Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Prayers and Poverty
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"What……?"
Linea turned pale at the sight of Ares, who wore such an earnest expression.
"I told you all about it beforehand. That I'd come find you."
"When exactly……?"
"When you weren't around, Big Sister. To that red-haired knight. She said walking the path of the divine might be tough, but to keep at it."
'Ophelia……!'
Linea let out a small sigh before cautiously glancing to the side.
"And this person next to you is the one you mentioned before……?"
Standing there was a woman with long brown straight hair, strictly adhering to the Igugwoden Church's nun attire with its notably high side slits.
Even from afar, her Divine Power Pouch protruded so prominently that anyone could easily spot her as a nun.
She was a remarkably cute young woman with a faint mole near her lips that added to her charm.
"Pleased to meet you! I'm Karen! As you can see, I'm a nun who serves Lord Igugwoden!"
"Oh, hello……."
Was this nun named Karen actually real?
Her appearance matched exactly the woman Ares had insisted existed, time and again.
But…… whenever I'd gone looking after he asked me to check, there'd been no sign of anyone like her?
At that moment.
Noticing Linea's puzzled look, Ares spoke first, as if seizing the initiative.
"Sister Karen is a very special person, unlike ordinary nuns."
"Special?"
"Yeah. Sister Karen is…… Plain Fact itself, as embodied by Lord Igugwoden."
"……What?"
Unlike Linea, who wondered what nonsense this was, Karen bashfully scratched the back of her head and nodded shyly.
"Ehehe…… That's right. I'm Lord Igugwoden's Plain Fact. Our prince remembers me well."
"How could I forget, Sister?"
His eyes sparkled brighter and clearer than ever, like a pristine lake……
Linea got chills watching Ares spout words that only a fanatic zealot would utter.
"Ares, you…… don't tell me……!"
Did you…… meet Saintess Erin too?
Before she could even ask if the Saintess had shoved a 'Holy Scripture' at him and delivered Plain Fact,
"Sister."
Once again, Ares spoke before Linea could get a word out.
"Let me make this clear. I've never met the Saintess on my own."
"What……?"
"Even if I had, it would've just been talk about Sister Karen…… Like how you told me about Big Sister Yuria, she didn't use any scriptures or illusions or anything to do something to me."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really. Why would I lie to you, Big Sister?"
"Then why…… why say all this out of the blue? You said it yourself. If there's a god, it's not some entity like Lord Igugwoden—it's Saintess Erin—"
"Linea Sister."
At that moment.
Ares spoke in a voice more serious than ever before.
"Listen well. God…… Lord Igugwoden definitely exists."
"……!!"
"Lord Igugwoden, who clearly exists, cherishes us. And for us humans, that's an incredible stroke of luck. Got it?"
"Luck……?"
"He's continuously granting unmistakable miracles that anyone can see plainly. He's solving every problem with love. He asks nothing of us in return, just shares his love freely."
"Th-that's……."
"I'll be honest. The miracles on Mother and Big Sister Yuria might even be brainwashing disguised as miracles. But do you think they became evil after being brainwashed? Do you think it's made Yuria Sister and Mother unhappy? Do you think it's rooted evil in the world beyond them? Do you believe God's choices are fundamentally wrong?"
Linea couldn't answer…… but she could at least shake her head vigorously.
Far from becoming villains, they'd become an emperor and heir acknowledged by the nobles and loved by the people.
Especially the dramatic shift in how people viewed Eirene.
When she'd sent Linea here, it had only been about strengthening imperial authority, with a cold tone dismissing religion entirely: 'Use it as a touchstone to place the Church under the imperial family.'
Now, she wore a benevolent expression, spouting a somewhat hard-to-grasp reason like 'A ripe woman must be this way' while personally enacting policies for the people.
It went without saying that many retainers had been moved by her change.
Yes.
Even her mother, who had immersed herself in political strife and schemes, trusting no one.
Even her sister Yuria, who had viewed everyone with cynical disdain from above…… Linea could tell they now wore truly wonderful smiles.
If asked which was happier, clearly their current state was closer to the word 'happiness.'
"So, Big Sister, you should abandon wrong ideas like 'God doesn't exist.' If you foolishly defy God and he grows angry at his ungrateful creations despite his recent graces, abandoning humanity…… That might not be something a mere human like me could fix with clumsy reforms."
God abandoning us?
She'd said she wanted to learn about religion, but perhaps because she was inherently skeptical, she found herself voicing utterly irreverent thoughts that no true believer would dare utter.
"Anyway, Big Sister. You're Dish of Holy Knights, chosen by God himself. I reached the truth through his mercy and love, but if you think about it, you're far more loved by Lord Igugwoden than someone like me, since he directly selected you. So I believe you'll realize it soon enough."
"Ares……."
"You can forget what I said before. I just misjudged the situation. Even though he could have punished me plenty for it, he didn't…… So I think it's only right to learn his will now."
―Let me say it again: this isn't brainwashing or anything.
It's enlightenment.
"……."
It was frightening that Ares, of all people, affirmed God's existence so strongly—
But what truly confused Linea was realizing he seemed perfectly sane.
Unlike the complete transformations in her adoptive mother Eirene or her sister Yuria, his vibe was different.
And that fact felt even more terrifying.
Even without brainwashing, he could follow God more devotedly than her, who had accepted his choice willingly……?
"Well then, excuse us."
With that, Ares turned and entered the cathedral—
" You're the prince's sister, right?"
"Oh, yes. That's right, but……."
"No need to worry too much. It's all Lord Igugwoden's Plain Fact, after all. And you know this too, Linea. That God…… had a far easier way."
"!!"
A far easier way.
Like what he'd done to her sister and mother through Saintess Erin—directly injecting 'Plain Fact.'
"Why go to the trouble of this roundabout choice to deliver God's teachings to Ares when an easy path existed? I think a day will come when you, loved by Lord Igugwoden, understand. Well then……."
Lord Igugwoden's 'roundabout choice'……
God cherishes us.
If such a god were to grow wrathful……
Watching Karen and Ares's retreating figures, Linea repeated those words to herself over and over.
* * *
Some time had passed since the third proclamation.
As exchanges with the demons became increasingly commonplace, the major crisis of 'the Demon King's emergence' had somehow been averted by Lord Igugwoden's Plain Fact—
"I'm hungry……."
"Mother, just hold on three more days. Priests and Holy Knights from the Church will be here soon……."
Unfortunately, the root issue of poverty remained unsolved.
The Church was fervently conducting relief efforts periodically, reaching as wide an area and as many people as possible.
The Empress was innovatively cutting luxuries in step with the Church, slashing less essential budgets, and maximally reducing the heavy taxes and corvée on the people—
But the scars from the pandemic that had swept the continent before the Saintess appeared, and the aftereffects of disasters popping up everywhere, still lingered deeply.
On top of that, the brutal taxation they'd endured wasn't even that long ago, though things had improved.
With successive catastrophes, the harvest season—which required massive labor—would undoubtedly be harsher than usual.
Even though Eirene had come to her senses and begun benevolent rule…… coldly speaking, a mere few months couldn't solve it.
If she had stubbornly refused God's love until now, the situation might have been so dire that Ares could have achieved the 'reforms' he wanted.
In such circumstances, the people began praying to God for their wishes, one after another.
Prayers rising simultaneously from all over—
This was the greatest proof of how deeply the Igugwoden Church had permeated people's lives recently.
"God…… please. Save my mother, I beg you……! Anything is fine. Just…… spare her life……!"
"My child is far too young to go. Take my life instead. So please, grant my son Lord Igugwoden's Plain Fact……!"
They knew it probably wouldn't reach him.
Even priests who had studied the Igugwoden Church their whole lives couldn't commune with God, and even Saintess Erin couldn't converse with him at will—so how could the prayers of people like them, who had only just opened their eyes to the name Igugwoden, possibly reach?
But in this desperate situation, humans had nowhere else to turn but God—
Thus, they kept praying, over and over, pouring their hopes into it.
――Please, grant us God's Plain Fact……!
* * *
"Hmm……."
I slowly sipped my zero cola while rereading the comic once more.
It was great that religion was spreading and more people believed in me—
'But…… too many?'
Sure, I thought gods should love everyone equally. I'd even resolved to do so if possible.
But this was too much. Not just frequent faces like Erin or Eirene—'main characters'—but as religion spread through the world and positive results from my sponsorships became known everywhere, a lot of people had started praying to me.
A third party might think, 'They're just extras anyway, ignore them.'
That's probably what I would've done back when I first started reading this comic.
They were pitiful, but it was just a comic, and they weren't my type like Erin.
Still.
I couldn't just ignore the people's desperate prayers.
How could one who became a god turn a blind eye to the common folk's hardships?
[ Igugwoden: The situation's worse than I thought... ]
[ Donate Some Money: Sorry. ]
[ Donate Some Money: Recently, the number of people praying to the god has exploded... I had to observe. ]
[ Igugwoden: Nah lol, good job. ]
[ Igugwoden: It's the daily lives of people in Empress Eirene's nation—I need to know how they're faring. ]
[ Igugwoden: Even if you hadn't shown me, I'd have asked first. ]
Helping isn't hard.
Same as with Erin. Clean water or oily, tasty food—1,000 won makes it appear.
For the dying sick, as long as they don't croak, a few thousand won saves them, like the kids at Luca Orphanage.
At 1,000-won units, it barely dents my wallet.
But.
That wasn't the problem.
For one or two, sure—but if I keep handing out one-off 'miracles,' I'd inevitably hit a point I can't handle.
Not only would 'miracle inflation' occur, but those I couldn't tend to might feel deprived.
Indiscriminately dumping sponsorships without solving the root issue could backfire on everyone.
You might say I'm overthinking a mere comic, but I was serious.
'Let me check.'
I scrolled up to survey the people's lives.
Circumstances varied, but especially striking were those starving because successive disasters and plagues had prevented proper farming.
Even if they farmed now, the barren soil offered no hope.
'The biggest issue is the food shortage.'
Solve that first, then.
It'd take time, so no quick fix for the short term, but for long-term self-sufficiency without relief――
[ Igugwoden: Alright, first things first. ]
[ Igugwoden: Let's try fertilizer. ]
――Nitrogen Fertilizer.
Time to boost this world's total food production.