The Useless Goddess's Panic (2)
"What the hell are you talking about? Then how did those mad priests use Miracle Arts?" Yohan demanded. The Goddess gave a light shrug.
"As you well know, the madness sweeping the Holy Kingdom does not simply make people run wild. They appear perfectly normal on the outside, but it is a curse that inverts their cognitive baseline."
"Yeah, I know that much."
Every clergyman of the Holy Kingdom Yohan had dealt with so far, including Inquisitor Thomas, had been exactly like that. It was a curse where the afflicted believed they were the only sane, devout believers of the Central Church, while perceiving those who weren't afflicted as heretical brothers and sisters. Because they viewed each other as apostates, it didn't cause immediate, explosive casualties—but that was precisely why it was such a cruel curse.
The reason was simple: the Holy Kingdom was a nation built entirely on religion. True to its nature as a fantasy theocracy, it boasted an immense number of priests, meaning physical wounds could be healed relatively easily with Miracle Arts. However, a fanatical faith that had been inverted was a different story. It was fortunate they at least had the Miracle Art of Exorcism; without it, the Holy Kingdom would have collapsed within days of the madness first spreading.
"It means the faith of the mad believers is directed not toward my other half, but toward another entity entirely."
"And who the hell is that?"
"An imaginary deity that does not actually exist, whom the mad believe to be the Main God Justia."
A sudden silence fell over the room. Even Justia, who had been wailing and screaming with tears and snot running down her face just moments ago, shut her mouth and warily watched Yohan's reaction.
"Mmm..." Yohan groaned softly. For a split second, he felt a surge of irritation, wondering what kind of nonsense this dummy was spouting now. But realizing the Goddess was dead serious, he quickly suppressed his anger.
"So... they're offering their faith to a non-existent god, and at the same time, they're wielding divine powers that are no different from their original Miracle Arts?"
"Indeed." At Yohan's question, the Goddess nodded.
"Does that... even make sense?" At Yohan's words, the Goddess chuckled for some reason.
"Apostle. In the first place, was it not mortals like you who created all gods, including ourselves?"
The "ourselves" the Goddess referred to meant her and Justia. When she finished speaking, Justia also nodded slightly in agreement.
"Since the Goddess of Justice, Justia, is also an existence born from the collective consciousness of mortals seeking justice, believers who follow an inverted justice can easily create their own god."
Moreover, the citizens of the Holy Kingdom were absolute pros when it came to religious activities. The Holy Kingdom was a country filled to the brim with people whose devotion went far beyond mere piety, bordering on absolute fanaticism.
"Wait, hold on. Then this means..." Yohan's voice trailed off, his face suddenly turning pale with shock.
"You caught on quickly. What you fear is correct."
If they weren't careful, a new god of inverted justice could literally be born.
"So, please, rescue me quickly. We must resolve this situation before a new evil god is born," Justia said, looking at Yohan.
"..." It wasn't exactly wrong. In fact, Yohan's side had also concluded that the only way to resolve this crisis was to rescue Justia. But...
"Hearing you say it like that makes me really annoyed," Yohan said, his voice suddenly dropping low. He turned his head and locked eyes with Justia.
Until now, he had kept a low profile to avoid catching her eye, and he had formulated all his plans with her existence in mind. After all, wasn't Justia the Main God worshipped by the Holy Kingdom, one of the two superpowers dominating the continent? Literally, Yohan had always regarded the Central Church and the Main God Justia as his greatest adversaries. To put it another way... he had been secretly afraid of Justia. At the same time, he had felt a quiet awe toward the goddess he would eventually have to face.
But the real Justia was a useless goddess of such epic proportions that she didn't just shatter those expectations; she threw the broken shards into a millstone and ground them into a fine powder. On top of that, the current crisis had only escalated into a major disaster because she had decided to go right back to sleep the moment she woke up, turning what should have been a minor incident into a catastrophe.
If nothing else, he absolutely could not stand watching such a total piece of trash acting all high and mighty, giving him orders. Most of all... while her own believers were slaughtering each other in a living hell caused by the madness, she was whining about not wanting to starve to death. It was utterly repulsive.
"Hey."
"W-what is it?" Flustered by Yohan's sudden, icy attitude, Justia stammered.
"I'm telling you this because you don't seem to understand your situation right now, but if you're going to ask us for a favor, shouldn't you at least show some proper attitude?"
Slap.
"Hieee!"
Yohan slung his arm around the Goddess's shoulder like a thug. Startled, the Goddess let out a sharp shriek, but seeing Yohan's expression, she quickly shut her mouth.
"According to our Goddess, most of the Holy Kingdom's people aren't even your believers anymore. In that case, there's absolutely nothing stopping us from converting them all to our Goddess's Church, is there?"
"W-what does that..."
"And another thing. My Goddess and I saved Easthold and Patermachi. We couldn't do anything about the ones who already died or left, but at least we stopped those cities from falling completely to those crazy bastards."
While he had been busting his ass out of guilt to do someone else a favor, the actual "someone else" was acting like this.
"You. If you're going to carry the title of Goddess of Justice, shouldn't you at least think of your innocent believers before your own life?"
Justia fell silent at Yohan's rebuke. Before long, tears welled up in her eyes again, making Yohan wonder if he had let his emotions get the better of him and spoken too harshly.
"Apostle," the Goddess, who had remained silent, finally spoke. She gently patted Yohan's hand resting on her shoulder, prompting Yohan to let go of his anger and look down at her.
"I understand perfectly why you are so angry, and what you wish to say."
"..."
"However... though it may seem cowardly of me to say this in such a situation..."
"But?" The Goddess looked up at Yohan with a complex, emotional gaze.
"She is my other half, which means she was once one with me. Therefore, for my sake, could you not overlook her shortcomings?"
The Goddess turned her head to look at Justia. Naturally, Yohan's gaze followed. Although Justia's head was raised, her eyes were unfocused, as if she had received a massive shock.
"My other half, Justia, is also fully aware of how pathetic her attitude was just now. It is simply... because not much time has passed since she began to feel emotions, she struggles to control herself."
The two goddesses, who were originally one, had divided the elements that made up the concept of justice from the moment they split. In that process, the Unnamed Goddess gained patience, while Justia lost it. Yet, there was one thing both goddesses gained simultaneously: human-like emotions.
"At least I, though I spent a long time alone, had thousands of years to grow accustomed to emotions. But my other half fell into a deep sleep shortly after imprisoning me."
Emotions are inherently separate from reason. And humans learn to control their emotions with reason as they grow older and become adults.
"Whew..." When the Goddess finished speaking, Yohan let out a soft sigh.
"I guess... that's true, huh?" he suddenly asked with a bright smile. The Goddess looked momentarily taken aback, but soon returned the smile.
"Ah, damn it. I really don't suit this kind of character."
This was a request from none other than his dummy Goddess. As her Apostle and a companion who had gone through all kinds of hardships with her, he couldn't refuse.
"Fine. Let's go with that." His anger completely gone, Yohan spoke to Justia. At that, Justia's expression softened slightly.
"But, since we're taking responsibility and saving you, there's something you have to do for us." Still... business was business.
"S-speak," Justia said in a barely audible whisper. Meanwhile, the Goddess stared at Yohan, her face practically screaming, What are you up to now?
"First of all, since our Goddess has completely given up on the name Justia, we won't ask you to hand it over. Instead, you must officially recognize the activities of the Goddess's Church."
The only reason the Goddess's Church and the Goddess Knights had operated in the shadows until now was because the Central Church ruthlessly hunted down heretics. But if they could borrow the authority of Justia, the ruler of that very Central Church, the Goddess's Church would be able to operate freely across the continent.
As Yohan stated his demands, the Goddess kept shooting him puzzled looks.
"Hey, think about it. We had to tear up the roads the villagers built, and we had to hide what we were doing from Henry and Uncle Wilhelm. Our believers have already grown into the thousands. How long are we going to keep living like this?"
"That is true, but..."
"But?"
"Honestly, I thought you would demand something much greater."
What was she talking about now? Yohan frowned slightly. He turned his head, only to see Justia nodding vigorously in agreement with the Goddess.
"Since the leadership of the Central Church will be purged once this crisis is over anyway, you could have taken complete control of the Central Church. Furthermore... you could have even coerced my other half to submit beneath me."
"What are you saying? Are you crazy? Who do you think I am, some highway robber villain?" Yohan snapped, his face dead serious. Instead, it was Justia who gulped, looking utterly terrified as she watched them.
"Still... as you said, the current papacy is as good as dead. But we can't leave the leadership vacant forever either."
If neighboring nations, including the Empire, began to intervene in earnest, things would get far more complicated. They needed to prevent that through diplomatic means before it happened.
Of course... even this was a problem to be considered only after they reached the Holy City, successfully rescued Justia, and cured the people of the Holy Kingdom of their madness to restore their faith in her.
There was no better phrase to describe their current situation than "one obstacle after another." Reaching that conclusion, Yohan rubbed his face with his palm.
"So, what's your answer?" he asked Justia again.
"I-I promise. If you rescue me and drive out the evil things that have invaded this land, I will recognize the Goddess's Church on my name."
It was a proposal Justia couldn't possibly refuse in the first place. Without a single moment's hesitation, she accepted Yohan's terms.
"Alright. Let's head out right away." There was no reason to hesitate any longer. Yohan sprang to his feet.