The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 175 has been extensively revised.
When Eric woke up again, he was still a little unaccustomed to the room he was in.

A few days ago, he had already moved into the spacious main room of the St. Mary's Abode.

Everything here was brand new, leaving no trace of the former saintess, but deep in his heart, this room belonged to that old woman.

Eric is now beginning to understand what the saint meant when she said he arrived just in time, yet too early.

Because they arrived too early, a deep affection, akin to kinship, developed between the two generations of saintesses. When the inevitable separation came, it only added to their sorrow, which was not a good thing for the successor.

He should make it clear to everyone in the convent and the entire city as soon as possible that he is the new master of the convent.

In reality, the ceremony that would have truly announced his identity as the successor to the saintess has not yet been held.

In the past two days, even the people from the Papal Palace have become too lazy to remind or urge us anymore.

Eric was deliberately stalling.

After sitting up for a while, he raised his voice and said, "Have Alena come over."

A response came from outside, followed by the sound of light footsteps fading into the distance.

Alena and Sophie still live in their original rooms in the adjacent building. Eric himself has not yet truly ascended to the throne and is not even twenty years old, so naturally he has no intention of choosing an heir. For the time being, only they live there.

A short while later, Alena arrived at the Saintess's quarters.

"Your Highness the Saint."

Eric was somewhat unaccustomed to this form of address, but Alena began to call him that after the saint's burial and insisted that everyone in the monastery must address him in full to emphasize the change in his actual status.

"How are the adjustments to the ceremony procedures going?"

"Sister Gabi and I are still discussing it, and it's almost finished."

“Let me see it first.” Eric paused. “Alright, let me see the parts you’ve agreed on so far. I’m afraid you’ll go too far and make His Holiness the Pope feel invisible.”

“Your Highness, please rest assured, we understand your meaning,” Alena said, then went to retrieve the unfinished ritual procedures.

Eric got up before she returned.

"So many days have passed, Eileen and the others should be arriving in Lesser soon..."

He arrived at the spacious hall where he used to meet the saintess, and now he was the one sitting at the head of the table.

A moment later, Alena arrived with a revised plan for the ceremony.

Unfortunately, when it came to his turn, the Pope wanted to eliminate the special status of the saintess's position and gradually reclaim power. Under normal circumstances, reclaiming power wouldn't have been such a big deal for Eric, but the problem was that the demons were coming soon.

He must firmly grasp the power that the saintess should have, so as to preserve and expand his own power in the coming chaos.

The Pope's initial probing seemed to have ended in failure, but Eric was reminded of something:
If the Pope wanted to diminish the special status of the saints by holding the succession ceremony at the Apostolic Palace, he changed the ceremony's procedures to weaken the Pope's presence at the Sainte's Convent—the original ceremony included many steps where the saints swore allegiance to the Pope.

“Your Highness, please look.” Alena stepped forward.

An original process and an improved process were laid out in front of Eric for him to compare and review.

He glanced at it and noticed that the papal address at the very beginning of the ceremony had been removed.

It was very bold, but Eric didn't see anything wrong with it.

The tradition of papal addresses originated from the initial establishment of the office of saints, a decision made by the Pope at that time, so naturally he had to speak. Later, the sainthood was passed down naturally, and this tradition became unnecessary.

He continued reading and soon exclaimed, "Is this the original ritual procedure from over two hundred years ago?"

“Yes.” Alena nodded.

"No wonder there are so many parts expressing gratitude to the Pope and the Vatican."

Eric flipped through the pages. "It's a good thing they deleted it. Otherwise, I would feel sick to read those lines. What about 'Although we are not related by blood, His Majesty is my biological father in the church'? Could the old lady Saint Sagittarius have really said that back then?"

Alena lowered her head: "When the Convent of Saint Mary was first established, most of the decisions were made by the Papacy. These documents may have been written by monks sent by the Apostolic Palace."

“That makes sense.” Eric continued reading.

The Pope's role in the ceremony wasn't completely cut, but Alena and Gabi cleverly adjusted it, making the remaining mentions of the Pope all connected to God and the Church as a whole, thus making the Pope less unique.

After the simplification, the ceremony process has also been shortened considerably. What used to take at least an hour can now be completed in about half an hour.

Upon seeing the latest revisions, Eric closed the program, quite satisfied.

"The last ceremony for the succession of a saint was more than sixty years ago. Does that mean that no one in the current Vatican has ever participated in this ceremony?"

Alena paused for a moment, then quickly nodded and continued:

"And no matter what the ceremony is, it will not be copied exactly from the last one. At least some minor adjustments will be made. That's why the Papal Palace has been urging us to provide the ceremony procedures as soon as possible so that we can familiarize ourselves with them as soon as possible."

"Okay, let's finalize it as soon as possible and let them familiarize themselves with it."

Eric smiled. "I used a decoy to make the Vatican think I was waiting for Eileen to arrive, which is why I kept delaying. They probably won't notice anything wrong with the new ritual procedure for a while."

Alena nodded. "We'll be able to confirm it today. I'll bring it over for Her Highness to confirm again before sunset."

Eric instinctively turned his head behind him, then suddenly realized that he was sitting at the highest point, and that the "Her Highness" she was referring to was him.

"……Um."

The vague excitement suddenly dissipated, turning into a sense of weariness that one had to do.

After Alena left, Eric sat on the high platform, gazing down at the scene below, lost in thought for a while. Then he had someone summon Sophie to accompany him to the Saintess Palace to make his presence felt.

There are indeed many things that require his final decision now.

After the old saint passed away, High Sister Gabi reclaimed all her power, and how it would be arranged afterward depended on Eric's wishes.

"Your Highness—"

Upon entering the palace of the Virgin Mary, the ladies-in-waiting bowed to him.

Eric walked around, looked around, said a few words to Gabi, and then took Sophie up the Tower of Saintess.

The small room at the top of the tower now truly belonged to him.

Eric had the books that were mainly used for decoration moved downstairs and replaced with his own favorites. He also set up a weapon rack and a protective gear rack on each side of the bookshelf, displaying swords and armor that might not be very useful, but were certainly good-looking.

Sophie looked around at the completely changed environment, her gaze shifting back and forth before finally settling on the swords and armor.

“Only Your Highness would keep these things in your study at the top of the tower.” At Alena’s request, she also chose to insist on using the full form of address.

Eric leaned back in his chair and glanced at where she had stopped. "If there are no figurines, this will have to do."

"A figurine?" Sophie turned to look at him.

"It's just something to be displayed."

“Your Highness could… Your Highness could put a few smaller statues of Yera on the bookshelf,” Sophie suggested.

Eric looked up. "Then when you sit on me, you'll be facing those idols."

"..."

Sophie blushed and stopped lingering in the corner. She came over and hugged his neck from behind.

"Are you feeling better now...? I haven't dared to get too close to you lately."

Eric took her hand. "Like you, I will always remember the saintess, but life must go on."

"Mmm..." Sophie hugged him even tighter.

After a while, seeing that Eric didn't move, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his face, "Your Highness, then now..."

"Jia Bi will definitely come up later."

"...Yes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of the magic elevator descending reached the room.

"..."

The two exchanged a glance, and Sophie leaned forward again, giving him a light kiss on the lips. Then she pulled away from him and straightened her nun's habit, which was perfectly neat.

Soon, High Sister Jabi and two female officials arrived with a pile of documents that Her Highness needed to confirm.

A large number of documents were piled up on the desk, a significant portion of which needed Eric's immediate review.

He took a breath and started working.

At the beginning of his tenure, he had to do these things personally before he could let go.

Because her power had been taken back, Jia Bi was much more relaxed and just waited on the side.

After confirming some of the more urgent matters one by one, Eric breathed a sigh of relief and picked out two, saying, "These can be decided by Alena later."

Jia Bi lowered her head, her expression unchanged, "Yes, Your Highness."

Eric didn't even look at her, picking up the next document. "Of course, I won't let Sister Gabi be idle either."

The elder nun responded again.

Carrying the confirmed emergency documents, Jia Bi and the two female officials went downstairs.

Eric slumped to the ground, saying, "You make all the decisions, no matter how trivial."

"Because Her Highness is Her Highness, these are matters that only Her Highness can decide."

"What are you babbling about? Let me hug you."

"..."

Sophie blushed, but the corners of her mouth curved up. She quickly sat on his lap and hugged his head.

Eric buried his face in her chest and breathed a few times, then put his arm around her waist and made no further move.

Sophie lowered her head and gently stroked his face. "Is Your Highness already tired?"

“It’s not that tiring, after all, I’ve been involved in this kind of thing for a year or two.” Eric relaxed. “It’s just that the thought of having to deal with this for the rest of my life makes me feel listless.”

Sophie sat completely on his lap, facing him directly.

"Those old cardinals in the Cardinals have worked hard their whole lives, and what they want is the kind of boring power Your Highness has now."

“That’s true.” Eric smiled, pulled her closer, and kissed her lips.

"Well……"

Sophie responded with her eyes closed, and soon she leaned back on the desk.

With her by her side in the Saintess Tower, neither the former prospective saintess nor the current saintess ever truly felt bored.

After he finished, Eric suddenly walked to the window and stared down at the view for a few moments.

Sophie was still lying on the desk, tidying up for a while with her legs spread, then turned to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"Just now, when you were shouting the loudest, it seemed like a messenger flew past below."

“…Your Highness!” Sophie’s face flushed, because when she was engrossed in the tower, she often lost control of herself.

“It’s alright.” Eric turned around and smiled. “No messenger has ever dared to fly as high as these two towers.”

Sophie got off the table, straightened her clothes, squeezed in front of him, and looked down as well.

Eric pulled off her disheveled headscarf, buried his face in her hair, and sniffed the scent.

"Your Highness, shall we go down?"

“Did you think I came up here just to get intimate with you?” Eric raised his head again and put the headscarf back on her.

Sophie turned her head and saw a pile of documents on the desk where they were arguing, which needed his confirmation.

The two didn't come down from the tower until the afternoon.

Around three or four o'clock, someone came into the city to report that Her Highness the Holy Maiden's sister and her entourage had arrived in the outer city.

“Please let them in…” Alena paused, now that she was the saint’s representative, “I will go with you.”

Once outside the inner city, the group was waiting for her at their residence in the outer city. She went to find them, and she recognized three of them.

“Miss Eileen, Captain Leslie…and Miss Alan.”

Her gaze swept over them, and Alena bowed to them, saying, "Her Highness the Holy Maiden invites you into the city."

"Does Her Highness refer to Eric?" Eileen asked.

"Yes, Miss Eileen."

“It was supposed to be me, but Eric stole it from me. How awful!” The former saintess, who had become much more lively, turned to her companions and said this, but Alena could only pretend not to hear.

The group followed her into the inner city, and outside the monastery, Eric was already waiting.

"Eric!" Eileen rushed over.

Eric caught his sister and smiled at the four of them, saying, "You've finally arrived. Even the Pope is waiting for you."

Apart from Eileen, the other three were almost unable to move upon hearing this.

"Is His Holiness the Pope also waiting for us in the monastery?" Leslie asked in a trembling voice.

“No, that’s not it.” Eric smiled. “Come in.”

The group entered the monastery, with Elise and Molly lagging behind.

“That nun…” Molly leaned close to Elise, her voice very low, “the one with the big breasts, is she Eric’s lover?”

“No.” Elise glanced at her sideways. “I’ve reminded you many times, this is the Holy City, watch your words.”

Molly immediately said she wouldn't talk nonsense.

As they entered the monastery, she couldn't help but say, "He looked like a completely different person in those clothes."

Elise paused for a moment; she felt the same way.

“I originally wanted to invite my uncle to the ceremony, but he lives too far away and is too busy to come,” Eric said to Eileen beside him.

Eileen was also disappointed, and then asked, "Are they really waiting for us?"

"more or less."

Eric looked back. Alena met his gaze, waiting for instructions. Leslie had a tense expression, not daring to look around. At the back, Elise and Molly were huddled together, talking about something. When he looked over, they both met his gaze.

After leading them to the St. Mary's Abbey, Eric first said to Alena, "Now we can send the ceremony proceedings to the Papal Palace."

“Yes, Your Highness.” Alena turned to make the arrangements.

Upon arriving at the main hall of the retreat, Eric didn't sit at the head of the table; instead, he sat down below with his closest friends and family.

"Leslie, you'll have to make do tonight and stay with the Knights. There are still empty rooms available over there."

“I understand! Young Master… uh, Your Highness,” Leslie said hastily. He was already lucky to have gotten into this nun-only convent; he hadn’t expected to stay there that night.

Eric nodded and chatted with him for a few more minutes about what had happened in the past six months. He was secretly pleased to hear him marvel at the amazing changes in his abilities.

You should talk to someone who knows about these things.

“Earl Edgar probably didn’t have the same talent as you, young master.”

When his uncle was mentioned, Eric became much more modest, saying, "That's different..."

"Eric—"

Eileen's voice came from behind him. He turned around and found his sister sitting at the very top.

"Shouldn't I be sitting here instead?"

"Yes."

Eileen opened her arms. "Does it still matter if I say it here now?"

Eric laughed, "It only works for me and Leslie."

"All right!"

Eric then looked at Molly and Elise.

"You must be exhausted from traveling all the way from Tallinn to Lutia and then here."

“It’s alright,” Elise said. “We’re just traveling by carriage anyway.”

She looked at him. "How is Your Highness?"

Eric nodded to her, and Elise smiled slightly and nodded back.

"You were scared, weren't you?" He then looked at Molly.

"I was startled..." Molly glared at him quietly. "What should I call you now, Your Highness or Young Master?"

"Go out as you please, but here you have to call me Your Highness..." Eric suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder; it was Eileen getting down again.

She clung to his shoulder, "Do I have to call you that too?"

"As you wish."

"Haha."

After a while, Alena returned and reported to Apostolic Palace that they had received the ceremony proceedings.

"Hmm. Did they say anything over there?"

"The monks over there complained that holding the ceremony tomorrow morning was too rushed."

“Anyway, there’s not much for them to prepare,” Eric said.

Alena nodded. "That's what I said too."

“Alright.” Eric clasped his hands together. “Let’s get the monastery ready as soon as possible.”

"It has been arranged."

Eric smiled with satisfaction and stared at Alena's swaying lower body for a while as she left.

His gaze shifted again, and he met the probing eyes of Elise and Molly respectively.

"..."

He could only pretend he didn't see it.

After sitting in the hall for a while, Eric showed them around the chapel. Before leaving, he said, "You'll stay at the Saintess Chapel tonight. After that, you'll have to stay in the guest rooms outside."

"Is Eric the only one allowed to stay here?" Eileen asked.

“And my future heir,” Eric replied.

"Who?"

"I don't know either. Let's think about it again in sixty years."

"What if we can live for two or three hundred years?"

"I'll die laughing."

(End of this chapter)