NOVEL NEXT Chapter 387
Chapter 385
Side Story: Exploration of the Holy Realm – 4
Aurora was the first to wake among the twelve who were sleeping in the same bed. The chandelier hanging from the high ceiling emitted a soft glow.
Everything was perfect: the pillow cradling her head, the bed supporting her body, and the blanket bringing warmth. She wanted nothing more than to lay back down and fall asleep again.
‘…My back hurts.’
However, demonstrating superhuman perseverance, Aurora pushed herself to rise, only to wince at the overwhelming lethargy and pain in her lower abdomen, causing her to flop back down.
‘Everyone has good health.’
It was a strange expression for the youngest in the room to make, but there was a reason. Only Aurora had felt the limits of her stamina after a week of torment.
The pain in her lower abdomen was also significant. If it had been the others, their physical abilities would have prevented such pain. Conversely, it was precisely because of Aurora that she could be the first to wake up.
‘…If I had been treated the same way, my body wouldn’t have held up.’
Delta didn’t handle Aurora too harshly, even if he would push others to the limits. Although the request was made for such treatment, seeing Delta cross the line would chill anyone watching.
In particular, compared to how roughly Lize and Nix were handled, almost bordering on masochism, the actions toward Aurora could be seen as overprotection.
‘How can someone enjoy that? I don’t understand.’
With little more than a spank on the backside, Aurora rolled her eyes back and forth, staring at the still-sleeping Lize and Nix. She couldn’t comprehend how they could experience such extreme pleasures despite the torment. Even if her physical abilities supported her, she didn’t think she could endure such treatment.
‘I’m feeling a bit better now.’
Aurora swallowed a cola-flavored candy specially made by Minerva. It was enchanted with healing magic for Aurora, who could no longer wield mana.
As the crushed candy slid down her throat, all the pain in her body faded away. The throbbing in her lower abdomen remained, but it felt more like pleasure than pain, so she didn’t mind.
She rose from the bed, which was covered in naked women.
‘Why is Minerva like that?’
Even though quite a bit of time had passed, Minerva trembled in the afterglow, her tongue peeking out as she hung half-conscious. It seemed pointless to ponder, so Aurora pushed it out of her mind.
Emerging from the bed, Aurora headed straight for the shower first. Next, she soaked in the tub for about 30 minutes, dried her hair with a hairdryer, and changed into her outfit.
Of course, it wasn’t the empress’s dress but rather a sleeveless top and dolphin shorts.
‘After a week of just having sex, it should be fine not to worry about manners.’
Aurora walked past the sleeping popes, who were out cold, without a hint of a sleep talking. Then she spotted the busy battle nuns rushing somewhere.
As the nuns noticed Aurora, they halted and bowed their heads.
“Greetings, Empress of the Empire.”
“No need for that. What’s going on? Why is everyone so busy? Where are you all headed?”
They looked frantic, but Aurora couldn’t hold back from asking. Although their bodies were busy, their faces wore an ecstasy-filled expression that sparked her curiosity.
“We’re on our way to the treatment room.”
“Treatment room? Who got injured? From the looks of it, no one seems hurt.”
The nun shook her head.
“No one is injured. The Holy One has ascended to the side of the Sun and Moon, and feeling that wave, everyone fainted, leaving us short-handed in care. We’re going to help.”
‘Oh, I see. They must be going to meet the Goddess.’
In the Holy Kingdom, saying someone ascended to the side of the Sun or Moon typically means that the person has died. However, Delta was an exception. If he was going to meet the Goddess, it meant it was absolutely literal.
But something felt off.
‘Did Delta really leave in such a loud manner?’
Delta didn’t prefer being conspicuous or attracting excessive attention, so he wouldn’t have left in such a grand way.
“Could you explain more clearly? Continue with what you were doing afterward.”
Noticing they were short-handed, Aurora sent everyone back aside from one and pressed the remaining nun for details.
The nun maintained her ecstatic expression and elaborated with phrases filled with flowery language, joy, and praise.
Aurora grunted as she sifted through the core of the explanation. In short, no one had witnessed the ascension directly, but when the divine power emanated from the lake, everyone instinctively recognized it.
“…Really? I got it for now.”
Even summarizing it boiled down to something that was hard to understand. But trying to make sense of it all in the Holy Kingdom seemed like a losing battle, so Aurora simply thought it must be a remarkable event and sent the nun back.
The nun dashed off, flaunting her faith and divine power in her garments.
“Why are they all so busy this morning?”
“Oh, aunt! You’re awake?”
Surprisingly, it was Kaiquilia. Aurora was genuinely surprised that Kaiquilia had already risen.
“How are you feeling? You seemed to have been treated rather severely.”
After all, she had witnessed what kind of antics had taken place during the week.
Seeing the proud Kaiquilia crying out like a child, begging for it to stop with slurred speech was quite the sight.
“…Can’t you tell by looking? My entire body still feels sore.”
Kaiquilia placed her hand against the wall while slightly bending over, struggling to move her trembling legs. She looked exactly like the personification of “Can’t you tell by looking?”
Not wanting to stir the pot unnecessarily, Aurora merely nodded along. There was no point in mentioning the specifics of what had transpired at night; such a revelation would only end with a hit.
“So, you don’t know why they’re all so frantic?”
“Delta went to meet the Goddess. They said the wave spread out and made everyone faint. They didn’t even see it directly.”
“…The Goddess?”
As she asked for clarification, Kaiquilia lowered herself onto the sofa by the window, just barely avoiding implying too much discomfort as her backside hit the cushion.
The moment her rear made contact, she let out a muffled hmph and groaned a sticky moan.
“Why are you out so early? You could’ve stayed resting longer.”
“Could you really rest properly sandwiched among those naked bodies, Aurora?”
“…I’m afraid that wouldn’t work.”
Now that she thought about it, they were all lying around naked. Aurora shyly offered an apology.
“Rather than lying there jostling around, I’d prefer to— choke?!”
“W-What’s wrong?!”
Kaiquilia suddenly twisted her body mid-sentence.
“…I’m fine. It’s just that I’m still caught in the afterglow.”
Deliberately saying she was still tangled in the afterglow, she evaded the topic and buried herself in the sofa. There was no way she could admit that recalling their previous escapade made her lower abdomen tremble.
When Aurora hesitated and put the cola-flavored candy back into her pocket, Floretta, Luna, Stella, and Selene burst through the door in a hurry, wrapped in a single blanket.
“What’s happening, Your Holiness?”
Noticing something seemed amiss, Kaiquilia straightened up. The popes were panting and looking around frantically.
“…Was there nothing at all?”
“…Nothing at all?”
“Other than Delta going to meet the Goddess, nothing. Calm down and tell me why you’re acting like this.”
“We felt an unusual divine power.”
“I still feel tingling all over my body.”
“Are you still half-asleep? I’d recommend going back in and sleeping some more.”
At the remarks of Stella and Selene, Kaiquilia scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. In that instant, a battle nun sprinted towards them with all her might from the far end of the hallway.
At first, the figure seemed hazy, but it closed the distance rapidly, appearing right beside them.
“Pope… Your Holiness…”
“What is it?”
“Calm down and speak.”
“Th-There’s… there’s…”
Yet the nun couldn’t easily continue her words, gasping for breath. That was when Kaiquilia noticed something unusual outside the window. The sunlight that had been shining down was dimming.
It didn’t feel as though clouds were covering the sun; it almost looked like night was coming with a darkness that was black. Sensing something odd, Kaiquilia turned her head.
And there, she discovered the sky turning black.
“…It seems your words might have been true, Your Holiness.”
Hearing Kaiquilia’s muttering, Aurora glanced outside and matched her reaction. It was only 7 in the morning, yet the sky was turning dark.
It was precisely half, as if sliced cleanly by a knife.
“The Holy Realm, the Holy Realm…”
After panting for a moment, the battle nun finally spoke up.
“Half of the Holy Realm has turned to night.”
Finally, she couldn’t hold back.
Witnessing the process of making Brightest Darkness 5 and seeing how it was done was simply too tempting to resist. Frankly, it was also a curiosity about how the Goddess produced the game.
“This way. You can go in first, your highness.”
The instructed location was on the second floor. Eclipse stood next to the door with a gesture. Filled with anticipation, I entered the room. Just behind me, Eclipse closed the door.
Click!
The sound of the door locking echoed.
“…There’s nothing here?”
Inside the room, there was nothing. To be precise, there were no game development tools around. All that was present were ordinary furniture items that one would find in a bedroom.
“No, there’s definitely something here.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll understand when you look back.”
‘…’
With a hint of apprehension, I turned my head, and I quickly realized that my fears had been confirmed. Eclipse chuckled at me.
“There it is.”
“…This is clearly about making Brightest Darkness 5—”
“I said I’d show you the space where it’s made. It’s not wrong to say it’s in here.”
Is this a scam? While I soaked in disbelief, Eclipse took a step closer with a playful smile.
“All the tools, all the methods for creating Brightest Darkness 5… it’s all me.”
She raised a finger, holding a golden fabric at the exact height where the aureole was barely visible. The fabric that typically functioned quietly in any situation was about to lose its composure.
“You can check how it works…”
She moved closer. Eclipse took my left hand and gently guided it toward her lower abdomen.
“How about it, my dear? Wanna create it directly—”
—Delta! Delta! Are you alright for a moment?
Luna’s voice echoed in my head.