Calling Levi (1)
Paradise, the capital of the Canaan territory neighboring Caparnaum and the second-largest city in the Nova Empire.
A cardinals' council led by the Pope, convened at the papal court of the Baal cult.
"And so, we shall terminate aid for this flood from now on. Any cardinals with objections, raise your hands."
The room held only the Pope leading the council and the high-ranking cardinals who governed each archdiocese of the Baal cult.
Though they ruled their archdioceses like kings, the cardinals remained silent as obedient hounds at the Pope's words.
"Very well. With that, the motion on flood aid is decided. Now, I shall reveal why I summoned you all here so urgently for this council."
Gulp.
Ordinarily, these cardinals' councils occurred once every three years. Given that the leaders of archdioceses spread across the entire continent had to gather in one place, they weren't held frequently.
Yet this one had been called just six months after the last—an extraordinary occurrence. They had rushed to the papal court via exclusive cardinals' warp gates at the Pope's summons.
The previous emergency summons by the Pope and the ensuing council had brought the shocking proposal to ally with a prince and overthrow the reigning emperor, the most explosive agenda in the cult's history. Thus, the cardinals tensed, wondering what bombshell would drop next as they awaited his words.
"Some of you may have heard on the way here. Two days ago, in the city of Caparnaum in the Caparnaum territory, a man appeared claiming to be the son of a god. And the god he named was Deus."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
The mention of Deus's name sparked chatter among the cardinals, turning the hall noisy in an instant.
"Silence."
The room fell utterly quiet at the Pope's single command.
"If it had ended there, it wouldn't have been an issue. We've had plenty of frauds claiming to be children of gods before. Of course, this is the first time one's claimed to be Deus's son, but considering it's a newborn faith that only arose recently, we must account for that. We decided on countermeasures against the Deus cult at the previous council, so we'd planned to ignore anything Deus-related as much as possible... but an incident occurred that we cannot overlook."
The Pope paused, seemingly gathering his thoughts in silence, then continued.
"The one claiming to be Deus's son appears to have unleashed 'Resurrection' across the entirety of Caparnaum. Whether we can truly call it 'Resurrection' is another matter."
"...Pardon? Your Holiness, what in the world...?"
"'Resurrection'? The pinnacle of divine power, usable only by Your Holiness?"
"'Resurrection' across an entire city?"
Even the cardinals, who had held their tongues out of fear of the Pope, couldn't help blurting out in disbelief.
As if the Pope's statement were too incredible to accept.
"'Resurrection'—the supreme miracle, usable only by the one who inherits the papal throne and receives Baal's direct blessing. Its power heals any injury or disease short of death, restoring the body to peak condition. It is worthy of being called the ultimate healing. Even I, who constantly receives Baal's blessing, can invoke it only once a month—and on just a single target at that."
The hall grew deathly still the moment the Pope spoke, as if nothing had happened.
"Yet according to reports, the power he used—let's call it 'Area Resurrection' for now—didn't stop at one person. It enveloped not only the surrounding onlookers but the entire city."
"Your Holiness, at that scale, wouldn't it be closer to 'Recovery' than 'Resurrection'?"
"'Recovery'... An 'Area Recovery' blanketing an entire city would still be a shocking display of divine power. But there's a reason he called it 'Resurrection.' Reports from bishops, priests, and holy knights on the scene state that scars over five years old filled with fresh flesh, severed arms regenerated, clogged pores reopened, and hair grew back. This has been cross-verified with witnesses beyond our cult members. Arm regeneration aside, regenerated pores? Do you think anything short of 'Resurrection' could achieve that?"
"That is..."
"And so I summoned you in haste. The entire city witnessed this miracle. In none other than the Nova Empire, Baal's holy land!"
Bam!
The Pope slammed his fist on the table, raising his voice.
"After all I've done to install the current emperor and turn this empire into Baal's sanctuary...! Some unheard-of wretch is trying to shake it all. First the uproar in Orias, now Caparnaum. Deus again."
"However, Your Holiness, even if it covered the whole city, Caparnaum is just a provincial backwater. At most, it would only affect the slums. I doubt those sorts could wield much influence..."
"Fool!"
"Urk!"
As the Pope stamped in fury, vines erupted from beneath the questioning cardinal's feet, piercing his hands and pinning him to the wall.
"Provincial? Slums? What matters is that cracks have formed en masse within the Nova Empire! Once faith wavers, who knows how far the fracture will spread! We must seal it completely before it leaks beyond Caparnaum."
"F-Forgive me, Your Holiness! It was a slip of the tongue!"
Bam.
"Ugh..."
The vines vanished, dropping the bound cardinal to the floor.
"We shall 'purge' Caparnaum."
"Y-Your Holiness! You don't mean the entire city...?"
"Your Holiness! The emperor won't stand for that!"
"Other cults might object as well...!"
"Quiet. Of course, a simple 'purge' won't do. We might widen the crack in trying to close it. Thus, we need justification."
"Justification?"
"But a convincing pretext..."
"There are too many witnesses. A 'purge' now could backfire!"
"No need for concern. The plan is already in place. We'll tie it to the riot suppression in Orias. You all know the directive I issued recently on the Deus Holy Spirit disturbances there, but I'll recap. In Orias..."
"Orias..."
"A self-proclaimed apostle of Deus appeared recently, performing miracles among the slums and gathering a following. As the capital of the Nova Empire—not some provincial town—it could have escalated dangerously, but the emperor has branded it a rebellion and plans to sweep away the city's slum dwellers. Thus, the reactionaries in Orias will be labeled rebels and erased from history. Caparnaum's incident can't easily be called a rebellion, but we can bundle it in. It's Deus-related, after all—easy to handle."
"But Your Holiness, if the Deus cult in the Kallandra Empire learns of this, they might turn hostile."
"No worry there. Caparnaum's 'prophet' will go down in history not as Deus's apostle, but as a false rebel ringleader claiming to be Deus's son. Now, the plan: First, Cardinal Pharisee, head to Caparnaum and..."
Three days after unleashing the 'miracle' across all of Caparnaum.
"Thank you, sir! Thanks to you, my back is completely—utterly—healed. Truly, thank you!"
I was on my third day receiving visitors from the entire city and their grateful thanks.
Not everyone had witnessed my miracle firsthand—only the crowd at the scene—but as they spread the word across the city, everyone learned the truth of who had performed it. Soon, all of Caparnaum came seeking me out.
Of course, with me staying at the inn, space was limited, so long lines formed of those waiting their turn.
The street out front was packed with people, leaving the innkeeper unable to conduct normal business, but after the 'miracle' restored his hair—which he'd never regained despite every mercenary-era quack remedy—he offered the whole place to me. Fine by me; good things are good.
There was a reason I bothered spending time on these extras' greetings, despite having zero interest.
My original purpose in coming to this city.
To recruit her as a companion.
The problem: I had no idea what she looked like at this point in the timeline, or even where she was.
If she was in the city, she'd have been affected by my 'miracle' and might come to me. That's what I was banking on.
So here I was at the inn, greeting each one personally to check...
Three days in, and I was getting tired.
Screw the companion—maybe just head to the next destination.
Still, her ability was too valuable to pass up.
"Next, come in."
As the previous visitor finished thanking me and left, Simon called the next.
Simon, who'd been so shocked by the 'miracle' that he'd become my fervent devotee.
He seemed convinced now that I wasn't a dragon but truly the son of a god.
Neither was right, but oh well.
Murmurs erupted outside.
What now?
Who's coming in to cause such a fuss?
Creeeak.
The door opened.
A woman with striking purple hair and an air of intellect entered.
"It is an honor to meet you, son of Deus."
Could it be? Finally.
"I am Levi, a mere tax collector in this city."
She's here. Levi.
My true reason for coming to this city.
Tax collector Levi.