When Allen asked the gathered crowd if the pagans were here, a mother holding her baby in her arms said, "It's not paganism. It's the Gushala Holy Church," she shouted loudly.
(After all, there were believers in this city, too? It's amazing how passionate you can be about your faith, though.)
Allen has no religious beliefs.
Allen was brought to this world by the creator god Elmea.
Because of that, he has been able to devote his life to it.
He may be grateful to Elmea for that, but he doesn't have faith in her.
That said, I've never had faith since my previous life.
There have been a number of games that have been played with righteousness and evil, angels and demons.
When Allen was a player named "Kempy" in a previous life, he was a holy knight.
In fact, this was a series of job changes from warrior to holy knight, but the final job change option was also a dark knight.
So I could become a profession on the evil side.
The reason why he chose the Holy Knight was not because he was full of justice.
Holy Knights got skills that were effective against monsters, and Dark Knights got skills that were effective against people.
Since I was playing to hunt a lot of monsters and get stronger, the Holy Knight was the only option.
On Christmas Day, we would play games with fried chicken and cake from the supermarket.
This was his daily routine when he was Kenichi in his previous life, when he started working and living on his own.
On this day, I only thought that the number of players logging in would decrease.
''I'm sorry. I was in a fire hurry and screamed at you for being an evil goddess.
I apologize to the mother for holding the baby in her arms.
(Were there evil gods in this town? How should I look at this?)
Apparently, not all the followers of the Evil God religion have become demonic beasts who call themselves evil.
Incidentally, although he apologized to this mother, he still identifies this religion as paganism in Allen's mind.
Although Allen himself does not believe in God, he believes that people's beliefs should be free.
However, he is not tolerant enough to allow this religion that seems to have killed many people indiscriminately.
Our priority is to go and save the city that is about to be attacked and destroyed by the pagans.
And it appears in the log of the evildoers and grimoires, but what were the evildoers that surrounded this city of Neil?
It's clear from the way they were dressed that the people who were living a normal life just now have become evil monsters.
Some were dressed as priests and others as townspeople.
Without investigating the cause of why these people have become evil monsters, we can't solve the problem.
It's safe to assume that the Demon King's army is planning something.
If he could find out how to become a demonic beast called the Evil One, he might be able to find out the purpose of the Demon King's Army.
Thinking about that, Allen checked to see if there were any followers of the Evil God Religion in this city.
''Yes, no, it's fine. ......
The mother, holding her baby in her arms, replies.
She shouts to Allen, but she hugs the baby, calming and alerting him to Allen, who doesn't know what it is, but she's not sure what it is.
'So, why didn't you, a follower of the Holy Church of Gushala, go to Theomenia, the church capital, three days ago?'
It's ....... This boy is still small...
Allen has started something that draws attention, but no one stops him.
Priestess Nikolai also seems to have somehow understood Allen's purpose.
He silently looks at the circumstances.
(I see. So there are a lot of believers who couldn't witness the execution of the guru three days ago because of circumstances like this.)
A large number of believers of the evil religion gathered in Theomenia.
But I figured that it might not be all of them, so I called out to the believers to see if they were in the city.
There were probably small children, old parents and grandparents, and some believers who couldn't go due to distance and other reasons.
(It's a country without serfs.) The lack of restrictions would have drawn people to the day of the guru's execution.)
There are no serfs and no slaves in the land of Elmar.
There are many countries in this confederacy that do not have serfs, such as republican countries.
I've heard that many of the countries were created by influential people who were independent or excluded from the Ghiamut Empire.
Another reason for the absence of serfs and slaves is that there were leaders who opposed serfdom and slavery.
It is very likely that the target of this uproar was the Elmarian countries where there are no serfs without freedom of movement.
Perhaps they have been thinking that the Elmar Church is the best place to start this mess since long ago.
''I understand. By the way, are there any conditions for joining the Gushala Holy Church?
(Maybe the conditions aren't as stringent.)
It's .......
'I will answer that question for you. It seems that there are several conditions if you want to take a high position. However, I have been told that anyone who only wants to join the pagan religion can drink the 'holy water' poured from the chalice.
Nikolai answered for his mother, who seemed to have trouble answering.
Even in front of his mother, who is a believer, the priest of the Church of Elmea seems to say clearly that he is not a "Gushala Holy Church" but an "evil deity".
It is apparent that there is a conflict with the Elmere Church.
'Holy water?'
'Yes. It's holy water and something the evil gurus call it. It's a clear liquid, but drinking it seems to prove that you are a believer. It appears to be non-toxic, but I don't know what it is.
You know a lot about this.
'Yes. It was a faith that was rife with disturbing incidents, and we, as the Church of Elmere, could not afford to overlook it.
Did the priest take it too?
'Yes. I have heard that some of you have been drinking for research purposes.
It seems that sometimes the priest would poison them to see if the priest was giving them something strange to drink for missionary purposes.
As a result, they didn't seem to find anything suspicious.
(I see.) ) The holy water was harmless, but it was poisoned or something else in it that turned the believers into pagan monsters. So why didn't this mother become an evildoer? (Did she have to be there or something?)
I'll sort out what I've just heard.
This one was probably caused by the Demon King's army, and we don't know the purpose of it.
The Elmar Church State had no serfs or slaves and no restrictions on movement for religious or political reasons.
Many followers gathered in Theomenia, the church capital, to oppose the execution of the guru.
Anyone who drank the holy water could become a follower of the pagan religion.
Even the priests drank it to see if it was poisonous.
''Poison. Is that a delayed reaction? No, is this more convenient to say that drinking holy water doesn't make you an evil person?
I see. Allen. So, you'll touch the pillar of fire flame that rose in Theomenia. It's only effective when you see it with your eyes or something.
'Perhaps you're right, Keel. I'm sure he did this elaborate thing because he wanted to spread it out all at once at this moment.
If the poison goes around all at once, and the next day it turns into a demonic beast called the Evil One, then no one can trust you and you can't proselytize the Evil One.
(Surely, the Demon King's Army had its own reasons for turning them all into evildoers this time. But poison?)
Allen grabbed a 'savory vegetable' made from the Grass C summoner's awakening skill from the storage room.
It's an all-purpose medicine that cures all kinds of conditions.
Until now, there is no condition abnormality that couldn't be cured, such as poison or paralysis.
''I used it earlier, are you going to try it again?''
Oh, Cecil. Maybe before you became an evil man.
It didn't work on the demon beast-turned-evil, but I used it, thinking that maybe, just maybe, his mother, who was still sane, would use it.
'Caah!'
'What? What!!!
Something's coming up!
Ongaah!
Something pitch black emerged from his mother's back.
A horrible black shadow with no outline, slithering agonizingly around, scattering in the air in four directions.
His mother's surprise startled the baby and he began to cry.
'I suppose we can assume it worked. There were a few others.'
Since the effect of the flavored vegetables is a radius of fifty meters, it seems as if several other black shadows, besides the mother holding the baby, have left their backs.
''Ko, this. What is it?''
''This is called the Demon Fruit, a precious fruit from the World Tree in Rosenheim. It was effective. It's a good thing I brought it with me for such a reason.
In response to Priestess Nikolai's question, Allen lies in a flowing manner.
I see, and Nikolai looks at the High Elf Sophie, a sign of royalty.
He understands that the royal family of Rosenheim also cooperated with him in this one case.
When he heard of the World Tree, the spirit god seems to make a difficult face but doesn't stop.
''Such a precious thing: ......
'No, because we had to discover countermeasures. But the effects are not yet clear.
The people of the city have found out that they have been saved and have calmed down, and they are clearly suspicious of those who have left the black shadows on their backs.
'Yes,'
'If you can, have the black shadowy outfits moved to a safe and sturdy place to see what's going on. Please don't do anything untoward.
Perhaps we've seen one solution, but that doesn't mean it won't growl at the pagans as well.
I'll tell Priest Nikolai that some quarantine is necessary.
(Okay, the spices are within a 50-meter radius, so we'll need to get some people together and make sure it works on everyone in this town. And I'll need to be fully equipped with golden beans.)
Allen thought about the future as he checked the inventory of gold and silver beans, heavenly blessings, and savory vegetables in storage.
Over the course of a year, there are more than 10,000 in stock, even if we provide them as relief supplies for the Central Continent, Rosenheim, and the Baukis Empire.
I'm not going to spread it around for nothing, but it won't be gone.
''What are we going to do now? It's the salvation of the city, right?
Yeah. Hmm? Oh, I see, hmm.
What's going on?
Kiel questioned suspiciously as Allen gave him a difficult look.
His companions also noticed something strange about Allen.
'No, Merus has been killed in Theomenia.
""What?"
Looks like there's a demon in the house.
Merus, who had sent me to check on the situation, has been hit.
It was still a long way from being resolved, Allen thought.