A Sudden Influx of Believers
Yohan studied the faces of the priests facing the Goddess. Would these priests really abandon the Central Church and convert to the Church of the Nameless Goddess? Although he had thrown together a plan on the fly out of sheer desperation, Yohan hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. Fortunately, the Goddess had quickly caught on to his intentions, manifesting in her adult form to play along, but even so, he figured the chances of these clergymen quietly converting were fifty-fifty at best.
"..."
He waited for their response, a mix of anticipation and anxiety gnawing at him. Then, with a heavy thud, Heresy Inquisitor Thomas and every single priest belonging to the Easthold Cathedral fell to their knees in unison.
"O Goddess!"
They cried out in booming voices. The sheer volume caught not only Yohan but even the Goddess herself off guard.
"Th-these guys..."
Yohan muttered in bewilderment, staring down at the priests prostrating themselves flat on the floor. Just then, Annie approached and signaled for him to step outside for a moment. He quietly followed her out of the cathedral.
"What's this about? Why'd we have to come out here to talk?" Yohan asked.
Annie offered a wry smile.
"You look like you can't believe the Central Church priests and an inquisitor converted on the spot without a second thought," she said, reading his mind perfectly.
"Well, yeah, obviously. To put it bluntly, those zealots are the type who'd slice their own throats if the Primary God told them to 'split in half and die.'"
He wasn't joking. The priests of the Holy Kingdom's Central Church possessed a faith that went beyond firm—it was downright fanatical. And the absolute pinnacle of that fanaticism was none other than the Heresy Inquisitors of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith... yet Thomas, one of those very inquisitors, had just resolved to devote himself to the Nameless Goddess.
"Yohan. I think your perspective has already become completely different from that of an ordinary person."
"..."
What was she talking about now? Yohan rolled his brain for a moment to parse Annie's words. After a brief silence, his eyes suddenly widened.
"Are you saying that because I've been stuck like glue to that blockhead, I've lost the ability to empathize with how an ordinary human feels when they come face-to-face with a literal deity?"
"Exactly," Annie replied with a nod.
Come to think of it, she was right. It wasn't that Yohan didn't know how overwhelming a god's presence was in this world. In fact, in terms of sheer knowledge, he could hold his own in a debate about divinity with any self-proclaimed sage. But knowing it intellectually was one thing; actually living it was another. Over his long tenure as the Goddess's Apostle, his baseline had shifted dramatically.
"Yohan. Do you know how the rest of the knights treat the Goddess?"
"Well, that..."
"Everyone looks up to her. We are sincerely grateful for the fact that we met her in person and received her help. I feel the same way."
Annie reached out and pointed a finger directly at Yohan.
"You, on the other hand, don't treat the Goddess like your master. You treat her like a companion, or even a frenemy."
For starters, he called her a blockhead, and they regularly traded colorful insults and verbal abuse whenever they got the chance.
"I'm not saying this to criticize you. If anything, it's proof of how special you are to her."
"Mmm..."
Yohan grunted. Before he could ponder any further, a sudden commotion from inside prompted him and Annie to rush back into the cathedral.
"Good grief."
Yohan shook his head at the sight inside.
"Sob... O Goddess..."
"Sniff..."
In the brief time they had been gone, the cathedral had turned into a literal sea of tears.
"Hahaha! Yes, you are all my faithful believers!"
The priests had already transformed into devout followers of the Nameless Goddess. And standing before them, snorting with pride and laughing boisterously, was the Goddess herself. She had assumed her adult form to project divine majesty, but her core personality was still the same old blockhead Yohan knew so well.
Still... he couldn't just ignore Annie's point. Her observation had made him realize an important truth. Even if she was a crybaby who wiped her snot on his clothes whenever things didn't go her way, the Nameless Goddess was still the deity Yohan had contracted with, and the object of worship for their entire faith. Even as her sole Apostle, it might be wise to draw a line and show some basic respect—especially in public with so many eyes watching.
"So, Commander. What's the plan now?" Annie asked as she stepped back inside with Yohan.
Hearing her voice, the Goddess also turned her gaze toward him.
"Well, if we could, rebuilding this town would be ideal, but..."
Yohan trailed off, glancing toward the windows that had been boarded up and nailed shut.
"To be blunt, this place is too dangerous. Just a moment ago, that guy walked right in from the direction of the Holy City."
At Yohan's words, everyone in the room turned to look at Thomas. Feeling the weight of their stares, Thomas hung his head low, not knowing where to look.
"Alright, alright, don't glare at him too hard. The guy was being controlled while out of his mind anyway. The point is, we don't know when something like today will happen again."
Even if they could use Miracle Arts, most of the people here were non-combatant priests. A corrupted inquisitor had managed to reach Easthold. This meant that greater dangers could arrive at any moment. This time, it was just Thomas, and they had subdued him without any casualties, but what if a whole squad of corrupted inquisitors showed up? Furthermore, there was a high chance that residents from neighboring cities would flock here. Mobs consumed by the madness would literally go around blowing up everything in Easthold. Subduing them was one thing, but Yohan couldn't guarantee the safety of the survivors under those conditions.
"Everyone here, including the surviving residents of Easthold—we're all evacuating."
Upon witnessing the physical manifestation of the Goddess, the residents of Easthold converted to the Church of the Nameless Goddess on the spot. During this process, Yohan had secretly worried that the residents might only pay lip service to their new faith while secretly clinging to their devotion to the Primary God. But his fears proved completely unfounded. If anything, the survivors of Easthold began worshipping the Goddess with a fiery, almost explosive passion. Some even suggested that today should be designated as a holy day to commemorate the Goddess and her Apostle descending upon Easthold to save humanity.
That wasn't all. Yohan could feel his Apostle's Authority growing significantly stronger than before. The power of a divine entity stemmed from the minds of the mortals who believed in them. This meant the survivors of Easthold truly, deeply believed in the Goddess. Right. Setting aside the corrupt higher-ups like the Pope, the faith of individual believers is rock solid. He felt a twinge of shame for having doubted them. Of course, he had absolutely no intention of admitting that out loud. Besides, now was not the time to indulge in such trivial sentimentality.
"Hey, block—I mean, Goddess."
Yohan approached her and proposed a method to safely evacuate the large crowd of survivors.
"I see. Your plan is certainly worth a try," the Goddess agreed, finding merit in his idea.
With her approval secured, all that was left was execution. Counting the priests of the Easthold Cathedral, the number of residents who hadn't fled to other cities or foreign nations stood at roughly two thousand. Yohan's plan was to use the Goddess's power to teleport all two thousand of them at once. Their destination was none other than the mountain village near Balifield. Now that the Holy Kingdom and the Central Church were on the brink of collapse, there was no longer any need to hide the existence of the Nameless Village or their faith.
"Hey, Annie."
Having finished with the Goddess, Yohan turned to explain the plan to Annie.
"..."
But for some reason, Annie didn't respond. She was just staring blankly down at her hands.
"What are you doing?"
"Yo-Yohan," she stammered, her voice trembling violently.
What's wrong with her all of a sudden? Yohan tilted his head and stepped closer.
"What is this... This energy..."
Along with Falco, Annie was one of the least expressive members of their group. And considering Falco was actually quite aggressive beneath her quiet exterior and preferred to express everything through action, it was no exaggeration to say Annie was the most composed and disciplined of the Goddess Knights. Yet, she was currently stammering with a look of utter bewilderment on her face—much like the day she had first encountered the Goddess and declared her conversion.
"Wait, hold on. You..."
Yohan finally noticed the anomaly occurring within Annie. Despite being a former inquisitor of the Holy Kingdom, Annie had never been able to perform Miracle Arts, meaning she possessed none of the divine power characteristic of clergy. But that was no longer the case.
Slowly, Annie raised her trembling hands. A visible aura of divine power began to coalesce around them, forming a brilliant light. Yohan instantly understood why. As the number of believers worshipping the Nameless Goddess surged, the Goddess's divinity had expanded exponentially. Naturally, this power spike had trickled down to the members of the Goddess Knights whom she had personally blessed. Wait, if that's the case...
Meanwhile, back in the mountain village, which had completely shed its gloomy atmosphere and transformed into a bustling, lively place, Falco was sharing her experiences from their recent visit to the Corporate State with Billy.
"What an unpleasant person. Two-faced to the extreme," Billy remarked.
"Yeah. And on top of that, they didn't know a thing about the forest race but piled nothing but grass on the table, claiming it was for my benefit."
"Well... to be honest, I think you're just a special case, Falco."
"Anyway, I was about to punch that jerk right in the face, but..."
"...Huh?"
Mid-sentence, both of them suddenly froze, sensing a massive shift within their bodies.
"F-Falco."
"Did you... feel that just now?"
"Yes. Definitely."
They felt an immense surge of power bubbling up from deep within. They instantly recognized the source of this energy: the Goddess's divine power.
"I-I feel like... I could smash the new dining table Yohan built with just one hand right now."
"Yeah. I feel overflowing with strength, too."
Something major had definitely happened on Yohan's end in the Holy Kingdom.
"Well, we can ask the Commander when he gets ba—"
Slam!
"Hey! Falco! Billy!"
The tightly shut front door burst open, and Yohan, who was supposed to be in the Holy Kingdom, came marching in.
"Are you guys okay? You didn't suddenly grow wings on your backs or sprout a third eye on your foreheads, did you?"
Yohan asked urgently, scanning them. Falco and Billy shook their heads in unison.
"Nothing like that. But... it feels like the Goddess's blessing inside us suddenly got way stronger."
"Yeah, I was actually coming to talk to you about that."
Yohan dragged a wooden chair over and plopped down.
"What happened? Did we get new believers?" Falco asked.
Yohan looked at her and gave a firm nod.
"We did. About two thousand of them."
"My goodness..." Falco gasped.
"And those two thousand people are on their way to this village right now."