"She still can't forget the cutting torch."
Alexander looked at the promethium flame cutting torch piled in the corner of the dim room and couldn't help but sigh.
The room wasn't large, in fact, it was narrow, with only one tightly closed small window. It looked like it had been converted from the Battle Sisters' old solitary confinement cell.
But Alexander learned from Ereite that living in this room was Joan's own request.
Initially, the Battle Sisters had arranged a large, spacious room for Joan, filled with bright lights, with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the entire Most Serene Abbey and even the dim Terra sky.
Then, when Joan woke up, she was so scared that she curled up in bed all day, not daring to peek out.
Alexander and Ereite both understood Joan's reaction.
Having lived in a hive city for so long, one would unconsciously long for that dim and narrow world, feeling that such a world could provide a sense of security.
After leaving the hive city, one would always feel that the world was too vast, so vast it made one dizzy, causing strong discomfort, a feeling that the world was not very stable, and eventually turning into fear.
Especially since Alexander knew that Joan was basically raised by the Emperor.
The Emperor's parenting skills were pretty much on par with Joan's Psyker spellcasting. The fact that Joan didn't have obvious psychological problems meant she was naturally strong-willed. Waking up suddenly in such a vast and unfamiliar place, it was normal for her to feel fear.
Alexander looked at Joan lying on the bed.
She was no different from how Alexander remembered her: dry, yellowish hair with scorch marks, skin that wasn't delicate, covered in shallow burn scars, as if flames writhed beneath her skin, freckles on her face. Her face wasn't particularly beautiful, only describable as a simple beauty.
Joan's eyes were slightly closed, deep in sleep.
This was a sequela left after the Emperor possessed her. Alexander had tried to wake her up with physical means before, but without much success.
However,
"Ding-dong, ding-dong! 'Bacteria that can wake a person from sleep for one hour'!"
Alexander put the bacteria into his four-dimensional pocket.
[Item Name: Bacteria that can wake a person from sleep for one hour]
[Origin: Macragge]
[Production Time: 999.M41]
[Function: An item that can forcibly wake a person in a coma for one hour. Only effective once per day.]
[Value: 336,300 credits]
These were bacteria Alexander had made with the Unplanned Bacteria Manufacturing Machine when he was on Macragge.
The effect was very peculiar: it just forcibly woke someone for one hour, and was only effective once a day. He hadn't expected it to come in handy here.
"Wow." Ereite, standing nearby, looked at the petri dish in Alexander's hand and clapped repeatedly, not understanding but impressed.
Alexander dipped a little liquid from the petri dish and gently sprinkled it onto Joan's exposed skin.
The slightly viscous liquid gently writhed on Joan's skin, and within a few seconds, it had permeated into her skin and disappeared.
Then, under Ereite's astonished gaze and Alexander's watchful eyes, Joan's eyelids twitched slightly. She frowned a little, seemingly resisting a slight pain.
Then, the girl gently opened her eyes and looked at Alexander with eyes so blue they were almost black. Her eyes were very clear, just as before. It was hard to imagine how such clear eyes could be nurtured in a hive city.
"You've come." A hint of joy was mixed in Joan's somewhat ethereal voice.
"Was this in your prophecy?" Alexander raised an eyebrow slightly.
"No, I am too far from you, and your destiny is so complex that I cannot see clearly."
Joan's voice held a hint of fear, like a child who had a nightmare:
"Even the little I can see sometimes is mixed with strange and terrifying illusions."
"In those terrifying illusions, I saw you become an alien god, saw the Dark Prince invite you to copulate with her, saw you drink the plague God's thick soup, and saw your schemes cause the Lord of Change's Greater Daemon to have diarrhea knowledge... Truly some terrifying and inexplicable illusions."
"Especially when I saw you drinking bowl after bowl of thick soup in the prophecy, I was really scared. In my dream, I shouted loudly for you to stop drinking, I was afraid."
"But I believe, I always believe that these are all false. You will definitely come to Terra, and I will definitely see you."
"I always believe..."
Not an illusion. Alexander's mouth twitched slightly.
But after such a long time, Alexander hoped his impression in Joan's mind was that of a loyal and reliable adult, not a strange person who showed off Nurgle's thick soup on the side.
"The Fenrisians often say, 'Winter is coming'."
Alexander's fingers subtly brushed the hot clapperboard & robot director in his pocket, making his words sound sincere, kind, and infectious:
"But our reunion doesn't have to wait for winter's frost."
With that, Alexander gently ruffled Joan's scorched hair.
Ereite, beside them, couldn't help but clasp her hands together, holding them to her chest, looking at this moment of reunion with a moved expression.
If Joan hadn't mentioned drinking thick soup, Alexander himself might have felt a little touched...
Ereite brought in a plate of dorayaki into the small room.
Alexander and Joan chatted about recent events while eating dorayaki.
Joan already had a general idea about Alexander resurrecting Sanguinius and Guilliman, but she only learned the specifics from Alexander's mouth.
The girl listened to Alexander recount his experiences, her eyes full of admiration—Alexander had glossed over the more mischievous and image-damaging parts of his experiences.
"So, what about him?" Joan couldn't help but ask.
She knew Alexander had gone to the Throne Room and met the Emperor.
Alexander hesitated for a moment, then recounted his conversation with the Emperor without much embellishment.
Joan's reaction wasn't very obvious; she had heard the Emperor's voice from time to time back on Ashford and had a basic understanding of the Emperor.
But Ereite, beside them, trembled with fear, looking as if her faith had been shattered.
Alexander couldn't help but smile, picking up a dorayaki made by the Battle Sisters from the table and putting it in his mouth.
To be honest, this dorayaki wasn't as good as the ones Kania Danda prepared.
Alexander was just about to tell Joan about this when a bell rang out in his ears.
Outside, there was also a noisy commotion; the Battle Sisters seemed surprised by the bell.
Alexander raised an eyebrow slightly, a little confused about what had happened.
He put the half-eaten dorayaki in his hand into his mouth and said to Joan and Ereite: "I'll go see what's happening."
For safety, Alexander still left Nobita in this dim room, ensuring the safety of the two little girls.
Then he pushed the door open and left the dim room, leaving only Joan, Ereite, and Nobita inside.
Joan tilted her head slightly with some curiosity, looking at Nobita standing in the corner of the room.
She looked at the incarnation of Saint Doraemon, wearing a cowboy hat and glasses, a scarf, and a revolver hanging from his waist.
Joan had been possessed by the Emperor; the Emperor's power had once flowed through her blood and flesh. In the past decade or so of her life, Joan had often felt the Emperor's presence, constantly immersed in the Emperor's Psyker power.
She was destined to be the Emperor's vessel and was intimately familiar with the Emperor's power.
So when Joan saw Nobita, she immediately realized that the Emperor's power flowed through this body.
No, not just power... Occasionally, Joan could perceive something else.
Some gazes, some looks, some faint wills.
".."
Joan tilted her head slightly, looking at Nobita with hesitation:
"Your Majesty?"
Nobita remained unmoved.
"Are you there, Your Majesty?" Joan asked again.
Nobita's gaze shifted slightly.
At a speed Joan couldn't follow, he took a dorayaki from the plate and put it into his mouth.
"Not as good as the Rogue Trader Representative's," he said to Joan while chewing.
"Don't tell Alexander about this."
"Don't let him know that my will can occasionally enter this body."
The magnificent sacred bells rang from the tallest spire of the Adeptus Ministorum cathedral. Thirteen chimes echoed all the way to the Most Serene Abbey.
The Battle Sisters were first bewildered, then a little flustered and at a loss.
Even Morven Vahl, the Great Canoness of the Battle Sisters, showed a moment of shock.
"My Lord, does this sacred bell mean…" a Sister in Paragon War-plate standing beside Morven Vahl asked in astonishment.
"How could it be so sudden?" Morven Vahl couldn't help but frown.
"What does this bell mean? What is so sudden?" Alexander's voice suddenly sounded from behind Morven Vahl.
The Great Canoness of the Battle Sisters hurriedly turned and gave Alexander an aquila salute.
"My Lord." Morven Vahl explained, "This is the sound of the Saint Chiral Bell."
"When this bell rings, it means a Pope of the Saint Church has passed away."
"But, but this is too sudden. Pope of the Saint Church Baldo Sylest is in the prime of his life."
Morven Vahl's words were full of astonishment.
Baldo Sylest belonged to the Conservative Party, believing that imperial law was the perfect embodiment of the imperial will and could not be altered in the slightest.
His political stance was at odds with Alexander and Morven Vahl.
Furthermore, Baldo Sylest had tried to control the Battle Sisters by manipulating Morven Vahl, but Morven Vahl was not as young, naive, and easy to control as he thought.
But even with conflicting stances, Baldo Sylest was still the Pope of the Saint Church, the spiritual leader of billions of Adeptus Ministorum faithful. Such a sudden and inexplicable demise sent a shock through Morven Vahl's heart.
Alexander's expression also subtly shifted.
He recalled what Sanguinius had said in their small, three-person meeting.
"He couldn't have seen Archangel Sanguinius, gotten too excited, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, been summoned by the Emperor, and ascended to the Golden Throne, could he?" Alexander said to Morven Vahl with a twitch of his lips.
"Baldo Sylest is, after all, a seasoned political veteran. How could his will be so weak?"
Morven Vahl shook her head repeatedly. She hesitated for a moment and said,
"My Lord, it's not that I don't believe your judgment; it's that I don't believe Baldo Sylest's faith is so fervent."
"You don't understand what kind of person he is. Even if the Emperor himself contradicted him, he would still believe his own ideas were the imperial will."
Indeed, Alexander nodded slightly. He had originally thought that after returning to Terra, the Adeptus Ministorum would be the first to prostrate themselves.
After all, Alexander had brought Sanguinius back, the Emperor's purest, most perfect, and most revered son by the Adeptus Ministorum.
But he never expected the Pope of the Saint Church to firmly stand against Alexander, Sanguinius, and Guilliman.
He even declared that his adherence to imperial law was the imperial will.
It was completely topsy-turvy. Did he understand the Emperor better than the Primarchs and Alexander? Alexander wished he knew every detail, even who had used the Emperor's privy.
"If Baldo truly died like that, then we Battle Sisters will be the first to acknowledge him as a saint," Morven Vahl said resolutely.
It was clear that the Great Canoness had strong opinions about the Pope of the Saint Church.
But Morven Vahl clearly hadn't considered another possibility: his faith might indeed have been lacking, but Sanguinius' Psyker power could help him make up for that deficiency.
"Great Canoness! Saint Doraemon!" High Sister Magda ran over from outside the Most Serene Abbey.
She was slightly out of breath, clearly having rushed over with news.
"What exactly happened?" Morven Vahl asked.
"Archangel visited the Adeptus Ministorum cathedral. Pope of the Saint Church Baldo Sylest met Sanguinius, became overly excited, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, was summoned by the Emperor, and has now ascended to the Golden Throne."
"Sanguinius held his body, shed tears for his fervent faith, canonized him, and named him Saint Sylest."
High Sister Magda's own expression was extremely contorted as she spoke.
"..Huh?" Morven Vahl's voice was filled with disbelief, tinged with envy for Baldo Sylest and shock at the accuracy of Alexander's judgment.
At the same time, she subtly sensed that something was amiss.
Morven Vahl was not a politician; before becoming Great Canoness, she was just an ordinary Battle Sister. After becoming Great Canoness, she mostly disliked getting involved in Terra's political struggles, preferring to stay on the front lines. So she only felt that something was wrong, without grasping the underlying implications.
Until she saw a wisp of white smoke rising from the Adeptus Ministorum cathedral in the distance...
"They've already chosen a new Pope? So fast?" Morven Vahl said in astonishment.
The rising white smoke meant the Adeptus Ministorum had chosen a new Pope, but the previous Pope had just passed away. Wasn't this too quick?
"The Adeptus Ministorum has chosen Eos Ritera to be the new Pope, under the Archangel's witness," High Sister Magda whispered.
Eos Ritera… a name with an Ultramar style. In fact, according to Morven Vahl's memory, this cardinal was indeed from Ultramar and had worked there for a long time.
Morven Vahl recalled Alexander's words again. Even with her limited understanding of politics, she realized some things.
Although it was somewhat sacrilegious, Morven Vahl couldn't help but suspect that Sanguinius had used his Psyker power to kill Baldo Sylest, then coerced the cardinals into electing a new Pope from Ultramar.
Pure, noble Sanguinius could also do such things... It must have been ordered by Lord Guilliman, after all, the Lord of Ultramar is most skilled at such matters.
Alexander's lips also twitched slightly. Compared to Sanguinius, he was indeed too gentle.
At most, he just intimidated the Rogue Trader Representative and altered the Mars Fabricator-General's thinking. He was nowhere near as decisive and neat as Sanguinius.
Although this Archangel appeared pure, perfect, and kind on the surface, his mischievous thoughts were no less than Guilliman's.
At least, Sanguinius' current operation was something Guilliman couldn't accomplish; Guilliman didn't have that Psyker talent.
Looking at the white smoke in the distance, symbolizing the election of a new Pope, Alexander also calmed his mind slightly.
Following their agreed-upon order, Sanguinius was almost done with the Grand Master of the Assassinorum. Then Alexander would go with him to the Inquisition fortress.
He also needed to speed up a bit, say goodbye to Joan, and then brief Morven Vahl about the High Lord Council matters before leaving the Most Serene Abbey to rendezvous with Sanguinius.
Ereite stared blankly, astonished, and dazed at the man in front of her wearing a cowboy hat and glasses.
Nobita — Ereite had heard of his name in the Sisters' latest preaching.
But just now, Saint Joan had called him "Your Majesty."
In the Imperium, only one person could be called "Your Majesty."
Ereite felt dizzy and trembled all over, so shocked and frightened she almost fainted.
But she held on, trembling, wanting to hear that one's holy words.
"dorayaki must have red bean paste."
Nobita, his mouth full of dorayaki, said earnestly,
"Eating dorayaki is a beautiful thing."
He ate dorayaki in a way more terrifying than the mutants Ereite had seen in the hive city sewers, as if he hadn't eaten a single meal in thousands or even tens of thousands of years.
Ereite looked at Saint Joan beside her, flustered and helpless.
Joan merely stared at Nobita showing off his dorayaki with a blank and placid expression, with no intention of expressing her own opinion.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door; clearly, Alexander was returning.
Nobita, like a heretic hearing the footsteps of an Inquisitor, suddenly looked up, quickly put down the dorayaki in his hand, and returned to his original position.
"Don't tell Alexander about me."
He warned Joan and Ereite again,
"This concerns the Emperor's grand plan."
Ereite's mouth slightly opened.
Her faith told her she should believe the words of the person in front of her, but the dorayaki crumbs still on Nobita's lips kept challenging her faith.
"Your Majesty…"
Joan, meanwhile, looked at Nobita, or rather, at the will parasitizing Nobita, with an almost pitying gaze.
If Ereite were to describe it, Joan's gaze was like…
…like looking at a pitiful, pathetic old father who, after going bankrupt and owing 16.8 billion, had started drinking and degenerating.
"..You're not trying to escape work, are you?" Joan asked softly.
Nobita's expression twitched slightly.
"You're not as obedient as you used to be, Joan," he said. "Did I teach you to speak so harshly?"
"You once used fragmented language to sharply and harshly mock Saint Ollanius Persson for investing his life savings in twenty acres of land on Calth," Joan whispered.
"..I will tell Alexander of my existence at the appropriate place and time."
Nobita, hearing the approaching footsteps, spoke with a slightly more hurried tone:
"I want to observe Alexander from the shadows, to clearly see what connection Alexander has with that so-called 22nd century."
"You trust me, right, Joan? Think about how I raised you for the past dozen years."
Ereite, standing by, became even more frightened.
Because the words spoken by the will parasitizing Nobita reminded her of her almost scumbag father.
"Where would you be without me? How much money did I spend raising you?!" He would say such things every time he took money from Ereite.
It was clear he had only ever treated his child as a tool from the beginning.
The tone of the will residing in Nobita was a bit like her scumbag father's.
This god is very lacking in parenting skills, Ereite instinctively judged, even though this judgment was extremely sacrilegious in terms of faith.
"In any case, now is not the time to reveal my existence. Neither of you should speak of it."
The will parasitizing Nobita warned one last time.
Before Joan and Ereite could even agree, he stood back in the corner, his eyes once again becoming vacant.
Just then, Alexander pushed the door open. His gaze lightly swept over the almost-eaten dorayaki on the table.
Then his gaze swept over Nobita standing in the corner...
And Joan's gaze also lingered on Nobita for a moment, then…
"The Emperor." Joan turned to Alexander with almost no hesitation, simultaneously pointing her finger at Nobita in the corner and saying.