Chapter 18: The Merchant of Venice (4)

[General Transmission List]

• Clip …… 30P
• Thumbtack …… 30P
• Stapler Refill 30P

[90 points of Divine Power will be consumed.]

[Divine Power: 458/458 → 370/458]

“Phew… Finally found them.”

The items brought over from the real world were mainly office supplies—clips, thumbtacks, and stapler refills.

It had been so long since I last used them that it took longer than expected to search every nook and cranny to find where they’d been stashed away.

Before I knew it, a massive pile of metal pieces had formed atop the fields of the Sanctuary.

Eventually, I spoke softly to Shylock.

“Making a mountain out of iron. This should do, right?”

Shylock began to examine the gigantic clips, thumbtacks, and stapler refills with keen interest.

To be honest, the fact that clips, thumbtacks, and staplers don’t actually contain all that much iron was a slight concern.

But really, so what?

It’s not like they’re made without any iron. At a glance, they’ll still look like iron goods for now.

‘…This is just performance, pure performance.’

But Shylock soon stroked his mustache as if intrigued.

「This is… high-quality steel.」

Okay. Thanks to the grace of God, the worries I had about the steel content have been neatly resolved.

Shylock scrutinized the clips even more closely, searching for the slightest flaw, but soon his face began to show his surprise.

「And they’ve been processed to an absolutely uniform standard. Where in the world did you obtain such iron goods…」

In this world where the concept of mass-produced goods doesn’t exist, items from reality that are all made to the same specifications must have seemed very strange.

Shylock cleared his throat a few times before continuing.

Though clearly surprised, he seemed to be trying hard to maintain his composure.

He looked like he was stubbornly unwilling to acknowledge the existence of God.

「It’s hard to believe, but since it’s happened before my very eyes, I have no choice but to accept it. But as I said before, there are two things I’d like you to prove.」

“Yes, yes. Please continue. What’s next?”

「The Northern Trade Route of Rivera was blocked by a massive rock due to a landslide not long ago. The boulder is so huge that dealing with it has been quite a challenge. Would you be able to remove that boulder for us?」

“Hmm, the Northern Trade Route, you say? All right. Please wait.”

Looking intently in the direction Shylock indicated, I immediately spotted a massive boulder.

I zoomed in on the area around the giant rock.

The large boulder was completely blocking the Northern Trade Route.

Crowds of laborers were swarming around it.

Clang—clang, clang—

The laborers were each wielding a pickaxe, chipping away at the enormous rock.

‘At this rate, it’s going to take forever.’

To move the boulder, the first step was to relocate the people nearby.

I cleared my throat a couple of times, then spoke up.

“Everyone, I am God. I have come here to remove this giant boulder.”

Who I was, and what my purpose was.

A truly compact and perfect explanation.

However.

「Th-the rock just spoke!」

「I knew it, it’s a demon rock! No ordinary rock could be this big!」

「That’s right, we’re not afraid of you!」

「Yeah, even if we go home like this, we’ll starve just the same!」

「Let’s kill the rock demon! Smash it with your pickaxes!」

The laborers reacted in a way I never anticipated.

Apparently, they misunderstood and thought the voice was coming from the giant boulder itself.

Clang! Clang~! Clang~! Clang~! Clang~! Clang~!

The workers began striking the rock even harder than before.

Of course, the massive boulder didn’t budge an inch.

“Wait, hold on! Don’t hit the rock—please, everyone, step aside! Move away, I said!”

But the workers didn’t pay the slightest attention to my words.

「Hey, it looks like the rock’s in pain!」

「Is it here? Is this your weak spot?!」

「What are you waiting for, hit it harder!」

「Die, you demon!」

I quietly returned to the real world.

Then, I took a mini fan out of my drawer and returned to the small world.

Whirrr—

When I pressed the power button, the fan’s wind swept toward the laborers.

「Aaaagh! It’s a windstorm!」

「Watch out! Everyone, fall back!」

「W-what is this…?!」

The sudden gust of wind sent the workers into a flustered frenzy.

Their eyes were filled with confusion and suspicion.

But at least no one was coming near the boulder anymore.

Only then did I slowly examine the boulder blocking the Northern Trade Route.

In terms of the real world, it was a massive stone as big as a three-story building.

Around it, large and small rocks were wedged together, holding it tightly in place.

‘…So that’s why it wouldn’t come loose.’

I reached out and picked out the smaller stones supporting the giant boulder.

Crack—crack—

Then the massive stone began to shift little by little.

I grabbed the huge boulder with two fingers.

At last.

“Heave-ho!”

[30 points of Divine Power will be consumed.]

[Divine Power: 370/458 → 340/458]

Like a bad tooth being yanked out, the huge boulder came loose smoothly and cleanly.

Even from a distance, the onlookers let out cheers.

「It’s God! God has lifted the boulder!」

「Hey, I told you from the start—of course it’s God!」

「Wait! Now that the work’s finished, does that mean we get off early today?!」

「Hurray! Praise be to God!」

The workers offered prayers of thanks and began heading back to the village, one by one.

Except for one man.

A burly man remained in place.

He slowly removed his work cap and bowed deeply.

「O God, thank you. Thanks to you, I can return to my family back home.」

He introduced himself as a blacksmith from the mining village of Mogren.

He had come to Rivera to sell weapons and armor he’d crafted himself, but with the trade route blocked, he’d been stuck in Rivera ever since.

“Ha!”

「Two months, it’s been! Just you wait, my bear-like wife and my little shrew babies! Mogren is coming! Hahaha!」

The man laughed heartily and disappeared north along the trade route.

‘…Hmm, but how am I supposed to prove that I’ve cleared the boulder blocking the Northern Trade Route?’

The Northern Trade Route and the Sanctuary are separated by an enormous distance.

There’s no way the people in the Sanctuary could see what’s going on here.

While I was pondering, my eyes landed on the enormous boulder I had just pulled out.

“Anna.”

Jan called out to her younger sister, who was scurrying past.

Anna, carrying a basket of fruit, answered with a bright smile.

“Sis, did you call me?”

“Are you taking that to the guests?”

“Yep! God told me to bring fruit to the guests. So I’m on my way now.”

Jeanne d’Arc flashed a gentle smile at her younger sister.

But her expression quickly turned cold.

It was because she spotted Shylock sitting at the table.

“Anna, that man over there is a very bad person who speaks ill of God. So give him the ugliest bunch of grapes, okay?”

“Really? People who say bad things about God are bad!”

Anna nodded with a serious expression.

She then took out a lumpy, misshapen bunch of green grapes from the basket.

“I think this is the ugliest! Mmm~ But it’ll still taste good! After all, I planted it myself!”

Anna giggled and put the grapes back into the basket.

Jan watched her innocent younger sister and then let out a deep sigh, shaking her head.

“Sorry. I acted poorly just now. God said we shouldn’t hate others.”

Jan stroked her sister’s hair softly and smiled.

“Why don’t we bring the pretty bunch of grapes we were going to give to the guest instead?”

“Yeah! This one’s the prettiest and smells the best!”

“Alright. Let’s go bring it.”

Jan gently took her little sister’s hand and headed toward Shylock.

Tick—tick—tidick—

Shylock was busily flicking his abacus beads.

Now and then he scribbled something into his notebook, then went back to clicking the abacus.

“It’s just thin iron, but it’s even harder than regular steel. And the graphite is processed so that it’s ready for immediate use. If only I could purchase all those materials…”

So engrossed was Shylock that he didn’t notice Jan and Anna approaching.

At last, Anna spoke up in a clear, bright voice.

“Mister, have some grapes!”

Only then did Shylock slowly look up.

“It seems the younger sister is more polite than the older one. My, my, I thank God for this. Still, it’s quite surprising, don’t you think, Saint?”

Shylock’s words were as grating as ever.

Jan’s lips twitched for a moment, but she soon regained her composure.

She didn’t want to show her worst side in front of her little sister anymore.

‘…God instructed us to treat you as a guest. These fruits were grown in the Sanctuary. Please, have some.’

Shylock gazed at the green grapes on the table.

“Grapes, is it? Hmm, I’ve never seen this variety before…”

The grapes were large and firm, giving off a subtle, pleasant aroma.

As if under a spell, Shylock quickly popped a grape into his mouth.

“This is the most delicious grape I’ve ever tasted. Where on earth did you get these…”

“This is…?! Such quality… What variety is this?”

Shylock rattled off his impressions of the grapes at lightning speed.

Jan grinned and said,

“Fufu, these are Heavenly Fruit bestowed by God. Well? If you praise the omnipotence of God, I might even tell you the name of the variety. So, if you want to know, acknowledge the greatness of God.”

“It’s Shine Muscat! Mister, the grapes I grew taste good, right?”

“Anna…”

Thanks to Anna’s immediate reply, Jan’s plan was foiled in an instant.

“Shine Muscat. Not only is the taste exquisite, but even the name sounds luxurious. I’m sure this would be quite popular among the nobility.”

Shylock showed great interest in the Shine Muscat.

But only for a moment.

He soon set the Shine Muscat down with a cold expression.

“Heavenly fruit bestowed by God, you say. There is no such thing as God. There must not be.”

“Mr. Shylock, why… do you deny God’s existence so fervently?”

For some reason, Jeanne d’Arc found herself pitying Shylock.

At that moment—

“Wh-what is that?!”

“Oh my, God is performing another miracle!”

“Ooh, O God! Holy God!”

Cries and cheers began erupting all around.

For a gigantic boulder was now floating high above the Sanctuary.

Moreover, it was being held aloft by enormous fingers.

One by one, the Believers of the Sanctuary offered prayers before the great miracle performed by the Creator.

Even Shylock’s bodyguards began kneeling, their eyes filled with awe.

Jeanne d’Arc watched the scene with a contented smile.

But when she turned back to Shylock, Jan was startled.

“It’s true…”

Shylock’s face was twisted in a terrifying grimace.

“You really are… God!”