In the capital of the Nova Empire, Orias, at the same time…
In a square located in a slum on the outskirts of the city, dozens of people had gathered.
Amidst the crowd, Paulah in her maid outfit and her companion Barnabas were standing.
Paulah was conversing with a woman in front of her.
“Um, if the Holy Spirit truly comes, can I be cleansed too?”
“Indeed. His sacred flame washes away all sins and wickedness. I too have denied Deus, but through the Holy Spirit, I have been reborn by the flame.”
“Holy Spirit? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Washing away sins? There’s no god who would cleanse dirty prostitutes like us.”
“Looks like the maid got abandoned by her master and lost her mind.”
The onlookers regarded Paulah as a lunatic. She heard their comments but didn’t react.
“Anyone who repents for their wrongs and dwells in Deus will receive the Holy Spirit.”
“I will repent! So grant me the flame of the Holy Spirit!”
The prostitute knelt and pleaded.
“The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not given by me. Everything flows according to the will of Lord Deus.”
“Yeah, right. She’s just saying that because it’s all lies.”
“A sacred spirit? There’s no way that exists.”
“Have you ever seen a religious person genuinely help someone? No way.”
“Exactly. If those words were true, she would’ve shown it here. If that woman showed something right in front of my eyes, I’d drop everything and follow that maid.”
At that moment…
A small dimensional portal opened above the head of the kneeling prostitute, and a flame shaped like a tongue erupted forth.
“Hmm?”
“Am I seeing things?”
The prostitute felt the gazes of those around her and looked up.
What she saw was something igniting in the air.
“…Holy Spirit?”
Swish!
The moment she realized the presence of the flame, her body was engulfed in it.
“Oh my! Her, her body’s on fire!”
“What, what do we do?! She’s going to die!”
“Water! Bring water!”
However, despite being engulfed in flames, she felt no heat at all.
She experienced a comfort that felt as if the flames were cleansing her.
As if this fire was purifying her.
The flames completely burned away the clothes of the harlot.
And then, the fire took shape and became a garment that wrapped around her body.
“Clothes?”
“It turned into clothes….”
“It looks like robes worn by priests.”
The woman, who had closed her eyes to feel the sanctity of the flames, opened her eyes and looked at Paulah.
“Apostle! I have received the Holy Spirit too!”
Is this the baptism of the Holy Spirit? I too have been reborn through such a process.
This was the first time Paulah had witnessed someone else’s baptism.
Though she was internally astonished, she did not show it and answered the woman who had received the baptism.
“Indeed. You too have received His choice. Welcome, sister.”
“It was real!”
“Deus… even a lowly life like ours is observed by the Savior.”
“I will also repent!”
“Me too!”
“O Apostle of Deus!”
As more people witnessed the Holy Spirit and began to repent, a massive tongue of fire descended from the heavens to split and enter among those who knelt to repent.
And other members of the slum who saw the baptized ones joined in as well.
On that day, Orias received three pillars of fire.
…
In the shape of a tiny girl, yet possessing the essence of decades-old Archmage, Chancellor Wackfa.
“Sigh. Almost had to build the school again like last time.”
Professor Cronia suddenly fainted and revealed herself.
No matter how weak Cronia’s actual body might be, she would have taken precautions.
Only Wackfa had the ability to easily neutralize her.
“Still, if such a thing happened, I doubt the Emperor will say anything.”
The Emperor? Why did that come up suddenly?
Surely, it’s an emergency that someone like the Chancellor has to step in when someone of Cronia’s caliber is rampaging.
Wait? This could attract a lot of attention to me?
The tempestuous newcomer that caused the Chancellor to personally intervene!
Ah… I was planning to handle it later, but this is too early…
“Um… student? A newcomer, right?”
Ah, this isn’t the time to be doing this.
-Salamander. I’m sorry. Please go in for a bit. I’ll call you back later.
-Okay! Got it!
I quickly dismissed the Salamander.
The Chancellor was a transcendent being beyond the walls.
Even if she couldn’t see the spirits, she might sense their existence.
If it were anyone else, they might think I used magic or an artifact when they saw flames around me, but the Chancellor is a bit dangerous.
“Ah….”
As I dismissed the Salamander, the Chancellor let out a disappointed voice.
Disappointed? What’s there to be disappointed about? Could she have noticed the existence of the Salamander? That can’t happen.
“…Ahem. Student? What happened? Why is Professor Cronia rampaging like that?”
The Chancellor cleared her throat and approached me to ask.
“Well, that’s a long story…”
“No, no, that’s not the point. We need to go to the Chancellor’s office. There are too many eyes around.”
“Excuse me?”
“What did I just see? That guy completely melted Professor Cronia’s golem.”
“Indeed, it must be Pulsreino. I heard Seiren Pulsreino also overpowered Professor Cronia’s golem.”
“Still, how is it possible for a newcomer to possess such strength…?”
Ah, right. I was in a duel during class.
I had been doing this amid so many newcomers.
Looking around, I saw the academy students gazing wide-eyed at me and the Chancellor.
Ah, I guess the act of pretending to be weak has flown out the window.
…Let’s think positively. I might be popular later during practical exercises.
Actually, this might be a good thing. It might become easier to approach them later.
“Academy newcomers! An unfortunate incident has occurred. Therefore, this class is suspended temporarily, and I ask you all to exit.”
With a voice amplification spell, she addressed everyone in the classroom.
“…And you. You come with me.”
Snap!
With a snap of her fingers, a small temporary warp gate appeared before us.
I looked back at the Chancellor.
“Go in. It’s a door to the Chancellor’s office.”
Even at such a close distance, she created a warp gate like this.
Is this what an Archmage can do?
…
“Hmmm… so that happened, huh?”
“Yes. Honestly, I feel wronged. I just did as I was told. Professor Cronia called me out, then asked me to duel. Sure, I might’ve provoked her a bit in between, but I didn’t expect her to get that angry. In the first place, she started it, so I thought that was how we did things.”
It’s a completely pathetic excuse… but right now, I don’t want to attract the Chancellor’s interest that much.
Of all people, the Chancellor is part of Christos, huh…
I’m just an ordinary student, and I need to make it seem like Professor Cronia exploded because of Seiren.
If she finds out that I’m a being Lydia serves and that I’m not actually a god, it will be disastrous.
Of all things, being an Archmage makes it even more likely she could figure out I’m not a god.
“…It certainly makes sense. Professor Cronia has had conflicts with your sister, Seiren. It’s logical for her to easily lose her temper with you.”
Right?
I’m the one who’s wronged!
“However, I do have a question.”
Huh?
“That would mean you have the ability to completely burn away the golems that Professor Cronia handles. Is that correct?”
Oh no. I spoke too truthfully.
But I can’t hide that. I melted that golem in front of all those students. I can’t deceive them.
“Well, um…”
What should I say?
She’s an Archmage. I can’t fake my way out of this with firepower.
Should I just spill the truth about the spirits?
I might be able to tell one person about the spirits.
No! The Chancellor could announce the existence of the spirits, and if she doesn’t, she might tell Lydia later. What would Lydia think of me then?
That I can’t even start a fire by myself and need a spirit to do it? No way that makes me a god.
If Lydia discovers that I’ve deceived her, who knows what she might do to me!
That’s it. The Chancellor cannot know about the spirits.
…Should I just say the spirit is an angel sent by Deus? After all, no one knows about the existence of spirits.
But then that would make the only spirit user on this continent a problem.
Suddenly…
As I was deep in thought, the Chancellor rose from her seat.
The Chancellor, who was short-limbed, floated in front of me.
Then she placed both hands on my shoulders.
“Luke, student. Tell me the truth. Have you received the Holy Spirit from Deus?”
“…Huh?”
What? The Holy Spirit?
What the heck is this about the Holy Spirit all of a sudden?
What is this woman talking about?
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