Chapter 602
Ah.
Something about her had felt like a Saintess, but to think she really was one.
When Su-ho let out a short laugh of disbelief, she asked in the same lazy voice,
“Who are you?”
“The Pope.”
“Huh?”
Only after hearing the word Pope did she slowly raise herself and lean back against the chair.
Then, whether she was doing it on purpose or was simply naturally like this, she spoke with eyes that were only half open.
“So you’re the newly selected Pope this time.”
“Yeah. I’m that Pope.”
“Name?”
“An Su-ho. You?”
“Bell.”
“That’s it?”
“Of course not. But just call me Bell.”
After finishing her introduction, she looked Su-ho over for a while before snickering.
“Did you get acknowledged?”
“Acknowledged for what?”
“You’re proving your qualifications, aren’t you? You must’ve met Roland and Pyo before coming here.”
“Ah, that acknowledgment. Yeah, I got it. They all seemed to like me.”
“That’s interesting. No Pope before has ever connected with both of those two.”
“What? Then do different Masters connect every time there’s a trial?”
“Yep. Usually the Masters most necessary for that person get connected each time. And those two are tougher than you’d think.”
“Tough...? I’ve been feeling this for a while, but your vocabulary really doesn’t sound very Saintess-like.”
“Does it matter?”
“Not really.”
“Anyway, congratulations. Especially since this is the first time I’ve seen someone acknowledged by Roland.”
“Master Roland must be pretty demanding.”
“He’s a swordsman. He doesn’t look at anything except pure martial ability.”
“By that logic, Master Pyo looked at martial ability too, though.”
“Martial ability? How would he test martial ability? I mean, it’s not like he’d tell someone to break through his protective Holy Art.”
“He told me to break through it.”
“......?”
At those words, Bell’s brow narrowed.
“That Pyo?”
“Yeah. That Pyo.”
“Huh....”
She swallowed a laugh of disbelief.
“That’s strange. Pyo usually looks at the Pope’s mindset, so he almost never makes demands like that... Anyway, that’s impressive. As far as I know, there’ve barely been any people in the entire history of the Pantheon who broke through that guy’s protective Holy Art. Did you use some kind of trick? Ah, you’re Crusader, right? Then maybe you put some kind of curse on him?”
“I didn’t use anything like that. I broke through it purely with my own power.”
“Wow. Then that’s seriously even more impressive.”
Bell admired him.
Then she raised her head, pressed the back of it fully against the chair, and snapped her fingers, creating a door connected to another place.
“Then go now.”
“What?”
“I said go.”
“What about the trial?”
“The hell with the trial. You won’t get my acknowledgment. So stop wasting your energy and just go. You’re a pain.”
What the hell is this supposed to mean?
Su-ho frowned and asked,
“Are you joking?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
Bell slumped back down toward the armrest again as she spoke.
“If Roland looks at martial ability and Pyo looks at the mindset of a Pope, then I look at compassion for others. Altruism. The kind of heart that helps others even while abandoning oneself. But....”
Bell met Su-ho’s eyes with her characteristic languid gaze.
“You don’t have that kind of heart, do you?”
I don’t have altruism?
For a moment, Su-ho blanked out.
Me?
Out of all people, me?
It was hard to believe.
That was why irritation burst out of him before he realized it.
“If I don’t have altruism, then how much of a saint do you have to be to qualify?”
“Looks like that hit a nerve?”
“I won’t deny it. Because it does feel unfair. But you’re saying this after seeing everything about me, right?”
“Of course. When the Chief God watched over you, we watched you together. Ever since the moment you regressed. More accurately, the Chief God shared the memories with us.”
Bell also knew that Su-ho had regressed.
At this point, regression really did not seem to be all that special.
“So?”
“You first chose the Healer because of what happened in your previous life. You were a swordsman more outstanding than anyone else, but you were killed after becoming weakened due to your companions’ betrayal.”
“That’s right. I thought that if I had just one recovery skill capable of preserving my own body, I could’ve overcome that situation.”
And he had been right.
By choosing the Healer class, something impossible to obtain through anything except a class advancement, while using the swordsmanship engraved into him, he had compensated for his greatest weakness.
“But surely you’re not trying to say I lack altruism because of that?”
“Of course not. Most Players choose their first class for the sake of survival.”
“Then what? Because I chose Crusader? Or because I built a class advancement path based on revenge?”
As Su-ho pressed aggressively, Bell stared at him for a while.
Half-lidded eyes.
Eyes that looked lifeless.
Yet strangely enough, her gaze possessed a power that seemed to pierce straight through people.
“Do you not know what altruism is?”
“You said it’s a heart that cares for others.”
“A heart that cares for others must not expect compensation or desire anything in return. Your actions certainly helped society and other people, but those were merely secondary effects. That was never your original purpose. Have you ever helped someone without a purpose?”
“Why do you think I haven’t?”
“I’m someone who lived my entire life that way. Did you think the position of Master was handed out for free?”
“What are you....”
“It’s hard for you to understand, right? But I’m right. I was both Pope and Saintess. Furthermore, throughout the history of the Pantheon, there have been many Saints and Saintesses, but if people were asked to choose only a single Saintess, they would unquestionably name me. Do you know why?”
“Because your healing ability was exceptional?”
At those words, Bell looked at him with something close to contempt for a moment.
“There’s nothing complicated about it. It’s because I was always benevolent and broad-minded, and treated everyone equally.”
“What does being fair have to do with altruism?”
“What do you think a doctor’s duty is? To save patients. Healers are the same. I’m not a judge. If there was someone in need of help, I helped them. If there was someone injured, I healed them. I expected nothing in return. Because I believed that was my duty. But what about you?”
Bell tilted her head again.
“Can you really say you became a Healer, cleared Gates, became a civil servant, or later created a large organization for the sake of other people? You created those things because you needed them. So you could grow faster and more efficiently, and so nothing could interfere with you during that process.”
She was not wrong.
He had become a civil servant not for the sake of the country, but because it allowed him to access sealed Gates the fastest and in the greatest numbers.
Likewise, organizing Save the World had not really been for humanity. It had been so he could hand over time-consuming tasks to others and focus solely on his own growth.
But.
“So what?”
Su-ho could not understand.
No, he truly could not understand.
“What exactly is wrong with that? It wasn’t for some evil reason, nor was I only looking out for my own interests. Do you really think that entire chain of actions was carried out purely for my own benefit?”
“I understand what you mean. But from my perspective, the intention itself isn’t completely pure.”
“It sounds like we’re debating the definition of purity now. So from your point of view, because I’m not pure, you can’t acknowledge me?”
“To put it extremely bluntly, yes.”
“I see....”
Su-ho’s eyes narrowed.
Many thoughts crossed his mind.
After pondering for a while, Su-ho walked over and made a motion as though sitting in front of her.
At once, Blood Armory rose from the ground and formed a chair with a design similar to the one Bell sat on.
Watching him, Bell said,
“What, are you protesting? I’m not changing my mind even if you throw a tantrum.”
“Shut up. I’m thinking.”
“How uncultured.”
“You started talking casually first.”
After casually replying, he leaned comfortably against the chair.
His gaze lifted upward.
The sky was clear and blue without a single cloud, and the sunlight was warm rather than hot.
Everything around them was fresh, and the greenery was lush.
The distinct scent of grass alone was enough to improve one’s mood.
If paradise existed, this place felt close to it.
After spending some time like that, Su-ho asked,
“Hey.”
“What.”
“There’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“So what you’re saying is this. If someone in front of you needs help, and you’re capable of helping them, then regardless of the reason, you should help them unconditionally. Without expecting compensation, of course, as long as you have the ability?”
“Right.”
“And that’s the altruism you’re talking about.”
“Because that’s what I’m capable of doing.”
“Then if the man in front of you were an evil criminal despised by everyone, you’d still heal him if he asked you for help?”
“That’s right.”
“Then let me change the question. Suppose there’s a man planning to burn down an entire village and kill everyone in it. You know that fact, and by coincidence that man is injured in front of you. You’re the only person capable of helping him. Even then, you’d still heal him? Even knowing he plans to recover and burn down the village afterward?”
“Right.”
A quick answer.
After hearing it, Su-ho’s eyes narrowed.
What is this crazy woman?
Viewed this way, it sounded like some twisted conviction.
Like a monster consumed by her own beliefs.
That was why sarcasm slipped out before he knew it.
“Do you even realize what you’re saying right now?”
“Think whatever you want. Honestly, do you think I’ve never faced situations like that before in my life? And if I gathered all the people who asked me questions like this to test me, it’d fill several wagons.”
“Then you’re saying that in situations like that, you willingly healed evil people too.”
“Right.”
“Don’t you ever regret it?”
“I do. It hurts.”
“Then why do you keep repeating such foolish mistakes?”
“It’s not a mistake. They were all my choices.”
“Then why?”
“I’m a priest. God told us to love everyone and not discriminate. I was both Pope and Saintess, and I merely carried out God’s words faithfully.”
“Ha!”
In the end, a mocking laugh burst out.
He could not hold it back.
Those contradictory sophistries coming from the mouth of someone pretending to be noble.
“I think I understand now why the Chief God connected me to you.”
“What?”
“Listen carefully.”
Su-ho spoke with the fiercest eyes he had shown since arriving here.
“Get a grip, you crazy woman. You’re not a Saintess or anything like that. You’re just a selfish woman who happened to be born into the right era with healing abilities that were too good.”