Forsaken Priest of the Hero's Party-Chapter 71: The Purpose of the Miracle

“The way I came to meet the saint was...”

Slowly, Ardein recounted the things she had experienced since leaving the Capital. The Emperor quietly listened to that story.

Of how she traveled to Larpentia, of how she was stoned by the people there...Ardein also recounted the grace she received from the people at the poorhouse.

While listening to that story, the Emperor pondered this and that inwardly.

I should tell the Minister of Finance to deliver sponsorship funds to those people named Ralph and Clark.

Still, there were many good people left in the empire. Despite this era being filled with egotistical people, some still held hope in their hearts.

And that saved his daughter.

Surely those kind men at the poorhouse must also have saved many more people.

These kinds of people would refuse even if given a reward, so instead of a reward, he plans to make an anonymous large donation.

Taking out a pen and writing down Ralph and Clark’s names, the Emperor continued listening to the story. It was quite a mysterious story. The Emperor inwardly exclaimed several times while listening to the story.

“It was truly something marvelous...that Sapling of Lineage...”

Seeing the Princess talking about the priest named Kyle, and listening to that story,

the Emperor fell into deep thought. A miracle allowing one to instantly break through from Expert to Master.

He immediately understood why that child was so excited.

Truly precious things cannot be bought with money. Breaking through a realm is not something one can do by throwing money at the problem.

The world is full of people who would do anything for this Miracle. If they could only raise their realm, it wouldn’t be difficult to find people who could swear loyalty to the Emperor without any hesitation.

But that’s irrelevant now.

Truthfully, despite recognizing the value of such a Miracle, the old emperor, who would die soon, resisted the temptations of greed.

Come to think of it, his life had always been a battle with desire. For the Empire’s sake, he had forsaken his own personal pleasures.

Sometimes, the Emperor would even eat white porridge to save money for Ardein’s conquests. It wasn’t that the empire had no money. It was just that there were many places for money to go.

A nation was a bottomless pit for money. No matter how much tax revenue there is, there will always be a need for more. So, In order to spend money on military funds, it was inevitably necessary to draw finances from somewhere else.

To solve this, he had to raise the taxes through the land.

The Emperor even freed the Imperial slaves, making them freemen. He reformed some of the farmlands, turning the serfs into independent farmers.

He also encouraged the development of gold and silver mines. He tried everything he could to increase the Empire’s wealth.

There were some positive results, but many of his reforms created some dissatisfaction in various places.

He couldn’t completely revolutionize the Empire, but some improvements were made.

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Regardless of past or present, those who already have things do not easily spit out what they have unless institutional pressure is applied. Just preventing the worst situation by trimming them was already doing quite a lot during his reign.

Anyway, while he was alive and watching, the empire was precarious but did not sink. Though it’s uncertain if it will be the same after his death.

He said he would go to the North Pole to find the meaning of the cycle. The North Pole... I see.

That’s why, objectively, he could look at ‘Kyle’ with eyes that were not mixed with desire.

And also the unknown entity that stood behind him.

If a god gave such a revelation to a saint, there must be a reason for it.

From what he heard, that unknown god is a puzzling being that cannot be called a normal god or an ancient god.

Judging only by the fact that it handles angels, it seems like a genuine god, but according to what he heard, that angel came to them in the form of a giant embracing the night sky.

While I don’t have much to work it, I can guess a bit...My daughter, how could you let something like this slip away...

That being undid the Curse of the Sun placed on Vampires. So, the status of such a being could even surpass that of an Ancient God. And yet, the Emperor was not surprised by this, after all, he never considered the Ancient Gods to be real Gods.

“It was this fruit that made them walk under the sun. The saint called it the Firefly Crystal Fruit. He said that when you swallow this fruit, your body is reconstructed, all the bad parts are removed, and only the good parts are selected and left in the new body. I brought one for you, Your Majesty.”

As the Emperor watched the Princess take out the Firefly Crystal Fruit and offer it to him, he noticed her somehow flushed cheeks. Whenever she brought up Kyle’s story, the Princess had a flushed look. So he was quite curious about how his daughter thought of him.

An object of affection? An object of worship? Or is he just an object of use?

It was probably a form where all three were mixed together in a convoluted way.

Judging by her flushed cheeks alone, she seemed like a person in love, but even the Emperor found it difficult to tell whether she had fallen in love or if it was a desire for a superhuman army.

“If this fruit is also used well, a superhuman army loyal only to the imperial family...”

Ardein continued to passionately talk about her plans of a superhuman army, of the Divine Power that could regenerate even lost limbs, of a mud-baking furnace that could feed a large army by converting mud into bread.

She was indeed someone born to be a General.

She is thinking of everything in a military-oriented way. She believes that if they win over that priest, he can become a great power for the imperial family, especially in military aspects.

As he watched his daughter ardently arguing that they must somehow make him a power of the imperial family, the Emperor opened his mouth and cut off her words. The idea itself is not wrong, but it is evident that she is not seeing the big picture.

“Child.”

She was not suited for the crown.

“According to what you said, the god that the priest serves is a god that is difficult to see as a normal god or an ancient god. Right? It could be said that this being is a Real God, no?”

“Huh?”

Puzzlement was etched in her answering expression.

Gods were Gods! Why would even be something like a ‘Real’ God or a ‘Fake’ one? The Emperor quietly opened his mouth as he looked at her like that.

“Ardein. Do you think the ancient gods are gods?”

“Of course. They are the laws of the universe and beings far higher than humans.”

“No. They are not gods. We just see and call them gods, but their fundamental nature is the laws of the universe. If beings far more advanced than us completely grasp and understand the laws of this universe, would the ancient gods be gods to them too? They would not. They would be simply laws that could be used at their will.”

Seeing that Ardein couldn’t understand him, the Emperor slowly rose from his seat and put his hands behind his back.

“It’s just that our level is low and lacking, so we can’t even grasp a part of the laws, so to us, they seem as great as gods. To us, they are real gods. But we can’t prejudge that it’s the same for everyone.”

Why does lightning strike from the sky? What does the sun use to shine so brightly like that? To some, those are mysterious and auspicious things, but to others, they are just things that can be explained by theory.

As civilizations progress, the veil of Mystery is torn apart. Someday the people of this land will also understand the truth about the Ancient Gods. They would be able to see through these laws and use them.

Of course, such things would take a long time, perhaps the Empire might not even exist till there. However, If there really are beings who completely understand the laws of the universe, to them, the ancient gods would be nothing more than tools they can use at any time.

Because the continent now has virtually no understanding of the universe, they think of and revere them as gods. This is the case even for the ancient gods.

Regarding the normal gods, in fact, the continent knows a bit more.

“Normal Gods are known to us. There were numerous tales of humans achieving godhood. The fundamental part of their nature and powers comes from belief and faith. Their secrets are not hidden from us, so how could we call such beings as true gods? At least that’s what I think.”

The Emperor knows that the Trinity and the evil god Omertà were once human. What is so special about a human achieving more power through faith and belief?

The Heavenly God, Aldehir is slightly different in that he is not of human origin, he is a being born from human desire. Because there are people, there are gods. The five major gods that the continent worships are such beings.

“Even the Goddesses are simply considered the ‘Major Gods’ because they accumulated faith for a long time. Their strength comes not from themselves, but from others. Rather, the Demon King of the North Pole would be more difficult to understand than them. Isn’t that right?”

Even if they are major gods, humans can understand the source of their power. How is that a god?

Even the Emperor couldn’t casually bring this up outside, but he could say it because they were having a private conversation, just the two of them. If Archbishop Armata heard this, he would foam at the mouth and curse the Emperor. It was that extreme of a statement.

“But the one that Kyle serves, there is not a single part that can be understood from beginning to end. Do you know why that god called himself the God of Hope?”

“...I don’t know.”

Ardein, who had never even thought about such things, answered while breaking out in a cold sweat.

“From what you told me, we know that a God we cannot understand gave such a powerful Miracle, called the Sapling of Lineage to his saint. A miracle that can bring the future to the present. Something that transcends time itself.”

“Yes.”

“And that god gave a Revelation to his saint, directing him towards the North Pole.”

“Yes.”

“Then you should know what the Sapling of Lineage was given to him.”

Uh... I don’t know...?

Ardein kept silent, unable to say those words.

“What do you think is waiting at the North Pole? Grimudo.”

The Emperor pointed out the key points and explained them one by one.

“The Sapling of Lineage was probably a miracle given in consideration of Grimudo. Not to cultivate that superhuman army you speak of.”