There are many gods in this world.
There are gods watching over this world from Heaven as well as the gods born in it, ignorant of Heaven’s existence
Serving as the self-proclaimed temple for all those gods was『Supreme Divine Will Cult』. [1]
A group that records information about every god, their believers, their deeds, and legends.
Upon discovering another god, Supreme Divine Will Cult will launch an investigation.
It’d be good for a god to be acknowledged by them, but there are times when they deem a god evil. In that case, there will be Evil God Slayers dispatched immediately.
There are indeed evil gods hostile to humanity in existence.
After all, a god is a being that turns people’s belief into his own power.
In exchange, a god will hear their wishes and fulfill them if possible.
In such a way, a god worshipped by evildoers fulfills their malevolent wishes.
An evil god has to be purified before he builds his power. If it’s impossible then sealed of slaughtered.
It has to be done, otherwise, there is a possibility of the worst-case scenario and the world being destroyed.
And now, an inquisitor of Supreme Divine Will Cult was heading towards the land of Baroness Silverlight.
That land was nothing but a wasteland just a while ago.
It became lush with vegetation, a beautiful lake appeared, and the village came into being once again.
Reputedly, it was the work of the Goddess named Iris Crisis.
However, according to Supreme Divine Will Cult’s records, that land worshipped the Goddess known as Muriel.
Iris Crisis was never heard of.
There was a need to investigate.
If she is an evil goddess then she has to be dealt with as fast as possible.
Steeling her determination, the Inquisitor, Katie Astley, walked the snowy road.
Still fifteen years old. A girl wearing glasses, who became an inquisitor just half a year ago, in other words, a rookie.
Despite her being a rookie, she was entrusted with a solo investigation.
Because I’m outstanding. Katie carried a certain arrogance within herself.
She didn’t utter a single complaint despite the cold weather.
「So cold…..」
She accidentally slipped, but since no one was nearby to hear it, she was safe.
However, it would be troublesome once she arrived at the Silverlight Barony, so she needed a countermeasure.
There she chose to ignite a flame with her magic.
「Giga Inferno Flame!」[2]
Katie tenderly screamed, channeled her magical power, and unleashed the spell.
However, with Katie’s magical power being utterly weak, not even a spark was born.
She could only slightly warm her body by squeezing every last bit of her magical power.
Just enough to ward off the cold.
「I’m by no means weak. I’m not combat-oriented, that’s all. The right person in right place! 」
She muttered trying to inspire herself and walked forwards.
Eventually, she arrived at the Silverlight Barony.
The children in the village were making snowmen or playing with snowballs.
Since adults couldn’t farm in winter, they either drank beer by the sides as they watched the children, or lazed at their homes.
At the entrance of the village, Katie took off a whistle from her neck, put it in her mouth, and blew with all her power.
Being startled, the villagers gathered their attention on Katie.
「I’m Katie Astley, an Inquisitor of Supreme Divine Will cult! I’m here to investigate the Guardian Deity of this village! I’m counting on your cooperation! 」
There are inquisitors, who use Supreme Divine Will Cult’s name as a shield to completely ignore the will of the locals.
However, Supreme Divine Will Temple is nothing but an organization that records the gods and guides the people in their faith.
By no means, it’s an apostle of the gods.
As long as there are no obvious signs of heresy, there was no need to lose decorum, thought Katie.
「Inquisitor? Etto, I’m the Lord, Baroness Sheryl Silverlight. Why did you come to such a small village……? I don’t remember anything dubious happening」
A young blonde girl came out from the crowd.
According to the information Katie received, she was eighteen.
Only three years older than Katie.
「Greetings to Your Excellency, the Baroness. There is nothing to be worried about. But according to the records of Supreme Divine Will Cult, this land was supposed to worship a Goddess-sama known as Muriel. Yet I’ve heard something about Iris Crisis being worshipped here now」
「Eeh, well. You did well with your investigation….」
「Because it’s the duty of Supreme Divine Will Cult!」
Having said so, Katie puffed her chest.
That being said, it wasn’t difficult to investigate the village.
In the first place, it rather stands out when two hundred-year-old wilderness suddenly turns into the land of green.
The name of the goddess living in that land quickly comes up after a slight investigation.
Thanks to Sheryl with her「Our Guardian Deity is amazing! 」propaganda, Iris Crisis’ name reached the ears of Supreme Divine Will Cult whether they wanted or not.
「Hey, Inquisitor or whatever you are. Don’t write This Mistress off just yet. This Mistress is worshipped just fine even now. Iris is just a bonus. This Mistress in the true Chief Goddess! 」
A pink-haired girl stood beside Sheryl. Her age was about or slightly below Katie’s. She was weirdly arrogant too.
「……And you are? 」
「This Mistress is Muriel. The Guardian Deity of this land since three hundred years ago」
「What are you saying? There is no way a Guardian Deity will play snow games together with children…..tte, what? I sense the presence of divine! 」
Katie was an outstanding inquisitor despite being a novice.
She could easily perceive the presence of the divine.
「Of course, because This Mistress is the Guardian Deity」
「Fo-Forgive me for my offense! I couldn’t recognize Muriel-sama……however, what about the Goddess-sama named Iris………?」
「Iris and her little sister are taking a nap in the church. Do you want to see them?」
Little sister?
I didn’t hear any of that, Katie tilted her head.
「By little sister you mean….」
「Iris’ little sister, Eclipse. In short, there are three Guardian Deities in this village」
「It can’t be! I could understand if it was a big city, but in such a remote village………ah, I’m terribly sorry!」
「Hm! We are just a small remote village after all」
The Lord, Sheryl, puffed her cheeks and became angry.
But that’s about it.
Even if it’s a noble, no one is brave enough to use violence against a member of Supreme Divine Will Cult. However, this statement still was close enough to warrant a spanking.
Nevertheless, the Baroness, Sheryl, proved her tolerance by stopping at an angry facial expression.
Or maybe she didn’t think anything else. Somehow, she gave that impression.
「No, I mean small compared to a grand city……this village has only been established not even a year ago. It’s marvelous if you keep that detail in mind. It proves the leadership skills of Your Excellency. I’m deeply impressed」
「Eh, is that so? Fufu, you have a sweet tongue, mou」
Sheryl’s attitude made a swift turnaround.
Her mentality was incredibly simple.
Katie only noticed as she said that, but this village’s scale was a bit too big considering it existed for only a few months.
Is Sheryl really an outstanding lord?
Katie secretly reevaluated Sheryl in her mind.
Still, having three Guardian Deities was a bit too much for a village.
The gods usually lose their power without faith.
In extreme cases, they can’t even maintain their physical form.
Of course, one person can worship multiple gods, but his zeal will definitely suffer.
As a result, it was common to have big cities support multiple deities.
This village’s population was about a hundred, no matter how you count.
Having three Guardian Deities with such numbers was…suspicious.
「Etto, I have a question. There were no Guardian Deities besides Muriel-sama before, am I right? Just when did Iris-sama and Eclipse-sama appeared? 」
「Un….I wonder. When I came here, Iris-sama already lived in the church. Eclipse-sama came about a month ago, I guess? She came her following Iris-sama’s steps」
「Came? In other words, she didn’t “materialize” from people’s faith but came from elsewhere?」
「That’s right」
「I see…..by the way, do you know where she came from?」
「Etto, I have a feeling I’ve heard of it but ended up forgetting. Can’t you ask her directly? Iris-sama is amazing, you know? She made the wilderness green again, created this lake, and even revived Muriel-sama!」
「Indeed. This Mistress indebted to Iris」
「Revived? Can you explain in detail?」
「Alright. Listen to This Mistress’ tale」
Muriel explained in high spirits.
Katie knew about her suddenly losing power two hundred years ago and people leaving this place. Everything according to Supreme Divine Will Cult’s records.
However, an unknown Goddess appeared and revived the village as well as Muriel. It was the first time Katie heard of it.
It was a matter of course.
The Silverlight Barony was a forgotten land.
The records weren’t up to date.
That’s why Katie came to investigate.
「Ans she’s cute! Eclipse-sama doesn’t lose too!」
「Haa……I see. I very much look forward to meeting Iris-sama and Eclipse-sama」
Cute or not is not the point, but the power capable of turning a wilderness into a grassland and reviving Muriel was troubling.
It’s not easy to revive a god.
Perhaps she is an evil god.
Unfortunately, wicked wishes can easily make a god strong.
The villagers seemed like the good people…….but it wasn’t the time to relax.
Katie was resolved to fulfill her duties.
