They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 25

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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At this, Cardinal Denian’s body trembled, and he pressed his forehead against the carriage floor once more.
‘I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re saying.’
A few days prior, in the Holy Kingdom of Soleia.
[I’m appalled by the state you’ve all returned in, you wretches!]
Karteus burst through the doors with a thunderous rebuke, embodying divine retribution itself.
Lightning descended upon the heads of the fallen ecclesiastical leadership.
Not metaphorically—literal bolts of lightning.
A deafening crack split the air.
They said that in ages past, holy power rivaled the magic of the Tower itself, and it was true.
It bore no resemblance to the feeble holy power of the present day, which merely emitted a dim glow and bolstered healing.
Karteus had purged those corrupted by worldly desires with absolute precision.
In their place, he appointed cardinals from among the priests who had faithfully served only the Goddess.
The Goddess’s first apostle, who had driven back demons and beasts and bestowed salvation upon the world.
None dared raise their head in defiance before Pope Karteus, the first pontiff.
‘Still, the Goddess’s Spear, they called it.’
When I heard those words, my mind immediately conjured the image of a hero from Karteus’s own era—Iserna Airbain, known as the Goddess’s Knight.
‘Surely it couldn’t be.’
How could someone from three hundred years ago possibly return to life?
‘Her final deed was sealing the last Black Rift that ever appeared.’
Did this mean a new existence would emerge to inherit her legacy?
Not elsewhere, but here—in the Cradion Empire itself.
‘How peculiar.’
The Kingdom of Bardia, which Iserna had sacrificed everything to protect, now teetered on the brink of collapse beneath the Empire’s pressure.
The Cardinal glanced up at Karteus, whose gaze remained fixed beyond the carriage window.
‘Could the Goddess truly have resurrected him?’
There had once been considerable speculation that Karteus might have joined Iserna’s Expedition Team.
The timing matched—he had renounced the papacy without explanation and vanished precisely when the Expedition Team set forth.
Yet Karteus claimed he had been resurrected from his tomb with a mission to reform the corrupted Church.
He insisted he had nothing to do with the Expedition Team.
‘True, if the Expedition Team had returned, the entire continent would have been thrown into upheaval by now.’
Consider who comprised it.
Every last one of them was a celebrated hero.
Given how quietly things had proceeded, it seemed more reasonable to believe in the resurrection of a single man than in the Expedition Team’s return.
As the Cardinal continued to wrestle with his thoughts, the carriage arrived at the Imperial Palace.
“Welcome, Your Holiness.”
Count Bellow, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had come personally to greet them at the carriage.
Despite what amounted to a summons from the Pope, the Empire showed not the slightest displeasure.
Rather, they had foregone most formalities, their curiosity about the identity of the newly appointed Pope plainly evident.
They could never imagine that Karteus was the first Pope.
‘Who could possibly believe it?’
They’ll simply regard him as a capable individual.
Most kingdoms across the continent revere the Goddess and respect the Pope’s authority, passed down since the founding.
Even now, when divine power has become so diminished it’s embarrassing to call it a miracle.
‘It’s convenient for governance, after all.’
No tool is quite as effective as religion for pacifying the people’s hearts.
Pope Karteus merely nodded at Count Bellow’s greeting before descending from the carriage.
Then he swept his gaze across the towering inner walls that encircled the Imperial Palace.
“No matter how high they stack these stones, they cannot reach the hem of the Goddess’s garment.”
“…!”
“…?”
Count Bellow turned to the Cardinal with an expression of bewilderment.
“Your Holiness means that the Goddess’s grace extends equally across all the world. Surely no wall, however high, could escape her reach, hahahaha….”
The desperate explanation mercifully proved effective.
“Indeed, Your Holiness. The grace the Goddess has bestowed upon House of Cradian knows no bounds.”
When the Cardinal released a sigh of relief and lifted his head, the Pope was already striding forward alone.
As they hurried after him, the Pope clicked his tongue without even sparing them a glance.
“Mere honeyed words accomplish nothing.”
“Your Holiness….”
Less than five minutes after arriving at the Cradian Palace, the Cardinal could discern one thing with certainty.
‘His Holiness despises the Empire.’
Much to his dismay, this visit would be anything but peaceful.
For it was the first step toward punishing those who had stained the continent with blood.
***
Only after reaching the kitchen did Kei finally release my wrist.
“I apologize for the interruption, Commander.”
“It’s fine.”
I exhaled softly and spoke.
“If you’d truly gotten in the way, I would’ve thrown you out right there.”
“Right, as expected?”
“I’m utterly pathetic for using you as an excuse to flee like that.”
I’d never been this cowardly in my entire life.
“It feels like I’ve encountered a formidable opponent.”
At my muttering, Kei let out a laugh.
‘…Should I throw him out right now?’
As if reading the look in my eyes, he hastily composed himself and spoke.
“That prince seems sincere about it.”
“You think so too?”
“Yes, and…”
Kei hesitated for a moment before carefully opening his mouth again.
“I had the thought that he might be vaguely suspecting our true identities.”
“Hmm…”
Whether Kei’s assumption was right or wrong didn’t seem strange either way.
On the day I met Elhart, I carelessly mentioned teleportation magic without knowing what three hundred years of change had brought.
I’d directly used magic in front of him to repair chains and retrieved items from my spatial pouch.
So even if he hadn’t figured out I was Iserna Airbain, he would’ve realized I was a special being with the abilities of that era.
“What were you trying to say back then?”
“Well… I was definitely trying to say something, but…”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Now that I think about it, I’m not sure.”
“You weren’t about to say something like ‘I’m three hundred years older than you,’ were you?”
“Ugh…”
Suddenly, I felt an enormous wall between him and me.
Even though the actual time we’ve lived wouldn’t be that different.
“It’s… a bit much, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s quite shameless,” Kei said, furrowing his brow.
“On that prince’s part, I mean.”
Huh? Not on my part?
“I was supporting your romance, but why am I so displeased?”
“…Are you asking me that right now?”
“I want to find fault with something.”
Seeing him confidently declare that he’d mobilize the information guild to uncover Elhart’s fatal flaws left me speechless.
“So please wait until then.”
So please wait until then.
Isn’t that joke a bit too serious?
“It’s not a joke.”
“We can’t afford to waste manpower looking for Elhart’s shortcomings right now. There are more pressing matters.”
“More important than the captain’s love life?”
…Kei, what’s gotten into this guy?
“Actually, I was meaning to tell you—there’s someone at the Cradian Palace we need to be especially careful about.”
I explained to Kei in detail about the demon I’d sensed when alone with the Crown Prince, and everything related to Manarang.
“If you’re careless, you could find yourself in serious trouble too, so don’t approach recklessly.”
“Understood. I’ll need to gather information about the Crown Prince with extra caution.”
“Right.”
He seemed to have finally come back to his senses.
“Oh, speaking of the Crown Prince—he looks almost like twins with Mikhail.”
“Really? Is that so?”
I nodded.
“Though their temperaments seem completely different.”
Kei, who had been staring at me with blinking eyes, carefully opened his mouth.
“Captain, are you… alright?”
“Yeah. Well, I know he’s a different person.”
“Are you certain? I’ve also heard about the Founding King’s disappearance…”
“You mean the possibility that he disappeared and then reappeared like we did?”
“Yes, couldn’t that be possible?”
I was about to answer that it couldn’t be, since Manarang was completely different, when I suddenly recalled what had happened earlier.
‘Elhart’s Manarang changed overnight.’
Whether in body, mind, or soul.
When trauma is inflicted, people change.
If Mikhail had been subjected to endless hardship that was unbearable.
If his body had been tormented and his mind and soul worn down.
It wasn’t impossible that his values could shift entirely and his Manarang could change dramatically.
‘But…’
As I pondered this, I spoke to Kei.
“I’ll investigate the relationship between the Crown Prince and Mikhail myself.”
I was certain no one was better suited for this than me.
“Ah!”
Kei, who had been lost in thought for a moment, clapped his hands and spoke.
“That’s perfect timing.”
“What is?”
“If the Crown Prince is connected to a demon, we’ll be able to find out quickly.”
Something flashed through my mind at his meaningful words.
“Carterus?”
“Yes, the Holy Kingdom’s new Pope will be visiting.”
The new Pope, no less.
Given his temperament, he probably overturned everything the moment he arrived.
“When?”
“Well… he said he’d come meet you as quickly as possible, so it shouldn’t take more than a few days.”
Kei, who had been gazing into the empty air as if calculating something, lifted the corners of his mouth in a smirk.
“He might have already crossed the gates of the Imperial Palace.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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