Ch.301The Path to the Raysion Continent (2)

“But why isn’t the Apostle of the Sun establishing an imperial foundation now?”

In a certain tavern, while Victor’s Solar Forces were flying from the Hyacinth Continent to the Lacion Continent, a woman slurred drunkenly.

“…What?”

“Think about it. Is there really a need for a pilgrimage? He’s a living god, so couldn’t he just create an avatar and send it instead? If he wants to become an Emperor and establish an empire, he could do it right now, couldn’t he? He already monopolizes all the legacy of the imperial era. If he started a war right now, there wouldn’t be any forces that could resist him.”

The woman’s words carried surprising conviction for a drunkard.

Some people began nodding in agreement, but there were those who confidently shook their heads—men with vicious killing weapons hanging from thin leather straps on their waists and backs.

In other words, they were adventurers, and they emptied their cups as if her words weren’t worth listening to, then began systematically refuting her logic.

“A wench drinking since daylight must have lost her mind…”

“What did you say?”

“Girl, do you have any idea how meaningful it is for adventurers to complete a pilgrimage?”

“Well… it’s very important, isn’t it?”

“Yes, very important. The key word here is ‘very.’ It’s irreplaceable. Even nobles and royalty must show deference to someone who has completed a pilgrimage—that’s the ‘minimum’ courtesy. Do you know how vast this continent is? It’s so vast that you couldn’t travel all of it on foot in a lifetime. And one must travel across thirteen such continents.”

As the adventurers spoke, people held their breath and listened attentively.

Because they were an armed group with alcohol in their systems.

“Just stepping outside the village, you’ll find dangerous monsters swarming everywhere in this world. And you think traveling across thirteen continents on foot is ordinary? It doesn’t get easier just because you have flying warships. Do you know how many flying monsters there are? And I’ve heard they carry tens of thousands of soldiers and thousands of armored units on their ships. Controlling such a massive force is no simple task.”

“But he’s the God of the Sun, right? How could his subordinates harbor treasonous thoughts?”

“By that logic, the Nariaki Empire would never have fallen, would it?”

When the woman looked bewildered, the adventurers clapped their hands together and mocked her with “Checkmate, bitch!”

Unfortunately for her, the adventurers’ merciless barrage of facts hadn’t stopped yet.

“A pilgrimage isn’t simply about visiting places; it’s about understanding why those places became landmarks and incorporating the lessons learned into one’s spirit and soul. That’s why even tourists don’t call themselves pilgrims. And that’s exactly what the Sun God is doing now. He is the only legitimate successor of the ancient empire—the very foundation of the imperial family. Going to these landmarks and receiving oaths of loyalty means embracing all the history achieved by the ancient empire, and all the numerous mistakes derived from that history.”

“…”

“And above all, completing the pilgrimage grants qualification. You know what that is, right? The qualification to establish one’s own nation. It’s almost the only means for an ordinary person to become an extraordinary founding monarch… The Sun God must complete the pilgrimage for that reason alone.”

“But that’s a human standard, isn’t it? Does a god need to conform to human standards?”

To the woman’s question that seemed to squeeze out her last bit of resistance, the adventurer moistened his dry lips with alcohol before answering.

“Of course. This is a kind of show. How could a god who doesn’t respect human standards rule over humans? Completing the pilgrimage is tantamount to acknowledging humanity. It means respecting the systems and traditions we’ve established and created. Do you understand now?”

With those words, the adventurer sat back down.

The woman’s face turned bright red before she paid her bill and fled the tavern, while the adventurers burst into laughter and raised their cups high.

“To the great God of the Sun!”

“Until the thirteen beacons light their flames!”

The tavern regained its liveliness, cups were refilled with alcohol, and the adventurers’ parched throats were quenched.

*

“Damn it. Now I can’t even enjoy alcohol.”

Victor closed the bottle of apple brandy with irritation.

Though it wasn’t a carbonated drink, he felt no sense of intoxication—only an unpleasant burning sensation in his throat.

Since his divinity began to erode his personality, Victor had been gradually losing his human sensations.

The most notable change was his ability to look directly at the sun with the naked eye.

An ordinary person would suffer permanent vision damage after staring at the sun for just one minute, but Victor, who had literally become a small sun, felt nothing when looking at the sun.

He couldn’t even feel the warmth of sunlight on his skin, nor could he sense the heat from a gas flame when boiling tea or soup.

By comparison, apple brandy was almost a blessing—it had merely become like apple-flavored carbonated water.

Fortunately, this hadn’t broken Victor’s mental state. Not only was his mental fortitude too strong to be shaken by such things, but he also had the understanding sage Simon and Raisha, who was experiencing similar symptoms.

In fact, Raisha should not have been experiencing sensory loss since she was still only an apostle, but because their souls had been united through their marriage declared before God, her relatively weaker soul was gradually being eroded by Victor’s.

Unlike Victor, she couldn’t feel cold.

She had even immersed herself in liquid nitrogen as if she were crazy and emerged without any effect. Naturally, she also began to lose the sensation of coldness from everyday refrigerated foods or ice cream.

The couple confided these concerns to Simon, who, after careful consideration, advised them to stay close to each other, exchange opinions, and seek out activities or objects that could help them recall their human sensations.

One might think this was just generic advice, but no matter how intelligent Simon was, he was ultimately just an immortal human.

It was actually very helpful for people in similar situations to stick together, and from a psychological perspective, seeking activities or objects that could help them recall their human sensations was a very appropriate recommendation.

It was just that when dealing with gods, even his wisdom had its limits.

Simon also informed the military chaplains who served the Sun about the hardships the Walker couple was experiencing. The chaplains, on behalf of Victor who could no longer hear the Sun’s voice, voluntarily took turns in three shifts to offer overnight prayers seeking answers from the Sun.

Then Saburo, who was also frustrated by his inability to communicate with Victor, began remotely transmitting various tips to the priests’ brains. The priests, enduring the physical pain of their brains burning, compiled the fragmented information they received and delivered it to Simon.

Afterward, the priests received treatment from military doctors, who clicked their tongues as they removed dead brain tissue and administered stem cell medications to regenerate brain cells, warning them to consult with medical staff before attempting such things again.

In any case… the information delivered to Simon was then passed on to the Walker couple, who used it to gather things that could help them recall their human sensations, allowing them to regain the feeling that they were still walking on this earth.

Subsequently, all kinds of snacks and books were included in the essential supplies list, and the priests informed the soldiers about their lord’s condition, strictly prohibiting them from casually approaching the Walker couple, laughing near them, or eating in their presence.

They were already suffering from sensory loss, and seeing others making snide remarks or enjoying food could potentially trigger an explosion of anger.

The soldiers were momentarily perplexed but soon nodded in understanding, and as time passed, some even began to appreciate the situation.

It was almost like receiving confirmation that the lord they served was truly a god, and soldiers with particularly “deep faith” began to revel in the superiority of belonging to a divine army.

Naturally, those caught by party members were labeled as “those who do not value humanity” and had to endure the triple ordeal of professional psychological counseling from military doctors, interviews with military chaplains, and interrogation by officers. By the time they reached the Lacion Continent, all such impious individuals had disappeared.