The Heroines Are After My Fortune

47 – A Story Three Years Later – 1

Three years passed like a fired arrow.

“…………Cold.”

I stood before Yulnemann’s grave.

I carefully wiped the newly replaced tombstone.

[Yulnemann Rowen, Count, Lies Here.]

“Gramps, our family’s a Count’s now. How’s that, does it sit well with ya?”

First, I’d become a Swordmaster.

All of this thanks to my outstanding talent and relentless effort…

[You goddamn moron, if it weren’t for me and that one-armed b*stard, you couldn’t even draw an Aura Blade, half-wit.]

“…Shut up, you.”

Truth be told, I hadn’t done much myself.

I’d diligently spun the Shartru Automaton, continuously developed my mana circuits through my connection with Caesar, and gorged on anything said to be good for me, which allowed for my rapid growth.

Of course, a sudden appearance of a twenty-something Swordmaster was more than enough to cause a stir, and it’s true that the flies came buzzing.

“Aiden Roen, accept my challenge…!”

“A Swordmaster, and yet you turn tail and run!”

But whatever, it wasn’t my place to deal with each and every one of those punks myself.

“To see my master, you must first defeat me.”

“That guy is…!”

“The golden-mane Cassano…!?”

Cassano, having grown enough to properly act as an expert-level gatekeeper, took care of all the small fry. And even when that wasn’t enough, well, Caesar would step in, so it was fine.

“…Tch, start resolving this level of stuff on your own.”

“As you command, Sir Caesar Doc.”

Luckily, Caesar’s situation was resolved by paying a large sum of compensation to the victims. Because the impact of the crimes committed by Raphael Este was so great, there was sympathy for him.

I paid that huge compensation on his behalf, and he was able to reclaim the name of his family, the Doc family, unharmed. But of course, I wasn’t just going to let him off the hook, was I? As expected, he’s faithfully fulfilling his role as my right-hand man.

“How is Miss Sasha doing?”

Her full name is now Sasha Doc.

She refused to take the Este family’s surname, and instead took the surname of her father, who had fallen, and was now just starting again. She said she wanted to use it together so her dad wouldn’t feel lonely with that name alone.

“I hear she beat up another boy at the Academy.”

“Oh, um. That must be troubling for you-“

“She’s my daughter alright. Quite magnificent.”

“………”

Well, whatever, if you guys are happy…

I decided to just… close my mouth.

####

The reason I’d offered Renée three years.

Because the original timeline was roughly three years long. During that time, a whole barrage of events would go off like stepping stones. Of course, stopping them meant crawling around like a stray, but I figured if I could survive that, I could explode with success.

‘My calculations were spot on.’

Without meaning to, I ended up saving the empire, becoming a benefactor of the Papal See, and stopping a long-standing feud through negotiations with the witches of the North.

Thanks to that, the Loewen family, who were just barons, jumped two ranks, and I recovered all the disaster flags aimed at Elena. Now all that was left was for my precious little sister to walk a flowery path…

“Elena, instead of staying home all weekend, why don’t you go out and have a romance or something…?”

“No…!”

*SLAM—!*

Mention romance, and Elena, who was just laughing, would turn furious and slam her door shut. I couldn’t help but sigh. She was a good girl who used to listen to everything her older brother said…

‘No, surely all the male leads from the original story have shown up…?’

The second prince, the emperor’s golden boy, was there. The cool-hearted, future duke of the North had appeared. We also had the next cardinal candidate from the Papal See, and even David, the spirit mage of the Radiant Sun.

On top of that, even Baran Este, Renée’s brother, who was just a passing character in the original, had joined the mix. It was a simple matter of Elena choosing one of those five.

But Elena wasn’t choosing anyone.

“I’m sorry, but I have someone I like.”

Those destructive words, crushing any will to try again, left all the male lead candidates clutching their aching hearts in despair.

“Waaah, to steal her heart like that. Just who is this…?”

“David, that’s your fifth bottle already. Maybe drink a little less…”

David, who had been devotedly and purely in love for three years.

I figured I had to accept his changed self, secretly cheering him on and giving him little pushes, but if Elena herself was against it, there wasn’t much else I could do.

‘Tsk, maybe I shouldn’t have interfered, giving the male leads more room to appeal…?’

I shook my head.

Leaving Elena in crisis, just to give those lads an appeal chance, would send her straight into a wretched spiral. Given the nature of those incidents—stuff she couldn’t handle alone—it was crucial for me, who knew how things were supposed to go, to step in and orchestrate.

‘Lately, Elena seems to be relying on me more, but that probably isn’t related…?’

Time and time again, I showed up and saved her whenever she faced danger. Naturally, going through those harrowing experiences would only strengthen her trust in her older brother. I decided not to overthink it.

Then, one day, I heard strange news concerning Elena. Last year, there were ridiculous rumors about her being wary of Renena Dimona, and now, whispers of her seeking something called ‘elixir’ or some such drug were circulating.

‘Well, even if that’s true, she’s not the type to do anything shady. A little curiosity is natural.’

Later I would regret not stopping my little sister more actively, but at the time, I didn’t particularly care if she chose someone or not.

‘Any lingering attachment to the original world… it’s long gone now.’

###

The Vatican Headquarters,

There, existed a large private chapel allotted to the Saint.

“………….”

The Saint, bathed in the light streaming through the stained glass, was a sight to behold. Kneeling on the floor, engrossed in prayer to the divine, she was completely oblivious to someone approaching from behind.

“Dimona.”

*Kuhk-*

A finger gently pressed down on her back and then traced along her spine, causing—

“Haaahn…”

—the Saint to let out a sweet moan as she writhed.

Probably, I’m the only one in the Empire who knows she, the very image of faithfulness, could make such a feminine sound.

“I came because I missed you.”

“…You’re mischievous, really. It’ll be over soon, so please bear with me a little longer.”

Yes, I, ended up in *that* kind of relationship with the Saintess, Dimona.

‘It wasn’t my intention from the start, though…’

I came to solve the Vatican’s problems, as promised, but it was even more rotten than I imagined. So first, I found the imposter. Like water knowing the answer, I let the Holy Knights dip him in holy water; he loved it, he really did.

“Kkeuaaa——! You fools, do you think the Vatican can function without me…!”

Yeah, it’s doing just fine, actually?

Things got a lot more pleasant after losing a few trolls. It seems the Saintess’s other personality, throwing herself at the Loen family like that, was more of a “Ptooey, I can’t be a Saintess with this filth!” kind of deal. Those guys who happily agreed to sell off the symbol of the highest order, they’re something else.

But, there was still a big problem. The higher-ups had been embezzling, completely destroying the Vatican’s finances. But who am I? Aiden Loen, the money-spender, that’s who.

Last year, I barely managed to recruit the genius Hamilton to lead my trading company. I started the ‘Vatican Reconstruction Project’ with him.

“How… how can this be…!”

Reusing the Vatican’s abandoned churches, transforming them into unique cafes and restaurants, that was a smash hit.

Rumors spread that you might catch a glimpse of the Saintess praying there; the already popular shops were packed daily. But I didn’t stop there.

“Turns out, a piece of bread when you’re down is what makes you rely on someone.”

The free food distribution and medical services, which had stopped due to financial issues, were restarted. Putting Dimona, leading from the front, on the front page to show that the Vatican had changed, that was just basic.

The Vatican’s reputation improved every single day.

People praised the Vatican’s progress. Even the Vatican officials were saying ‘this is enough,’ but I was still hungry.

The biggest problem the Vatican had lately was a decline in faith due to advancements in magic engineering.

Since the level of people’s belief in God affected the total amount of divine power of the clergy, their divine power was incomparable to what it used to be.

“If the arcane engineering weakened you, then wouldn’t it make sense to strengthen you with it again?”

“How is that even possible…?”

Dimona seemed more than a little dubious this time.

The answer lay in reawakening my movie director alter-ego, ‘Starfield’. Of course, I stepped forward with confidence, but my hands were trembling.

‘Nearly five times the production cost of Eternal Moonlight, if this fails, I’m truly fucked…’

An enormous number of characters, overflowing with special effects, heart-swelling set designs. It was a money-eating monster in every corner.

But the resulting film, once again, caused a massive stir.

[Holly Potter and the Priest’s Stone]

: Holly Potter, who lost his parents long ago to the wicked demon Beelzebub, abused in his relatives’ home, receives an invitation to the sacred magic academy right before his birthday…!

The Empire’s first full-color film, watch it now!

The film, gaining traction like wildfire, created a storm comparable to Eternal Moonlight.

“Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a priest too!”

“I want to get an owl for my birthday too…!”

It gave children dreams,

“The sacred magic Holly used in the end was definitely Sanctuary. Truly worthy of the next Cardinal. When a demon attacks from all directions, there’s nothing better.”

“Tsk tsk, you need to develop that limited insight. It was clearly the Ray Freeze spell…!”

It gifted priests with pride and a bit of (?) argument.

It succeeded across all age groups, but especially captivating the hearts of children was significant. You can’t send a child full of dreams to become a priest to the church alone, so parents accompanied their children to church. And they were amazed.

“Whoaah……….”

The church’s interior, remodeled with piles of money, was grand and boasted a refined beauty. The light shining down from beneath the colorful stained glass gave the feeling that a god might descend at any moment.

Having ushered the newbies in like that, the rest was for the clerics.

Ever parched for fresh blood, they played their part with zeal.

“Sister, you’ve been troubled of late.”

“Ah, how did you know?”

“God watches over you always. And if you pray with fervor, you’ll reach Him, and He will hear your prayer. Surely…!”

“Aah…!”

It was just the way of the times; there wasn’t a commoner without worries. The church, exploiting this state of mind to burrow deeper into people’s hearts, began to reclaim the glory it had known decades past.

“…… Amazing, truly.”

Dimona, having observed the whole sequence,

was genuinely impressed with Aiden.

Then she realized,

this wasn’t just gratitude, or admiration, or anything like that.

####

‘I suppose this is enough.’

I prepared for my farewell with Dimona.

Now, the Vatican wouldn’t be so desperate as to touch Elena, nor would they dare to target me for my gold.

To put it mildly, the Vatican now was soaring, soon to rival its golden age. Though I could see a bit of disappointment at my leaving, I too had things I needed to get to.

‘After finishing the next task properly, then I’ll go see her….’

Just then, looking out the window,

the Saint, appearing quite cheerful, approached me.

“Aiden-nim, you’re leaving now…?”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work, Dimona-yang.”

We shared a warm farewell, and I turned to go, but she caught my sleeve.

“The debt we owe for what you’ve done for our Papal Court is immeasurable. If it wouldn’t be a bother…”

“…………?”

“Could I offer you a drink?”

“A drink, you say…?”

Come to think of it, Dimona’s other personality was quite the lush, and it was said she would sip alcohol whenever she was stressed. While this was the good personality, no one would object to her having a drink during such a pleasant occasion.

“A light drink or two should be alright.”

“Hehe, then, this way…”

And so, I followed the Saintess into her chambers attached to the Papal Court.

The liquor tasted so good that I kept gulping it down, and at some point, I realized I was already on my fifth bottle.

‘Wait, I can only handle two bottles…?’

*Thud—!*

And with that, my head dropped to the floor, and my memory went dark.

Then, with a hazy mind, I opened my eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling.

‘Could it be…?’

Just as I suspected,

Why is it that my anxious imaginings always become reality?

“Ugh……….”

A bosom too full to grasp with both hands, and hair of gold, gleaming with luster.

Cold sweat began to pour from me.

‘Ah, fuck….’

Beside me lay the Holy Maiden, naked.

And bearing the marks of a fierce coupling.