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Gilbert and Veronica’s meeting didn’t happen on the day of the Heir Designation Ceremony but the day after. Even with Seraphina’s permission, it wasn’t desirable to leave the ceremony to meet someone. It could have been seen as challenging the authority of Seraphina, who was now officially the Crown Princess. Politically, it wasn’t a good idea to proceed with the meeting on the same day.

Gilbert wanted to find out why he had ended up here and how to return as soon as possible, but he didn’t want to damage Seraphina’s political standing, so he restrained himself. Now that the Saintess, who held the key to all his questions, was in the Imperial Capital, it wasn’t hard to be a little patient.

After having breakfast with Veronica the next morning, Gilbert returned to his lodgings after spending some time at the Heir Designation Ceremony banquet. The next day, after an early breakfast, Gilbert headed to the guest lodgings where the Saintess was staying. As the highest authority in the Divine Empire, it wasn’t difficult to encounter the knights guarding her lodgings.

“I have an appointment with the Saintess. Please inform her.”

“The Saintess has been waiting for you. I’ll inform her right away, so please wait a moment.”

One of the knights, who had been vigilantly scanning the surroundings, knocked lightly on the door.

“Your Holiness, Sir Gilbert is here to meet you.”

“Please let him in.”

As the permission came from beyond the door, the knight opened it and entered first. His duty was to protect Veronica until she returned to the Divine Empire, so he entered the room first to prepare for any unforeseen situations.

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Veronica, who had been praying to the Lord until Gilbert arrived, greeted him warmly with a rosary in her hand. Gilbert responded with noble etiquette.

“Forgive my rudeness for visiting so early in the morning. The matter is urgent.”

“I understand. By the way, Sir Johan, could you please leave us for a moment? The conversation we’re about to have is something only Lord Gilbert and I should discuss.”

Johan, who had received the invitation to depart, wanted to refuse outright but couldn’t ignore the Saintess’s earnest request. It was for the same reason Gilbert had postponed their meeting to the next day.

Johan, with a twitching brow, suppressed his desire to refuse and nodded.

“Understood. Please let me know when you’re done.”

Johan didn’t take his eyes off Gilbert until he left. Though it might have seemed like an unpleasant gaze, considering his duty to guard a key national figure, it was just him being diligent in his job.

“Please forgive Sir Johan’s rudeness. He’s a bit rigid, but he’s just doing his job.”

“I don’t find it rude. A knight guarding the Saintess should naturally act like that.”

Once Johan was gone, Gilbert returned to his usual tone and showed his palm as if to say there was no need for apologies. It wasn’t the attitude one would expect towards a Saintess of the Divine Empire, but Veronica didn’t feel particularly offended.

She wasn’t the type to dwell on such things, and somehow, Gilbert’s demeanor oddly suited him, making it easy to accept.

“First of all, thank you for agreeing to what might have been a rude request.”

“That’s what I should say. If Your Holiness hadn’t requested the meeting, I would have. Since our goals align, let’s get to the point.”

Gilbert, not wanting to waste any more time, cut straight to the chase. He had been patient until dawn, but now that he was face-to-face with the Saintess, his impatience was unavoidable.

“You must have a reason. Alright, let’s get to the point.”

“First, why did you want to see me?”

Instead of asking what he was curious about, Gilbert decided to hear the Saintess’s story first. The reason was simple. The system had told him to meet the Saintess and secure causality. But without a clear explanation, he hadn’t secured causality even after meeting her, so he wanted to hear why she wanted to meet him.

Gilbert thought that someone of Veronica’s stature wouldn’t seek him out without a good reason. And he was right.

“Lord Gilbert, do you know about the Hero and the Demon King?”

[User Kang Do-jun. Play name Gilbert Lion Heart. Causality settlement begins.]

But the correctness of his assumption was in a direction he hadn’t imagined.

***

This event took place a year ago in the Divine Empire’s prayer room.

As usual, after finishing her volunteer work, Veronica visited the prayer room to offer prayers to the Lord. She was an artificial Saintess created by the Divine Empire, but her heart was as devout as any true Saintess. She prayed endlessly, wishing only for the Lord’s grace to reach the lost lambs.

“Lord, holy and only Father. Guide us, the lost and foolish, to the right path. Let us not fall into temptation or trial. Grant peace to all who suffer in this world. Your daughter prays thus.”

As always, or perhaps as ever, Saintess Veronica finished her prayer, wishing for the peace of others. Of course, as a fake Saintess, she didn’t hear the voice of the Father in heaven, but that alone brought her peace of mind…

“My daughter.”

“Ah…”

Light poured down. Holy, blinding light poured through the stained glass of the prayer room. Veronica felt a warmth as if her head was being caressed and shed tears.

“My guide, the light that illuminates the darkness. Chase the dawn. Twilight approaches over the mountains, but dawn always comes.”

“Ah… Lord.”

“I will guide you, and you will walk the right path rightly.”

With those words, the light faded, and the prayer room returned to its previous silence. Though the words were few, they were deeply engraved in Saintess Veronica’s heart.

The sudden surge of sacred energy in the prayer room startled the believers of the Divine Empire, but Veronica remained unshaken, closing her eyes and continuing her prayers of gratitude. Even though what she had longed for had come true, the sense of mission from the engraved words was more pronounced than joy.

The artificial Saintess Veronica, created out of necessity, had now become the true Saintess Veronica after receiving the revelation.

***

Gilbert listened to Veronica’s story, which was short yet long, and fell into thought. The story she told was beyond his comprehension, but in summary, it was simple.

Veronica, who had been an artificial Saintess, had received a revelation and become a true Saintess at the point of his possession. Though this wasn’t part of the Tactical Combat he had played, it wasn’t that important. After all, he wasn’t a character in Tactical Combat either.

Having been detached from Tactical Combat for a while, he focused on the fact that Veronica had become a true Saintess rather than being surprised. Though the tales of the Hero and the Demon King had long become myths, what she experienced was undoubtedly the revelation of the Saintess from those myths.

Though the wording was vague, the modern-day revelation caused a great stir within the Divine Empire. Since the Lord’s revelations were only found in the Divine Empire’s scriptures, the authenticity was debated, but the sacred energy that filled the prayer room that day was beyond human comprehension.

Moreover, the sacred energy Veronica possessed after the strange phenomenon surpassed human limits, making doubting the revelation akin to blasphemy.

Originally, the birth of a true Saintess should have been announced to the continent, but the Pope, who could be considered the Emperor of the Divine Empire, strictly kept it secret. If the revelation was true, it was clear that dark clouds would soon loom over the peaceful continent, and those clouds were likely the Demon King.

In such a situation, there was no need to announce the birth of the Saintess and raise the Demon King’s guard. Thus, the announcement of the Lord’s revelation and the true Saintess Veronica was abandoned.

Instead, the Pope and cardinals of the Divine Empire gathered to interpret the revelation, completing a limited interpretation. Chasing the dawn meant the Hero would appear in the east, and twilight approaching over the mountains hinted at the Demon King’s resurrection.

And the one to find the Hero was the Lord’s guide and light, the Saintess Veronica who had received the revelation. She was secretly promoted to a full Saintess and given the crucial task of finding the Hero.

Filled with a sense of mission, regardless of the Divine Empire’s intentions, Veronica began her search for the Hero in the east. But without any clues, chasing the dawn was too broad.

From the Divine Empire’s perspective, the east could be the Infractus Empire or the Republic, but their territories were too vast, making the search for the Hero very slow.

At first, Bentoman Libertas, the leader of the Free Wings Knights who had made significant contributions to the Republic’s founding, was considered a strong candidate, but after meeting him, Veronica only placed him as a candidate without being certain.

Regardless of Bentoman’s nature, she had a feeling and couldn’t outright say he was the dawn. Then, suddenly, a cadet from the Demia Empire Academy began to stand out—Gilbert.

Though he was known as the troublemaker of a Count family and wasn’t initially considered a Hero candidate, Veronica felt she needed to meet him at least once. It was an uncertain choice based solely on intuition.

And that meeting happened in the infirmary. Under the pretext of requesting treatment, Veronica faced Gilbert and felt as if her vision had cleared. She realized this was the Lord’s arrangement and guidance.

But she was cautious. This was about finding the Hero who might determine the continent’s fate. Though she vaguely realized he might be the Hero, she wasn’t certain enough and concluded the meeting as such.

As time passed and his name slowly spread across the continent, traces of the Demon King were found. Though three squads of knights were severely injured, it wasn’t without gain.

The only tricky part was that the trace led to Horizon, the Great Sage of the Empire. For the cautious Divine Empire, it was impossible to bring Horizon to the forefront without clear evidence.

To do so, they would have to announce the Saintess’s appearance and the revelation, which was too risky. While the Divine Empire’s leadership was racking their brains over how to bring Horizon out, Gilbert stepped in.

It’s unclear how Gilbert saw through Horizon’s duplicity, but he managed to expose and deal with Horizon beautifully. Despite the risk of losing everything in a moment of mistake, Gilbert boldly handled the situation and ultimately defeated Horizon.

Having witnessed all this, Veronica was finally convinced he was the figure from the revelation and came to find him.

[Causality settlement is complete.]

A notification appeared before Gilbert’s eyes. The causality settlement seemed to be about hearing the events and revelations that had happened to her.

It gave him a rough idea of what had happened and what needed to be done moving forward. Though it was bewildering to have a traditional fantasy Hero and Demon King story suddenly appear in a world with Colossal Mechs, knowing the goal was something.

Considering he didn’t even know why he had ended up in this world before hearing Veronica’s story, it was a significant step forward.

“I understand the story. To summarize, the Demon King will appear, and I’m the leading candidate to stop him?”

“Yes, as far as I can tell, you’re the most likely candidate.”

“Have you found the Demon King’s location?”

“Not yet. The revelation didn’t provide much information.”

Though the goal was set, not knowing the target’s location was frustrating. He had gained information, but there were still too many gaps.

Gilbert’s thoughts deepened.

[Q&A will proceed based on the given causality. Please visit the Divine Empire’s prayer room.]

But a notification soon appeared, resolving his worries. His next destination was the Divine Empire.

***

“Permission denied!”

Of course, being rejected was just the cherry on top.

 

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