The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 119 Princess
At the age of twenty-four or twenty-five, she had fair skin, a pair of willow-leaf eyes that gave her a unique charm, a straight nose, and slightly thin lips. Her face was almost flawless.

Princess Natalia's exquisite face is unforgettable for anyone who has played "Thorns of the Crown." For a considerable period of time, she was the focus of the login screen; you could see her as soon as you opened the game.

Compared to her future self, she now possesses less of that solemn and aloof air, her expression relaxed and natural, giving off a warm and welcoming feeling.

Eric couldn't help but feel relaxed.

The moment he saw Natalia's face, he was reminded of the relaxed and expectant feeling he used to have when he got home from get off work and started playing the game...

She was dressed as a commoner, presumably having disguised herself so she could freely stroll around the celebration.

After being stared at by him for a few moments, Natalia asked, "Do you know me?"

Since she had said that, Eric saw no need to pretend he didn't know her. "Of course I know you, Princess Natalia..."

"Shh." The young princess held up a finger and smiled. "Mia and I came out quietly, don't tell anyone."

Eric nodded in agreement, glancing at the little girl behind her.

Mia... is she the emperor's daughter?

She was only about twelve or thirteen years old. He had never seen her in the game. She must have been killed by stones thrown by trolls along with the emperor during their escape.

Eric bowed and smiled at her, as a gesture of respect.

The little princess returned the smile, but her face quickly turned red.

Natalia glanced at him a few more times and couldn't help but ask, "Which family in Lutia are you from? I think I've seen you before, but I can't remember where."

“The one you met should be my sister, Eileen.” Eric glanced at the demon princess who hadn’t spoken since, and made a gesture. “We are from the Seventh Family. I am Eric.”

In the Delan Empire, the only noble families that can be directly referred to by numerical sequence are the families of the twelve founding knights, with the seventh being the Gimino.

Upon hearing this, Natalia immediately understood. "No wonder I hadn't seen you before... Oh, right, I saw your sister at Duke Leo's mansion. You and your sister do look very alike."

Eric smiled. "That's what everyone who's met us says."

Natalia thought for a moment, then frowned, "If you're from that family, then you should be here right now..."

Eric immediately raised his finger, just as she had done before, to signal her to stop talking. "Like you, I came out in private."

Natalia immediately smiled, feeling that the distance between them had shortened considerably. "Then you're more capable than me. You've traveled to quite a few places, from over there to here."

Eric smiled but didn't say anything.

He'd said enough of the pleasantries... Normally, he wouldn't mind chatting with this beautiful and easygoing princess a bit longer, but today he was busy tying people up.

But Her Highness the Princess was very curious about him. "There was quite a bit of discussion among the nobles of Lutia about you taking your sister's place back then. I never expected to meet you in person today. May I ask you a few questions?"

Bitter...

Eric looked at Kiraya and found that she wasn't very impatient. Instead, she was staring intently at Natalia and Mia behind her, seemingly lost in thought.

“There are many people around here, and our conversation might be overheard. Please ask your questions discreetly,” Eric said.

Natalia gave her a knowing smile, her interest piqued. "You should know what I most want to ask."

“I just saw your brother over there in the meeting room, and he asked the same question.”

Natalia looked somewhat surprised.

“My answer is the same as before: it’s God’s arrangement,” Eric said.

The eldest princess tilted her head slightly, "Is this how you say it, or..."

Eric shook his head. "That's just how it is."

She frowned and thought for a while when the little princess behind her suddenly tugged at her arm. She realized that she had lingered there for too long.

"I couldn't help but ask a few more questions, I hope Mr. Eric doesn't mind."

Eric shook his head.

"Are you just wandering around here?" Natalia asked again.

"almost."

The eldest princess naturally extended an invitation, "Then let's go together, and talk as we walk."

"..."

Eric looked at her. "Isn't this a bit inconvenient?"

“It’s alright.” Natalia smiled. “Mia and I were just strolling around casually. Having someone with us helps us avoid a lot of trouble.”

She was probably referring to the person who approached her.

The problem is that it's not very convenient for him.

Eric looked at Kiraya and found that she was indeed very interested in the two princesses, aunt and niece, and kept staring at them.

Could she know them?
"I don't want it anymore." Kiraya suddenly dropped the things she had bought earlier, then grabbed Eric's hand and looked at the other two.

Natalia then realized that the dark elf girl was related to him. "Mr. Eric, who is this?"

Before Eric could speak, Kiraya interrupted, "He is my bodyguard."

“I met this lone dark elf lady on the road and agreed to be her bodyguard for a day,” Eric explained.

Natalia glanced at Kiraya a couple more times, somewhat curious, but didn't ask any further questions.

Kiraya was no longer in a hurry to go back, so Eric saw no need to take her away and kidnap her at this time—especially in front of the two royal princesses.

Meeting Kiraya here was an accident, and since she already trusted him completely, Eric decided to wait and see.

A quasi-saintess and a princess, each accompanied by a little princess from the demon race and a little princess from the human race, strolled around the celebration.

The two older individuals naturally had more to talk about.

“A long time ago, I also went to the place where Mr. Eric came from,” Natalia said. “The old man even invited me to practice there for a short period of time.”

"Your Highness... how are you feeling?"

“It sounds like it would be quite interesting if it were just for a few days.” Natalia thought for a moment and added, “I have a few friends who are still training there. Do you know them?”

She gave several noble surnames, all of which Eric recognized and matched with her own. The princess was pleasantly surprised, as if he had become an old friend she had known for a long time.

"So you live with them too?"

"...Of course not. I live with that old man, but I have my own separate place to live."

Eric talked about daily life in the convent, and Natalia became more and more interested as she listened, even asking, "When are you going back? I'd like to go with you and continue my spiritual practice for a while longer."

She didn't understand the real significance of the prospective saint returning to the convent, and Eric didn't say much either, only that he wouldn't be going back anytime soon.

Natalia wanted to ask something more, but Mia, who was beside her, tugged at her arm, indicating that she wanted something from the carriage in front.

She glanced at it twice, then looked down and said, "Didn't we agree that we were just coming out to take a look?"

"But I want..."

Natalia hesitated for a moment, then said to her niece, "You can't take it back, okay? Just leave it with me. Come over when you want to play with it. Otherwise, if your mother finds out, she'll definitely blame me for secretly bringing you out."

Mia nodded quickly.

She had her eye on a small toy similar to a Russian nesting doll. Eric had just bought a similar one for Kiraya—which she had already thrown away—also made of wood and painted with different patterns and designs.

"How much?" Natalia was different from the demon princesses living in the Demon Realm; she at least knew that you had to pay for things.

“Two gold coins from the Supreme God, beautiful lady,” the traveling merchant beside the carriage replied.

Natalia tilted her head, seemingly surprised by the price, but said nothing and quickly paid.

You've been killed, Your Highness.

Eric watched silently.

However, the royal family is not short of money, so it can be considered as taking from the people and using it for the people...

Upon receiving the toy, Natalia opened it herself and quickly discovered the secret behind the patterns.

"So, the outermost layer depicts the hero King Wutu?"

Seeing her ancestors depicted in such a strange and unusual way on this little thing, Natalia was both amused and exasperated.

Inside, nested within each other, are the twelve knights under the command of the King of Heroes.

These matryoshka dolls are quite suitable for telling heroic legends from the founding period of the empire.

Natalia continued disassembling until she got the layer with the Knight of Chimino, then took it out in front of Eric and waved it around a couple of times.

"...It doesn't seem like it."

Their gazes shifted from the matryoshka dolls to each other's faces, and they both smiled.

Natalia's interest ended there, and she handed the matryoshka doll to her niece.

Princess Mia seemed to be dealing with something like this for the first time, and continued to unpack it until she opened the last nesting doll and found nothing inside. She immediately felt a sense of disappointment as her expectations were dashed.

"Auntie, I don't want it anymore..."

“Don’t be stubborn, Mia,” Natalia said, looking at her. “I only bought it because you said you wanted it.”

Mia held a pile of disassembled matryoshka doll shells, looking somewhat lost.

“Pack it up, I can take it back for you,” Natalia said, adopting her aunt’s authority. “Otherwise, just throw it away, and I won’t buy it for you again next time.”

"Ok."

Taking apart the matryoshka dolls is easy, but putting them back together is not so simple. Mia compared the chaotic patterns and barely noticeable size differences between the shells, and sweat began to bead on her forehead. Just then, Kiraya, who had been watching from the sidelines, suddenly stepped in and helped her put them back together.

Mia looked at her.

The two did not exchange a word, and Eric watched silently from above them.

In the original history, Mia died early, and the two princesses of the demon race and the human race should not have had any interaction.

However, it was Natalia who issued the quest that sent players to Kiraya to extract information about the demons.

Eric took a slow breath.

With Kiraya's help, the matryoshka doll was quickly reassembled. Mia first looked up at her aunt and Eric, then at Kiraya, a smile blooming on her face. "Thank you."

Kiraya couldn't help but smile, but she quickly suppressed it.

Natalia suddenly moved closer to Eric and asked in a low voice, "Is this dark elf lady a friend of His Highness Eric?"

Eric glanced at the little witch beside him and lowered his voice as well: "Her identity is rather special. I will explain it to His Highness if there is an opportunity."

Natalia looked at him. "Could anyone be more special than us?"

Eric nodded.

Yes, Your Highness, yes.

"Okay." Seeing that he didn't want to explain further, Natalia didn't ask any more questions.

The two princesses, who are closer in age, began to break the ice after their earlier interaction.

"what's your name?"

"...Kira."

"My name is Mia."

"I heard."

Mia stared at her face for a while, then looked at the hood on her head. "Why do you always wear this? Are you afraid of getting sunburned?"

Kiana cautiously pulled her hood tighter. "It's none of your business."

"All right……"

Although Kiraya was more wary, the two still managed to exchange a few words.

Eric kept an eye on their conversation to prevent Kiraya from accidentally revealing her identity, while chatting casually with the princess, without stopping his steps.

"I heard the sound of horses' hooves. The racers must be coming this way soon. Let's go take a look."

"it is good."

The four men arrived at the side of the track, and the rapid sound of hooves grew louder and louder. The leading riders soon appeared at the corner of the road ahead and galloped past them in the blink of an eye.

After a while, the remaining riders also ran over one after another.

Natalia then slipped through a gap in the track fence. "Speaking of which, Mr. Eric, didn't you come out with your sister today?"

"...Eileen is over at the venue." Eric was still having a headache. He had left Eileen behind for quite a while, and the demon princess here still hadn't found a proper solution.

“Really?” Natalia’s eyes lit up. “I’d like to see Miss Eileen. I’m a little tired anyway, let’s go over there and rest for a while.”

Before Eric could say anything, Mia had already taken Kiraya's hand. "Let's go to the venue together. My father and mother are there."

Kiraya was somewhat resistant, "No, I don't know them."

“You definitely know him,” Mia said with a smug smile. “My father is the emperor of the empire!”

Kiraya's expression changed immediately, and she broke free from her hand.

"Are you the emperor's daughter?"

Her change in attitude caught Mia off guard. She looked at her, then at her aunt, "Yes... I am Princess Mia, my father's favorite princess."

Perhaps provoked by the words "favorite," Kiraya glared fiercely at her, her expression startling Natalia, who instinctively stepped in front of her niece.

"Mr. Eric, this is..."

"I'm sorry, but she doesn't seem to like your royal family very much."

Eric found it difficult to explain, but this was a good opportunity to separate himself from the royal aunt and niece.

He looked at Natalia. "I'm very pleased to have met Princess Natalia and Princess Mia, but let's leave it at that for today. I must take this dark elf lady back."

Natalia hadn't expected things to turn out this way, and frowned. But seeing Eric nod slightly to her, she had no choice but to agree, letting out a rather regretful sigh.

"Ok."

She glanced at Kiraya again, then pulled Mia, who was anxious and wanted to say something to her.

Eric bowed, and the royal aunt and niece said goodbye to him and left in the other direction.

Watching the two walk away, he turned to Kiraya and asked, "Miss Kiraya, don't you like them?"

"Yes, I hate them!"

Recalling their previous encounter, the demon princess realized that he had recognized their identities long ago. "You actually helped them keep it from me!"

“I had no idea about this before.”

Eric protested his innocence, saying, "After all, they are the emperor's daughters. If I were to reveal their identities while they were out having fun in private, I would be blamed."

Kiraya paused for a moment, probably thinking of her own situation and feeling empathy, and her dissatisfaction with him subsided slightly.

"What is the daughter of a human emperor? Coward. You are my guard now."

"But I am, after all, human, and subject to the rule of an emperor."

Eric lowered his head, adopting a stern demeanor, and then asked, "But why do you dislike them? Has the royal family affected the lives of you dark elves?"

Kiraya's face darkened. "My mother was killed by them."

Eric glanced at her.

As far as he knew, the demons lived in tribes in that cruel, icy land, and even the demon king's women had to serve as warriors to protect their tribes.

Perhaps her mother lost her life during one of the Black Ice Wall garrison's raids—until the demon army rallied for a surprise attack, the small garrison there would still periodically sweep through nearby demon tribes, whether real or deceptive bait thrown out by the Demon King.

For the demons, this blood debt should naturally be attributed to the emperor of the empire.

Even though most of humanity has forgotten the threat from the far north, this hatred will not disappear and will, in the not-too-distant future, transform into real war, sweeping across this land once more...

Kiraya suddenly chased after Natalia and her niece in the direction they had gone.

Eric was startled and quickly followed, stopping her. "Where are you going, Miss Kiraya?"

"I want to see what your emperor looks like."

"You won't do anything reckless, will you?"

She frowned. "What nonsense?"

It seems she wasn't acting on impulse; she wasn't planning to assassinate the emperor.

However, Eric was still a little worried. "The defenses over there are very tight; you won't be able to get in."

"Can't you go in?" Kiraya looked at him.

It seems she absorbed quite a bit of his conversation with Natalia.

Eric shrugged. "I only got in once by sheer luck. There won't be a second chance."

Kiraya frowned. "Then I'll just look around from outside. If I can't see anything, that's fine too."

Eric tried to say a few more words of advice, but she impatiently left him behind and went on her way.

He could only keep up.

When they arrived near the venue, the two wandered around for a while. Eric also looked around carefully and breathed a slight sigh of relief—the people inside couldn't be seen at all from the outside.

Inside sat the princes and nobles of Lutia, and with guards patrolling the perimeter at all times, the venue was designed to prevent assassination attempts from the outside.

Unless the people inside run out on their own.

As Eric was thinking this, a giant carriage pulled by seven or eight horses slowly drove out of the venue.

The elaborately designed parade carriage was gleaming with gold, magnificent and tall, and sitting on it was the emperor's family waving, including Natalia and Mia, who had changed their clothes.

The crowd surged forward, standing on both sides of the road to watch and cheer for the emperor.

Eric suddenly realized he could no longer see Kiraya.

"Kira!"

The next moment, the noisy crowd suddenly let out a unified scream.

He subconsciously turned his head to look at the emperor in the carriage.

The emperor was unharmed, but he was somewhat taken aback and panicked.

The empress beside him had already curled up and collapsed.

"Mother!"

The first sound coming from the carriage was Princess Mia's scream.

(End of this chapter)