Fortunately, the other Saintesses reacted very positively to my decision.
“Certainly, if people who had no acquaintance with us create a sect decades later, its meaning could be distorted. It would be better for the Goddess herself to lay the foundation directly so that future generations can follow easily.”
Linea said that with a serious expression.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t respond with something like, “No, I was just thinking of leaving it to others.” Linea was someone who took responsibility very seriously.
“It doesn’t make sense for a Goddess to come down and not have a sect!”
Ariel said with a bright smile.
Because of that, I couldn’t say something like, “No, I just want to gather people to control my power instead.” It wouldn’t be responsible to say such things in front of a Saintess who sincerely follows the Goddess.
“Oh, really? Then the intense interest the Central Church had in me will fade! Good thinking!”
Rina said, just as bright as Ariel.
“No, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Of course, I said that to Rina without hesitation.
“Even though I am the only Goddess who has come down here, I don’t think I’ll be treated better than Ariel, who has been a consistent object of faith for the last 500 years, or Baal, who was just discovered and has a strong impact.”
“So, you’re saying that a Goddess who had no followers came down among people who weren’t particularly faith-driven, did her best to repel Demons and Monsters, directly shared her power with people, and even founded a sect to spread that power more efficiently will receive less interest than other Gods? Wow, that’s quite an optimistic view we have here. Our Goddess.”
“…….”
After getting hit with that fact, I had no choice but to tightly shut my mouth to avoid losing to Rina.
“Well, if you want to think that way, then go ahead. Anyway, it won’t do me any harm. Receiving half the interest instead of a third feels less burdensome.”
It’s true that no matter how much interest is focused on one God, the Central Church can’t afford to care about just one God. I don’t think Ariel and Baal would particularly care about such things, but the mindset of Gods and the mindset of believers don’t always align.
So, since I said I would create a sect myself, it was undoubtedly a great thing from Rina’s perspective. It was strange that a Demon would want to reject power coming to themselves, but that’s just how Rina was made. In fact, if I think about the influence my setting had on this world, I was undoubtedly the major contributor to Rina’s personality.
……Okay, in every sense, it’s my fault, my defeat.
Of course, I didn’t want to declare that out loud, so I just sulked in silence.
*
Regardless of whether this situation was bad for relieving my power or exceptionally good for Rina, it was clear that it was something necessary right now. If not, I’d really get shot back to the Temple of Gods without even realizing it. Unless a method for manifesting this power suddenly popped into my head, I had no other option.
That said, I didn’t need to rush anyone.
Because people were automatically moving without me pushing them.
“……Pope?”
That’s right. The head of the Church…. well, it had lost a lot of its shine now, but still, the Pope, who practically sat at the top of the church in practical terms, personally showed up at St. Loyola Old Cathedral where I was.
I came back from school and found an old priest waiting for me, and upon closer inspection, it was actually the Pope. And of course, he wasn’t wearing the fancy robes of a Pope but just the same kind of priestly attire as the other priests. If someone who was particularly uninterested in the Church saw him, they probably wouldn’t recognize him as the Pope.
“I am honored to see you, Goddess.”
Seeing the Pope naturally kneel while saying that made me realize quickly, so I rushed over to him.
“Uh, there’s no need to do that….”
“How could I, how could I dare to stand before you, Goddess? The one who sat as the head of the believers failed to recognize your divine grace. Please forgive my grievous sin of daring to gaze upon you directly.”
No, no, no.
Sir, didn’t you act normally at the canonization ceremony not too long ago? By then, it was already pretty much confirmed that I was a Goddess.
……But then, things at that time and now were quite different.
While there had indeed been a halo behind my head back then, it was just the light from the veil I accidentally released while excessively pouring out Ariel’s divine power when meeting esteemed government officials, and it wasn’t ‘my’ power.
But now, regardless of my will, my face was releasing a bright light, and it was emitting my symbolic color, a pure white light, generously. If my previous appearance was a concealed version of a Goddess’s divinity, my current appearance was unmistakably that of a Goddess. Not in the beautiful sense, but in the overly divine sense.
“Your Holiness, it would actually be discourteous to excessively apologize now that the Goddess has said that.”
Ariel, who was standing next to me, smoothly spoke up in response to my awkwardness before the kneeling Pope.
“Indeed. If one is following ‘the will of the God,’ then making the Goddess uncomfortable with unnecessary formalities could be considered irreverent.”
Then Linea chimed in as well.
……How strange. Did I say anything that saintly when I was a Saintess?
“Ah, um…”
With a face full of emotion, the Pope raised his upper body. However, he still remained on his knees. I wondered how he could still be okay sitting on the cold stone floor at his age. Perhaps he had forgotten the pain of his joints with his religious fervor.
Well, if I were a devout religious person, meeting both the Goddess and a Saintess at the same time, and hearing such words… uh, I can’t really imagine that. After all, even my awareness of being a Goddess is rather faint… so I guess I can’t understand.
“Thank you for your grace.”
The Pope said, bringing his hands together and closing his eyes. It almost looked like he was praying.
I held back a sigh, quietly walked over to him, and took his arm to help him up. Fortunately, I was well-trained, so helping an old man wasn’t too hard.
“Goddess.”
“You don’t need to refuse my kindness.”
I stopped the Pope from trying to pull away. Linea held the arm on the opposite side of the Pope. It was clear that the cold stone floor was taking a toll on the already elderly Pope, especially since he had been kneeling on it on such a cold stone floor as winter was approaching. The Pope was slightly limping.
“Is your health okay?”
He looked worse than when I last saw him. If things went poorly, he might retire before I graduate and need care. And if that causes a vacancy in the Papacy…
…..
Well, at that time, I’d have to argue that it would be a bit strange for a Goddess to sit in the Pope’s seat.
Anyway, I genuinely hoped that the current Pope would stay in his position for a long time. And for that, he would need to maintain his health.
“Yes, of course. Rather, I am grateful for the duties I have been entrusted with. The past few months have been among the most precious days of my life.”
That’s a relief, but… is he not working so hard that he isn’t sleeping because it’s too precious?
“Um, aren’t there supposed to be attendants with you? It would be odd coming this far without any, even if we were meeting in the 1st District.”
“As a humble believer meeting the Goddess, I can’t bring numerous others just because I am the Pope.”
Hearing that, I almost slapped my forehead, but I somehow managed to hold onto my sanity.
Goodness, how noble it must seem from the viewpoint of the Goddess. Of course, there would have been plenty of attendants when he came this far. He must have taken a plane here. There would have been attendants along the way too. But he probably waited alone at the cathedral. He might have even come to the cathedral alone.
If Father Nguyen heard that, he would be in shock and horror.
“……Those attendants must all be faithful believers of the Church, right?”
As we walked towards the reception room, I asked, and the Pope nodded.
“Indeed. Everyone working at the Church is a believer.”
“Then, they must certainly have wished to meet the Goddess. I won’t disregard such feelings. Next time you come, don’t think it will be a burden on me to bring attendants.”
“Ah, Goddess…”
The Pope’s voice trembled, seemingly moved by my kindness. And my intention was indeed just that. Of course, the true purpose was much more practical.
……If an elderly person wanders around without even an attendant, and collapses, it would be impossible to deal with. I’d prefer that he stay in his position as long as possible and do everything he can to manage the church’s internal affairs. At least among the current priests, he’s the most qualified. He has met and spoken with me several times. Honestly, I think he’s on a whole different level than average theologians.
Someone of his caliber should surely be mentioned in the Bible and textbooks, right?
Actually, if we look at it that way, the kids sitting around me in the Academy wouldn’t be out of place as apostles either.
“I understand. From now on, I will certainly do so, so we can share the honor of witnessing the Goddess’s light with others.”
……That feels decidedly burdensome, but what can I do? If not, this old man would be treating me as if I were repaying some penance every time he came to meet me.
Still, the reception room was located near the entrance of the cathedral. Since the time I returned from the Academy was managed carefully by the cathedral, all the many people who would have been in the daytime had already left.
“Whoa!”
Of course, that doesn’t mean there was ‘no one’ there. With so many people coming and going, the floor was likely to end up covered with footprints, dirt, and sand, and some inconsiderate humans may even throw trash. Of course, it wouldn’t happen often given this was the cathedral where the true Goddess resides, but in every world, there are those who only think of themselves.
That’s why this time was normally when the nuns would come out to clean, but now, ever since I had become the Goddess, even more nuns had come out to clean diligently.
……Ordinarily, I should have been among them too.
The nuns who were praying behind me when Ariel and Linea awoke as Saintesses were precisely those girls. So a considerable part of the voices I had heard at that time came from them.
Considering that, it’s needless to say what kind of reactions they’d have when we tried to do some work.
Even the youngest nuns typically knew the Pope’s face, so if the Pope entered among the young nuns along with a Saintess and a Goddess glowing brightly, it would be natural for them to be astonished. Plus, we had no attendants accompanying us.
One of the younger nuns gasped, and the others immediately stood up, bowing respectfully as they looked at us.
……They could just keep doing their jobs.
Well, I could understand it, as it was typical for the young nuns to act that way when confronted with people of high status in the Church. Especially since, after the glow began coming from my face, the way the nuns treated me was only slightly less reverent than the way the Pope treated me.
It was hard to adjust to being treated like that by so many people. I hurriedly walked alongside the Pope into the reception room, trying to hide my embarrassment.
*
Once inside the reception room, I took a moment to gather myself, forced the overly grateful Pope into a seat, and then pulled out some cookies from the cupboard. Linea and Ariel quickly prepared tea and cups.
“You really didn’t have to go this far…”
The Pope began to speak, seemingly overwhelmed, but upon seeing my steady gaze, he soon fell silent.
With the guest preparations completed, I could finally ask the Pope the reason for his visit.
“May I ask why you came all the way here?”
“Yes, Goddess.”
The Pope slightly inclined his head and cleared his throat softly.
“I heard that you are planning to establish a sect under your wing.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I answered, internally sighing in relief. It was fortunate it wasn’t for some other reason. Still, it was within the scope of my expectations.
“Do you see the light emanating from my face?”
When I asked that, the Pope nodded. Somehow, his eyes glistened, making me feel a bit pressured. Is the light too dazzling?
“It’s a truly beautiful sight….”
……But that ‘sight’ shouldn’t be visible?
I swallowed that interjection and tried to maintain my composure as I continued.
“It’s quite unfortunate, but this power has limitations when held in this world. If I continue to hold onto it without using it, it’s likely that my body in this realm won’t be able to endure it.”
I’m unsure how forced ascension happens. There probably haven’t been any cases, so neither Ariel nor Baal would know for certain. But I feel I understand that even this body created by two Gods won’t be able to handle such overwhelming power, especially when the Temple of Gods flickers before my eyes.
“I have been trying to exhaust my power as much as possible over the past few days for that very reason. If no measures are taken, I might return to the side of the other Gods without even realizing it.”
Moreover, I couldn’t guarantee that I could come back here with a physical body again after awakening the true divine power. Most likely, due to the same reason that prevented the two Gods from returning, it would be highly unlikely that I could come back.
“Is establishing a sect related to that reason?”
The Pope asked politely, still not touching his teacup. …Does he think eating in front of me is improper etiquette?
“Yes, it is. I want to stay here for as long as possible.”
“I see…”
The Pope gazed at me with an expression as if seeing something dazzling.
I might be a bit dazzling. In the physical sense.
“I may ask how establishing a sect can aid you in remaining in this world?”
“Of course.”
I had anticipated that he would ask this.
“You’re aware that divine power is a refined version of a God’s strength, correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“The more firmly the people believe in me, the stronger the divine power I possess as a God becomes. Moreover, unless I use that strength, it will continue to accumulate within me. Of course, I can reduce that burden by using my power directly, but that would be far too inefficient since I can only be in one place at a time.”
I lifted the teacup and took a small sip before continuing.
“Therefore, I plan to raise those among my believers who can use divine power. The more people who use my strength, the less I will bear the burden of accumulated power.”
“……And seeing those clergy using that power, your believers will likely increase. Among them, new clergy will emerge, and if that positive cycle continues, it will certainly be a benefit for the Church as well.”
Indeed, given that he had been working in this field for decades, he quickly grasped what I wanted and organized it neatly.
“Yes, exactly. That’s why I believe that the immediate priority is to establish a sect.”
“We are grateful for that. We will proceed with the work immediately. Do you have any plans in mind, Goddess?”
“Of course.”
I nodded.
“I think it would be more efficient to place existing church factions under my command than to create believers from scratch. What do you think?”
“Do you perhaps have any specific factions in mind?”
Standing with an attitude similar to a grandfather buying a toy for his granddaughter, the Pope’s demeanor made me smile brightly.
*
“……No, Your Holiness…?”
Father Turner, with his jaw dropped as if dislocated, stared blankly at the Pope, who suddenly appeared before him in a daze.
“Indeed, is that what you think? Excellent.”
“Right?”
I stood beside the Pope, smiling at Father Turner.
Of course, Father Turner didn’t look too pleased.
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