Chapter 13: Chapter 202

"Right?" my grandfather said, his enthusiasm matching mine. "I thought so! Hilde and I have already been preparing the opening ceremony of your church, so just you wait!"

"What? Really? You and Hilde?" My eyes darted toward Hilde, to which the younger girl lowered her gaze timidly.

"I wanted to help you in whichever way I could..." she explained in a small voice.

My heart clenched in my chest.

Could she be any more adorable? I subconsciously stuck my hand into my inventory and pulled out a handful of chocolates, candies, and caramels.

"Have some," I said, thrusting the sweets into her hands. "Have them all."

"Th-thank you, Your Eminence."

"Don't thank me. And 'Your Eminence' sounds too formal, doesn't it?"

"Th-then what should I call you?"

I decided to use this moment as a chance for some evangelism. "What do you think about picking up a religion? You know, in line with your expertise... or your divine power, to be specific. I think it would be great if we can call each other 'sisters.'"

"Sisters?"

"Yes."

"Well... Sisters..." Hilde thought hard for a moment, then took a deep breath and shouted, "I'll do it!"

"Great! I'm happy to hear it!"

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World is extremely satisfied with acquiring a talented follower.⟭

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World sets off to distribute invitations to the first Voiceism church opening ceremony throughout the Divine Realm.⟭

"Ahem!" Bianca summoned my attention with a fake cough.

"Bia?"

"At this rate, I can foresee a sharp increase of new sisters joining us."

"What?"

"Don't forget that I'm your first sister, Allie."

"Oh, of course not!"

That was given since Bianca was the first follower I ever recruited. The discussion in the living room came to an end with that, and my grandfather and Hilde were first to depart, exploding with determination to arrange the perfect opening ceremony.

"Now, then... knight division, dismissed! See you later too, Tesilid. As for Bia, why don't you unpack your things first? I'll come to your room."

"All right. I'll be waiting."

I sent everyone away but stayed in the living room because there was something I needed to check when no one was looking. My eyes quickly scanned through the system windows and found the message that popped up after Lord Voice had left to hand out the invitations.

⟬«Quest» The third [Calling of the Grand Priest of Voiceism] has been automatically upgraded to the fourth.⟭

⟬«Quest» Fourth [Calling of the Grand Priest of Voiceism] (Difficulty Level: Unknown)

Now that a great temple for the parish of the Grand Priest of Voiceism has been completed, arrange an impressive opening ceremony to attract the attention of humans and gods.

Reward Upon Success: ???

Failure Penalty: None⟭

I wasn't surprised to see a follow-up quest, however, there was an unexpected reward I had gained thanks to the changing of the grand priest quest.

⟬«System» Quest completion reward [???] has been collected upon the automatic upgrade of the quest level.⟭

Great! I'd secured the reward for level three without visiting the church directly. This was why I wanted to be alone in the living room. Feeling jittery, I spread my arms wide open.

«What are you doing, Ailette?» Agnes asked as I held the pose.

"I'm waiting to receive Lord Voice's blessing."

I was anticipating some kind of grand display, maybe I would be granted a new ability in a shower of holy light or—

Poof!

"Huh?"

Something as light as a feather landed upon the open palm of my right hand. I dropped my left weakly to my side.

⟬«System» You've received [The Entrance Ticket to an Unknown Event].⟭

Holding the object up to my face, I saw that it was a holographic ticket, which glistened in all the colors of the rainbow when titled from one side to the other.

⟬«MISC» [The Entrance Ticket to an Unknown Event]

A pass that grants the user the right to enter an [Unknown Event Dungeon] located in Wevrille Island, located on the west side of the Vinchester Kingdom. An original expansion pack unrelated to the original story. What exists inside the dungeon is unconfirmed.

Note: Plausibility and divinity considered and used greatly by [The Voice that Shapes the World] to grant you your long-awaited wish.⟭

My long-awaited wish? I pondered deeply upon this heavy claim, but I couldn't think of what it could be referencing. I decided it wouldn't be good to make any assumptions anyway, since I didn't want to hurt Lord Voice's feelings by being disappointed if I guessed incorrectly.

I'll find out eventually. The special opening ceremony of the church was more important right now, so I put the ticket away and stood up. There were many things I had to do, and I was determined to do them well.

✠

I'd decided to name the church after the only saint in Voiceism, and soon, it was the day of the opening ceremony for the Church of Saint Agnes. I was shocked when I arrived in front of the church in my ceremonial uniform.

"W-Why are there so many people?!"

It felt like everyone at the duchy had come, for the worship hall, front yard, and streets were all bustling with people.

"It's the Divine Emissary!"

"Saintess! Please look this way!"

"Congratulations on your church, saintess!"

People continued to cheer and congratulate me as I walked from the street and through the main gate into the front yard.

Maybe all of these people will become followers of Voiceism in the future. My heart was pumping with excitement. Considering how I felt, I could only imagine how elated Lord Voice would be.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World is touched deeply as they bite their fist.⟭

⟬The Eye Overseeing All Chaos sends The Voice that Shapes the World a fond look of congratulations and a bouquet of flowers.⟭

⟬The Architect of the Skyscraper of Suffering pops a firecracker over The Voice that Shapes the World's head.⟭

⟬The Critic for Balance sings a congratulatory song, loud enough for the entire R&D department to hear.⟭

The church's front yard looked like a bustling outdoor banquet. The commoners and the nobles were in their own crowds, excitedly chatting amongst themselves, and between them paced my grandfather, Bianca, and Hilde, who were busily greeting everyone in attendance.

All three of them were also followers of Voiceism, their passionate greetings to newcomers managed to convert them to becoming followers.

⟬«System» You have converted an atheist into a follower.⟭

⟬«System» You have converted an atheist into a follower.⟭

⟬«System» You have converted an atheist into a follower.⟭

At this rate, Tier 9 divine power might not be far away! My heart exploded with anticipation—this was an extremely successful pyramid scheme I had come up with. Since the key focus of any church event was the worship service, I stayed in the bishop's room on the highest floor of the church until that portion of the ceremony was to start. I could see more and more people gathering as I looked through the window, but humans weren't the only beings in attendance.

⟬The Advocate of Confidentiality says they dropped by on their way to somewhere else and coldly congratulates The Voice that Shapes the World.⟭

⟬The Scale that Judges Souls complements the interior design of the church by commenting that it looks like a wedding hall.⟭

⟬The Supreme Merchant of All Things advises that she will sell any items you need for the church at half price as a special deal to congratulate you on its establishment.⟭

⟬The Executive of Creative Economy wishes you a successful operation.⟭

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World seeks correction of the word "operation" to "cultivation."⟭

Thank you, everyone. I was moved that not only the gods from the R&D department, but the other gods as well, took time out of their busy schedule to congratulate us. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a careful knock on the door, which opened to reveal Hilde.

"Umm..."

It seemed that she still found the title "sister" quite awkward, so she mumbled her way through it as she greeted me.

"What is it, Hilde?" I replied with a warm smile.

"It's time."

"Really? Then let's go."

It was time to go to the worship hall. The hall was extravagant and large, the first floor filled with commoners and the second and third with nobles. Before I entered, I had the members of the Silver Citadel Knight Division take their respective seats.

"Ash, Hestio, and Ephael, sit at the very front. I reserved special seats for you."

"Ugh. Can't I sit at the back?"

"Let's just do as the division commander wants, Ephael."

"Ha. Fine, Hestio. But what about Tesilid? Is he not coming?"

People had been disturbing Tesilid nonstop ever since the truth about his heritage came to light, which made such gatherings an excruciating experience for him. But I knew he wasn't going to miss my first worship service.

"He's sitting with the people on the first floor," I explained.

"Oh, I found him. He's the one wearing a hood over his head, right?"

"You definitely have a keen eye, Ash."

You had a special talent for finding the main lead in the original story, too. While the Silver Citadel knights entered through the regular entrance and took their seats, Hilde and I went around to the side door to enter the worship hall.

Standing on the podium, I realized that I recognized quite a few faces. Commander Rex and Cardinal Cartelaya seemed to have attended as official representatives of the Vatican. Additionally, Bianca seemed to have invited my parents, and on the third floor were Prinz and Raewyn in their formal royal knights uniform.

The fact that the royal knights are here means... As soon as the thought crossed my mind, a new message popped up.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World registers Rigarez Ezentel Vinchester as rank three of offerings made by regular followers.⟭

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World registers Celesteed Violine Vinchester as rank two of offerings made by regular followers.⟭

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World registers Laviosa Angela Vinchester as rank one of offerings made by regular followers.⟭

As expected, the royal family of Vinchester was here. It seemed that they had become followers of Voiceism upon discovering Tesilid's identity. They'd even pushed my grandfather off of the list of highest-ranked followers by claiming gold, silver, and bronze medals at once.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World whispers that this could all come to around five billion cash.⟭

⟬The Scale that Judges Souls cheers you on and advises that purchasing the Genre-Change Voucher is not far away.⟭

⟬The Executive of Creative Economy's eyes glisten at the thought of a successful sales quarter.⟭

I can't believe I've collected half already. I was so touched that I almost dropped a tear, but was stopped by a confusing observation.

Is Queen Laviosa here as well? I don't see her... Oh. The queen was wearing a black dress and a veil over her face. It seems she'd decided to sit with the commoners on the first floor, which was most interesting.

«Ailette. That woman in that gloomy outfit sitting at the far end on the left... Isn't that Queen Laviosa?» Agnes asked with a tone of caution.

"It is."

«She's sitting next to Tesilid.»