Luke, hearing the story from Kaila, raised his voice.
“Is what you just said really true?”
“Of course, haven’t you ever heard it before?”
Luke shook his head.
Naturally, it was the first he had heard of it.
“To pray sincerely to the angel will bring your wishes to fruition…”
At Luke’s muttering, Kaila added,
“I’m telling you, success in business, improvement in health, better grades! Many people have experienced real effects. Well, not everything you hear on the street is credible, but…”
Yes, that part was right.
The idea that simply believing in it would bring everything to fruition seemed like complete nonsense, didn’t it?
It seemed that Kaila wasn’t just a naive child who sincerely believed in that story.
But suddenly, ‘faith in angels’?
Luke couldn’t completely guess the reason for its emergence.
If this were indeed a sign of faith returning…
The seriousness of the situation could be greater than Luke had anticipated.
That meant, merely using Kaila would not lead to any change in the situation.
Luke soon lifted the curtain and dispelled the ‘Silent’ magic he had prepared, erasing the ‘Sleep’ spell he had charged on his fingertips to take away Kaila’s consciousness if necessary, and spoke.
“Kaila, where did you hear that story?”
“Why? Are you really interested in angels?”
“Of course.”
Seeing the serious look in Luke’s eyes, Kaila tilted her head in confusion.
She thought someone as rational as Luke wouldn’t be interested in such stories, but was it surprising that he actually liked them?
Well, Luke was still 10 years old, so believing in angels that only exist in fairy tales wasn’t so strange after all.
Thinking that way, it wasn’t too odd for Luke to show interest in angels.
“Ah, that’s just something people say, you know? I just heard it on the street and mumbled it, I don’t really believe that praying makes things happen. That’s all just a scam, a scam.”
Kaila expressed her thoughts, worried that Luke might be disappointed, but Luke had already lost interest in such trivialities.
“That’s not important; just tell me which street you heard it on.”
With the goddess asleep now, if this was a scheme that heretics were devising to awaken the divine, it was something that should never be taken lightly.
———
A little while later.
Arriving at the street Kaila had mentioned, Luke was thoroughly confused.
There, a significant number of people were dressed in white robes, raising their voices and distributing pamphlets like those handing out flyers.
“The angel who brings the dead to life truly exists!”
“If you sincerely believe in him, your family will be harmonious, your business will thrive, and your grades will improve!”
“Many people have truly received grace! If you look at this pamphlet, you’ll find interviews with those individuals!”
“That being will truly bring peace of mind!”
Their shouts declaring that by believing in the existence of the ‘angel’, one would receive such grace resembled the scene of heretics preaching in a village square, 5000 years ago.
One fortunate point was that unlike the heretics from 5000 years ago, they were not cursing passersby with phrases like “unbelievers to hell!”
No, instead, they seemed to have an emotion that expressed regret at not being able to share such goodness with others.
It was reminiscent of those engaging in volunteer work because they genuinely enjoyed helping others.
However, the reason Luke was so appalled wasn’t solely because their preaching was genuinely wholesome and positive.
The most shocking fact was that among those raising their voices in preaching, there were strangely familiar faces.
“Oh my god, aren’t those the ones I resurrected?”
Yes, they were those who had become undead due to the machinations of a lich in the past.
They were individuals who had witnessed and experienced the moment when he first significantly increased his divine power.
They were those who had experienced death yet regained life.
Yes, now he understood clearly.
He understood the identity of the angel they spoke of and the grace they had experienced under the name of miracles.
And the fact that this situation was a tragedy he himself had created.
“…”
Luke placed his hand on his forehead.
None of them had seen his face properly, so he had thought it would be fine, but now he felt foolish for that assumption.
“I’m going insane, really.”
No wonder he felt so good today.
He never imagined that he would have gathered so many followers without even realizing it.
——
Luke approached the person who seemed most familiar and was fervently shouting.
“Excuse me… I have something to ask.”
“Oh, you are…!”
The middle-aged man who saw Luke raised his voice with a very pleased expression.
“Aren’t you that kid who used to play the cello here often?”
“Yeah, that was me. You still remember.”
Indeed, he was the man who used to give money frequently for Luke’s cello performances, but he could count on one hand the times he actually stayed to listen to the entire performance because he was busy.
It seemed to have been months since he last played, yet he was grateful that the man still remembered him, but meeting him in such a situation felt oddly strange.
Moreover, considering that it was this man’s face that made him resolve to save them, it felt even more peculiar.
“Indeed! My eyes were not wrong.”
He laughed heartily.
“You’ve grown so much; I’d believe you were already a lady! I hope you’ve grown healthily; it seems my daily prayers to the angel were worth it. Seeing you grown up like this feels like the angel heard my voice.”
“…Haha.”
Luke forced a smile.
Yes, the angel is indeed listening to your voice.
That’s the truth.
“Right, you said you had something you wanted to ask? Are you also interested in the angel?”
The man asked.
Luke inquired.
“Yes, I’m curious about what exactly you all are doing here.”
He grinned and replied,
“As you can see, we’re talking about the angel.”
“For what purpose?”
“To achieve a better life.”
“A better life? What do you mean?”
To Luke’s question, he spoke as if giving a grand speech.
“It’s as it sounds; we aim for people to be more aware of the ways to welcome a happier tomorrow than today. Through this, we hope to teach ways for everyone to enjoy a better life and allow society to make further progress.”
Luke broke into a cold sweat at his words.
Had he always been so eloquent?
The man no longer exhibited the meek demeanor of a defeated head of household that he had previously felt.
What on earth had transformed him so dramatically?
“You’ve changed… a lot.”
And it wasn’t just his attitude toward life that had changed.
His once mixed grey hair now had a strangely similar color to Luke’s platinum hair, and the face that had been marked with wrinkles, age spots, and dark circles now looked vibrant, seeming as if he had regained ten years of youth.
Hearing such words, he burst out laughing.
“Haha, indeed. This is all thanks to the grace of the angel.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t have any memory of giving such grace.”
“Hahaha! You look skeptical, which is understandable. But listen.”
Luke listened to his voice intently.
“I, you see, had already died once. I know it’s hard to believe.”
“Hmm.”
Of course, he believed it.
He had been the one to resurrect him.
He continued speaking.
“After experiencing death, everything in the world that had tormented me began to look different.”
“That’s understandable.”
Isn’t it a concern that transcends life and death that exists anywhere in this world?
It wouldn’t have been difficult for someone who had been burdened by life to realize it.
“So, I decided to challenge myself anew. I rejuvenated my business plans and began to improve my life. Remarkably, I managed to restore my broken life to what it once was.”
My failed business succeeded.
My family, who had left my side, sought me out once more.
My broken body healed, and my relationships recovered.
“I firmly believe that all of this is a result of the angel who shone before my eyes at that moment. Because I believed in that being, I was able to achieve this much success. I swore from that moment on to dedicate this life to him, as it was a life given by him.”
At his words, Luke wore a strange expression and spoke.
“…I think it was just your effort that led to your success…”
“That’s impossible! Without the angel’s favor, I would never have succeeded! Even now, look; if it weren’t for the angel’s help, I wouldn’t be able to lead so many people into his warm embrace.”
Luke was astonished by his words.
“What? Are you the leader?”
He then waved his hands as if saying that was absurd.
“What, the leader? Nonsense! I’m not that grand a figure; I just want to convey the grace the angel has bestowed upon me.”
But Luke, feeling a strange sensation from him, asked anxiously,
“By the way, is your hair dyed? That color wasn’t yours originally, was it?”
“No, I truly came to change this way by believing in him. This color resembles the one that shone during that time, so I consider this a grace as well.”
“Is that so?”
This was a serious situation.
Could he really have become his apostle?
He handed a pamphlet to Luke and said,
“Here, if you’re interested, read this.”
“…”
Luke furrowed his brow.
What on earth was going on?
