Brothers and sisters! Today, I want to share some words about the holy scripture.
The holy scripture. Another way to say it is [what anyone living on the continent should read].
It is the ‘word’ that Deus has bestowed upon this land.
The scripture is composed of dozens of books, but it can be broadly divided into two sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament deals with the stories before Deus descended upon this land as a living god.
The New Testament addresses the events after Deus descended in the form of our Lord Luke, the Holy Son.
The Old Testament consists of 39 books, while the New Testament has 27. In total, there are 66 books.
However, the authors of the 39 books in the Old Testament are unknown. Not a single one.
We can only speculate that Deus appeared in human form.
But the authors of the New Testament are all known.
The seven apostles who wrote the seven great gospels that grace the beginning of the New Testament.
And what follows are the letters of the apostles and prophetic books discussing the end times.
What’s certain is that the New Testament is entirely written by ‘humans.’
No matter how humanly written it is, it’s clear that it was penned under Deus’s guidance.
Thus, we could also call this Deus’s word.
However, long ago, there were those who rejected this truth—heretics.
They accepted only the Old Testament as Deus’s word, dismissing the New Testament as mere human nonsense.
They were none other than Dwarfs and Dark Elves.
They argued that the only true word of Deus, the one and only God in this world, was being misinterpreted and distorted by humans, and they began to refute the contents of the New Testament.
These heretics then coined a term based on the ancient Celestial word ‘slam’ (meaning ‘believers’) to refer to themselves.
And thus, they called themselves ‘Islam’.
AD 829, during Wednesday worship at the 2nd branch of the Deus Church, Orias,
*
“Master, it’s Sheryl.”
“Yeah, Sheryl, what is it?”
“I’m here to assist you with your bath.”
Oh, the bath service.
I had mostly adjusted to Luke’s life in various areas.
But there were a few things I hadn’t fully adapted to yet, and one of those was the bath service.
Despite living as a noble for over ten years, I was still not used to showing my naked body to women.
“It’s alright, Sheryl. I’ll take a bath by myself, so you don’t have to help.”
Click
As I finished my sentence, the doorknob began to turn.
And then the door opened, and Sheryl entered the bathroom.
“…Sheryl? Didn’t I tell you not to come in?”
“Please forgive my rudeness, Master.”
Sheryl entered the bathroom and knelt before me.
“……My lord, my savior.”
!!!!
……What?
Lord? Savior?
“What do you mean by that, Sheryl?”
A chill ran down my spine.
Had my identity as the author of [what anyone living on the continent should read] been discovered?
If that’s the case, why did this maid approach me?
An assassination?
I heard that there had been conflicts between the Deus Church and other religions recently. Could it be related to that?!
Or is she just a follower of the Deus Church?
Did they send someone to approach their savior, who they believe is me?
If that’s the case, calling me savior makes sense.
“Oh, I’m sorry, my lord. I spoke too hastily without providing a proper explanation. I apologize.”
“……Alright, Sheryl. Can you explain?”
Fortunately, Sheryl didn’t show any hostile demeanor towards me.
So perhaps it’s not an assassination. It might be something sent by Lydia.
But I can’t completely rule out the possibility that this is some deception tactic, so I remained alert and prepared to counterattack at any moment while waiting for her to speak.
“Yes. I am Io from the first branch of Christos Calandra. Under the orders of Scala, I infiltrated the Academy to serve you.”
Scala, huh.
That refers to Lydia Hubris, who currently heads the center of Christos, that is, the Deus Church.
Lydia still uses the alias Scala.
The only ones who know her real name, Lydia, are me and Io.
Speaking of which.
“Scala. So Scala ordered you to come?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Scala. So Lydia sent someone to attend to me?
No way.
That doesn’t make sense.
I sent her a letter before heading to the Academy.
I instructed her not to get involved with the Academy until I gave her command.
Lydia’s deceptive ‘gift’ has created such synergy with the religion that it twisted the world of [Deus Ex Machina] into something unrecognizable.
In this situation, the knowledge I had as a reincarnate has almost become meaningless.
Thus, I thought of minimizing variables by ensuring Lydia wouldn’t get involved with the Academy.
Of course, I added the condition that I would need her help later, attaching the phrase ‘until I give you orders.’
Therefore, it’s odd that Lydia would send someone to infiltrate as a maid to assist me.
No matter how excessive Lydia’s loyalty might be, she wouldn’t break my orders to do such a thing.
Then… who are you really?
“Sheryl.”
“Yes, my lord?”
“I hate lies. Reveal your true identity.”
If that’s the case, who would need to deceive me by pretending to have been sent by Lydia to approach me?
A real assassin sent by another religious group?
“……You. You’re not someone easy to deal with, are you? Was there any part of what I said that raised suspicion?”
Her smile froze instantly.
A chilling change in expression.
“No, not at all. If it weren’t me, no one would have suspected a thing.”
Her appearance wasn’t disguised with magic or artifacts. That means this is her true form.
But there’s no one like this in my memories.
That would mean she either is a character not appearing in [Deus Ex Machina] or a minor character I can’t recall…
Wait a minute. Could it be?
“Then where did you begin to suspect me?”
“I started to suspect when you brought up Lydia.”
“Lydia, my sister? Why would… ah?”
Sheryl, who had been questioning me without a thought, suddenly stopped talking in surprise.
“Right. So that’s how it was. Io.”
Io Hubris.
Lydia’s only family, her younger sister.
A fallen noble from the Orias Empire, her identity had been completely hidden by Lydia.
In [Deus Ex Machina], she died years before the story began, so she never appeared in the game.
Maybe as a silhouette in a flashback cutscene of Lydia?
So I had no idea what she looked like, but it really was Io.
Since the only ones who know Lydia’s real name are me and Io, the fact that she referred to Lydia as ‘sister’ unconsciously is…
“How did you know I was Io?”
“Um… Lydia told me.”
“No. That can’t be. I came here secretly without telling my sister.”
Wait, you mean you came without telling your sister? Sneaking away from Lydia, who dotes on her?
If Lydia finds out, she’ll throw a fit!
“That’s fine. I left a letter for my sister. …She probably won’t worry too much.”
Perhaps the silence before that was…
You know as well as I do that even if you left a letter, once Lydia finds out the truth, she won’t just sit still.
I need to contact Lydia quickly once I’m done bathing.
“Right. What’s the reason you came to find me without even informing Lydia?”
“Answer my question first. Then I will tell you.”
“…Fine. The moment you introduced yourself as a maid sent by Lydia is when I started to figure out your identity.”
“……Why did that give you a hint?”
“Lydia wouldn’t do that. And if there are those who heed Lydia’s orders, they would know that excuse wouldn’t work on me. Most importantly, there’s no way Lydia would disclose my identity to her subordinates. The only exception would be… you, Io.”
All the subordinates of Lydia and the followers of the church unknowingly became targets of Lydia’s ‘gift.’
That’s why the Deus Church could grow rapidly and also why everyone is under Lydia’s control.
On the other hand, there was someone who shared information with Lydia but who didn’t receive her ‘gift’—her sister, Io.
“…Is that so? I thought it was the best excuse, but it turned out to be a clue that revealed my identity instead.”
“Now it’s my turn. Why did you go so far as to infiltrate the Academy to meet me?”
Io, who had been slightly bowing her head and hesitating, finally opened her mouth.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.