Myths Reawakened

Evening arrived. Once dinner was over, everyone made their way back to the High Reverend’s office.

More precisely, they had marveled at the way Isabella ate before returning to the office.

Her appetite exceeded their imagination. Most astonishing of all, she didn’t even look full.

High Reverend Sandrine’s expression turned grim. Every time she thought about her promise to cover Isabella’s meal expenses, her head throbbed. She had dropped the ball this time! She hadn’t expected Isabella to have such a large appetite. She regretted agreeing to it that readily without looking into Isabella further.

Then again, if Isabella was only eating to satisfy her hunger, it couldn’t take that much to fill her slender body. Wayne alone could’ve provided her with three meals a day without even needing to go to the canteen. The reason she ate so much was simple: pure gluttony.

Sandrine’s guess wasn’t far off. Isabella could justify her binge eating as a way to store mana while she was Silver-ranked, but now that she was Gold-ranked, with her condition healed, she no longer needed food to replenish her mana.

Put plainly, she wasn’t aiming for mana or filling her stomach. She just wanted to eat. If her mouth wasn’t stuffed with something, she would feel off-kilter.

Wayne sat down behind the desk and surveyed the room full of beautiful women. Then he glanced at his empty lap, deciding to make a seating arrangement. Beckoning to Mona, he reserved the one and only VIP seat for her.

Eyes narrowed in contentment, she settled down on her boss’s lap, winning his favor over all the other competitors. She couldn’t have been more pleased.

Śār Hesione could not bear to watch.

Wake up, Mona. He’s manipulating you!

Shut up, you’re the one playing me!

Between Wayne and ‘herself’, Mona chose Wayne without hesitation, having no patience for the hypocritical angel of purity who wanted to have her cake and eat it too. She sent Hesione some animated images to shut her up.

Those were from her memories.

In the moving images, Hesione, claiming to be Mona, had Wayne pinned beneath her, going through different motions in quick succession. How was that the Śār of purity? She looked more like the Lord of Lust going undercover in Heaven.

“You’re so used to it!”

Mona reprimanded Hesione harshly, with no attempt to mince words. There was nothing Hesione could say. Her daily life had been quite depraved lately, so much so that she had... gotten used to it.

Once Mona took her seat, Wayne coughed into his fist and said, “About the demon—”

“I object!” Corte raised her hand and said.

“Object to what?” Wayne glared at her. If his memory served, Corte had been interrupting him the most, learning nothing at all. Nine out of ten times, she was the one to cut him off.

“Why is she allowed the VIP seat?” Corte asked seriously, in an aggrieved tone. She had received a divine oracle, which Wayne knew about. In that case, they should stay loyal to each other to honor the goddess’s teachings.

By getting so close to Mona, who smelled like Holy Light, Wayne was desecrating the goddess!

“If not her, are you going to sit here?”

“Yeah.”

“...” x2

Her unhesitant response made Mona roll her eyes. She was pretty sure that the Holy Maiden of Sun had only known Wayne for less than two hours. Wasn’t she too quick to throw herself at him?

Wayne also rolled his eyes. Seeing the serious look on Corte’s face, he waved her away so that she wouldn’t keep being a nuisance. She should stay with Galen and chill out.

Corte couldn’t accept it. She tugged at Galen’s sleeve.

“What?” Galen snapped.

“Say something!” Corte widened her eyes. Galen had also received an oracle. Since they both shouldered the same responsibility, Corte shouldn’t be the only one charging in the front.

She had to admit that she knew little about matters of the heart and body, so she hoped that Galen would set an example for her.

(는_는)

Galen glared. Yes, our goddesses have given us oracles, but you’re a Holy Maiden, not a lady of the night. Would you act the part?

Do you know why he wouldn’t give you the time of day? You’re being so aggressive that you scared him away!

Also, he’s gotten his secretary to sit on his lap right after entering the office, essentially writing his rejection on his face in bold letters. The more proactive you are, the more he’ll run away.

Wayne watched the farce play out with amusement. Though the players in the room weren’t particularly high quality, they were easy on the eyes. Putting Sandrine and Isabella aside, the two Holy Maidens and Mona/Hesione were star materials.

Not enough!

Wayne patted Mona on the backside before telling everyone his plan. “Mona, stop following the reincarnated angels. If they notice you, that one is going to feel mortified.”

“Boss, are you meeting Knight Juno?”

“Yeah, I’m arranging a meeting with her tonight. She won’t say no given our relationship.”

Wayne was confident in that. Juno was basically a vassal he had let run free. Because he hadn’t officially recognized her as one, she didn’t know about her changes, believing her evolution to be an angelic one.

A vassal allowed to be a free agent was still a vassal. Juno had an unexplainable trust in Wayne. No matter what he said, she would do, which her fiancé, Alistair, had irritably labeled as love.

It wasn’t love, of course. Juno had no such feeling for Wayne. Even if she showed any interest, it would be because she wanted to make the Windsor family regain their power as the royal family through marriage and bearing Wayne’s children.

To outsiders, though, it would seem like Juno had been sucking up to Wayne with everything, like a hopeless simp.

“Wayne, what should Galen and I do?” Corte asked eagerly, unable to stay put.

“You and Galen will be keeping an eye on each other,” Wayne said. “Without my permission, you’re not leaving this head office.”

In Palis, there were four major churches. The Church of Heavenly Father had undoubtedly become the demon alliance’s puppet, while Corte and Galen had cracked down on the head offices of the Church of Sun and Church of Moonlight. That left the Church of Nature as the odd one out—an eyesore to be taken out.

If the demon alliance had any sense, they wouldn’t miss the head office of the Church of Nature. Having someone stationed here might just yield some clues. Though it was unlikely, it was better than doing nothing.

When it came to the Gate of Hell, efficiency was key. Wayne immediately set out to contact and meet with Juno for information on the reincarnated angels.

He left with Mona, finding Isabella following him after taking two steps. “Free dinner isn’t on the table,” he said resignedly. “You’re not getting any food by following me.”

“That’s not it. The surgical strike unit has a mission.”

“What mission? Is it related to the Black Axiom Sect?”

“It is.” Isabella nodded. “There’s a maze under the Palis Opera House. Its origin is suspicious, and there have been spirit sightings there. I’m in charge of the investigation.”

There was a hunchback monster on the bell tower last night, and tonight, you’re going after the phantom of the opera? How romantic.

Wayne kept his comment to himself. Asking about the address of the opera house, he decided to arrange a meeting with Juno there so that he could be Isabella’s backup. Moreover, the phantom at the opera could be a clue. Wayne wasn’t going to miss it.

He hoped that Mr. Phantom would turn out to be a high-ranking official of the Black Axiom Sect, and by taking the phantom out, the four lords of the churches would follow, leading them to the palace of the demons.

The thought excited Hero Wayne.

***

Opera house.

A black car pulled over. A beautiful figure hurried through the back door to the opera house. When she reached the barrier, she keenly sensed the strange maze underground. The shady, cramped space seemed like what the reincarnated angels were looking for.

“Black Axiom Sect...” Juno murmured. How lucky they were.

During the day, she had gone on a tour around the city to look for clues on the demons’ pawns and the Black Axiom Sect, finding nothing. Returning home, she had a bath with her fiancé before retiring to bed with her, unable to fall asleep.

For some reason, her chest felt tight. When she finally fell asleep, a strange dream woke her. She thus followed the dream to the opera house.

When she spotted the clues she had failed to find all day, she had a eureka moment. It was her bloodline. Her angelic blood had led her here. This was her chance to earn merits and complete the mission. This was her chance to secure a place in Heaven!

“Oh, it’s you. Why are you here?”

A familiar voice came from behind her. Juno turned around in surprise, seeing Wayne with a well-dressed Mona with long, flowing hair, a serene smile, and a graceful stature.

Juno’s eyes lit up. She jogged up to them and said, “Secretary Mona, I didn’t expect to run into you in the city of romance. This must be fate... Is it just me? You’ve become even more beautiful.”

Mona smiled, not even giving her a chuckle.

Wayne waved at Juno exasperatedly. “Look over here. I asked you why you were at the opera house.”

Juno’s dream had been arranged by Wayne, and he was the one who guided her here. Not wanting to change their current relationship, he opted to lead Juno here indirectly. Then he kept the truth to himself and feigned ignorance, asking her the question for appearance’s sake.

“I’m here to investigate the Black Axiom Sect...” Juno answered reflexively before realizing the problem. She asked, “Why are you in Palis? The frontline isn’t looking good. The defense line may break. Someone of your stature shouldn’t leave Windsor for no good reason. Go back. This place is too dangerous.”

She was as unwittingly deferential to Wayne as ever!

“I’m in Palis for demons. The Church of Nature...”

Wayne launched into a nonsensical explanation since it didn’t take much to fool Juno. While Juno was a shrewd woman, her shrewdness did not work on him. Whatever he said, she would buy it.

As expected, she didn’t show any suspicion. When she learned that she shared the same target as Wayne, she smiled and invited him to join her.

She invited him rather than applying to join him.

Raising an eyebrow, she said proudly, “Join us. There are things I cannot tell you now, but once you do, you’ll get a great surprise.”

“The reincarnated angels, you mean?”

“You know this time, too?” Juno’s eyes widened, but then she slapped her head and realized that it wasn’t anything to be surprised about. Wayne was a reincarnated angel, too, so of course he would know.

“Then why aren’t you with them?”

“Them?”

Wayne’s curiosity was piqued. According to Mona, Juno had been walking the streets with a female reincarnated angel, accompanied by Alistair. It was a known fact that all reincarnated angels were top-tier in looks. Juno must have been salivating after the angel.

She drooled over a female angel during the day and sucked up to a male demon during nighttime, all for a greater power.

“That’s a secret I cannot tell you,” Juno whispered. “Serceris insisted that I tell no one. Since you’re a fellow reincarnated angel, I could arrange a meal for you to find out more.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Wayne said with regret. “I have too many beautiful ladies with me to make the time.”

Juno perked up. “What? You’ve taken them all with you?”

“No, I’m talking about women I’ve just picked up. Their looks...” Wayne thought for a serious moment. “They’re all beautiful ladies who lack worldly experience. Gullible.”

Juno gulped audibly. She trusted Wayne’s standards, so she couldn’t help but get excited from the description alone.

“Wayne, we’re friends. Let me drive you back later,” Juno offered helpfully. Oh no, she had no ulterior motive. She was just giving her friend a ride, but it was only natural for her friend to invite her in for tea once he was home, right? She hoped that Wayne would let her get some.

She promised that with her acting as the lubrication, Wayne’s harem would be properly managed, with everyone always primed and ready for him. He could get right to the point without putting in the hard work.

Wayne knew better than anyone what Juno was up to. He turned down her request for sharing. “It must be fate for us to run into each other in the big city of Palis. Sit down. Let’s talk properly.”

Juno was going to say no, but Wayne had already sat down with Mona standing behind him. She had to join him.

“Wayne, you resemble Auston more and more.”

“How could you call him by his name? That’s our father you’re talking about!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I know that I’m not related to him.”

“But your mother is.”

“Um...”

“We’re both adults, so you must know what I’m getting at. I won’t go into more detail.”

Wayne shrugged. Auston’s relationship with the Queen was a relationship. Though it was a stain on the Lando family’s record, Wayne was honest by nature and wouldn’t lie about something this important.

What had happened had happened. Plain and simple. Bravery was the highest praise for humanity, so they should all bravely face reality.