It was common for gossips and enthusiasts to refer to the Life Church, Church of Utility, and Thousand Gold Church collectively as the Three Major Churches.
Among them, the Life Church was the religion with the strongest influence on the continent, whether in terms of number of believers or actual power.
Priests who worshipped the God of Life were exceptionally skilled in healing magic, and in most nations across the Prima Continent, they served roles similar to modern-day doctors on Earth. They played an indispensable part in the daily lives of the people.
Next in line would be the Church of Utility, which contributed to various fields under the ideology of pursuing public interest. Thanks to its active external activities, it enjoyed popularity nearly on par with the Life Church.
This was reflected in the list of past Holy Emperors, where the majority had come from the Life Church and the Church of Utility.
The Thousand Gold Church, which pursued wealth, was no less popular than the other two, but the problem was its excessively secular doctrine. Despite its large scale, the number of archbishops and high-ranking priests — directly tied to its influence within the Holy Nation — was not particularly high.
Following the Three Major Churches were the Church of Struggle, supported by numerous knights and martial artists, and the Church of Insight, primarily followed by intellectuals such as alchemists and mages.
Ironically, the Circulation Church and the Ascetic Church — which received the most focus in the original Reca Chronicles — were tied for the lowest popularity among the ten major churches.
The Ascetic God emphasized contemplating one’s inner self and essence through meditation and deep thought.
It was only natural that commoners, who struggled just to survive, would not be fond of such esoteric doctrines. As a result, it had by far the lowest public popularity among the ten churches.
Even the pilgrims who visited did not necessarily understand the essence of ascetic faith deeply; most simply donated voluntarily so that the ascetics who protected them would not starve to death.
The Circulation Church, which we were now visiting, was not particularly skilled at accumulating wealth either, but its situation was still far better than that of the Ascetic Church.
A single flag fluttered above a large but not overly ornate building. On it was engraved the wheel symbol representing circulation and reincarnation.
Estriel, who had guided us to the front of the Circulation Church’s main headquarters, asked with a slightly sheepish expression.
“Is it a bit modest?”
“Not at all. I like it. It has the virtue of simplicity.”
It wasn’t empty flattery.
Compared to the main temple of the Thousand Gold Church we had visited before for a donation, it was worlds apart, but it still possessed its own charm.
The Circulation God worshipped by the Circulation Church was known as the deity who governed death and reincarnation.
It was commonly believed among the public that the God of Life and the God of Circulation were opposed to each other, but in truth, the two gods were closer to twins in human terms. In fact, in Reca Chronicles, high-ranking priests from both churches had to combine their power to use the resurrection spell <Raise Dead>.
In any case, priests of the Circulation faith often officiated funerals. Because of this, they tended to give off a somewhat gloomy impression and weren’t viewed favorably by the public. However, thanks to their active efforts in exterminating harmful undead and other good deeds, they had a wider base of support than the Ascetic Church.
We entered the church quietly.
After crossing the spacious entrance hall and walking down the corridor, we soon arrived at the reception room, where an elderly man with a gentle face was waiting for us.
“Pantilis!”
“Estriel. You’ve come.”
The old man, Pantilis, greeted us with a benevolent smile.
<Pantilis Monel>
[Level: 39/45]
[Vitality: 12]
[Strength: 09]
[Agility: 10]
[Mana: 17]
[Spirit: 10]
[Sense: 11]
[Divinity: 07]
[Traits: Monk (S+), Reverse Veins (A), Head Priest (A), and 2 others]
[Skills: Alsigima Resonance Shatter Art · Extreme (S), Circulation Church Vision Holy Magic · Extreme (S), Alsigima Heart Method (A), Silent Realm (A), and 3 others]
[Description: Age 78, human race. Archpriest of the Circulation Church and current head of the Alsigima School. He is a highly respected figure within the Holy Nation. He recently faced a life-threatening crisis due to a conspiracy but survived after consuming a special medicine.]
Pantilis’s character sheet had not been listed in the setting book. Therefore, this was the first time I was seeing his stats as well.
His physical abilities had declined considerably due to old age, but as the master who had trained Estriel, it was clear he had once been a powerhouse at the near-Twelve Heroes level.
Personally, I was quite surprised that Pantilis’s [Divinity] stat reached 7. Perhaps there was a good reason why he was so deeply respected by priests from other churches.
Pantilis, who had been looking at his disciple, suddenly shifted his gaze to me.
“And this is…?”
“As you’ve probably guessed, this is my disciple, Aiden Stroke. He’s the benefactor who saved your life not long ago.”
“Hmm…”
The moment our eyes met, I felt a strange sensation.
Pantilis’s eyes were so deep that it was impossible to read what he was thinking. I had felt something similar when I first met Tisie, but the direction felt different.
The old man gave a slight bow.
“I must apologize for the delay, Aiden. I received such a great favor that I should have come running to express my gratitude immediately, but there were far too many issues plaguing the Holy Nation.”
I stiffened slightly. It was quite burdensome to have an old man who was nearly eighty bowing to me so respectfully.
“Uh… There’s no need, Master Pantilis.”
“You may call me Pantilis. All disciples of the Alsigima School address me by name.”
“Understood, Pantilis.”
Satisfied with the change in address, Pantilis nodded and turned to Estriel.
“Estriel. I would like to speak with Aiden alone for a moment. Is that alright?”
“Hmm… Sure.”
At his master’s request, Estriel obediently left the reception room, and the rest of our group, including Chesa, also stepped out to give us privacy.
Only Pantilis and I remained in the room.
“I heard that Estriel received a great deal of help from you in the Wiblet Empire.”
“…Not at all. If anything, I was the one who received a lot of help from him.”
“Humility and modesty are virtues, but too much can become poison. Considering the achievements you’ve accomplished so far, I believe you have every right to take pride in them.”
“………”
“Haha, enough with the scolding from this old man… Shall I tell you an interesting old story, as befits my age? Would that be alright, Aiden?”
“…Yes.”
“Are you aware? The gods that exist in this world, ‘Daelasirk,’ were originally separated from one single supreme deity.”
“…This is the first time I’ve heard that.”
“Of course, it is not an orthodox theory. It is considered a minority opinion even within the theological circles of the Holy Nation. If it makes you uncomfortable, you may disregard it.”
This was something that had never even been mentioned in the setting book. Naturally, as a dedicated reader of Reca Chronicles, I felt great interest.
“If we assume this theory is true, the Circulation God we worship is considered the largest fragment of the ‘Nameless God’ that served as the original source.”
Nameless God…?
I felt a strange sense of incongruity.
But I didn’t show it on my face.
“In short, it means the Circulation Faith is the greatest.”
“Haha, if interpreted simply, yes, that would be the case. In any event, this old man has lived for a long time as a servant of the Circulation God. Thanks to that, I was able to come slightly closer to understanding the true nature of gods. Instinctively, I also felt that this theory is close to the truth.”
“I see.”
Raising the status of the god they worshipped was something every church did.
Whether it was deliberate propaganda to expand their religious influence or genuine belief caused by confirmation bias.
Because of this, I didn’t feel anything particularly special about Pantilis’s story — at least not until I heard what came next.
“According to the Cognition of the Circulation God, there were many worlds before the current one, and I met my death in nearly all of those worlds. That is why I had been calmly accepting the death that would soon come for me.”
“…!”
Even with Serene Clarity (A), my heart nearly stopped.
What Pantilis was talking about was clearly related to the original history of this world… a story deeply connected to the original novel.
“That is why I had quite a lot of personal conflict about whether I should meet you directly, Aiden. Your actions have been actively twisting the flow of the original history, and I sensed many points that felt incongruous.”
“…Pantilis. Do you perhaps also know about my true identity?”
“No, that is not the case. I am merely a humble servant of the Circulation God. Having only caught a fleeting glimpse of the world’s essence, the only thing I can tell is that you are an existence that is somewhat different — alien — compared to others.”
“Hmm…”
I had hoped the mystery surrounding my possession might be solved, but we were back to square one.
Still, ‘Nameless God’…
This was way too on the nose.
As expected from that damn setting-obsessed author NonameC, trying to act like the supreme god within his own world.
Pantilis smiled faintly as he looked at my furrowed brow.
“Was it an uncomfortable topic, Aiden?”
“Uh… No. It was actually a very insightful time, Pantilis.”
“Hmm… In that case, may I offer you one more piece of advice?”
Pantilis seemed slightly hesitant. This was completely different from the gentle and relaxed demeanor he had shown so far.
I tilted my head slightly and answered.
“Please go ahead.”
“Your companions… the platinum-blonde girl with twin tails and the silver-haired girl. I sensed a slight alienness from them as well.”
He was referring to Chesa and Clara.
I felt a great sense of doubt.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Hmm… It’s difficult to explain clearly, but I had the impression that they are somewhat similar to you. Of course, compared to you, the sense of alienness is extremely faint…”
Pantilis trailed off.
At the same time, countless questions swirled inside my head. However, this didn’t seem like something I could solve just by thinking about it right now.
“…I will keep it in mind.”
“So, Lady Chesa, how are things progressing with Aiden?”
“We’ve roughly set a general timeline for the marriage, but we haven’t made any significant progress yet…”
“Ehh… How boring. Why don’t you just push him down? With Chesa’s voluptuous figure, even a man as stone-like as him wouldn’t be able to resist.”
“Th-That’s…”
When I came out of the reception room, Chesa was being relentlessly teased by Madam Dorothea. For some reason, her face was unusually flushed bright red.
Clara approached me.
“Aiden, are you finished?”
“Uh… Yeah.”
Seeing her made me recall Pantilis’s advice. Should I test it once?
“Clara.”
“Yes?”
“NonameC.”
“No… NonameC? Is that some kind of code?”
Clara frowned, her beautiful brows knitting together.
The fact that she didn’t immediately curse upon hearing the author’s nickname meant she was clearly not a fellow reader who had been possessed by Reca Chronicles.
In fact, considering the behavior Chesa and Clara had shown so far, that kind of development didn’t make sense anyway.
Pantilis had also said he only felt an extremely faint sense of alienness from the two of them, so there was probably no need to worry about such a strange twist.
As I was lost in thought, Estriel spoke to me.
“Aiden, a messenger from the Church of Utility just visited our church.”
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s obvious. It’s about the Inquisitor’s Needle (S). He said the component analysis will take about four to five months to complete.”
“That’s longer than I expected.”
“It involves a demon contractor, after all. They probably want to gather perfect evidence before pressing the matter thoroughly.”
In other words, we had gained anywhere from four to six months of leeway.
It wasn’t a bad development. We had been moving quite busily lately, so this would give me time to reorganize my own abilities and the clan’s situation.
Most importantly, before the fight against the demon contractor, we could recruit an ally who had an extreme compatibility advantage against them.
Raykadi Shafeck, the heroine of Part 3 of Reca Chronicles.
Thinking of her, I looked alternately at Clara, Visanya, and Epio.
I had been hesitating to recruit her for various reasons, but now that things had come to this, there was no longer any reason to delay.
“Then shall we go meet her?”
The descendant of Bellifort Shafeck, the leader of the Heroes.
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