The first world is gradually changing.
The Harvesting Period is concentrated entirely in the Ansellus Kingdom, so it’s hard to know all the details.
But I can see how the situation is flowing to some extent.
A counter-Seongsin Church movement has started in the Ansellus Kingdom.
From what I saw during the Harvesting Period, not all the people in the Ansellus Kingdom hated the Seongsin Church clearly.
Rather, it was closer to venting their frustration. After two years of famine, people were exhausted and needed a place to unleash their anger.
That said, they didn’t just storm into the Seongsin Church from the get-go.
They were just criticizing it with words and such.
But the timing was terrible. Of course, because the timing was bad, people rose up, but many from the Seongsin Church were on high alert as well.
Famine was a tough time for all lives.
Just like how you get more irritated when hit while you’re sick, the Seongsin Church decided to crack down on other religions massively.
A command containing such intentions reached the Ansellus King from the Seongsin Church headquarters.
The problem was that it depicted the Ansellus Kingdom as if it were an enemy nation.
The King summoned all the nobles and held a meeting. Then he unfolded the command sent from the Seongsin Church.
The contents of the command were to provide nearly everything the King and nobles of the Ansellus Kingdom had as tribute and to thoroughly suppress any other religions except for the Seongsin Church within their own country.
The King and the Harvesting Period were all in bad spirits.
In other words, it was highly likely that other people were also feeling badly.
And practically, the Ansellus Kingdom responded by ignoring the Seongsin Church.
No matter what, many were reluctant to separate from the Seongsin Church, a faith held for too long.
Moreover, although it was called ignoring, it was practically accepting since they were sending some tribute and bowing their heads.
However, the Seongsin Church sent commands back insisting that they bring what was written.
And that happened several times.
In the end, it even included threats to excommunicate the Ansellus Kingdom.
From the King’s point of view, there was no money to provide any of it. To pay the tribute, he would have to squeeze the nobles. Yet, even from a distance, I knew this would lead to rebellion.
Plus, with the famine overlapping, it was practically impossible to squeeze anyone.
While desperately trying to navigate diplomacy and calm public sentiment, the King of the Harvesting Period became more and more haggard day by day. And despite having a body stronger than others, he ultimately couldn’t endure it and fell sick.
But I guess the Seongsin Church couldn’t care less. Eventually, the King’s younger brother took over his duties, but it was as if the kingdom had taken on debts, and relentless demands flew at the King’s brother.
And the demands were not for gold and jewels, but for food.
In this deadlock, a year passed where the Ansellus Kingdom could neither go forwards nor backwards.
The famine had not ended.
In the third year of famine.
The forest had become desolate, and there was no grass in the fields and paddies. Reports of cannibalism were coming in from various places, and starvation began to appear in the capital.
Thus, the King’s deputy, the younger brother, gathered people in the capital square to announce the Seongsin Church’s demands, declaring that the kingdom could no longer endure.
It was practically a declaration of disaster.
However, the people had already found an alternative.
Yes.
In excessive starvation and resignation that only death remained, a few reached out to me.
And they said someone with a special ability had appeared.
A person who could turn stones into bread.
Originally, he was a Harvesting Period individual known only by those in the capital. Once people learned of this ability, he desperately hid it, fearing that the higher-ups would take it away.
He approached the King’s deputy and suggested serving a new god. But the King’s deputy retorted that he had seen that god die just that day.
The Harvesting Period individual persuaded him by saying that his blessing came after the god’s disappearance and that the Outsider was not completely gone.
The King’s younger brother believed this and decided to trust another god.
Overnight, the state religion changed.
It was already a time when even nobles were starving to death. The miracles of the Outsider faith spread like wildfire.
However, it was different from a cult religion. Because they had been familiar with the Seongsin Church, they managed to create somewhat plausible doctrine by referring back to the old teachings.
And the nobles, especially centered around the Harvesting Period, tightened and solidified that momentum to spread it more reliably.
Those who merely changed the signboard from the Seongsin Church to Outsider Church added a few new myths.
I brought up phrases that existed when I disappeared from the first world.
Yes.
Believing does not lead to salvation.
People have the freedom to believe in gods and the freedom not to believe. The Outsider desires nothing and grants blessings.
Combining this well, they shaped it into a religion that seemed to act for the salvation of others. Forgiveness requires no price. When giving a gift, they expect nothing in return.
The funny fact is, do you know who created this doctrine? The person who neatly summarized it in phrases was none other than Martin, along with 17 others.
They had returned to the Seongsin Church but ultimately had to be chased to the outskirts due to their outlandish purple hair.
They needed a new faith.
And intertwined with the famine, they reached out to the ripening faith in the Outsider.
I guess this is why intellectuals can be terrifying.
When the heretical inquisitors battling other religions attack their own religion, they exhibit tremendous power.
A god that forgives.
A god that cares for people.
A god that guarantees freedom.
A god for the lowest of the low.
A god that gives blessings freely.
In an instant, the Outsider Church spread everywhere.
And soon, it was discovered that purple hair became a characteristic of those blessed by the Outsider, and among the blessed individuals, there were those whose skin turned blue.
Sometimes, the exotic difference gives rise to the divine.
A child named Dakota, who had died to Hyungkesuni, survived.
I know she was especially being watched as a talented individual to strike against Hyungkesuni. At first, people were wary of her due to her blue skin, thinking she might be sick, but she barely survived thanks to her hair color.
However, after starving for dozens of days and being beaten to the point of broken bones, Dakota ultimately survived through her miraculous vitality.
And as the era changed, she was revered like a saint of the Outsider Church.
Of course, she doesn’t believe in the Outsider Church. I overheard her muttering to herself when she was alone sometimes.
She had been thinking only about revenge against the witch until now.
I knew she was listening all along, even if alone.
She concluded that sitting in that position helped her seek revenge against Hyungkesuni. So she decided to sit there and play the role of the saint that people desired.
Then, after the three-year famine ended and they could finally breathe just a little, she met Martin. Not just Martin, but everyone who was present when the Outsider was killed.
However, it wasn’t because Martin or the former Paladins and priests of the Seongsin Church had some thoughts about gathering.
They were half-dragged there.
Because the Outsider had appeared.
Yes?
I haven’t gone to the first world yet, you know?
I was filled with questions as I observed, and I saw a familiar face.
A small girl with long blonde hair, yet quite busty.
She introduced herself as Rebecca Rolfe.
No, why are you out here?
It’s been nearly 84 years since you left that body; you must be close to a hundred years old. Why do you look just as young?
What? Can blessings allow someone to live that long?
No, Rebecca never received any blessings, did she?
I was taken aback and focused on the Harvesting Period individual.
Given the situation, Martin and the former Paladins and priests of the Seongsin Church were practically dragged over, having witnessed the Outsider up close.
They said the Outsider had truly returned.
But Rebecca denied it.
She claimed she was merely a vessel for the Outsider.
I have no idea what Rebecca Rolfe is thinking.
If she knows everything I’m thinking, she would realize I’m the Evil Monster.
If I say it here, the slightly distorted fact could be corrected.
For example, what happens to a person when they are deprived of warmth.
Then the illusion about the Outsider would shatter.
But I have no power to manipulate the situation.
So, I could only hold my breath and watch.
Then Rebecca spoke the truths she knew.
That the Outsider craved warmth.
That she was watching people through the eyes of the blessed.
And that she had used horrible methods to call upon the Outsider.
She recounted the events of when her heart was ripped out at Future Hope Church until her death.
And that the Outsider left her with her life when departing.
Martin hesitantly asked, “Is that… resurrection?”
“Yes. Put your ear to my chest. You won’t hear a heartbeat. Ever since I died once, I can never die again.”
Martin was extremely uncomfortable. His gaze repeatedly flickered between Rebecca’s chest and away. Then Dakota turned toward her.
“I’ll do it.”
Rebecca, who had been watching Dakota closely, smiled brightly and opened her arms.
“Oh, a little one? Good. Come here.”
As Dakota approached, she embraced her. Dakota’s ear touched her chest. Instead of the sound of a heartbeat, a swirling noise filled her ears.
The heart I had twisted remained there intact.
As Dakota tried to get up with strength, her body wouldn’t budge, contrary to her effort.
“What?”
As Dakota began to question, a faint whisper accompanied her subtle breath in her ear.
“One whose name cannot be spoken. You can hear me, right?”
Rebecca whispered softly into Dakota’s ear. One whose name cannot be spoken.
That must be referring to me.
“We’ll meet again soon.”
Then she immediately released Dakota from her grasp. Dakota, with a puzzled expression, touched her own ear. Rebecca, seeing Dakota’s countenance, laughed and then spoke to everyone present.
“Well then, everyone. Let’s move for the Outsider. This body is here for that purpose.”
Everyone looked at Rebecca with puzzled expressions. But soon, as Rebecca began to explain, their expressions changed.
This was a method I knew. They edited the principle of how a religion spread in one world to fit this world.
With that, a new prayer was born.
They took the prayer referenced to torment Hyungkesuni and modified it to fit the Outsider Church by inserting me into it.
At the very least, she knows what I’m doing and is moving to carry it out. She understands that robbing warmth is bad for people.
I don’t know the reason.
Dakota seemed clueless, but I found a fierce hatred on Rebecca’s face. Perhaps she has grown to hate the world.
Well, that’s enough.
I decided to keep watching as I looked forward to how things would unfold in the first world.
