Chapter 365
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 365
Chapter Title: The Goddess Church and the Hero's Preparations
To exterminate the darkness lurking on the world's underside—the evil that gnaws away at humanity—we seek recruits for the hero party. This sacred struggle will march in lockstep with the Empire, ally of the Holy City, backed by the Empire's unyielding support. The field of battle is the Eastern Front, swarming with wicked beings known as demons. From the moment this notice is posted, the Holy City of Trumpet Hall declares demons heretics under the Goddess's authority and sanctity. The objective is total demon extermination. They multiply and resurrect endlessly, threatening humanity's very survival. We must sweep them clean without mercy to make the world a brighter place. Qualifications: One possessing Transcendence, or equivalent combat prowess. They will lead the vanguard, slaying the most dangerous demons. Pay based on demon kill count. One who has reached the Profound Realm in at least Response, Fullness, or Harmony. They will serve in the infantry, securing territories. Pay based on reclaimed land area. One skilled in building and repairing walls, barbed wire, etc. They will join the engineers, erecting defenses in human-held zones. Pay based on construction speed and quality. One able to treat and tend at least ten wounded daily. They will support from the rear, caring for allies. Pay based on number and severity of treatments. O humans. O humanity. The Holy City once wallowed in chaos and collapse. But now, blessed by the Goddess, the Goddess Church regains its former glory. We seek no coin under pretext of suffering, no intimidation under guise of faith. Thus, the power once squandered on the unworthy remains fully ours. We have resolved to wield it for a better world. Why the Eastern Front? Its demons pose the nearest, most immediate threat. The Empire's scholars, field priests, and the Pope—who received divine revelation—all concur. Leave them be, and a great war erupts. Demons possess human bodies; urban combat awaits, spilling rivers of blood. Strike first. We pledge righteous honor and fair reward. The struggle shall be holy; postwar merits awarded justly. Join the grand cause. For a better future.
『Reform Faction』, Bennett Hilton
Finn eyed the restless crowd buzzing around the notice with an uneasy expression, then turned to Bennett.
"The hero party... I don't actually have to go out and fight, right...?"
"Of course not."
He wasn't so cold-blooded as to shove the guy who'd been saddled with the hero role by accident into something that extreme.
"Last time, you dragged me out of my downtime to goof off at the academy... I can't shake the feeling that what happened once could happen twice..."
"This time, I truly have no intentions of assigning you anything. Relax."
Of course, if the overwhelmingly popular hero among the citizens marched out, it would help immensely.
"But flip it around—if you lost your life out there, it'd spark massive chaos. Sending you to war is the bigger risk. I've got a plan ready."
First, hold the send-off ceremony. If the designated hero skipped the front lines, it'd invite finger-pointing.
Then, right after Finn leads the army out of the city, swap with a double. With the mad wizard's illusion magic, changing appearances is a breeze.
The real Finn quietly slips back to the Holy City, hides by the Pope's side, and waits out the war. When the fake Finn and party return, swap back on the sly.
In other words, a hero-less hero party.
"Phew... no battlefield for me, that's a relief... wait a sec."
That meant Finn could just lounge around the Holy City, living it up, and still rack up hero achievements hand over fist...?
Finn's face fell into a dramatic pout. Bennett chuckled at the sight.
"Don't like free achievements?"
"O-Of course not! Someone else does the work, and I reap the rewards? That's just wrong. I've said it over and over—I want to live within my means...!"
His dream hadn't changed. Just hole up in some far-flung rural village where no one knew his face... free from terrifying words like Goddess, world's fate, aura, transcendence.
Occasionally raid a goblin camp, live leisurely, grow old. If he dared dream bigger, marry a sweet village girl.
On a rainy day, the two dashing into shelter. In the dim mill, pink sparks fly between them...
As Finn spun his fantasies, Bennett probed gently.
"Any reason?"
"...Reason for what?"
"Plenty crave power. Wealth, fame too. Hero status? Marrying a noble beauty's a cinch. Why turn it all down?"
Finn answered without hesitation.
"Simple. It's not my place. Positions affecting many lives should go to those who fit them best."
Always his belief.
Take the old cardinals. Those dung-shoveling geezer fossils bullying the Pope—precious as the apple of her eye—had flipped the Goddess Church upside down.
So the hero role, envied and exemplary, belonged in better hands. Like the man before him, Bennett.
Bennett gave Finn an odd look.
"I think you're qualified already. But... what if you could become special? Endure trials, gain power befitting the rank. Would you keep being the hero then?"
"Huh?"
"Got it."
"Wait, huh?! That wasn't an answer!"
Chiiiill!
Finn felt ice water dump over him. He'd sensed this before... right when he got a free pass in the tournament!
No, no way. His talent was average at best; swordplay he'd swung at diligently still stagnated. No method existed to boost a mediocrity like him to hero level.
Just Shadow Hero Bennett's killer joke. Ha. Not funny.
Or... was it?
"Hero Finn, come along. Today we borrow His Holiness's power. She needs you nearby for motivation, so lend some cheer."
"Y-Yes... but what's on the agenda? Usually, you don't ask favors of His Holiness. She's still young."
"It's that crucial. Today, we might just save the world."
"...?!?"
Finn's jaw dropped. Big words.
But Bennett didn't bluff like that. Still, "world-saving" felt too vast to grasp.
What exactly was the Reform Faction up to?
Holy City Trumpet Hall Precinct.
Once a playground for the old cardinals' cronies, now utterly transformed. Holy Knights trained with razor-sharp precision, edges honed like rulers.
Leading them: Niore Restman as instructor.
[No. 43, form's sloppy. Weight distribution's off.]
"No. 43! Form's sloppy!"
Niore's whiteboard notes bellowed verbatim by her human megaphone nearby.
Her eyes—detective-sharp, piercing info on sight—shined in instruction too. Pinpointing flaws like a ghost.
Training with instant fixes. What guidance could top this? Elite Holy Knights improved daily.
"Niore, doing well?"
-Bennett!
Niore's artifact spoke for her.
Pat-pat-pat. She toddled over, flung into Bennett's arms. Rose on tiptoes, kissed without pause. Bliss incarnate.
-Heard 'I love you' today?
"Doesn't ring a bell."
Liar. He'd heard.
Holy Knights knew the routine. Morning "I love yous," lunch "I love yous," eye contact? Love-bomb barrage. Fourth time today.
-Then, I love you, Bennett.
"Love you too, Niore."
Damn it.
Training knights and bystander Finn soured. Envy. Irritation. Must they rub it in our faces?
Rage fueled zeal. Knights slashed imaginary foes with full fury.
Niore giggled silently, hand on his chest, gazed up.
-Tara's struggling. Cheer her up.
"Will do. Meet at lunch after morning drill."
-Happily waiting.
Lips neared again. Finn squeezed eyes shut, hands over ears. Another lovefest passed.
Bennett wrapped the prolonged greeting, pressed on. Finn trailed a beat later.
"Speaking of, haven't seen the Saintess. Something up?"
"Fasting in prayer. Offering to the Goddess, crafting a statue."
A massive holy bombardment beacon, no less. Lob like a grenade; Goddess beams from sky.
Prep for Evil Dragon subjugation. Suspected target-immune, so markers needed for divine strikes.
Finn recalled plummeting light pillars, awed.
"That statue... the world-saving thing you mentioned?"
"Nah, just support. This way, Hero Finn."
"Drop the 'Hero' if you could..."
Bennett visited Tara's sanctuary for another affection display, then led Finn to the Hero's Hall—former sword vault.
Once open pillars, insides visible. Now walled and roofed, a proper building.
Security mattered for what brewed inside.
"Hero Finn, Lord Bennett, cleared."
Door guards lowered spears, stepped aside. They entered.
Filling the space...
"Heart, dice the mandrake over there."
"Leave it to me, Arte! Precision cuts are my jam."
Great Alchemist Arte Lopelman, dispatched from the Northern Ducal House for research collab, with maid Heart.
"Bennett, smooth sailing. Arte says completion's near."
"Good news. No troubles?"
"Just odd jobs on the side."
Bennett's little sister Verda, handling sundries.
"...Finn!"
"Your Holiness!"
Pope's eyes sparkled galaxies at Hero Finn.
And...
At the magic circle's heart, a grotesque wriggle: frog, dragonfly, goat, forms shifting endlessly.
0.1% Evil Dragon fragment.
Heart explained simply.
"So-called antibiotic production."
"Anti... what now?"
"Er, a drug that kills bad effects...?"
Poison, really.
Via Goddess collab, crafting a potion destroying only Evil Dragon-derived elements.
The Evil Dragon: ultimate illusion master. Far beyond mad wizard's tricks. Prep essential.
But block all illusion types? Mock battles proved impossible. Vaccines always lag viruses.
So target the core. Potion annihilating Dragon components grants illusion resistance.
"Holy power, alchemy, magic trio. If complete, prevents ally-stabbing tragedies, right?"
"......"
Finn pondered. They fought something big. Not just Eastern Front push. He asked cautiously.
"...What exactly are you all facing?"
Bennett replied.
"Evil God."
"...Evil God?"
"The deity opposing the Goddess. Plunges humans into tragedy, despair's abyss. We're set to kill it."
Finn learned of the God-slaying plan.