Chapter 60 - The Sudden Departure

"Don't worry too much about it. Even if Edenmere doesn't have your Lord, it doesn't mean he doesn't exist. As long as you hold onto a faithful heart, it's enough!" 

That was the best I could offer to console him. Isn't the True Church on Earth in a similar situation? And their influence is quite widespread too. Furthermore, until now I can't completely rule out the possibility of Yawee's existence, at least the "self" that Cyrus encountered is still unexplained.

"I suppose you're right..." Eminem sighed in response, though it wasn't clear if he took it to heart.

"Any other questions?" I prompted, as the song was nearing its end. 

"Of course! As an angel, you must have an exceptionally long lifespan, Lady Feliciana?" Eminem swiftly asked his second question, knowing time was short.

"In your long life, have you encountered other forms of life?" 

"Other forms of life?" I was taken aback by his strange query. My first thought was of aliens - did he actually see aliens? But then again, even if they were aliens, their life forms may not necessarily differ from humans. Like if we traveled to another world, the "aliens" we met could just be humans too!

To be precise, angels can be considered a different life form compared to ordinary humans. So I really couldn't answer his question satisfactorily.

"My apologies, I'm a newly born angel so I haven't lived long enough to give you an answer." I shook my head regretfully. Of course I wouldn't entertain a discussion about real aliens based on his broad description. Compared to aliens, robots seemed more fitting, though even the robot we encountered near Macarana City didn't quite feel truly alive. From how it spoke, it seemed to merely follow orders without independent intelligence.

"I see...Well, thank you for your response. May the Lord be with you!" Eminem bowed politely as the song ended and took his leave. 

I hope he wasn't too disappointed. Looking at Eminem's departing figure, I felt a bit awkward for not really answering either of his questions satisfactorily. Even if he wasn't affected by the issue with Yawee, he must have felt let down.

"You two looked like you were having fun chatting. What's this? Taking an interest in that man again ah?" 

Nicola leaned against the table holding a glass of wine, watching me return.

"Chey, it's you who's interested in men!" I shot her a look. This girl just loves making wild guesses. I haven't forgotten about her possibly getting married in the future! But to prove my point, I simply recounted our conversation with Eminem. 

"This Eminem actually questioned if the God he believes in exists. Quite a smart fellow!" Nicola glanced in Eminem's direction and remarked earnestly.

"But what did he mean by other life forms later on?"

"Who knows? Maybe he really has seen aliens before!" 

Only Eminem himself would understand that question. Unfortunately, from his attitude, he didn't seem too keen to share with us.

Just then, Cyra finally came back.

"So how was it, enjoying the treatment of the main heroine?" I teased her. Isn't being the lead role what Cyra always wanted? Dancing with the host, that's a privilege usually reserved for the main character. And they even danced two songs together.

"You're reading too much into it. It was just formality! I simply saw it as dancing with my former self, I felt absolutely nothing, and of course there couldn't be any feelings!" Cyra declared solemnly, then patted Nicola's shoulder, starting to claim credit. After all, our main purpose for attending was to represent Edenmere.

"See! I made such a huge sacrifice for your 'descendants', you better repay the favor!"

"Alright alright, I'll give you credit this time. As long as I'm around, I'll keep you safe!" 

Nicola promised impatiently.

"Professional bodyguard service! Are you satisfied now?"

By this point, the dance was reaching its climax. Many had found their partners and started dancing. Of course, some high-ranking church officials or local nobles mustered the courage to invite us to dance as well, but we politely declined them all.

Another song ended. 

"From today onwards, the relationship between the True Church and Edenmere turns a new page. To celebrate this momentous occasion, His Holiness the Pope has decided to perform an impromptu piece."

The host's voice rang out again. Upon hearing the Pope himself would perform, the surrounding area fell completely silent as everyone returned to their seats in anticipation. At some point, a piano had appeared in the center of the hall.

"This guy's quite accomplished. I heard he can play any instrument."

Nicola couldn't help but click her tongue slightly. Earlier in the dressing room, the maids had casually mentioned the Pope's versatile talents during our idle chats.

"They may look alike, but the gap between them is so huge."

I glanced at Cyra. Although she doesn't look like that anymore, many of my impressions were still from their high school days. Back then, Cyrus basically had no special talents, aside from being rather chuunibyou and knowledgeable about anime...

"Don't forget, this guy is thousands of years old! With that much time to learn, is it any surprise to have such skills?"

Cyra reminded unhappily in a low voice. Despite her words, she couldn't help but shoot an envious gaze towards the piano.

"This is a new piece I recently composed on inspiration. I hope you all enjoy..."

Though holding the esteemed position of Pope, Cysper still humbly offered a brief introduction before beginning his performance.

As his fingers danced across the keys, melliodic notes filled the air. However, this so-called new piece sounded uncannily familiar to our ears.

"Ah, it's 'Castle in the Sky'..."

Nicola downed the remaining wine in her glass, her expression conflicted as she glanced at the Pope immersed in his performance.

This famous anime piano piece was a classic on Earth. As former Earthlings, it would be strange if we hadn't encountered it before! Just never expected to appreciate it again in another world. Though from Cysper's situation, he may not have intentionally plagiarized it. But this alone was enough to suggest his connection to Earth.

Can't be helped, he did lose his memory after all. Or maybe he actually remembers everything, just feigning ignorance all along. But we have no proof of that, so we can't do anything about it.

The dance continued, accompanied by the soothing music. In contrast to the lively atmosphere indoors, the night outside felt eerily quiet, with only the gentle moonlight gracing the grounds - destined to be a sleepless night for many...

The next morning.

"How long is this situation with Cyra and Cysper going to continue? They keep pulling the same stunts every day!" 

I yawned as I crawled out of bed, feeling like I barely slept at all.

It was all because those two swapped bodies again after falling asleep! Since we were staying at the Pope's palace this time, the two ended up having an epic "reunion". Naturally, they caused all sorts of mischief again.

"It's probably due to the distance. This rarely happened when we were within the Astralrealm Kingdom, we never even encountered it in Norvale. But it suddenly became frequent after entering the Holy Capital, so distance is the only explanation."

Nicola pondered and summarized the pattern, then suggested, "So in my opinion, it's better we leave here sooner to avoid constantly mixing up who's who. Their body-swapping role-play game is really too much, it almost drove me insane last night! Looks like we'll need to set a code phrase from now on!"

The Pope is no spring chicken, yet this ancient beast is still indulging Cyra's antics. But you can tell their relationship seems much better than expected.

"Don't forget, we still have a task at the Advenctures Guild. Tomorrow we're supposed to meet that Yulanda at the Guild entrance!"

I nodded as a reminder. We probably couldn't uncover anything more on the Pope anyway. If nothing unexpected happens, we would depart soon.

However, the unexpected occurred just before noon, and it was a big deal.

"What! You're leaving alone for a while?" 

Cyra and I asked Nicola in unison.

"Can't be helped! You both heard Elara just now, the angel armies stationed at the edge of the 'Barren Lands' to the north spotted traces of Aria. So I must go apprehend her personally!"

Nicola hadn't forgotten her hatred for Aria humiliating her before, holding an lingering grudge for revenge.

"It's been so long and you're still not over it?"

The newly acquired bodyguard service was gone just like that, so Cyra was understandably reluctant. But there was nothing we could do since Nicola insisted on leaving.

"Then what about my task? This time I'm going up against a Divine Beast!"

I frowned with worry.

"I can't guarantee being able to both handle the Phoenix while serving as Yulanda's bodyguard!"

We couldn't count on the two-winged Cyra anyway. The original premise of taking this job was having Nicola, the "big shot", around. Not to mention the Condensation Swords alone would be enough to dominate. But now our main pillar was leaving midway, leaving just Cyra and I to handle things? On top of that, we were supposed to head south next, throwing all our plans into disarray!