Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 50

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 50: This Is Why They’re Evil Gods
A god’s Divinity dies without faith rising from the mortal world.
Like a man suffering from hunger and thirst, it withers day by day until it finally vanishes.
Moreover, when Divine Power—the sum total of faith—runs short, the influence a god can exert on the mortal realm becomes severely limited, leaving them too weakened to wield any real force.
This is why all gods are desperate to expand their Religious Power steadily.
“Believe in us now and gain blessed fortune—completely free!”
Second in command of the Good Divine Camp.
Talendros, god of seized fortune and precious harvest, dangled money like bait and gathered Believers in droves.
It was crude, certainly, but if you didn’t want to vanish, sometimes you had to swallow your pride and learn to compromise.
But why were evil gods evil?
Because their thinking was fundamentally broken—that’s why the word “evil” stuck to them.
“Would it be all right if I made an observation that’s honest but perhaps a bit impertinent?”
I asked carefully, and the taciturn god answered in a hesitant voice.
【Y-yes, go ahead. I’m not a fragile god who takes offense at what my Believers say….】
Given permission, I spoke the truth without reservation.
“The reason the Lonely Silence Sect shrank and then collapsed entirely is because of you, Leria. That’s the whole of it.”
True loyalty meant being willing to point out serious mistakes when your god made them.
If you only surrounded yourself with sycophants, you’d end up withering to death regardless.
But the lone god whom even the warring evil gods didn’t bother to restrain seemed too wounded to accept such harsh counsel.
【Even so, isn’t that too cruel…?】
The god with only three Believers began to tremble with tears.
I was a member of the Twisted Truth Faith with a cold disposition, but I couldn’t help being moved by a great god’s tears.
So I temporarily shifted my role to that of a half-elf counselor and spoke more gently.
“Why were you so obsessed in the past with burning the living and turning the world into a land of the dead?”
During her time as ‘the chief god of the evil divine faction,’ Leria’s ideology and purpose were so harmful to the mortal world that she became the primary target of the Good Divine Camp’s containment.
“Your principles were so brutal that during the Holy War, the senior members of the Lonely Silence Sect were caught in heresy trials and every last one of them died.”
【I do regret some of what happened back then….】
The taciturn god’s oracle grew clearly dispirited.
【But I only wanted to see the day when all the living became dead and the world sank into silent darkness….】
Despite having only three Believers left, she showed no real remorse.
This was why she was an evil god.
‘The Nightmare World was Leria’s vision of an ideal world, wasn’t it?’
Thousands of years ago, they say the entire Northern Continent was once swallowed by pitch-black darkness.
Since then, the Good Divine Camp had vigilantly suppressed faith in Leria to prevent her from growing back into a great god—making her resurrection as a deity of true power essentially impossible.
《A wise god mocks, saying this pathetic evil deity should vanish quickly.》
Zing.
【Ah, so Ridni and Sue are being worshipped too, then….】
Leria’s already faint presence shriveled further when she sensed the two evil gods’ contemptuous intent directed at her in unison.
【Why do you serve two evil gods when you’re so otherwise… ah, well, your mind isn’t entirely sound either, is it.】
“That’s a cruel thing to say. I’m disappointed. I’m going to stop being your Believer.”
【Ah, ah, ah, I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn….】
Teasing a great god too much wasn’t particularly enjoyable either.
I decided to exercise some restraint now.
Just a little more, though.
【Are, are you really truly certain you want to become my follower…?】
“No. That was all lies.”
【Ah, as I thought….】
“The lying was itself a lie. But why do you keep asking?”
【…Honestly, it’s hard for me to believe.】
She’d feel relieved and confused at the same time.
Now that she’d become the weakest god, the Divine Mystery she granted had also become worthless.
Insufficient faith meant fewer reasons to draw in Believers, which meant fewer came, which meant faith dried up even faster—a vicious cycle.
Since Leria was already rolling smoothly toward oblivion, the appearance of new Believers was no common occurrence.
【Could it be that you possess some twisted inclination to enjoy hardship…?】
“I believe you’ll stop wondering after today.”
I lifted my head and spoke with confidence.
“I’ll dare make a prophecy.”
As the third-ranked Believer of the Lonely Silence Sect, I could swear to this.
“The number of Believers who serve you, Leria, will grow steadily from now on.”
I would restore you to your former greatness as a god.
I intend to become the forerunner myself and spread faith in the Silent One to the furthest reaches.
“I promise to increase the number of believers to at least a hundredfold of what we have now.”
【Truly! Kar, I shall appoint you as the vanguard of the Lonely Silence Sect…!】
“I will do my utmost.”
《Observation: A hundredfold is merely three hundred souls, and they remain the weakest faction.》
Still, a Divinity in such straitened circumstances would surely feel as though they had become blessed with faith even from three hundred believers alone.
Though happiness is but a phantom concept, it nonetheless possesses its own relative value, does it not?
【Now, I shall bestow upon you a basic Divine Mystery…!】
A soft crackling sound.
My left arm began to burn with a lukewarm flame.
Rolling back my sleeve to examine it, I found the fire had already been inscribed upon my skin as a scarlet tattoo.
A serpent’s form—smooth-scaled and elongated across the limb.
It should have appeared menacing, yet the Divine Power invested was so meager that it resembled nothing so much as a writhing worm.
【Ah, how dizzy I feel…. I shall depart….】
After expending that much effort, the Silent One’s presence abruptly vanished, evidently overcome by dizziness from the Divine Power depletion.
I stored the idol away in a pocket dimension and immediately tested the Divine Mystery I had just acquired.
The serpent tattoo on my left arm writhed and slithered toward my fingertip, then opened its mouth wide.
A faint breath.
A flame weaker than candlelight flickered from my index finger before promptly extinguishing.
And that was all.
《First-Rank Divine Mystery (Growth-Type) – Death Flame Fire》
《You now wield a flame that carries the power of life and death. In its current state, this mystery is hopelessly pathetic, so simply use the Seed of Glory instead.》
《It is so pitiful that the Wise One is cackling with amusement!》
Zzzt!
Ridni and Sue could not restrain their ridicule at the pathetic nature of Death Flame Fire.
Admittedly, in its present form it is rubbish.
However, by employing a special method to cause its power to grow explosively, it could be reborn into a Divine Mystery that even these two evil divinities could not dare dismiss.
‘I ought to give them a gift in celebration of becoming a believer.’
Rosalia had treated me as though I were some intoxicated fool, but I remained lucid as always.
I approached the window and placed my foot upon the sill.
《Wait!》
《What are you doing at this hour, and why exactly are you attempting to climb out the window?》
I did not understand why the script appeared with such urgency, but I answered with perfect sincerity.
“I’m going to burn a few people alive for Leria’s sake. I’m heading to the Eastern District, where the drunkards congregate. Since everyone’s intoxicated, no one will notice if I quietly abduct someone. And by sneaking out without the innkeeper’s knowledge, I can prove I was in my room when the city guard arrives.”
The logic was so impeccable and rational that the Eye of Truth Piercing waited a moment before inscribing its response.
《You are indeed intoxicated. Go to bed at once. I strongly recommend you retire.》
I do not understand.
Why would it attempt to dissuade me?
I merely wished to apprehend three or so innocent explorers and burn them as an act of faith devoted to Leria.
***
3. Traits
Choose only and precisely “Blind Believer” and “Rusted Mind”—no more, no less.
The reason is that when combined, they enable a build capable of simultaneously serving multiple evil divinities.
The caveat is that both traits carry considerable drawbacks.
Particularly, “Rusted Mind” demands caution.
It is a useful trait that cuts mental fortitude in half in exchange for removing the penalty incurred by multiple-faith devotion.
However, one must be wary of status ailments that diminish reason, such as “Intoxication.”
The character’s thought patterns themselves become fundamentally altered, and in such a state they may engage in incomprehensible and uncontrollable aberrations, so care is essential.
– From “A Guide to the Twisted Truth Faith Written by a Hardcore Player Who Has Logged Twenty Thousand Hours as a Heretic and Is Frustrated by the Lack of Challenge.”
***
“I cannot fathom it.”
An elderly priest in ceremonial robes of black and white harmony stood gazing out the window.
Eliorath, bishop of the Third Archdiocese of the Harmony Church, murmured to himself.
“What troubles you, sir?”
The bishop’s honor guard, who stood with his spine rigidly straight, inquired with careful deference.
Bishop Eliorath, famous for his reputation of never dwelling deeply on matters, had fallen into contemplation.
None could say why, but it was certainly no ordinary occurrence.
“I have received a peculiar directive.”
The bishop gazed silently at the world beyond before finally responding.
“The Holy One has, after a long time, conveyed intention to all the bishops, and yet I cannot discern what it means.”
“Am I not supposed to know about this?”
“Can’t say. But if we just keep it between us, that should be fine, shouldn’t it?”
Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be acceptable.
That’s what the holy knight should have said, but curiosity got the better of him.
Saint Peris Artea.
The chosen advocate of protection and wisdom, directly selected by Artein himself.
Getting a chance to glimpse even a fragment of the Saint’s thoughts was rare—he’d never spoken with her, only watched from a distance during the inauguration ceremony.
“Someone of your standing should pose no problem. Have a look.”
Bishop Eliorath drew a sheet of paper from his pocket—the Saint’s own handwritten instructions—and handed it over.
Being the Saint’s own hand, the paper surely carried within it the Divine Mystery of she who watches over all humanity.
The holy knight read the words with reverent excitement, then tilted his head in confusion.
[The Goddess says that from now on, we must also watch over Kar of the Twisted Truth Faith. The reason is unclear. It seems closer to a sense of favorability.]
“What does this mean?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
They were to observe the Twisted Truth Faith’s believer, yet the reason was unknown—and the Saint’s counsel seemed to suggest not hostility, but something else.
It was a strangely ambiguous instruction.
“The Saint does sometimes say perplexing things, but she would never distort the Goddess’s words. I cannot fathom why she would issue an order like this.”
“…Indeed.”
Wondering if there was some hidden purpose, the two put their heads together in thought, yet neither could arrive at a clear answer.
“Is it possible that the one who watches over all would have issued an oracle so ambiguous from the start?”
…….
The bishop and holy knight fell silent for a moment, studying each other’s faces, then burst into laughter simultaneously.
“Ha, you jest too boldly, it seems.”
“My apologies. Artein, who possesses a broader perspective than any Divinity, would never do such a thing.”
“In any case, my mind’s been working hard—I’m hungry now. Shall we go get a snack together?”
“Where you go, I cannot help but follow, sir Bishop.”
The two abandoned their pondering over the Saint’s cryptic message, chuckling as they went.
Neither noticed the candlelight wavering gently in the eyes of a small statue of Artein placed in the corner of the bishop’s office.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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