Chapter 29

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on February 6, 2025

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It’s getting chilly even during the day now.

To give you an idea, the robes of the wandering preachers have gotten much longer and thicker.

And with so much time passing, there have been many changes in this world too.

First off, over 200 people have received my blessings. That means I can see 200 channels right now.

Of course, I’m keeping an eye on all of them.

I thought there might be a limit once it hit 100, but nope—nothing at all.

Even watching everything simultaneously doesn’t give me a headache or make me lose focus. And it’s not like my power is decreasing either.

Honestly speaking, I’m basically giving away infinite strength without any cost.

Weird, huh?

At some point, I mentioned that I’d take back all the power eventually. Meaning, until then, I need to share my resources. But no matter how much I give, my power doesn’t seem to diminish.

So, I came up with a new hypothesis:

Maybe I’m not using *my* power at all—I’m just acting as a conduit. Perhaps the power itself comes from the person receiving it.

I’m simply awakening the potential they already had within them.

That would explain why everyone manifests different kinds of strength.

Still, in cases like this…

In stories I’ve read, when someone uses their latent abilities, they usually lose years off their life or sacrifice something important. But I don’t see any signs of that here.

Then again, I haven’t been here for more than a year. It’s hard to tell if anyone’s lifespan has shortened yet.

So, at this point, I still don’t know.

Could it be because I am the vast ocean beneath the surface? Is that why I can give endlessly to everyone without running out?

One day, I’ll figure it out for sure.

Now, onto the second change.

Andrew’s subordinates started infiltrating one by one.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t another Warmth event. Even though we added one extra portion (three people per day + one), they probably still thought 200 was too few, so they didn’t prepare any offerings to approach me directly.

One of those three happened to be Andrew’s subordinate.

When I bless someone and taint the light black, I copy all their memories. So, no matter what their intentions are, once they receive my blessing, everything becomes crystal clear to me.

Of course, if their memories were tampered with or messed up through hypnosis or other means, things might look different—but that’s something I should keep in mind as a weakness.

Next, the third change.

The Kingdom of Lasve attacked the Future Hope Church from the west where I currently reside.

But Hieronymus was one step ahead.

He led the army eastward toward a village in the Kingdom of Cogni. Half of those villages had already fallen under the church’s influence—they forced conversions, coerced villagers into killing dissenters, and turned them against each other.

The other half were ordinary villages in the Kingdom of Cogni, places where evangelism had just begun or hadn’t reached yet.

Lasve’s forces attacked indiscriminately.

Why?

If terrorist-like incidents happen enough in villages, wouldn’t you start distrusting every single one?

So, the Kingdom of Lasve massacred everyone in those villages. This resulted in conflict with the Kingdom of Cogni.

Any rational person would form an alliance first and deal with the cult of Future Hope Church together.

However, among the people blessed by me, there are those who can use brainwashing-like techniques.

If there’s only one person in charge, guiding others becomes easy.

Once the fight begins, it can’t stop.

Too much blood has already been spilled—whether it soaked into their bodies after killing someone or flowed out from their own deaths.

Yeah.

The Kingdoms of Lasve and Cogni are on the brink of war.

The reason I know this is simple—more than half of the people I’ve blessed were involved in this operation.

But the commander wasn’t Hieronymus.

Rather, it was a man named Witga who commands the ones I’ve blessed. He seemed like just a teacher before—like an Education Minister, maybe?

After all, he taught martial arts, tactics, and strategy.

But it seems that someone skilled enough to teach such things can also implement them effectively.

So, he gives orders while traveling alongside those I’ve blessed, using them almost like generals.

Each individual command might be hard to understand, but since I can hear and see nearly all of them, once I piece together the actions, I can figure out what Witga’s really doing.

Hieronymus’ subordinate is impressive.

There were four people directly under Hieronymus at the time.

I wondered if Andrew, being one of them, might be planning betrayal—but no, he’s working diligently.

Hieronymus certainly has capable underlings.

Things are going smoothly so far, meaning the Kingdoms of Lasve and Cogni will definitely go to war.

Once that happens, both nations will be too busy fighting each other to focus elsewhere.

That’ll free up time to focus on Hieronymus’ presumed nemesis—the Kingdom of Ansellus.

These are the three major changes.

There are smaller ones too.

For instance, this:

“Wow! It’s the Apostle!”

“Bless me too! Please, a blessing!”

“Apostle-sama is the best!”

Right now, about 3 meters away from where I am, outside what looks like a wooden fence, kids estimated to be under 10 are waving at me.

Behind them, adults who appear to be parents have their hands clasped in prayer.

Yeah.

Welcome to my debut as a zoo animal.

About 15 minutes of face-time.

Hieronymus suddenly came up with this last week. He said all I had to do was show my face to the believers—a simple task. But honestly, I feel like a caged beast in a zoo.

It’s nice that people are less wary of me now.

Thanks to that, life has become more comfortable.

But isn’t it a bit much to throw me into such a warm atmosphere? Compared to the baby used as an offering before, these kids radiate much stronger light—and along with it, warmth.

Actually, now that there are so many examples, I notice that younger ones tend to lack warmth compared to their light.

Around 7 or 8 years old seems to be when the warmth matches the size of the light in their hearts.

So, does warmth grow alongside intelligence?

It would be great to finally figure out what exactly warmth is, but for now, I still don’t know.

Still, warmth is wonderful. Even without fully understanding it, it helps ease the endless chill around me.

While I was idly passing the time like this…

One kid climbed over the fence.

The adults praying behind him screamed.

Seriously, their reactions were just like seeing a kid climb over a zoo enclosure.

The kid crossed the fence in seconds and ran straight toward me, shouting “Apostle-sama!”

But I stayed put because Joanna was approaching at incredible speed from quite a distance away.

Before the kid could reach me, Joanna scooped him up. The child squirmed, trying to escape her embrace.

Does he want to meet me that badly?

Hmm…

Let me think about Hieronymus’ intentions here.

By calling me the Apostle and putting me on display, he’s probably aiming for something like a Saint roleplay scenario.

He told me it’d be fine to just wave or exchange glances, but showcasing myself daily feels excessive for maintaining an air of mystery.

Or maybe this is a test.

Yeah.

If it’s a test, I better pass.

I stood up and walked toward the child. While struggling to break free from Joanna’s grip, the kid looked at me and smiled brightly.

Joanna tensed her arms, then glanced up at me after seeing the child’s expression. A blank-faced girl was walking toward us.

She tightened her grip again.

This time, she tried to shield the child and step back.

So, I pointed at the child.

Wait, Joanna’s reaction makes sense. She probably thought of me as harmless—but her attempt to hide the child suggests otherwise.

Guess I’m still seen as a dangerous beast who eats people.

Joanna stopped moving.

But her arms remain tense, holding the child tightly. She resists as I approach.

Does she think touching me is dangerous?

Still, I made my point. Now stuck between options, Joanna freezes as I step right in front of her.

I placed my hand on the child’s cheek. So soft. Just a little closer, and I could absorb the warmth. Such a large amount of light—but paired with a very small amount of warmth.

I want to take it.

But I resist.

“It’s dangerous to climb over fences like that. Do you understand?”

The child looks at my hand resting on his cheek with trembling eyes, wearing an eerie expression. Huh? Can he sense danger?

He nods slightly.

Then I turn to Joanna, who’s alternating glances between me and the child.

“Please return the child.”

“Yes, Lady Rebecca.”

Joanna carried the child back to the fence and handed him over to a woman waiting anxiously outside.

As soon as the woman took her child, she smacked him on the head and hugged him tightly. The kid starts crying.

Half the crowd watching admires them enviously; the other half glares jealously.

But no one seems scared of me anymore.