Chapter 62
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: A Measure of Faith
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Convincing oneself didn't require any grand excuse.
I was already halfway to giving in to the devil's temptation, just waiting for the final word to push me over the edge.
In such a state, one could rationalize their actions with even the most absurdly flimsy reasons.
A quick compromise. And a convenient rationalization.
Without such a function, it wouldn't be surprising if a person broke down at any moment.
The speed with which I compromised on a new purchase was a result of that function working splendidly.
"Since I got a free 10-pull from the payback last time... if I do one now, isn't it basically thirty pulls for the price of twenty?"
To think I'd drag out the same excuse I used last time all the way to today.
Anyone could see it was a pathetic justification.
It was nothing more than finding a suitable pretext to do a 10-pull.
And yet, for the me whose hand was already reaching for the gacha button, it was well within the realm of acceptable reasoning.
In the end, I was only human, helpless before the desire to spend.
"What a steal, now that I think about it."
With my reason half-abandoned, I moved my finger to the Premium Shop button.
Press.
The screen changed, and the shop interface for a 10-pull appeared.
The lavishly decorated shop screen came into view, along with the brilliantly shining 10-pull button.
The moment the shop screen appeared, all my previous spending plans completely vanished from my mind.
Faced with a new skill that could be shared between characters, my budget meant nothing.
"Ah, please... let it be a magic tome."
I put my hands together in front of the phone displaying the shop screen and prayed earnestly.
Please, let a magic tome appear from beyond the screen.
If possible, let there be ten rare items.
With a finger filled with such desperate hope, I touched the gacha button on the smartphone.
The screen flashed white, and the gacha items began to appear.
- You have acquired Rusty Iron Sword.
- You have acquired Rusty Iron Sword.
- You have acquired Rusty Iron Sword.
I watched the first items appear with a tense expression.
Three Rusty Iron Swords.
Of all the junk items you could get, these were the worst.
It was not a good start.
Hoping for a magic tome to appear, I watched for the next items.
- You have acquired Rusty Iron Sword.
- You have acquired Rusty Iron Sword.
- You have acquired Rusty Iron Sword.
The next items that appeared were also all Rusty Iron Swords.
As the mood took an ominous turn, I couldn't help but frown.
The nightmare of that day I got ten Stylish Tunics came flooding back.
Hooo.
I let out a sigh and looked at the next item.
I desperately hoped for a magic tome this time.
- You have acquired Rusty Iron Sword.
- You have acquired Rusty Iron Sword.
- You have acquired Rusty Iron Sword.
The moment I saw another stream of Rusty Iron Swords pop up.
My hand, which was staring at the screen, began to tremble.
As the Rusty Iron Swords kept appearing, I felt a strange churning in my stomach.
"No way. It can't be, right? Surely I won't get all junk again?"
The nightmare of that day was becoming a reality.
I swallowed hard and looked at the final item.
If the last item was also a Rusty Iron Sword, it would be a repeat of last time's nightmare.
Worse, Rusty Iron Sword was an item so rusty that even the followers avoided it.
What would the final item be?
Thump. Thump.
With my heart pounding wildly, a light burst forth, revealing the final item.
- You have acquired Magic Tome: Control Weather.
As the last item appeared with a purple aura, I lifted my smartphone and smiled.
A magic tome with a purple aura.
This meant it was a spell far more valuable than any I had seen before.
As the brightly shining magic tome appeared, the nine Rusty Iron Swords were neatly erased from my mind.
This was a spell of a different grade from the previous ones.
What junk items I'd gotten no longer mattered.
"Whoa... a magic tome can have a purple glow."
I took a closer look at the Magic Tome: Control Weather in my inventory.
The skill obtained by using the tome was Control Weather.
Control Weather was a spell that controlled the weather by consuming a vast amount of mana.
As the name suggested, its direction was very different from the combat spells I had received so far.
"Control Weather... it seems like a spell with high utility."
A location where Control Weather was used could be changed to the user's desired climate.
Depending on the size and intensity of the controlled area, the duration of the spell on that tile would vary.
It could make rain fall continuously on a tile suffering from drought.
It could make the scorching sun beat down on a place with a dense forest.
Over time, it could completely transform the environment of a given area.
It seemed like it could be helpful in large-scale battles between characters or in supporting the continuous expansion of our influence.
"If I really wanted to, I could probably link it with attack spells."
Perhaps it would be possible to make it rain and then cast lightning-based magic.
I had never tried combining spells before, but this game was quite faithful to the laws of physics.
If I actually tried it, there was a high chance it would be effective.
The lightning magic would spread widely across the water-soaked area.
Besides, the very fact of being able to control the weather gave off a divine feeling.
Couldn't Loan travel around and solve droughts himself?
"For now... I should give the magic tome to Yutenia."
The first magic tome I acquired was always Yutenia's.
Only after Yutenia learned the magic and made it her own could I then learn it.
Of course, if Yutenia hadn't been a character talented in magic, I wouldn't have supported her this much.
I took the magic tome from my inventory and gave it to Yutenia, who was traveling in a carriage.
At the sight of the magic tome that fell into the carriage, Yutenia raised her head and looked up at the sky.
- "You have bestowed a new magic tome upon me. I thank you once again for the grace of the Great One."
After watching Yutenia offer her thanks to the sky, I closed the game on my smartphone.
I decided to configure the details of the Divine Protocol Device after I finished my ramen.
Zzzip.
Tearing open the lid of the cup ramen, I used my wooden chopsticks to lift the noodles.
The noodles, which gave off a steamy heat, had become quite swollen.
"The Order's influence has now reached Litua-Senterius."
In a turret located on the city's inner wall.
Archbishop Loan spoke as he looked down at the cityscape.
After Evan led the Order's followers to the inner fortress, the battle there was over in an instant.
The countess and Max Maier were executed, and the Order's forces took control of the count's inner fortress.
Furthermore, Rex Maier held a summary succession ceremony and ascended to the position of the next count.
Although there was scattered opposition to Rex, both internal and external, the count's family had no other heir to replace him.
Now, the only gate left for Rex to pass through was to pledge allegiance to the emperor.
In effect, it wouldn't be strange to say that the Order had taken control of the entire county.
"It's all thanks to the plan you devised, Archbishop Loan."
"Aside from the fact that it was somewhat reckless, wasn't it a rather interesting plan?"
"An interesting plan... I'm not one for such tastes, so I wouldn't know."
Evan replied with a smirk upon hearing Loan's words.
Although the result was the Order's takeover of the county, even Loan himself thought it was a reckless plan.
It would have been difficult without Rex's pliable nature and Evan's martial prowess.
It was also a great stroke of luck that the count happened to be away.
Luring the count, who was staying in the inner fortress with his soldiers, outside the walls would have required a very tricky operation.
"In any case, it is certain that the Great One's blessing was with us."
"Indeed... it seems so."
Since everything was resolved without any major issues, it could be seen that their master had looked after them well.
The very idea of overthrowing an entire count's family with a small number of people was not something anyone could conceive of.
Now, all they had to do was expand the Order's influence using the city they had acquired as a base.
They had also arranged to continuously receive condemned prisoners from the city, so they didn't have to worry much about sacrifices.
The scale of the Order had grown incomparably from when it was first established.
Considering the new followers they would recruit from the city, they could expect an unprecedented rate of growth.
"Does it not please you? The fact that this vast city will gradually fill with followers of the Order."
"...I am sufficiently pleased."
"You are as stoic as ever, Apostle."
"I've always been this way. It can't be helped now."
Loan smiled back at Evan's attitude.
The Apostle before him had performed his duties beyond expectations.
He was truly a being worthy of the name, Apostle of God.
Moreover, despite his blunt demeanor, his faith was profound.
The disbeliever he had first met was long gone.
Now, he looked like someone who could be entrusted with any task without worry.
"By the way... lately, I feel His presence nearby."
That was why Loan decided to confide in him the concerns he had been pondering recently.
A subtle sensation had been tickling his heart for some time now.
He felt as if the grace of the great being he served was enveloping him.
It felt as though he and the great being were together, no matter where he was.
Hearing Loan's words, Evan replied as if he couldn't understand.
"You feel His power nearby?"
"Yes. Even without the dagger He gave me, I believe I could borrow a small miracle."
Evan, connected to the god in the heavens, seemed to contemplate Loan's words.
Loan quickly understood why he was hesitating.
Evan and the other Apostles were connected to the great being through Divine Artifacts.
It might be difficult for him to imagine using a miracle without a Divine Artifact.
"Are you certain you can use it without a Divine Artifact?"
"Not frequently, but perhaps once every two days would not be difficult."
"It seems a little different from an Apostle's power. Let's see it for ourselves."
At Loan's words, Evan took the stance that he needed to see it to believe it.
Loan nodded in agreement and extended his hand toward the space below the turret.
He felt a warm energy gathering in his outstretched hand.
It was a sensation similar to when he used magic with Ednor.
Sensing the energy gathering at his fingertips, Loan immediately began to offer a prayer to the sky.
"Oh, Great One. Judge the enemy with your brilliant light."
As the prayer continued, the energy gathered at Loan's fingertips grew in size.
The expanding mana reached its limit, and a tense sensation was transmitted to his fingertips.
At that moment, Loan fully unleashed the power he held in his hand.
As the radiance lingering at his fingertips burst forth, a clap of thunder echoed from the sky.
CRACKLE!
With a sharp roar, a single bolt of lightning struck the ground.
The lightning bolt Loan saw was not much different from the divine punishment he had witnessed before.
At the sight of the lightning Loan had summoned, Evan, who had been watching, spoke.
"This is..."
He had summoned lightning from his empty hand.
A miracle of God.
It was a sight worthy of such a name.
It appeared to be a phenomenon similar to the special miracles manifested by high-ranking clergy in the Holy Land.
Strong faith had created a connection with the divine.
At the magnificent sight, the eyes of both Evan and Loan were filled with astonishment.
"What do you think, Apostle?"
"It appears similar to the miracles used in the Holy Land."
"Is that so?"
"The method itself is a little different, but the important thing is that the result is similar."
A former Holy Knight had verified a divine miracle.
It was a situation where strong faith had once again been rewarded.
Perhaps it wasn't just Loan; other followers might also be able to use miracles.
At the sight of the miracle he had created with his own hands, an idea flashed through Loan's mind.
"If this is a miracle bestowed by Him, could it not serve as an indicator of the followers' faith?"
"An indicator?"
"He who can perform a stronger miracle must be the one who truly believes in and is devoted to the Great One."
If others besides Loan could perform miracles, their faith could be judged by the miracles they created.
In that case, couldn't they determine the rank of the followers by the miracles they performed?
To maintain the growing influence of the Order, a proportional number of administrators was needed.
Those who could wield powerful miracles could be trusted with important responsibilities within the Order.
Loan couldn't help but admire the brilliant idea that flashed through his mind.
"Isn't that a truly rational method?"
"Stronger faith brings forth stronger miracles..."
"It must be so. If another follower who can perform miracles appears, we will entrust him with greater responsibilities than others."
"I don't know if another will appear, but it's a decent idea."
Evan, leaning against the wall, agreed with Loan's idea.
If the followers could indeed call forth miracles as Loan said, it would be possible to assign roles similarly to how it was done in the Holy Land.
The Order would be reborn as a place that truly served and followed a god.
The entire organization could be restructured in a manner similar to the Holy Land.
Imagining the countless possibilities of the miracle he held in his hand, Loan's eyes filled with anticipation for the future to come.
"From now on, we must establish a ranking system for the followers based on the miracles they can perform."
Miracles.
It was the moment a new concept of power was established for the followers of the Order.