The Silent Crusade

If doctrine were considered a field of study, the Goddess could easily be deemed its foremost expert. Furthermore, Annie had served as a Heretic Inquisitor for the Holy Kingdom for a long time, and before that, she had studied at a theological seminary. Her knowledge of theology was vast enough to rival that of most high priests. On top of that, Yohan possessed a wide array of knowledge spanning various fields, not just religion, which allowed him to assist the two and greatly boost their efficiency. Thanks to the three of them putting their heads together, the compilation of the scriptures proceeded smoothly.

By the time winter drew to a close and the warmth of spring arrived, the scriptures of the Church of the Unnamed Goddess were finally complete. Inside Billy's house, which had gradually transformed into a workshop...

"Whew, that was no walk in the park," Yohan muttered.

"Sigh..."

Yohan, the Goddess, and Annie let out deep sighs as they stared down at a worn, smudged notebook. At a glance, it looked like nothing more than a simple diary, but within its pages lay the entire doctrine of the Church of the Unnamed Goddess. In short, it was the final manuscript of their holy scriptures.

Beside their newly minted scriptures lay the holy book of the Central Church, boasting a monstrous thickness and size. Admittedly, the Unnamed Goddess's scriptures were incredibly brief by comparison. However, this was only because the Central Church's scriptures were bloated with various anecdotes and supplementary tales. In terms of pure, unadulterated substance, the scriptures compiled with the Goddess's direct involvement were far superior. Moreover, considering that the deity worshipped by both religions was essentially the same being, the contents of this notebook could practically be viewed as a revised edition of the Central Church's own scriptures.

"Now, let us bring this to a close," the Goddess said, stretching her hands toward the notebook. A brilliant light poured from her palms, enveloping the worn pages. A moment later, after the blinding radiance that filled the room subsided, Yohan checked the scriptures. The cheap notebook was gone, and in its place sat a pristine, elegant book.

"Hmm."

This was no ordinary book. Yohan could feel a dense wave of divine power radiating from it, far surpassing that of most sacred relics.

"Behold, this is the completed scripture!" the Goddess's triumphant voice echoed through the room. The book she had personally finalized was not only a record of the Church's doctrine but also a sacred relic imbued with her own divine energy.

"Let's see... What the hell is this?" Yohan picked up the book to inspect its contents. But the moment he flipped open the cover, he felt a sudden rush of information. He didn't even need to read the words with his eyes; the entire doctrine flowed directly into his mind.

"Is something wrong?" Annie asked.

Instead of answering, Yohan simply thrust the scriptures toward her. "How does it feel?"

"What do you mean? It just looks like a normal scripture to me," Annie replied, flipping through the pages. She didn't seem to experience the same phenomenon as Yohan.

Watching them, the Goddess crossed her arms and smirked proudly. "Unless one is my Apostle, their mind would shatter trying to withstand such a direct influx of doctrinal knowledge. To anyone other than you, it is merely a book that radiates a somewhat holy aura."

"Oh, is that so?" Yohan muttered.

Indeed, if an ordinary person were subjected to such a massive, unilateral dump of information, their brain would probably melt.

"In any case, now we must spread our doctrine to all believers and make my name known far and wide!"

"You are absolutely correct, Goddess," Annie agreed, nodding fervently. "The Central Church, overrun by corrupt priests, will fall. The Church of the Unnamed Goddess, led directly by Your Divinity, will become the one true faith spanning the entire continent." A ecstatic smile of pure joy spread across Annie's deeply moved face.

"Oh, Annie..."

"Oh, Goddess..."

Touched by Annie's devotion, the Goddess gazed back at her with equal warmth, the two of them sharing a deeply emotional, teary-eyed moment.

"Hey, dummy. If you can use your divine authority to make books like this, why don't you just mass-produce a bunch of them right now?"

Yohan's pragmatic question threw cold water over the touching atmosphere. Annie gave him a rare, disapproving glare, while the Goddess shook her head in exasperation.

"Hmph! My Apostle, this is no mere book. Did you not just experience its nature yourself?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

The Goddess did have a point. The original scriptures of the Unnamed Goddess were vastly different from a regular book where one simply turned paper pages and read ink.

"I mean, you can conjure a whole dining ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠table in the middle of a room, so I figured you could easily pump out some books."

"A book is not as simple as furniture! It may be small in physical size, but the sheer volume of information contained within is on an entirely different level."

"Tsk."

Yohan smacked his lips in disappointment. In truth, Annie also seemed slightly let down, having secretly harbored the same hope.

"Ahem. At any rate, my Apostle, now that the scriptures are complete, let us discuss the matter you brought up the other day." The Goddess cleared her throat, quickly changing the subject.

"Ah, that."

"Yes, indeed."

Now that the scriptures were finished, it was time to write the educational books that would subtly weave in their doctrines. Since open proselytizing was too dangerous, they planned to conduct an underground operation by disguising the Church's teachings as ordinary literature. To borrow Annie's words, it was a method so effective that even heretics frequently employed it.

"If we are to disguise it as educational literature, a book filled with moral fables would be best," Annie suggested.

"Exactly. I was thinking of writing something like a collection of fairy tales for adults," Yohan replied, nodding.

The Unnamed Goddess was the Goddess of Justice. And the world was already full of stories that taught lessons about rewarding virtue, punishing vice, and upholding justice. Time to show them the power of modern knowledge, Yohan thought to himself, a sly smirk playing on his lips.

"Well, that's that. But I've also been thinking about our future course of action." Writing the scriptures had been a massive headache, but staying in the village for several months had given him plenty of time to ponder other matters. "It's true that the higher-ups of the Central Church are lazy and corrupt, but we can't exactly wage an open war against the Holy Kingdom."

The other two nodded in agreement at Yohan's words.

"Indeed. When you think about it, the citizens of the Holy Kingdom are no different from my own precious believers. I can never tolerate seeing them bleed or suffer," the Goddess declared.

"Yeah, same here. That's why I've been trying to figure out a peaceful way to bring down the Central Church."

"Which means you have come up with an idea?"

"Of course," Yohan replied with a broad grin. "I absolutely have."

The next day, the Goddess, the members of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Knight Order, and all the villagers gathered in the central square of the village.

"Is everyone here?" Annie asked, scanning the crowd from atop the wooden platform. "Ahem. Last night, the scriptures containing the official doctrines of our Church were finally completed."

"Ooh—!"

Annie held the scriptures aloft as she spoke. Low murmurs of awe and excitement rippled through the gathered villagers.

Standing behind Annie, Yohan watched the villagers, feeling a strange sense of accomplishment. When they had first joined the faith, the villagers possessed plenty of devotion but lacked any real understanding of theology. Because of this, even while busy writing the scriptures, Yohan and Annie had carved out time to teach the people the doctrines of the Church and basic religious theory. Their efforts had not been in vain; the villagers had now grown into exemplary believers of the Unnamed Goddess.

They held the core value of justice close to their hearts, constantly refining their faith in the Goddess while steadily developing their village. Now, not a single trace remained of the terror they had once felt under the trolls' tyranny. Though she had probably meant it half-jokingly, to borrow the Goddess's words, the day this place would become a new Holy City was drawing nearer.

"A religion without concrete doctrine is nothing more than a cult," Annie continued in a solemn tone. "Any wicked person could easily impersonate us and exploit our name."

"Aye, that's true!"

"There are far too many rotten swindlers in this world!" several villagers chimed in, nodding in agreement.

"But things are different now. The Church of the Unnamed Goddess has established a proper foundation." Now, they had a solid theological basis to punish anyone who dared to distort or misinterpret their teachings for personal gain.

"As you all know, the Central Church of the Holy Kingdom currently brands all other religions as heresy and oppresses them. The reason we had to cover up the village entrance road that you all worked so hard to pave was to avoid catching the eye of those Holy Kingdom bastards." Annie continued, stepping forward to address the crowd.

"Of course, a few religions are guaranteed freedom of worship through treaties with the Central Church, but that only proves those hypocrites are treating faith as a business."

"Those greedy bastards!"

"Exactly!"

The villagers shouted in anger at Annie's explanation. As the crowd grew rowdy, Yohan, who had been standing at the back of the platform, stepped forward. Annie stepped back, yielding the stage to him.

"Yeah! Those church bastards are rotten to the core. But we—our Church—are different!"

Thud!

Yohan stomped his foot hard against the wooden platform, intentionally creating a loud noise. The sudden sound instantly drew the scattered attention of the murmuring villagers back to him.

"What is justice? It's doing the right thing. Don't stab people in the back, and live a good life. Isn't that all it is?"

"Hear, hear!"

"In that sense, the higher-ups of the Holy Kingdom aren't just at all. Those high priest bastards are only interested in protecting their own pockets, spending every waking hour scheming how to squeeze money out of devout believers."

"We ought to drag them all out and punish them!"

"Yeah, Old Man Jackson over there has a point. But here's the thing." Yohan suddenly turned his head toward the Goddess, who had been maintaining a stern, solemn expression. "At least the ordinary citizens of the Holy Kingdom are incredibly devout. Just like you guys, they're doing their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠best to live according to their faith."

Yohan turned his body fully toward the Goddess, dropping to one knee to meet her gaze at eye level.

"And... our Goddess here, she definitely loves smashing the skulls of bad guys, but she also loves looking after the good ones."

Historically, the end of any religion ruled by corrupt high clergy was always the same: a wind of reformation would inevitably blow. And Yohan intended to spark a religious reformation in his own way. By absorbing the believers and clergy who had grown disillusioned with the current Central Church into the Church of the Unnamed Goddess, he would execute a peaceful strategy—one that might take a long time but would avoid any unnecessary bloodshed.

"Hear me, all of you," the Goddess spoke, breaking her silence. Her voice sounded no louder than usual, yet it resonated with absolute clarity in the ears of everyone present. "It is as my Apostle, Yohan, has said. I shall cast out the Central Church, which uses a corrupted doctrine to trade in faith under the guise of justice."

By now, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the other members of the Knight Order had also dropped to their knees, looking up at the Goddess with reverence.

"Yet, I do not wish for the blood of the innocent to be spilled. Therefore, I shall excise the rot of the Central Church through a different path."

In an instant, a brilliant light erupted from her entire body. Her childlike form dissolved, transforming in a flash into her majestic adult self.

"I know that even within the Central Church, there are many believers and priests who hold a sincere faith in justice. By embracing them, we shall slowly transform the Central Church from its very foundations."

The halo rising behind the Goddess radiated a warm, comforting light. Overwhelmed by the divine spectacle, several villagers bowed their heads and began to pray.

"This will undoubtedly be no easy task. It will be a grueling, arduous journey that demands much time. But I was originally Justia, the Goddess of Justice. And I possess the virtue of patience."

The light emanating from her halo spread outward like a protective shroud, gently enveloping the entire square.

"Therefore, I declare before you all today."

Standing against a backdrop of brilliant, sun-like radiance, the Goddess's eyes looked down upon everyone kneeling before her.

"Our Church of the Unnamed Goddess, having finally established its complete doctrine, shall from this day forth embark on a bloodless crusade to reclaim our tarnished justice."

The Silent Crusade. This was the peaceful method Yohan had devised after months of careful deliberation to bring down the Central Church.