Chapter 208

Around three weeks after leaving the Duchy of Luxibl.

At the moment when Caliban finally came into view.

“It’s been a while.”

Once again, Alon’s vision suddenly shifted.

A world where the Milky Way was scattered across the sky—now a familiar sight.

In the center of it stood Kalannon.

“So, we can finally have a proper conversation now.”

“That’s right. Though it doesn’t mean we can talk for long.”

“Is this conversation being sustained by gathered divinity?”

“Well, sort of? At first, I operated it purely with the remaining power I had, but now you and I are practically bound together through divinity. Of course, that doesn’t mean I can wield divinity on my own~”

Kalannon sighed in a strangely regretful manner.

“I actually had something I wanted to ask.”

Alon was pleased to see Kalannon again.

“What about?”

“Do you know anything about the Hundred Ghosts?”

“Hmm— I wouldn’t say I don’t know about them?”

“So that means you aren’t actually acquainted with them?”

“Of course not. Ever since that snake-head attached to you appeared, I’ve barely had enough strength to materialize.”

“Ah.”

Alon let out an unconscious exclamation.

Now that he thought about it, that was certainly the case.

‘Before I sealed Basiliora inside the Covenant Ring, that thing was continuously consuming faith.’

Considering the nature of faith, it made sense that Kalannon couldn’t materialize while Basiliora was present.

“I see.”

“But why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”

When Alon explained the reason, she shrugged.

“That doesn’t seem to be something that concerns me.”

“Is that so?”

“Do you have anything else to ask?”

Of course, he did.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you tell me before? That while faith is necessary, I shouldn’t actively try to gather it.”

“I did, didn’t I?”

“Why was that? Don’t I need faith?”

Kalannon, understanding the point of his question, gave a short nod.

“This is, hmm~ a little hard to explain, but faith is an incredibly powerful force while also being extremely delicate.”

“And?”

“Faith fundamentally comes from belief in a god. But if you try to obtain it artificially, some kind of problem will inevitably arise.”

“…A problem?”

“It’ll look rather… unsophisticated.”

“That’s vague.”

Kalannon tapped her forehead with her small index finger, as if searching for an analogy.

Then, as if struck by inspiration, she clapped her hands.

“That’s it! You know that faith is based on genuine belief in a god, right?”

“I do.”

“But faith won’t accumulate unless people sincerely believe in it.”

“…So you mean there can’t be even a sliver of doubt?”

“No, doubts can exist, but the core of the belief itself has to be genuine. However, if someone is made to believe through some form of compensation or coercion—”

“Then faith won’t accumulate easily.”

“Exactly. In some cases, it might even create resistance, making faith-gathering even harder.”

Artificiality breeds resistance, huh?

“…Then what should I do?”

“There’s only one way. Just let things happen naturally. As long as you keep acting and influencing the world, people who revere you will naturally appear.”

“So that’s why you told me not to try anything forcefully.”

“Yep.”

“We don’t want it to look cheap.” Kalannon muttered, but then her eyes widened as if something had occurred to her.

“That said, there is a way to gather faith quickly.”

“What is it?”

“Mass slaughter.”

“…What?”

Alon asked again, unsure if he had heard correctly.

“If you massacre humans on a large scale and instill fear, faith will naturally form— and in substantial amounts, too.”

Kalannon nodded without a hint of hesitation.

“Of course, I wouldn’t recommend it. If you try to gain faith that way, the majority of people you’d gain it from would just end up dead. Not to mention, you wouldn’t be able to handle the aftermath.”

“…Is there no other way?”

Alon quickly moved the conversation forward.

“The only other option is performing miracles.”

“…Performing miracles?”

It wasn’t an immediately intuitive concept.

Kalannon pondered for a moment before asking Alon,

“Is there any god currently being worshiped on this continent?”

“Hmm— In the Allied Kingdoms, it’s probably Sironia. And in the East… Alter… Mia?”

Alon mentioned the Eastern god he could barely remember, prompting Kalannon to let out a contemplative hum.

“I don’t really know them, but anyway, do the followers of Sironia perform miracles?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s one of the fastest ways to gather faith.”

Recalling the miracles performed by the followers of Sironia, Alon nodded.

“I see. If people witness miracles being performed, faith will naturally grow.”

“Exactly. Divine power is essentially the power of miracles. If you demonstrate the ability to wield that power, belief will naturally follow. In fact, it’s even more effective than the god directly using power themselves.”

“Hmm.”

“Plus, once you gather enough believers, the process becomes self-sustaining.”

“Self-sustaining?”

“Yeah. Someone blessed with divine power demonstrates their abilities, attracting more believers. Then those believers are granted a bit of power themselves, allowing them to go to other places, perform miracles, and bring in even more followers. And so on.”

“I see.”

A cycle that perpetuates itself and steadily grows.

It was quite a convincing method.

Then, Alon suddenly made a strange expression.

As he listened, he realized that it was oddly similar to something from his original world.

‘…Wait, isn’t this just a pyramid scheme?’

The thought crossed his mind briefly.

“Anyway, that god Sironia is probably drawing in a massive amount of faith without even lifting a finger.”

As he listened to Kalannon’s explanation, Alon thought of Rosario and found himself lost in reflection.

He had always known that Rosario was not a place that provided charity unconditionally.

But hearing it laid out like this made it seem even more businesslike than he had expected.

‘So that’s why Rosario was left to rot in the story…?’

Alon followed up with another question.

“Then should I also increase faith in the same way?”

“Hmm, it would be nice if you could, but with the faith you currently have, it might be a bit difficult.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Well, you might be able to manage two people at most. You only need to use your own power when granting it for the first time—after that, their faith will sustain it naturally.”

“How do I grant power?”

“It’s simple. Just extract a portion of your divinity and pass it on. As long as you leave a trace, that’s enough. After that, how they use the power is up to them.”

A new plan began to take shape in Alon’s mind.

***

As soon as he stepped out from his conversation with Kalannon.

“Whew—”

“Marquis, why the sudden sigh?”

“It’s nothing.”

When Evan asked, Alon lightly shook his head and calmly reviewed their discussion.

‘There are three key takeaways.’

First, Kalannon had no connection to the Hundred Ghosts.

Second, faith could be gathered, and power could be shared with others.

Lastly, how to wield divinity.

“Hmm~”

Alon recalled Kalannon’s words.

‘As I mentioned before, the most important step in using divinity is identifying its inherent traits. For example, we can convert any magic we touch into lightning and summon lightning at will.’

‘Once you understand those traits, using them is both difficult and easy. You need to envelop your body in divinity, and as I said, activate it using a trigger. Of course, once you become proficient, you won’t need the trigger anymore, but for now, you will.’

‘Oh, and I know I made it sound easy, but enveloping yourself in divinity is incredibly difficult. You’ll need to practice. Last time, I helped you, and I’ll continue assisting when you use your power in the future, but you should also learn how to do it on your own.’

‘I was going to explain more about how to wield power when fully manifested, but after seeing you last time, I figured it wasn’t really necessary.’

After reviewing everything, Alon thought to himself.

‘I’ve learned everything I needed to know.’

And in addition, he had discovered one extra piece of information.

The scale of the divinity he possessed.

‘I don’t know what happened, but I’ve gathered an insane amount… Is this even possible?’

Kalannon had let out a stunned chuckle, finding it beyond absurd.

“Marquis, we’ve arrived.”

“Is that so?”

At that moment, the carriage reached Caliban.

“Shall we head straight to the north?”

Evan asked while subtly gauging his mood.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Alon stood up.

“We’ll rest for two days.”

“Understood.”

Evan, looking quite pleased, hopped off the carriage energetically.

As Alon followed him, a thought lingered in his mind.

‘Granting power to increase faith—who would be the best choice?’

Kalannon’s power was undoubtedly valuable, even in Alon’s eyes.

He carefully considered who would be worthy of receiving it.

Just then.

“Marquis! Are you feeling alright?”

As soon as he stepped outside the carriage, Sili came running up eagerly to check on him.

“…? Marquis?”

Alon silently observed her for a moment.

“Sili.”

“Yes!”

“You said you primarily studied lightning and ice magic, right?”

“Ah, yes! That’s right!”

“…Would you be interested in using divine power?”

“Divine power?”

As if he had come up with a rather interesting idea, a faint smirk curled at the edge of his lips.

***

Atop a massive cliff, where a colossal statue had been carved.

As dusk began to settle.

“Boss.”

“What?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

A blue-skinned man, Blue Ghost, spoke to a black-haired girl.

“Why exactly are you helping that so-called ‘Legitimacy’?”

“That’s what you’re curious about?”

Blue Ghost furrowed his brow slightly before nodding.

“Yes, I suppose I am. It’s not just that you’ve been looking after him so much—he seems rather fascinating in many ways. I noticed an elf was following him, he wields divine power, and most of all, it’s like you’re a puppy that’s found its m—”

BOOM!

Before he could finish, he was sent flying as Hyakki’s fist slammed into him, carving a dent into the cliffside.

However, a moment later—

“Man, couldn’t you let me finish before hitting me?”

Blue Ghost climbed back up, covered in dust, while she let out a huff.

“If you don’t want to get hit, watch your mouth, you idiot.”

“…Can I keep talking?”

“Go ahead.”

“Anyway, aside from how unusual he is, it seemed like he didn’t even recognize you.”

Hyakki remained silent, but Blue Ghost continued to chatter.

“That’s why I was curious. You seem to feel very familiar with him, but that ‘Legitimacy’ guy didn’t show any signs of recognition. That’s why I asked.”

At some point, Hyakki’s cheeks puffed out slightly.

It was clear she was sulking.

Something about the situation didn’t sit right with her.

Seeing this,

“Wow…”

Blue Ghost blinked in amazement.

In the centuries he had spent at Hyakki’s side, he had never once seen her make that expression.

Like a petulant child, pouting over some minor grievance.

And it didn’t stop there.

“Next time.”

“Next time?”

“Next time… he’ll recognize me.”

“?”

Her voice carried a distinct hint of disappointment.

As Blue Ghost’s eyes widened further,

“Definitely.”

Hyakki gazed at the blue moon rising in the night sky.

“…He’ll recognize me for sure.”

She murmured softly once more.