Chapter 233
Chapter 233
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 233
Chapter Title: Northern Recruitment
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No matter how powerful her abilities, the goddess is still a machine.
And machines are wielded by people.
Let's deceive the Northern Grand Duke by borrowing the name of the goddess, that mechanical contraption. I'll craft a backstory and weave it into the world's lore. From this moment on, I am the goddess's angel.
...
The goddess is without heart. She scatters the light of divine power across this world and strives to maintain order, but in pursuing values far beyond the grasp of human emotions, she appears utterly ruthless. Consider the injustice of some world's absolute ruler harboring blatant human-like desires and arbitrarily manipulating everything── her heartlessness is the virtue of a true god. Only because the god remains silent do humans gain even a measure of free will. But this inevitably gives rise to a single question.
'If we respect human free will, must we simply watch as they march toward their own destruction?'
The goddess answered thus:
'I shall bestow upon you a single mysterious chalice. This golden cup will dry when people laugh and fill when they weep. When it overflows, I shall rise from my silence and purify the land──.'
Cross the line, and face punishment. The goddess has drawn the line for corruption.
"And this is that Holy Grail."
With a gesture from Heart, a single chalice smoothly materialized on the table.
The ornate cup gleamed gold, filled to the brim with pitch-black liquid sloshing perilously. One slight shake, and it would spill over, staining the table.
This was an object symbolizing the goddess's patience. Its design alone made the rippling waves induce vertigo just by looking.
The chalice's shape carried profound meaning too.
An hourglass or snow globe would leave no room for outside interference. But a cup? It was designed for someone to tip it over and spill its contents.
If Heart were truly an angel, it was a metaphor for her holding the trigger to 『Divine Punishment』.
Heart grasped the chalice's base, tilting it playfully this way and that as she fixed Northern Grand Duke Elbillion Julius with a steady gaze.
Emphasize mystery with a touch of cuteness. Seemingly disparate elements, but blended right, they synergized perfectly.
She pitched her voice slightly lower.
"You've seen the power and the greater cause. Now it's time to witness faith. If I revoke a priest's divine power right before your eyes, would that prove I'm an angel?"
"That would suffice."
"You believe me already?"
"I do. But mere belief alone would disappoint you. You... loathe those who follow your words blindly without a second thought."
Do you remember our days conversing through the viewing window? That was Heart's character. She despised young men who offered her everything. More precisely, those who did so without considering the aftermath.
If a courtship offering one's entire fortune failed, that person lost everything. Nine times out of ten, they'd succumb to rage or choose death.
So if you can't handle the consequences, don't attempt it in the first place. I hate 'bad endings'.
That was why she limited it to 1% of their assets at a time.
The Northern Grand Duke spoke with solemn chill.
"Since you desire it, I'll speak plainly of gains over faith for now. What do you propose for the North, and what will you take in return?"
"Daisy's as sharp as ever. I like that."
Heart propped her chin, smiling with her eyes as if impressed. Then she tossed out casually, like a jest.
"Prosperity for the North, and freedom from its obligations."
...
I knew his desires well.
Elbillion Julius had made the North's prosperity his life's mission. To atone for defiling his father's corpse, until all winter whispered his father's name in reverence.
His dream hadn't changed. And with the Church of the Goddess's power, it was entirely achievable.
When interests align clearly and both sides know each other well, negotiations wrap up astonishingly fast.
"Then what will you claim in return, Heart."
"Aid for the Hero Selection Tournament, and help rooting out the Cardinal Faction. Once the 『Reform Faction』 seizes control of the Church... the goddess's light will reach the North too."
"Consider it done. For the Tournament of 『Devotion』, the North's greatest warriors will compete."
"Then I can rest easy. It's settled."
Old ties, perhaps. The Northern Grand Duke concluded without much resistance. No wonder they called him a good friend.
A pact was sealed between the Northern Grand Duke and the angel. Detailed terms were formalized in writing, signed by both parties.
Perfect. The story wrapped exactly as I wanted. It went off without a hitch. Problem solved! Behind Heart's mask, I grinned ear to ear.
Then a stray bullet hit me out of nowhere.
"I knew the Church was suppressing hero births. That's why I came to the Holy City. Wondered if I could pry something out, conditioned on secrecy."
...
I flipped out behind Heart's mask.
...What did he just say?
Elbillion Julius held one secret unknown to others. A vital Church secret extracted from his younger brother, Dakiten Julius.
Legends say heroes emerge when colossal threats loom over the world.
And such a threat already existed. The Eastern Frontlines and the black mages.
The empire's princess, heir to continental hegemony, fought on the front lines, while the empire's Sword Saint──meant to guard the imperial family──roamed the nation slaying black mages.
This was no scale you could dismiss as 'not a threat'.
He slipped that intel in at a moment when Heart seemed off-guard.
"It's been centuries since the last hero appeared. My brother Dakiten said the Cardinals are using some method to block hero births, with the empire filling the gap."
"That's right. I knew that already."
I had no clue.
Northern Grand Duke Elbillion Julius was certain, based on long acquaintance. Heart didn't know. Her mask was flawless, but she couldn't hide the shock rolling through her true self behind it.
Longtime friends. Just as Heart had him pegged, Elbillion had her figured out too. That's how he knew.
She never lied about promises──
But everything else? A compulsive liar. Falsehoods flowed naturally from her lips. Most of her chatter was probably bluff or deception. The angel tale too, no doubt.
Heart... had wild imagination at times. An angel? Never heard of it. Her acting and staging were so masterful you bought it, but the story alone was absurdly fanciful.
If she'd claimed to be a Church insider spy, he'd have believed that.
But he played dumb.
"Hero suppression. With the goddess's maintenance structure in ruins, I had no choice but to descend and fix it all, right?"
"Indeed."
He just nodded along.
Because he knew.
Regardless of Heart's facade, he had a vague sense of her inner workings.
Even if her words were fake── her intent to use power for the North if things went well, and her worry for Elbillion? Pure, 100% genuine.
So truth or lies didn't matter. Beneath the illusions, he and Heart were bound by unshakable friendship.
"I'm glad we've reunited."
"...Out of the blue?"
And once you accepted most of Heart was fabricated... a different view emerged.
Blithely posing as the goddess's proxy, thinking she hadn't been caught.
Putting on massive bravado after panicking, pretending she knew all along.
Amusing, wasn't it?
Behind his stern mask, the Northern Grand Duke smiled, savoring Heart's one-woman show with delight.
But even he never dreamed the goddess was truly malfunctioning...
What the hell.
After wrapping up negotiations──and a bit of mind-reading──with Northern Grand Duke 'Daisy', I stormed back, eyes blazing, hunting down Evil God-chan.
"Evil God-chan, get out here!"
"...???"
Evil God-chan was sprawled on the sofa, scratching her belly while reading a comic (manifested via illusion magic). At my shout, she just peeked over curiously.
I grabbed her by the scruff, hoisted her up, and shook her furiously, venting frustration and rage.
"What the hell are these Cardinals?!"
"You crazy psycho bitch, why're you flipping out on me outta nowhere──?!"
"It's not that heroes aren't spawning because they botched the goddess messing around. They straight-up blocked heroes themselves. Turned off the damn hero vaccine program!"
"Oh... wait, so it wasn't me tampering?! I don't remember, but logically I thought I was the mastermind... No, then why the hell're you raging at me!!"
I'd uncovered the shocking, mysterious truth: the Church's Cardinal Faction was blocking hero births with their own hands.
It pissed me off like watching idiots disable antivirus and trash their PC. Needed to vent on someone, so I shook the handy Evil God-chan.
I let go when her clothes rode up, exposing her navel. (Her panties were red, FYI.) She hastily straightened her outfit and glared daggers.
Whatever. Deal with it.
I flopped down beside her. She scooted a seat away.
Northern Grand Duke secured. Borrowed the goddess's majesty for an IOU, and 'Daisy' bought it. Next tournament's a cakewalk.
"So, you take all you can grab and wipe your mouth clean? Leaving the North to wither without the promised support...?"
"Nah. I'll keep the promise. In the future, I'll control the goddess, take the Church, grab it all── so out of sentiment, I'll make the North thrive."
"Then why the IOU?"
"'Cause right now, it's bullshit."
But the instant I gain even partial control over the goddess... all lies become truth. Goddess's proxy (true), goddess's angel (true).
"Liar."
"Pot calling the kettle black."
For now, cheers to half the plan succeeding.
Used Irid's power to claim the first tournament, will use the Northern Grand Duke's for the second. Easy so far.
But difficulty spikes next.
Because they'll move soon. The Cardinals won't sit idle watching hero slots fill up, nor will the Red House. Both will jump into the tournament.
Total war from here.
That 『Puppeteer』 will rear its head again, and the suspiciously quiet Cardinals will flex. Maybe even mobilize the goddess system.
Time to deploy the Bennett party.
They're formidable. Light support from behind, and they'll carve through most foes. Issue is when top contenders clash.
Bennett's metamorphosis is stable but lacks punch. Against a burst-type, he might get blindsided and eliminated. In that case...
『Metamorphosis Extra Module』 it is.
Turn him into 'Awakened Dual-Wielder Fallen Bennett' for real, not illusion.
While prepping the tournament, digging deeper into Church secrets wouldn't hurt. Their moves still have mysteries.
Hero generation block, for starters.
Chewing it over, hero absence hurts the Church too. Even for consolidating power, it's radical from the get-go.
High chance they tried controlling heroes first.
Leashed one, it backfired, so they blocked births entirely. Doesn't that sound more rational?
I busied myself variously. Failed at asking Bennett for love advice, backchecked the Church, tracked Red House moves...
Time flew by.
The summit with the Northern Grand Duke bore fruit.
One ally, one neutral. Success.
Hero slots left: four.
Tournaments left: two.
The Tournament of 『Devotion』 ended without incident, but the ensuing Tournament of 『Immutability』... was a spectacle.
The Red House's 『Foresight Lantern』 clashed with the Cardinals' 『Cogwheel』. Backroom powers trumped skill in the mess.
This a tournament...?
Frustrated, I bellowed from the stands.
"Fight fair! Rigging from the sidelines? What cowardice is this-!!"
"Hey, you saying that...?"
But my voice drowned in the crowd's cheers, reaching neither heaven nor earth. Unfair. What about our Bennett crew, fighting straight-up on skill?
No good.
If they're playing dirty, I'll crank it up too.
Tournament of 『Immutability』── off-field battle begins.