The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 161 New Year
In June of Gaia 731, the Papacy obtained evidence that the Imperial High Priest and Archbishop of Lutia, Simmagu, was colluding with the demons. They secretly dispatched the Knights of the Lesel to Lutia to arrest him.
In July, facing the siege of the Papal Knights, Sinmag fought back fiercely. The saintess Eileen Kimino, who was bewitched by him, used a world-destroying magic to destroy nearly half of the capital and cover Sinmag's escape. This event is known as the "July Magical Transformation".
In August, the Black Ice Great Wall on the far northern border of the Delan Empire fell, and the demon army marched south.

At the end of Gaia 731, the vanguard of the demon race captured Lutia, and the Delan Empire existed in name only.

……

On the first day of Gaia year 731, Eric awoke in his hotel bed. The pursuers from all sides had vanished without a trace. The endless hunt for him and Eileen was just a nightmare. He was now whole and had all his limbs intact. His sister, whom he wanted to protect, should be safely learning magic in Lutia.

"..."

Sitting up, Eric rubbed his face a few times. As his heartbeat gradually calmed down, he didn't even dare to enjoy the relief that it was a false alarm.

Even though it was the coldest time of the year, he was so scared that he broke out in a sweat.

When he became more lucid, he realized that the sweat on his body was more likely from the fire crystals that were almost piled up on the bed.

"...Where did all these fire crystals come from?"

The combined heat from dozens of activated fire crystals was more effective than the fully-equipped electric blanket he had in his previous life.

Eric had absolutely no recollection of putting these things on his bed before going to sleep last night.

last night……

Eric sat there for a while.

He discovered that he had no memory of even going to bed.

Her last memory seems to be having New Year's Eve dinner with Elise and Molly.

"hiss……"

His head started to ache at just the right moment, reminding him that he had drunk quite a bit of alcohol the night before.

"It's fatal..."

It was so hot to hold that Eric simply shook the fire crystal off the bed and onto the floor, where it clattered and rattled for a while.

He looked out the window and estimated it was already nine or ten in the morning.

Eric got out of bed and went to the window to look out. The human-shaped streetlights that had filled the entire street yesterday were nowhere to be seen; there were only ordinary pedestrians.

It would be inappropriate to continue New Year's Eve customs into the first day of the new year.

He glanced around and noticed someone watching him. When their eyes met, the person spoke up, "Mr. Eric, what service do you need?"

Eric realized after a while that the man was a hotel waiter who had probably been startled by the noise Eric made when he shook out the fire crystal and had been watching him for a long time.

“It’s nothing.” Eric waved his hand, and the waiter bowed respectfully before going back inside.

"It's strange, shouldn't they come up and knock on the door..."

Eric muttered something, and then there was a knock on the door.

He went to open the door, but it was Elise who was outside.

Eric yawned and let her in. "How did we get back?"

“I helped Molly back, and I paid the hotel staff to carry Your Highness back,” Elise said.

Eric was taken aback. "So they put these fire crystals in there too?"

Elise glanced at the fire crystal on the floor. "I put it there."

"Oh...it's fine, just a bit too much."

"Isn't it because I'm afraid Your Highness will freeze to death in the middle of the night and never see the person you want to see?"

"Who do you want to see..." Eric looked at her for a moment, "Why do you sound so sarcastic?"

Elise didn't say anything, but instead rolled her eyes at him even more blatantly.

Eric asked in surprise, "Did I throw up on you yesterday?"

"..."

Elise remained silent for a long while before finally sighing.

"No. Your Highness, don't overthink it. I just gave you all the fire crystals and didn't sleep well last night."

"Then pick up a few pieces and take them home."

Elise ignored him and had nothing else to say, then turned and went back to her room.

Eric picked up the dozen or so fire crystals from the ground. A moment later, there was another knock on the door, and this time it was Molly. "My head hurts so much... How much did I drink last night?"

"Who knows, but there's a lot."

"I feel like I'm completely out of consciousness." Molly sat down at the table. "You didn't take advantage of me, did you?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I've had too much to drink."

She looked at him. "So, you were the one who groped me last night?"

"...It's Elise. She helped you back."

"Oh." Molly seemed a little disappointed.

She casually picked up a fire crystal from the table, only to recoil from the heat, before realizing what these stones were.

"You need so many fire crystals to sleep alone? Is this the kind of extravagance a noble young master has?"

Molly was making a racket, and Eric couldn't help but facepalm, feeling like he was still in a dream from which he couldn't wake up.

“Where’s Elise? I think I heard her voice before I came here,” Molly asked.

"I'm going back to my room. I probably didn't get enough sleep, so I'm catching up on my nap," Eric said, feeling that he also needed to go back to bed for a while.

Molly lay down on his bed first, saying, "I haven't had enough sleep either. Your bed is warmer. Let me sleep here for a bit."

"You can take a few fire crystals back with you."

She didn't speak, but turned to face inside. After a while, she turned back and stared at him without moving.

When Eric looked over, she looked away and stared at the ceiling. "We drank a lot last night, and it was quite fun... but we were so focused on drinking that we got drunk too quickly."

Her tone was tinged with regret, yet also with a sense of unfinished business.

“There’s always one day a year when you can let loose.” Eric looked out the window again.

"Only one day?"

"It depends."

"Shall we continue today?"

"forget it."

Molly stared, but he didn't look at her; he just rested his chin on his hand and gazed out the window.

"Go back to your room and get some rest. We'll be heading back to North Town in a couple of days to continue our adventures."

She responded with a sound, but didn't move. After a while, she became completely still.

Eric looked over and found that she was indeed lying down asleep.

He didn't call her, but left the room to find Elise and ask her if she wanted something to eat.

Okay. Where's Molly?

"On my bed."

"..."

"Fell asleep."

Elise insisted on going to his room to take a look, and when she found that Molly was really just lying on his bed asleep, she stood with her hands on her hips and glared at her for a while, but didn't wake her up either, and went downstairs with Eric to get something to eat.

The two ate for a while each.

"It feels so quiet today."

"Ah."

“That’s how it was right after I left Lutia,” Elise added.

Eric recalled, "You were quite reserved back then."

Elise looked up at him. "His Highness told me to be more casual."

“Hmm.” Eric picked up the water glass next to him and clinked it against hers. “Very well done, keep it up.”

(End of this chapter)