20 years had passed when I woke up! ~ The villain's daughter’s thereafter and after that ~ - Chapter 33

Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse

80% of the staff were pulled out so the Vatican fell into chaos. 

Howl III was so enraged that saliva was flying from his mouth when he shouted.

“Heh, send out the soldiers! Bring back those bastards that went with Fioria! I’ll make them work as a slave for the rest of their life!”

By the way, the Monad religion rejects the slavery system.

Howl III, despite being the Pope, inadvertently uttered words that denied the doctrine in a fit of emotion.

――He didn’t even realize that there was a spy from Fioria on the ceiling.

“You got careless, Howl”

Fioria muttered with a sigh as she received the report from the spy.

”That slip of the tongue, I’ll spread it all over the continent. Please be the sacrifice for us, so that we can start a new religion.”

By the way, printing technique is now commonplace on the Belgian continent.

If you go to the bookstore, there will be a lot of books lined up. Even among that many books, the novel based on Fioria is unprecedentedly one of the best-selling books ever.

Well.

This printing technology was originally born in the East.

It was brought to the Belgian continent 20 years ago……by Fioria, at that time, she made a number of strategic moves.

The establishment of a newspaper company and publishing company.

They had grown significantly in 20 years and had become a huge information media.

Fioria has no intention of ordering biased coverage.

We simply leaked Howl III’s “slave” statements through multiple routes.

The result was tremendous.

His slip of the tongue, along with his recent debauchery, was sent out all across the continent.

This has caused the Monad religion to lose its unifying force even in the end.

――Every single situation is moving in the hand of Fioria.

Slowly but surely, Fioria and her 600 believers were advancing along the mountain path.

With such a large number of people, their walking speed would inevitably slow down.

However, at present, not even one person had dropped out.

“The air is good!”

“My body feels light!”

“Wonderful! So this is what you call the divine protection of Saintess-sama!”　

The people’s facial expressions were bright and lively.

There was a sparkle in their eyes, not only that, their whole body was emitting a glittering light.

The miracle that Fioria had done before the departure ――.

Not only had it healed their illnesses, but it had also given the people great strength.

Their footsteps were light, and they continued to move forward towards the new land.

“……Kuku”

“What happened, Heinkel? Did something interesting happen?”

They are walking in the front, leading the 600 people.

Next to Fioria, Heinkel let out a laugh.

“Maybe, have you recovered your memory?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Heinkel shaked his head.

“I was just reminiscing about the last few days. ……To tell you the truth, I got tired of my own life.

“Weren’t you busy looking for your memory?”

“That is also true, but there was no progress at all. It was getting troublesome as well.”

“How about now? It sounds like you still have amnesia.”

“It doesn’t matter now.  ……Since I ended up forgetting about it, it must not have that much value. There’s now something far more interesting than that.”

“I wonder what that is.”

“It’s you, Fioria di Florence.”

“Me?”

“My life has changed a lot in the last half month or so. I was supposed to be an adventurer with a little skill, and now I’m playing a part in toppling over the Monad religion. …and it’s fun. Every day is exciting. Being around you makes me feel alive.”

“You’ve said something similar to that 20 years ago.”

“Then I suppose, this feeling I have is the same one I felt before.”

“What kind of feeling?”

“Well, you know.”

Heinkel turned his red eyes to the sky.

A refreshing autumn breeze blew and softly stroked his golden hair.

Then ――just like when he was a boy ――a somewhat fearless expression appeared on his face.

Announcing to me

”……..I want to beat you.”

That declaration is too reckless.

The young man named Heinkel Winfield is indeed strong.

In the 5 years since he registered as an adventurer, he got to the B-rank and had single-handedly subjugated a number of high-risk monsters.

But, that’s all.

It would be a personal history to be proud of among humans, but compared to the sun called Fioria, Heinkel and a baby are not that different.

If they were to antagonize her, they would disappear without leaving any ashes.

“I don’t care if it’s by sword, magic, or even a brain battle. I respect you. I want to win because of the respect I have for you. I want to make that bored face of yours look astonished.”

“……I see”

Fioria’s response is short.

But her voice bounces slightly and her mouth is smiling broadly.

“Even though you’ve lost your memory, you are still you, Heinkel.”

“I don’t care about that.”

I return my gaze to Fioria.

He looked at her with his clear red eyes.

“My life as a man began when I met Fioria in Bolt City. My past doesn’t matter now. ……What matters is what happens next.”

“I see.”

Fioria nodded with a smile.

“It’s as you’ve said, Heinkel. I’ve also been a little too fixated with the past.”

20 years ago.

The young Heinkel, in his own way, fought equally with Fioria.

When they parted, they had promised a rematch……but the 29-year-old him had suffered amnesia.

Just how much sense of loss did Fioria feel because of that.

After all, Heinkel was like a little brother to her, and at the same time, he was an equally worthy rival.

“The past is the past, the present is the present. ――then I, too, shall forget the past. Heinkel Winfield. I look forward to the day you challenge me for the first time.”

Then, Fioria looked back to her left.

His presence that feels like a heat haze, the same as always, the brilliant butler……Lex is accompanying her.

“You as well, Lex. It’s okay for you to scheme with the black tea and sweets, but that is just something like a preliminary test, isn’t it? You once said it jokingly, but when are you going to betray me?”

If I’m not wrong, it was after my meeting with Oswald,

Lex said to Fioria, who was surprised by Oswald’s decline.

――Everyone has a surprising side or two.

――The only thing you can’t do is to try to get the best out of him.

――Maybe I might even try to take your place, you know? 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t mind if you play dumb, but don’t let Heinkel beat you to the punch.”

* *

Eventually, the group finished the mountain crossing.

……..Well, technically, it was only the first small mountain that we have finished crossing.

From there, we left the mountain path used by pilgrims and used a hidden underground tunnel.

It was the route that the Pope and the others used to escape from the Holy City of Millenia in the event of an emergency.

Although the mountains surrounding the Holy City are steep, they are not very long in a straight line.

Thanks to this, we have arrived at the banks of the Moses River at dusk.

“I’ve arranged for a boat in advance, but with 600 people, we’ll need to make several round trips……”

Like that, Lex informed me about it.

At that time, there was a shout from the far distance.

“Oh my, they’ve already caught up.”

Fioria heads towards the commotion with a leisurely gait.

The back of the group――.

“Get back here quickly! Arthur! What’s all this about a new religion? Young guys want to jump into something new, but that’s an idiotic deed! Fioria is a scammer! Don’t be fooled! Things that have existed since the old days are always better!”

A church employee and a fat man shouted angrily.

“The current church is already at its limit, Priest Dave! Why can’t you understand that! “

It is the former messenger Arthur who undauntedly raised his voice.

“Don’t talk nonsense! The church has been around for over a thousand years, it can’t be tilted! Hey, all the other idiots should also think again! The Vatican is wobbling because of you!”

“Aren’t you contradicting yourself! If the church can’t be tilted, it shouldn’t be a problem even if we’re gone!”

“Shut up! Stop quibbling……!”

The little fat man ――Bishop Dave stepped on the ground floor in an annoyed manner.

“Enough! Just do it!”

As a matter of fact, Bishop Dave did not chase after them all by himself.

Behind him, there were nearly 50 knights.

All of them remained on the Vatican side and they were riding on horses.

They had marched here using a separate underground tunnel from Fioria and the others.

”If you resist, there is no guarantee that you can stay alive! Go quietly into the noose, kuhahahahahaha!”

Bishop Dave laughs loudly.

The cavalry are closing in with a cloud of dust, and the people are in a state of panic ――

They did not fall into panic.

“If you’re going to come, then come!”

“Everybody, let’s throw rocks at them!”

“It’s not good that we always rely on the Saintess-sama!”

“We’ll take you down!”

On the contrary, they started fighting of their own volition without being told by anyone.

They are not an existence that always needs to be protected by Fioria.

In order to get the future they wanted, they stood proud and confronted them.

Whether they were old men or children, there was a golden glint in their eyes.

“Hihiin!”

“Hiin!”

“Hiiiii!”

The horses were terrified by their spirit.

Instinctively, they stopped moving their legs.

The knights fell forward and some of them even fell off their horses.

Bishop Dave was not riding a horse, but his hips lost strength and he fell heavily on his buttocks.

“――How wonderful, you guys”

Fioria nodded with satisfaction.

She gave the people a gaze of praise.

“Hold your wishes close to your heart and face your challenges without fear. Remember, that is called courage.

……Then I, too, shall respond to the brilliance that you have shown me.”

Fioria pulled out the sword at her waist.

This is the one used by the saintess for etiquette, a replica of the legendary holy sword that is said to lie in the Black Forest.

She turned the point of the sword toward the sky.

“――Even if it is a great river, it cannot block my path.”

Although it is easy to forget, Fioria has two attributes that she is good at.

One is light.

The other is wind.

A strong east wind blew.

It fluffed the water’s surface of the Moses River.

Eventually ――

The wind lifted up the river itself.

The bottom of the river was exposed and just like a water fountain, the river jumped to the sky.

To illustrate, it looks like a huge arch of water. Or a tunnel.

Right then, a rainbow was suspended in the air as if to bless the journey of the people.

Fioria and 600 people walked across the riverbed.

They entered the Kingdom of Tristan.

The people of the Holy City were recognized as citizens of the kingdom that day and they began to work on establishing the new religion.