Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Divine Power
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Government office bedroom.
Even though his body was exhausted,
sleep wouldn't come.
The image of Inon's body glowing brightly in the temporary temple was burned strongly into his mind.
"No way... Did she hear my prayer?"
He had prayed to the Goddess.
If what he was doing didn't go against her will,
if it didn't displease her,
then to give him a sign that it was okay.
And then, Inon had gained divine power.
"But why Inon and not me?"
If she had given divine power to him,
it would have been clear proof that the Goddess acknowledged him.
But with Inon receiving divine power, things felt ambiguous.
"Hmm... Hmm..."
All sorts of thoughts swirled in his head, appearing and disappearing repeatedly.
And the conclusion he reached was,
"At least she doesn't hate me, right?"
Even thinking conservatively,
it seemed she didn't hate him.
Otherwise, she wouldn't bestow divine power on his subordinate Inon.
"I should see this as a positive sign?"
The next day,
he grabbed some soap and headed straight to the shower room upon waking.
He had showered the night before, so washing his face would have sufficed in the morning.
Yet he bathed anyway.
As the foam enveloped his body,
he felt even closer to the Goddess.
Feeling refreshed, he arrived at the office.
He stood before the massive wheat emblem on one side of the office.
This emblem had once been a burden to him.
But not anymore.
"I've lifted the biggest weight off my shoulders."
The lies about the Goddess had grown larger and larger,
and his worries had grown with them.
In the extreme,
if the Goddess decided to curse him,
wouldn't everything he had built come to nothing?
"At least she doesn't hate me."
He brought a basin of water and a towel.
Then he personally wiped down the emblem with a wet cloth.
"My lord?"
"Yeah? Isaac, you're here?"
"Didn't you... dislike that emblem?"
"Me? Why would I? No way."
He carefully cleaned the wheat emblem.
Isaac glanced at him cautiously before placing the report on the desk.
"Oh! Isaac."
"Yes, my lord."
"Engrave this symbol on every product we make."
"On everything besides the soap?"
"Everything. We need to spread the Goddess's love far and wide."
"Understood. Then everything except the merchant group flag..."
Merchant group flag.
When his subordinates suggested changing the merchant group flag to the island emblem,
he had firmly said no.
The merchant group traveled across the continent.
Someone from the Earth Church would see the emblem.
It could cause problems.
But now,
the situation had changed.
"Change them all. Put the island emblem on the merchant group flag too! Big and bold!"
"Ah... Yes, understood, my lord."
"Hmm~ Hmm~ The Goddess's generous heart. Hmm~ The Goddess's compassionate love..."
A tune came out of him unbidden.
He realized anew how heavily those lies had weighed on his mind.
The great plains near Plain.
He knelt and used the Demonic Energy Removal skill.
Throughout the skill use, the scent of soil mixed with a faint soap fragrance.
He had been bathing frequently lately.
Morning, noon, evening, night.
Four times a day.
So the soap scent had naturally seeped into his body.
"That's right!!"
Like icing on the cake.
Good fortune piled on good fortune.
While removing Demonic Energy from the Plain great plains,
several skill levels rose.
Demonic Energy Removal (Lv 8)
Norfolk Four-Course Rotation (Lv 7)
Respected Farm Lord (Lv 6)
Soldier-Farmer Unity (Lv 5)
Workshop Master (Lv 4)
Safety First (Lv 2)
Designer's Guidance (Lv 2)
"Hmm~ Hmm~ The Goddess's love~."
As he cheerfully removed the Demonic Energy,
the sun set and darkness fell.
"What? Already evening?"
Was it because he was in such a good mood?
He had started removing Demonic Energy in the morning, yet he felt no fatigue at all.
Back in the government office, he read the reports.
Accepting a large number of wanderers had caused expenses to skyrocket.
Total revenue had plummeted as a result.
But now,
total revenue was rising again.
Thanks to soap sales.
"Whoa... And this is now? In six months, I'll be rich, right?"
In six months,
soap production costs would drop, and profits would rise accordingly.
By then, Plain's construction would be mostly done, and farming would begin.
"Hmm~ Hmm~."
He hummed tunes the whole time he read the reports.
Thirty people in robes arrived at a hill overlooking Plain.
"Is Elwin the believer there?"
"Yes, Saintess-nim."
The Saintess pulled her robe hood down and descended the hill.
The first place they reached was the refugee camp.
Countless tents were densely packed,
and children played inside them.
On one side, smoke rose gently from cooking rice.
"They're preparing meals communally."
Then,
a scene caught the Saintess's eye.
A refugee was slicing meat generously and adding it to the soup.
"That is...?"
Monster Island was full of monsters.
It was hard to survive.
Poor.
Backward.
That was the common knowledge across the continent.
The religious world had even harsher tales.
How desperately the temple knights and priests had fought,
and how many had died.
"It's more peaceful than I thought. And prosperous too."
"So it seems."
Leaving the refugee camp,
they arrived at the vast farmlands.
"All that land is..."
"I've never seen such expansive farmlands."
A large farm.
No, it was more accurately a super-sized farm.
The scale was immense.
"They say it's thanks to the Goddess that they can farm."
"Yes. They say Elwin the believer received the Goddess's grace."
Crossing the farmlands,
they walked toward the city.
Then,
"That must be Elwin the believer."
In the middle of the farmlands, a man was praying.
Even in fine clothes, he knelt on the ground.
"So devout."
"Indeed."
His prayer posture was perfect.
Not the work of someone who had done it once or twice.
In comparison,
it rivaled the prayer posture of a high priest.
"But... I don't sense any divine power from him?"
It was puzzling.
No divine power, yet his prayer was so devout.
"Saintess-nim, Elwin the believer is standing up. He's... coming this way."
The Saintess pulled her robe hood lower.
Elwin the believer glanced at them.
Fortunately, he paid no mind.
With so many wanderers around, he must have thought they were just some of them.
As Elwin passed by,
"Hmm~. I'm the Goddess's person. Hmm~ The lovely Goddess's person~"
As Elwin moved away,
the hymn he hummed faded from earshot.
"What hymn is that?"
"First time I've heard it. Probably one passed down only on Monster Island."
Three hundred years ago, many priests came here, and it must have been left behind then.
"Shall we look around Plain more first?"
"Yes, let's do that."
Plain city was clean.
The residents wore neat clothes,
and a fragrant scent wafted from their bodies.
'Come to think of it, I smelled soap in the refugee camp too.'
The clothes the refugees wore were worn,
but there were no bad odors.
"It's very different from what I heard about Monster Island."
"Indeed."
As they toured the city,
they spotted the Earth Church emblem.
"This is?"
"Let's go in."
They entered the building,
and the interior was simple.
An empty room with many chairs,
and on the podium, the Earth Church emblem stacked with soap bars.
"Saintess-nim, it looks like a temple."
"A temple..."
Disappointing.
She had heard believers had appeared on Monster Island and a temple was built.
But this was it?
"Welcome. Here to pray?"
A woman greeted them.
"Is this a temple?"
"Yes, it is. Welcome."
"..."
"..."
Her disappointment must have shown.
The woman hurriedly continued.
"The official temple will be built in the city center. This is just a temporary one made by pooling money from the residents."
"The residents... pooled their own money?"
Unbelievable.
How moving was this?
Believers building a temple on their own, without the church.
The shabby temple began to look beautiful.
This building, these chairs,
the church emblem and stacks of soap.
All gathered by the believers.
"What a beautiful temple."
"Pardon? Haha, thank you."
"Is there a changing room here?"
"Ah... There's a small room over there. Follow me."
Plain great plains.
"Hmm~ Hmm~"
Today too, he removed Demonic Energy with a joyful heart.
But then,
"My lord! My lord!!"
Isaac came running, shouting loudly.
He relaxed his prayer posture and stood.
"What is it?"
"My lord... huff huff. My lord. The Saint... Saintess has arrived in Plain."
"What?"
He couldn't process it at first.
He figured someone from the church would come since word had spread.
He expected a high priest at most,
but the Saintess...?
"Wait, no. Not that she's coming, but she's already here?"
"Yes, she's waiting at the temporary temple right now."
"Hurry... let's go."
"Yes, this way."
He ran with Isaac toward Plain.
More precisely, toward the temporary temple.