World-shaking wisdom

On the lawn rippling in the cool breeze, beneath the shade of an apple tree, only the girl, her face flushed with humiliation, and the old nun, who had witnessed everything and stood as though struck by lightning, remained.

"Holy Son... Your Highness is far too noble to speak with this harbinger of disaster. She will only sully your eyes. If she disturbed you..."

After several seconds, the old nun began explaining, trembling with fear.

Lilith lowered her head without defending herself. This one-sided malice had followed her since before she could remember. Everyone said it was necessary to cleanse her innate sins. The girl herself had come to regard this abnormal treatment as part of everyday life.

Deep down, the girl did feel wronged, but she had never expressed it openly. She only hid in deserted corners or beneath her shabby, threadbare covers and screamed silently. But that was beside the point. She always did everything she could; preserving a life where she had food and clothing mattered most.

Faced with the old nun's rambling, Sephiroth merely parted his lips and spoke in the distinctive tone reserved for his professional Holy Son persona-

"There is no need to explain. I will judge for myself."

In principle, the Holy Son could reward, supervise, and admonish everyone except the Pontiff within certain limits. Punishments required the Discipline Bishop's approval before implementation, or, depending on the circumstances, a decision from the Pontiff.

To maintain his image as the perfect Holy Son, Sephiroth almost never interfered in private disputes between clergy members. Though occasionally unconventional on certain matters, he treated every member of the Church with care and humility. Malicious bullying, however, was an entirely different matter.

"But, Your Highness... she was born sinful."

"Mind your words. You and I were both born sinful, and God bears our sins equally. That is no excuse to condemn your fellow sister without cause."

Sephiroth spoke with complete solemnity. Having far surpassed every Holy Son before him, he had always been hailed as the Holy Son among Holy Sons. His specialized knowledge of religion from his previous life had proved quite useful. At least, the resolve woven into this compassionate attitude made the old nun kneel devoutly to accept his admonishment.

-So this was His Highness, the Holy Son.

Lilith had initially regarded the Holy Son who appeared out of nowhere with more fear than reverence, but events had taken an unexpected turn. She had not absorbed a single word of his reprimand. Perhaps she should have felt some vindictive satisfaction, at least. But that trivial matter paled beside the first kindness anyone had ever shown her. She felt rather embarrassed and did not quite know how to handle it.

"...I hope you will be more careful with your words and actions from now on."

Sephiroth waved the nun away. Stumbling, she bent into a deep bow and left as though fleeing.

Nuns occupied a middling position in Birka's Church. They were effectively junior supervisors, chiefly responsible for managing maids and servants and training new sisters.

Sisters who failed to advance to professed sisters before thirty-five became nuns. Their status was indeed higher than that of most ordinary sisters, and their benefits matched those of professed sisters, but their duties were very different.

Professed sisters did no physical labor; their work primarily involved religious activities. Nuns performed light manual labor and less respectable odd jobs. Outside religious activities, their secular duties differed little from those of senior maids.

Put bluntly-most nuns were senior sisters with ordinary looks, no particular talent, no connections, and nothing but seniority.

Sisters with connections, or those who were young and beautiful, performed secular work more akin to that of assistants or secretaries to midranking clergy. Nuns were comparatively powerless before these promising or well-connected sisters, and in truth envied them.

Sephiroth had seen more than enough of this in his previous life. Please, take it away already.

When he looked at the girl born with the perfect physique for cosplaying Mercury Lamp, he found her sitting with her legs folded outward, lost in a daze. She really did resemble the adorably vacant Mercury Lamp just after awakening in Rozen Maiden.

"Come back to earth, Mercury Lamp."

"...Huh... ah, I'm terribly sorry, Your Highness... Also, my name is Lilith."

The pirate world also had religions resembling the Christianity of Blue Star. The World Government spy who raised Big Mom, for instance, had posed as a sister. Its associated myths and legends also bore many misleading similarities to those of Blue Star.

Given that, Sephiroth wondered whether naming the girl "Lilith" had been a deliberate slight.

Realizing how improper her current posture was, Lilith tried to rise. Her body failed to complete the movement, however, and for a moment her feet could not support her.

Before a certain well-worn trope could play out-

"...Wait..."

Sephiroth had undergone knight training, after all. How could a frail girl possibly knock him over? He immediately braced his legs and caught the falling girl securely with his arms, restoring her balance.

Both froze for two seconds. Then Lilith darted back two steps like a startled little animal.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, for making you touch someone as ill-omened as me."

"Calm down first... Take a deep breath."

She clearly had spent years surrounded by bullying and discrimination. Having lived twice, Sephiroth understood that some circumstances could not be escaped through personal effort alone. All the more so in a religious nation like this.

"I know this isn't easy. And I haven't experienced the suffering you have, so I have no right to judge..."

One unexpected development followed another for Lilith that day. Rather than offering condescending, formulaic pity, the Holy Son seemed to acknowledge that his abilities and experience were insufficient to pass judgment on her life.

"-Wait, and keep hoping."

Even after the Holy Son left, those words continued to echo in her ears.

Several days later, on the streets of Birka-

As he grew older, Sephiroth's semi-secluded life within the Church ended. He earned the right to "go outside"-provided he submitted a request, of course.

"...Say, Shura. There's something I need you to explain."

"Of course, Your Highness. Please ask."

"Any idea why everyone is staring?"

"...Well... I'm not entirely sure myself."

This slightly idiotic exchange took place between Sephiroth and his escort-Grand Knight Shura.

Yes, this was the Shura who, in the Sky Island arc, served as one of Enel's four priests: the spear-wielding priest of the ordeal of string who rode a bird.

He did not yet look like a middle-aged aviator. He was a nineteen-year-old knight who had attained the rank of Grand Knight at an early age, currently escorting the Holy Son on his outing. Even within Birka's town, someone of the Holy Son's stature could never be permitted to travel alone once he left the Church gates.

In truth, both knew perfectly well why everyone was staring.

Sephiroth merely wanted someone to share his awkward amusement with. Unfortunately, the utterly serious Shura refused to take the bait.

In any case, to hide his broad wings, Sephiroth had put on an enormously oversized hooded cloak. His wings pushed it into a bizarre silhouette that looked extremely suspicious.

How suspicious? About as suspicious as standing before customs officers with your pants stuffed full of porn booklets.

There was no alternative. Without this disguise to conceal his identity, he would face not merely piercing stares but the catastrophe of a traffic jam.

Birka's town looked broadly similar to Angel Island in the original Sky Island arc. Its houses were likewise built from island cloud, though their architecture leaned somewhat toward a medieval European fairy-tale aesthetic. Perhaps because Sky Island had no soil, the town was exceptionally clean and tidy.

"Shura, do you know where there's a weapons shop?"

"Yes, Your Highness, but the weapons sold in town are far inferior to those within the Church."

On the White-White Sea, anything derived from land was relatively precious, minerals naturally included. As a result, civilian metalworking on Sky Island lagged behind that of the Blue Sea.

Metal prices had not reached absurd heights because certain sky islands maintained fairly stable trade with the Blue Sea. They relied entirely on imported finished metal goods, which were expensive but still affordable for commoners.

Birka was a relatively isolated sky island whose foreign contacts consisted mainly of limited trade with other sky islands. Occasionally, the Knock Up Stream brought small quantities of precious metal and soil. Thus, scavenging in the White Sea below was considered a legitimate profession on Sky Island.

"I mean, are there any iron cloud swords that can change shape?"

"Where did Your Highness hear of such things?"

Ordinary iron cloud became difficult to reshape once it settled. The forging method for freely transforming iron cloud weapons was a Church secret, and only Holy Knights could possess them. The Holy Son certainly had the right to know, but at his present age, nobody should have volunteered that information.

The two continued chatting as they conducted their "incognito inspection."

In fact, Sephiroth did intend to play the "benevolent magistrate." His main objective was to build his reputation further and acquire some real authority sooner. It also gave him opportunities to speak privately with the Grand Knights.

Over the past few years, he had gradually met three of the original four priests. Only Gedatsu, the one who rolled his eyes back, remained unknown to him.

Ohm, who would later wield an iron cloud sword, was only fifteen now. He had become a knight just that year and was currently Birka's youngest.

The ball-shaped Satori and his two brothers were only three years older than Sephiroth. All three were thirteen and still merely squires.

"Li↘li↘th↗, Li↘li↘th↗, cursed Li↘li↘th↗, black-winged witch, born-sinful Li↘li↘th↗..."

-Oh, that actually rhymed pretty well.

-Lilith was my name. But hardly anyone called me that. Everyone called me-the black-winged witch.

Lilith did not know who her parents were. Because she had been born with black wings, she had been abandoned at an orphanage before she could remember anything. In Birka's legends, they symbolized misfortune. Even her own parents could not easily accept someone like her-someone everyone shunned, feared, and avoided like the plague.

Though she had suffered discrimination since early childhood, she had never accepted it as an inescapable fate and given up. At least, that was what she had once believed.

Hoping to be treated fairly, she had always worked hard. At the orphanage, she eagerly helped with chores, never complained or acted willfully, and did her utmost at her studies.

Yet no matter how hard she worked or how much effort she made, people still shunned and feared her. On every night she felt wronged, she curled beneath her covers in the dark room as great drops of tears rolled endlessly down her face.

As she grew older, perhaps her only consolation was that, because she was "ill-omened," most of the bullying took the form of emotional abuse. She was rarely beaten.

At thirteen, the orphanage practically drove her out, dumping her at the Church to become a maid. Worse still, while she had rarely encountered outsiders at the orphanage, the nuns assigned her most of the errands outside once she became a Church maid.

This gave townspeople who had previously only heard of her more opportunities to see the black-winged witch in person. Possessing nothing, she could not even obtain a cloak large enough to cover her black wings.

Compared with adults' cold remarks, the brats throwing rubbish and making up mocking rhymes hurt her more.

Today, on her way to buy a toilet brush... the brats followed behind her, making noise as usual.

"Li↘li↘th↗, Li↘li↘th↗, cursed Li↘li↘th↗, black-winged witch, born-sinful Li↘li↘th↗..."

Now and then, broken shells and pieces of wood struck her back or black wings. The worst were the discarded rinds of Kona Fruit, which were as hard as iron.

Just then-

"-Stop this at once!"

A commanding voice suddenly rang out. Broad white wings spread open, accompanied by clear wine-red eyes and a figure every bit as dashing as his voice.

An oversized cloak settled over Lilith, covering her black wings.

Why was the Holy Son here? Wasn't he only supposed to appear on the streets during major festivals?

Then he swiftly stepped in front of her, as though shielding her.

"...Your... Your Highness..."

Watching the Holy Son's back, Lilith murmured in bewilderment.

She was astonished, but the brats surrounding her seemed even more shocked. They stood frozen, eyes wide.

"Personally, I believe children's cruelty stems from what their parents teach them through words and example."

At Sephiroth's calm yet faintly accusatory words, the parents watching nearby for amusement turned pale.

That was hardly surprising. This was His Highness Sephiroth, hailed as the model clergyman and the closest to divinity. The Pontiff and the Church's bishops valued him immensely, and his cheerful personality had earned him many private admirers.

If they angered Lord Sephiroth, they might lose not only their place in town but any refuge on Birka Island.

"Shouldn't you go home and teach your children properly?"

"-We're terribly sorry, Your Highness-"

As though granted amnesty, the adults bowed their heads to apologize to Lilith... then grabbed their respective brats and scrambled to flee.

Shura was utterly numb.

He had always heard that His Highness possessed world-shaking wisdom. Seeing him today proved the reputation deserved. Sheltering the ill-omened black-winged witch in public-the emphasis in "world-shaking wisdom" really was on "world-shaking"!

Their earlier encounter had already sparked private rumors that she was seducing the Holy Son. Now this, too. And it had happened right in front of him.

-Mother of mercy! My career's on the line! -Shura

After that commotion, lingering outside was clearly inappropriate. The three returned to the Church together. Along the way, Sephiroth and Lilith shared a few little... interactions that left Shura, walking beside them, squirming.

Before he accompanied the Holy Son outside, the Pontiff had specifically warned him about Lilith.

Birka's Church did not forbid marriage. For instance, generations of genetic selection had generally given high-ranking clergy wings a size larger than those of ordinary believers.

An ordinary Holy Son could generally become only a priest upon leaving office. If he was outstanding enough to marry a direct female descendant of the Pontiff or a bishop, he might become a bishop candidate.

The positions of Sky Island's bishops and Pontiff essentially circulated within a fixed circle of bloodlines, which took turns holding power and occasionally admitted exceptional outsiders. Without question, the current Holy Son fit that criterion perfectly.

The Church leadership's tacitly accepted choice was Isabella, the "former Holy Maiden" and granddaughter of the Scroll Bishop. They would be delighted to see the two become a couple.

The Church leadership was not entirely unaware of Isabella's little ambitions, either.

Unlike the Holy Son, who could improve his status by marrying into a family, a Holy Maiden had virtually no chance of attaining the third tier by marrying a direct male descendant of the Pontiff, because the third tier had no positions reserved for women.

The knight's path, however, had no gender restrictions. With sufficient martial strength, either a Holy Son or Holy Maiden could bypass other promotion requirements and become a Holy Knight directly upon leaving office.

But female Holy Knights had been exceedingly rare throughout history.

If Isabella could become a little more "practical" and help bind the most gifted Holy Son in a millennium more closely to the Church, it would be a major boon for the entire institution.

...Only after they passed through the Church gates and parted from Lilith did Shura muster the courage to ask-

"Your Highness, why did you help that young woman in front of everyone...?"

"She's cute."

"...No, you've misunderstood me. I mean, were there considerations involving the faith, or perhaps some reform you intend to enact within the Church?"

"I just think she's cute."

"..."

-We're doomed.

...The outcome of Shura's inner world collapsing into the image of The Scream was that he reported every last detail to the Pontiff.

Thus, like a student summoned for questioning by the head of discipline, Sephiroth was called to the Pontiff's office.

Beyond the ancient oak doors, a towering ceiling and a long, deep interior stretched before him.

It was a vast temple with enormous columns lining both sides and five sections of arcades. Arches connected the rows of columns, while great arcades rose straight from floor to ceiling, meeting at their highest points before flowing outward from those junctions toward one another.

Above the columns, the plastered inner surfaces that also formed the ceiling were covered in colorful religious murals. Every one depicted lightning and various steampunk-style mechanical creations.

Combining his research into ancient texts over recent years with his previous life's knowledge of this world, Sephiroth had developed a theory about Sky Island civilization.

(In the original manga, Enel reached the moon and encountered Space Pirates excavating the ruins of an earlier civilization. Those Space Pirates probably weren't aliens; they looked like members of the Mink Tribe.)

His conclusion was that between the years -4000 and -3500 of the sea circle calendar-over five thousand years ago, roughly when Alabasta's civilization first founded its nation-a group of winged humans already possessed technology capable of exploring the moon. It was most likely based on the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

Human concepts in the Pirate King's world such as heaven, angels, churches, priests, and sisters were very likely modeled on this incredibly ancient civilization.

For some unknown reason, this entire race relocated to the moon to develop, building an advanced automated civilization. They might also have mastered a method of reliably reincarnating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit during this period.

(This method probably wasn't the one proposed in certain pirate fanfictions: putting a dying ability user into a sealed Seastone box filled with fruit. That method wasn't complicated, after all, and the wealthy World Government must have tried it.)

Between the years -1500 and -1000 of the sea circle calendar-over two thousand years ago-the lunar civilization declined, and its survivors abandoned the moon to return to the world below.

Perhaps something caused them to lose their method of passing down the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. This lopsided civilization had likely used the fruit's power to bypass many critical technological obstacles. Once the fruit was lost, its entire technological system collapsed. The survivors became the ancestors of today's Skypieans.

As always, Sephiroth continued questioning and thinking with a cautious mindset as he walked straight ahead through sunlight streaming between the rows of columns.

"Please enter, Your Highness."

Having been informed of Sephiroth's visit in advance, the Grand Knights stationed on either side of the Pontiff's office opened the doors.

"Sephiroth, do you have anything to say about that witch?"

The rich voice rumbled like distant thunder, tinged with a somewhat perfunctory attitude. Its owner was a burly old man seated across a broad desk.

"Your Holiness, I have no excuses."

"..."

The muscular old geezer immediately lost his composure. At least come up with an excuse! Or keep it out of public view!

Regarding relationships, the religious importance of large-winged bloodlines meant Birka's Church not only permitted its clergy to marry, but even considered it unremarkable for high-ranking clergy to have multiple partners. Provided things did not go too far, it was at most a moral issue in Birka.

So certain things happening within it were decidedly unsuitable for broadcast.

Even the churches on Blue Star in the protagonist's previous life had managed all kinds of antics despite some denominations forbidding marriage.

A look into the work of medieval sisters would make that clear. Not every sister behaved that way, but it certainly was common.

In Birka, if a couple formalized their relationship and jointly applied to the Church, there were two possibilities. One was naturally marriage; the Church did indeed permit only one wife. The other was becoming an Acolyte, a role comparable to a secular concubine.

After becoming an Acolyte, a woman's authority remained unchanged, but her benefits rose to one rank below the man's.

For example, if a sixth-tier sister became the Acolyte of a third-tier bishop, she would enjoy the benefits of a fourth-tier Mother Superior.

So some sisters took the initiative, too.

Take that old geezer, the Pontiff, for example. Aside from his lawful wife, he had five publicly acknowledged Acolytes, and who knew how many he kept under wraps.

"Honestly, your worries don't make much sense."

Behind closed doors, the two got along like a grandfather and grandson. Sephiroth spread both hands in a little bear's helpless shrug.

"...Whether we're talking physics or biology, what do you think I could possibly do?"

Besides, there was a mighty god watching from above. He would have to wait until he was an adult, no matter what.

The Pontiff wanted to smack him dead when he heard that. Don't get angry. You chose this Holy Son yourself-the finest Holy Son in a thousand years.

To him, the heart of the issue wasn't the Holy Son fooling around with girls. Isabella wasn't his granddaughter, after all; she was the granddaughter of that old scoundrel, the Scroll Bishop. That sort of thing wasn't his concern.

The point was that even if the little pig he had raised could finally root around in the cabbage patch, couldn't he at least pick a good cabbage? It was about as upsetting as a traditional old man watching his grandson bring home a black girlfriend.

"Forget it. Let's set that aside for now. Hmm...it's been almost...seven whole years, hasn't it? Well, what do you think?"

The question lacked a subject, but Sephiroth answered decisively in his capacity as the Holy Son-

"The time has come."

The Pontiff did not question him. Over those seven years, the Holy Son had proposed numerous "theories," which the Scroll Priests had repeatedly verified, exclaiming that they were "divinely ordained axioms."

He was perceptive about everything he learned, bright and quick-witted rather than blindly bound to books, diligent and eager to learn, and unwilling to let himself grow idle...most precious of all was his rare capacity for thought, which surpassed even that of some adults. He was an extraordinary genius, the kind seen once in an age.

-If Sephiroth had known that was how the Pontiff saw him, he might have clawed a three-bedroom apartment into the floor out of sheer embarrassment.

After all, he was-quite literally-standing on the shoulders of giants.

"Hmm...good. Today, I'll take you to see the Church's supreme sacred scripture-the Ark Maxim."

(Revisions and explanations)

A lot of the content was revised afterward.

Readers are a group, and many of their "demands" inherently contradict one another.

What am I supposed to do?

The simplest example: with a female character, you say to add her to the harem, while someone else says not to. Who am I supposed to listen to? Whatever I do, it's wrong.