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“Surprising.”

When Isabel returned to the Papal See, the Pope looked at her and spoke.

“I was quite troubled when you ran off.”

He let out a short sigh. It was not a sigh of relief, but one tinged with exasperation.

“And yet, you’ve come back.”

The return of the Saintess.

Normally, this should have been welcomed news, but the Pope’s reaction was different.

The reason?

“And with your memories restored.”

“Yes, you noticed.”

“It wasn’t hard. I could tell just by looking at your eyes.”

What an unpleasant man, she thought.

He loves this world and the god who created it with a near-maniacal passion.

A question formed in her mind.

Now that the Pope knows all the truths, what choice will he make?

Isabel let out a soft laugh.

“It must be disappointing. You can’t use a memoryless puppet as you please anymore.”

“Well, it’s fine. In fact, I think it’s fortunate your memories have returned. It was quite difficult when you were throwing a tantrum about going home.”

“…Ha.”

Isabel let out a hollow laugh.

She walked slowly and stopped in front of the Pope.

Then, in a firm voice, she declared,

“I’m not going to Asven.”

The Pope lifted his head to meet Isabel’s gaze.

“May I ask why?”

“I might run into the Princess there.”

“…”

Running into the Princess—such a dreadful thought, but the Pope continued calmly.

“Is that all?”

“Yes, that’s all.”

At her words, the Pope raised one corner of his mouth in a crooked smile.

Then he slowly walked towards Isabel.

“…Well, if you say so. I’ll handle it accordingly.”

What is this? Why is he so compliant?

Isabel’s eyes narrowed as she tried to gauge his true intentions.

The Pope glanced at her and smiled faintly.

Then he took a step back, as if ready to follow her every command.

“Where to next?”

At the Pope’s question, Isabel’s eyes sparkled.

In truth, Isabel had no specific destination.

The moment she realized the whole truth in that mysterious space, all petty desires and goals had been erased from her mind.

Her only remaining objective was clear.

Atonement.

Yes, only atonement.

The method was simple.

Merlin Trivia.

Find that woman and make her pay.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

Isabel asked softly.

When the Pope tilted his head, his silver hair shimmered in the sunlight.

“Merlin Trivia.”

She brought up a name.

However, just mentioning the name made the Pope gasp, as if hearing something forbidden.

He froze.

His complexion darkened as if he were about to die.

Such an exaggerated reaction to just a name.

“Where did you hear that name?”

The expression vanished from the Pope’s face.

Ah, so he knew.

Isabel let out a small laugh.

“That’s a strange question.”

How should she respond?

She filtered through all she had seen and heard, excluding what the Pope mustn’t know.

Only one answer remained.

“Who would a Saintess hear it from?”

Isabel slowly raised her finger.

She pointed to the sky.

“Of course, god told me.”

It was the most convenient answer for a Saintess and god’s apostle like Isabel.

The Pope let out a chilling laugh.

Perhaps due to his usual coldness, Isabel met his gaze with a smile.

“And why confirm this with me?”

“That too is the will of god.”

“…You speak as if you were god himself.”

“So, what is your answer?”

The Pope laughed bitterly.

Although he tried to appear nonchalant, his lips quivered slightly.

What does he know?

As the silence dragged on, Isabel’s patience wore thin.

Finally, the Pope spoke.

“I don’t know much. I just recently read the Scripture and saw the name Merlin Trivia.”

Existed in history? Read it in the Scripture?

His words were vague and hard to understand.

Noticing Isabel’s confusion, the Pope continued slowly.

“What do you know about the Scripture?”

“I just know it’s one of the Holy Relics containing God’s words.”

“Correct, but there is one characteristic. The contents of the Scripture are updated periodically.”

She knew that.

And that only the Pope had the right to view them.

“The Scripture contains many forgotten records. Among them…”

“Is Merlin Trivia, isn’t she?”

At that, the Pope raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I read about Merlin Trivia in the Scripture.”

He muttered her name with a grim smile.

“Merlin Trivia.”

And thus, he began an unbelievable tale.

“Once, she was the most loyal servant of god and a strong candidate for Pope. But she fell into corruption and led the world to ruin.”

The Pope glared at Isabel.

His eyes were sharp as ice, and Isabel swallowed deeply.

“And the one who created the Black Mist.”

Isabel’s fingers trembled.

No way, it can’t be.

Did she create the Black Mist?

Had she been ‘preserved’ in this world since long before the Black Mist existed?

“Why she fell, what made her wish for the world’s end—those details were not recorded.”

The Pope said firmly.

The exact reasons were not in the Scripture either.

But Isabel felt she knew.

No, she had come to understand.

‘Because it’s all fake.’

Yes, because it’s all fake.

This world, herself, everything was fake.

It was all speculation, but it was the best conclusion she could draw.

“After that, the records of Merlin Trivia were fragmented. Or rather, they were jumbled.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Her name appears in both existing history and non-existing history. In some histories, she is the one who brought about the end of the world, while in others, she is a failure who met her demise without achieving her goals.”

“What do you mean by non-existing history?”

“It means exactly what it sounds like. The past we have actually experienced becomes existing history, while the past we did not experience becomes non-existing history.”

The more they talked, the stronger the shock struck Isabel’s mind.

She recalled the truths she had seen in the mysterious space a few days ago.

At the same time, a realization struck her like lightning.

Ah, that’s why I returned to the past.

The past where I poisoned Kyle was a failed history.

I deviated completely from the predetermined outcome.

So the system urged me to return to the past, and the history I lived through became a ‘non-existing history,’ forgotten.

“Was my name mentioned in the Scripture?”

“No, for some reason, records of you and a few others were mostly erased, like with an eraser.”

His voice trailed off.

The Pope glanced at Isabel.

And asked,

“Have you met Merlin Trivia?”

His eyes narrowed again.

Isabel laughed softly at his intense gaze.

“No, not yet.”

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting white patches on the Pope’s face.

“Not yet, meaning…”

The Pope’s eyes grew colder.

“You need to find her?”

“Exactly.”

That ended the conversation.

The Pope let out a faint groan through his tightly closed lips.

“…”

He slowly closed his eyes.

Then, very slowly, he opened them again.

Their eyes met.

His answer was as Isabel expected.

“As god wills.”

The Pope turned his back.

At that moment, Isabel called out to him one last time.

“Rosary.”

“…”

“It’s said to be a Holy Relic. Do you know about it?”

After a moment’s pause, the Pope stopped, seemingly organizing his thoughts, and replied slowly.

“I know of it.”

His slow voice echoed in her ears.

It sounded somewhat forlorn.

“It’s an artifact created by a cleric long ago, disregarding the laws of causality and pouring divine power into it.”

And his continued answer was,

“Merlin Trivia.”

As expected.

“The Black Mist and the Rosary.”

As expected, as expected, as expected…!

“They’re all her creations.”

The actions of one woman had plunged countless people, including herself, into a hellish abyss.

Realizing this, Isabel burst into giggles.

And she made a vow.

Merlin’s plan.

Her despicable plan to escape this world alone through the dimensional passage opened by Kyle.

She would ruin it.

No matter what.