Created a Reverse Harem in a Doomed World (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7
“…Such an absurd thing.”
“Good heavens, how can this be…? Ah, Lord Ardel! Saint Anais of Miracles! Why do You send us such a trial!”
The priest clasped his hands tightly together, stretched them toward the sky, and wept bitterly. I patted him halfheartedly and stated my purpose for coming to the temple.
“Where is His Holiness the Pope? I must meet him at once.”
Only the Pope held the authority to guard the sacred spring from which holy water flowed.
Thus, to obtain holy water for fighting zombies, I needed explicit permission from the Pope.
‘It’s ridiculous that in such an urgent situation, I still have to go through this bureaucratic nonsense…’
In a world governed by rigid feudalism, what could I expect? I should be grateful that, as a duke’s daughter—and currently acting duchess—I could even attempt this much.
…Damn it. I just want to go home.
Meeting the Pope wasn’t difficult. Given the severity of the matter, most trivial formalities were waived, and I was quickly ushered into his chamber, adorned in white and gold.
Inside the lavishly decorated room, the Pope awaited me, seated haughtily like an emperor upon his throne.
“Welcome, Lady Keaton.”
“It’s my first time meeting you, Your Holiness. I am Elisabeth Keaton of House Keaton.”
I desperately wanted to snap that there was no time for pleasantries and demand the holy water immediately, but I held my tongue.
‘After all, the source capable of producing holy water is divine power itself.’
Therefore, the one who possesses the greatest divine power ascends to the papacy and earns the right to manage the sacred spring.
I needed to carefully persuade the Pope to hand over the holy water—it would be invaluable in our upcoming battles against the zombies.
‘Zero… if I can just get that holy water, humans will at least stand a chance against the zombies, right?’
「Of course. If you douse them with holy water or strike them with weapons blessed by high-ranking priests, you’ll definitely deal them real damage.」
Zero, who’d somehow scraped up this information under my relentless nagging, replied confidently.
Alright. Let’s do this.
I squeezed every ounce of acting skill from within me and donned the mask of a noble young lady—righteous, solemn, and deeply concerned for the fate of the nation.
“I’ve reviewed the horrifying footage you brought. ‘Zombies,’ was it? A new type of undead has appeared.”
“Yes, precisely, Your Holiness. To destroy them, we absolutely need holy water—the holy water that flows from the sacred spring under Your Holiness’s care.”
Naturally, I didn’t omit the insincere line about doing this “for the future of the Empire.” Such flattery always worked well with those at the heart of power.
‘Please, just grant me permission to take the holy water already!’
While I groveled inwardly like this, the Pope eyed me dubiously and countered my words.
“…How do you know this, my lady?”
An unexpected question. But I was the kind of citizen who wouldn’t buckle even under intense pressure interviews.
Calmly switching into presentation mode, I clearly conveyed my main point to my audience.
“In truth, I encountered zombies during the Crown Prince’s wedding ceremony in the imperial capital. While escaping, I tried using holy water and confirmed its effectiveness.”
“Oh ho.”
“I always cherished the vial of holy water my late mother left me—never imagining it would be needed for something like this. Ah, now I truly understand this as divine grace.”
“What a touching tale.”
“All thanks to the grace of my late mother and Lord Ardel.”
“Heh heh heh.”
“Ha ha ha.”
It was all utter nonsense.
I’d just walked out after stamping the heroine’s forehead with my high heel. There was no such thing as holy water. Divine grace? Well, Zero was something like a deputy administrator of this world, so I suppose that counted as a sort of divine blessing. But I’m non-religious—I don’t believe in that sort of thing.
‘It’s just a ploy to smooth things over in this situation.’
Then again, it wasn’t exactly a lie either. Since Zero relayed information from the world’s administrator, it might as well count as a message from the gods, right?
“I never realized Lady Keaton was so devout.”
‘No. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t believe in religion because going to Sunday service is too much trouble.’
My throat was parched from spouting such shameless lies as smoothly as flowing water.
“If I’d known this, I should have established far more connections with House Keaton long ago.”
The Pope seemed quite pleased. Even as people were dying somewhere from the zombie outbreak, he seemed more concerned with affirming the Church’s influence—but I kept my social smile firmly in place.
“Thank you for the kind words, Your Holiness. So, please, might you grant us permission to use the holy water…?”
“But I cannot give you the holy water.”
Snap.
I heard the sound of my sanity cracking.
“…Why not?”
“If what you say is true, then effectively everyone capable of leading the Empire is already dead, correct?”
…What?
“Thus, if holy water—or divine power—truly has lethal effect against these zombies, shouldn’t our temple take the lead in rescuing the Empire’s citizens from this calamity? Wouldn’t that paint a far nobler picture?”
“…”
“And if we do, even nonbelievers might change their hearts and return to the temple. Perhaps this is a perfect opportunity bestowed by Saint Anais herself to demonstrate the temple’s power once more.”
Crisis is opportunity.
The Pope’s tone was as smooth as a songbird’s—so gentle it sounded like he was asking if I’d like pancakes for lunch. His face was strikingly handsome in a holy sort of way; back on Earth, he’d have made a wildly successful cult leader or pyramid scheme guru.
‘…This guy’s completely insane.’
I’d momentarily forgotten.
Those at the pinnacle of power are the greediest of all.
A corrupt, scheming bastard like this actually sits as Pope. Damn it.
Ugh, this country’s really gone to hell.
Despite the national disaster posed by zombies, the Pope remained utterly serene, concerned only with his own advantage.
Clutching a desperate hope that he might, just this once, prove to be a sane and reasonable human being, I asked:
“…You’re joking, right?”
“Does it sound like a joke to you, my lady?”
Laugh? Is he seriously laughing right now?
He’s serious. He’s utterly mad.
Someone like him deserves a high heel right through his face.
Then again, I’d probably end up skewered by the Holy Knights’ spears for assassinating the Pope in the temple.
Ha ha ha ha.
‘Damn it all…’
A fear even greater than facing zombies point-blank swept over me.
Judging by the Pope’s attitude, he had no intention whatsoever of resolving this crisis—only exploiting it.
As cold sweat poured down my back, the Pope looked at me and, infuriatingly, smiled with benevolent kindness.
“Do not worry about your personal safety, my lady. Since you’ve revealed that divine power works against those monsters, the temple shall protect you alone.”
“…What about the mage and the duke’s private soldiers who came here with me?”
“If they pledge to fight for the temple, we shall take them in—provided they fully join the temple and become lambs fighting for the Lord. Otherwise, I have no obligation to shelter them.”
‘Wow…’
A bigger bastard than Satan himself. Not a man at all, but an old, cunning fox sitting there pretending to be Pope.
How did someone like that even become Pope? Were they chosen solely based on divine power, with no regard for basic decency?
The Pope had made it clear: anyone who couldn’t benefit him would be ruthlessly cast aside. With the imperial family wiped out, he clearly intended to pose as a savior and seize the apex of power.
“Ha… ha ha. I see.”
‘Hey, Zero. What do we do? Is the holy water strong enough to wipe out all the zombies?’
Maintaining my polite social smile, I kept speaking to Zero in my mind.
「Not at all! Holy water contains divine power, so it can paralyze them to some extent—but to kill them completely, you need to decapitate them. Divine power alone isn’t enough.」
‘So that’s how it is… Can you help me steal that holy water?’
「Possible.」
‘Really?’
「You’ve got a Possessor buff. So it’ll be fine.」
When was that special ability granted? I’d only ever played the role of a villainess faithfully following the original plot—I had no idea I even had such a buff.
‘What even is that! Hey, if you had that ability, why didn’t you use it sooner? That would’ve been so much better!’
「I’ll explain later. It only appeared a few hours ago—I need time to figure it out myself!」
Just as Zero finished his reply, the Pope’s question came flying.
“So, Lady Keaton—do you wish to become a servant blessed by the Lord?”
His fake smile clearly expected me to say yes. I glanced at the sacred spring bubbling merrily beside the Pope and replied with equal insincerity.
“Oh my, of course, Your Holiness. But there’s something I’d like you to grant me in return.”
“What might that be?”
“Since I’ve brought you helpful information, couldn’t you specially prepare some holy water just for me?”
Dropping my trustworthy noble-lady act and shifting to a greedy, avaricious expression convinced the Pope instantly. So he’d heard of Lady Keaton’s infamous reputation too—no surprise there.
“Very well. I shall fill a vial generously for you alone, Lady Keaton.”
“Thank you, Your Holiness.”
“Think nothing of it. It’s only proper treatment for a collaborator.”
The Pope smiled indulgently and called out to someone outside.
“You called, Your Holiness?”
The one who answered his summons was Michael, the sub-male lead and a Holy Knight.
‘I thought that priest from earlier would come.’
A supposedly top-tier Holy Knight wouldn’t be idly loitering in the hallway like that.
He must have found me highly suspicious.
‘I had no idea the real villain was lurking right nearby.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly as the Pope gave instructions to Michael.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
He’s thinking it’s just a spell🤣🤣
He’s thinking it’s just a spell🤣🤣
Looks like someone is in love😏😏