World Within the Shell, Saint Isa Kingdom.
"Today, we finally got to see His Holiness the Pope. Just like the rumors said, so majestic."
"Holy Selection isn't until tomorrow. I never expected His Holiness to appear early—it's so exciting."
"It's just a pity the Pope wore a white mask, so we couldn't see what was beneath it. Sigh..."
"Even without seeing the face, His Holiness still felt so tall and mighty. Maybe just as the legends say, beautiful as a god."
A group of young girls in Luther Holy Church uniforms walked arm in arm down the dormitory corridor, chatting and laughing. The subject of their conversation was none other than the Pope, whom they had caught a fleeting glimpse of during today's Holy Advent.
Amid their chatter and laughter, a blonde woman walking slightly behind the others muttered under her breath, "Tall and mighty? You really must be blind..."
She did not voice the rest, but one of the "candidate saintesses" beside her seemed to have heard the murmur. Turning back, she asked, "Sister Feng, what did you just say?"
The blonde woman called Sister Feng calmly brushed back the hair by her ear and said with a perfectly serious expression, "I said you were right. His Holiness the Pope truly is tall and mighty."
"Really? You think so too? Sigh, if only we could see His Holiness's face."
Her words immediately drew agreement from the other girls. Yet one girl, clearly fond of gossip, sighed. "I heard that ten years ago, when His Holiness went to the heretical Heart Kingdom to spread the gospel, the face was injured. That's why the mask is worn. The news wasn't that big at the time, but His Holiness has kept the mask on all these years. The injury must have been