<515 – Proof of Faith>
“Ah! I forgot to feed the kids! What to do? I can’t ask General Galik for supplies, so I guess I’ll just have to loot a house!”
“Hand it over!! Hand over the supplies right now!!”
“The kids ran from far away and they say their legs hurt! What should I do? I can’t borrow a pack mule, so I’ll just have to loot a house!”
“Hand it over!! Hand over the pack mule right now!!”
The glory-seeking General Galik Fried Chicken could spin tales of heroism on the battlefield, but his survival instincts were as bloated as his greed.
His retainers were even seriously contemplating if they should just take Galik’s life and go back!
“Kkyung… Kkyuung…”
Thud thud thud thud.
Of course, the retainers’ heroic aspirations were cut short when they saw the hungry Glowing Dinosaur drooling over them like a rainstorm.
None of them wanted to end up like a pitiful snack to kill time!
“Anyway, we don’t even have to step in. The Empire is vast. Someone will surely stop them for us.”
“That’s right! The famous Sinchang is in the Fried Chicken Family.”
“Yeah, and there are the other Three Great Meritorious Families too.”
The retainers of General Galik were filled with thoughts of staging a daring escape under the excuse of supporting a surprise attack when the external attack began.
Contrary to their ambitious plans, not a single legion dared to block their way as they advanced another 200 km towards the capital.
“So the Galik General tried to unite nearby legions to stop us but got utterly smashed, huh?”
“I heard he didn’t even get to swing a spear before he fell pitifully.”
“The Heir of the Foundation awakened the secret of Dark Mana and obliterated the mental state and spirit of Galik General. The presence of the Glowing Dinosaur, Galik’s horses, supplies, training instructors, and secretaries together is proof of that.”
The evidence was so overwhelming that anyone could be sure he fell to Dark Corruption!
“Pathetic Galik has undoubtedly joined the coup♡ Treasonous criminal♡ Treasonous legion commander♡ There’s no escaping the fate of hanging at the guillotine♡”
“Ugh… Why do I have to suffer such a miserable fate? What did I do to deserve this?”
“You stood in our way by siding with the pathetic Crown Prince~? You brought this on yourself. Hehehe.”
As they eagerly moved with the legion, an airship appeared above, cutting through the clouds.
What started as a single airship grew to over ten floating in the sky.
“Ugh~ High-level forces are gathering in the airships. Even my pathetic older brother finally woke up. Next time, we really won’t be able to avoid combat♡ Generals who don’t want to be humiliated like General Galik will have to set up a negotiation table!”
“That’ll be tricky! We merely got a carriage; why are they tormenting us for no reason? The Empire is just plain evil!”
“Hehe. Isn’t it because pathetic Oknodie is too scary? Just look at how big the Glowing Dinosaur is.”
“The Glowing Dinosaur is a giant Titosso! It was raised in a closed room to show its shining body and can’t even walk with its eyes open during the day. Why would anyone be scared of that?”
Princess Masugaki couldn’t stop giggling.
Ah, such joy.
When was the last time I felt this way?
Back in the palace, my older brother’s petty annoyances were always aggravating.
Seeing him desperately responding like a child made me feel so relieved.
“Pathetic Oknodie~ Why didn’t you eat chicken yesterday?”
“Because I need to eat all the specially designated food in order so that my resistance level maxes out! The Cockatrice meat isn’t on the order yet!”
“You know a lot about this. Hehe. That’s a reward for making me happy. I’ll specially praise you♡”
However, it seemed my older brother was a bit more than just annoyed.
From the horizon where the airships gathered, clouds rushed forward like waves.
Boom boom.
With the heavy wind came a shift in the mana pressure.
How many layers of reverse field were opening simultaneously that the sky began to shine in brilliant colors?
[Affiliation: Transcendent God, God of Justice Immanuel]
[Apostle of the Faithful Church]
[Unique Domain Expansion - Transcendent Domain]
[Affiliation: God of Harmony, Belzebub of Patience]
[Pope of the Church of Fullness of Dish]
[Unique Domain Expansion - Harmony Domain]
[Affiliation: God of Thunder, Matheus the Radiant]
[Pope of the Thunderbolt Celestial Divine Church]
[Unique Domain Expansion - Radiant Domain]
The glow of the twelve gods’ popes filled the airships and dazzled the horizon far in the sky.
“Wow! Titosso has tripled?!”
“Is Titosso on par with the apostles? That little brat from Kanelle City has made a name for himself♡”
Unlike our calmness, the expressions of Eungchilgeom and Reap turned ashen as if they’d just seen a ghost.
“Three hero-class beings have popped out. They’re going to be quite burdensome even at full strength.”
“It has come to this. I expected it, but it still stings.”
“A storm of divine power approaches, Miss. Plant your feet firmly on the ground and make sure to expand the domain!”
Reap placed a hand on my shoulder, and just as he hurriedly expanded the domain, the faith-filled domain that filled the sky began to descend toward the ground.
It was a majestic sight, reminiscent of a meteor shower or a sea of divine power pouring down!
But here’s the thing.
The Holy Central Empire promotes the one true god, Sofemia of the Sun, as its state religion.
In a place like that, what’s the point of calling in popes who serve mere twelve lesser gods?
I knew the answer.
“The Sofemia Church has gone on an expedition!”
That’s right.
A clearly premature invasion compared to the scheduled event.
The collaboration of an ordinary first-year academy student and the Empire’s Second Princess!
Sending a clumsy attack squad and failing to mobilize all the power equivalent to Eungchilgeom was a blunder.
All of this led to a tremendous opportunity thanks to a stroke of luck.
The empire is currently a vacant house.
The Sofemia Church hasn’t appeared in the capital.
There are no Elite Underlings attached to the Crown Prince.
They’re all conducting other events.
Four allied legions in the southern region.
Four allied legions in the inland region.
By breaking through a total of eight legions, an opportunity arises.
Originally, the Southern Sacred City-State Federation would have to raise its allied forces to initiate a large-scale war event [Alliance and Division] for a proper invasion to take place.
The result is three popes summoned at a considerable price by the Empire and the Sacred Area.
In other words, if we can get past that, the path to the regime is wide open.
“Glowing, it’s time to pay your dues!”
“Kkyuung…?”
Unable to overcome his fear, the Glowing Dinosaur peeked its head out from between the round neck it had curled like a mosquito coil.
I placed my hand on the Glowing Dinosaur’s body and activated the magic circle I’d inscribed during our movement.
[Magic Circle – Life Summoning Technique]
[Medium: Starts physical drain after 100% mana depletion]
The enormous body of the Glowing Dinosaur began to provide power to the magic circle in a way it hadn’t even known how to control.
Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, the Glowing Dinosaur tried to thrash about, but the magic circle also contained the spell [Immobility].
Moving during the process will render it useless!
“Hmmm~~ good! I’ve decided on you as the first target!”
The extracted energy shot out, aiming first at the domain of the Thunderbolt Celestial Divine Church.
The hastily protruding domain misaligned with the rhythms of the other domains and was filled with a high curse [Divine Punishment] that strikes down all beings who do not prove their faith to the God of Thunder through [Prayer Technique].
Here’s the fun part: the prayer technique requires performing acts that satisfy the God of Thunder.
━━━
[How to gain faith in the Thunderbolt Celestial Divine Church]
1. Do anything faster than anyone else.
2. Release a large amount of stress.
3. Don’t hold back on anything.
━━━
Swift release.
In other words, rapid launch.
Indeed, Matheus the Radiant is the God of Rapid Launch.
The reason why the nuns of the Thunderbolt Celestial Divine Church, first-year academy student Nise, wear heavy chainmail and deal with the discomfort of hot summers and cold winters is also related.
By releasing stress, they gain faith, so they subject themselves to a lifestyle that imposes stress!
But that’s only because the nuns lack the know-how of acquiring faith; they build a general stress profile.
A veteran makes others suffer instead of themselves!
“Kkyyaaa!”
The Glowing Dinosaur wailed mournfully as the mana was drained.
The colossal Glowing Dinosaur let out a heartbreaking stress cry that made the Radiant Domain poised to unleash divine punishment come to a stunned halt.
“How foolish of you, Dark Princess of the Foundation. Even if you torment that pitiful magical beast, will you be able to surpass the stress endured by the Pope, who possesses great power, and has refrained from evil deeds?”
“That thing is a Pope?!”
Masugaki would be the one to express disbelief, but it was true that the stress the Pope had endured and the output of the domain they unleashed together was extraordinary.
One born of evil wishes for goodness, practicing restraint, earning the favor of the benevolent God, Matheus, was something to be expected!
“Hmph, don’t make me laugh. The stress our Glowing Dinosaur has faced is much more pure and pitiable than your desires!”
But there’s a saying that quality trumps quantity, and if you add a little eloquence to your expression of faith, you can score extra points!
“Our Glowing Dinosaur is 1800 months old, but it’s seen light for the very first time since birth! And after following its rescuer like a mother, imagine how shocking the betrayal must feel! It’s the kind of shock that crumbles worlds! The Pope’s 1800 months of patience cannot possibly outweigh the shock of being betrayed at the moment when the Glowing Dinosaur’s patience should be rewarded!”
Was my enthusiastic rhetoric impactful?
[That is true.]
From somewhere, a majestic voice echoed, and the Radiant Domain suddenly reversed direction, colliding with another Sacred Domain.
Hehe.
Did I do well?
As I hoped for a compliment and turned around, neither Eungchilgeom nor Reap could meet my eye and looked away.
“…For the Princess’s future, shouldn’t we kill this child right here?”
“Hiscf Cliff, your argument is generally not worth hearing, but I have to agree this time.”
“You academy brats, if a toxic gas spreads within the academy, think of it as my doing…”
Sniff. I guess I’m still not getting enough compliments.
I must offer up other monsters as sacrifices!
“Pathetic Oknodie. Aren’t you going to be called into the Thunderbolt Celestial Divine Church? Using sacred power freely♡”
“It’s fine! My faith is proven by the Glowing Dinosaur, so it has nothing to do with me!”
“Oh, right♡ Pfft pfft. Pathetic minor gods♡ Use your faith as a Dark Princess and get played with♡”
It seems that only Masugaki understands my heart.
From today on, we’re BFFs!
