The capital of the Canaan domain adjacent to Capernaum, and the Second City of the Nova Empire, Paradise.
A meeting of cardinals presided over by the Pope at the Pope’s office of the Baal sect.
“So, we will now cease support for this flood. Cardinals with objections, please raise your hands.”
Only the Pope of the Baal sect and the high-ranking cardinals leading each archdiocese sat in the room.
Despite reigning like kings in their respective archdioceses, the cardinals maintained silence like loyal hounds in response to the Pope’s words.
“Very well. This resolves the decision on flood support. Now, let me explain why I urgently summoned you here.”
gulp
Normally, cardinal meetings occur every three years or so. Since the leaders of archdioceses scattered across the continent must gather in one place, they are not held frequently.
Yet, unusually, this meeting was held just six months after the last one. They rushed to the papacy using the cardinal-only warp gate in response to the Pope’s call.
During the previous Pope’s emergency call, a shocking proposal was made to unite with the prince and overthrow the current emperor, making it the most scandalous matter in the history of the sect. The cardinals waited, tense with anticipation, for the Pope’s next words.
“As some of you may have heard on the way here, two days ago, a person claiming to be the Son of God appeared in the city of Capernaum, in the Capernaum domain. The god he mentioned is Deus.”
whisper, whisper
As soon as the name Deus was mentioned, the cardinals began to chatter among themselves, and the meeting hall quickly grew noisy.
“Silence!”
With a single word from the Pope, the meeting hall fell silent.
“If it had simply ended there, it would not have been a problem. There have always been fraudsters claiming to be the children of gods. Although it’s the first time someone claimed to be the Son of Deus, we should consider it a new cult just born recently. We had decided on a response to the Deus sect in the previous meeting, so we intended to avoid dealing with anything related to Deus… but an incident has occurred that we can’t just let slide.”
The Pope paused momentarily, as if collecting his thoughts, then continued.
“It appears that the one who claimed to be Deus’s Son activated a ‘Resurrection’ throughout Capernaum. I’m not sure if we can even call it a ‘Resurrection.'”
“…Excuse me? Your Holiness, what does that mean exactly…?”
“A ‘Resurrection’ is the ultimate divine power only You can wield! How can a mere human of the Deus sect use it?”
“‘Resurrection’ across the whole city?”
The cardinals, previously muted by fear, found themselves involuntarily speaking up one by one.
As if they couldn’t believe the Pope’s statement.
“‘Resurrection.’ The strongest miracle that can only be used by those blessed directly by Lord Baal after inheriting the papal position. Its power can heal any injury or disease, as long as the person is still alive. It could be called the supreme healing miracle. Even if one is constantly blessed by Lord Baal, they can only use ‘Resurrection’ once a month. Moreover, it can only be applied to one person at a time.”
As the Pope spoke, the meeting hall fell silent once more.
“Yet, according to the report, that person used that power. For now, I shall call it ‘Area Resurrection.’ ‘Area Resurrection’ did not just cover one person but enveloped all onlookers around and, even further, the entire city.”
“Your Holiness, if the range is that broad, wouldn’t it be closer to ‘Recovery’ rather than ‘Resurrection’?”
“‘Recovery’ huh… An ‘Area Recovery’ covering the whole city could also be an astonishing divine power. However, there’s a reason he called it ‘Resurrection.’ According to reports from bishops, priests, and paladins at the scene, scars from over five years healed, severed arms regenerated, closed pores opened up, and hair grew back. This report has been cross-verified with witnesses outside of the sect present at the scene. Regenerating arms is one thing, but regenerating pores? I believe only ‘Resurrection’ can achieve such feats.”
“Then…”
“And that’s why I summoned you urgently. Everyone in the city witnessed that miracle. It happened here, in the land of Baal, the Nova Empire!”
thud
The Pope raised his voice and slammed his fist on the table.
“How could I create the current emperor and make this empire the holy land of Baal…! Some unheard-of person is trying to shake it all now. Just recently, there was a ruckus in Orias, and now it’s Capernaum. And Deus.”
“But Your Holiness, even if it involves the entire city, it’s just a small provincial city called Capernaum. They’re just the poor. It’s hard to believe they could have a significant impact…”
“Fool!”
Grrr
As the Pope stomped in anger, vines sprouted from beneath the cardinal who had asked the question, piercing through his hands and pinning him to the wall.
“Provincial? Poor? The important thing is that there are now large numbers of people shaking within this Nova Empire! Once faith is shaken in even a single person, who knows how far this crack will spread! Therefore, we must completely seal this crack before it spreads beyond Capernaum.”
“I-I’m sorry, Your Holiness! It was an indiscretion!”
thud
“Ugh…”
The vines vanished as the pinned cardinal fell to the ground.
“I will ‘purify’ Capernaum.”
“Y-your Holiness! Are you saying to purify the entire city…?”
“Your Holiness! Doing that would provoke the emperor!”
“Other sects might raise issues with that as well…!”
“Silence. Of course, we can’t just ‘purify’ for no reason. Trying to seal a crack might create an even greater one. Thus, we need justification.”
“Justification?”
“Indeed, a plausible justification…”
“There are simply too many witnesses. If we were to ‘purify’ under these circumstances, it might backfire!”
“Don’t worry. The plan is already in place. Regarding the suppression of the riot occurring in Orias, it’s in the works. You all know about the guidance I issued recently concerning the Deus Spirit incident in Orias, but let me reiterate.”
“In Orias…”
“A person claiming to be an apostle of Deus has recently appeared in Orias, forming a group by bestowing miracles upon the poor. Since Orias is not just a provincial city but the capital of the Nova Empire, this could have escalated into a serious issue. However, the emperor labeled it a rebellion, and he will soon sweep away the poor in Orias. Thus, those subversive elements in Orias will be erased from historical records, marked as rebels. The incident in Capernaum might not easily be classified as rebellion, but we can tie it together. After all, it’s linked to Deus, so dealing with it should be simple.”
“But Your Holiness, if the Calandra Empire’s Deus sect gets wind of this, they might turn against us.”
“There’s no need to worry about that. The prophet of Capernaum will go down in history as a false rebel claiming to be the Son of Deus. Now, let me explain the plan. First, Cardinal Pharisee will head to Capernaum…”
Three days after performing a ‘miracle’ throughout Capernaum.
“Thank you, Teacher! Thanks to you, my back has completely healed. I truly appreciate it!”
I’ve been receiving thanks from the people of the city for three days now.
Those who witnessed me performing miracles were only the crowd who were present, but as they spread the word throughout the city and everyone learned the truth about the miracle worker, people from all over Capernaum came to find me.
Of course, since I’m staying at an inn, the number of people who can come inside is limited, so many people have been waiting in line to see me.
The front of the inn was so packed with waiting people that the innkeeper was unable to run a proper business, but thanks to the ‘miracle,’ he said he would dedicate the inn to me.
During my time as a mercenary, no matter what I did, I couldn’t get my hair back, but now it seems like I have returned. Well, good things are good things.
There’s a reason I’m taking the time to receive thanks from all these extras, even though I have no interest and don’t need to know about them.
It’s because of my original purpose for coming to this city.
I came to recruit her as my companion, but…
The problem is I don’t know what she looks like at this moment, nor where she is.
If she was in this city, she would have been affected by my ‘miracle,’ so I thought she might come to me.
So as I greet each person who comes to the inn to thank me, I check for her…
Three days in, and I’m getting tired.
I might just leave for the next destination, companions or not.
Still, that girl’s abilities are a waste to just leave behind.
“Next, please come in.”
As the last person finished thanking me and left, Simon called in the next person.
Simon has become a fervent follower of mine after being shocked by the ‘miracle.’
It seems he now thinks I’m not just a dragon but genuinely the Son of God.
None of them are completely correct, which is quite funny.
whisper, whisper
Suddenly, there’s a commotion outside.
What’s going on?
Who is making such a ruckus by coming in?
creak
The door opened, and a woman with striking purple hair and an intellectual aura entered.
“It is an honor to meet you, Son of Deus.”
Could it be? Is she finally here?
“I am nothing special, but I work as the tax collector for this city, Levi.”
She has arrived. Levi.
The original reason I came to this city.
Tax Collector Levi.
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