When Morris was fifteen, he left the protection of the Holy Knights for the first time. Alone, he stepped through the Demon Realm Gate, into a world full of the unknown and terror. The night before he left, Alex, the Pope who had raised him, gave him a grave warning. He told him to be extremely careful of the monsters in the Demon Realm. They were especially cunning. Some could even turn into delicate, pitiful-looking beautiful girls, lure you closer, and then bite down the moment you dropped your pants and started going at it...

Morris had no idea if that was true or not, but at the age of fifteen, he really did feel a sharp pain in his lower half.

This was Morris's first trial. If nothing unexpected happened, he'd only need to do this one, maybe one or two more for form's sake. As long as he completed the objective, Alex could announce his retirement on the spot and formally pass the position of Lunhai Pope to Morris. Then Alex could head straight into the Royal Mage Association as an honorary consultant and enjoy a carefree retired life with food, drink, and comfort guaranteed. And once this young Pope, blessed with peerless magical talent, fully came into his own, the status of the Lunhai Holy Church would be secured once more. Wielding power at the scepter level, he would stand above the world. Those increasingly arrogant heretics inside the royal capital would be driven out like rats in the street. And Alex, the Pope who had discovered and raised this genius boy, would naturally become famous far and wide, his name written into the history books and sung for a thousand years.

And then, on the day the trial ended...

Right in front of the entire welcoming procession, and under Alex's dumbfounded gaze, Morris came back through the Demon Realm Gate with a white-haired human slave girl from the Demon Realm.

——————

"So you're saying... you don't want to be Pope anymore?" The pale, slender woman lifted her milk tea and slowly chewed the coconut jelly in her mouth. Once she realized his firm attitude wasn't a joke, she let out a sigh. "Why?"

"Why else?" The boy sitting across from her held a wineglass, his face full of bitterness. Like a child abused by his stepmother finally finding his real mom, he began pouring out his misery without pause. "That Holy Maiden. That Holy Maiden!"

"Keep your voice down." The woman instinctively reached out, as if to pat his head, but stopped halfway and slowly drew her hand back. "It's already been three years since you became Pope. How are you still this immature? And that Holy Maiden... didn't you bring her back yourself?"

The Luna Duchy was famous across the West for its tolerance of cultural differences. Religion faced no restrictions here. Churches of all kinds could be found everywhere. Every Sunday, the sight of believers in all sorts of attire visiting one another in harmony had become a unique scene in the royal capital.

And Macedon, as the religious capital of the Luna Duchy, had followers of every kind within its walls. But the dominant faith was still the western Lunhai Holy Church.

This was the Black Bull Tavern, the hottest business near Macedon City's central plaza. Under the protection of a certain gang, no one dared cause trouble here. The kind of brawls that broke out in other taverns over a single disagreement were almost nonexistent in this place. It had a wide selection of drinks and elegant decor. Its vintage European style gave off a soft, mellow air. The tasteful wooden tables and chairs often drew in nobles and young ladies alike. The owner had even hired a few bards to sing softly in the tavern, so plenty of people liked to order a light lemon gin, listen to the music, and sit there until dusk.

"I-I mean... yeah, I did pick her up myself, but... but..." The boy looked deeply annoyed. After carefully organizing his thoughts, he glanced around, then lowered his head and whispered, "She's a pervert!"

The air seemed to freeze. The coconut jelly in the woman's mouth suddenly lost all flavor. She silently set down her cup, and her tone gradually turned serious.

"You're the Pope. You need to take responsibility for what you say."

"What kind of woman other than a pervert sneaks naked into your bed in the middle of the night? What kind of woman other than a pervert presses herself against you in church and starts pulling open your clothes while everyone else has their eyes closed in prayer? What kind of woman other than a pervert barges in while you're bathing and says she wants to meet her savior body and soul? What kind of woman other than a pervert digs through the trash in your room for tissues to judge whether you've been, you know, doing OO lately? Have you ever seen Macedon at four in the morning? I have! I woke up in the middle of the night because I felt a little cold, and the first thing I saw was her chaining me up!"

Morris shuddered. As he got more emotional, he couldn't help lifting his cup and downing the fruity sparkling wine in one gulp. After setting it down, he burped and continued,

"I can't do this anymore. Before, it was manageable. She was still a cute, obedient little girl. She kept saying stuff like how she'd become Morris's bride when she grew up. Treating her like a little sister was actually kind of fun. But ever since a year ago, when she was chosen as the Holy Maiden, I started feeling like something was seriously wrong."

The boy was practically crying now.

"Warning her doesn't work. If I try to advise her as the Pope, she just says she'll make me take those words back in bed tonight. She's a girl, so I can't exactly announce this kind of thing to the whole world. And with her status as the Holy Maiden, I can't drive her away either. If I honestly hand in my resignation, Alex will probably kill me on the spot. Tell me, why is my life this miserable?"

"Watch the tears." The woman sighed and handed him her handkerchief. Her side profile looked pale from lack of sleep, which added a fragile sort of beauty to her face. "I really couldn't tell the Pope's life was this colorful."

"It's agony. After being messed with by Alex for so many years, I thought I was finally going to live the good life. I never expected a woman like this to show up and ruin it." The boy wiped his tears. "I'm definitely running. Tonight. I'm running tonight!"

"Tonight, huh..." Yieta stirred the remaining green liquor in her stemmed glass with a straw. "Honestly, I don't really want you doing this, Morris. But as it happens, I do have a way."

"What way?" Morris hurriedly asked. "Big Sis Yieta, please, just tell me. We grew up across from each other. You can't seriously bear to watch the little brother you raised keep getting bullied like this, right?"

Yieta looked at Morris in his miserable state, but the corners of her lips still couldn't help curling into a faint smile.

"So even after all these years, you really haven't changed at all."

"Huh?" Morris didn't catch that.

"Nothing." Yieta quickly shook her head. "I was just... talking to myself. Don't mind it."

"Then, Sis, how are you planning to get me out?" The moment the topic turned to escape, Morris instantly perked up. "I'm telling you, I'm super brave. You could stuff me under a leaking fishing boat and row me away overnight, no problem. You could pack me into a cargo crate and haul me out of Macedon in a rattling carriage, no problem. I can take anything. Or I could hide in the changing room, and then you call in a few huge wrestler guys and I—"

"Stop, stop, stop." Yieta pushed her wineglass inward and, for the first time in a long while, felt a headache coming on. "You really did become Pope, right? Why does it feel like you have zero sense of belonging to the Lunhai Holy Church? As the Pope, doesn't betraying your own faith put any pressure on you at all?"

"Those old guys all say this is the first time in their lives they've ever seen a Pope like me."

And somehow, Morris sounded pretty proud of that.

"Wait here. I'll settle the bill first." As Yieta spoke, she waved over a server, then asked Morris, "You're not staying at the church tonight?"

"I'm running tonight, so why would I care about the church? In two days, it'll be the third anniversary of me bringing her back. I'm scared she'll go even crazier on a day like that, so the faster I run, the better." Morris clapped his hands. "Don't worry about me. I can do anything. Even if you dump me alone in some tiny border town, I can still make a living with my skills. And if all else fails, I can sing in taverns. I'm amazing at hymns. Even Alex praised me, said my voice was basically heavenly!"

"Who'd believe that? The strongest Pope, singing for money in a tavern..." Yieta said. "Listen to me. I'll take you to an inn the church can't find. Stay there for one night. I'll come get you tomorrow morning."

After counting out her money and paying the bill, Yieta grabbed the young Pope's hand and led him outside, into the cool evening wind, toward the end of a dark alley in the royal city.

——————

"Name?"

"M-Morris."

"Age?"

"Seventeen..."

"Hm?" The flamboyantly dressed man in front of him frowned. "You're underage and you're here for this?"

"I'll be eighteen in half a month!" Morris quickly explained. Yieta had told him that if he just stayed here for one night, he'd be free of his miserable life as Pope for good. So no matter what, he had to stay.

"Half a month still doesn't count..." The man sounded rather troubled, but soon relaxed. "Forget it. Being young is an advantage too. Are you still in school?"

"School?" Morris thought for a moment. "Does reading the Lunhai Covenant count?"

"Oh? A believer too. That's a rare breed." The man suddenly laughed out loud. His pen scratched rapidly across the paper as he continued, "Can you sing hymns?"

"Of course I can." Morris answered confidently. "Even Alex praised my hymn singing."

"Quite the talker too. Good with your tongue, huh? Knows how to chat." The man's expression instantly grew even more excited, and two more lines of black ink appeared on the white paper. "Seventeen, religious, good with his tongue, thick-skinned, and most importantly, pretty too."

He reached out and pinched Morris's cheek, even though Morris was sitting across the table. A strong wave of perfume hit him, but it wasn't too unpleasant. If anything, it carried a fresh lavender scent.

"Th-thanks?" After the man withdrew his hand, Morris scratched his head in confusion. He was here to stay the night. Why was this guy interrogating him like a census officer and then showering him with compliments?

"Why thank me? We should be thanking you." The man put away his paper and pen with satisfaction, then handed him a key. "Go on. Enjoy your happy night, child. After tonight, you'll be a proper adult."

"...What?" The moment Morris took the key, he suddenly felt a sense of danger. He hadn't felt this kind of alarm in a long time. Not since Alex once told him Demon Realm people would bite his OO.

"Oh, right. Are you a virgin?" the man suddenly asked.

"...Yes." Morris forced the word out. It wasn't something shameful, but in this particular moment, he felt like he was being publicly executed.

The man's eyes immediately filled with emotion, like a veteran in the workplace looking at a junior.

"So you're still fresh. It's fine. Off you go, kid. Good night."

Morris muttered to himself all the way there, thinking this place was seriously weird. For an inn, it was way too remote. And the name was actually Sweet Home. A lovey-dovey inn name like that made a single dog like Morris want to stay far away from it on principle, even if the inside turned out to be a whole different world.

The clerk was weird too. Not only did he not charge for the room, he asked a whole pile of questions instead.

Following the room number, Morris found the door. But from the room next door came the clear sound of a man and woman panting. The man was even letting out faint moans like, "A little gentler," and "No, don't," which sent a chill all over Morris's body. He hurriedly opened the door, slipped inside, and sat on the edge of the bed.

The room's decor was unexpectedly refined and beautiful, classical and elegant. The bed was very soft too. In one corner even hung a white Lunhai believer's robe, except some strange parts had been cut away. Over the chest, only a thin layer of fabric remained, enough to show the skin tone underneath. The back felt breezy, like a backless sweater. And below, someone had drawn a red circle and written the words, "Please eat me."

Taken as a whole... it looked pretty damn sexy.

...Wait.

At last, Morris realized something was very, very wrong.

Just as he was about to stand up, the door was suddenly shoved open by a tremendous force. A tall woman stood there, gripping a key and panting heavily. The scene made her look like an explorer who had overcome endless hardships and finally claimed the trophy that belonged to her. She forcefully brushed her long hair behind her ear. The heavy makeup on her face had been soaked through with sweat and smeared into a mess. The moment she saw Morris's face, she let out a roar that barely sounded human at all—

"O Lord Lunhai!"

“To still be alive today... I’m so happy!”

Morris froze for a moment. “Ma’am, is your surname Qiao and your name Biluo?”

But the woman said nothing. The instant he finished speaking, she slammed the door shut, ripped open the largest trendy dress she had on, revealing flashy underwear beneath, then lunged straight at Morris.

Only when the thick, choking stench of alcohol made his mind reel, and he was heavily pinned onto the bed, did Morris finally realize what kind of place this was. At last, snapping back to his senses, he shoved the woman away and let out a furious, thunderous roar at the woman secretly snickering from who knew where—

“Yieeeeeeeta!!!!!!”