Myths Reawakened

After dinner, Mona followed Wayne into his study. Vera kept peeking at the stairs, fidgeting in her seat. She asked Kristen, “Senior, why are you just having tea? A random woman has found her way into our home!”

Kristen choked on her tea and got into a coughing fit. Vera spoke as if she were a woman of this household. She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and poked Vera’s forehead.

“Don’t be silly. Detective Mona visited for business. And that... that has nothing to do with me, okay?”

“Riiiiiight—” Vera snorted, dragging the syllable out. She mercilessly exposed her, “You can lie to me, but don’t lie to yourself. If you really don’t care, why would you tutor him every day? I’d like to learn, too. Why have you never tutored me?”

Kristen’s face flushed. She would not stand for such slander. Wayne was a friend and someone who had saved her life, so she couldn’t bring herself to reject his request for lessons. She emphasized the word ‘friend’ as she defended herself. There was nothing more to their relationship, truly.

She was pinching Vera’s cheeks by the end of her protest. This is for your nonsense!

Vera didn’t buy that at all. She suddenly reached out toward Kristen’s chest, and Kristen quickly let go to defend herself.

“Senior Kristen, the outsider’s size is incredible, even more impressive than yours.”

(눈‸눈)

Don’t make such a meaningless comparison! And the dossier says that Mona’s thirty-two, having had the time to grow her assets for ten more years. It’s not a fair competition.

“I’ll tell you a secret. Wayne likes it big.”

“No way!”

“Why would I lie to you?” Vera’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Once, I asked him what kind of figure he would like his future girlfriend to have, particularly about the chest area.”

“And? What did he say?”

“He said that he didn’t need his girlfriend to be well-endowed. The figure doesn’t matter. He’ll like whoever he likes.” Vera huffed. “I then asked him what kind of girl he likes. He told me that he liked the busty type.”

Kristen was exasperated. “Don’t be silly. He was just messing with you!”

“He wasn’t. He was being dead serious.”

...Were that the case, Veronica would’ve been out of the race. He just likes them pretty.

***

In the second-floor study, Wayne gestured at Mona to sit down across the desk. “What brought you all the way here? Couldn’t you talk to me at the detective agency?”

“Boss, you didn’t go to the agency today.”

“Ah, right.” He slapped the back of his head in realization. “Tell me. Why are you here? I’ll make it clear upfront. If you’re going to talk about angels and whatnot, I’d ask you to kindly shut it.”

“Boss, Archbishop Gunther of Saint Paul’s Cathedral requested a meeting with you,” Mona said. “Anytime will do. He’s already waited for a day and will continue to wait for you.”

Wayne hissed. “What, is this a threat that I must meet him?”

“No, it’s the other way around. He must meet you,” Mona corrected. “Unlike angels summoned through the Sacred Tome of Golden Law, you’re a special case. If you’re unwilling, he won’t appear before you.”

What, if I’m so important, doesn’t that give me carte blanche to do anything?

Wayne blinked in bemusement. The storage of Saint Paul’s Cathedral had to be massive. If a demon—no, angel—made a tour inside, would the Archbishop take the blame?

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be viable since he wasn’t actually an angel.

Mona held her breath, waiting for his response. After a while, she said pitifully, “Master, Archbishop—”

“Stop. We’re not in that kind of relationship,” Wayne cut her off bluntly. “If I don’t agree, are you going to ask me every day?”

“Yes. I believe my show of goodwill is going to move you sooner or later.”

“Goodwill should be demonstrated through Queen’s portraits. This is nothing but harassment.” Wayne shook his head. “Fine, I’ll meet your Archbishop. The facts will prove that I’m not the one you’re looking for, and you should stop harassing me.”

Ridiculous, why would I be an angel?!

Mona nodded vehemently, rising to get her car.

“Patience. I have a class to attend.”

“But Archbishop—”

“Let him wait!”

Wayne stood up and made it to another study. Between a bookish senior who smelled nice and an archbishop who might have questionable preferences, the choice was self-evident.

***

Saint Paul’s Cathedral, eleven o’clock at night.

The moment Mona’s car pulled up, Gunther and Atori went up and closely inspected Wayne. According to Mona, Wayne was not only an angel, but also the man who had gone undercover in the demons’ faction, Bruce.

He looked like the righteous type!

When he showed up on Dragon Heart Island, the Blood Tyrant was driven to hell. When he infiltrated the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s faction, the demon returned to hell after a disastrous failure. It made them wonder what demons had done to the man to warrant such aggressive interventions.

No wonder Mona was so confident that Wayne was an angel. Even Gunther and Atori were eighty percent convinced since there was no other valid explanation.

They welcomed Wayne into the meditation room of the cathedral. Since his identity wasn’t yet confirmed, Gunther didn’t address him with an honorific. He waved his hand and conjured a thick book of gold. It was the Sacred Tome of Golden Law!

The tome immediately attracted the attention of the Book of Greed, and Wayne’s eyes sharpened.

“Have you seen these texts, Mr. Wayne?”

“Yeah...” Not only had Wayne seen the Golden Law of Angels, but he had also seen the Divine Comedy of Seven of the Seven Deadly Sins. There was no reason to tell Gunther this much, though, so he went for a simple answer. “I probably did in a sacred tome or something. I don’t remember clearly.”

I knew it! Gunther’s eyes glinted. The Sacred Tome of Golden Law was different from other sacred tomes. Wayne couldn’t fool him with a vague answer. He unconsciously started speaking respectfully, “It’s normal for you not to remember. Your divine descent is special, so you don’t retain your memories from heaven.”

“You’re speaking as if I’m actually an angel...” Wayne said in resignation. “Tell me. How do I prove that I’m only a regular human?”

“A minute, please.” Gunther chanted to open the sacred tome before Wayne. In a deferential manner, he instructed, “Please put your palm on the book. The sacred tome will respond to you. Although your soul has reincarnated, the stigmata of heaven will surface, which the Golden Law will trigger—”

“Stop. I’m not an angel and shouldn’t be privy to these secrets. I don’t want you to silence me afterwards.”

Wayne placed his hand on the sacred tome.

Rumble!

The holy light descended!