The World I Was Supporting Was Real - Chapter 56



56. The Inevitable Has Arrived

* * *

The ‘divine power’ to do anything.

Changing the world, twisting fate, even saving souls—it was truly the ability to do anything that was the divine power.

It didn’t know how power was treated in the realm of the great gods, but here, if you had divine power, there was nothing you couldn’t do.

That’s why—

That very moment, when ‘divine power’ was pouring in madly, unexpectedly.

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And—

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The very moment it was proven how a god could become a god.

Besides this, the more high-value sponsorships continued, the more fragments of godlike power were bound to remain…

Naturally.

Naturally, for ‘beings that live off power’ who were bound to be subservient to a god’s existence, perfectly controlling and absorbing all of a god’s power was close to impossible.

The uncontrolled power, having escaped their domain, naturally affected every nook and cranny of the world at large.

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Considering that even a tiny bit of a god’s power could change everything, this was a great blessing – or, something that the created beings could scarcely endure.

As a result.

“――!!!!”

Influenced by the ‘god’s power’ that had leaked out in this way little by little…

A being that had been sealed for a long time, finally awoke from its long slumber and opened its eyes.

* * *

— *Crunch-crunch-crunch!*

“Mmm…!!”

Just like always, it was a knight’s plate of breakfast time.

Lately, filling that time was a sound so crisp it made your appetite soar just from hearing it.

To the point where the fact that it had been chicken for days straight didn’t bother you in the slightest!

“This is seriously so delicious…!!”

Luca ate the chicken, eyes sparkling.

A very primitive method, using her hands to pick it up instead of proper utensils.

But – hadn’t Saintess Erin decreed, hasn’t God Himself ordained, that this food was to be eaten this way?

It seemed that Luca wasn’t the only one who was taken with the chicken.

Ophelia too – or rather, the rabbit perched atop Ophelia’s head, was also stuffing its mouth full, rolling the chicken around inside.

*Degu-degu-degu-degu*, it chewed and rolled for a good while in its tiny mouth.

Then, *Spit*, after cleanly finishing the bone-removal process, it spat out the chicken bone –

“Kya! Pya! *Eegogodon*—!”

The rabbit spun like a top on top of Ophelia’s head.

The sight of the rabbit, one paw raised, pirouetting atop the knight’s head was truly a scene of the avant-garde.

“You praise it so lavishly every time you eat, you must really like this chicken.”

“I-go-go-don! Pya! I-go-go-don!”

“Lady Ophelia, aren’t you going to have any?”

“I’ve had two pieces. That’s enough for me.”

“Two pieces is a little lacking, isn’t it…?”

In fact, Luka was already on his fourth piece.

Was it because he had suffered from a lack of food when he was younger?

After entering the academy, there was no particular need for him to go hungry, but— perhaps because of his experiences growing up without enough to eat, Luka’s portions were quite large.

Of course, since his profession required him to exert his body intensely, consuming a lot wasn’t particularly a problem.

“No. Enduring delicious food is also a form of training. If you only put delicious things in your mouth, you’ll start to delude yourself into thinking you’re someone who deserves to eat these things. Losing humility isn’t because of some special event. It’s the moment you take whatever you’re given for granted that a person becomes tainted.”

“I see… Lady Ophelia, you’re really amazing.”

“There’s nothing amazing about it. It’s merely doing what needs to be done. If one truly wishes to follow the will of the gods, then this much is nothing at all— *mph!*”

Ophelia’s words abruptly ceased.

The rabbit, using its short forepaw, had shoved a chicken leg into Ophelia’s mouth.

“It’s not that, it’s not that money.”

“Ugh, ah, it’s, it’s like… the dog trying to lick clean the spittoon, not even that…”

“It’s that money.”

“Ah, I get it… I’ll shut my mouth and just eat… nom nom.”

Crunch, crunch!

Ophelia’s face flushed visibly after eating the chicken.

Even with the will for asceticism – delicious food had a way of making people happy.

Watching Ophelia and the rabbit, who seemed to have gotten quite friendly now, for a moment–

“Luca.”

“Ah, yes…!”

Surprisingly, Linea, who would normally just eat in silence, spoke first.

Luca, feeling a little tense for no reason, approached her.

“The Saint said it, right? That every morning the altar was piled high like a mountain with chicken given by the gods.”

“Ah, yes…! I heard about it.”

“Did you by any chance see it with your own eyes, Luca?”

“No. Only the priests could go to the completed temple… We holy knights can’t go in unless we’re specially summoned.”

“If the Saintess had summoned us, maybe, but from what I hear, it seems neither Luka nor I were particularly called.”

Ophelia, who had already finished one chicken leg, cut into the conversation.

“I see… If even you, Ophelia, didn’t see it, then it seems none of us witnessed it.”

“Why bring that up all of a sudden…?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Linea slowly rose from her seat.

“I’ll take my leave first. I’ll see you both at dinner.”

“Ah, yeah…!”

“Hmm. I’ll see you at dinner then, Linea.”

Luka watched Linea walk away, a worried look on his face –

“You don’t have to worry so much, Luka.”

“Ophelia-nim…?”

“It wasn’t a fact I particularly wanted to know, but being that I have ears, I couldn’t help but hear the rumors. She was my biggest rival, the one whose name surfaces most often in the contest for the holy knight position.”

“Rumors, you say?”

“It’s just that she joined the Holy Knights because of the Imperial Family’s decision, not because she has any deep, personal belief in God Igwogweodon, you know?”

“……”

Luca wasn’t surprised. It was something he’d thought before, and just from talking with Linea, it was obvious.

She wasn’t negligent in her duties, and she did try to spread the word of god, but there was still no genuine faith in her that he could read.

“Well, even His Majesty, who was so cold and level-headed, eventually came to follow Igwogweodon with all his heart. I just think Linea needs time, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right?”

As colleagues, all we can do is – wait for her.

Luca silently stared at the spot where Linea had disappeared for a long while.

* * *

‘……’

The taste of the fried chicken she had eaten earlier lingered on Linea’s lips, having left her for work.

…It was delicious.

Honestly, even as an Imperial Princess who had tasted the best cuisine on the continent, she’d never had fried food quite like it.

She wasn’t particularly gluttonous, but she felt like she could have easily eaten a few more pieces of that chicken.

But… something wasn’t quite right.

The fact that a god would suddenly impart cooking recipes felt, I don’t know, kind of abrupt.

Okay, even the fact that they’d provided chicken, that could be explained away as some sort of relief slogan being run by the cult, fine…

But honestly, I have no idea what the religious sect’s goals even are – it just keeps making me feel uneasy in my gut.

What’s the point of using even a single recipe as propaganda for the god’s omnipotence?

‘…I shouldn’t be so wary of my colleagues.’

Linea let out a soft sigh.

The truth is.

The reason she was chosen by the royal family to walk the path of a religious figure was partly because she was the least resistant to the Goden Church among them.

She doesn’t believe in gods. But unlike her mother or sister, she doesn’t view religion as something to be kept in check, but rather something to be harmonized with—that had been Linea’s stance until now.

However, that day.

The moment her mother, Eirene, uttered the god’s name with a flushed face.

And when she saw people, including her own sister, Yuria, transform before her very eyes as if they were completely different people, her thoughts changed.

Could that bizarre spectacle really be seen as witnessing a miracle and opening their eyes to the truth?

No matter how you look at it… I can’t shake the feeling that they’ve been brainwashed somehow.

Linea, the least wary member of the royal family, had now become the most wary of religion.

If the influence of the Gwooden Church kept growing like this, there was a chance it would become a theocracy instead of an empire.

Perhaps the Ainsberg family would naturally lose its authority.

So, it would be truly convenient if I could just blindly be wary of the Gwooden Church and the Saintess –

The problem was, all these changes were moving in a positive direction.

Ever since talk of a ‘miracle’ in the religious world, many people were always seen with happy smiles.

From some point, the people of the continent had naturally begun praising our imperial family for assisting the religious world, and the underhanded corruption that had been going on was cleanly eradicated simply because it went against the pure facts of God.

Although the people with decision-making power seemed to go a bit mad after meeting the Saintess, it was also true that their one-sided actions were leading the empire itself down the right path.

Those who had walked a crooked path when they didn’t believe in God had been reformed and were now walking the right path, simply by believing in God, no matter how the method.

So, was this the right thing?

– If the result is good, is it okay for humans to offer up their free will to God in a manner bordering on brainwashing?

‘…A difficult problem.’

What was truly fortunate for Linea was that her companions – Ophelia and Luca were incredibly kind people.

In fact, although the higher-ups considered it dangerous, the Saintess Erin herself was truly devout, and genuinely wished for all people to live peacefully in the embrace of God, a person truly worthy of emulation.

The religious folks said her overwhelming divine power was the biggest reason she was chosen as Saintess, but as Linea saw it, her character was much more fitting of the Saintess title than the size of her chest.

In other words – it meant she didn’t have to do anything right away.

‘Yeah. For now, if I just do my job well, a path will appear. If a god truly exists, they’ll give me an answer to these worries.’

Thinking that, just as I was about to get to work…

From the distance, someone came running, calling out Linea’s name.

“Li, Linea-nim…! You were here!”

“…Saint-nim?”

Saint Erin, breathing lightly in front of Linea—

“Um… do you happen to know where the other holy knights are having their meal?”

“They’re still eating.”

“I see. That’s a relief, I’m not late…”

Seeing Erin’s usually composed face looking so urgent, Linea spoke with a worried tone.

“Saint-nim, did something happen?”

“……”

Erin gripped the bible in her hand tightly—

And carefully, she started to tell the story about ‘the biggest reason why, historically, holy knights had to be chosen.’

“During the time when the sun is high, there have been multiple reports of large numbers of monsters appearing near a sealed dungeon.”

“!!!”

“Reports of small-scale monster appearances in darkened hours or deep forests were frequent, but monsters, and in such large numbers, openly roaming at this hour… this is the first time it’s been directly witnessed since the Holy Maiden descended 200 years ago.”

The mana was growing steadily more potent.

Records of monsters running rampant alongside the Holy Maiden’s appearance, written time and again in history books.

It seems what was foretold has finally arrived— but hearing it directly with your own ears was drastically different from simply knowing it.

“For now, let’s go to the dining hall together.”

“……Yes!”

With monsters appearing, this wasn’t the time for pointless worries.

Línea pushed aside her thoughts and followed Erin towards where their companions were.