Chapter 425: The Goddess Cult
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 425: The Goddess Cult
The news I brought sent the mansion into an uproar.
The butler took the letter from Sir Leonique that I'd given him and hurried off to the ducal castle. He also mentioned that I might be able to meet the baron by this evening.
It was good that I wouldn't have to wait until tomorrow afternoon, but it also left me with an awkward amount of free time.
'Maybe we should all go see the capital?'
The city's security wasn't great, but the noble district and the main streets seemed relatively safe.
But perhaps due to accumulated fatigue, Iris had passed out asleep, and Sylvia said she would stay behind to guard her. As for Amelia, she shut herself in her room, saying she needed some time alone.
Left with no other choice, I left the mansion and headed out into the streets alone.
At first, I planned to just wander the streets without any particular destination, but a certain place came to mind.
'I'm pretty sure it was this way.'
As I walked along a relatively wide road, a familiar scene came into view.
It was the Religious Street, lined with the buildings of various religious orders.
Lunchtime was long past, yet many people were still lined up to receive food. The faces of the nobles watching from a distance were filled with undisguised contempt and disgust.
And the ordinary citizens were no different.
“I can't even go out in the evening because of them.”
“I had my wallet stolen the other day. Damn bastards.”
“Seriously, why are they even taking in refugees? Prices have skyrocketed because of them, and it's hard to even afford a single meal.”
“Haa... I don't care who wins, I just wish this war would end quickly. At this rate, my young son might get drafted, won't he?”
“Who knows. Haven't you heard about the Charles couple next door? Their son, who lived in another city, was forcibly conscripted by the rebels and died in battle. They say the couple is out of their minds with grief.”
The negative emotions flowing from the citizens tangled together like a chaotic wave.
Anxiety, distrust, and confusion were accelerating.
Seeing this, I had a gut feeling.
If the war dragged on, the duchy wouldn't fall to an enemy invasion, but would slowly collapse from within.
'...If I'd arrived just a few days later, I might have seen the castle burning.'
The atmosphere on the streets was so grim that I was glad I'd come out alone.
I averted my gaze from the citizens and quietly walked on.
After passing several respectable cathedrals and churches, I stopped in front of the most dilapidated building of all.
There was still not a single person in sight.
“Hmm... It's not an abandoned building, is it?”
The thought came to me naturally; the building wore the marks of time so plainly.
Of course, seeing as there wasn't a single weed growing nearby, it was clear someone was taking care of the place.
Moreover, I could sense a presence inside.
It was a strangely familiar energy, one that even gave off a peculiar sense of kinship.
I carefully opened the door, which looked like it might fall apart at a touch, and the shabby interior came into view.
In a space that appeared to be a chapel, a nun was silently sweeping with a broom.
I was inwardly surprised.
Just a moment ago, I thought the nun from the Sun Cult proselytizing on the street was the prettiest, but depending on one's taste, the nun before me could be considered even more beautiful.
“...Huh?”
At that moment, the nun turned her head as if sensing my presence.
“Hello.”
Our eyes met, and I offered a greeting with the friendliest smile I could muster.
Fortunately, she didn't seem wary.
But she just stared at me, not saying a word.
In the silence, which was filled with a strange tension, I carefully spoke again.
“Um... the door was open, so I came in, but was I not supposed to—”
“A-A prospective member!!”
“...Pardon?”
Thump-thump-thump!!
In that instant, the nun practically threw her broom down and rushed toward me.
She looked so desperate that I instinctively took a step back.
She was like a predator, anxious not to lose the prey that had appeared after days of waiting.
Grab!
“Welcome!”
The nun suddenly grabbed my hand and beamed a bright smile.
It was a pleasant sight, but the grip strength coming from her slender hand was anything but ordinary.
Squeeeze—
She gripped so tightly that an average adult man would have struggled to break free.
Is it okay for a nun to hold hands with a strange man?
“You've come to the right place! If you join now, we're giving away a free pendant engraved with Lady Florea's symbol and a holy scripture containing her teachings!”
“I don't need—”
“Come, this way!”
The nun dragged me into a room set up in the back of the chapel.
It was a bit shabby, but it had a strangely lived-in feel.
A document was placed in front of me after I was half-forced onto a sofa.
'...A membership application form?'
“We don't really force you to do anything besides Sunday service, so we're much more relaxed than other orders. Plus, we don't give you the side-eye for not making donations, and we offer blessings and holy water at half the price of other churches. You even get a discount if you become a member. A blessing for good health is five silver coins, and medium-grade holy water is six silver coins. What do you think?”
“What do I think, you wench!”
Thwack!
At that moment, a book came down on the nun's head.
“Eek?!”
The nun clutched her head and writhed in pain. Behind her, a white-haired nun with a wrinkled face appeared.
“I believe I told you last time, didn't I? Stop dragging people in here by force and shoving application forms in their faces.”
“B-But...”
“Tsk! What did I say about excuses?”
“E-Excuses are a sin...!”
“And you know it!”
“Hic?!”
The younger nun freaked out and cowered as the older nun raised the book.
However, the older nun soon glanced at me, cleared her throat, and put the book down. At this, the younger nun let out a sigh of relief.
It was like watching a comedy sketch, and I found it a little amusing.
“Hoo... I apologize on behalf of this child for dragging you here so forcefully. She's not a bad person by nature, but she can be a bit overzealous at times...”
“I'm fine. But I have a few questions, if you don't mind.”
“Oh?”
The older nun seemed taken aback for a moment before nodding.
I turned my head and scanned the room. The first thing that caught my eye was the emblem hanging above the fireplace.
A single tree standing alone on barren land.
“Is this, by any chance, the Goddess Cult?”
At my question, the older nun looked surprised, as if she hadn't expected it.
“That's right. For a young man from a noble family to know of the Goddess Cult... it seems today is full of surprises.”
“I have a keen interest in religion, so I came to know of it.”
I was uncertain at first, but I was sure now, thanks to the nun mentioning Florea.
Florea, the goddess of the earth, and the great tree she planted to revive the desolate continent—the World Tree.
“To be honest, I'm surprised. I never imagined I would meet nuns of the Goddess Cult in Pendria.”
Just a few hundred years ago, the Goddess Cult was the largest religion on the continent, but it declined rapidly due to ostracism and persecution by the Eustaff Empire.
I'd heard that now, it was barely managing to survive.
“It is all thanks to the grace of His Highness the Grand Duke. He extended a hand to us when we had nowhere else to go.”
The head nun closed her eyes and prayed with a pious posture.
I was a little surprised by her words.
Other countries subtly discriminated against the Goddess Cult, wary of the Empire, yet here was one of their buildings standing proudly in the middle of the capital.
It seems that unlike his daughter Amelia, the Grand Duke has quite the personality.
“If it's not too much trouble, may I see the person who manages the parish?”
It was just a baseless guess, but I thought that if I could contact a high-ranking cleric of the Goddess Cult, I might be able to communicate with the World Tree, even for a moment.
If I succeeded, I might be able to get information on the situation in Peledeia.
I had initially planned to try through Iris, but the restraints were blocking even her divine power, making it impossible.
“That would be me.”
“Pardon?”
“I am in charge of the parish for the entire Duchy of Orsia. Of course, Pendria is the only place where the Goddess Cult actually has a building.”
The head nun said with a self-deprecating smile.
“...I see.”
But I had to force a smile and swallow the sigh that threatened to escape.
The nun before me was far from a high-ranking cleric; her divine power was weaker than even an ordinary priest's.
The proof was that she couldn't sense the World Tree's divine power within me.
“Um, by the way, does the Goddess Cult not do any missionary work? The other orders have opened soup kitchens to draw people in.”
“Ahem... We would like to, but as you can see, we don't have the financial means...”
“Ah.”
It made sense. Operating a soup kitchen when the price of all foodstuffs had soared due to the war would require enormous funding.
But as was obvious from their appearance, the Goddess Cult was extremely poor.
So poor that if they had money for missionary work like the other orders, they would have repaired their crumbling building first.
“...I see I've spoken out of turn.”
“Not at all. Besides, while it's true that we are poor, if missionary work requires money, then it must be the wrong way to go about it.”
The nun waved her hand with a kind smile.
“Besides, we manage to get by just fine without money.”
“Head Nun! I brought lunch! The Sun Cult was giving out lamb soup today, you know?”
“Well done. You didn't forget to set aside a portion for dinner, did you?”
“Hehe, of course not.”
'...'
Honestly, they seemed a bit pitiful.
It might have been because the World Tree's divine power made me feel a sense of kinship with these two followers of the Goddess Cult.
“Excuse me, Head Nun?”
“Yes? Ah, my. It was rude of us to do that in front of a guest. If you haven't eaten yet...”
“I'm fine, thank you. Actually, I was wondering if I could borrow a private chapel? Since I'm here, I'd like to offer a prayer to Lady Florea and the World Tree.”
Hearing this, the two nuns' eyes widened in surprise.
“You're a believer?”
“...Something like that.”
I gave a vague answer, and the head nun nodded as if she understood. With her years of experience, she seemed to be quick on the uptake.
I followed the head nun out of the room and back to the chapel.
“By the way, the private chapel has an hourly fee. Will that be alright?”
“Yes.”
I took a pouch of silver coins from my coat and handed it to her.
After checking the pouch, the head nun's face instantly went pale.
“...This is too much.”
“Please consider the rest a donation.”
Creeak—
When she opened the chapel door, a small space of about 170 square feet [five pyeong] appeared.
Inside, there was nothing but a single old chair.
But when I lifted my head to look at the ceiling, a mural I had never seen before unfolded.
A woman standing in the sky, a man holding a sword, and a monster with its massive mouth wide open, lunging at the man.
“This is...”
“The Hero Myth.”
The head nun came in, carrying some simple food and water.
“The Hero Myth?”
“Yes. A very long time ago, when Lady Florea descended to this land to plant the World Tree, a great monster was devouring the earth. To be precise, it was a monster that consumed the land's vitality, a sort of fragment left behind by Malefis after being defeated in a war. Because of it, the land was so barren it couldn't hold water or grow crops. Unable to watch this any longer, Lady Florea appointed a great knight as the Hero to subjugate the monster, and the Hero defeated it with a holy sword. That is the story.”
“It sounds like a story children would enjoy.”
“We actually sell children's books based on it to earn some income.”
The head nun gave a short bow and left the chapel.
Left alone, I knelt on one knee on the floor instead of using the chair.
'Hoo...'
Closing my eyes, I began to concentrate, trying to draw out the World Tree's divine power that resided deep within my chest.
If I couldn't contact it through a high-ranking cleric, I would just have to call the World Tree directly.
It wouldn't be easy, of course, but it was possible.
This was a chapel in a church of the Goddess Cult. The place where a god and their follower are most strongly connected.
I imbued my call with divine power and called out to the World Tree endlessly, hoping my voice would reach her.
How much time passed like that?
Just as I began to think I had failed—
—...Hyun-woo?
A familiar, sacred voice I had heard once before echoed in my mind.