The World I Was Supporting Was Real

Episode 42. Ophelia Transrente (1)

* * *

The next day.

At dawn, before the sun had fully risen.

Among the three holy knights, it was Ophelia’s turn to take action first.

“This should be enough.”

Ophelia, who had greeted the morning early, was engrossed in her morning training in light attire.

As soon as she woke up, her morning routine was to do 100 push-ups and 50 squats lightly before breakfast.

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Originally, her full morning exercise routine included a 3km run, but… the surroundings of the unfamiliar cathedral and the uncertainty of when she might be called upon meant she had to be content with indoor exercises.

“Whew.”

Ophelia took a deep breath as she gulped down water after finishing her workout.

She had asked the nuns to prepare everything in advance yesterday.

Sweat droplets formed and rolled down her firm muscles, thick thighs, and beautifully shaped large chest.

‘My whole body is drenched in sweat. I need to clean up before meal time.’

Ophelia carefully grabbed a towel and moved her steps.

Although Luca had told her the way, it took her quite a while to find the bathhouse and finally soak her body.

After the bath, she returned to her room and prayed.

‘Lord Igogodon, it seems I have worried the Saintess due to my shortcomings. I will strive to hone my qualifications as a Holy Knight, so please grant me your gracious… that.’

After the meal, she helped the cathedral people fill new things, just like yesterday.

“What is this place…?”

Seeing the room filled with people she hadn’t seen yesterday, she asked, and a priestess dressed neatly in a nun’s habit bowed and began to explain cautiously.

“This is a space for aiding the poor.”

“I didn’t know there was such a large space.”

“It used to be a place where the chronicles of the apostles who followed Lord Igogodon were stored.”

“Where are those chronicles now…”

At Ophelia’s question, the nun smiled brightly and said,

“They were all burned.”

“Burned…?”

“Yes. The travelogues of the apostles are just meaningless old things. What matters is not the deeds of the apostles but practicing Lord Igogodon’s command to share a plate of facts with unbelievers at this very moment.”

The nun said this while looking at the poor filling their hungry stomachs.

“It’s not the old books that matter, but the new day we face.”

“What’s important is not the records but the reality… A plate of facts is related to aiding the poor… That’s a very enlightening statement.”

Ophelia took out her notebook and wrote down all the nun’s words before asking,

“So, what can I help with?”

“We would like you to help carry the items. It might not be a suitable task for someone of your stature as a Holy Knight, but…”

“There’s no such thing. Everything is according to Lord Igogodon’s will. I will gladly do it.”

Thus, she did menial tasks and exercised lightly whenever she had the opportunity.

The most important duty of a Holy Knight is to protect Saint Erin. To do that, it was only natural to train her physical strength diligently.

Helping out with the church work like that, before she knew it, the sun had set and evening had arrived.

“Thank you for your hard work, Ophelia. I didn’t expect you to help until this late…”

“It’s nothing. I just did what I had to do. If there’s nothing special tomorrow, I’ll come again.”

After the work was done.

She could have taken a rest, but instead of resting, Ophelia doubled her morning exercise—200 push-ups and 100 squats, continuing to temper her body.

‘To protect the Saint and understand God’s will, I must not be lazy even for a single day.’

After that, she took a bath with her fellow knights and only then could she take off the shining circlet, the symbol of her knighthood, from her head.

Taking off the circlet meant that her day as a knight was over.

Of course, only her day as a knight was over; the time to explore God’s will as a monk was not yet finished.

The holiest book in the world, the Bible. Reading it until midnight was Ophelia’s last task of the day.

When the time came, she would go to sleep immediately to prepare for tomorrow.

A life of gratitude for having much to realize in the future, instead of regretting what she couldn’t realize.

That was the way Ophelia, who had excellent talent in swordsmanship but was somewhat lacking in intelligence, lived.

* * *

One day, while continuing her training.

After dinner, Ophelia was talking with her fellow knights.

“Soft Pax… Are you perhaps talking about plain facts?”

“Ah, yes! Plain facts! I want to understand God’s plain facts. In that sense, I’m curious if there was an opportunity for you to better understand God’s plain facts.”

“You mean the plain facts of Lord Igogodon.”

Hearing those words, Luca closed his eyes and recalled that moment.

The moment when he clearly confirmed that God was watching over him.

Even if what lay before him was a thorny path, the determination to move forward bravely without turning his eyes away from it.

For Luca, Lord Igogodon’s plain fact was ‘the will to move forward even if broken.’

Even if a fate so harsh that it was noticeable compared to others lay before him, accepting it and stepping into a realm that no one else could reach.

Perhaps because of the overwhelming emotions, Luca barely held back his tears.

Hearing Luca’s explanation, Ophelia’s eyes sparkled as she wrote down Luca’s words in her notebook, as if she had learned something.

“Indeed. The will to move forward even if broken… What a meaningful and wonderful resolution. This is the plain fact of the one true God, Lord Igogodon…”

“Ophelia… Did you write all of this?”

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

Unlike Linea, who showed a surprised expression at the notebook filled with the priests’ advice on God’s plain facts that she had met at the church, Ophelia spoke in a calm tone.

“I am much slower in learning compared to others. It’s embarrassing, but even though I was chosen by Igwogwoden with a plate of holy knights, I still don’t understand what God’s plain fact is. Isn’t it only natural to work several times harder than others? In that sense, this time, I’m curious about your opinion, Linea.”

“If you mean the plain fact…”

Honestly, Linea had nothing much to say.

She also didn’t understand Igwogwoden’s plain fact.

The difference was that, unlike Ophelia, who was desperately trying to understand, she hadn’t made any effort to understand it.

Even so, wasn’t she the one who had witnessed God’s plain fact more closely than anyone else?

‘If I were to infer from the appearance my mother showed…’

After meeting the saint.

Eirene became a devout follower of Gwodengyo to the bone, and she explained to Linea, who was chosen with a plate of holy knights, several times about the ‘plain fact of Igwogwoden’ that she had felt.

To Eirene, God’s plain fact was ‘the heart to trust someone.’ The fact that she could trust God, and furthermore, people, was the plain fact that she, who trusted no one, had felt.

Linea herself still felt uneasy about her mother’s sudden change… but seeing Ophelia tried so hard, she wanted to help in any way she could, so she explained her experience.

“I see. The heart to trust someone… indeed, it should be called Igwogwoden. I feel a commonality in both of your words, but I have no idea how to explain it…”

“After hearing about the commonality… could it be that Igwogwoden referred to the virtues that humans should uphold as ‘a plate of facts’?”

“…!”

“The will not give up. The heart to trust. Both are very important values.”

Ophelia nodded vigorously at Luca’s explanation.

“I see! God’s plain fact is the virtue that humans should uphold…! It was so difficult to wrap my head around it in one word, but I’m really glad you’re here, Luca!”

“If virtue is the answer, I might understand a bit why it was explained as ‘a plate of facts.’ Virtue cannot be defined by a single value.”

With Linea’s addition, Luca felt a bit embarrassed and fiddled with her ribbon.

“Well… still, it’s only been a short time since I was appointed with a plate of holy knights. I’m still learning, so I hope you can also gain your own understanding, Ophelia.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

That day, they spent time studying Igwogwoden’s words with their fellow holy knights until late.

Thinking that everything was training, Ophelia willingly spent her time.

Not to disappoint Saint Erin and Igwogwoden, who appointed her with a plate of holy knights, and to understand God’s will with her own ability—only for that.

* * *

On the night of the sixth day.

After finishing her daily tasks, Ophelia closed her eyes and prayed slowly once again.

‘Igwogwoden, today I have prepared my body and mind to study God’s words. Please allow me to feel the subtle faction.’

After judging that her mind and body were sufficiently prepared, she carefully began to read the Bible containing God’s words.

‘Let’s see. According to the bookmark, it seems it’s time to read the third chapter of the Holy Power Chronicle today.’

If there was a minor issue, it was that I couldn’t remember exactly which part of the Bible I had read after waking up.

But that was okay. If I couldn’t remember, I could just read it again.

‘That’s right. It was a plain fact. I forgot again. This poor memory must also be a trial from God. If I can’t remember, I can just read it again.’

After diligently skimming through Genesis in this manner, I could finally turn my eyes to the Holy Power Pouch.

‘The Holy Power Pouch… I had heard many times that it was important, but it seems to be more important than I imagined.’

Ophelia slowly ran her hand over her chest.

The unique soft sensation of her large, well-shaped chest, firm from exercise, was transmitted to her fingertips.

Is this size okay? No matter how much I think about it, it’s a bit lacking compared to Saint Erin…

‘No. Even if it’s lacking, stopping my efforts would surely not be in line with God’s will. If the Holy Power Pouch is lacking, I just need to train twice as hard.’

Living a life of studying the words of Lord Igogodon until bedtime and falling asleep at the exact time.

Ophelia was finally able to maintain such a mechanical life perfectly for a week.

* * *

The next morning.

‘Good.’

During that time, I had desperately studied the teachings of Lord Igogodon and the doctrines of the Igogodon Church from the religious people at the cathedral whenever I had the opportunity.

I didn’t neglect my training while mingling with my fellow Holy Knights.

With this much effort, wouldn’t God grant me that deep… something?

With such hope, I cautiously approached Saint Erin.

“…You have come.”

For some reason, Erin’s expression was very dark, but Ophelia did not inquire and immediately bowed her head in respect.

“Yes, Saint. I have diligently studied the words of Lord Igogodon. Now, the sleek—”

“…Plain fact, it is.”

“I’m sorry. I keep forgetting. But now, I think I can accept the plain fact of Lord Igogodon. Could you please give me one more chance?”

“That is…”

At Ophelia’s words, Erin fell into contemplation once again.

She would not be able to accept the plain fact of God this time either.

The words of God written in the Bible were absolute.

But even so, was it really right to honestly tell her this, after pondering for a week―

‘Lady Ophelia is chosen by God. There must be a reason. Lying to someone chosen by God is the same as lying to God.’

Naturally, from her perspective, she could not lie to Lord Igogodon, so she had no choice but to speak honestly here.

“That is… it seems that Lady Ophelia is… unable to accept the plain facts of God…”

“Unable to accept…?”

“…Unfortunately, it seems that she fundamentally lacks the understanding… I must say.”

―Words that could only sound cruel to a lacking monk who strives to reach where others naturally arrive.