Chapter 59 From Now On, This Place is Called the Axis Church

Borick knelt. He knelt with absolute thoroughness.

After all, Kobayashi had spoken to him heart-to-heart, so of course he was moved to complete and utter devotion.

"Then Borick, my first order to you is this: convey these doctrines to the believers."

"Understood! The goddess's loyal servant shall fulfill this."

Accepting the offered slip of paper, Borick prepared his body and mind to receive the teachings of the Goddess.

However...

"As long as you try, you can do it. If you fail, it's the world's fault."

"It's fine even if you don't want to try; just shift the blame onto others."

"Eat when you want to eat, drink when you want to drink, because you never know if you'll be able to eat or drink tomorrow."

"You're going to fail anyway, so you might as well just let go and do it. If you fail, just run away."

...You're telling me these are doctrines?!

Borick doubted whether he had misread them.

According to common sense, shouldn't these be uplifting aphorisms that gave people hope for the future? But no matter how one looked at it, this was simply a useless person's manifesto for escaping reality!

"What is it? Is there a problem?"

"N-No problem at all."

Having lost any shred of the will to resist, naturally he had no objections.

Borick solemnly put away the doctrines, determined to execute his very first mission brilliantly.

Just as he was about to back out of the room:

"Wait, there is one more."

Kobayashi pinched his chin and said somewhat hesitatingly, "Eris's chest pads are stuffed!"

"What?"

Borick suspected his ears were playing tricks on him.

"There is one more doctrine that must be conveyed: Eris's chest pads are stuffed!"

"Er..."

It was over. This church was beyond saving.

For some reason, this was the only thought in Borick's mind right now.

Kobayashi had no choice either.

Now the church had converted to worshiping Aqua, but he couldn't guarantee that the idiot goddess would even receive the faith, and that creature had a particular obsession with "Eris's chest pads are stuffed." That was why he thought of passing down this phrase as well to strengthen the connection, much like some sort of encrypted phrase used to boost a signal.

That's right!

He was definitely not persecuting Eris on purpose!

...He just hoped that gentle and kind Goddess would not hold it against him.

Borick accepted the mission and turned to leave.

Kobayashi looked at the High Priest, who was still devoutly kneeling at his feet.

"Alright, now let's talk about you."

Come to think of it, it was strange.

He had expected subduing the Peaceful Church to take a fair amount of effort, yet this High Priest had immediately fallen to his knees upon seeing him.

The whole process had happened too fast; it provided zero sense of accomplishment.

"Why don't you try resisting a bit more?"

"If you feel displeased, please kill me a few more times."

"Tch."

Of course, Kobayashi couldn't actually kill him.

However, he remained deeply curious as to why the other party had surrendered so readily. Surely it couldn't be because he possessed some sort of overpowering aura that turned people's legs to jelly at first sight.

"Because I foresaw the future."

The High Priest explained, "I received an oracle that someone would come here bearing the blessings of the gods."

He remembered now.

This man was a half-human, half-Dangerous Beast hybrid who possessed certain abilities ordinary people lacked, such as healing wounds and foreseeing the future.

"A god has descended. Do you know how long I have waited for this day, Lord Kobayashi?"

A hint of fanaticism appeared in the High Priest's eyes.

To him, being a member of the clergy was a form of supreme torment, because they knew deep down that gods did not exist.

They spoke of gods with their lips while forcing themselves to believe in their hearts, yet as time passed, they came to realize that it was nothing more than spiritual consolation.

Gods and the like simply did not exist.

...But what if!

One day, you learned that gods truly existed in this world, and that one had actually descended right beside you?

It was much like knowing Santa Claus was a myth, only to have him actually show up by your bedside with presents.

Joy! Excitement!

The emotions within you would swell to the point of madness!

"Ah, praised be the Goddess's favor! Whether it is faith, life, soul, or everything I possess, I shall forever worship Lady Aqua, and I am willing to offer her my all!"

The High Priest rushed forward and grabbed Kobayashi's shoulders.

He shouted excitedly, "Come! Let us establish the glorious Axis Cult, let everyone in the world join the Axis Cult, let everyone hear the teachings of the Goddess! Come, join the Axis Cult! Let us create a wonderful tomorrow!"

It was over. This church was beyond saving.

For some reason, this was the only thought in Kobayashi's mind right now.

He had completely overlooked the High Priest's fanaticism toward the gods; who could have guessed he was a hidden zealot?!

Damn it, Aqua!

---

The church's transformation went smoothly. Using the pretext of having received a divine oracle, the High Priest officially renamed the Peaceful Church to the Axis Cult. Combined with Borick pulling strings up and down to assist, within a mere three days, the believers of the church had all learned the great name of Aqua.

"Lord Kobayashi, your complexion looks terrible."

"I know, it's because I can't sleep at all."

Looking at the throngs of fanatical believers, Kobayashi couldn't help but wonder if doing this was truly a good idea. Would his actions end up bringing disaster upon the world?

Every time he slept, he dreamed of a mob of fanatical believers using all sorts of methods to half-coercively drag outsiders into the cult, and then those newly brainwashed recruits would turn around and do the same to others, just like the rest of them.

In the end, the entire aesthetic and vibe of the world would be ruined!

This terrifying thought had kept him from getting a good night's sleep for three full days.

Damn it, Aqua!

The main street leading to the temple was bustling with foot traffic, crowded with people gathered together in a lively atmosphere.

Because they were building a statue of the Goddess.

That's right, a statue of Aqua.

The High Priest had declared that he wanted to gaze upon the Goddess and also allow other believers to worship her more effectively, so he had half-coerced Kobayashi into drawing Aqua's likeness, after which he specially commissioned artisans to carve a massive statue.

Through everyone's collective efforts, the sculpture was placed right at the center of the main street, standing in the middle of a large circular fountain lake for people to pay homage and worship.

Because Kobayashi had mentioned that Aqua was the water goddess presiding over wisdom, the High Priest had conceived the whimsical idea of a statue in the middle of the lake.

"Is this person Lady Aqua, the Water Goddess?"

"With that appearance, it must be the Goddess!"

"As expected, even looking at a statue, one can feel the Goddess's boundless tolerance!"

"Ah, Lady Aqua!"

Right, everything they said was correct.

Never mind that Aqua often acted like a fool and didn't look much like a goddess; whenever she kept her mouth shut and stood completely still, she carried a very goddess-like aura.

Furthermore, to make her radiate more divine presence, Kobayashi had specifically channeled a tiny sliver of divine power from the Goddess into the statue.

Truly just a sliver, because any more would have caused it to explode.

Yet even so, enhanced by the water, Aqua's statue still emitted a divine radiance, causing the surrounding believers to cry out that the Goddess had descended.

The High Priest climbed onto the high platform and shouted loudly, "My fellow devout believers, let us bathe together in the Goddess's grace and receive her blessings! The Goddess will surely protect us!... Right, Lord Kobayashi?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. You're completely right."

What else could Kobayashi possibly say?

The masses below raised their arms and cheered with fanatical fervor, truly making him worry for the future of this world.

Regardless of anything else, however!

From this moment on, this place was called the Axis Cult!