“Whew… five hundred. Morning exercise is over!”
Early morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten.
Inside the room, a young man with well-proportioned muscles slowly stood up from the mat on the floor.
If someone were to observe this youth right now, they would probably notice his perfectly balanced, explosive-looking muscles and the claw-shaped scar on his chest.
But the moment he appeared before any high-ranking nobles, the only thing they would pay attention to was this:
His pair of scarlet eyes.
In the human kingdom, only members of the House of Bartios had red pupils.
And this diligent young man was none other than the eldest son of House Bartios, Ileya’s older brother—Oz Battius.
As the heir designated by his father, Oz had cultivated extremely disciplined habits since childhood.
Wake up on time, morning exercise, breakfast, study, noon exercise, lunch, nap, study, evening exercise, shower, rest on time.
This schedule of “action routines,” which would make anyone’s scalp tingle just by looking at it, Oz had stuck to unwaveringly for ten years.
But such hard work and self-discipline had certainly paid off.
Besides his parents’ praise… there was also the honor of being the number one of the younger generation.
Whether on the surface or behind the scenes, Oz was almost perfect.
Not to mention his lazy younger brother and his infamous younger sister—he even surpassed the current King, the Army-Breaking King’s prince…
The First Prince, Karon Gilgamesh, who was about to inherit the name [Gilgamesh].
Some idle young ladies even made a habit of comparing Oz, the Little Marquis, with the royal princes.
This… actually caused Oz some trouble.
Especially here in the Royal Capital.
Every time First Prince Karon looked at him, there was deep hostility.
Even if Oz took the initiative to approach and show goodwill, the other would only think he was insulting him.
Well… as a future king, his magnanimity was far too small.
Talented people were as numerous as stars in the human kingdom, especially those who excelled in certain areas… countless.
High-ranking individuals did not need to surpass these people in every aspect; their destination was to rule over those whose abilities, intelligence, and even strength were several times greater than their own.
Make them serve you.
His father had taught him this when he was eight years old.
Oz kept it firmly in mind.
Unfortunately, Karon didn’t quite understand this—or rather, he did, but he thought too highly of himself and refused to admit that there was someone better than him.
And… he kept causing trouble for Oz over these trivial matters.
‘Ugh… I’ve already conceded defeat several times.’ Murmuring to himself, Oz quickly took a cold shower.
Today, although he would still complete the training goals he had set, there were some changes.
These past two days, the Royal Capital’s army had been mostly assembled, and news from the front lines indicated that the northeast had completely fallen. Within seven days, four cities had fallen consecutively.
If nothing unexpected happened, both the East Capital and the North Capital were now affected to varying degrees.
Thinking of his mother and little sister still in the Crystal Capital, Oz felt a crack appear in his usually calm demeanor.
He wished he could ignore the Army-Breaking King’s order, quickly take a horse, and rush back to the East Capital… to stay by his loved ones’ side.
“Ah… but it won’t be long now.”
Thinking of the several carts of gifts he had prepared for his little sister… when he returned, if she was happy, would she call him “Big Brother” like when she was little?
“Heh… hehe…”
Seeming to recall past events, the young marquis, who was gentle and refined in front of everyone and seemed to have everything under control, who was called the Lonely Moon of the Eastern Capital… revealed a somewhat silly smile.
“Ahem…” After a moment, seeming to realize his lapse, even though no one was around, Oz cleared his throat instinctively.
Straightening his clothes, he walked out of the room.
Taking a deep breath of fresh air…
Oz sighed again. A new day was about to—
“Oh, isn’t this Oz? Why are you up so late? As the number one of our younger generation… shouldn’t you set an example?”
Before Oz could begin his sigh about the new day, a voice came from the side…
A familiar, headache-inducing voice.
He turned his head and saw a man dressed in a gold-embroidered tailcoat, his blond hair slicked back, looking extremely aristocratic, coming toward him surrounded by a group of lackeys.
“Heh, that’s just hearsay. In your Highness’s presence, who would dare call themselves the number one of the younger generation?” Oz smiled, but thought to himself ‘Speak of the devil… I should have known not to think about him.’
That’s right, this guy who dressed so formally even on informal occasions—as his younger brother would say, a “flashy show-off”—was the source of Oz’s trouble.
First Prince Karon.
“Ha…” Karon sneered coldly, his expression clearly saying, ‘You know what’s good for you, but we still have to settle the score.’
‘Ah… such a troublesome guy. I wish I could drag him into the room right now and beat him until he cries…’
Oz kept a friendly smile on his face and respectfully nodded to the prince.
“Oh, by the way, I invited another young genius to the royal castle today. As the ‘first,’ I think you should meet him~”
Just as the young marquis thought he could get rid of the guy, he suddenly turned around and spoke to him.
And he heavily emphasized the word “first.”
‘So he’s still hung up on that kind of thing after all? Really… ugh.’
“Heh, I don’t dare claim to be the first, but indeed, one should meet the talents of the world.”
The words were watertight but didn’t give the first prince an out.
It also made clear Oz’s attitude: he had no interest in this so-called “genius” and didn’t want any contact, but if His Highness invited him, he would naturally attend the banquet.
“Hmph… I hope you don’t embarrass yourself in public tonight!”
Karon wasn’t stupid—he could naturally hear the implication behind Oz’s words.
In the end, he could only leave behind this harsh remark and storm off with a flick of his sleeves.
“Ah… troublesome guy.” Oz shook his head and expressed his opinion, then headed toward the dining hall.
This Royal Capital really was troublesome and boring, but if he could hold on a little longer, they might get orders to return to the East Capital army in the next couple of days, right?
……
Soft, fragrant…
But, hmm… why was her breathing just a little—just a little—difficult?
“Mmm… Yaya—”
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from her ear, followed by an even more familiar pressure!
This was… Mother?!
Ileya instantly opened her eyes, but everything was pitch black!
She was already trapped in her mother’s somewhat terrifying gentle land.
And now, her state was probably like a baby, curled up in her mother’s arms.
‘Hmm… isn’t this a little… embarrassing?’
And why… why did she fall asleep here?!
‘When… did I fall asleep?’
There were many unanswered questions, but Ileya didn’t immediately get up.
Seeing how her mother looked, she hadn’t slept so peacefully in a long time, had she?
‘As a daughter, it’s not a big deal to occasionally be my mother’s pillow…’
Thinking this, Ileya let her body stay in Lady Shudrian’s broad gentle land.
Her consciousness sank and entered the underworld.
“Huh?” The moment her consciousness entered the underworld, Ileya realized there were many faint threads in front of her.
Unlike the ones she had guided from Fukadi and Di’an, who prayed sincerely for her grandmother…
These threads did exist, but they simply floated around her.
“Pan-believers?” Ileya touched her chin and looked at the dense threads ahead. A smile unconsciously curved at the corner of her mouth.
‘No wonder I didn’t feel that same kind of instinct when my first two believers believed in me.’
These people were probably participants in the Soul Returning Ritual held by the Holy See, even the priests themselves…
Although they believed that “death is the divine gift of the Supreme God,” the main focus of their faith was on that so-called “Supreme God.”
She was probably just… a side dish.
‘I say, you guys have the wrong direction!’
Well… actually, thinking about it, it made sense.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t that the pan-believers had the wrong direction—it was that her two devout believers had the wrong direction.
But as the saying goes, many small streams converge into a great river.
The dense, tens of thousands of pan-believer threads ahead could provide a considerable amount of faith.
However…
The quality of these faiths was poor. To use an analogy—
The faith provided by her first two believers was like thick cardboard—hard to tear and required some effort.
These “pan-believers” were like ordinary tissue paper—torn easily with a slight pull.
“So there’s even a difference in quality… or is it purity?”
Thinking this, the Lady of the Underworld reached out, grabbed a small clump of faith, and compressed it.
Gradually, the compressed faith did become denser and much more powerful.
“Hmm…”
After a few experiments, Ileya nodded slightly at the glowing ball of faith in her hand.
“The faith provided by about a thousand pan-believers can be compressed into the purity of one devout believer. No wonder more devout believers get the favor of gods. If it were me, I’d naturally prefer believers who provide purer faith.”
Ileya touched her chin and picked out a dozen or so among these tens of thousands of pan-believers whose faith was still relatively firm—most of them were ordinary priests within the Holy See.
She sent some low-level undead.
‘Since I’m here, I’ll start working… well, reward you first.’
Hmm… watching a dozen faith threads suddenly brighten, becoming much denser than before…
The Lady of the Underworld nodded with satisfaction.
As natural deaths increased and more “funerals” were held, the faith she could harvest would only grow.
And with the promotion of Di’an and these newly promoted “Revival Priests”…
The faith she could harvest would only increase.
The advancement plan was almost ready. Next, it was time to study what exactly this “faith” could do.