The Imperial Capital, Edelmarion (2)
It was a bit late to state the obvious, but this world was home to countless gods. Just counting the active orders within the Empire easily pushed the number into the double digits. If one factored in forgotten deities like Hibras, or faiths that had been completely wiped out, it was impossible to estimate just how many gods had existed throughout history.
The most famous among them now were the so-called Five Gods. These were the orders that followed the gods of Light, Faith, Benevolence, Order, and War. Among them, Asirel, the God of Light, boasted the largest following and would eventually choose the original novel's heroine, Elis, as his saintess.
A chaotic proliferation of gods, each with orders of vastly different scales. In my original world, such a setup would have triggered countless bloody wars, but here, religious conflicts were surprisingly rare. This was thanks to the highly tangible nature of miracles. Since people could witness the existence of the gods with their own eyes, it was impossible for anyone to claim, "Our faith is the only truth, and your god is a fake!"
However, the gods themselves loathed directly interfering in the mortal realm. And in the end, those who worshipped them and ran the orders were mere humans. Unsurprisingly, these self-proclaimed believers began to "classify" the gods. The organization born from this very concept was the Imperial Pantheon.
On paper, it was a religious coalition designed to prevent holy wars and combat evil deities. In reality, it was a political cartel created by the orders of the Five Gods to extort smaller, weaker denominations. If an order failed to receive official recognition as a benevolent deity from the Pantheon, their missionary work would be heavily restricted. At worst, they could be branded as an evil cult and targeted for eradication. Ultimately, the true nature of the Pantheon was nothing more than a political playground for the major orders.
Having explained that much, Sirien waved her hand in disgust. "Still, we're in a relatively good position. It won't be hard for us to blend in. We might have been cooped up in that forest for ages, but if you dig through old texts, his name is bound to pop up somewhere."
"Because it's a textbook case of a fallen faith?"
"Pfft, exactly. Any long-serving priest should at least recognize the name Hibras. At least we won't have to deal with people calling us a new, upstart cult, which is a relief."
Sirien furrowed her brow. I could have sworn I heard the faint sound of her grinding her teeth. "Though it did cost us a fortune."
"Didn't you squeeze a lot out of Baron Isquente? He was practically crying about it."
"I only got half! And that was money we weren't even supposed to spend until much later. Ugh, do you have any idea how much we could have done with that gold?"
To be officially registered in the Imperial Pantheon, two conditions had to be met: proving one's divine power, and contributing to the Empire and the Pantheon. Divine power was a given for any recognized religion, and since we had been active on the front lines, our track record was more than sufficient. Presenting our achievements in holding back the demon race would easily earn us a passing grade.
The real issue lay in the "contributions," which was a thinly veiled euphemism for bribes. If you didn't offer a generous donation, they would find any petty excuse to reject you. It was an open secret. In Hibras's case, things could get incredibly complicated if his association with death was emphasized. Thus, we had no choice but to swallow our pride, bring a massive chest of gold coins, and hand it over. We had just finished making that clean donation.
The sum was so astronomical that the Archbishop of Asirel, who had guided us, couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear. His cheekbones practically pierced the sky. He promised to speak with the imperial family soon and send representatives to our sanctuary, assuring us that they would review our application "most favorably." At this point, the remaining steps were mere formalities. It was as good as approved.
Seriously, it seemed there wasn't a single corner of the Edelmar Empire—whether law or religion—that wasn't thoroughly corrupt. I suppose that was why the Crown Prince would draw so much attention in the future.
"Just thinking about it makes me furious again. Mark my words, I am absolutely getting that money back later. With hefty interest!"
"How?"
"By squeezing it out of them. No one who handles money in this empire isn't terrified of a tax audit. Let's see if they can keep their heads held high when I pressure them under the name of Ilencia. I'll shake them down until every last speck of dust falls out."
Sirien stormed ahead, her strides much wider than usual. It was a habit of hers whenever she got angry.
"...Is that even possible? Auditing a religious order?"
"It will be once I inherit the title. As the saintess of our order, I have the right to access all of the Pantheon's records. If I wave the evidence in their faces under the Ilencia name, the Pantheon will be groveling at my feet."
"My goodness," I muttered, genuinely impressed. Come to think of it, the Pantheon played a surprisingly minor role in the original novel. Aside from occasional mentions before the heroine recognized the demon race as people, they rarely made any actual moves. They hadn't tried to keep Sirien in check at all as she steadily built her power. Given the Pantheon's notorious greed, it had always seemed strange. Now, I finally understood why. It wasn't that they chose not to interfere. They simply couldn't.
As I continued to follow Sirien, statues of various gods lined the sides of the long, pristine white path. These were the sculptures of the deities officially recognized by the Pantheon. The statue of the God of Light, which we had seen at the entrance, was the largest. Beside it stood the gods of Benevolence, War, Faith, and Order, in that order. Once Hibras was officially recognized, his statue would likely be erected at the very end of the line.
Amidst the grand display, a few shattered statues caught my eye, with nothing left but their feet. Noticing my gaze, Sirien spoke in a low voice.
"Those are the gods who were declared evil. It's only happened twice since the Pantheon was founded. The one we just passed was the God of Time, and the one up ahead is the God of Darkness."
"I thought they would have cleared them away completely, but they just left them smashed."
"They say it's to make an example of them. A warning to keep everyone in line."
"Hmm." Did Hibras's statue end up shattered like that in the original timeline? The sudden thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. Even though I didn't possess much religious devotion, it felt like a personal insult.
"Sigh. Anyway, at least this buys us some time, even if we'll have to make a few more trips back and forth. It's so annoying that I have to waste my precious time on top of spending all that money."
"You did great. I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help."
"What do you mean, 'not of much help'? Don't ever say that again. Just having you by my side gives me so much strength."
Sirien tugged at my hand. "Stop talking nonsense and let's go get something delicious. I'm starving."
"Sure. I actually made a reservation somewhere."
"Really? When did you manage to do that?"
"You seemed upset the other day, so I looked into a few places to cheer you up."
"Hehe. Now I'm excited. Let's hurry!"
Sirien had an incredibly sensitive palate. On top of that, she had grown up eating all kinds of rare delicacies back in Leheim. Naturally, finding food that met the high standards of the Lady of Ilencia was no easy task, so I had spent quite some time asking around for the most famous restaurants in the capital.
And fine dining establishments were always the prime target for couples looking to spend some intimate time together. Though in this case, it was probably just the 'man' who wanted that intimacy. Which brought us to the fact that we had just run into Dersian again right in front of the restaurant.
"Lady Saintess? What brings you here?"
"Isha? Did you two plan to meet up from the start?"
"No. It's really just a coincidence."
Sirien tilted her head in curiosity, but I firmly clarified that it was indeed a pure coincidence.
Today must have been the day Dersian scheduled a sparring match with Isha. He seemed to have planned this outing with great care, and I felt a bit guilty about potentially ruining his plans by intruding. In times like this, the best way to help was to read the room and sit far away from them. From the looks of it, Isha had simply tagged along because he offered to buy her dinner... but well, it wouldn't hurt me if the two of them grew closer.
"Since you two came here together, don't mind us and—"
"Since we ran into each other by chance, why don't the four of us dine together?"
"Pardon?"
"Ahem. I've been wanting to converse with the two of you more anyway."
Completely oblivious to my consideration, Dersian went and ruined the mood. Looking closely, his face was quite stiff, and his tightly clenched fists were only now beginning to relax. He was clearly trying his best to shake off his nervousness. I could read him like an open book. Wondering what to do, I glanced at Sirien, only to find the corners of her lips curving upward. Dersian might not have noticed, but I could see the mischievous glint in her eyes. Since she didn't seem displeased, I didn't mind either. At the very least, that mischief wouldn't be directed at me.
"What do you want to do, Sirien?"
"Let's eat together. I don't mind this once in a while."
"Go on ahead, then. Just give them my name. I'll be right behind you."
"Okay. Let's go, Isha."
Once the two women headed inside, Dersian stood there in front of me, looking utterly dazed. Only then did the tension seem to leave his body, and he let out a massive sigh. "Huuu..."
"I was trying to do you a favor. Why did you suggest that?"
"T-That is... I was just so incredibly nervous. I've been making one foolish mistake after another, so when I saw the two of you, I just spoke without thinking..."
Dersian's head slumped toward the ground. He seemed painfully aware of how pathetic he was being. I briefly wondered if I should offer some profound relationship advice, but decided against it. After all, Sirien and I had only recently started dating ourselves. Besides, it wasn't his fault that Isha was completely oblivious to his feelings. Still, I could at least offer a word of encouragement.
"Take it slow. Don't push yourself too hard."
"...Yes. Thank you."
"Well, let's head inside. They're waiting for us."