Yohan Loves Tite

The redemption of a madman who was famous in the capital could not be a big issue. There was a sign of an end to the ceasefire. The demons openly invaded the barrier. The ceasefire, which had been kept unstable, was brought to an end when the holy knights killed the demons who invaded the border.

The ceasefire, which was neither long nor short, ended. The unstable peace ended and the flames of war that began again unilaterally burned humanity.

The war situation, as usual, was disadvantageous to mankind. The war situation did not change even with Pope Yohan, the hope of mankind, blessed by the Holy God. The territory of mankind was pushed back little by little, cracks were made everywhere in the barrier, and the Holy God gave no answer.

People cried.

Dear God. Didn’t you say that person would end the war?

At the same time, people realized.

God said the war will be over, but there was no promise of victory.

Defeat. Defeat. Defeat. The same result came as though it had been planned. The entire human race fell into despair and suffered from heavy depression. The same was true of the Temple, which suffered from the clear defeat of the war. Cardinal Jun was exhausted from treating and praying for the wounded soldier, and he mocked himself.

“There was no mention that the war will end in victory…”

“Cardinal Jun! Be careful of what you say!”

“Your Holiness, maybe you’ve been chosen as the last pope of mankind.”

Pope Yohan, who was silent despite people’s anger, tears, and censure, looked up at the suggestive words said by his friend.

“Wait a little longer. It’s not the time yet.”

A person who received the oracle of God. Pope Yohan reassured the grieving people.

“The Holy God gave me an oracle a little earlier than the others. Soon, the war will end.”

As Pope Yohan said, on the day of the change of the moon, the temples of the continent received the same oracle. It was an oracle given by the Holy God and the Demon Lord to mediate the long-standing feud between the demons and humans. Not only humans but also the demons were kneeling to the oracle given by their god.

Sacrifice Pope Yohan or the one he loves to the Demon Lord. Humanity will be recognized half of the continent in the name of God.

The contents of the oracle overturned the Temple. As the priests and cardinals shivered and visited the pope, Pope Yohan shrugged his shoulders with a friendly face, saying,

“It’s my turn now.”

Pope Yohan volunteered himself as the sacrifice. Growing up in Temple from birth, he was ready to sacrifice his life for humanity, and he was ready to sacrifice his life for the end of the war. It was mankind that was not ready. Pope Yohan was both a hope and a pivot of humanity for mankind, which had been devastated by the long-running war and the short truces. Even if the war ended, mankind needed Pope Yohan. The pivotal point of mankind could not be replaced by anyone but Yohan, who was blessed by the Holy God.

People did not miss the other figure presented as a sacrifice in the oracle.

The one the Pope loves.

The Pope stubbornly rejected the people’s opinions. He revealed that if God wishes to sacrifice himself, it is the duty of the person who was born blessed and claimed to be the hope of mankind. That led people to say,

“We don’t need a dead hope.”

It was a cruel word; Cardinal Jun recalled later. Pope Yohan, who always had a friendly smile, lost his smile and shook greatly at the words. And while the Pope was greatly shocked, it was Reese Biss, whom people found.

Reese Biss. Young Lady Biss. The most beautiful woman in the capital. The most brilliant woman in the capital. Pope Yohan’s secretly adored woman. The kind Reese was taken aback by people’s violent demands to be an offering to the Demon Lord for the sake of mankind and could not say anything.

While Reese was confused and the Pope claiming he could not admit it, the altar and ceremony to offer the sacrifice to the Demon Lord was being steadily prepared. The one that had yet decided was the sacrifice. The Pope refused to budge and Reese was unable to give a definite answer.

Those who could not afford to lose the Pope whispered to Reese.

“Please sacrifice yourself for humanity.”

Reese was expectedly a kind lady who was famous in the capital.

“Would I regret giving this body for the sake of humanity? What makes me not readily step forward is…”

The war ran long and there were so many unhappy people. Reese was a kind girl, a woman who was raised as a young lady of a prestigious family, and knew that she had as much duty as what she easily gained. There was only one reason she hesitated.

The terms of the offering.

“Does the Holy Father really love me?”

If so, how happy would she be?

How many of the girls and women in the capital do not have Pope Yohan in mind? Reese was no different from them either. If the conditions of the sacrifice were those who loved Pope Yohan, Reese would have volunteered as much as she could. She would have gladly accepted it from the beginning when people came and asked her to be the sacrifice.

But the one the Pope loves? Reese was not confident. Clearly, it was true that Reese had built some closeness with Pope Yohan and continued the friendship. There had been times when they chatted at the garden of the Temple, which was limited for others to enter. The Pope obviously had been a little more close with Reese than with other young ladies, but was that love? Reese was not sure.

“Although it’s said for the god of the demons, it’s a sacrifice to the god. What kind of anger will we bring upon if we make a false offering?”

“Do you doubt the Pope’s heart?”

“I don’t doubt it. I’m not really in that kind of relationship with the Holy—”

“From what we’ve seen, it looked like that.”

Reese’s heart, the heart of a girl in love, fluttered like a willow leaf in the wind. People whispered to Reese. That they saw the Pope’s love for her. That to the Pope, Reese was a special person.

How glad she would be if that was true.