“Goddess, do you know what your words today truly mean?”
The Q&A session was temporarily halted due to a collapsed theologian, and it was in that gap that Priest Turner approached me with a somewhat troubled expression.
“…I just said it as it is?”
Upon hearing my response, Priest Turner gently rubbed the back of his neck.
“Goddess, if all your power comes from the believers, then the priests who borrow your power are essentially using the strength of the believers. This means that everything we thought we understood about the mechanism of this power is completely shattered.”
“Ah…”
…Now I think I understand why that old man collapsed and had to be taken away. Given his age, he must have been researching in the theological field for quite a long time, and he surely had a pretty high reputation as a scholar. If a single word from my mouth shattered his lifetime of research, I’d probably collapse too.
It would be shocking enough to have to start all over, but thinking about the fact that he had been proposing theories and drawing conclusions based on ‘incorrect’ research up until now… it would be more than just my reputation at stake; he’d be kicking the blankets with embarrassment every night before sleep.
“Uh, Goddess. Was there any intention behind what you said today to possibly lower your own status a little…?”
As Turner asked this, I involuntarily flinched my shoulders.
Uh… I can’t say there was no such intention.
Even with everything about me being exposed by now, there are still some things I wish to keep hidden. For example, my life before I came to this world. Of course, I never intended to reveal this, even after death. Ariel and Baal would probably feel the same way. Well, perhaps after spending hundreds of years in the Temple of Gods, I might get to meet my family again, and naturally, those facts could get revealed to others, but during my time in this world, I wanted to remain hidden.
And it’s crucial that the fact that Ariel referred to me as the ‘Creator’ remains a secret as well.
I have doubts about whether I truly made this world myself, so it’s quite… no, it feels really unsettling that the people of this world believe something I can’t even accept as the complete truth.
“…I had no such intention.”
Yet, while saying that, I couldn’t look Turner in the eye. But when I tried to look away, I was confronted by Aurora and Linea, who were watching me intently with earnest eyes, making me even more uncomfortable.
“That’s a relief. If you had spoken with such an intention, the story you shared wouldn’t quite align with it.”
“…Huh?”
“Goddess.”
At my questioning, Turner responded in an extremely calm voice.
“Wouldn’t it be rather odd to think that someone’s faith would dwindle when they are directly witnessing someone who can defeat all sorts of demons and beasts, who has descended to the world in mortal form to correct the misunderstandings of the people, and drive out evildoers?”
“…”
“Moreover, isn’t it only natural to think of you as divine when one sees the radiant halo of light behind your head and the glow emanating from your face? …Ah.”
Then suddenly, as if recalling something, Turner continued, “By the way, Goddess, may I ask about the reason you used your powers yesterday?”
“That is…”
I seriously contemplated whether I should explain how I nearly ascended forcibly because of the overwhelming faith of the people, which had turned the Temple of Gods into a shimmering mirage before my eyes.
The conclusion came quickly: proclaiming this to others carries inherent risks.
Just the day before, I almost couldn’t handle it and would have ascended uncontrollably; if their faith deepens here, it might happen that I would ascend in my sleep without realizing it. Today, the worship portion being canceled only made the Temple of Gods flicker before my eyes, but worship can certainly be held anywhere, not just in this cathedral.
With a cathedral being constructed in my name, and my identity as a goddess being officially recognized by the church, sects that serve me will surely emerge. Naturally, somewhere in this vast country, there will always be someone praying to me.
Even if ascending to join Ariel and Baal someday is an inevitability, I still have matters that require my attention here, and I don’t want to leave just yet.
However, I also don’t need to keep everything secret. At least those children who were present when I spoke deserved to understand the situation to some degree, and even Turner, who is standing here, knows well that I faced gods yesterday along with other children.
“…I can tell you about that reason, but could you treat it as a secret only for the church’s highest hierarchy?”
Upon hearing my question, Turner’s eyes widened slightly.
“Is it that important?”
“Yes, it’s crucial enough to affect my current life.”
“Then I will ensure that it remains a strict secret.”
While I haven’t known him for very long, I trusted he wouldn’t go blabbing around to others. …Not because I trust him directly, but because I have a sense of trust by proxy from Aurora.
“Um, as I continued to receive the faith of the people and thus absorbed power as a goddess, I began to see the Temple of Gods before my eyes.”
“…By ‘Temple of Gods,’ you mean the place where the gods reside, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. And, while of course this was just my instinct at the time, I thought that if I stayed that way, I might ascend into the Temple. So, I released my power to prevent that… and that’s how this situation came about.”
“…”
After hearing my words, Turner stood there with his mouth slightly open, gazing at me before saying,
“So, are you saying that unless you release the power from the faith that comes to you each day, you won’t be able to stay here?”
“Yes.”
At my words, Turner’s expression turned grave instantly. Hm, his serious expression made the situation feel doubly serious. He had always seems rather relaxed when we met.
“Then does that mean you need to converse with the gods every day?”
“No, it wouldn’t be necessary.”
The situation back then arose because I simply released my power uncontrolled. There might be other ways to utilize that power—or at the very least, ways to control it…
Ah.
Suddenly, an idea flitted through my mind.
Among the people here, no one noticed the change in my expression. My face was still radiating light.
…Well, I could use this as a sort of poker face in a certain sense.
*
After that, the Q&A session led by Turner significantly shortened. He began skipping over questions with the justification of “I’ll omit similar inquiries,” and the theologians did express some resistance to his flipping through the stack of questions, but it was hard to argue with him when he asked, “Are we going to waste the Goddess’s time with pointless questions?”
In fact, many of those questions were trivial, asking about my daily life, so he wasn’t stating anything wrong. And I also had to go to school the next day.
Even this shortened Q&A session lasted until it was already dark outside. The theologians seemed to have mentally prepared to pull an all-nighter. Well, if I were a theologian and heard that I could see the goddess with my own eyes, I would definitely consider staying up all night to witness her. After all, it’s a big deal for a believer to meet their deity.
“Aurora, Linea.”
Finally returning to the convent after finishing the Q&A, I turned first to the two who seemed bursting with words to say.
“If you have any questions for me today, I’ll answer them all, so could you give me a moment? I can’t keep conversing like this.”
Even though I hadn’t even turned on the lights in the room yet, the light emanating from my face had already brightened the whole place. Having a conversation with them facing this illuminated face was akin to shining an LED light on their faces.
“Are you planning to release your power here?”
Aurora asked, her eyes wide in surprise, to which I shook my head.
“No, I actually want to try something out first.”
At my response, Aurora looked puzzled for a moment, but eventually nodded. Linea also seemed unconcerned about pressuring me, so I immediately pursued my idea.
First, I approached my bed. Then I knelt beside it and placed my elbows on the bed while clasping my hands together.
“Ah.”
Aurora gasped quietly from behind. Yeah, I get it. There’s no reason for a goddess to adopt such a posture. After all, there’s no reason the one being prayed to should take the posture of one who prays. That would hold true only if I needed the powers of Ariel or Baal.
In that sense, my idea could be seen as a kind of reverse approach. Of course, only trying it would reveal whether it would actually work.
“Hmm….”
But once I got into position, I found myself pondering what I should actually pray about. Well, it’s unnecessary to voice thoughts out loud. Though there are prayer texts in this world, those are just guides meant to express reverence towards the gods. What’s required to utilize the holy power or perform miracles isn’t pomp and circumstance, but simply a pure faith towards the gods. If I were accustomed to it, I wouldn’t even need to recite a prayer and could focus easily on faith alone.
I recalled the times I invoked the powers of Ariel or Baal. I needed a similar sense of focus to what I had when I performed miracles using their strengths.
Though, in this case, my objects of faith weren’t Baal and Ariel.
I closed my eyes and concentrated my thoughts.
And I thought of ‘the people.’
I can’t possibly know all the people in this world. Even if I carefully observed every passing face, I couldn’t remember them all, and not everyone could be deemed ‘the people of the world’. Thus, the ‘people’ that came to my mind were a rather vague concept.
However, even without knowing their faces, one could feel the presence of those gods, right? I felt the same way.
From this day forth, I will have faith in those who have faith in me.
Faith is not a one-way street.
If I have more than enough power that I can’t handle, it wouldn’t be curses for me to share some of it with others.
I gripped my hands tightly and prayed for those who have prayed for me.
*
The word miracle is surprisingly an easy one to come by. Even without its religious connotation, people use the term ‘miracle’ when discussing positive events that seemed quite unlikely. For example, when a poor person suddenly wins a life-changing lottery or a terminal patient awaiting death recovers “miraculously.”
In fact, the term miracle existed long before people began to believe in Ariel, Baal, or even Clara. There had always been religion, and people prayed to gods, uncertain of their existence, out of desperation.
It was only natural for people to use the word miracle for events that had a very low probability of occurring. Even the most devout believer never expected a prayer would lead to such happenings. Some might attach the term miracle to everyday events as an attempt to rationalize, but that usually fell short of persuading those without faith.
Thus, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable for people to think events where gods descended or priests wielded divine power to achieve what “ordinarily shouldn’t happen” were miracles. With more individuals began utilizing such powers, distinguishing between ‘miracles’ and ‘holy power’ became a natural evolution.
In conclusion, the term miracle thus encompasses two meanings: one representing acts accomplished through divine power, and the other denoting a positive occurrence born from a very low probability.
So, what kind of miracle occurred that night in the 21st District?
No one would refer to that night as just another ordinary night. A saint who hadn’t appeared for 50 years manifesting three times, two of them being the earthly apostles of gods, and one being a demon inspired by that god. The day before, everyone had witnessed the miracle of the god with their own eyes, and within the church, they had officially started referring to Clara Anderson as the Goddess.
While the Central Church had remained taciturn about the events of the previous day, public anticipation had already skyrocketed. Students studying in the academy alongside the goddess had already testified to witnessing the celestial light pouring from the goddess’s face.
That night wasn’t an ordinary night. It would be more accurate to describe it as the moment when individuals, still resonating from the miracle, tossed and turned in their sleep, eagerly awaiting the church’s official announcement.
On that night, a dazzling light enveloped the center of the 21st District.
The radiance that began at St. Loyola Old Cathedral gradually spread, gently embracing every part of the central area of the 21st District.
The wonderously pure white light shone with an almost self-generating hue, ignoring all obstructions in sight, gracefully passing through vehicles and buildings.
And what took place?
A single priest could heal a dying person through their unwavering faith. Most wounds from battles, barring severed limbs, could be treated using holy water prepared by priests. Their holy powers even sparked claims that medical advancements had regressed due to their interventions.
One knight wielding a holy sword could slice through numerous demons and beasts using divine strength. In the same way, sacred projectiles blessed by priests could achieve the same.
Of course, not many priests could perform such feats. It meant that only those with profound faith could wield this power effectively.
Thus, people often characterized the strength of the deeply faithful priests as ‘the maximum power achievable by such a deeply faithful person.’
What then, would such faith, when demonstrated by hundreds, thousands, or potentially tens of thousands of believers, amount to in minimum power?
When the faith of those deeply devoted intertwined, what miraculous feats could they achieve?
Perhaps even the goddess wielding that power would not truly know the answer.
*
“…”
“…”
After I actualized that idea, I sat on the bed, wearing a rather satisfied expression, while Aurora and Linea stared at me intently.
“…What’s wrong with you two?”
Even though I was delighted with the result, being looked at like that made me feel like I had done something wrong. They looked like they were at a loss for words regarding what I had done.
No, that might actually be the case.
“What just happened? Could it be that you did the same thing as yesterday?”
Aurora asked earnestly, to which I shook my head.
“I merely released my power in every direction yesterday.”
“…Isn’t it the same today?”
Linea then asked me. Well, since the power was released in all directions again, it wasn’t unusual for her to think that way.
“Yesterday, I released my power without any thought, so it only affected a very narrow area.”
That created an event that shouldn’t ordinarily be possible. It was effectively like having a video call with another dimension.
“But today is different. If I could send power by having faith in the people, then can’t I also send power back by believing in the people? So, my power would have spread much wider than yesterday, but the impact on each individual should be far less.”
“…”
“…”
Aurora and Linea were silent for a moment.
Then, Aurora finally asked, “Clara, do you know there’s a huge clinic at the center of the 21st District?”
“Uh… right?”
As I questioned back, not grasping the intention behind the question, I noticed Aurora suppressing a frustrated sigh.
“Holy power is effective on traumas, but it’s not a panacea for all diseases, is it? Naturally, the clinic has various serious patients receiving continuous treatment…”
Oh.
Only after hearing that did I correctly unravel the essence of Aurora’s query.
“Then isn’t that a good thing? That power must have positively impacted their health.”
“Clara,” Linea chimed in as she listened.
“There isn’t only that one clinic around here, you know?”
In that case, wouldn’t it be even better?
I tilted my head in confusion, prompting both Linea and Aurora to exhale deeply in frustration.
If that’s the case, why not explain a bit more clearly?
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