Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Beyond That Idol (4)
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I'd changed my mind and decided to open up the virtual reality worship sessions to other viewers for one reason alone.
To return to my original world.
To use an origin that crossed dimensions, I needed to gather far more faith than I had now.
Recruiting that many new followers through charity alone would take far too long at this point. To scale up quickly, I had to base my evangelism on some level of recognition, and hiding the church's existence entirely would contradict that.
'We have enough power now to protect ourselves.'
I judged that a moderate level of attention was a necessary step for the Radiance Church to advance further.
That's why I wanted to use virtual reality broadcasts to introduce the church in a lighter, more approachable way.
This was an era where proper religious groups had been wiped out entirely. Even evangelism based on good deeds would still face psychological barriers from the people of this city. Online broadcasts could be an opportunity to lower those walls.
So, I planned to approach the public gradually through methods that maintained an appropriate distance and level of interest.
Since things had come to this, I wanted them to accept the Radiance Church in a comfortable, natural way.
>
I intended to put in steady, consistent effort over time.
That was the plan, at least...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have reached the maximum viewer limit for the current channel. Would you like to upgrade your plan? "........."
On the tenth day of broadcasting the open worship sessions.
I had no choice but to upgrade the creator service's 10,000 simultaneous viewer limit yet again.
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And so, as always, the time for today's virtual reality worship arrived.
I donned my headset and connected to the server just like usual.
The only difference was the nonstop stream of messages popping up in the corner of my vision.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [User_77283 has connected.] [User_77284 has connected.] [User_77285 has connected.] System messages announcing new connections.
I stared at them for a moment before letting out a sigh.
'What on earth is there to see here...'
They were flocking in so desperately. Even though I'd decided on open broadcasts, it still didn't make sense to me. There was a limit to how fast viewers could grow. This was blatantly abnormal, even to an outsider.
After watching the system messages for a while, I changed the settings to close the window.
Silence descended perfectly over the secluded cathedral.
"........."
Though I couldn't see them, the worship hall was surely teeming right now with the translucent spirits of viewers in spectator mode.
But since chatting and donations were disabled on this server, there was none of the usual online broadcast clutter.
It was almost too quiet.
Warm afternoon sunlight streamed into the empty worship hall.
In that pastoral scene, my briefly dizzy mind settled calmly.
The worship time arrived. I steadied my breath and recalled the prepared procedure.
As always, it began with the Latin hymn.
"Deus, in lūce tuā, clēmentiam osténde ♬" ⟨ Hymn of Mercy ⟩
Thankfully, this body's natural voice was beautiful, so even without any special technique, it produced a fine song.
After finishing the hymn and spending a moment in silent contemplation, I offered a short blessing prayer as usual.
"In the name of Radiance, may peace dwell upon everyone gathered here today... May the heavy burdens weighing on your weary shoulders lighten, if only for this one day..."
In truth, these worship sessions were highly simplified.
This was a virtual space, after all. Performing full formal rites like the Eucharist came with all sorts of limitations.
Plus, considering my packed personal schedule these days, fully conducting such events every day would be a significant time burden.
So in virtual reality, I'd shifted away from rigid traditional Mass procedures toward something more like free-form meditation classes.
Some days, I'd read scriptures and explain their teachings in simple terms.
Others, I'd pose a koan about life and spend long periods contemplating it with the followers.
And today's theme was counseling the followers' worries.
"Shall we share some anonymous stories passed on from priests outside the city and discuss them together?"
Fears of unemployment, crossed signals with lovers, anxiety about the future. They were concerns heavy with exhaustion.
I listened to the stories and offered advice, adding my own thoughts one by one.
But who was I to resolve such profound life issues in an instant? My responses were really just things anyone could say.
Less advice and more comfort; not solutions, but sincere encouragement in every word.
Sometimes, I wondered.
'Does this... really help?'
But from what I'd heard, the followers drew great strength from my clumsy consolations.
That's why these sessions occasionally included time like this.
The Radiance Church we'd envisioned from the start wasn't a religion fixated on tradition and form. It wasn't about blindly worshipping an unseen god or a saintess on a podium. It was for the followers living in the here and now. At least, that's how I saw it.
"No matter what difficulties you're facing, I'll be cheering for you."
Fortunately, the reactions from followers outside the city weren't bad.
Maybe what they wanted wasn't the worship itself. Perhaps they were just anxious that my departure to the city would sever their connection to the idol forever. If this eased their hearts even a little, that was a relief.
With that, I completed the final procedure of today's worship. I closed my eyes again and clasped my hands.
"I pray you all have a good night."
With those words, the broadcast ended.
Removing the virtual reality headset, the secluded forest cathedral vanished, replaced by the familiar office.
I carefully set the device down on the table and thought.
'...Did I do okay today too?'
Honestly, I still wasn't sure.
It was quite different from the formal Masses I'd led directly at the church.
Were the followers truly finding solace here? And the outsiders who'd come out of curiosity—what did they think of this scene? With chat and donations disabled, I had no way to check their reactions.
So I felt a bit anxious, but it seemed my worries might have been unnecessary.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have reached the maximum viewer limit for the current channel. Would you like to upgrade your plan? The viewer limit message appeared once more.
The sharply increased audience had hit the cap again.
'...Again?'
It was starting to feel tiresome.
I still couldn't understand what they found so appealing.
In any case, if I didn't raise the limit, the actual followers might not be able to join, so I was about to pay up again.
But there was a problem this time: another message appeared alongside it.
An additional notice, heavy with warning.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ From Diamond Creator Service onward, you must enable donation features or ad broadcasts for a certain percentage of total broadcast time. "........."
In the end, the broadcast platform was just a profit-driven company.
The massive costs of maintaining virtual reality servers didn't come for free.
They covered it through subscription fees, donation commissions, and ad revenue.
Letting tens of thousands watch a virtual reality broadcast indefinitely without any fees would be a one-sided loss for the platform.
At this scale, it might have been inevitable to open donations for part of the broadcast.
But I couldn't bring myself to do it easily.
"........."
My mind grew complicated. Maybe it would be better to stop here.
The moment I allowed ads or donations, the worship might get disrupted, and the essence of this activity could change. That vague fear lingered.
This had started as a small worship for residents outside the city. I'd never intended to become a real broadcaster, and that wouldn't change.
Yet strangers had shown up, and in just days, it had spiraled out of control.
I was still utterly bewildered by it all.
'What should I do...'
There was no better alternative for communicating with followers outside the city, which made it all the more troubling.
But I couldn't even guess what fallout might come from opening donations even briefly.
Why were people flocking so quickly?
I couldn't tell if this was good or bad.
Whether to continue or stop, I wanted advice before deciding.
'It'd be great to have an expert in this field nearby.'
But even Yoanna, who'd introduced me to virtual reality broadcasting, didn't know much about such unusual cases.
If she was like that, the rest of the church didn't need mentioning.
"........."
As I agonized over it...
Suddenly, I recalled a most unexpected and peculiar connection from my memories.