I Became The Pope, Now What?

Sylvester and Xylena arrived atop one of the high towers of Ashstone Castle and talked privately. With chairs present and the smooth, warm breeze of the south surrounding them, this was the only likely place where none would be able to spy on them. 

"Look there, Father!" Xylena excitedly pointed at the distance in the city. "We're building your statue there. It will be massive, and it'll have a working halo behind the head, which will use light crystals. It'll illuminate the city at night… it will look so pretty!" 

Sylvester watched her excitedly jump around and talk. It was truly heartwarming to see he was able to give her a good life despite having lost everything. After spending years of her childhood running around for her life, working small jobs to survive, Xylena had her home back. 

"I hope you're studying well with the tutors I sent," he said, entering his old-man role. "As the Queen, you can't be seen as someone who only squanders money and lives in luxury. You're akin to a mother to this kingdom, and its subjects are your children. In their prosperity is your long-lasting future."

Xylena turned to him, pouting, "I've already finished the intermediary books you prepared for me. I'm quite a genius, Father—ask the instructors." 

Sylvester smelled no lies, so he calmed down and praised her, "I expected it from you, Xye. Failure would've been a taint on my own evaluation of you. But I didn't come here to scold you. I came to talk about the visions you saw about me over the years."

"Visions? I never got them after you saved me," she exclaimed, surprised Sylvester was bringing them up again. "Did something happen? You seem troubled."

'How is she the key to my destiny?' Sylvester looked at her and wondered what the words of Solis meant. She was just a simple girl with a rough life. Even her magical abilities didn't exceed Arch Wizard's rank. 

But the fact she could use Elder Magic, had an affinity with space magic, and even saw visions of him, changed much of what was considered normal. 

"Did you ever see visions of something other than me?" 

She took a seat beside Sylvester again and thought about it since the visions stopped over five years ago. "Umm… I don't think so. I did feel like someone was watching me on occasions, but whenever I saw something, it was just you." 

"How do you feel about your affinity with space magic?" 

"Oh!" She immediately straightened up, looking excited, "I can do this now!" 

Pop!

Xylena raised her hand towards a fine glass bottle of water on a side table. The bottle instantly vanished into nothing and appeared on her palm. 

"Hehe!" She grinned proudly. "I can grab items without even moving." 

Sylvester's brows went up. He was amazed by her ability since he had never seen a wizard perform true space magic before. Although the Supreme Void was also magic with some space elements, but that wasn't as exciting. 

"Can you also sense if there are any spatial distortions around you? For example, if someone uses spatial magic near you, or if there is a rift in space—can you feel it?" 

"Umm… I haven't met any other person with spatial abilities, so I don't know. Maybe I could?" 

Sylvester quickly spoke with his favorite fluffball soaking in the sunlight on his lap. 'Chonky, activate your magical belly power. But don't eat anything.' 

'I get a bananya~~?'

'Alright, I'll give you one,' Sylvester didn't reject it since it was merely a formality for Miraj to ask him when he was fully capable of stealing all the bananas in the world.

"Do you feel anything now?" he asked her. 

Xylena understood that Sylvester had done something and tried to feel any spatial distortion around her. She closed her eyes and softly moved her head around to feel the air. Then, a few moments later, she raised her palm, waving it around and slowly but surely getting closer to Miraj's direction. 

Miraj stopped relaxing and felt alert as he watched Xylena move around. His furry brows creased together as he rested on Sylvester's lap, belly facing the sun. 

"I… think there's some sort of an invisible force of attraction here…" Xylena said, not sounding very sure about it. "If you are testing me, I believe there is something."

'So she can detect it, but considering how powerful Chonky's abilities are, it shouldn't be so hard to feel,' Sylvester concluded and pushed Miraj's mouth close to stop him. 'I don't think she would be able to sense a spatial breach inside the Darkpit Sea with such abilities.'

"Xye, I'll be training you in this ability in the coming days. There's something I need you to detect in the Darkpit Sea later that could be related to spatial distortion. It could be the reason why the sea has so many otherworldly, evolved, and powerful creatures," he informed her and gave a reason as well. "Once the issue is resolved, perhaps the west can be connected to the east coast of Beastaria." 

"Then… that means you'll be staying here for several days?" Xylena's eyes sparkled as if they were the sun itself. "Yes! I'll show you around the city and eat amazing dishes I've always wanted to try. I need to plan everything… Wait, have you seen the amazing open-air baths? It's created from the water heated with the lava itself, and masters from Warsong designed it. You have to try it!" 

"..."

"I'm not here on vacation, Xye."

"But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy your stay," she sternly said, placing her hands on her waist proudly. "What happened to you? You feel like an old man now. You were so awesome back then in Masan." 

'Old man?' Sylvester knew he was more than a century old. But for some reason, Xylena's words felt a little too sharp. 

"Alright, I will try to visit a few places. But for ten hours a day, you will be training with me." Sylvester got up, not wanting to appear old anymore. "Let's return to the others now." 

Xylena nodded firmly and smirked before taking a running stance, "The last one to reach them is the loser and pays for the most expensive dish for dinner." 

Woosh!

"What?!" Xylena felt a storm pass nearby, leaving her in a state of shock. "Father?" 

But Sylvester was long gone, teaching her the lesson to never compete with a Supreme Wizard.

…

"Why did you make such a bet with a Supreme Wizard?" At the dinner table, Lord Einarr scolded Xylena. "You know how expensive Kraken meat is." 

Xylena begrudgingly ate, "I know… I thought he'd still go easy on me like in the past." 

"You were a little kid back then," Sylvester countered, taking a big, flavourful bite. 

"I'm still a kid to you," she barked back. 

"No, Ella is the kid now," Sylvester replied and placed some more food on the girl's plate who sat beside his chair. "Eat well, little one. Your body needs lots of energy." 

"I feel jealous," Xylena muttered and silently began devouring as much Kraken meat as she could. "Might as well get my money's worth." 

"That's not very lady-like, Your Majesty," Lord Einarr scolded her. 

"Grrr!" She took an even bigger bite. "I'm the Queen. You can't stop me." 

"..."

Sylvester chuckled and ate in silence while secretly feeding Miraj. Beneath his tough persona, he felt pretty relaxed seeing all the shenanigans from Xylena. 

Soon, the dinner also came to an end, and at Xylena's wishes, he decided to check out the natural hot spring for a bath. She took Ella and Emara while he went with Rex only. Noby the Elephantkin only wanted to read a few books, and Noah wanted to see the city. 

The place was located inside the grounds of the royal castle, so it was restricted to only the nobles and the highest-ranking officers. Situated inside a massive, roofless complex, it reminded Sylvester of a particular nation's hot springs from his past life. 

Beautiful decorations of fragrant plants were all around, and stones were used for landscaping to make the pool look natural. The steam was coming off the surface of the water as the night got colder in the desert kingdom. 

"Godfather! Look at me. I learned to manipulate water!" Rex went to jump into the water fully naked, creating flowers from the splashes of water. "I'll master it soon and help all the farmers. Father said they are the most important people in Highland." 

'Good upbringing, I see,' Sylvester, covering his crotch with a towel, also entered the water and sat down while resting his back on the edge. He relaxed in the warm water, closing his eyes and letting his mind unwind. 

Krr…!

Just then, the sliding door of the hot spring enclosure opened, and three men walked in. Tall, old but muscular, they emitted an aura of authority and power. From the topic they were busy discussing, it was clear they were military officers. 

"General Emmanuel, the Queen does not wish to be disturbed with puny matters such as mere transfer orders. Perhaps asking Lord Einarr will suit you better." 

"But only the Queen can grant transfers to Generals. You know it better than most, General Claud. After reaching our age, it's more comforting to live near our families." 

"Move to Ebony City with your family. Why go to the distant dying city?" Asked the third man, Admiral Jack. "It's a ruined city." 

"Because it's my ancestral land, and I wish to bring back Dying City to its former glor—Oh, we have company here already!" General Emmanuel stopped mid-speech as they saw the pool of water already occupied. 

"Oh my, look at this hot blondie," General Claud giggled at the view. "It seems you have come to the wrong bath with your son, my lady."

Admiral Jack smiled and walked forward, "Such fine skin—You're in the wrong bath, my lady… or perhaps the right bath? Why don't we find out?" 

The three men came over and stopped behind the figure near the edge. 

"Why don't you turn around and show us the beauty of that face and… the rest?" General Emmanuel started, slowly leaning down to touch the shoulder, seemingly shivering in fright. 

"Why?" 

"Hmm?" The three Generals got alerted and took a step back once they heard a voice far from feminine as they expected. 

"Why can't I grow a damn beard?" Sylvester turned his face to look back at the men, his eyes contracting and red veins bulging around his sclera. "In the name of Solis, I will not forget this slight—you want to see me, go ahead, but first, be prepared to fight!"

_________________

A/N: I know the last few chaps have been filler-ish. But no worries, the next major arc starts with the next chapter. 

Thank you for reading. Gifts and GT votes are highly appreciated.