Ch.809Why I Don’t Serve the Gods

Leopold, convinced I had forgotten Ludwig’s funeral, shook his head with a light sigh.

Was I supposed to show at least minimal respect for my adoptive father and the previous head of the family?

Both Hersella and this gentleman seemed to treat me like some shameless, unfilial person, which I found absurd.

To be honest, was my relationship with Ludwig truly that of father and daughter?

Being his adopted daughter was merely to establish legitimacy for inheriting Landenburg. In reality, our relationship was closer to a partnership of mutual necessity.

The deceased Ludwig would have thought the same. Probably.

Well, that didn’t mean I didn’t respect him.

I simply didn’t know I had to attend his funeral. Had I known, I would have conducted the funeral before taking action. Delaying by a day wouldn’t have significantly affected the subjugation of Nidhogg.

—-

Therefore, I discussed the postponed funeral procedures with Leopold.

Since we were holding a funeral anyway, he thought to officially recognize me as the new head of Landenburg at the same event.

I asked if we should announce our independence from the Empire all at once, but he said it was premature. We hadn’t even established the foundations to stand as an independent nation yet.

Eleonora and Leonore, along with a few administrators who knew about the kingdom establishment plan, were apparently deliberating…

While they might know how to run a country, founding one was a first-time experience for them too, causing various difficulties.

“In the first place, there are numerous matters that cannot even begin without asking for your intentions.”

What kind of country would we create? What administrative system? Laws? Military structure? Religion?

If we were simply copying the Empire’s systems, that would be one thing, but if we wanted to create an entirely new country, these were questions that needed to be addressed.

Eleonora and Leonore were merely assistants; I was the only one who could provide answers to these questions. That was supposedly the duty and authority of a monarch.

Personally, I thought we could just copy the Empire’s methods for such matters… but subordinates like Eleonora and Leonore couldn’t decide without asking for my intentions.

For example, if they created national laws based on the Empire’s legal code, but I decided to govern according to Ka’har law, they would have to completely overhaul the legal system they had created.

Because of this issue, the two of them had postponed numerous agenda items and were eagerly awaiting my arrival.

“Sigh… it sounds tedious just hearing about it.”

I tilted my head back to look at the ceiling, exhaling mint smoke like a sigh.

I’d have to spend the foreseeable future buried in piles of documents. Wielding a pen instead of a sword.

“I understand your feelings, but it can’t be helped. This is what it means to ascend to the throne.”

It’s not ascending to the throne, but being forced onto it. The snowball that started with Astraea screwing me over with her stigmata had rolled all the way here, though I never asked for such a role.

While I couldn’t back out now, it wasn’t particularly appealing. Still, dealing with paperwork was a hundred, no, a thousand times better than being harassed by Astraea’s fanatics.

If they were villains or enemies, I could just cut them down, but their troubling behavior stemmed from pure devotion and goodwill, making it difficult for me to complain.

Moreover, their method of imposing their will wasn’t through coercion or manipulation, but self-harm while claiming they were sinners for failing to properly serve their saint.

While currently there was only one such priest, Bethania, once my identity as a saint became publicly recognized, that number might increase several—no, hundreds of times over.

So… what was I supposed to do?

I couldn’t—and didn’t want to—grant all their wishes, but at the very least, I needed to avoid a situation where they gathered in front of my house for collective self-harm.

For the time being, I would have to rack my brains with Eleonora about what kind of country to create.

—-

The funeral procedure itself was simple.

Since Ludwig was an Imperial Prince-Elector and Margrave, I had worried we might need to hold a forty-nine day mourning period or something similar, but fortunately that wasn’t necessary.

We would move the sarcophagus containing Ludwig’s body to the barely restored Extrashafel Cathedral, hold a funeral mass and memorial service to comfort the deceased’s soul, and then place the consecrated coffin in the cemetery.

Leopold wanted me to personally conduct the mass and memorial service as Astraea’s saint, but I refused. I had to refuse.

Unlike in my original world, memorial services here weren’t just about reciting impressive prayers and pouring holy oil; they involved bestowing blessings on the corpse itself to guide the soul to the embrace of the gods.

Of course, whether the gods actually took that soul to heaven was something one couldn’t know without dying.

The practical purpose of the memorial service was to prevent the dead body from reviving as an undead monster. That’s why I couldn’t do it.

All I could do as a saint was pray to Astraea; I couldn’t manifest miraculous blessings by consuming holy power like other priests.

As I’ve repeatedly stated, I was a saint who didn’t serve the gods.

Why?

Isn’t it obvious? Whether Elpinel or Astraea, they say that believing in and following the gods leads one’s soul to the gods’ heaven after death, but I didn’t want that.

For the humans of this world, reaching heaven after death might be the ultimate honor and hope, but I couldn’t see it as an honor. Rather, it was the opposite.

Because I wasn’t a human of this world.

For me, the gods of this world weren’t literal gods but beings closer to transcendent entities in a game, and living in a heaven created by such gods…

It was little different from living as a pet in a well-maintained garden even after death.

Far from being an honor or hope.

That’s why, while I acknowledged Astraea’s existence, I didn’t submit to her as a deity. I didn’t want to hand over my soul to the goddess after death.

That was the fundamental reason why I couldn’t handle even a fragment of holy power despite having received the stigmata.

Thanks to the stigmata, communication through prayer was possible, but whether she would respond to my prayers depended entirely on Astraea’s will, and even if she did respond, I couldn’t predict what would happen as a result.

In other words, if I officiated the memorial service, there was a possibility that the blessing for the dead would be properly cast, but conversely, there might just be a flashy but ineffective display of holy light, or nothing might happen at all.

If such a situation occurred at the funeral of a Margrave, it would be no small disaster.

Therefore.

“Lacy or the Archbishop of the Church of Saulite would be better than me. I’m too inexperienced for such an important responsibility, and Margrave Ludwig wasn’t even a believer of the Church of Astraea.”

I passed the role of conducting the funeral mass to someone else, providing reasons that Leopold could accept.

The territory of Landenburg had a stronger influence from the Church of Saulite than other regions due to the high demand for healing priests, and the Church of Elpinel was undoubtedly the largest religious organization in the Empire.

Either priest would likely satisfy the deceased Ludwig.

“That’s a reasonable point. Very well. I’ll entrust the memorial service to Archbishop Elmaine.”

“Thank you.”

Leopold nodded readily.

Judging by his quick agreement, it seemed he had merely suggested it without truly expecting me to conduct the service.

After discussion, we decided to place the consecrated coffin in the underground cemetery of Landenburg Castle after the mass.

The catacombs of Extrashafel Cathedral and the national cemetery for war heroes were also considered, but it seemed right for the lord of Landenburg to be buried in Landenburg’s cemetery.

Ludwig would probably have wanted that too, given how he had lived practically rooted in Landenburg territory during his lifetime.

“Since I’ll need to stay in Landenburg territory for a while anyway, I’ll take him with me when I go.”

I planned to leave the island and head east after completing a few tasks, including the funeral.

With the main forces of Alvheim and the Dragon Kingdom destroyed, peace would likely continue for a while. I needed to use this opportunity to return to the east and stabilize Landenburg territory.

“Do so. I’ve placed preservation magic on the body, so even if the burial is delayed, the corpse won’t decay.”

Leopold nodded.