Volume 7 Chapter 23 Kythera, The Meeting of Two Who Should Not Have Me
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After Her Highness Kanon’s wedding got canceled, more than ten hours passed. I sat in my dim room staring at a smiley icon on the screen.
”Too bad, but you’re checkmated.”
One of the Twelve Bishops of the Holy Aqua Religion, also known as the Administrator, had almost total control of the Star’s network. She even got her hands on my computer in my room, which belongs to the Stars Orthodox Religion. To others, this might seem bad, but I had expected something like this.
”Quite impressive. You came all the way into my room, so you must have something to say, right?”
She took a moment to respond to my question.
”…I have two requests. First, I want Stars to stop censoring regular people, or at least ease up. Second, I want you to leave Aqua-sama and anyone involved with her, including Her Highness Kanon, alone. If you agree, I’ll return control of the network we’ve taken. How about it? It’s not a bad deal.”
I kept my smile and quickly replied.
”I refuse.”
”Do you really think you can refuse in this situation?”
I cut her off and asked a question.
”By the way, are you more like your sister or the AI?”
”Why do you know about that!?”
She seemed shaken. Her words, her breathing—they showed a human side that an AI can’t mimic. Actually, her proposal, which came after a pause during our earlier talk, showed a very human reaction.
”I see, your humanness isn’t hidden, Sabato Miyako-chan.”
”What…!”
”Heh-heh, were you still in middle school back then? Well, I guess that can’t be helped. No matter how smart you are, you lack certain experiences.”
I took out my smartphone and told one of my team members what to do. The display screen started shaking.
”What, what is this?”
I tried to calm her down.
”Sorry, but you won’t get the network back. Thanks, you really saved me this time.”
She was probably panicking. After all, what she took was being taken back. After confirming the smiley icon disappeared, I got up from my seat.
”Now, shall we pray?”
I moved a bookshelf in my room, revealing a door. I went down to the basement through a narrow, dim staircase. Memories came back as I descended.
Yes, everything started on that day.
My name’s Kythera, and I don’t have a family name. Abandoned as a baby, I lived in an orphanage before a priest of the Stars Orthodox Religion took me in because I was talented.
”Someday, you’ll become the Bishop of the Stars Orthodox Religion.”
The priest who took me in was boring. Proud and obsessed with power and money, she’d punish anyone who crossed her. The first few years were awful, but once she adopted other kids from the orphanage, she stopped punishing me. But others still got punished. It wasn’t that the punishment stopped; it just didn’t happen to me.
Things changed when I turned sixteen.
”Kythera… You’ve grown pretty.”
I shuddered at the priest’s creepy gaze. Back in the orphanage, an older girl touched me inappropriately. The same kind of look was in the priest’s eyes. This stuff happened in the orphanage and the church. At that time, I didn’t understand, but as I got older, I did, and I heard that some even realized they liked girls in the same way. But I was different. The incident in the orphanage made me scared of women. After everyone else was asleep, a “kind” sister who took care of me snuck into my bed.
”It’s okay, it’ll be quick.”
Looking at the smiling sister, I was initially taken aback and froze, not understanding what was happening. The Sister lifted my clothes, touched my flat chest, and sucked on my immature n*pples. In that moment, I understood what was happening to me.
”Haa… Haa…”
The Sister, breathing heavily, slipped her hand into her underwear, making unsettling sounds as she started touching herself intensely. With a vague look in her eyes, she kissed my body all over. My body trembled slightly with each kiss. It was uncomfortable.
When the sister tried to kiss my lips, I resisted desperately, not wanting it. The sister either gave up on the kiss or decided against it. She pulled down my underwear and forcefully spread my legs apart. That expression driven by her desires at that moment was etched deeply into my mind.
No, no, no…!
”No!”
By luck or perhaps instinct, young as I was, I managed to push the sister away. She probably didn’t want much attention drawn to her actions, so she gave up and went to the neighboring room. I don’t know what happened afterward, but I saw a girl crying on the stairs. Someone must have gone through that instead of me.
From that time on, I became afraid of being touched by women.
”Thanks. Because of you, I managed to get rid of her.”
Before I could be defiled, I sold the information about the priest who took me in to the person who was the bishop back then.
”Then, can I assume that Kythera will take the vacant position of the bishop?”
Back then, I held a position that assisted priests, and using the information I had obtained, I managed to threaten some priests to gain the position of the bishop who had left. While the sisters usually shared rooms with multiple people, becoming a bishop meant I got my own room with a lock. That day, I managed to sleep peacefully on a bed for the first time. I no longer had to be scared of anyone. But… that peaceful life didn’t last long.
”You have a really nice body.”
When I was over twenty years old, I started feeling the same lecherousness in the gaze of the bishop who had touched my behind as I felt with those sisters. Even though the Stars Orthodox Religion promoted itself as a sanctuary for women and protection against men, scenes of women comforting each other weren’t uncommon.
Many who were considered conservative or societal actually lent a hand to the radicals behind closed doors. The landscape was quite different from what was shown publicly.
”Hey, Kythera… Let’s talk about the future of the Stars Orthodox Religion together. In my room, just the two of us, over some wine… what do you think?”
It was the same. The bishop was no different from those sisters, from that priest. Just like with the priest, I had to drag her down or I’d be defiled. I had to kick her out of the Stars Orthodox Religion to protect myself. I was driven by fear.
”Bishop Kythera, thanks to you, we were able to cut into the corruption of the Stars Orthodox Religion.”
I joined forces with Her Majesty the Queen Mary at the time and ousted the bishop and some of the priests. Her Majesty the Queen Mary was quite astute and had noticed the corruption within the Stars Orthodox Religion that previous queens had ignored. Our interests aligned perfectly; she wanted to reform the church, and I wanted the corrupted people gone. However, due to this incident, Her Majesty the Queen Mary was forced to take responsibility for ignoring the years of corruption within the Stars Orthodox Religion. As a result, she abdicated the throne at just 48 years old.
”Take care of the rest.”
During the deal, Her Majesty the Queen Mary gave me three conditions. First, that I become the bishop of the Stars Orthodox Religion. Second, that I cooperate with Her Majesty the Queen Furia for at least ten years after she became queen. Third, that I become the tutor for her daughter, Her Highness Victoria. With these conditions, Her Majesty the Queen Mary and I struck a deal.
”Is it okay for someone like me to become a bishop? And being the princess’s tutor is quite a responsibility…”
”No problem. I believe you’ll lead them in the right direction. I have that feeling.”
Two years later, when I was 22 years old, Her Majesty the Queen Furia, who was 30 at the time, gave birth to Her Highness Kanon. Her Majesty the Queen Furia was more ordinary compared to Her Majesty the Queen Mary, but perhaps that’s why she held onto being a queen rather than an individual.
Her Highness Victoria, whom I tutored, was also exceptional for a 12-year-old, but like Her Majesty the Queen Furia, she too was unremarkable. Maybe only Her Majesty the Queen Mary was truly exceptional… I think many others might have felt the same way.
Hence, Her Highness Kanon’s excellence and her distinct quality stood out. Not only was she talented, but she was also proactive, outspoken with her opinions, and capable of standing in front of everyone. Yet, she remained charming and filled with compassion. Since she was younger than 10 years old, many probably saw in her the ideal image of a queen that they wished for. Especially when she smiled, which resembled Her Majesty the Queen Mary, it surprised me as well.
”Kythera… I don’t know what to do anymore.”
Her Highness Kanon struggled with her big sister. When Her Highness Kanon was 12 years old, Her Highness Victoria was 24, and the difference between them was so vast that it felt futile to compare them. Furthermore, Her Highness Hermie, born six years after Kanon, was also exceptional in a different way, further overshadowing Kanon.
”I heard from Her Majesty the Queen Mary that Her Highness Kanon is interested in the culture of the Eastern island nation. Perhaps it’s a good idea to let her spend some time away from this country?”
Her Highness Victoria was kind-hearted and considerate of her sister, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t hurt. I didn’t fully understand such emotions as I had no family, but after spending over a decade with Her Highness Victoria, I had aged enough to grasp such things. Before I knew it, I was also 34 years old.
”Well, it’s a bit selfish, but could you visit the Eastern country occasionally to check on Kanon?”
I was Her Highness Victoria’s tutor, but that didn’t mean I had no connection with Her Highness Kanon. Rather, she was quite similar to how I was when I was young—or rather, she was even more talented than I ever was.
So, I occasionally offered advice, not too much to overwhelm her. This relationship had led to Her Highness Kanon seeking my advice whenever something happened. Over time, I realized that I was giving Her Highness Kanon more affection than even Her Highness Victoria.
”Kythera… take care of my dear big sister, okay? And thank you.”
Her Highness Kanon knew everything. Just as Her Highness Victoria did, she cared for her big sister. Unlike Her Highness Victoria, who desired to become a queen like her Mother, Her Highness Kanon didn’t seem too fixated on becoming a queen.
Let those who want to rule, rule…
In retrospect, the words Her Highness Kanon muttered to me when she was 8 years old might have been her true feelings. For 34 years of my life, I had been bound to the Stars Orthodox Religion. Given that I knew nothing of the outside world, there seemed to be no other path for me, but I began to question if I truly suited the role of leading the Stars Orthodox Religion.
As Her Highness Kanon disappeared from the Stars Orthodox Religion and I pondered over it, a vulnerability emerged. The extremist faction that I had weakened before had quietly and steadily regained power within the church. Before I knew it, it was too late. The extremists had taken root within the Stars Orthodox Religion and were actively operating overseas. Among them was the name of the Eastern island nation where Her Highness Kanon had studied.
”So, Her Highness Kanon is in this country…”
Apart from my responsibilities in the Stars Orthodox Religion, I privately visited the Eastern country. This happened four years after Her Highness Kanon had left our country, when I turned 38 years old.
In hindsight, this was my first-ever private trip. The Eastern island nation was far more exciting and diverse than the stories I had heard. It maintained a delicate balance, thanks to the harmony of its inhabitants.
While it might appear risky at first glance, compared to the Stars Orthodox Religion, which had taken a stricter regulatory approach, this country entrusted everything to its ordinary citizens, and I wondered if such a form of governance might also be beneficial.
”Phew…”
I forgot about meeting Her Highness Kanon and just enjoyed myself… Perhaps I played around without considering my age, but somehow, I managed to board the wrong train. I could have taken a taxi, but being in a confined space with a woman in a foreign land wasn’t something I desired. Though I no longer held a position where anyone could approach me directly, there were still women who looked at me with those kinds of eyes. However, women in this country didn’t seem to direct such glances my way… Perhaps it was because I was a foreigner?
As I pondered this, someone approached me.
”Um… Are you in trouble?”
A woman spoke to me in fluent language, and she was very beautiful. It might have been since Her Highness Kanon that I had seen someone so beautiful.
”Well… I seem to have taken the wrong station.”
Since I had the chance, I showed her the map and pointed to the place I wanted to go. Peering at the map, she softly voiced, “Ah.”
”If you’re heading to that station, I’m also planning to go there. Would you like to go together?”
”Thank you. That would be helpful.”
I accepted her proposal and decided to take the train together. Little did I know that this encounter would not only change my destiny but even the destiny of the Stars Orthodox Religion.
”My name is Kythera. May I know your name?”
As I said that, she responded with a warm and affectionate smile that seemed to eclipse even the background sun.
”My name is Yukishiro Emily. Nice to meet you, Kythera-san.”
This marked the first encounter between me, who had been the bishop of the Stars Orthodox Religion, and her, who was known as the Saint of the Holy Aqua Religion.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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