Ch.136136. Prayer

“…I seek the Goddess’s grace more desperately than a watchman awaits the dawn. Cleanse us of our sins and forgive our past indifference. Please deliver humanity from all the difficult problems of this land.”

“Answer our prayers! When we pass through barren places, create streams there so we may live in abundance, and guide those in need of urgent money to have a blessed day!”

“I desperately beg the Goddess. Please just four good numbers…!”

…

What are these people doing?

‘Saint King’ Rowan muttered as he stared blankly at the devotees immersed in prayer.

He was visiting the imperial district parish for the first time in a while. The last time he came to the imperial capital, he was just a bishop and hadn’t yet left the Hero’s pursuit team.

In truth, the Saint King wasn’t someone who could move around easily.

Though a small nation, he was clearly the ruler of a country, and his political status wasn’t far behind the Emperor of the Empire.

In the past, there would have been a commotion preparing protocol for the Saint King’s visit to the imperial capital.

But now he could visit the imperial capital quietly, skipping formalities. After Cordana, everything in the Empire seemed less serious.

No one found it strange that the Saint King—the youngest in history—entered the imperial capital on horseback like an ordinary priest.

Even the people praying fervently over there didn’t pay attention to Rowan. Whether the Saint King was nearby or not, they just passionately awaited their numbers.

…Actually, they didn’t even seem to recognize him as the Saint King. Though he wasn’t showing off, he was dressed appropriately for his position.

Still, everyone was extremely devoted to their prayers.

The Saint King had already received reports that the number of worshippers attending services had increased lately, but he couldn’t help being surprised.

‘I wondered why church attendance was recovering without context, so this is why.’

There was even a long line of people.

They would drop a worn silver coin into the donation box, kneel before the Goddess statue while mumbling prayers, and finally praise the Goddess with outstretched hands. They truly looked like they were receiving number revelations.

People who finished praying chatted happily with each other.

“Should I go to the sales office before praying? Or after?”

“You have to try different approaches, my friend. It doesn’t just work perfectly the first time.”

“Actually, while praying just now, a number suddenly hit me. But it happened to be number 8. That already came up in the first round, right?”

“It could come up again. You shouldn’t think too narrowly.”

The cardinal of the imperial district parish cautiously approached Rowan, who was watching them with a somewhat complicated expression.

“Your Holiness. What should we do about this?”

“…Is there a problem? There’s nothing wrong with offering prayers of blessing. This happens every year during Academy entrance exam season.”

“But this isn’t just happening in the main parish. A similar phenomenon is occurring in all churches managed by the imperial district. Until now, many churches held services with barely a dozen worshippers.”

“So now church attendance has recovered to pre-decline levels?”

“…Yes. It has recovered by more than half. The problem is they’re attending services for just one purpose. Some even occasionally ask priests to pick a number for them.”

“……”

“I wonder if this is happening because the Hero is the one who created the lottery system… It’s truly dreadful. Sigh.”

The cardinal kept tilting his head with an expression that suggested this wasn’t right.

He even raised concerns, saying, “I’m sure the Hero had his reasons, but I worry people are becoming too obsessed.”

Yet even then, his attitude remained very cautious. It seemed he was careful about criticizing the Hero, though he would freely curse the Goddess.

This might seem strange, but it couldn’t be helped. The Hero had provided aid to the Papal State when its finances had dried up. If not for the Hero, half the orphans under the Papal State’s care would still be eating barley porridge with pickled radish.

‘Yes. Even the Hero can make mistakes.’

However, the Saint King didn’t agree that the lottery system might be a mistake.

Though he couldn’t explain it well, seeing people blindly devoted to the lottery gave him an inkling.

And considering only practical benefits, there was no reason to stop them.

“At least you must be collecting a lot of donations. Isn’t that right? Besides, I heard half the lottery sales revenue will be used for public benefit.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

“Then just leave them be.”

Most people made donations before praying, perhaps worried the Goddess wouldn’t respond to free prayers.

Though the amounts were tiny compared to when nobles donated heavy gold coins… they would still help somewhat with church operations. Even though the worst times had passed, the Papal State was still in financial difficulty.

“The Goddess has her uses sometimes.”

He wasn’t saying this to mock the Goddess; he was sincere.

The Saint King thought he should tone down his critical sermons about the Goddess at the next service as he headed toward the imperial palace.

He hadn’t come to witness the sudden recovery of church influence, but to cooperate with the imperial family.

The Hero’s party had departed to settle matters with the Demon Lord.

Considering the Hero’s strategy and power, victory was likely, but nothing was certain. Since the possibility of the Hero’s defeat couldn’t be completely ruled out, someone had to prepare for the worst.

However, it seemed it would take some time before discussing practical matters.

The imperial palace was almost in a pre-war atmosphere.

“Your Holiness. We’ve decided not to announce the Hero’s party’s departure. Do you agree?”

This was the proposal from the Prince after exchanging glances with the Emperor.

“I don’t mind… but may I ask why?”

“It seems nobles who learned about the Hero’s departure are at it again. I don’t need to explain the situation. Lord Wellesley brought 80 billion even before becoming the Hero.”

“Yes, I understand without explanation. They’re expecting he might distribute money for free this time. Especially in the current atmosphere.”

“Moreover, the lottery’s popularity has exceeded my expectations. This will cause various problems, so we need to prepare mentally in advance. Fortunately, I have ‘this’ in my possession, but implementation is another matter.”

The Prince said this while clutching a booklet in his hand, as if it were his lifeline.

The Emperor, watching this, tried to add something but clutched his side with an “Ugh!” He said he had gallstones.

‘I thought only the Hero was fighting a war.’

The Saint King felt a rapidly bitter taste in his mouth.

Not being able to say “The Hero has gone to defeat the Demon Lord! Let’s all pray for victory!” because you can’t trust people—it didn’t seem like an overreaction.

After pondering briefly, the Saint King first cast a holy spell.

“Saint King…?”

The Emperor, who had been groaning from muscle cramps, began to look more comfortable.

Afterward, the Saint King moved to a small chapel within the imperial palace grounds and began conducting a modest sacrament with just a few royal family members, ministers, and knights in attendance.

It was to pray for the Hero’s victory and for victory in another war taking place in the imperial capital.

Though the Saint King habitually said “Don’t believe in the Goddess,” he decided to set aside even his cynicism toward the Goddess for now.

This wasn’t the time for that.

***

Running, and running more.

My party and I, traveling at our usual terrifying speed, reached the border in just three days.

We were now taking a final rest before entering the beastkin territory. Of course, we had already notified the Beastkin King.

This was possible because the ‘Saintess’ managed to keep up with our pace reasonably well.

Normally, when teaching horseback riding to women, it takes at least three months before they can barely trot along, but Saintess Gang Hannah somehow maintained her posture even on a horse running at full speed.

It was thanks to the perfectly trained war horse provided by the imperial family, but that didn’t diminish the Saintess’s adaptability.

Not only did she ride fiercely, but she also took turns with Elder Priest Edin casting holy spells.

She seemed to bite her tongue occasionally while chanting and winced in pain, but it wasn’t a problem. Being a Saintess, she could heal such minor injuries instantly.

‘She needs to be at least that capable to enter the Demonic Land.’

I handed a cup of warmed wine to the Saintess, who kept nodding off by the fire.

And before she could thank me, I spoke first.

“Saintess. I’ve heard that in your country, there are people who get rich by selling fake investment information.”

“What? Ah… yes.”

The Saintess, thinking I was trying to make a joke to relieve tension, blinked her tired eyes and said, “I’ve heard there was someone who scammed 60,000 people over 10 years by claiming to predict winning lottery numbers.”

She added the question of why I was asking something I already knew.

At this, my party members had mixed reactions.

My junior Katie exclaimed in horror, “That country really is…” while the holy knight Holan seemed disgusted and pretended not to hear the Saintess’s words.

The others just gave bitter smiles as if they’d heard an unpleasant joke.

Of course, I knew the Saintess’s country had the resilience to handle even the misdeeds of such swindlers. I had felt inadequate about this more than once.

But today I didn’t ask such a question to engage in self-loathing; I had another purpose.

‘So even in such a country, tens of thousands of people fall for obvious lies. The scale must be much larger for cryptocurrencies or real estate.’

It gave me some faint comfort to think that such things happen even in a country where virtually everyone receives higher education and information spreads extremely quickly.

This might seem like a pointless exercise, but it was necessary for me. Perhaps right now in the Empire, people might be making bar bets on whether I or the Demon Lord would win.

To ignore that and focus on the fight, I needed to calm my mind first.

“That helped, Saintess.”

I meant it sincerely.

…

A few hours later, I entered the beastkin territory fully prepared. Today, my holy sword felt a bit heavier than usual.