowing that Gunther could hear, he slapped her ass hard.
Listen. That slap’s meant for your face!
Gunther pretended not to hear it, as if he had lost his hearing due to a demon’s curse.
Mona bit back a groan. She found her master, who turned out to be an angel. She’d even formed a contract with him and gotten filled up with his power. So many good things had happened. This was her lucky day.
Shit, I wasn’t trying to reward her!
Wayne’s eyes twitched. The clergywoman had fallen hard. It had nothing to do with him, he believed. He had only trained her for a short period, and he was trying to make her into a good spy who followed her orders obediently rather than asking questions she shouldn’t ask or doing what she shouldn’t do. It was for her good.
Her depravity was not his fault, but hers. She was born wrong!