Ivan stood before the shattered window with a pale face, his forehead covered in small beads of sweat. His back was drenched. It felt like an intangible power had hit him, making him freeze in place. His shocked eyes glinted with disbelief. Through his agape mouth, his teeth could be seen chattering.

Everything else fell away, leaving only the degenerate man and... only the degenerate man. At that moment, he felt a shock and confusion that he could not describe. His whole world was broken down and put back together because of what he saw.

A powerful fear rose in his heart, unbidden. The reality was that his daughter, Holy Maiden Anastasia of the Church of Darkness, had not fallen. It was his faith, the Goddess of Darkness, who had fallen.

He would rather it were his daughter!

As a certain someone had said, if you suggest putting a skylight in a dark house, others would object, but if you suggest taking down the roof, others would agree to a skylight as a compromise[1].

That was what was happening to Ivan. He remembered his daughter’s resigned yet hardened attitude and wanted nothing but to slap himself. He just had to stick his nose in when she told him to walk away. Now that the cat was out of the bag, how was he going to put the cat back in?

So you are Anastasia’s father, the Pope of the Church of Darkness. Wayne cocked his head at Ivan. Ivan’s appearance was youthful, but nothing to write home about. The cloak that allowed him to blend in with his environment and avoid the detection of thoughts, on the other hand, looked very much like the raincoat that Wayne had lost after moving houses. Thanks to nature’s generosity, it was finally returning to its rightful owner today.

Wayne understood Ivan’s shock. It was akin to a simp finding out that the aloof, pure goddess he had pined after was actually a player. Though it was an inappropriate analogy, and a goddess in the sense of a stunning woman was not the same as an actual goddess, the point was valid.

Wayne stayed silent. The dark elf in his embrace smelled good, and looking down, he could see the inside of Her collar. Compared to the Pope, the Pope’s daughter was obviously a more pleasant sight. In the shell of the Pope’s daughter, this was actually his goddess...

Hm, that sounded a bit strange. Quite kinky.

Wayne touched his slicked-back black hair, making sure that it hadn’t turned blond to mark him as the third wheel. He was still a warrior of true love, adamantly against cheating[2].

Ines, the Goddess of Darkness didn’t say anything. She continued to look at Wayne with adoration in Her eyes, glancing at Ivan every now and then.

Are you not going to say anything, Pope?

This was purely a chance encounter, not part of Her plan. However, She found it interesting, and She even felt a little anticipation.

“God-goddess...”

Finally, Ivan recovered from his shock enough to bow slightly, with his hand on his chest. That was how he had greeted the Holy Maiden in the past. As soon as his back bent, however, he realized his mistake. This wasn’t the Holy Maiden, but the goddess, descending through the Holy Maiden to mess around with a man.

He was about to drop to his knees—

“Ahem!” Wayne cleared his throat with a frown. “Your Holiness, you must be mistaken. The goddess? There’s only you, me, and Lady Holy Maiden in this house. There’s no one else.”

Ivan paused, halting before he could bend down and kneel. He was certain that the goddess had descended, requiring him to kneel, but if he knelt, he would be acknowledging Her identity, which would have dire consequences. He must not kneel.

If he got on his knees, the Pope of the Church of Darkness would’ve witnessed the Goddess of Darkness’s tryst with the pretty boy. To avoid rampant rumors damaging the goddess’s sacred reputation, the Pope would have to be imprisoned and sentenced for defiling the goddess.

If he did not get on his knees, however, the Pope would be ignoring the Goddess of Darkness, which would be an even worse sacrilegious offense.

He was damned if he knelt and damned if he didn’t. No matter what he did, he would be punished by death.

Freezing, he waited for the goddess to say something, to decide which flavor of desecration She would punish him for.

“Interesting.” Ines chuckled. While wearing Anastasia’s face, She appeared seductive and alluring rather than aloof. She said to Wayne, “He saw something he shouldn’t have seen. What do you think I should do with him?”

“It’s not that serious. Your father has simply caught his daughter on a date with her boyfriend. The minor misunderstanding doesn’t warrant such discussion.” Wayne huffed, deciding to help Ivan for Anastasia’s sake.

He thought highly of Anastasia’s character, and Ivan couldn’t have been trash like Auston if he had raised such an excellent daughter. Wayne would save as many of such people as he could.

“He isn’t my father, and I’m not Anastasia!” Ines smiled suggestively. “Why, are you worried about him because of Anastasia? What an unfaithful man. You said that you only like the soul in this body, but now, you want the body, too.”

Do you hear yourself, Goddess? x2

Ivan blanched, knowing that he was doomed. Meanwhile, Wayne frowned and said in a serious tone, “He’s the Pope of the Church of Darkness. There’s no reason for you to do this.”

“Can’t I do it just because I want to?”

You’re clearly manipulating him. What a terrible personality you have!

Wait, am I an extra in your game with him?

“Of course you can do what you want, but as the saying goes, even underwear and tissue paper have their uses, let alone a pope who had been doing his job dutifully. Even if he had no achievements under his belt, he would have put in enough hard work. He should stay to serve the church.”

“You really do like Anastasia. You used to agree with whatever I said, but now, you’re lecturing me because of her father.” Ines whined, resting Her head on his shoulder and moving Her shoulders up and down to feign crying. Despite the lack of actual tears and the terrible acting, the line more than made up for the shortcomings.

Every time Her shoulders moved, Ivan’s face would turn paler. This wasn’t what he should be seeing or hearing. His knees went weak before falling onto the ground with a thud.

“Who told you to kneel? This is your daughter. You shouldn’t be kneeling to her. Get up!” Wayne glared at Ivan. As long as the box stayed closed, the cat wouldn’t be dead even if it had died. Ivan would be opening the box and inviting his own death by kneeling.

When Ivan didn’t move, Wayne summoned a gust to pin the boneless pope to a wall by the window.

“You won’t let me take care of the Pope, but you take it upon yourself...” Ines put on a look of betrayal and disappointment. “You promised me that we would remain separate entities, that you wouldn’t get involved in matters of the Church of Darkness because of your relationship with me. But now? You’re even ordering the Pope around.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m ordering the Pope around today, and tomorrow, I’ll be charging into the Divine Realm of Darkness to stage a coup.” Wayne scowled at Ines. Just tell me how much I need to pay for you to spare him.

Ines smiled, ignoring his unspoken message. “A deity does not care about their church. I don’t care that you’re ordering the Pope around, but I care about your attitude. You were mean to me.”

“I wouldn’t dare. I just want to use this chance to strike a deal.”

“What deal?”

“I’m saving him, and he’ll pay for his survival.”

Ines put on a look of dawning realization. “Ah, you plan to name a price he cannot pay so that you can make him give you his daughter.”

Are you done? Is this game fun for you?

Wayne had never met a woman with such a terrible personality. He asked with a frown, “What do you want?”

“Hand over my thoughts.”

“No way!”

“Then I’ll get him killed. I’ll have Anastasia kill her father with her body.”

“Go ahead.”

“...”

Wayne ended the negotiation with that. Although Ines knew that it wasn’t happening, She was still rendered speechless by his lack of hesitation.

“He’s Anastasia’s father!” She reminded him.

“He’s also the Pope of the Church of Darkness!”

“I don’t care.”

“Then I don’t care, either.”

“...” x2

They glared at each other. There was no point in pretending to be a gentleman in this situation. Wayne reached into the long black dress and glided his hand along the long leg until he reached the curvy part, pinching twice.

Ines stilled, feeling deeply uncomfortable. In Her plan, Anastasia would be the one in control of the body during this step, while She watched from the sidelines. She shouldn’t be leading the charge now.

There was a more important matter to discuss. Ines stopped bargaining and stated Her bottom line. “Where’s Seleucia? Has She accepted your evolution? I want to know Her current condition.”

What a good friend Ines was! When Her bestie was imprisoned, not only did She not visit Her friend, but She even urged a thug to visit Seleucia in Her stead!

The Goddess of Sky had many shortcomings, including an arrogance that prevented Her from lowering Her pride and making decisions, leading to Her diminishing fighting will in prison. However, She was incredibly pure when everyone else was competing to be the greatest scumbag.

Wayne preferred a goddess who was less intelligent. Ines was never in his consideration. The Goddess of Darkness had singlehandedly lowered the bar for morality for the Church of Darkness.

“Seleucia is still at Her home, not yet accepting an evolution.”

“Oh, you didn’t force her?” Ines asked in surprise.

“As if I’ve forced anyone.” Wayne huffed. He had, at worst, replaced the best ware with the second best and been disingenuous about what he was selling; otherwise, he was an ethical businessman who would never force a deal.

“So? Did Seleucia turn you down?”

“Not really. Her pride needs to be tempered. She’ll come around after being left alone for a while.”

“I haven’t misjudged you.”

Ines was satisfied with the answer. An Astral life who would even dare make Her fall had no reason to let a helpless Seleucia go. Though Seleucia had fallen from grace, She was still a goddess. No Astral life could resist such a temptation.

“Anastasia has handed you the gifts. What's in the boxes is important. Study hard and grow quickly. It’ll be of use in the future,” Ines said slowly. “Once Seleucia accepts your evolution, have Anastasia notify me. I haven’t seen Her for years. I’d like to catch up.”

She was about to leave when Wayne slapped Her on the bottom, pressing, “How about the Pope? He isn’t going to die of accident later, is he?”

Ines was even more prideful than Seleucia. The slap made Her expression turn icy. She glanced at Ivan, who was still pinned to the wall. “He’s smart enough to know how he can stay alive.”

Her thoughts left, giving the body back to Anastasia. If She didn’t go now, the dress would get snags from all the touching.

After the Goddess of Darkness left, Anastasia opened her eyes wide. Her face paled as she looked at her faith from a close distance. Ivan had not left. He had seen what he shouldn’t have seen!

Bastard, I told you to stay away from the heat. Why didn’t you listen to me?!

Anastasia would’ve slapped Ivan to send him back to the Rus Federation, but it was too late now. She only hoped that Ivan would keep his mouth shut.

This would be a good chance for him to quit drinking so that he wouldn’t talk nonsense!

1. A reference to what Lu Xun, a renowned Chinese writer, wrote about the door-in-the-face technique in his 1927 book, Silent China. ☜

2. In China, yellow hair/blond hair is used to refer to someone stirring up relationship trouble for the main couple of a story because in anime, the second male lead often has blond hair/brown hair. ☜