Ch.2020. Preparation

After arriving at the entrance of the Blood Sanctuary, I first changed my appearance from simply wearing a robe to something more elaborate.

Happily wagging my fluffy wolf tail, I entered the Blood Sanctuary and began walking quickly toward my altar—

“—Who might you be?”

In the middle of my journey, I was stopped by Lisa, who as the caretaker automatically received information about visitors entering this place.

‘Huh? A vampire who grew up?’

I was momentarily surprised to see that Lisa, who was clearly an undead vampire, had grown.

‘Ah, now that I think about it…’

I remembered that for pure-blooded vampires, who are closer to spirits or fairies whose bodies reflect their souls like mirrors, growth is possible. If their souls mature through sufficient mental growth, their outward appearance can certainly change under the soul’s influence.

Additionally, since high-ranking vampires can change their appearance through transformation abilities, it’s not particularly strange that her external form had changed. Just as I was recalling this…

“Based on the holy power of the great Ma-Duk I sense, you’re not an intruder. Sister, who… are you?”

Snapping back to reality at Lisa’s question, I was about to reveal my identity… but something about moving around as a young girl while being a deity felt a bit off, so I hastily began to act.

“I am His messenger and herald, Lisa Raeldotir.”

“…Yes! Oh, I understand! W-what brings you here?”

Lisa quickly straightened her slightly disheveled nun’s habit, fixed her hair, and asked me in an extremely polite posture with a trembling voice.

“He has something to convey to you. First… could you please guide me to your ‘room’?”

I said this because it felt somewhat awkward to deliver the message within the sanctuary, but her reaction was a bit strange.

“What? A r-room…?”

“Yes. Surely there must be a residential room that He bestowed upon Lisa Raeldotir?”

“Y-yes… of course there is…”

While it might have just looked suspicious at first glance, I could roughly grasp the situation through the slight agitation and shame visible in Lisa’s stammering expression.

‘It’s probably too messy to show me, or something like that.’

Come to think of it, an 11-year-old apprentice sorceress wouldn’t have had to do difficult chores, and as the chief’s daughter with servants, Lisa had lived quite comfortably. How could she properly clean or manage a home?

“…I see. Yes. I understand the situation.”

Since I was planning to give her gifts anyway, I brought out one of the three gifts I had prepared for her—dedicated servants who would attend to her and help manage the sanctuary.

“Come forth, maids.”

The moment I opened my mouth and spoke directly, a total of ten maids—identical in every aspect from face to uniform—appeared out of thin air.

As mentioned earlier, these maids were meant to help Lisa manage this vast space by handling minor tasks, while also serving as companions and attendants to prevent her from feeling lonely in her daily life.

Furthermore, unlike their shameless and revealing maid uniforms might suggest, they were warriors who would serve as vanguards for the Saint, a clerical profession relatively weak in close combat. In an emergency, those exposed-chest maid uniforms would transform into armor, and they would become Lisa’s guards.

Of course, if an enemy were strong enough to threaten Lisa, these guards would be fortunate to serve as one-time meat shields.

“Who are these…?”

“They are handmaidens who will serve you, Lisa Raeldotir. The Saint of the Great One shouldn’t have to do household chores herself.”

As Lisa questioned with a somewhat ambiguous voice, perhaps feeling uncomfortable with their identical appearances, I maintained a poker face while gesturing to the ten maid sisters to clean her room.

“Um, where are they going…?”

“To clean your messy room, Lisa Raeldotir.”

“…Oh, you knew?”

“Yes, I am the herald of the Great One. Such knowledge is only natural.”

As Lisa whispered in a tiny voice that seemed ready to shrink away, clearly quite embarrassed, I desperately suppressed the fond smile trying to form on my face and spoke.

“Now, I shall complete the remaining business here. Please prepare yourself to hear His words.”

No sooner had I spoken than Lisa’s embarrassment vanished, replaced by a solemn expression and atmosphere as she knelt respectfully before me.

“Listen well. ‘My beloved Saint. I bestow upon you handmaidens to serve you, and two pieces of equipment for your use.'”

The two pieces of equipment I was bestowing weren’t divine artifacts, but since I had created them by consuming divine energy, they became national treasure-grade equipment of level 3.

One was a fantasy-style priestly garment exuding a fantastical atmosphere, and the other was a large priest’s staff.

The moment she touched them, Lisa’s attire transformed instantly. She seemed quite amazed and pleased with the clothes, but… I still had more to say.

“‘My Saint. I understand your hardships, but occasionally come out of your room to practice handling holy power and your bloodline’s abilities. I worry that my Saint might receive the blessing of sloth.’ That is what He said.”

“W-what?”

Having received a divine scolding that sounded more like something from a parent, Lisa reflexively questioned in a dumbfounded voice. She seemed quite embarrassed about being reprimanded by a deity, hanging her head with a bright red face.

And right after that, when she noticed the maids returning from her room carrying several large bags filled with various trash, Lisa began fidgeting anxiously, her side-swept hair fluttering.

“Ah, uuuu…”

“…Incinerate.”

While her appearance was cute, continuing to watch would be a serious disrespect to her.

Whoosh!

So I raised black holy fire with a gesture, burning the trash without a trace, then approached her as she continued to feel embarrassed—

Swish.

“…?”

“Fare well, Lisa Raeldotir.”

Unable to resist any longer, I finally reached out to pat her head, and only then could I leave her with peace of mind.

※ ※ ※

“Ah… that was healing.”

After retrieving my avatar, I watched Lisa shyly greeting the maids with satisfaction for a moment, then shifted my attention to what I needed to do next.

For Bjorn’s enhancement plan, I could create a dungeon and abduct him similar to what I’d done before, and as for Lisa, I’d keep her hidden as a secret weapon for now.

Most hidden pieces haven’t even been created yet, and since the timeline is so far ahead, there isn’t much content from the game for this period, so there’s not much to find or do.

And when I try to manage my divine territory, there’s not much to touch there either, and I’m a bit short on faith to create new followers.

So while I was contemplating what to do, I finally remembered—I hadn’t been paying attention to Gracus’s secret cult until now.

‘Ah, right.’

Although I had left them alone until now since they had their own priest and Gracus himself was quite capable, maintaining secrecy while expanding their influence… I could see they were reaching their limits.

Among his followers were those who didn’t truly worship me, extremists whose faith was so fervent they might go berserk, and regardless of their claims of devotion, I couldn’t be certain followers wouldn’t betray me.

Therefore, I needed to put a “leash” on them that would make betrayal impossible while ensuring they worshipped me sincerely… Though it might seem difficult, this was actually several times easier than expected.

The charisma emanating from my divine form was at least several times stronger than I had previously thought—strong enough to create an impulse in mortals to follow me, influencing their minds and capable of turning atheists into fanatics.

So while showing my face directly would immediately purge the current unworthy ones in the cult, it wouldn’t prevent dangerous elements from infiltrating in the future.

Therefore, I felt I needed two things:

First, to place a “leash” that could immediately detect evidence of betrayal without causing resentment, and second—

《Gracus, my child.》

“L-Lord Ma-Duk…!!!”

To meet with Gracus in advance and discuss holding a grand ceremony.