051: Saints of the First Century and the Dying Elder
That day was absolutely unforgettable for Locusta.
A green-haired girl with an unstable mind, who could only live in the forest, heard that a certain religion had opened in the city. By participating, one could receive food other than mushrooms.
The people in the city always gave the impression of being angry and never having enough to eat. Honestly, Locusta disliked entering the city.
When she was seven, after her parents said those words, she followed a stranger.
They said, "Come with us, and you'll get money."
So she followed that person because her parents' angry expressions were too terrifying—though when she left, her parents seemed to be smiling.
As it turned out, Locusta had been sold. But she escaped within a few days, only to find her home empty when she returned.
With nowhere to go, she wandered along the roads, eating discarded food, grass, or mushrooms when hungry, and drinking directly from water sources when thirsty.
In summer, she walked barefoot on scorching roads; in winter, she shivered in tattered clothes, trudging through long passages.
She thought that as long as she could get money, nothing else mattered. But the people in the city were always angry and scorned the one thing she was good at—mushroom soup.
They called her mad, smelly, and disgusting. So she disliked entering the city.
Though she felt this way, she found herself in the city before she knew it. The people around her looked at her with the usual disdainful eyes, making her involuntarily lower her head. The embarrassment of her bare feet and the shame of her filthy appearance weighed heavily on her heart.
"Everyone," said the elderly man sitting at the front of the church, "I know what makes you feel ashamed. But you are wandering astray, stumbling, making mistakes. You must strive to be upright, just as Lord Novia said. For those in sorrow and hardship, you should help as much as you can. When darkness fills a person's heart, sin grows there."
"But this is a senseless madwoman! She cannot be reasoned with!"
"Perhaps it is God's will for me to be this child's shepherd?"
"She might kill you!"
"Kill an old man? What good would that do? And such baseless accusations should not be spoken in such a tone," the elder continued. "Like a doctor, I have patients—those they call sick, and those I call unfortunate. Thus, the doors of the church should always remain open."
The elderly Christian solemnly yet gently tapped Locusta's shoulder as she hung her head and said to her:
"Please come in and sit. Warm yourself by the fire. Soon, we will have dinner. By the time you eat, your bed will be prepared."
As the elder spoke, Locusta involuntarily entered the church and waited quietly. After a while, as dusk fell, the elder walked in.
"Would you like to bathe?"
"..." Locusta timidly raised her head. "If I don't obey, I'll be scolded."
A hint of sorrow caught in the elder's throat. He could only sigh and pat Locusta's head.
"...I'm not a senseless madwoman. I'm not that disgusting..."
Words spilled unbidden from her lips. Locusta cried—not silent sobs, but wails like those of her childhood.
".....Wah.....wah.....wah, wah..."
"You've suffered, haven't you? Hungry and thirsty now. Stay here and rest assured."
The elder sat beside her and gently held her hand.
From then on, Locusta lived with the elder and the children who were already there.
Behind the church was a plot of land where the children grew vegetables. Locusta also grew mushrooms to eat.
The elder who had taken her in often walked in the countryside or the city, visiting broken homes to offer blessings and receiving blessings in return.
The people here always pointed out his residence to anyone in need.
Because his clothes were worn thin but he did not wish others to notice, he often wore a cotton robe even in the hot summer.
For the elder, January was no different from any other time.
But for Locusta, this was more than enough—it was very good.
This life continued for several years until—
"May I disturb you?"
A knock sounded at the church door.
"Please come in."
The elder gazed calmly at the person who entered.
"Greetings, Luke. I am Narcissus, sent by Lord Novia to take Locusta, whom you have sheltered here, to Rome."
Narcissus behaved with utmost propriety, for in his eyes, the elder before him was a praiseworthy disciple.
Luke, originally a physician, was humble and self-sacrificing, never showing off his knowledge or drawing attention. In fact, as a doctor, he could have achieved worldly success, but he chose to use his talents to further the preaching work.
Luke frowned and said, "But there is no one here named Locusta."
"....That...would be me..."
Locusta mustered her courage and raised her hand. In her view, if it was the Lord Novia whom everyone spoke of, he must be a good person. There was no need for unnecessary concealment, as causing trouble for others would be bad.
"Atsucol? Oh, your name reversed."
After joining here, Locusta had, for some reason, resolved to change her name. Lacking knowledge, she simply reversed it.
"Very well," said Luke. "It's late. Rest well tonight and depart tomorrow morning. By the way, Narcissus, I would like to ask: Is Paul of Antioch in Rome? He sent me a letter not long ago."
"Yes, Paul, Saint Martha, and the eleven apostles are all in Rome at Lord Novia's invitation, compiling the New Covenant."
"No wonder," Luke murmured solemnly, like one praying or talking to himself. He then took two books from his bag and handed them to Narcissus. "Paul asked me to deliver these to him. Since you are here, please take them."
"Of course."
Narcissus took the two books with his right hand. Their worn appearance suggested they had taken over a decade to write. As a devout believer, Narcissus understood why the elder did not go to Rome to share in the glory—he could not bear to leave the local people and the children in the church.
At dawn the next day, Narcissus set off for Rome with Locusta and the two books from Luke.
Upon learning of Locusta's situation, Novia also learned about Luke from Narcissus.
In the original history, this Luke was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament, revered as the patron saint of medical workers and hospitals. Legend also holds that he painted a portrait of the Virgin Mary, making him the patron saint of artists.
He once traveled to distant Jerusalem to verify Jesus's genealogy. Many events from Jesus's life and preaching are recorded exclusively in the Gospel of Luke, which contains eighty-two unique accounts and parables not found in the other Gospels.
Luke might have learned about John the Baptist's birth from John's mother, Elizabeth, or heard details of Jesus's birth and early life from Jesus's mother, Mary. Perhaps apostles like Peter, James, or John told Luke about the miracle of the fishing haul.
But perhaps due to Novia's rewriting of history, Luke did not follow Paul as he originally did. Instead, he traveled alone from Antioch to a city in the province of Gaul, established a small church, and unexpectedly took in Locusta—who, in the original timeline, would have wandered the forests before being recruited by Agrippina to poison Emperor Claudius.
"Hello, Locusta. I sought you out only to ask for your help."
Novia spoke to Locusta with a warm smile, getting straight to the point. In his eyes, though this child was mentally unstable, she was fundamentally good.
"O-okay... I'll do my best. It's what I should do..."
Locusta had been downcast, fearing that her joining the church just for food had been discovered by someone important and would bring punishment upon everyone. But upon hearing Novia's call, she suddenly raised her head with a look of conviction, albeit somewhat timid.
"This is a poison formula. Can you create an antidote?"
Novia handed Locusta the poison formula given to him earlier by Agrippina.
"P-poison... Let me see..."
Locusta was startled but felt relieved upon hearing Novia wanted an antidote.
Lord Novia must be trying to save someone, she thought.
But the more she studied the formula, the more horrified she became.
This poison, once prepared, would be colorless and tasteless, a slow-acting toxin. When symptoms appeared, drinking it again would temporarily relieve them, but the condition would worsen over time...
Though complicated, for Locusta—who had self-taught herself and later been educated by Luke, and who often experimented with poisonous mushroom soups—it was solvable with time.
"Lord Novia, I... I think I can do it in about half a year."
"Half a year? Actually, Locusta, the person I want to detoxify has been drinking this poison for over ten years."
Locusta's eyes widened instantly.
Over ten years?
That meant the poison had seeped into the marrow... What a pitiful person. Who could have done this for so long? How terrifying.
"Then... three years."
After some thought, Locusta recovered from her shock. Ultimately, it was just a matter of accumulated toxicity. With enough time for research and ensuring no further ingestion, it wasn't too troublesome.
"Then I leave it to you, Locusta."
After securing Locusta's commitment, and at her repeated requests to contribute in other ways, Novia assigned her to oversee food safety in the palace—after all, she was an expert in that regard.
Now, everything was progressing as Novia had envisioned. The spread of Christianity was unstoppable across the Roman Empire. Only the final steps remained: securing control of the Praetorian Guard and having the Roman emperor declare Christianity the state religion. Afterwards, the Holy Church would be established ahead of time and gradually perfected.
Novia held little hope for the elderly Emperor Claudius publicly declaring Christianity the state religion and planned to wait a few years for Nero to do so.
Time passed, and soon it was October AD 54. Despite Novia's repeated assurances that poisoning in the palace was impossible, the old emperor suddenly fell gravely ill in early October, hovering on the brink of death.
It seemed that, poison or not, Claudius was destined to die around this time.
On October 12, the ailing Emperor Claudius, perhaps in a final rally, requested Novia to enter the palace to discuss matters for the future.
Author's Note
Ahem, after a month, this book is finally being released.
To be honest, the early performance of this book wasn't great. I remember on the first Monday after the trial, I asked my editor and there were only a little over 400 followers. I thought there was no hope for advancement, and the more I looked, the worse I felt my writing was. But thanks to the support of you readers, the collections gradually rose to second place, successfully advancing.
On the second Monday, followers increased by over a thousand. On the third Monday (this week), there were over 3,200. Though this might be average on this platform, it's quite good for me.
A brief on future plot: The Roman storyline should conclude around 200,000 words. As for how the protagonist becomes the "Holy Spirit" in the Trinity (the book currently preaches a duality within Christianity)... you can probably guess from the hints.
As for Beast Nero, she won't appear until after the protagonist's death. I think Beast Nero with Albion is very cool (Nero's Obito face.jpg).
As for the modern timeline, the flat-chested Root Princess will appear in Romania.
After that, it'll be a choice between the Hun and Japanese timelines.
For the Hun storyline, heroines include Attila, Kriemhild (not as a wife), and finally a choice between Amor (Roman god of love) and the Black Princess.
For the Japanese storyline, heroines are Amaterasu and Yamata no Orochi.
But honestly, I love twisted, bloody stories!
After all that, please, give me your support on the first day!
It's really important to me!
I'll never forget this request—I'll do anything!
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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