<Episode 4>
Sure enough.
The Temples were rotten to the core.
[Asking for tributes is super suspicious. In the end, the only ones who profited were the Temple's higher-ups. Rotten bastards.]
I spat out the deductions I'd made as a reader.
[......You're right. They're already as corrupt as can be.]
Agatha's voice carried a tinge of bitterness.
It infuriated even me, a mere reader; how hard must it have been for Agatha, who witnessed it firsthand?
[The oracle we issued was indeed about the plague.]
[Pardon? So it wasn't entirely fabricated?]
[You could call it fabricated. The plague originated from the Grand Temple secretly engaging in human trafficking, cramming people together, and abusing them in unsanitary conditions like livestock. The Temple created that plague, then used it to extort more money.]
[Insane......]
[We selected devout and honest people to deliver the oracle, to prevent distortion. We tried to get countermeasures to the previous Emperor...... But the results weren't good.]
They were even worse than in the book. At this point, the Temples weren't a religion—they were a criminal syndicate.
How aggrieved must the gods have felt?
[Dorothy. We're too weak now to interfere in human affairs. We can barely avert massive natural disasters.]
[They're really awful.]
[Right? So, Dorothy.]
Agatha's subdued voice turned gentle.
[I have a favor to ask.]
Their plight was pitiful, but something felt off.
Putting together everything I'd heard, it seemed like a request beyond my ability.
[Deliver our message to the Emperor.]
[Pardon?]
[Convince him to clear up his misunderstanding about us. We'll help him overhaul the Temples too. So let's heal the Empire together.]
[Are you telling me to go one-on-one with the Emperor and persuade him right now?]
[Yes. Dorothy. You're the only one.]
[What? No, my ears must be bad. I can't hear you.]
The Emperor was a sage king to his subjects but merciless to enemies. He didn't hesitate to kill habitual evildoers. Countless corrupt officials' heads had lined the Empire as a result.
And that was just the start. True to his goal of uprooting the Temples, he was brilliantly intelligent.
Skilled in political intrigue, willing to sacrifice for his aims, pretending to be bold while trusting no one—a terrifying man with immense stubbornness.
[Dorothy. Please.]
[Pretend I didn't hear that!]
I desperately feigned ignorance and climbed onto the bed.
Their situation was heartbreaking. I wanted to help.
Having decided to survive by allying with the gods, I wanted to assist moderately.
But the Emperor? The Emperor of all people?
It was as good as walking to my death. I'd allied with the gods precisely to avoid dying.
Better to sleep it off.
[Doroothy.]
I ignored Agatha's voice, spread out the blanket, and lay down.
But then.
Crack,
Bang.
"Ack!"
The bed collapsed beneath me.
"Lady Agatha...... Was this...... the gods......?"
[......Um, our knight captain is a bit upset right now.]
Gods are all the same.
How hot-tempered do you have to be to smash a bed?
[It wasn't intentional; he was just angry......?]
[But why did it break......?]
[Since you connect with us, Dorothy, it seems divine power manifests. It's as strong as our old power...... We're all flustered.]
So even without intent, because you're 'gods' and due to 'my constitution,' this happens. Even with weakened divine power, it's outputting former strength!
[It really wasn't on purpose. Sorry.]
If one angry god does this, what happens if all eight get mad?
Even worse. Refusing cooperation felt life-threatening.
"A-Alright. I get it."
So don't kill me.
[I'll cooperate.]
[Dorothy......! Sniff. Thank you. If our divine power weakens further, we might vanish. A god disappearing is a huge deal.]
Gods disappearing might be for the best.
Having been fed misfortunes, I'd grown somewhat cynical.
[If we vanish, next are the spirits. Mountains, water, wind. Without nature's stewards, it'll be chaos. Beasts die, insects, plants...... Humans will slowly wither away too.]
Images of streets swept by floods and ridgelines ablaze auto-played in my mind.
This is worse than the gods turning villainous.
Being a romance novel, details after the Emperor's reforms were sparse.
I couldn't know the gods' or Empire's fate.
But if the gods were right, after the Emperor's victory, massive disasters would wipe out humanity.
[I'll do my best!]
I had to prevent gods cursing or vanishing. Either way, I'd die.
So I nodded reluctantly.
[That's the spirit! Great! Convince the Emperor, and we'll ensure Dorothy lives happily ever after.]
[Happily? How?]
[What do you want? Wealth? Fame? Handsome man? Healthy life?]
Bluntly worldly list. These gods didn't demand purity.
[I......]
Though all appealing, what I'd longed for was one thing.
Not seeing what others couldn't.
Becoming utterly ordinary.
Past life and this new one, my desire was the same.
Helping Agatha allowed bargaining. Maybe even change this cursed constitution......
[Uh, nothing comes to mind now. Can I decide later?]
Couldn't say 'don't talk to me' to Agatha's face, so I deflected.
[Sure, tell me when you do. Anything, absolutely! I'll grant wishes. One—too few. Two it is. No evil like murder or theft.]
[Anything, absolutely?]
[Yes. Think carefully.]
[......Yes!]
[You got this, you. Go meet the Emperor!]
The cheer was nice, but the follow-up sank my heart.
[But meeting the Emperor seems incredibly hard for me.]
Problem: I possessed a vagabond, an unnamed extra not even in the novel.
Forget meeting him; seeing his face would be lucky.
[Going to the Temple and declaring yourself Saintess is best......]
[Teaming with the Temple feels wrong. The Emperor hates them.]
[True. Since he distrusts the Temples, approaching through them might make him avoid us.]
Avoidance would be lucky.
The Emperor gnashed his teeth at Temples.
A Saintess appearing benefited them; if he noticed first, he'd eliminate her without hesitation.
I needed a shield.
Not literal. A shield so Theodore wouldn't kill me rashly.
Like fame.
With many eyes and public awareness, even the Emperor couldn't remove me easily.
[I. Need to become famous.]
Simple solution.
[Then I can meet the Emperor, and fame as a shield keeps me safe.]
Becoming 'famous.' Spreading word of the Saintess's emergence until street kids knew.
[Logical. Dorothy! Spot on. Becoming a famed strategist in war would be easy, but the world's at peace......]
[War?]
Right—Agatha was a strategist from the founding war as a human.
Her brilliant strategies won with minimal sacrifice.
Outshining king's authority and knights' might, they became legendary, more famous than the king or generals.
Even over the first Emperor. Thus, she was revered as chief god. That skilled in strategy.
[Or become a priestess famed for accurate oracles. But the Grand Temple might not stay quiet.]
[They wouldn't.]
We brainstormed more, but nothing realistic or helpful emerged.
[......That.]
Then, a familiar method crossed my mind.
Seen it most in life, unavoidable.
[How about...... fortune-telling?]
[Fortune-telling? What's that?]
Agatha asked curiously.
Mom. Your daughter, who hated it so much, is becoming a shaman after all.
