***The Saint’s Tree, Cherwoods…***
What is the meaning of this?” Lord Gerard, still disguised as Kuro of Arles, threw the copies of the manga of the Lady Hinwe across the table, intending to hit the Life Guards captain, Sir Eldarv. However, those books went astray, nding on the floor instead of its intended target. “Why is the name of Her Holiness in those books?”
“Sir,” the Life Guards captain answered. “It must be someone else impersonating the saint back in Chersea. That person is using her name, maybe so that many would buy that book.”
“I don’t care about that person’s reasons, Sir Eldarv,” the disguised elf shouted. “I wanted those books confiscate and burned. All of those! Search every city in this realm for those copies; execute those who would resist. And I want that impostor, whoever she is, eliminated.”
“B-But Sir…” Sir Eldarv’s face went pale. “Do-Don’t you think this is…excessive?”
The Lord Gerard came near the Life Guards captain, caught his colr, and brought his face closer to him. “Have you realized the precarious situation we’re both in, Sir Eldarv? If we allow these books—full of knowledge from the demons—to go around, soon, we might be facing a full-blown rebellion of your kin. The Grand Canal isn’t finished just yet, and all of you…your home, your farms, and your nds…everything will die and vanish. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
The captain, unnerved by the change in behavior of the disguised elf, nodded. Then, the Lord Gerard let go of his colr…
“And how is the search for Her Holiness?”
Sir Eldarv paused for a moment, wondering if he should tell the truth. In the end, however, he admitted, “Sire, we lost contact with our agents in Chersea.”
The Lord Gerard smmed his hands on the table repeatedly, while screaming, “Damn it! Damn it all! This isn’t what is supposed to happen; I’m just a pceholder!”
“Sir Kuro,” Sir Eldarv reminded him, “You haven’t given your order for us.”
“Find Her Holiness, for goodness’ sake!” the disguised elf bellowed. “Find her dead, or alive, I don’t care! Just find her, and bring her back here!”
The captain of the Life Guards saluted and left. Now alone in his tree pace, Lord Gerard slumped to his chair as another ‘visitor’ came to meet him…
“What do you need?” he growled as the dark miasma that oozed from his body coalesced into the figure of a beautiful woman…the Seductress.
“That’s good, Gerard. Thank you for feeding me with your anger, and your fear,” she told him while caressing his face with her cold miasma.
“I don’t intend to,” he answered, making clear to her he hated her presence.
“Don’t be so hateful,” the Seductress chuckled. “Though, hm…the more you hated me, the more you’ll feed me. I thrive on negative thoughts and feelings after all…”
The Lord Gerard then picked a gss vase and threw it on her. Of course, it only passed through the Seductress’ body, which she found ughable.
“Ah, I love these hateful feelings of yours, and the fear…ooh, yes…feed me more!” the creature from the Void kept on teasing and mocking him, before saying, “I guess I should return the favor for all the food you’ve been giving me. That is if you only want to…”
The Lord Gerard gred at the Seductress and asked, “You? A weakened creature dares to offer me something she doesn’t have? And what kind of favor you shall return to me, when you’re so pathetically weak?”
Her sly smile vanished from her face, “You, a cowering coward, hiding behind someone’s face because he can’t stand his treachery, dares to tell me I’m weak? Aren’t you getting cocky, long ears?”
“You speak too much. What can you offer?”
“You’re seriously asking me that?” Then, without warning, the scenery changed; from the homely atmosphere of the tree pace, everything became dark and empty. Lord Gerard, shocked and overwhelmed at the suddenness of the changes, remained paralyzed in his seat.
“…” However, the Seductress wasn’t finished just yet.
“!!!”
From the dark confines of that empty dimension, the scene changed into that of a jolly, noisy, and festive event. Crowds from various races were walking around, and many of them danced and shouted to the tune of the music. The elf was silent; he couldn’t understand what was happening until the background changed into another. This time, it’s as if they only moved a few paces away from the party's center into a grassy spot on the sides, where a few participants were resting.
By that moment, the Lord Gerard was already back to his senses. He stood up from his chair and felt the grass on his feet, though his eyes were focused on the couple before him.
“…”
it was the real Lord Kuro and his fiancée, Meanor, sitting on a bench. She gave the human a bottle of cold juice and conversed for a while. He couldn’t hear them, though he was close, for the sounds of the party behind him were so loud. Nevertheless, he could tell they were talking, for his fiancée and the Lord Kuro’s mouths opened and closed.
“Oh…” the elf lord heard the Seductress’ voice. “I think I forgot to adjust the volume. Here, let me make it louder for you to hear.”
Then, the sounds came in just as Meanor stood up, and did a curtsy before the human. The Lord Gerard was dumbfounded at her gesture, but he was even more horrified to hear her say…
“I have no qualms in serving you as well.”
His mind went bnk. Lord Gerard recalled the times when he tried asking Meanor to tie the knot with him, but she refused, often saying, ‘I still have to serve Her Holiness!’ And yet, for this human to gain his fiancée’s heart while he was having difficulty back in Cherwoods was something he couldn’t pass!
“Meanoooooor!!!” the elf lord shouted at the top of his lungs that he had never heard the rest of her words. In his head, only one thing remained. He wanted to kill the Lord Kuro! He would murder him! The Lord Gerard then tried to attack the oblivious human, only to pass through him…much to his anger and frustration.
And then, the vision ended.
----------
“I’m really sorry you have to witness the infidelity of your lover,” the Seductress whispered to the Lord Gerard’s ears, as her miasma consoled him. “And also, let me give my thanks for feeding me yet again with your jealousy.”
“I’ll kill that human…” the Lord Gerard muttered.
“What a surprise! I have the same goals as you.”
The elf, still raging with jealousy and hate, gred at her. “If you talk that way,” he said, “then it must mean you have the ways to do it.”
The Seductress grinned. “Of course. I can even cause the downfall of the gods when I’m powerful enough. What can a puny human do to me?”
The elf lord then reached out a hand towards her. Seeing it as a sign from him to possess his body completely, the creature from the Void never gave it a second thought. In a fsh, the consciousness of the Lord Gerard disappeared, and turned to that of the Seductress, corrupter and devourer of worlds…
----------
**Hinwe**
“Your Holiness, you look beautiful…” said the dy who helped me fix my costume. Of course, I smiled at her and expressed my gratitude. But deep inside, my chest was about to explode.
“…”
I know about cospying, and I have loved to try it ever since I first read of the hobby from the mangas the Lord Gaius brought me. Still, holing up in my room for too long affected my social skills. Honestly, the mere thought of appearing before a huge crowd made my stomach churn.
“…”
I can’t back down now, can I?
No matter how nervous I was, I still loved and was excited about what I was about to do. After all, Her Holiness the Human Saint already spent a lot of her money for this to happen, not to mention, Kuro’s own pockets as well. My servant, Meanor, was totally supportive; even going as far as taking my spot in the booth area so I could prepare well.
I believe it’s irresponsible for me not to reciprocate their push so that I can regain myself…
And so, now that we’re here, I didn’t want to fail everyone else, especially Kuro, who stubbornly believed in me. He was a fellow otaku, a great friend, and…my savior. When all saw me in disdain—including myself—he and Meanor always disagreed. The least I could do was to show them that I could now stand on my own, that the ‘old’ Hinwe—though still a work in progress—was slowly coming back to life.
In any case, since my hair was a dark hue of blue, I decided to cospy the legendary hero, the Lady Cassandra David. Like in Cherwoods, her story of how she came, fought against the demons, and saved everyone—including her former enemies—was popur here in Chersea. Actually, I highly-suspect someone out there was already doing a manga about her life among the people here. As for me? From the passages of books telling what she looked like, the common depiction was that she had bck hair, simir to her teacher, Kuro. Luckily, my hair’s length was almost the same as hers so it could be styled to her looks.
Though, of course, I know these ‘likenesses’ are just fantasies of their creators. I saw the real Cassandra David when she still walked the five realms.
“…”
Well, I did tell Kuro about it, and he said that cospy is about the accuracy of the fictional character, not necessarily the real-life counterpart.
“Your Holiness, the stage is set, and you’re about to appear soon,” the dy told me. “Please get ready.”
I took a deep breath and made some final adjustments to my costume. The other cospyers had already walked the stage, exciting the crowd. In an effort to increase support for me, Kuro arranged that I appear st and have the grandest entrance of all. For that very purpose, he asked for the help of Her Holiness, the Lady Madeine.
“How are you, Lady Hinwe?” she asked upon entering the dressing area.
“I’m pretty much fine,” I told her, though I admitted. “Extremely nervous, too, I’d say.”
The Human Saint held my hand. “Indeed,” she commented, “it’s cold. Well, don’t worry, you always got our support. Just be yourself, Lady Hinwe, okay?”
I nodded and took another deep breath. Then, the person in charge signaled for us to get ready; the show was about to start soon…
----------
**Kuro**
I may have pnned everything down to the smallest details, but…damn it…I was still nervous.
“…”
As the ‘grand entrance’ of the Lady Hinwe approached, I couldn’t help but get anxious. I knew that saint; she was a notorious introvert, and every second I didn’t see her appear on the stage, the more I worried.
Can it be that she backed down?
Nevertheless, I told myself not to worry—repeatedly. My eyes fell inadvertently on her servant, who stood beside me, waiting for her mistress. Together with Meanor, we blended with the crowd, to gauge their reactions to what they witnessed.
As the st cospyer took a bow and left the stage, the ‘grand entrance’ we prepared for the Lady Hinwe started to unravel. I couldn’t help but utter a silent prayer, hoping everything would go as smoothly as we had pnned. In tune with how the legends and tales narrate Cassandra David’s story, we wanted the Lady Hinwe to ‘come in’ from the skies.
But, her god-powers are weak…
So, I enlisted the saints Maddie, Ruro, and Natasha. The Human Saint would be the one to teleport and ‘bring’ the Lady Hinwe down from the skies and slowly to the stage. Natasha provided the picture of how it looked, given that she was Cassandra David. And Ruro…well, her authority over the weather, especially the winds, made her god-powers viable for amplifying the narration and the sound effects for a better audience experience.
Thinking back, all of these just for the elves—at least, the newer generation—will be convinced to join the cause of their saint.
“…”
I’d say, it seemed my pns worked so far. The manga of the Lady Hinwe was not only entertaining but it was also deemed educational. From fabricated ‘success stories’ our agents spread, there were now ‘legitimate’ cims going around that reading the Elf Saint’s work helped them in farming. After her, a few authors brought out simir publications discussing various topics, citing her manga as their inspiration.
So, this cospy is the ‘icing on the cake.’ If successful, I’m hoping that the Lady Hinwe would have her god-powers back, or at least some of them. I based my pns on how I understand the god-powers and worship works.
The ‘grand entrance’ then began. The narrator we hired to read the story of how the Lady Cassandra David came to Chersea did a good job of storytelling. Excited by the previous performances, the rowdy, impatient crowd went completely silent. Everyone’s eyes looked towards the stage, where smoke and dancing lights from our magicians were being dispyed.
Then, at the prompt of the narrator…
“!!!”
Maddie teleported the Lady Hinwe high above the stage and slowly brought her down to the floor, much to the quiet awe of all who watched. Even I, who pnned this, was amazed at how good our ‘production’ came to be. Everyone was just giving their best.
Once the Elf Saint stood before the crowd, Natasha put in her own special effects, since it was her story. Together with the narrator, she recreated a popur scene from her story, complete with the dark miasma and the colorful exploding lights. The audience swooned and cheered at every movement the Lady Hinwe made.
“…”
Of course, just for precaution, I never gave Her Lazy Holiness any lines to say, for I’m afraid she might twist her tongue and take off immersion from the crowd.
“…”
I guess it’s a good call.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the narrator introduced her. “Her Holiness, the Lady Hinwe Tal-Inwir, cospying as the Lady Cassandra David!”
The crowd erupted in cheers and appuse. Some even began throwing flowers on the stage, and people began chanting, ‘Bless the Saint! Bless the Saint!’ What started as a mute call slowly swelled until the crowd repeatedly shouted the chant.
It felt weird to me to watch a ‘revered’ saint do something like cospy. Perhaps my bias was kicking in, but to me, it’s as if the Pope dressed up in some edgy anime character’s clothing and did some sword swings just to please people. But, I guess, since this was another world, it could be forgiven. Maybe it would become a trend in the future; that’s something I’d want to see…
“!!!”
The humans, beastmen, demons, and, most importantly, the elves were ecstatic. The Lady Hinwe's beauty was a sight to behold, but with her cospy, she also showed everyone that she was someone simir to them—a saint that could be reached by anyone.
“We love you, Lady Hinwe!”
“Protect that smile!”
“I shall be your knight, Your Holiness”
I could only smile in relief as we heard the positive comments from the people. I was sure the Lady Hinwe heard those, too, for she was smiling and waving with utmost enthusiasm. Then, she happened to look towards our spot.
“Lady Meanor,” I told her maid, “she’s searching for you.”
“Milord, I think you’re mistaken.”
“Hm?” I looked again when the elf maid pointed back to her mistress. The Lady Hinwe was saying something, yet I couldn’t hear it because of the noisy crowd. But, I knew—or at least, I got a vague idea—of what it was, perhaps she was saying ‘thank you.’ So, I fshed a ‘two-thumbs up’ and a grin; I wanted to tell her, ‘good job,’ but I’d save it for ter. Let the dy enjoy her moment with her adoring crowd.
“…”
Much to my surprise, however, the Elf Saint never took her eyes off me and gave me the sweetest smile I had ever since I got to know her. I quickly averted my eyes; I could feel my cheeks get warm. For fuck’s sake, I knew the Lady Hinwe was beautiful, but this was the first that she was that lovely to me…
I hurried off the cospy grounds with a feeling of satisfaction in my chest.
----------
***Somewhere in Chersea***
Seirna Stephanie was a saint not used to rowdy crowds. If she could help it, she would stay far, usually in the far corner of the room whenever there’s a party. And it was no different this time. Avoiding the ‘cospy festival’ the otherworlder proposed, she was fortunate to have her spymaster, Umberto Benicci, asked to meet with her.
At least, she has a convenient alibi to leave…
The Saint of the Fme arrived early where they agreed to rendezvous. While she expected Umberto to appear te, she was surprised to find him waiting for her already.
“Your Holiness,” the spymaster gave his respects.
“What’s going on, Umberto?” Seirna asked. “What happened to your spy?”
“Cerdan hasn’t given us an update for three weeks now,” he expined. “I’m worried that he is compromised after sending this report.” He pulled a letter from his breast pocket and handed it to Seirna.
Upon reading its contents, the Saint of the Fme was visibly shaken and pale. “Umberto,” she told him. “We should head to Cherwoods right now.”
“H-Ha?” the spymaster was taken aback. “You mean, right now? I’m not ready, Your Holiness! I did not even bring weapons!”
Seirna uttered a spell, pulled a sword from her hand, and then gave it to him. “You think that’ll be enough to defend yourself?”
“I could use some guns,” Umberto examined his new weapon. “But I can make this work, I guess.”
“Then, let’s go!”
“Wait, what’s happening, Your Holiness?” the spymaster demanded. “As your servant, I’d like to know if there’s anything we should expect when we arrive, so I can prepare countermeasures. We also have to inform the otherworlder of the problems.”
“Fine. You read the letter?”
“Yes.”
“That’s no ordinary smoke,” Seirna muttered. “It must be the miasma of the Seductress!”
“H-Huh? But I thought the saints sealed—”
“I don’t know as well, Umberto!” she snapped. “The otherworlder told the Lady Rubinforth about it st time; that someone warned him in a vision about the Seductress’ escape from Cherfmmen, and her return!”
“You didn’t consider it might be just some weird dream?”
Seirna stared at him as if he said something ridiculous. “I think you’re missing the point, Umberto.”
“Missing what, Your Holiness?”
“Ever since the otherworlder was kissed by the Lady Natasha Bellingsen, he is now in possession of the Demon Saint’s god-powers. He will never dream of random events anymore! That is this world’s—and the other realms—future!”
It took a few moments before Seirna’s words sank into Umberto’s thoughts. Like his mistress, his face went pale as well, horrified at the thought that the ancient evil the Lord Gaius, Seirna, Cassandra David, and even Kuro—at the cost of his life, tried to defeat would make a return once more…
----------
***The Holy Patial Gardens, after the first day of the Cospy Festival…***
After the ‘grand finale’ at the end of the first day of the Cospy Festival, many people swamped the backstage, all wanting to have a gnce or a chat with the Elf Saint. While the Lady Hinwe allowed a few to come near her, the sheer number of individuals prompted the Padin Guards to deny access to her; not only would it be a security risk, but Her Lazy Holiness was already tired from all the activities she attended.
When the crowds dispersed, the Lady Hinwe rested for a few minutes, had her costume—which was bulky—changed, before deciding to search for her servant, Meanor, and Kuro. Before she appeared to everyone, the Elf Saint was told to try her god-powers once they were done, to test if their methods to help her were effective. So, she did what she was instructed to…
‘Nice work! Nice work! I’m gd everything happened smoothly,’ were the thoughts of the nearby person from her spot. The Lady Hinwe turned to check if the woman was really speaking, but much to her delight, the dy was busy cleaning she had no time to speak.
So, the Elf Saint looked for another person, to make sure.
‘Ah! So much people…I’m tired, I want to rest!’ was the sentiment of the padin guard standing outside the dressing tent. When the soldier saw the saint looking at her, she bowed and returned to her position.
The Lady Hinwe had to keep herself from screaming. She was so happy that she had to content herself with raising her hands in the air to celebrate victory.
Now, the next thing she should discover is to what extent her god-powers are restored.
“…”
Summoning her god-powers, the Elf Saint’s hands glowed with a blue light. While gd, she knew that it was still weak. Still, that didn’t stop her from trying to reassert her authority and order anything liquid to move at her command.
“!!!”
Before, her god-powers were so weakened that the Elf Saint could only make water shoot from her hands, simir to a hose. Now, she made the fluids around her move, much to the surprise of the dy cleaning the tent.
“Sorry!” Her Lazy Holiness smiled and bowed, but the dy didn’t mind. The tter just smiled back and continued with her work.
Meanwhile, the Lady Hinwe finally confirmed that her powers were coming back. Excitedly, she uttered the teleportation spell, and looked for her friends…
----------
**Kuro, at the end of the first day of the Cospy Festival…**
The celebratory mood at the success of the first day of the Cospy Festival was cut short when a padin came to me. “Milord,” she whispered. “Her Holiness the Lady Seirna is asking for your presence. She says it’s urgent.”
“Hm? Did she say anything else?”
The padin shook her head. “She only told me to fetch you.”
I looked at Meanor, who was also staring at me. “Can you please wait for your mistress?” I asked her. “Something urgent came up.”
“Oh? Her Holiness would like to see you after her performance,” the elf servant was surprised by my request. Nevertheless, she noticed that the padin wouldn’t leave until I came with her, so the servant nodded, “Okay then. I’ll just tell Her Holiness you are needed in something else.”
“Thank you!”
“Uhm…” the padin spoke once again. “I’m sorry, but I think the servant dy needs to come, too.”
Meanor’s eyes widened, “M-Me?”
We both exchanged puzzled looks. Nevertheless, we head off to where Seirna was.
----------
By the time we reached the pce where the Saint of the Fme waited, Maddie, Ruro, and Natasha were there, along with Umberto…who stood several distances away from his hated niece. It was Ruro who gave me a letter; it was from Cerdan.
“You said you dreamed of her return, right?” Seirna asked. “The Seductress?”
“Not exactly dreamed. More like, someone in a vision told me she returned,” I answered.
“And who’s this someone?”
“Someone who wants to hide from you.” Well, I had no choice but to keep Seirna from knowing that I now ‘possessed’ the body that once belonged to Gaius, and good thing the former god was doing a great job shielding my thoughts from her prying eyes.
Gaius did warn me about Seirna…for some reason, she’s too clingy to him.
“…”
“Your Holiness,” it was Umberto, calling the Saint of the Fme. “I don’t think we should dey any further. We need to know what happened in Cherwoods.”
“Alright, otherworlder,” Seirna said, sensing the urgency from her spymaster. “I’ll be quick; I already told the Human, Demon and Beastman Saints about the situation, anyway. Based from what you said, and from the elf’s spy reports,” she looked at Meanor this time, “the Seductress might’ve escaped Cherfmmen and is not wreaking havoc here.”
I could feel my heart melt when I heard that. I mean, yes, I was already made aware by Gaius’ warning, but with Seirna confirming it, I felt like everything I did before was wasted. I still clung to that small hope that the former god may be wrong.
“So, what should we do then?” I asked.
“You already know yourself,” the Saint of the Fme answered. “Do you think you can hide it from me, otherworlder? That body you have, it’s the Lord Gaius’!”
“Wha—”
“And the fact that you possess his body means that you are chosen to succeed his will.”
“Yes, he said that, but—”
“I don’t give a damn to your words,” Seirna interrupted. “This world—and the others, once the Seductress has returned, we are all in grave danger. The Lord Gaius is already gone, yet you possess his body…the immortal one made for the gods. As such, you are our hope against that monster from the Void.”
“I…I don’t understand…”
The Saint of the Fme caught me by the colr and said to my face, “I hate to admit it, but you have to get our god-powers. The Lady Madeine, Lady Ruro and Lady Natasha already trusted you, so you have theirs. The Lady Hinwe is your next target, since she has already trusted you! Get her god-powers as soon as possible; we can’t dey—!!!”
“!!!”
At that moment, everyone froze when we realized another person heard Seirna’s words. A few distances away from us and hidden by the pilrs was the Lady Hinwe herself. The horror on her face told us that she grossly misinterpreted the Saint of the Fme’s statements.
“Y-You…” the Elf Saint gred at me and Meanor. “You guys tricked me for your gain!”
“Wait—”
However, the Lady Hinwe teleported off somewhere before we could reach her.
