Blood Assimilation

At this point in their conversation, the Pope wondered if he should reshuffle the Cardinals or replace some of them.

At this moment, Holy Knight Randy suddenly spoke up again: "Your Holiness, there is one more thing that I have yet to reveal."

Before the Pope could even finish contemplating how to deal with the problem presented to him, he suddenly heard Holy Knight Randy's words, which sounded like there were more troublesome things to deal with. As a result, his expression slowly became irritated despite his control over his temperament.

The Pope wants to summon Cardinal Juke and deal with him for bringing shame to the Church of Light and also undermining his authority as Supreme Pontiff. Cardinal Juke's bold actions could only be interpreted as he did not hold him, the Pope, in high regard or reverence. After all, he arbitrarily handed out fake sacred missions without going through him as per protocol.

Despite the turbulence in his emotions, the Pope still calmly asked: "What is it?"

Holy Knight Randy observed him, inwardly commended him for his ability to control his emotions for a moment, and then responded: "The location of the Vampire Queen. Cardinal Juke does not know that I have found the hidden location of the Vampire Queen. I purposely kept it a secret from Cardinal Juke, but I am willing to reveal it to you, Your Holiness."

The Pope leaned forward, his interest piqued, and asked: "Why did you keep it a secret from him? Wouldn't revealing the hidden location to him protect your reputation as a Holy Knight? Why waste this opportunity?"

"Your Holiness is right."

Holy Knight Randy shook his head and righteously said: "However, Cardinal Juke has been using his power for his personal gain, and I could no longer stand idly by. Even if I risked getting humiliated or my reputation tarnished, I would still choose not to let Cardinal Juke have his way. Furthermore, I wholeheartedly believe Cardinal Juke's interests did not align with the teachings of the Church of Light, hence my determination."

"Your selflessness is commendable, Sir Grant."

The Pope complimented him and said: "It takes great courage to speak out against those in power. Even more so, you have shown exemplary courage in coming forward with this information. You have my gratitude, and I assure you that your actions will not go unnoticed."

Holy Knight Randy smiled and bowed his head, feigning feeling a sense of impassioned exuberance.

Then, he solemnly said: "Thank you, Your Holiness."

The Pope nodded with a pleased expression and asked: "Sir Grant, do you mind telling me the hidden location of the so-called Vampire Queen?"

"Certainly, Your Holiness!"

Holy Knight Randy straightened his back and solemnly said: "The hidden location of the Vampire Queen is most likely in the obscured, dark region within the Meistic Forest. I found the dark region by accident when my subordinates and I undertook the mission assigned by Cardinal Juke, and I was separated from my subordinates due to a magical beast attack."

Randy had wondered what the dark region he had discovered in the Meistic Forest was all this time. Not even the old man in the nameless village could confirm or identify what it was when he inquired about it back then.

However, upon meeting that mysterious woman the other day, Randy started to believe that she might be the Vampire Queen whom the Holy Church of Light had been searching for. At the same time, he concluded that she was most likely the same person residing in the dark region within the Meistic Forest.

The reason for his conclusion was that the mysterious woman appeared to be aware of his existence through her one-sided exchange with him when they met. However, Randy racked his brain and realized that he had truly never met her before their encounter in the alley.

The only person who could possibly be aware of his existence and his abilities would be the Vampire Queen whom he believed had been spying on him since his arrival in Acruxia. Assuming that the Vampire man he met outside and inside the Meistic Forest was sent by the Vampire Queen, his conjecture that the mysterious woman, who seemingly knew about him, was unequivocally the Vampire Queen.

Therefore, if that were the case, it wasn't completely unfounded that she would want to kill him during their encounter, and her alerting him was not strange either. After all, Randy had killed her subordinate last time, hence why she wanted to get rid of him when she recognized it was him. At the same time, Randy was also instinctively alerted to her presence, warranting his attack on her.

Despite knowing the plausible identity of the other party, Holy Knight Randy still wanted to get revenge on the mysterious woman in place of Randy, and the Church of Light would be the tool that would help him in getting rid of a possible threat to their lives.

Even if his conjecture turned out to be wrong, the dark region in the Meistic Forest was still too suspicious to be left alone. With this consideration in mind, Holy Knight Randy was willing to reveal the dark region, which seemed more likely to be the lair of the Vampire Queen or the mysterious woman to the Pope. 

"The Meistic Forest?"

The Pope mused about his response for a brief moment and then muttered: "If what you stated is the truth, I will have to summon the Cardinals to devise an urgent sacred mission to investigate and purge the potential threat as soon as possible."

The Pope stood up and paced back and forth as he processed the information.

Holy Knight Randy watches him, hoping he has made the right decision to tell the Pope this information. He also hoped the Pope would believe his baseless words. At the same time, he wished for his conjecture to be true, as it would eliminate a future threat to both him and the humans of Acruxia.

After deliberating for a few moments, the Pope looked up and stared intently at Holy Knight Randy before questioning: "Sir Grant, are you certain about this information? Can you navigate your way back to this dark region in the Meistic Forest?"

"Indeed, Your Holiness."

Holy Knight Randy firmly replied and the Pope nodded in understanding as he made up his mind.

He then approached Holy Knight Randy and placed his hand on his shoulder and gently spoke: "I hold you in high regard for your actions, Sir Grant. Today, you have proven yourself to be a true Holy Knight through your actions, and the Church is fortunate to have someone of your caliber as one of its protectors."

Holy Knight Randy immediately bowed and said: "Your Holiness. It is an honor to serve the Church. Furthermore, as the Captain of the Holy Knight Crusaders, it is only right that I lead by example."

"You have done more than just serve, Sir Grant. You have upheld the principles of righteousness and justice, and for that, you will always have our gratitude."

The Pope gently smiled with appreciation and turned around to sit on his throne.

Then, after pondering for a moment, he casually asked Holy Knight Randy.

"Sir Grant, do you mind if I treat you as my titular son?"

"What might you mean by that, Your Holiness?"

Holy Knight Randy did not foresee this outcome in his plans. Being the titular son of the Pope meant he would get the opportunity to develop a close relationship with the Pope or receive his attention. Not to mention the benefits that come with receiving such treatment from the Pope, who was an exalted existence in the Holy Church of Light, being a titular son would establish and expedite his assimilation into the Holy Church of Light.

However, why would the Pope want to make 'Zolat Grant' his titular son, especially when he knew Zolat Grant already had a prominent background? After all, most of the people the Pope considered his titular son or titular children were orphans who joined the Holy Church of Light at a young age and were raised by him.

The Pope noticed his confusion, and as though he could read his thoughts, he said: "Although I vowed never to have my own children in order to better serve Our Lord, I can still adopt others' children as my sons and daughters. Don't think too much about it as I am well aware of your family's status and heritage, including your position in your family. However, I still wish to treat you as my son while serving in the Church. What do you think about that, Sir Grant?"

Holy Knight Randy pretended to ponder deeply about the Pope's suggestion before bowing and replying fervently: "As long as Your Holiness is willing to take in this humble one, it can only be counted as my blessing. Therefore, I have no reason to refuse. Instead, it would be my honor to become your titular son, Your Holiness."

"Very well said."

The Pope was pleased with his response and asked: "Then, as my son, what do you think would be the appropriate way to handle the Head of Cardinals, who committed blasphemous acts in the Holy Church of Light?"

Holy Knight Randy was about to give an immediate reply when he noticed a subtlety in the Pope's words that ostensibly suggested that he might be trying to test him.

With that realization, Holy Knight Randy withheld his original reply to ponder the Pope's question. Afterward, he suddenly realized the crux of the question asked by the Pope.

Although Holy Knight Randy initially wanted to get rid of Cardinal Juke as he was a threat to his assimilation into the Holy Church of Light, that was no longer necessary with the current turn of events. As a titular son of the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Church of Light, his reputation within the Church would only soar in the future.