NOVEL NEXT Chapter 383
Chapter 382
Side Story: Exploration of the Holy Realm – 1
“It is a great honor to serve you, Holy One.”
Leading the way was Margarita, who stood closest to me, followed by the Inquisitor and the other Inquisitor. Behind them were the Holy Knights and Battle Nuns, lined up like an impressive parade.
Sure, there were a few Battle Nuns stationed at the Chaos Dungeon, but there were so few—only four—that they barely made a dent among the hundreds gathered here.
But what mattered right now wasn’t that. I couldn’t help but stare at Margarita’s armor, or rather, what was serious enough for me to question the very act of calling it armor.
“I thought I clearly stated that kind of armor was prohibited before.”
“Yes. You did issue a ban on armor made of jewels and gold. We all remember that well.”
“Then what the heck are you wearing right now? Am I so sleep-deprived that I’m seeing things?”
From the tips of her fingers to her elbows, and from her toes to her knees, Margarita was covered in pure white armor, except for all the skin on the rest of her body.
If it ended there, I might have just brushed it off. After all, with the current state of the Raphael Holy Kingdom, even a bikini-level exposure would hardly raise an eyebrow.
“What about this? It’s our Knight Order’s new armor.”
Margarita playfully touched the diamond positioned at the tip of her chest. Yeah, that was the issue.
The thing, just called ‘armor’ a moment ago, was made up of only three jewels.
“Is that diamond?”
Margarita’s private parts were all covered by transparent diamonds.
Due to the special transparency, the underlying skin easily shone through, flushed in strong pink, and the diamonds were so tiny that they didn’t even cover the surrounding area.
The same applied to the lower body. While it was a bit bigger than the diamond on her chest, discussing how much area was covered had crossed into the absurd.
Why… are only the women wearing such ridiculous outfits?
The male Holy Knights wore armor gorgeously adorned with gold, silver, and platinum, wrapping their whole bodies so securely it was almost impossible to tell if they were human or robots.
That armor was closer to a sci-fi suit than actual armor, making me strongly think that they might as well just put that armor on the female knights too.
That ‘armor’ made up of three diamonds was not something we should be thinking of as sexual, but rather something where we had to fear how far this madness would creep.
“After you commanded the disposal of the armor we discussed, we judged that our divine power was insufficient, so we reduced the exposure even more. The overall craftsmanship has also been newly improved, so I’m sure you’ll be satisfied, Holy One.”
What did you do?
I scanned Margarita from top to bottom in disbelief. Were they seriously claiming that wearing just a jewel bikini, with a bit more armor on the limbs, meant they had reduced exposure?
They had mentioned a new method of crafting; other than the armor’s absence, I had no clue what the difference was. Didn’t it all look more or less like the jewel bikini I had already dismissed?
“What’s different now compared to before…”
I paused mid-sentence, feeling an odd sense of unease.
I cautiously inspected the armor Margarita wore, specifically where the diamond was. Perhaps sensing my gaze, Margarita proudly stood tall.
Something felt off. I was definitely observing, but it wasn’t her chest I wanted to look at; it was their asserted jewels as ‘armor’ that I intended to scrutinize, leaving me no choice but to direct my gaze at her chest…
“…”
Honestly, I had no clue. I gave up and focused on finding the source of that unease I just felt. Before long, I pinpointed the issue.
I couldn’t see any straps to secure the diamonds.
The last set of armor at least had straps to cling to the body. It implied they tried to keep from completely diverging from the bikini form.
But this was different. The only thing covering her body was the pinkish-tinted diamond reflecting through, and there was absolutely nothing to hold it in place.
…No way. Can’t be.
With jewels, yet nothing to support them? The only conclusion that came to mind was one. Thinking that, I unconsciously raised my head.
As if reading my thoughts, Margarita added with a hint of pride in her voice, “This armor uses a method where we hollow out the inside of the gems to match each individual’s body shape. So, you could say it’s a significantly evolved method compared to before.”
“…”
Hmmm.
Yeah, I kind of guessed it would be that way. The Holy Kingdom had always been like this.
I had been shocked when I first met Stella and was put through an ‘Inquisition,’ surprised again by Floretta and Luna, astonished to learn that higher divine power meant more exposure, and had been overwhelmed when the Popes had attacked me in reverse! Yes, all of this indicated how crazy their standards were.
If I thought about ‘rags that are barely worthy of being called clothes,’ most of my experiences were related to the Holy Kingdom. Sure, Eclipse was superficially linked to it, so maybe such armors could exist…
…bullshit!
No, but still, I couldn’t shake off the goofy nature of this.
They hollow them out in the gems to fit perfectly to the nipples and claim this counts as armor? Should we even label it armor? I could barely call it a jewel bikini if anything!
Desperately clinging to my sanity, I suddenly turned my gaze down to Margarita’s lower abdomen, slightly below.
‘…’
And I surrendered this thought as I lifted my head.
I didn’t want to know—nor think about—how the jewels were ‘secured’ below.
Should I have just told her to wear a jewel bikini?
I never imagined something worse would pop up.
“Margarita.”
“Yes, Holy One. Please, go ahead.”
“I’m sorry.”
“…What?”
“I said I’m sorry. To you guys.”
After all, I had made a speech in the Holy Kingdom, and the result had led to such attire among the women; it was only natural to feel sorry.
“Why would the Holy One apologize to us?! Please, retract your words!”
At my sudden apology, Margarita, along with the Inquisitor, other Inquisitor, Battle Nuns, and Holy Knights, all began to fumble, looking thoroughly bewildered. They had no clue why I was acting this way.
I also heard voices questioning if the problem was that exposure was too low. No, they were indeed discussing how exposure seemed too little instead of too much.
Ironically, quite a few voices supported the claim. What kind of drastic measures could be taken to further reduce exposure? Should we throw away the armor altogether?
“Alright. That was just a joke. It’s not a big deal; don’t worry about it.”
I quickly tried to smooth the situation. My head had spun for a moment, but I was still far from collapsing completely. Margarita, now all set, turned to guide me to the Holy Realm.
Nothing was visible behind her.
“This is the mansion where you will reside, Holy One.”
Margarita halted in front of a building too large to be termed a mansion. The length stretched endlessly sideways. It felt even bigger than the Imperial Palace or the Cathedral.
The Inquisitor and the other Inquisitor approached, unfurling a map. The mansion before us was constructed in an outline resembling a ‘D,’ with another building nestled into the concave part of the ‘D.’
How gigantic is this place?
While I exchanged glances between the massive wall before me and the map, I attempted to estimate the actual size based on the scale. Ultimately, I concluded that one side of the ‘D’ shape was at least 4 km long.
“…”
I thought that after experiencing a lot, I’d no longer be easily amazed, but every visit to the Holy Kingdom knocked such thoughts down.
As I was caught up in disbelief, Margarita energetically pointed at the map and continued explaining.
“The completed areas are the mansion you see before you and the central living space. We will gradually finish other areas.”
“Unfinished areas?”
Just this alone was more than ample. One wall of the mansion stretched 4 km, and coupled with the surrounding forests and lakes, I had a pressing concern of possibly getting lost.
And yet, there were still unfinished areas; what else were they planning to add in here?
“Mountains and rivers.”
“…”
I told Margarita to wait a moment, then brought the women from my shared room. It didn’t take long since Floretta and Luna had hinted at it shortly after I’d left.
Even Claudia, who had been moaning from a hangover and embarrassing memories, subtly joined the line. I considered teasing her about not calling me ‘oppa’ anymore but decided against it. Now wasn’t the time. I could save that for later.
“What do you think, Delta? Do you like it?”
“It’s not fully completed and there are many incomplete aspects, but it will improve over time.”
While everyone gazed in awe at the sprawling mansion or pondered over something, Floretta and Luna approached me. They were dressed in the sacred robes I had first seen the Popes wear.
Covering all the essential areas, it was an extremely modest outfit. As soon as I caught sight of them, I instinctively pulled them into a hug.
“D-Doesn’t everyone see us?”
Floretta and Luna pretended to be surprised, but slowly wrapped their arms around my back, feeling the sensation of their exposed curves.
“I’ve just realized something.”
“What is it?”
“You two are on the extremely modest side in the Holy Kingdom.”
I meant it sincerely.