"W-What are you two talking about? Youāre embarrassing me!" Sera panicked, her face red.
The two just smiled at her as if they were admiring their reaction.
"Ugh..." Sera covered her face with both hands, unable to do anything to them.
Unexpectedly, the Pope turned serious soon and said, "Well, as much as I donāt want to do this, Sera... Can you leave this room for a moment?"
"Huh?" Sera became confused, but her teacherās solemn face made her unable to reject. She stood up and walked as she kept glancing back, wondering what they were trying to do.
Once Sera closed the door, the Pope snapped his fingers, creating a translucent barrier in the shape of a box, isolating them from the outside world. It was as if he was trying to seal everything so that no one could hear them.
Nathan looked around before asking, "Is there something you want from me?"
The Pope waved his hand. "You donāt have to worry. I donāt have any bad intentions. Itās just... Thereās something Iād like to ask, which might have a big impact in the future."
"What is it?"
"I have always wanted to ask this ever since I first met you, but I guess this is the opportunity now that weāre close enough.
"Do you have an innate ability?"
"!!!" Nathan remained calm outside, but his heart skipped a beat. No one would expect this type of question coming from the Pope.
"You donāt have to be suspicious or anything. Thereās a reason I want to ask this." The Pope raised one finger. "Hero Mikhail once gave a prophecy. For the next 1,000 years, there would be three great ripples that would shake the entire world.
"The first one was when we started fighting the aliens, meaning 500 years ago. In other words, this great ripple was talking about the awakening of summoners.
"According to him, the second ripple would come 500 years later. At first, I thought the ripple he was talking about was Elysion Aquamoon, considering he had the ability to turn the world upside down.
"I thought it would be him joining hands with the aliens and destroying the four kingdoms.
"And then the second... I mean... you appeared." The Pope paused for a second. "You have those beast familiars, which are different from anything we have seen so far.
"And your growth is so quick that itās rivaling Elysion Aquamoon. If the world had become more stable, you would have probably become the rising star of this world.
"Thatās why the moment you start to appear and I find out that youāve somehow encountered Seraphina... I thought, why not? I sent her to spy on you.
"I apologize for doing it, but Iām doing it for a clear reason. The prophecy of Hero Mikhail was too vague. It only mentioned the great ripple without mentioning the details.
"Hence, I have to see whether this ārippleā is a bad one or a good one. I have to determine whether you are a threat to this world or not.
"This is also the reason I asked you that question earlier." The Pope lowered his head this time. "I apologize."
"Iāve figured out this much." Nathan raised two fingers. "Since weāre going to be in-laws, let me ask you two questions and weāll drop this as if nothing happened. How about it?"
"If youāre willing to drop it, sure." The Pope nodded gracefully. "What are your questions?"
"The first question is the second person you were supposed to mention. Who is he?" Nathan asked.
"He, huh? Thatās not quite right. This second person is a woman."
"!!!" Nathanās expression turned solemn as he mentioned one name. "Evelyn Lavender."
It was the Popeās turn to be shocked. "How do you know?"
He thought the person was still alive, which was the reason Nathan knew her. However, Nathan casually asked, "What makes you think I donāt know her? Donāt you know my teacher?"
"Ah!" The Pope nodded in understanding. Vivian was Evelynās junior, so she might have mentioned it before. "Then has she told you about the bloody banquet?"
"Yes. This is actually the second question Iād like to ask. This incident involves so many noble families or great talents, but somehow it has been covered up. Not many are talking about it. The only people who can do such a thing are... you and other sovereigns. Why would you hide this event?"
"..." The Pope pinched the bridge of his nose. "Make sure you donāt tell this to anyone else."
"Yes." Nathan nodded with a serious face.
"The reason we locked this information was because of our own incompetence. We didnāt know something like this would happen, and when we investigated it, all the perpetrators somehow vanished as if they had never existed in the first place.
"We were all confused and couldnāt give proper explanations to everyone. In the end, we agreed to conceal this matter.
"However, when I heard about the eruption from another land outside this one, I couldnāt help but wonder if those people came from that land.
"When I tried to figure it out, I encountered a certain note about the sea. This note came directly from Mikhail as though he was planning to go on a trip across the ocean, but it never happened.
"After all, the sea was extremely terrifying. Numerous aliens were there, and no one specialized in fighting underwater.
"Just to cross the sea alone, you probably needed multiple world class summoners with a high chance of not finding anything.
"Thatās why, even after knowing all this, I choose to bury it myself." The Pope sighed.
Nathan connected all the dots. The reason Hero Mikhail wanted to cross the sea must be because of the alien he encountered. That alien must have told him about other aliens.
Still, this was a clue from someone who encountered an intelligent alien without a black cell. This information was something he needed if he wished to find a clue about the aliens.
Nathan, a bit hesitant, asked, "Your Holiness. Can you give me that clue from Hero Mikhail? We can treat it as a dowry. I donāt really need anything else."