Chapter 153 (2): An Angel Shouldn’t Sleep in a Cold Bed
Once the master and servant stopped flirting, Gunther seized the moment to say, “The stigma on the back of Mona’s hand consists mainly of a cross, with the two sides slanting upward like a scale or the crossguard of a sword. That means the angel she’s contracted with specializes in combat.”
“That isn’t an important point since every angel descending to the human world specializes in combat. However, I’ve seen a similar symbol in the Sacred Tome of Golden Law.” Gunther narrowed his eyes, his voice trembling with barely concealed excitement. “The symbol is a counterpart of pride of the seven deadly sins, representing humility and justice. Only a select few angels use that symbol, and every one of them is incredibly powerful. Mona’s master holds a great status in heaven, likely commanding an entire legion.”
“You’re amazing, Master!” Mona’s eyes lit up.
“Shut up!”
“Oh.”
Wayne didn’t feel any vindication when Mona lowered her head wordlessly; his attention wasn’t on her to begin with. Going over what the Archbishop said, he came to a realization. There was only one truth!
Gunther’s explanation supported his guess that Mona had acquired a stigma because of the Lord of Pride. He remembered clearly that the demon lord’s reincarnation altar contained energy from both heaven and hell, which was necessary since the Lord of Pride had to conceal, if not erase, his hellish energy to reincarnate. At the very least, he had to make his hellish energy less noticeable.
Following that logic, the sacred text the Lord of Pride had inscribed on the altar could only be about humility and justice, which were opposite to his existence. Through the Book of Greed, Wayne had gained those two properties, and a series of happenstances led to him being treated as an angel by the Sacred Tome of Golden Law, thereby creating a corresponding stigma on Mona’s body.
It all made sense now. The answer was right there, and he only had to think a little to arrive at the conclusion. He would have to be an imbecile to get it wrong.
“However...”
There was one thing he couldn’t figure out. If Mona had acquired the Golden Law for humility and justice through him, why didn’t he have a stigma? Was it religious discrimination? Did he have to follow the Heavenly Father to qualify? If so, there was nothing he could do. He would never gain the power of stigmata.
He had no faith. Death’s faith magic, for example, was the faith magic he had mastered the most, yet he still imagined the Goddess of Death wearing a black robe that allowed her long legs to peek out every now and then as she lectured him. Sometimes, she would be wearing black stockings.
If he couldn’t even treat Death with reverence, there was no hope of his mastering other sets of faith magic. The Goddess of Nature was a school nurse in his imagination, the Goddess of Sun a beautiful sporty girl, the Goddess of Moonlight a pretty senior found in the music room, and the Goddess of Darkness a strict teacher in charge of correcting students’ behavior.
The Goddess of Death was a history teacher with long, silky black hair and a graceful beauty. Under her aloof appearance, she was gentle and yearned for understanding.
Given the way he devoted himself to the goddesses, even if he followed the Heavenly Father, He would be the headmaster of another school, not granting Wayne a stigma.
ε=(-｡-;
Wayne sighed. Life was difficult. He would like to become a devout follower, but somewhere along the way, the aloof goddesses in his mind all put on black stockings, while the Heavenly Father put a stocking over his head rather than his leg, like a bank robber.
***
“Mr. Wayne, look at this sacred sword. It’s been passed down for three hundred years and embodies the lifelong faith of a holy knight. Although it’s made of regular metal, it’s been forged into a divine weapon by the knight’s thoughts.”
“Nothing special. Mona, take it.”
“Mr. Wayne, how about this robe? It’s from the Papal State. While no one knows who its original owner is, it’s said to be worn by an angel when they descend to the human world.”
“It’s okay. Mona, take it.”
“How about this...”
“Mona.”
Saint Paul’s Cathedral was the Church of Heavenly Father’s head office in Windsor. Its warehouse was ten times bigger than that of Saint Dominic’s Cathedral and housed countless artifacts. Every piece was a priceless treasure.
Gunther went through each of the items in great detail, not worried about Wayne claiming them as his own. The angel was on their side, and no matter what he took, he would be using it to fight demons. He should feel free to take whatever he wanted.
While Gunther did give a detailed explanation for everything, and the warehouse stored real treasures, they didn’t draw Wayne’s attention after he had tasted the Golden Law. Nothing stood out to him after three circuits around the warehouse.
However, a thief never walked away empty-handed. Just because something wasn’t useful didn’t mean he wouldn’t take it. He had Mona pack everything up and send them to her place for safekeeping. He planned to build a warehouse soon for the treasure he had found. Perhaps they would be of use someday!
“Oh, this place...”
Wayne spotted a new world. Among the cathedral's collection were magical items from other churches. Reminded of the stone tablet, he expanded his senses to search around, but regretfully found nothing. The stone tablet wasn’t inside Saint Paul’s Cathedral.
There were other things here, though. The set of six Sun gems was quite decent.
Wayne remembered that Vera’s birthday was coming up on the fifteenth this month. He had been worried that he couldn’t give her anything nice other than stockings and a short skirt. The gems came at just the right time for him to help himself to them.
According to the waiver Gunther had signed, the Archbishop would be solely responsible for the losses the cathedral might suffer. Then...
“Mona, take this shortsword of Moonlight and this mirror of Darkness, as well as these bottles of seeds.” Wayne pulled a long face. “These are all evil artifacts of heretics. Leaving these insidious things in the cathedral may corrupt the energy here. Although all the boys here supply an abundance of yang energy, we cannot sacrifice more of them.”
So he would take them all and keep them in check.
He pocketed a handful of gems. Then he handed Gunther and Mona each a handful. They would share their blessings and sins. No one would have an innocent conscience with him acting as an angel!
Mona blankly took the gems and turned to Gunther in shock. When the Archbishop quietly pocketed his share, she followed suit.
She was only learning by the Archbishop’s example, and the Archbishop was only accepting rewards from an angel. Both had an excuse.
***
“Mr. Wayne, your identity is of utmost importance. I’ll contact the Papal State and deliver the message as soon as possible.” Gunther followed Wayne out of the warehouse. “If you have time, I’d like to arrange a flight out of Windsor for you so that an envoy from the Papal State can meet with you in a neutral country where you can talk freely.”
“I don’t have time for that. I’ve got important missions to complete.”
Wayne waved him away and headed toward the back door of the cathedral. Like hell would he meet up with someone from the Papal State. Not even the Pope could make him show up to a meeting.
Mona quickly followed him, planning to drive him home.
Watching the angel leave, Gunther slowly let out a sigh of relief. At the end of the day, he had found the angel, which was a good thing.
“Gunther, the angel’s personality...” Atori walked out of a corner. He had prepared dinner, but it seemed to have been a wasted effort.
“Don’t worry. There’s Mona.” Gunther smiled. He knew the angel wouldn’t be easy to order around. That was why he had Mona form a contract with the angel. Everyone would benefit from the arrangement. He was a genius!
“How about the Papal State? The meeting has to happen.”
“I’ll tell Mona to change his mind.”
...Wouldn’t that lead to an unexpected pregnancy? Atori questioned with his glance.
Gunther responded silently, Wouldn’t that be better? As long as the Pope is happy, we’ll both be promoted. Then you’ll be the Archbishop.