Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Pushover Goddess, Descent (2)
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The man was sobbing. He was despairing over his utterly hopeless reality.
"Farewell, my love! I'll let you go now, ugh!"
"...Can't you just hand it over already?"
"W-Wait a sec. J-Just a little more farewell..."
"It's already been over an hour..."
"Waaah!"
"......"
He was heartbroken.
If not for his dire financial situation, he never would have sold it.
He had cherished it so dearly, handling it with the utmost care to avoid even a speck of dust—and now that treasure was leaving his side.
"P-Please...! Take good care of my darling..."
"......"
"Well then..."
Watching the man leave like some tragic protagonist to the bitter end, Yuseong finally felt nausea rising, his expression twisting in disgust.
"What a load of bullshit... seriously."
Why the hell was he crying over a mere figurine?
Yuseong couldn't comprehend it at all.
Exhausted, Yuseong slumped down and handed what he'd acquired that day to Sylvia.
"Here, what I picked up this time."
"Hmm......"
"What do you think? Feel anything?"
"Ah! Faintly, yes! The owner must have been a devout believer."
"...Yeah, devout is one way to put it."
"Oh, I knew it."
"......"
There was no way he could say it was more like dating a doll.
Sylvia focused intently on the figurine, soon drawing out a faint light.
Woooong!
Threads like spun gold rose up, gradually gathering in her palm and forming a small sphere.
It was a minuscule amount—generous to call it a grain of sand—but others wouldn't grasp just how miraculous even that was.
A miracle achievable only through the Saintess's talent, said to be most beloved by the gods.
'It actually works?'
In a modern world without even a speck of mana, where gods' existence was dubious, she was producing divine power.
...Admittedly, in tiny quantities.
Sylvia placed the sand-grain-sized remnant of divinity into another figurine.
A Japanese import costing about 100,000 yen.
Over a million won in Korean currency, and according to Sylvia, the largest vessel available.
"Phew...! Now we're at about 0.3% complete."
"...That's it?"
"In a world devoid of divine power, this is creating a divine relic through a loophole. It's as good as a miracle—you should be thrilled."
"I see..."
Unable to hide his disappointment, Yuseong gave a half-hearted response and clicked his tongue.
He acknowledged it was ingenious, but still...
'It looks so pathetic...'
A grown woman playing with dolls was awkward enough, but watching her fiddle with adult figurines stirred an indescribable unease in Yuseong.
Idolatry.
For a simple example: a fan who doesn't just like an idol but worships them—a minor fanaticism common in daily life.
But cross into Midgard, and idolatry was a crime beyond imagining, like a cultural shock so profound it defied conversation.
The authority of the Five Goddesses was absolute—!
Nothing under heaven could challenge their authority. Worshipping any god besides the Five was heresy.
In short, idolatry was an unconditional crime.
A crime of crimes, punishable by life imprisonment or even execution—sometimes harsher than murder, decreed evil by the temples.
That was idolatry in Midgard.
But one question arises.
Why treat it as so dangerous?
No matter how they struggled, could it truly threaten the lofty goddesses' authority?
"It can."
The former Saintess stated definitively.
"A god's authority and power are defined by the number of believers. Of course, this doesn't apply to the Five Goddesses. But lesser gods are different. They gain divine power—one of a god's miracles—through faith. It may not rival the Five, but the temples judged it best to err on caution."
Inquisitors hunted these heretics ruthlessly, purging idolaters and deeming it a grave crime.
...Yet many viewed these purges as excessive. Dissent brewed within the temples too, but the top leaders refused to lighten penalties for idolatry.
Why persecute them so? Blind faith in the goddesses? Or was heresy truly sinful?
No. It was all lies and excuses.
"To 'steal' divine power."
Stealing the divinity from gods worshipped by heretics!
That was why the temple leaders branded idolatry a sin and eliminated it.
And what did they do with the stolen divinity? Save the poor lambs?
No.
The stolen divinity...
"Keeps the bishops eternally young. ...To prolong their filthy lives...!"
Parasites who should have died ages ago, clinging to power by plundering divinity!
That was the true nature of the temple's top brass.
Sylvia learned this only after her elevation to Pope, plunging her into despair and misery.
"...It's an act beyond contempt, piling endless sins. We bishops, myself included, won't rest even in death. We'll fall to the flaming hells of karmic fire, burning eternally."
Their sins ran that deep.
"...As Luke said."
Luke had declared: Midgard rots because of religion.
He was right. The goddesses bore no fault.
It was humans—claiming to follow while twisting teachings and committing wrongs.
"Once, the temple's doctrines were my everything. I saw all who broke its rules as heretics. But now I know how foolish and repulsive that was. Only in this wretched state did I grasp the obvious—fool that I am."
Sylvia mocked herself and the corrupt temple elite.
Her clear blue eyes clouded with dark shadows.
Hearing it all, Yuseong scoffed.
"You only figured that out now?"
"......"
"They say flowers in your hair blind you to the petals—guess it's true."
"......"
"Hey, you've always been crazy. Don't spout the obvious. Tell me how to exploit idolatry. Why go off on a tangent, damn it."
"......"
...She realized bitterly she'd chosen the wrong confidant for her emotions.
And so, presently.
'Long-winded, but it boils down to gathering fandom merch. Preferably humanoid.'
Sylvia's 30-minute explanation summarized to that.
First, divine power comes from believers' faith, so it exists here too. Evidence: even in games, it's detectable.
Second, creating relics is easy with divine power.
But it requires laborious work and suitable vessels—ideally human-shaped, crafted by skilled artisans.
Searching for such, they checked Buddhist or church items, but they didn't suit Io's vibe.
Major religions had auras too entrenched to touch easily.
Switching tack led to idol merch, narrowing to anime figurines as ideal.
Fortunately, they paid off. Popular characters yielded more divinity, especially beloved ones with purer energy.
Plus, endless supply with cash.
'Fandom stuff is kinda devout after all...'
Absurd, yet effective—dual feelings of bafflement and relief.
A common-sense breaker, perhaps...
'...Not one I'd choose.'
Yuseong hoped this nonsense ended soon.
"How far now?"
"Numerically... about 0.85%."
"That's it?"
"Do you think crafting relics is easy? This pace is impossibly fast. Normally it'd take 30+ years. I never dreamed this world had so many idols."
Vast quantities unimaginable in Midgard, where one idol meant heresy.
Yuseong envisioned endless fandom goods, a brilliant business idea sparking.
'If played right...'
Mass-produce relics?
Relics' key effects: healing ailments, ironclad vitality, mental/physical stability.
Prized by the rich and powerful—would sell for billions.
A goldmine.
"...You won't starve here."
"Pardon?"
"Useful. Why can't you take a compliment?"
"......"
...It sounded like an insult.
Yuseong oblivious to his own abrasiveness.
【Ah, now it should be possible!】
"Already?"
What did she even do?
"Hey, wasn't it only 3%?"
"Y-Yes, but..."
【Hehe, that's enough. Not perfect, but connectable. Let's test.】
True to her proactive nature, a thin golden thread rippled across the phone screen.
The fragile filament slowly linked to Sylvia's painstaking figurine.
1 minute... 5 minutes... an hour...
The clock ticked on, no reaction.
"...Failed?"
"No. It's..."
Sylvia denied.
To others, unchanged—but her eyes saw the turbulent waves within.
"Divinity... filling it."
As she spoke, golden divinity spread across the figurine's surface.
A plain figurine now glowed with sacred light—absurd yet strangely beautiful.
'Weird as hell, but damn pretty...'
Million-won quality with a halo now...
'No...! Am I insane!?'
Yuseong reeled, shocked at venerating a schoolgirl figurine like Venus.
As his mind frayed, Sylvia knelt in prayer.
'Mother...!'
Tears welled from nostalgic rays.
She regretted no cliff fall, no leaving home.
But one unbearable void: lacking her mother's touch.
Always cradled in Io's presence, its loss was indescribable despair—a gaping chest wound.
Not now.
Faint but real, her mother's warm touch.
Not fully embraced, but enough to live.
'I'll never let go...'
Faint life sparked in her shadowed eyes.