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Many things have changed since I returned to my original timeline.

First of all, I was officially recognized as a saint in the temple. It was only natural after I demonstrated receiving divine power directly from the Goddess of Love in front of numerous people and returning looking like I had just jumped out of the goddess’s sanctuary.

Moreover, after Claudia’s death, Karen gradually uncovered all the blasphemous acts and collusions with One Who Devours the Twilight that had shrouded me in false blame.

Up until this point, everything was as I expected. The problem arose afterward.

With the Pope gone, the high-ranking clergy were shocked to realize that the Pope wasn’t just any ordinary figure, causing disruptions in their existing duties.

Among those duties was the guild responsible for managing the labyrinth.

Naturally, the clans that had been living under the guild’s control began to lift their heads, and once those powerful high-ranking adventurers started to disobey, chaos would surely ensue in Pangrave.

…And I’ve heard it took five years for me, who had been defeated by Claudia and went missing, to return.

Well, I traveled back a thousand years into the past, made a brief pit stop on Earth, and even visited the twisted depths of the labyrinth, so I can’t say five years of time difference is insignificant. It’s a trivial matter, enough for the Goddess of Love—having lived for so long and turned into an infinite reincarnation—to shrug off.

However, while that was one thing, being in a position to wait was different.

When the temple lost its power, clans went on rampages, giving way to a fragmented era led by a few high-ranking adventurers.

Some pro-temple high-ranking adventurers, including Ellie and Lydia, tried to maintain balance, but they couldn’t prevent Pangrave from going to shambles.

In fact, some large clans even collaborated with powerful criminal organizations in the back alleys to control access to the labyrinth.

We were on the brink of an actual war after a millennium.

When I prayed to the goddess to somehow assist this situation, I returned.

And I, who had grown so strong that I could easily break the skull of any high-ranking adventurer through sheer effort, would of course be declared as a saint and the new Pope in the temple.

Well, I only accepted it because it was necessary, but it wasn’t as enjoyable as I had imagined.

“Ah, I want to quit being the Pope.”

“What seems to be the problem this time?”

I was basically the Inquisitor who had been virtually destroyed, except for a few bottom-level members, since everyone turned to Claudia’s side.

But I had gained enlightenment and had become an incredibly strong Inquisitor. I was also the devout believer who first noticed the temple’s rotten corners and aimed to root them out.

Now, with the title of Chief Inquisitor, Karen let out a deep sigh while helping me with various tasks.

“You’re not used to the temple’s duties, so you didn’t delegate your work to the Cardinals, right?”

“Come on. Don’t you understand my grand intention to distribute the centralized power of the Pope and refocus on the temple’s original role of faith?”

“Yet you revised the long-standing law that the Pope must reside in the temple because it’s hard to find people around you when living there.”

“There are blessings from the goddess throughout the world, and our lives are her deeds, so I fear being distant from that true meaning due to space.”

“Didn’t you also change the guild rules so that a high-ranking adventurer who causes trouble can be punished immediately? You found it annoying to report every little incident and seek permission.”

“I thought they’d exercise restraint. Who would have known they’d team up with criminals and charge head-on?”

“That is true. However, last time, they took 80% of the gold and magic stones from the temple’s storage. That’s enough to be the budget of a decent country for three years.”

“Are you saying that what I offer as tribute to the goddess is not worth it?! You saw that I do this out of necessity!”

It seemed I had spent quite a bit of power sending me back into the past and calling me back, resulting in almost half of it being assured one-star quality…

Conversely, that meant that the remaining half—the 40% of the gold and magic stones accumulated by the temple—was all invested in the gacha.

With my newly elevated body capable of housing numerous skills and divine powers, I found myself able to resolve most ordinary problems with sheer force.

At least I didn’t need to concern myself with the three major clan alliances that were now half-militant or the Mage Tower, which had thrown morality out the window and started behaving like lunatics, nor the situation in Pangrave; I had more than enough power to smash the heads of those prototype bipedal assault weapons made by the Workshop Union, taking advantage of the lack of watchful eyes.

By showcasing the overwhelming strength differentiation that prevented incidents, I quickly entered the labyrinth and defeated the Guardian of the Sixth Floor, then cleared the long-blocked Seventh Floor by myself, successfully calming the immediate chaos.

Yeah, for now, the immediate chaos. Perhaps due to the five-year duration, there were still many minor issues left to contend with.

Karen, having listened to my tale, nodded at me with an expressionless face.

“…That is true. However, I’m curious why you’re being so petulant about quit being the Pope when I have done everything you asked.”

“Well, it’s not a big deal…”

I scratched my head and tapped the two black daggers hanging from my waist.

“I just feel anxious that I couldn’t fully clarify the misunderstandings due to being too busy.”

“Is that really just a misunderstanding? I firmly believed you were with the goddess…”

“No, I wasn’t?! I can’t believe that even you don’t trust me!”

“I doubt anyone present believed that.”

Indeed. After being transformed into the Baicon Twin Daggers since observing the time spent in infinite reincarnation due to the divine power, I desperately claimed my innocence to those around me, especially Ellie… yet somehow, nobody seemed to believe me.

They merely showed a complicated smile, as though returning was sufficient.

It’s frustrating. I lacked experiences from the infinite reincarnation era. The black and white landscape I saw in the passage was merely a third-party perspective.

On the surface, Ellie and my party seemed to believe my words, but the atmosphere had become strangely awkward since that day.

Thus, to prove my innocence, I decided to find and acquire a new Unicorn Horn.

Even with the full authority of the Pope, it was challenging to find a species long extinct, but… I managed to secure one recently.

I never anticipated I’d claim myself a virgin so vehemently.

Of course, being in a male-dominated world means there are several ways to measure a man’s virginity.

The most prominent one is the guarantee received from the temple. It’s the most reliable method since it’s measured by the goddess’s power, but… in my case, since the counterpart is presumed to be the goddess, it loses its persuasiveness.

Besides that, there are some advanced magical devices like highly evolved lie detectors that delve into personal perceptions.

But perhaps due to being a vessel for the God of Madness, the mind-altering magical devices failed miserably.

In the end, by process of elimination, I arrived at the option of acquiring a Unicorn Horn.

Naturally, the newly procured Unicorn Horn could not observe my experiences during my infinite reincarnation; thus, it deemed me a virgin.

“Sigh. What’s the point of being the Pope? It just causes more virginity controversies.”

“The others seem to know you’re dealing with the goddess, so they don’t gossip about it… but anyway, what should we do this time?”

Now seeming slightly annoyed, Karen rummaged through documents.

Having already exhausted about half of today’s workload, I stood up from the oversized goddess statue that served as my seat.

“I’m taking a vacation!”

“……”

“Give, give it to me, please?”

“……”

After looking at me for a moment, Karen chuckled and nodded.

“I think that’s okay. Most of those rude people who initially approached you while brandishing swords have ‘become nicer’ now.”

The way she put it sounded somewhat intimidating.

“Well, regardless, the urgent fire has been put out, so it’s probably fine for you to take a break while we take care of the remaining cleanup. Just don’t completely quit.”

“Really? It’s not like the temple will fall apart if I’m not around, right?”

“With how little you actually work, what do you mean?”

“…….”

That’s a valid point, but why does it sting just a little?

Maybe it’s the result of five years of mental turmoil, or perhaps it’s just Karen being tired from overwhelming workloads, but she seemed to have lost her filter.

Pouting my lips, I shrank the life-sized goddess statue into a palm-sized version and lightly stretched.

After checking my attire one last time, I spoke up.

“Then I’ll be away for around ten days, so please don’t contact me unless it’s truly urgent.”

“Understood. However, how will you reach us for urgent matters?”

“Hmm.”

The first person I should probably meet is Ellie.

“Please come to Fairy and Silver Coin. Alternatively, if you offer a prayer to the goddess, she might convey it to me.”

“…You can’t just utilize the goddess like a messenger. I’ll be visiting Fairy and Silver Coin if anything happens, so don’t ignore me.”

“I got it, okay?”

Waving cheerfully at Karen, I left the temple.

***

Though I had tried to simplify my attire for easier movement, perhaps due to the dazzling Pope’s garments, nearly half the people passing by recognized me and knelt.

So, I quickly turned back and changed into clothes suitable for poor assistance.

“It’s been a while.”

I wore the tattered clothes I used to wear back in my orphan days, nearly on the verge of having holes.

Using my now-familiar beauty powers, I made sure to appear as unkempt as possible and headed toward Fairy and Silver Coin.

The atmosphere of the street had changed significantly since I last saw it.

“Five years, huh…”

The awkwardness between me and Ellie’s party was likely partly due to the Baicon Twin Daggers, but I couldn’t overlook the influence of the past five years either.

In Historia, I confirmed that I was 15 years old. Now that five years have passed, I’m legally an adult.

In other words, nothing should stand between Ellie and me anymore.

Ensuring the feeling of the Unicorn Horn in my possession and the sensation of the lighter, I hurried my steps.

 

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