episode_0126

“Are you asking me to take over as the market leader?”

“Yes, I can’t think of anyone else but Mr. Algot. And we can’t just go to the market appointed by the other side.”

“It’s a special situation, but…”

Algot was pondering over my proposal to take over the vacant market position left by Kubel.

“If the majority of citizens don’t approve, it will be a problem.”

“I think Mr. Algot should be fine. He’s also the guild master here.”

“Only among adventurers. Most ordinary citizens don’t even know my name.”

Algot looked hesitant.

It won’t be easy to take on such a big role.

But I still want to ask Algot.

I really don’t want to do it myself, and no matter how much I think about it, it seems like it would be better if she took over in many ways…

“Yunoa had forgotten the existence of the goddess Stellania.

She had lost all the power of the goddess, but she was still a goddess.

Seeing the true form of the goddess Stellania, there were hardly any humans in this world who could deny that she was a goddess.”

As Algot’s dilemma continued, the narration came in.

Come to think of it, we have a goddess.

We even have a living “real goddess.”

I had been so incompetent that I had forgotten…

But would people really accept that incompetent goddess as a goddess?

Honestly, from my perspective, Stellania felt like an ordinary woman to the point where I could ask, “Are you really a goddess?”

But it seemed that it wasn’t the case for the people in this world, according to the narration.

After all, they even gathered at Mariel’s mansion to pray to Stellania together.

If there had been even one person who doubted that she was a goddess, such a thing would have been impossible.

Moreover, the recent rumors about the Central Church’s blunders spreading throughout the kingdom would work in our favor.

The Central Church abandoned by the goddess, and the goddess who actually appeared in Kubel.

If we could properly establish Stellania’s existence as a goddess among the people of Kubel, our legitimacy would be stronger than any city in the kingdom.

Whether it’s the Central Church or the kingdom’s capital, they should know something.

We have a living goddess.

But caution was necessary.

It would be good if people easily accepted the existence of the goddess, as the narration said, but it wouldn’t hurt to confirm just in case.

“Um, Mr. Algot. I wanted to talk about Goddess Stellania.”

“Yes? Why suddenly talk about the goddess…”

“What do you think? Does she really look like a goddess?”

“I’m not sure what the intention is behind this question.”

Maybe I asked the wrong way.

Well, I don’t know how else to ask.

Does the goddess look like a goddess… something like that.

“If we utilize the goddess, we can justify all our actions, don’t you think?”

“Hmm.”

“But as you know, the goddess has lost all her power and only appears as a bit of a strange human.”

“No, Stellania definitely looks like a goddess.”

The narration was right.

If Algot can say it without hesitation, then Stellania must look like a goddess to some extent.

But why do I only see her as a useless person?

“Yunoa is not from this world.”

In other words, when people in this world see Stellania, they have some kind of goddess buff that makes them perceive her as a “goddess.”

Wait, does that mean if we present the goddess, we can conveniently solve various problems?

Maybe even the rebel army will repent if we show them the goddess…

“Yunoa was indeed foolish.

Goddess Stellania was simply a being known as a goddess, but in reality, she had lost her power and become incompetent.

Accepting the existence of a goddess and affirming the goddess were completely different issues.”

The narration immediately countered.

Hmm, it’s complicated.

So, it’s not denying the existence of a goddess itself, but rather implying that the existence shouldn’t always be seen in a positive light.

Moreover, when a powerless existence like now is seen as pitiful, it ultimately looks the same as a ‘powerless goddess.’

In the worst case, it could even generate people who criticize the goddess.

If the kingdom and the world blame the current state on the incompetence of the goddess…

In that case, even having a goddess could lead to a negative image.

However, the narration clearly reminded me of the existence of the goddess at the beginning.

That means, at least there is still room to utilize the goddess.

At that moment, Algot seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking first.

“Indeed, if we can present the goddess to the citizens of Kube, it might help stabilize Kube.”

“But we don’t necessarily have to show her as she is.”

“That’s true.”

It seemed like my thoughts and Algot’s thoughts aligned.

Present the goddess to the citizens of Kube to establish legitimacy, while attaching a story with as much credibility as possible.

The existence of the goddess itself is not in question, so how people perceive the goddess is up to us.

“Are you really going to do it?”

“If Mr. Algot temporarily takes on the role of mayor of Kube.”

“…Understood.”

And so, Algot and I delved into discussing concrete plans.

* * *

“Is this the throne… I still can’t believe it.”

Lotus, the leader of the rebel forces who proclaimed himself as the king of the kingdom, was sitting on the throne in the royal palace, savoring the feeling of being a king.

Immediately after occupying the royal palace, the rebel forces successfully took control of the entire capital.

For a long time, they had gathered skilled individuals from various places, organized an assassination group, and amassed military power capable of resisting the kingdom’s army.

Currently, the rebel forces included many individuals with Gold-grade adventurer backgrounds.

There were former knights, as well as skilled individuals whose names were unknown in the underworld.

Furthermore, the kingdom had long been losing public support due to various issues such as the growing disparity between the rich and the poor, excessive political involvement of the central church, and the increasing size of the slums.

Although the capital, Pifnel, outwardly appeared magnificent and symbolic of the kingdom, it was decaying from within.

Therefore, even after the rebel forces occupied the royal palace, it did not take long for them to take control of the entire capital.

Lotus immediately confiscated the nobles’ properties upon seizing the royal palace and distributed them to the citizens of the capital.

He then established an image of a savior who cared for the abandoned commoners and overturned the corrupt kingdom.

He shifted all the illegal activities in the underground sewers to be blamed on the kingdom.

Because the kingdom forced them to live like that, they knew it was illegal but had no choice but to get involved.

But now that the incompetent ruler was gone, he would rebuild a kingdom for everyone as the new king.

Having survived as an underground king for a long time, Lotus was also a skilled orator.

He justified all the illegal activities he had done and the rebellion, focusing on gaining widespread support.

He distributed flyers containing plausible stories and the future of the new kingdom with the help of the wind chasers.

However, Lotus never truly intended to become a hero of the common people or a benevolent king.

Some people who were swayed by Lotus’s plausible words sincerely believed that he would become a hero for the weak, as he came from the depths of the slums, but they did not know that Lotus had trampled on more weak people than anyone else to reign as the king of the underworld.

“The cities that have declared surrender are three… This should be enough for now. We have plenty of time.”

Lotus muttered to himself as he sat on the throne, looking at the large kingdom map on the opposite wall of the Alhyun Room.

At that moment, the door of the Alhyun Room opened, and a person from the rebel army appeared.

“What’s the matter?”

“Your Majesty Lotus, there is a woman who wishes to meet you.”

“I am now the king of this country. Just because someone wants to meet me doesn’t mean they can.”

“Well… she is quite famous…”

“Oh?”

“Her name is Mileia.”

“Hmm.”

“It seems she has come to request an audience.”

Lotus raised an eyebrow with interest.

If it was Mileia, then Lotus knew who she was.

The strongest adventurer.

Or perhaps the woman known as the strongest female swordsman.

She was one of the talents he wanted to recruit when preparing in the underground waterway with the rebel army.

Although he had given up on her because she showed no interest in money, slaves, or underground power.

Could it be that she had come to offer her help now that the rebellion had succeeded?

“For now, refuse her. She is dangerous. When we finish our preparations here, tell her I will meet her on the condition that she comes unarmed.”

“Yes, understood.”

The man who received the order left the Alhyun Room.

However, shortly after, the door of the Alhyun Room opened again.

In the doorway stood a long-haired female swordsman, staring expressionlessly at the throne.