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Chapter 76

Preaching Doctrine to a Goddess Is Pure Foolishness

 

The Church of Crimson Salvation.

It is a mysterious group of people who cover their entire bodies in red clothing.

The last time I met them, Jannet, the most clever and knowledgeable of my childhood friends, saved the day by ignoring them and silently walking away.

I think she said something along the lines of, 『If you respond carelessly, they will make you join their religion』.

 

Now then, I wonder how Sybilla will respond——.

 

「Of course we do!」

 

——And she just straight up admitted it, this girl.

 

It is just as Jannet said, the man made a wide smile… a smile that seemed to hold a lot of meaning, as he reached for his pocket.

Right, this is the part where they would use their so-called 『the Truth of the Doctrine』 as a pretense to try to persuade us to join their religion.

 

「Especially, chapter 7, verse 15 of the doctrine! It was the best, don’t you think~?」

 

Suddenly, the man’s hand stopped in its tracks.

Sybilla spread her hands wide and began to make a speech in a loud voice, while dancing like an actress on stage.

 

「The words that Manielm-sama said there, 『No humans shall be higher than another human being, and no humans shall be lower than another human being』, are my favorite! Also, the part where the Sun Goddess smiles as she rejects the idea of dividing people into higher and lower status, it was just too amazing!」

 

「Y-Yes…」

 

「On top of that! 『Ruin Shall  Befall Upon Those Who Bought Their Positions with Money』, this idea that spreads all over chapter 15 always brought a breeze through my heart, no matter how many times I read it! That way of thinking is the most important part for people like us! I’ve read it so many times, and I firmly believe in that chapter as I work hard every day! The next chapter 16 and the verse 10 of chapter 19 are also good, but as I thought, 15 is still the best, don’t you think so too~?」

 

Ahh… looks like I was worried over nothing after all.

This turn of events is just natural.

 

Sybilla’s true identity is the 『Twilight Goddess』, a bona fide Goddess, and one with a brilliant mind and excellent memory at that.

Using 『doctrines』 to try to gain the upper hand on her, someone who’s so good at manipulating her opponents, is beyond foolish.

Well, I doubt anyone would know she’s a goddess at first glance, though.

 

While drenched in cold sweat, the man was already putting his hand deep in his pocket again.

That was definitely where he kept his 『Goddess Scripture』, the doctrine he was about to present.

 

「Really~ for people like us who came from an orphanage, it’s really nice to have a Goddess who doesn’t evaluate people based on their money!」

 

「O-Oh, so all of you were raised in an orphanage, huh…」

 

「That’s right! We are proud orphans who hate people who use money to climb their way up the ladder! It just so happens that we have a church administrator with us, too, in the carriage. Also, not to brag, but we’re also skilled bodyguards~!」

 

The people in robes visibly flustered as they began to move. Furthermore, the man who was showing the red clothes he wears hastily put on his white outer garment to hide them.

How could they not? The 『Church of Crimson Salvation』 is a derivative religion of the 『Sun Goddess Religion』.

While the religion is based on the Goddess Religion, which is the center of the kingdom, they were divided because they have interpretations that naturally do not coincide with each other.

 

Someone close to the center of the Goddess religion is in the carriage.

It was understandable that they would be flustered.

 

Initially, I thought it would be better to hide information about Frederica from them if we’re going to be hostile toward them, but since she works at the orphanage in the first place, they would find out about it sooner or later anyway.

In that case, it would be better for Frederica if we make them know that someone who can fight like us is protecting her… is what Sybilla is probably thinking.

 

「Well, I think money is important, since you obviously don’t want to live in poverty, right? But above all, it’s more important to be independent instead of buying status with money! If there’s anyone out there who says, “I’ll save you only if you pay me”, or some such nonsense, I swear——」

 

Sybilla, who had been dancing and raising her voice until now, suddenly stops.

She then slowly walks up to the man, and… says in a quiet voice.

 

「——I’ll turn them to ash myself.」

 

With that final declaration of war, the man took a step back.

 

「Well, you all appear to be priests, so what do I, a mere mage, know about doctrines, right~?」

 

「Ha… ahaha…」

 

Mere mage, she says. Look who’s talking.

 

「I don’t know much about you guys, but are you all in some kind of group gathering? Well, let’s just thank the Goddess that we’re all safe. She saved us all equally! Thank goodness, we all sure are lucky, huh~ my praise to the Goddess, yep.」

 

Sybilla referred to the Church of Crimson Salvation as 『Crimson Church』 for short, and she once showed me her mostly black clothing to prove she wasn’t one of them. So she definitely knows more about them than what she says here.

She brazenly insists that she doesn’t know anything about them, but what she’s been saying so far is a clear denial of the Church of Crimson Salvation.

 

However, there’s no way for the other party to confirm whether we’re talking to them with hostility or not.

Because, as Sybilla said,『Humans aren’t as easy to deal with as monsters』. Of course, we have no way of knowing this, too, if the other party is suspicious of us.

What Sybilla told the Crimson Church bunch was complete lies, since she actually knows about them quite a lot, and she’s definitely not an orphan.

But Frederica, who’s sitting inside the carriage, is a real representative member of the Church Orphanage’s management team. If they were to suspect us carelessly, it could be perceived as clear hostility towards the Sun Goddess Church itself.

 

As a result, the 『Crimson Salvation Church』 has no choice but to back off.

 

Haha, they’re completely swallowed up by her, aren’t they?

As expected of Sybilla, the way she overwhelms her opponents is always a refreshing sight to see.

 

「For now, why don’t you let us check if that child in your group got hurt?」

 

「——Ah!」

 

「Hup.」

 

Then, while the people in robes around her were caught off guard, Sybilla took the hood off the short figure in the center, who was being protected as hard as she could.

If I’m not mistaken, I believe that’s who they called a priest.

 

The face that emerged from under that hood was… a young girl with long red hair.

 

The girl stared at Sybilla with a dazed look on her face.

 

「O-Oh no! Priest-sama!」

 

The man puts her hood up again, once again hiding her face from us.

The man turned around and bowed his head with a seemingly calm expression on the surface.

 

「W-Well then, we shall excuse ourselves…」

 

「Oh, by the way, you guys were about to say something earlier, weren’t you? Also, does your group have a name?」

 

「Not at all! We’re not so significant a group to have a name.」

 

They flinched at Sybilla’s question, and the group returned to the large carriage.

 

——The young girl looked back at us for one last time before leaving with them.

 

After her gaze landed on Sybilla, she looked at Emmy, and then at me.

I thought our eyes met, so I responded by raising my left hand slightly. If she didn’t see it, that’s okay too.

 

……Still, to bring around such a young child as a 『Priest』.

I wonder what’s going through their heads.

 

As the carriage started to move, Sybilla, out of spite, waved both her hands to see them off.

Then, when the carriage was out of sight… she turned to me and stuck out her tongue, looking as if she had just downed a glass of vinegar in one go.

 

「Yikes~ we sure met such a troublesome bunch right off the bat.」

 

「You didn’t seem to be troubled at all handling them, though… Impressive work as always.」

 

「Well, you can just leave this sort of thing to me.」

 

Sybilla and I stood face-to-face and bumped the back of our hands.

That’s when Emmy, who had been frozen up until now, started moving again.

 

「…W-Woah! That was amazing, Sybilla-san! You got rid of those people in no time!」

 

「Mou~ Your reactions are always so cute that it just blows my fatigue away, Emmy-chan.」

 

Sybilla gently stroked Emmy’s head as she said this.

She then talked to the driver, who stopped the carriage because of the monster’s appearance, and we all went back inside.

 

As the carriage started to move, Frederica sat silently with her arms crossed.

When I asked her what was wrong, she voiced her doubt.

 

As the carriage started to move, Frederica sat silently with her arms crossed.

When I asked her what was wrong, she told me the doubt that’s been on her mind.

 

「…Were there such monsters around these parts again?」

 

「As expected, it’s about that, huh? The truth is, I was wondering about that too.」

 

Sybilla seemed to have the same doubts as Frederica, that it was unusual for a monster to appear in a place where a carriage would pass by in the first place.

Certainly, when I was traveling between Hammond and Adria, I don’t think there were many times when monsters appeared in the middle of the road.

 

「I’ll think of a few possibilities, but… for now, let’s all think about it once we arrive at the town.」

 

「You’re right.」

 

We were rocked around inside the carriage for what seemed like several dozen minutes.

As the speed gradually slowed down, the fence surrounding the town came into view.

 

The carriage enters the town and stops on a deserted street.

Sybilla handed the driver a silver coin and thanked him for the ride. After seeing him off with a smile, she turns around and looks around the town with a serious face.

I look around as she does, but… it certainly doesn’t look very lively even though it’s still daytime.

 

「Now then, let’s see if a snake will come out, or will it be the Crimson Church?*」

*TL Note: originally a proverb “鬼が出るか蛇が出るか”, which means “There’s no telling what kind of trouble will come up.”

 

Sybilla, you, isn’t that basically saying the Crimson Church will show up?

While I retorted at Sybilla in my mind, we all followed Frederica’s lead and headed for the orphanage.