I was currently standing in the massive plaza in front of the Roy Waltdiez great cathedral, which was in the center of the holy country of Waltdiez. It was not only the largest cathedral in the world, but also where the pope himself resided.
The reason I was here was because of the ceremony to accept Ana as a saint. Though I’d made sure as part of the deal that she’d be exempt from the obligation of attending ceremonies, the pope had practically begged for her to attend this one. It was taking place out here instead of inside the great cathedral simply because there were too many followers to fit inside.
Since this was the first time in maybe a century that a new saint had been appointed, there was a massive crowd of people—easily over twenty thousand.
“I always knew you’d grow up to be an outstanding woman, but I never thought you’d become a saint. You’re amazing, Ana,” my mother-in-law said with a proud smile.
“M-My little angel is becoming the saint of the world...” my father-in-law said through tears. “Ana, you’ve really grown up. You’ve become so wonderful.”
“Father, you’re embarrassing me. Please wipe your nose,” Ana said with a troubled expression, handing him a handkerchief as he sobbed messily.
You got that wrong, my dear father-in-law. Ana is my angel.
My in-laws and I were in front of the great cathedral with the other high priests. Only close family members were allowed to stand in this spot for the ceremony.
“I think it’s about time. Let’s begin, everyone,” one of the priests said, and we moved to our respective designated areas.
The pope and all other clergy members remained standing. There were so many attendees today that the church hadn’t even tried to set up chairs. The pope stood at the doors of the great cathedral and declared that the ceremony was beginning. In the next moment, a large cloth was unfurled from the top of the great cathedral, long enough to reach the third-floor windows. A portrait of Ana praying in a white clergy outfit was embroidered onto the cloth. Leave it to the church to be able to embroider something this large in such a short amount of time.
The choir began singing, and then at the entrance of the plaza, Ana emerged from a white carriage. As she stepped out, I was there to take her hand and slowly escort her toward the great cathedral. We climbed the stairs and once we got to the top, Ana proceeded on by herself to stand in front of the pope. When arriving, she curtsied. Most people would have to kneel before him, but since she was becoming a saint, she didn’t have to.
As she stood in front of the pope, he began a speech extolling Ana’s wonderful qualities. After he finished, he presented her with a bracelet with the insignia of the key to heaven on it, which was proof of her being a child of the gods. He put it on her wrist, and then, with the aged, historic ring of the cathedral’s bells, Ana was officially proclaimed a saint. The priests and followers all knelt in unison and offered a prayer to Ana.
The area was filled with the choir’s song once again as Ana was enveloped by a holy light, and as three wings grew on either side of her back, she floated about one metre into the air. This almost didn’t feel real. It felt so divine and holy.
“She’s truly a child of the gods!”
“A child of the gods... She’s right there in front of me!”
“This is unbelievable...”
“Dear gods! I thank you for this great miracle!”
A girl who had white wings wasn’t a saint but a child of the gods. Though the church could recognize people as saints, nobody had ever been officially recognized as a child of the gods before. Unlike saints, who had the ears of the gods, a child of the gods was essentially a type of god in and of themselves.
Only in the holy scripture did a being like that exist, but now for the first time in history, a holy being appeared before man. Those witnessing this historic moment felt so blessed that they forgot they were in the middle of an austere ceremony and began crying out and shedding tears. This went for the followers and the high priests both. Even the choir members weren’t immune to this touching moment, and you could even hear them choke up a little as they sang.
As Ana floated in the air, she began chanting a blessing magic. It wasn’t the same magic that was used at marriage ceremonies, but one that was special for the followers. It was completed when she brought her hands together and cupped them in front of herself, where in the next moment, a golden light flew high, straight into the sky from her palms. It summoned a golden barrier of light that rapidly covered the sky, and soon after, shining yellow particles began dancing through the air like snow.
This was incredible magic. The best that even the pope could do was cover an entire city with blessing magic, but I had no clue how far Ana’s magic was reaching. It covered the sky as far as I could see, and wherever it reached, the light was falling from it.
The effect of the magic was also unbelievable. Normal blessing magic could cleanse someone of their anger, malice, and all kinds of negative feelings. However, the effects only lasted a few moments at best. In contrast, Ana’s blessing magic was filled with an insane concentration of mana. Being hit by this magic would immediately calm anyone and even make someone who was planning to steal something lose their interest in doing so. While everyone was still stunned from the fact that they’d just seen a real child of the gods, Ana came back over to me after her spell was finished. Now all that was left was for me to escort her back to the carriage and leave, since our role was over. There would be a sermon from the pope after this, but we had no reason to stay for that.
“Ana, you did great! I was so impressed by your divinity and beauty,” I said as we walked together.
“Thank you very much. Heh heh. Perhaps I’ve been of some use to you?”
“Huh?”
“Well, I know how tired you’ve been from trying to unite all the new territories. I accepted this position because I thought I’d be able to help you this way, even if it’s only a little. I’m going to keep working hard!” Ana said, smiling.
Her smile was so bright, warm, and divine that it could steal anyone’s heart. Oh, I see... So she became a saint for my sake? You were the only one who noticed me struggling and you wanted to help... You were thinking about me...
“Ana, how are you so cute?!”
“Wh-What are you doing?!”
Before I knew it, I found myself hugging Ana, and my father-in-law was trying to peel me off of her in a rage.
“It seems that the relationship of the child of the gods and her husband is quite a bold one.”
“Well, you see, it’s not possible to judge their holy union by human standards. Though it may seem shameless in our eyes, it’s no doubt different in the eyes of a child of the gods.”
“Indeed. This is a good omen. It could be a sign of the birth of a grandchild of the gods.”
“Oh! That would be wonderful! Perhaps we’ll be able to meet them next year?”
The high priests began speaking among themselves. Because a lot of them were old and hard of hearing, they were speaking in very loud voices. Oh shoot. I’ve really done it now. I can’t believe I hugged Ana in the midst of an austere ceremony in front of over twenty thousand people. I just couldn’t hold back how much I love Ana, and suddenly she was the only one I could see.
Ana had turned bright red and was looking at the ground, her eyes spinning. The blood seemed to have rushed to her head and made her dizzy. At any rate, the ceremony technically wasn’t over yet, and my job was to escort her back to the carriage. I refocused myself and stuck out my elbow, and Ana tightly gripped my arm.
The purpose of our walking back like this was so the followers could actually see her up close and personal, so the original plan was to walk back slowly to give everyone time to look. It was also worth noting that when a guy escorted a girl, she usually only held his arm lightly, letting him dictate the walking speed. Right now, however, Ana was gripping my arm very tightly and pushing me forward, forcing us to walk at an incredible speed and reach the carriage in the blink of an eye. Also in the original plan, I was supposed to leave in the carriage with Ana, but waiting inside it was a furious Bridgette. Before I could climb inside, she slammed the door shut, leaving me behind as they departed.