Chapter 64

Chapter 1: The Origin of the Holy Church — Many years ago, frail humans prayed to the gods for miracles to bestow blessings upon them, hoping to strengthen their kindred.

The Holy Church is the guiding force of humanity. In the book, its earliest history can be traced back to before the Common Era. Back then, the Church was not yet called the Holy Church; it was merely a group of people favored by the gods. They used divine power to benefit humanity. The fertility goddess’s miracles could ensure bountiful harvests and feed their kin. The healing god’s miracles could ward off diseases and treat injuries. The miracles of Danaerthys could enable humans to harness the power of nature, and together with the angels sent by the gods, they could resist foreign enemies… It could be said that without the divine gifts and the existence of the Church, as the weakest among all intelligent beings, humans would never have developed to where they are today.

I do not know what concept of divinity is being referred to here, as the book does not mention any specific descriptions of the gods. Only at the end is there an illustration depicting a giant figure emitting light, whose face is obscured, with a group of small but devout people kneeling at his feet. These people should be the embryonic form of the Holy Church.

Hmm… I don’t quite understand this.

As I turned the page, voices were heard outside the door.

“Master Percival, you’re back.”

“Yes, I came to find my sister. Is she inside?”

“Well, uh, His Lordship instructed not to disturb her…”

“I’m not here to disturb her, I just want to talk to her… Pepe, are you there—”

“Master! Please don’t, His Grace will scold me…”

“It’s fine, fine. Just don’t tell him, don’t be so rigid… Pepe, I’m coming in now~”

“Percival, Master—”

Click.

The door behind me opened.

“Hush, I’ll only stay for a moment, then I’ll leave. Just pretend you don’t know anything, okay~”

“But, Master—”

Click. The door closed again, and annoying footsteps drew nearer.

“Pepe~ What are you doing… Oh, reading a book?”

I lifted my head and glanced at him, wrinkling my little nose unhappily, not intending to acknowledge him.

“Are you still angry with me?”

Without answering his question, I continued to bury myself in the book.

The following content roughly describes the power of faith, which is the miracles bestowed upon humans by the gods.

What is meant by the divine gift is the myriad forms of miracles that can be utilized. Since the gods granting these gifts differ, the miracles are naturally divided into many categories. For example, the fertility goddess grants humans…

, a miracle of nature. The sin goddess bestowed upon humans miracles of punishment; the golden bell of the old man in the robe falls under this category. The god Danaelcis granted humans miracles of origin… wait, miracles of origin?

“Ahhh— Just finished patrolling, I’m so tired… Peipei, look what I bought for you?”

If I remember correctly, fire, water, earth, wood, wind, and lightning; these are the six great origins of the world, but aren’t those driven by the power of order?

How did it become miracles of origin? Is there an error in the book’s description, or did I misunderstand?

Could it be that the origins mentioned here are not the same as the origins of order? Are there differences between the two?

“Peipei, quickly look at this!”

“…”

My concentration was broken by him pushing my shoulder a few times, so I had to look up at him impatiently.

I hate it when people disturb me while I’m reading!

“Sauce! White pearl bracelet from the Apfelrad workshop!”

In his hand was a bracelet that was translucent and smooth like jade, and he raised his head proudly, looking at me as if he were a child asking for praise.

“This cost me almost a month’s worth of offerings. What do you think, do you like it?”

How could I like something like this, which is for little girls… ah, why is my hand reaching out?

By the time I realized it, the bracelet was already in my palm.

It felt very smooth, with an ivory-like color that faintly glowed under the firelight.

“Hey, if you like it, don’t be mad at me, okay?”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“I don’t like it.”

But I didn’t hesitate with my hands; I quickly put the bracelet on my right wrist, extending my fair arm to compare it under the gentle candlelight.

… It’s actually quite pretty.

“But you’re wearing it, if you don’t like it, give it back to me.”

“I’m going to read now. Get out.”

“No, I want to chat with you for a bit~ What are you reading?”

“World History.”

“Oh, how boring, just like grandpa. Didn’t you used to love reading about knights?”

I ignored him and continued reading the next line.

[… The grace of the gods protects our lives, yet cannot satisfy those with ugly hearts. In the year 864 AD, led by Isaac Leslie, believers were seduced by demons to rebel against the church, transforming into bloodthirsty devils. Over the next ten years, they founded a deeply sinful cult known as the Gate of Truth.]