Chapter 56: The time has come

The “Divine Power” capable of doing anything.

It was the very essence of what could change the world, twist fate, and even save souls—an all-powerful force.

Perhaps in the realm of the great gods, divine power was regarded differently, but here, there was nothing impossible with such power.

That’s why, at the very moment when “Divine Power” suddenly poured in from unexpected circumstance.

***

[MoneyPlease: No, I mean, thank you so much for your support, but…]

[MoneyPlease: Please, first of all, calm down.]

[MoneyPlease: If you keep sending donations like this so suddenly…]

And—

[BigDonor (Donation/500,000 Won): Is this enough? (Seriously don’t know.)]

It was the moment when the truth of why gods could truly become gods was proven.

With more and more large donations coming in, fragments of divine power naturally lingered.

Of course, for those “beings who lived off divine power,” being able to perfectly control and absorb such power was nearly impossible.

Uncontrolled divine power strayed beyond their domain, effortlessly influencing every nook and cranny of the world.

Considering that even the smallest amount of it could change everything, this was either a great blessing—or something beyond the capacity of mere creations to bear.

As a result—

“1—!!!!”

Due to the faintly leaked effects of “Divine Power,” an existence long sealed finally awakened from its deep slumber and opened its eyes.

Rustle-rustle!

***

“Hmm.”

As always, it was breakfast time for the holy knight—crispy and satisfying.

Recently, the sound of crispy food filled that time, stimulating the appetite merely by hearing it.

The fact that it had been chicken for several days straight didn’t bother anyone at all!

“This is seriously so delicious!”

Luca’s eyes sparkled as she ate chicken.

Without using proper utensils, she ate with her hands in a rather primitive way.

‘But hadn’t Saint Erin herself declared that this was how such food should be enjoyed?’

It seemed Luca wasn’t the only one who liked the chicken.

Even Ophel, or rather, the rabbit sitting atop Ophel’s head, was rolling a mouthful of chicken inside its tiny mouth.

Roll-roll-roll-roll, it chewed and played with it for quite a while before—

Spit!

The rabbit neatly discarded a cleanly stripped chicken bone.

“Wow! Yummy! This is amazing!”

The rabbit twirled atop Ophel’s head like a spinning top, raising one paw as it spun.

The sight of a rabbit balancing on the knight’s head and twirling was surreal, to say the least.

“You praise it like this every time you eat. It seems chicken suits your tastes perfectly,” Ophel remarked.

“Yummy! Amazing! Yummy!” the rabbit exclaimed.

“Ophel, aren’t you going to eat more?” Luca asked.

“I’ve already had two pieces. That’s enough for me,” Ophel replied.

“Two pieces feel a bit too little, don’t they?”

Luca was already working on her fourth piece of chicken.

Maybe it was because she’d struggled with food during her younger years.

Though she hadn’t gone hungry since joining the academy, her past of not eating properly meant her meals were usually large.

Of course, given her physically demanding job, eating a lot wasn’t much of a problem.

“It’s not about eating as much as you can. Restraining oneself from indulgence is also part of training. If you keep indulging in delicious food, you might start thinking you deserve it by default. Losing humility doesn’t happen suddenly—it begins the moment you take what’s given to you for granted.”

“Wow… Ophel, you’re amazing!”

“It’s nothing amazing. I’m just doing what must be done. Anyone who follows the will of the gods should be able to—mmph!”

Ophel’s words were cut short as the rabbit stuffed a chicken leg into her mouth with its tiny front paws.

“Yummy, yummy!”

“Ah, fine…! I’ll chew it quietly… nom nom.”

Crunch-crunch!

Ophel’s face flushed as she ate the chicken.

No matter how committed one was to their discipline, delicious food had a way of making people happy.

As Luca watched Ophel and the rabbit getting along well, her thoughts were interrupted—

***

“Luca.”

“Yes?”

Surprisingly, Linnea, who normally ate in silence, spoke first.

Luca, feeling nervous, moved closer to her.

“The saint mentioned it, didn’t she? That every morning, the altar is piled high with chicken gifted by the gods.”

“Yes, I heard about it,” Luca replied.

“Have you ever seen it yourself?”

“No. Since the temple construction was completed, only the priests are allowed to enter. We holy knights can’t go inside unless summoned directly.”

“Indeed. And since the saint didn’t summon either of us, it seems none of us witnessed it personally.”

Ophel, having finished another chicken leg, joined the conversation.

“I see… If even Ophel hasn’t seen it, then none of us have,” Linnea concluded.

“Why do you ask all of a sudden?” Luca tilted her head in confusion.

“It’s nothing. Forget I mentioned it.”

Linnea slowly stood up from her seat.

“I’ll excuse myself now. See you both at dinner.”

“Oh, okay…!”

“Yes. See you at dinner, Linnea,” Ophel added.

Luca watched Linnea walk away with a worried expression but—

“Don’t worry too much, Luca.”

“Ophel?”

“There’s a rumor, not one I particularly cared to know, but one I couldn’t avoid hearing since I have ears. She’s my rival, after all—one of the top contenders for the title of Holy Knight.”

“A rumor?”

“It’s said that she only applied to become a Holy Knight because of the imperial family’s decision. She doesn’t deeply believe in Lord Iggogodon.”

Luca wasn’t surprised.

After all, she had thought the same thing before—anyone who talked to Linnea would naturally come to that conclusion.

Though she wasn’t neglectful of her duties and tried to spread the will of the gods, there was no sign of sincere faith in her actions.

This hadn’t changed even now.

“Well, even His Majesty, as cold and rational as he was, eventually came to follow Lord Iggogodon with all his heart. I think Linnea just needs time.”

“That’s probably true, isn’t it?”

As comrades, all they could do was wait for her.

Luca stared silently for a long time at the place where Linnea had disappeared.

Meanwhile, Linnea, who had left to attend to her duties, found herself still savoring the taste of the chicken she had just eaten.

***

To be honest, even as someone who had tasted the best dishes on the continent as a princess, she had never encountered such delicious fried food.

Though she wasn’t particularly gluttonous, she found herself wishing she could eat a few more pieces of chicken.

But something felt… off.

The idea of the gods suddenly bestowing a recipe for food felt oddly abrupt.

It was one thing for the church to claim the gods had provided the chicken as a sort of relief effort—that was plausible enough.

But the more Linnea thought about the church’s true intentions, the more unsettled she felt.

‘Why go so far as to use even a recipe as propaganda for the divine omnipotence of the gods?’

‘…I shouldn’t be so wary of my comrades.’

Linnea sighed lightly.

The truth was, her path to becoming a religious figure had been shaped by the imperial family’s choice.

Among the royal members, she was one of the few who didn’t harbor strong objections to the Church of Guodun.

She didn’t believe in the gods.

But unlike her mother and sister, who saw religion as something to be controlled, Linnea thought it was something to coexist with.

That had been her stance until that day.

When her mother, Eirene, had spoken the name of the gods with a strangely fervent expression.

And when she saw her sister Yuria and others around her transform as if they had become entirely different people—

Her thoughts began to change.

‘Was that bizarre sight truly the result of witnessing a miracle and awakening to the truth?’

‘Or… was it the result of some form of brainwashing?’

Linnea, who had been the least wary of the Church of Guodun, now regarded it with the greatest caution.

If the Church of Guodun’s influence continued to grow, there was a risk the empire itself might be overtaken, becoming a theocracy.

The Einsberg family might lose their authority entirely.

Of course, it would have been easier to simply distrust the church and the saint, but the problem was that all these changes were undeniably positive.

Every time the Church reported a “miracle,” countless people would smile with genuine happiness.

The continent’s citizens began to naturally praise the imperial family for supporting the church.

And corruption, which once festered in secret, was eradicated under the justification of being against divine truth.

Even though key decision-makers lost themselves after meeting with the saint, their subsequent actions steered the empire in a better direction.

Those who once strayed from righteousness found redemption through faith, regardless of how it happened.

‘So, was this truly right?’

‘If the outcomes were good, did that justify individuals surrendering their free will to the gods, even through a process akin to brainwashing?’

‘…This is a tough question.’

Linnea found some solace in the fact that her comrades—Ophel and Luca—were genuinely good people.

Even the saint, Erin, despite her devout faith, seemed truly concerned with the wellbeing of all.

While the church claimed Erin’s overwhelming divine power was the primary reason she was chosen as the saint, Linnea thought it was her noble character that truly made her worthy.

In other words, Linnea didn’t have to take any drastic actions right now.

‘For now, I’ll just do my duties well. If the gods are real, they’ll surely provide an answer to my concerns.’

As she thought this and prepared to focus on her work, she suddenly heard someone calling her name in the distance.

“Lady Linnea! You’re here!”

***

It was none other than Saint Erin, who approached while catching her breath.

“Saint Erin?”

Erin, holding a sacred text tightly, looked worried.

“Do you know where the other Holy Knights are? Have they finished their meal?”

“They’re probably still eating,” Linnea replied.

“I see. That’s a relief. We’re not too late.”

Noticing Erin’s unusually urgent demeanor, Linnea asked in a concerned tone, “Saint Erin, has something happened?”

Erin gripped the holy book in her hands even tighter before cautiously explaining the situation—one tied to the “greatest reason in history for selecting Holy Knights.”

“There have been multiple reports of large numbers of monsters appearing near a sealed dungeon during broad daylight.”

“While small groups of monsters occasionally appeared at night or deep in the forest, seeing so many during the daytime… This hasn’t happened since the saint descended 200 years ago.”

The increasing demonic energy.

The historical records that described how monsters thrived whenever a saint appeared.

It seemed inevitable that such a time had come, but hearing it firsthand was far more unsettling than merely knowing about it.

“For now, let’s go to the dining hall together.”

Now that monsters had appeared, this wasn’t the time for idle thoughts.

Linnea put aside her concerns and followed Erin to where her comrades were gathered.