Myths Reawakened

Ottilia sighed. “Calm down. Your girlfriend is watching!”

Wayne calmed down in a second and started explaining instinctively, “Let me find an excuse, Ottilia. It’s not what you think. There’s a reason...”

“I know. The reason is complicated and can’t be explained in a few words, so you won’t.” Ottilia turned away, conflicted. Although she had promised to be nothing but his secretary, she was still annoyed when she saw Wayne and Senna getting handsy. If the occasion permitted it, she would’ve turned into a succubus to show Senna who was the more charming one.

“Oh, you haven’t done it with this girl?” Senna pursed her lips, gazing at Wayne with heated eyes. She didn’t care who he was with; she would follow her desires and do what she wanted.

Though he knew that they wouldn’t get into a fight, Wayne still felt thrilled when he sensed brewing drama.

“Come on, this isn’t the right place for a conversation.” He gestured, leading the younger and older beauty to the second floor of the library.

Regina hurriedly followed. “Nilsson, let’s call it a day. I’ll ask you to have tea next time.”

Watching her younger sister leave with the scumbag, Nilsson felt a heartache that was beyond verbal description. Clenching her teeth and stomping in rage, she quickly gave chase.

***

The black sedan drove away from the downtown area, tracing the Seinube River to a manor upstream. As soon as Wayne took a seat in the living room, Senna plastered herself against him and nuzzled his face, radiating an animalistic urge.

Shameless woman!

Nilsson gnashed her teeth together. Wayne had driven the car with Senna riding shotgun, and as soon as she got in, she started groping the driver. If the driver hadn’t stopped her, she would’ve gotten a taste then and there.

They were a bad influence on her sister!

Nilsson grabbed Regina and tried to drag her away. She shouldn’t stay here, and she definitely shouldn’t return to Londan. Otherwise, she would become a mother sooner or later.

Regina’s feet remained firmly planted. Nilsson couldn’t move her at all. She tore at her hair in rage and cursed the smog in Londan once more.

“Enough. Stop for a moment. I’ve come to Ostarrichi for business.” Wayne was getting a headache from the effort of resisting Senna’s temptation. He told her to calm down so that he could calm down.

“I am getting to business!” Senna batted her eyes at him. If he didn’t do her today, he should forget about doing anything else.

Resigned, Wayne telepathically promised to give her a bigger portion with the same price, finally getting her to sit down on the sofa.

He glanced at Nilsson. Her eyes blazed furiously with the urge to whack him. He gestured at Regina to bring her twin sister to the backyard. There were things that Nilsson shouldn’t hear.

Nilsson held onto the sofa, refusing to go. He advised her with a smile, “I’ll give you one more chance. It’s not too late to leave yet.”

“My sister is here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Don’t regret it later then.” Wayne smiled mysteriously, looking forward to Nilsson’s reaction. He tilted his head toward Senna. “Senna, I heard in Londan that the Church of Nature has started a series of collaborations with Prussia. The church will fully support Prussia’s expansion to expand its power. Is that true?”

Senna nodded. “That is the plan. Our partnership is limited to Prussian soil, yet to be implemented in the occupied territories.”

“Whose idea is it?”

“Baker, Weaving, and McCarey.”

“Who?”

“The three other Oracle High Reverends.”

“Not the Pope or you?”

“The Pope allows them to do this, and I have no reason to stop them,” Senna said honestly.

Wayne had thought that the close partnership between the Church of Nature and Prussia would be Pope Ludwig’s or Senna’s doing, but that wasn’t the case.

Ludwig was quite closely connected to the Prussian government. Hidler[1], the current chancellor, had taken office with Ludwig pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Ludwig was an Ostarrichian in Prussia, just like Hidler, hailing from a family that had flown the black flag of Prussia for years. It made sense for him to support a fellow Ostarrichian and pay for a few barrels of beer at his speeches.

Things were different now. Ludwig knew that he was leaving, so, to preserve his reputation, he had rejected the Prussian government’s invitation for a deeper partnership. He always said no and explained, in a polite manner, that he would leave the office soon.

Prussia turned to the Oracle High Reverends instead, and since they couldn’t tell who would take over Ludwig, they had gone all in.

If the three Oracle High Reverends succeeded, the foundation that Ludwig had laid down would have given him half the credits. If the three Oracle High Reverends had messed up, Ludwig would seem like a wise man whose leadership had made the church prosper. His reputation would be further bolstered.

Ludwig would benefit either way, so he didn’t stop them.

Senna’s thinking was simple: she also had no reason to stop them, so she chose to wait and see.

Windsor was confident in Franc’s unbreakable defense line, but Ostarrichi also had full confidence in Prussia’s waves of steel. Both believed that they would come out on top.

“So you’re saying that the Pope has nothing to do with the trouble, and you’ve done nothing untoward. The three Oracle High Reverends alone have been playing tricks?” Wayne raised an eyebrow. Things were much simpler than he had expected. “Those three pieces of trash, tying the church to the tanks for their own selfish needs. They don’t deserve to be Oracle High Reverends!”

(ŐˍŐ)

Nilsson looked at him with surprise. Who are you? Why are you speaking so arrogantly?

She poked at her younger sister and mumbled, “Who is your boss? Why is he talking about the Pope and the Oracle High Reverends so boldly, as if they were nothing? And is that lady an Oracle High Reverend? Why is she so obedient to your boss?”

She wasn’t just obedient; she had been throwing herself at him like she wanted to devour him, her hands never leaving his body.

Nilsson didn’t understand. Given the kind of people Wayne was involved with, wasn’t he too ordinary as the main star? There seemed to be nothing unusual about him!

“Um, my boss’s identity is quite complex...”

Regina hesitated. Hearing Wayne tell her that some posturing was allowed, but only moderately, she said with a solemn expression, “Nilsson, you must have guessed already. My boss is the Nature Knight.”

(′д｀σ)σ

“He, the Nature Knight?” Nilsson didn’t believe it. The education she had received since she was young wouldn’t allow her to accept that the Nature Knight was a pervert.

“The one and only!”

“If he were the Nature Knight, I would eat the sofa—”

Before Nilsson could call dibs on the sofa, Regina hurriedly covered her sister’s mouth. She knew that her boss had a penchant for teasing honest people and would definitely take her seriously.

Senna continued, “Although Ludwig hasn’t deepened our partnership with Prussia, I suspect that he’s been playing the middleman. He is the Pope at the end of the day. Without his implicit permission, the three Oracle High Reverends couldn’t have taken care of so many departments.”

“Is he taking bribery?”

“It’s hard to say. Perhaps he’s only showing his fellow countryman goodwill.”

“What if we look into it?”

“We can’t look into everything. What if all of them get dragged into it? The church can’t operate without Oracle High Reverends.” Senna smiled. If there was nothing else, he should get on the business and do her.

Wayne narrowed his eyes. “Then look into it. I am the sky that will bring peace and justice to the church.”

“If you insist, we can look into it, but there’s a problem. You have to be ready for it.” Senna listed the facts. “The Nature Knight’s status is undeniable, but the Church of Nature and the Nature Knight operate under different systems. In theory, the chosen knight shouldn’t interfere with the internal affairs of the church. If you want to take care of them, you have to plant a puppet pope.”

“What if I ask you to be the pope?”

“I won’t say no to your order, but I have a few conditions.” Senna narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t someone who could be dismissed easily. She had quite an appetite.

“Whatever your conditions are, just tell me.”

“This isn’t a good place for the conversation. To avoid unwanted ears, let’s head to my dark domain. If you agree, I’ll follow your order. If you disagree, you’re free to seek someone else.”

Senna’s expression turned cold and unapproachable. She opened her dark domain, inviting Wayne in for further conversation.

“Fine. We should be more careful at the church’s headquarters.”

Wayne stood up. He ‘accidentally’ opened the Void, and Elemental Mantra fell into the living room. Its overwhelming rippling vitality proved it to be the divine artifact and him to be the Nature Knight.

“Excuse me. I slipped.” Wayne picked up Elemental Mantra, following Senna into the dark domain.

The last time he was in this manor, Veronica had been the one to stare at him and Senna. This time, it was Ottilia. The two girls’ connection was written in fate.

Nilsson gaped at where Wayne had vanished into. After a moment, she recovered from her shock and grabbed her sister’s sleeve. “Your... Your-your...”

“Yes, my boss is the Nature Knight, and that was the divine artifact of the chosen knight.”

“I... I-I...”

“Don’t worry. My boss isn’t a petty man. You can’t possibly swallow the sofa. He’ll just laugh and—” Regina paused. Hearing Wayne’s telepathic message, she couldn’t finish her sentence.

“...” x2

They stared at each other.

“Say something, Regina!”

“Um... maybe the sofa won’t taste too bad. I’ll get some water for you.”

1. An obvious reference to Hitler. ☜