Rebirth of the Interstellar Pope <Mecha>

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

[Anno: When I left Jerusalem, I took nothing with me except Napoleon. Rufeite reminded me that I had forgotten something. I asked him what it was, and he said it was the heart that loved him.]

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It had been four years since Anno left Jerusalem. In a cluster of satellites in the Blue Water Galaxy, which resembled a white ribbon, the smallest planet flickered with a faint blue glow.

Anno had lived on this planet for a year and a half. His first job here was as a bar waiter, but after just two days, he resigned, walking away with a meager paycheck. His next position was a humble one: a cleaner at the only church on this remote planet called Lolita.

With little else to do, Anno spent his days wiping windows and sweeping the floors of the church. And when there was something to do, it was usually the same-cleaning windows and sweeping floors.

One day, as Anno lay on the conical roof of the church, wiping bird droppings off a glass pane, his comm buzzed. Liu Yian's voice came through the line.

"Darling~~ Today's lunch is nutritious noodles, nutritious soup, nutritious rice, or nutritious porridge. Pick one~~"

Anno shifted his position on the roof, rolling his eyes. With a slight groan, he replied through gritted teeth, "I'm out here working hard every day, making money. Don't you think the breadwinner deserves something a bit more exciting?"

Without missing a beat, Liu Yian shot back, "You're not my husband. Why are you so picky? Nutritious noodles it is!"

"Wait!" Anno wiped off the last bit of bird mess and squinted up at the scorching sun. "Noodles again?! This is the sixth meal this week."

"If you don't like it, make your own!" Liu Yian retorted, ending the call abruptly.

Anno couldn't help but chuckle to himself, shaking his head in amusement.

Two years earlier, Anno had met Liu Yian on another planet in the Blue Water Galaxy. At the time, he didn't realize that Liu Yian had retired from the military and simply assumed the general had come incognito in civilian clothes.

Back then, Liu Yian was selling pancakes on the planet.

Anno had recognized Liu Yian just as he looked up to pay for the food. The former general, skin tanned from the sun, had smiled brightly and said, "Hi, handsome, sixteen interstellar coins."

Anno had nearly dropped to the ground in shock.

Later, Anno learned the full story. Shortly after he had left Jerusalem, the Interstellar United Nations had begun a massive reduction in military spending, halving weapons supplies, and promoting a theme of "galactic peace," which indirectly reduced recruitment. A major split began within the military, with powerful factions proposing an armed merger of military and religious forces. Liu Yian had firmly rejected the idea.

What Liu Yian hadn't anticipated, however, was that the leader of those powerful military officers would turn out to be Kowei.

Kowei had rebelled.

The internal strife within the military had lasted six months, and by the end of it, Kowei emerged victorious. Liu Yian had resigned but was intercepted on his way out, imprisoned by Kowei for half a year.

Liu Yian had told Anno the story in his usual laid-back manner, not a trace of bitterness or emotion in his voice.

What baffled Anno most, though, was that during the military's internal power struggle, Rufeite had visited every month, yet never once mentioned a word to Anno about the turmoil.