“Great one, where are you headed?”
Three hours had passed since Simon and Iako decided to follow me.
When I assured them that I would take care of food and lodging, they continued to walk alongside me.
“Don’t address me like that from now on.”
“…Huh?”
“From now on, I will be seeking those who will follow me. If you call me that in front of them, it will seem odd. So henceforth, address me as Teacher. Do you understand?”
“Ah! I’m sorry! I didn’t think of that! Understood, Teacher.”
I never even pretended to be a dragon. How did it come to this?
Well, it’s just a clone anyway.
It wouldn’t be so bad to adventure with that concept.
My goal is to gather strength and allies to face ‘Chaos.’ Sounds good.
“Teacher, where are we headed now?”
“We shall head to the Gavanum territory.”
“…What? G-Gavanum? But that’s!”
“It belongs to the Nova Empire. I know you and Iako are hesitant about entering the Nova Empire. But fear not. As long as you are with me, you will all be safe.”
“…I trust you, Teacher. I was wrong to distrust you.”
Sorry to Simon and Iako, but most of the allies I will gather are in the Nova Empire.
I’ve made them return to a nightmare of a place.
But now that they are following me, I will protect them at any cost.
The tyrant emperor of the Nova Empire, Dominic Nova.
The nemesis of Lydia and the one who caused great suffering to many characters of the Nova Empire, including Simon and Iako.
One day, I plan to take care of him.
I’m still not strong enough, but I will eventually normalize the Nova Empire.
But for now, my priority is to gather allies.
The main body is at the academy. The clone is in the Nova Empire.
Actually, I never intended to head toward the Nova Empire initially.
I meant to find out who dared to lay a hand on our Dia and then rush there to take action.
But I ended up hearing it from Lydia.
The ‘person’ Dia spoke of…
I never imagined that the patron who gave Dia “Huphnis” would be Lydia.
Dia referred to ‘that person’, and I naturally assumed it would be some hairy uncle trying to help Dia like a benefactor…
Lydia replied that the faith-driven and talented common children receive various support from the church level.
It has only been ten years since the church was established, but thanks to Lydia’s exceptional abilities, it became the dominant religion in the Calandra Empire.
Christos churches spread throughout the nation, and many common children grown up receiving the church’s aid.
Other religions that previously existed on the continent did not provide anything for the needy.
To compare, it’s like the Greek or Roman temples before Christianity appeared on Earth.
They provided prophecies here, while those temples provided oracles back then.
Anyway, unlike existing religions, the Christos churches provided food and healing to the weak. Without any cost.
All the church members wanted was just faith in Deus.
Thanks to Lydia’s ‘Gift’, she could secure assets from the main nobility in the empire.
Regardless, many commoners began to believe in Deus, and Dia also started believing in Deus.
After Dia’s mother, who was bedridden with a severe illness and awaiting death due to lack of money, was healed by the church, Dia became a devout believer of Deus.
Even though Dia aimed for the academy due to her amazing combat skills in [Deus Ex Machina], here, under the influence of her faith in Deus, she aspired to join the church and become a Holy Knight.
Thus, Dia volunteered to become a Holy Knight and underwent training, but her outstanding combat abilities garnered much attention, even reaching Lydia.
Initially, the church provided support for kids with deep faith and great abilities, and since Dia possessed significant faith and her combat skills were already top-notch, Lydia decided to support her directly.
Dia didn’t even know who Lydia was since communication was through anonymous support, but with her aid, Dia grew, passed the first exam at the academy, and qualified for the second exam, the final exam.
Impressed by her abilities and faith, Lydia sent Dia ‘Huphnis’.
With Lydia’s support, the church’s education, and the powerful artifact ‘Huphnis’ suited for Dia, she gained strength far beyond the initial Dia in [Deus Ex Machina], ultimately succeeding in enrolling as the top student (commoner) at the academy.
It’s utterly ridiculous.
Who would have thought that Lydia was supporting Dia?
Well, at least it wasn’t some weirdo trying to take Dia away. …Wait? Does that mean I was jealous of Lydia?
But according to Lydia, Dia’s faith was sincere, so ‘that person’ could either be Lydia or Deus.
Either way, it’s quite amusing.
*
The Next Day.
While walking and chatting with Sunny after listening to the orientation for new classes, I ran into Dia and Amy.
“Luke? Hey, Dia, don’t you have something to say to Luke?”
Amy nudged Dia forward with her shoulder.
“Ugh… Ah, hi Luke?”
“Hey, Dia. Are you feeling a bit better? Sorry, I left before you woke up yesterday; I had something urgent to deal with.”
I was just so focused on catching the thief! If it weren’t for that, I could have at least waited around in the nurse’s office until Dia woke up and tried to make a good impression!
“Oh, no! You don’t need to apologize! Rather, I’m thankful. I heard you brought me to the nurse’s office after I fainted during the spar… Thank you, Luke. And I’m fine! Completely okay!”
“Is that so? Glad to hear.”
She can’t possibly be anything but fine.
The effect of the artifact I used to incapacitate Dia was simply to knock her unconscious.
There shouldn’t be any injuries. I even cushioned her fall so she wouldn’t get hurt.
“Luke was super cool yesterday, right? He caught Dia as she was fainting, swooped her up like a princess, and unilaterally notified Professor Magnus before taking her to the nurse’s office! He’s totally a fairy tale prince! After all, before, he even said, ‘I can’t just stand by’! Kyahhh! I’m so jealous, Dia!”
“Ugh! Stop it, Amy!”
“Ugh!”
“Ack.”
As Amy fussed around and poked Dia, Dia’s face turned red as she whacked Amy on the back.
It’s pretty embarrassing to have lost in an instant during the spar, then being supported by that opponent to the treatment room… This could be incredibly humiliating for Dia. I got so caught up by the phrase ‘that person’ yesterday that I completely overlooked this thought.
Um… by the way, Dia seems to have pretty high stats… Is Amy okay with that?
Well, she’s a commoner who made it into at least the Alpha class, so she should be fine?
“Luke. Playboy.”
Sunny, who was watching the scene, murmured quietly.
Huh? I didn’t do anything!
*
The capital of the Nova Empire, Orias.
Imperial Palace, Emperor’s Great Hall.
The throne prepared for the top figure of the grand empire.
It was once the symbol of a wise and frugal emperor but had transformed into a seat of excess and decadence after his child usurped the throne.
The usurper adorned in lavish clothes and jewelry was lounging back on one side of the throne’s armrest.
“Holy Spirit, you say?”
“Yes! A large group in the slums has received the fire of the Holy Spirit and gained unique abilities!”
“Interesting. So, the slum dwellers are supportive of this?”
“Yes! If this group grows any larger, chaos may ensue in this city! Perhaps we should intervene quickly…”
“Let it be.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said, let it be.”
“Ah… But if we do that, an uncontrollable situation might arise…”
“That’s fine. After all, I was planning to burn down the impoverished populace that mars the city’s appearance anyway.”
“…Um… Well…”
“The damn old fool used to say that the emperor should look after the poor and supported them in various ways, but I’m different. I won’t act weak like that old man. So, General?”
“…Yes? Oh, yes! Your Majesty!”
“Let the slum dwellers do whatever they wish. If a large-scale riot breaks out, wipe them all out. Understood?”
“Understood, Your Majesty! Everything is as Your Majesty wishes!”
Creak
Thud
“Holy Spirit… Heh. I look forward to that day.”
Left alone in the Great Hall, the usurper emperor Dominic grinned wickedly.
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