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Chapter 94

「Um, excuse me. Lord Dragon?」A feeble voice mumbled, uttering the name of my soul rather than my human self.

Whoever this person was, they knew the name of my soul. This knowledge alone was enough to get my guard up. Clearly, they were a demon or a god.

In this case, my vigilance was not due to potential harm. Rather, I was worried about sparking unnecessary troubles in my human life.

When I turned around, I caught sight of a young girl clad in the lavender priestly robe of Zenobia, a neutral god affiliated with neither good nor evil.

「Fumun.」

The girl who called herself Celestel was an angel serving Zenobia. She invited me to a private room in Suzutei no Talisman to further our conversation.

The table was covered with a simple but pristine and clean white cloth. Two steaming cups of suomu tea we had ordered were also placed on the table.

Frankly speaking, Celestel and I were existences wholly isolated from each other, and a chance for conversation was inconceivable. It was no wonder Celestel was quivering and shrinking away from me, so much so that I was starting to feel sorry for myself.

Celestel did not seem to have any ill intent toward me, but I entertained the possibility that she was putting on a farce to deceive me. After all, she was behaving a little too fearful. Perhaps she was terrified that I would wipe her existence from this world if she slipped up with her words. Regardless, it was pointless to muster such a dramatic act.

However, I was not on particularly friendly terms with Zenobia. If Celestel had heard about my treatment of those evil gods in the past, her fear was understandable.

「Fumu… Well, have a sip of tea and calm down. I won’t gobble you up.」

「Y-Y-YES, SIR!」

Celestel stammered dramatically as she reached out to the cup before her. Soumu tea was spilling out of her cup as she held it with shivering hands. Her obvious fear made regret surge within me. I really needed to reflect on my deeds in my past life. On the other hand, I was interested to know what Zenobia’s faction had learned about me.

As I harped over my dismay, Celestal finished the cup of soumu tea in one gulp. Her trembling seemed to have stopped as she steeled herself. Yet, her face with her pearly eyes had turned from blue to ashen.

Celestal gripped the pendant of her religion. It had Zenobia on it, the goddess that was titled the right-facing beauty. Then, she muttered the name of her lord a few times before finally speaking.

「Th-Thank you for sparing me your precious time. Today, I’ve come to speak to you on orders of my lord, Zenobia.」

「You can dispense with the formalities. I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but I won’t hurt others without good reason. I won’t do you any harm. Well, what are Zenobi’s orders?」

The expression on Celestal’s face had morphed into one of extreme resignation. It was as though she had accepted this place as her deathbed. Yet, we were in a room in a restaurant and inn, not a battlefield.

「Lord Zenobia has only one request.」

「Fumu. If it isn’t anything unreasonable, I’ll listen to what you have to say. What is it?」

Celestel looked me straight in the eye and slammed her forehead on the table with a thud.

「I beg of you! Be a follower of Lord Zenobia!!!」

「…Fumu? Be a follower of Zenobia?」

「Exactly. Sixteen years have passed since you’ve been reincarnated as a human. I am well aware that you are devoted to the supreme goddess, Mairahl. Her powers have increased greatly after receiving your prayers. I beseech you! Please allow my lord to share in this blessing too. Just this is enough to make me happy.」

Unlike before, Celestel had strengthened her resolve. She spoke to me without stuttering or tripping over her words. However, her request for my devotion to Zenobia caught me off guard.

Celestel had claimed that I was a devotee of Mairahl, but that was not entirely true.

Rather, I was just keeping with the minimum of being human. In this case, worshipping Mairahl was part of my human lifestyle. Even before I had come to worship Mairahl, she had always been a close friend of mine.

Hence, I had been praying with all my heart recently in a bid to help my dear friend. It was quite surprising to be hearing such an appeal from a different god.

Anyway, Mairahl was unlike Caravis. She barely showed her face to me, and there was a simple reason for this. Appearing on earth was Caravis’s forte, and I tended to share my thoughts with Mairahl frequently when I prayed before meals and for important events.

「Despite what you’ve said, the power Mairahl gained from my prayers isn’t significant. My prayers are certainly more effective than that of other human devotees, but such power is meager for a supreme goddess.」

「However, the power obtained from your prayers is comparable to that of hundreds of millions of normal human followers. No, trillions, tens of quintillions. It’s incomparable!

Above all, an acquaintance with you will be an invaluable treasure to us. It will be more than a miracle! Lord Zenobia is a neutral god affiliated with neither the good nor evil gods. If you choose to place your faith in Lord Zenobia, you will not be forced to take a stance!

It’s sad to say that the size of our religion is minute compared to that of Mairahl, but this doesn’t mean that we’re being persecuted. Even if you openly pledge your devotion in Arkrest Kingdom, you won’t be subject to an inquisition.

We promise, we will recognize every single true desire that you hold in your heart.」

The vast number of gods in existence had produced a fairly accepting and tolerant society, so long as one did not belong to an opposing religion.

Zenobia, the goddess of desires, was often frustrated by her followers. They tended to interpret her doctrine to their convenience in order to wreak havoc.

These doctrines preached the need to face one’s desires earnestly and uncover one’s true yearnings. However, such teachings did not imply a blind submission to one’s desires. Rather, one needed to wisely filter out and restrain one’s countless desires.

This religion was a rare faith that placed more weight on the follower than the teachings of its god. The conduct of each follower was greatly influenced by their own natures.

「Regardless, it’s not like I’ve been ordained as a priest in Mairahl’s religion. It should be fine if I pray to Zenobia, and there’s no reason to stop me from switching faiths.」

「Of course, you won’t be made to change your faith without some compensation. I cannot make such a brazen request. You can remain a follower of Mairahl. All I would like to ask is a little prayer to my lord at times. That would be enough.」

Certainly, I wondered if it was acceptable to preach about one’s lord at a bargain price like this, but Celestel was clearly desperate. Moreover, I was unsure if it was fine for me to dedicate my faith to two gods. Though, I could easily imagine Mairahl’s indifference.

I hummed out a habitual “Fumu,” sparking Celestel’s delight. She seemed to assume that she was winning me over and proceeded with one final push.

「You won’t be made to make empty prayers. If you could make a prayer right now…」

Celestel put her hands on the table and leaned toward me. She was about to finish her statement when the door flew open with a deafening slam.

「Wait!!!」

「Lord Dragon, please listen to us!」

「Don’t just occupy yourself with the words of Zenobia’s angel! Offer us a chance too!」

Celestials of various denominations interrupted Celestel’s words with their rowdy intrusion and the door looked like it was about to fall off its hinges. They pushed against each other as they tried to enter the room, their bodies jammed in the doorway.

This bunch of people was an amusing sight to behold since none of them were actually human. Rather, they were angels and lower-ranking gods from the heavenly realm.

On an ordinary day, these angels and gods would be treated with the utmost respect if they descended to earth. Even the highest station of each religion, be it high priests, archbishops, or popes, would bow to them respectfully. Yet, they had come to visit me in their human forms.

Fumu fumu.

I was faced with the god of minerals, the god who passed on the knowledge of sheep farming to humans, the god who controlled the weather, the god who bestowed plant seeds to devotees, and many others.

「You guys are probably here with the same request as Celestel, aren’t you?」

I let out a deep sigh, as though I had swallowed lead.

I appeased the crowd who was vying to advertise their god to me. Then, I got them to draw lots to decide their order and lined them up. Once that was done, I decided to listen to what each person had to say.

For a brief moment, I was distracted by my thoughts. The one before me was not from a popular god, but this god was certainly abundant in spirit.

「It’s an honor to meet you, Lord Dragon. I’m Myrmal, and I serve Aldin, the god of wisdom and knowledge.」

A woman in a priest’s robe stood in front of me and bowed reverently. Anthropomorphic crests of the moon and sun, symbols of Aldin’s knowledge, were on her robe.

Unlike Celestel, this woman carried herself confidently. Her golden hair cascaded down from the hem of her hood, and my face was reflected in her beautiful blue eyes.

I could sense from her spirituality that she was a seraph, the highest-ranking angel.

「Fumu. Nice to meet you. A servant of Aldin? He’s one of the major gods who passed on the principles of magic to humans. As a student at the Magic Academy, I am closely tied to this god. I’ve interacted with him in my past life as well. Aldin was born an old man, but is he still as robust as ever? He tends to have a narrow vision because he’s too passionate about unraveling knowledge. Is he still the same? 」

Since I was speaking with someone who knew my true identity, my tone started shifting to sound like my former self. As I spoke amicably with Aldin’s servant, the others standing in line and waiting for their turn furrowed their brows.

「Yes, he is still in good health. Our lord is very pleased that you have chosen the path of magic and the unraveling of its secrets. Hence, we would appreciate it if you could help us just like you’ve assisted Lord Mairahl.」

「Fumun. Aldin’s name is often mentioned in the classes at the Magic Academy. Among the students, there are quite a few followers of Aldin. Well, there sure is value in praying to Aldin since he bestows knowledge in exchange for one’s faith. However, should such a transactional form of worship really be the kind of relationship between humans and gods?」

Myrmal smiled at my question, as though she was a teacher proud of a student’s excellent answer.

Fumu. Seems like she’s not afraid of me. What a brave angel. 

「Lord Dragon, you’re absolutely right. I, and everyone here, are engaged in a form of marketing. A transaction. This is certainly not the way faith should be between humans and gods. However, you are an Ancient-Celestial Dragon. Please forgive me for such behavior.」

It was sneaky for such a beautiful angel like Myrmal to offer a smile right now.

「You’re right. It’s hard to call me a human follower of the gods. Well, in that case, such a deal is probably acceptable.」

For me, who was still learning how to use human magic, there was no doubt that Aldin would be a convenient acquaintance. After all, he tended to bestow magic on humans.

I silently ranked Aldin’s religion high in my heart and crossed my arms in a show of contemplation.

「Fumu. I was acquainted with Aldin in the past anyway. Praying to him doesn’t seem like a bad idea.」