A new religion, the ‘Twilight Church,’ was born on the continent of Eldorad.
“For the time being, Necros, please assist the Twilight Church. And Sharia, if you encounter any difficulties, do not hesitate to tell Necros.”
At Chief Administrator Celia’s command, Necros nodded with all his might.
Because the more the Twilight Church prospered, the more believers it would gain.
More believers meant more donations.
Necros was not one to miss a good opportunity.
On the other hand, there was someone who was glad for the birth of the Twilight Church yet also troubled.
That was Sharia.
“Lucas, how much funds did we have under the Eclipse name?”
The organization known as Eclipse was now destined to fade into the annals of history and operate under the new name of the Twilight Church.
Of course, everyone including the existing members would remain the same, but a change of name meant that many things would change as well.
There were matters that needed to be prepared in advance before the change.
Most notably, securing the funds registered under the Eclipse name.
At Sharia’s question, Lucas made a serious expression.
Funds were always important and secret, so one had to be careful.
“Yes, Commander. Currently, not under the Eclipse name, but there are two shops where debts are outstanding under the Commander’s name.”
“…….”
Sharia’s expression darkened at Lucas’s words.
It was not because Eclipse lacked assets.
What weighed heavily on her mind was that she had outstanding debts at two places under her own name.
“I shall now tell you the details and amounts of the debts. First, you purchased a basket of hard bread that was one day past its expiration date. The shop owner gave a discount, so a debt of nine copper coins was put on a tab.”
Nine copper coins.
It had been an unavoidable choice.
Eclipse’s finances had not been good.
Normally, they had gotten their meals through begging.
On days when begging did not go well, they had no choice but to buy bread, but of course, they could not afford freshly baked bread.
Instead, they bought hard bread and shared it among the members.
“And you should remember the case where one of the members ate a field mouse and suffered from stomach pain.”
Sharia remembered it too.
One member had caught and eaten a field mouse out of extreme hunger.
But it had apparently been unsanitary, and he suffered from severe stomach pain.
What could be done?
As the commander of Eclipse, she could not simply watch a member suffer.
“At that time, the Commander obtained medicine from an herbalist on credit.”
She remembered that as well.
She had urgently procured medicine to treat the member.
Eclipse was an organization of dark mages, so they could not receive help from the Church.
She had urgently sought an herbalist’s help, only to be indebted with the enormous sum of five silver coins.
“…….”
Sharia’s face was full of worry.
What would happen if she ran away without paying her debts?
Discarding the name Eclipse would not solve the problem.
In the worst-case scenario, it might become known that Sharia, the leader of the Twilight Church, had failed to pay her debts.
‘If that happened…’
Future believers might become disappointed in the Twilight Church and leave.
That would mean the fall of the Twilight Church, and more than anything, it would mean failing to uphold the First Apostle’s command.
‘Th-that absolutely cannot happen!’
The debts incurred before changing Eclipse’s name had to be paid off properly.
But she currently lacked the means to pay them.
However, was there not an Apostle nearby whom she could ask for help!
“Um… Apostle Necros?”
Sharia approached Necros.
Had not the First Apostle, Lady Celia, told her to ask Necros for help if she had any difficulties?
So she told him about the debts she currently held.
“S-so, could the Apostle perhaps help me?”
Sharia bowed her head as she asked Necros for help.
Having heard her concerns, Necros’s mind spun quickly.
Rumors spread that the leader of the Twilight Church had swindled money. -> The Twilight Church’s standing falls. -> The Twilight Church’s believers decrease. -> The donations from believers decrease. -> What is better than money is more money.
“!”
Such a thing must never happen.
Necros intended to pay off the debts in her stead so that no ill rumors about Sharia, the church leader, could spread.
In any case, he was confident that he could earn more than his principal through the Twilight Church.
“Apostle, the amount of the debt is….”
As she spoke, Sharia spread her fingers.
Necros nodded at the sight of five spread fingers.
Six gold coins?
No, that could not be. There was a high chance she meant not six, but sixty or six hundred.
Of course, either way, it was pocket change to Necros.
“…It’s five silver coins!”
“?”
For the first time, Necros felt a dizzying confusion regarding a unit of currency.
* * *
Sharia and Lucas came down from the mountain range.
Behind them followed armed Skeleton Knights.
They were now set to become shields protecting the Twilight Church and its leader.
They were the so-called Twilight Knights.
Meanwhile, Necros had inquired about a building for the Twilight Church to use as soon as he came down from the mountain range.
Naturally, as one close to the ruler of the underworld, finding a building was no trouble at all.
And two days had passed.
“…I-is this the building we will be using?”
Sharia looked at the building, unable to hide her astonishment.
It had only been two days since they came down from the mountain range.
She had thought it would take at least several months for the Twilight Church to begin full-scale operations, yet it had been a mere two days.
“There are so many people here!”
Moreover, the building was located in a place with heavy foot traffic.
Necros, wearing a white mask, looked around.
The Twilight Church’s building was located in front of the Monster Arena that Necros operated.
To keep the Twilight Church close, he had deliberately purchased the building across from it.
That way, he could resolve any emergencies immediately.
“And there are many people here who look like they could become believers?”
Above all, this was the underworld.
It was not as if everyone in the underworld was affiliated with organizations or was a criminal.
As this was the shadows rather than the light, many people in unfortunate circumstances could be seen.
‘People abandoned by the Goddess.’
Sharia looked at them and licked her lips.
If she could draw them into the Twilight Church, she would be able to fill her believer count quickly.
Then it would be no different from successfully carrying out the command given by the First Apostle.
And Necros, who had been watching quietly from the side, was devising another plan.
“…….”
Most of the people in this area were those living at the bottom of life.
No matter how many of them he took in as believers, they would not bring in much money.
Naturally, he was not one to be satisfied with only this.
Necros was establishing a grand plan to gradually expand the Twilight Church, using this place as a stepping stone.
Necros wrote the plan in a notebook and showed it to Sharia.
“Huh… the Room of Truth?”
Sharia tilted her head.
The notebook the Apostle showed her contained things Sharia had to follow, and the contents were as follows:
- If there are humans hostile to or suspicious of the Twilight Church, bring them to the ‘Room of Truth.’
- A professional counselor resides in the ‘Room of Truth.’
She could not tell what it meant, but since they were the Apostle’s words, there must be a deeper meaning.
- Ah, the Room of Truth and the professional counselor are located in the arena building across the street.
Sharia simply nodded.
Seeing the word counselor, perhaps it meant they would take care of people who could become potential threats in her stead.
That was highly likely.
That was why the Room of Truth alone was placed in another building.
She was curious about what was there, but she did not let her curiosity show.
As the leader of the Twilight Church, she only needed to follow the Apostle’s instructions well.
“I shall surely live up to the Apostle’s expectations!”
Now Lucas only had to bring the former Eclipse members.
Then the true prelude of the Twilight Church would begin.
Sharia immediately threw herself into preparations for operating the Twilight Church.
Though they had obtained a building, minor rules were needed to operate the Twilight Church efficiently.
And believers were not simply made.
She had to worry about how to proselytize to people right away, and as the church leader, she had to think about what teachings to impart to them.
For these reasons, Sharia intended to study.
For the first time in a while, she burned with passion.
* * *
After sending Sharia off, Necros returned to the arena building.
Today too, the Monster Arena was packed with people.
As the arena’s fervor heated up, word of mouth spread widely.
It had reached the point where not only underworld figures but also people from the lawful side visited the arena.
Necros moved his steps amid the humans’ heated cheers.
He had no business in the arena.
The human employees he had selected would be running it well anyway.
Necros only needed to take his share as the owner and properly supply the monsters to be used in the arena.
Necros headed deep into the building.
The cheers that had loudly resounded moments ago grew fainter.
His destination was the Dungeon over which he reigned as master.
The Dungeon bestowed by the Great One was in a corner of the arena building, and Skeleton Knights stood guard around it.
Clack-!
As Necros passed by, the Skeleton Knights saluted with discipline.
Security had been strengthened because humans had once entered without permission.
Necros entered the Dungeon, receiving their salutes.
Upon entering the Dungeon, he saw humans sitting in chairs, seemingly fallen into a deep sleep.
They had not truly fallen into a deep sleep.
His lieutenant, Kaleido, was showing them illusion magic.
Under the illusion Kaleido showed, some even talked in their sleep.
“Ah, no…! To think the Church was the true puppet master!”
“I have only Him! Twilight Church, be eternal!”
He had no interest in what illusions the humans were dreaming.
The moment they woke from the illusion, they would be reborn as fervent believers of the Twilight Church.
Necros planned to expand the Twilight Church as quickly as possible, even a day sooner.
To reduce variables, he had ordered Sharia to report any impure elements.
If there were such conspirators, they would be made to undergo education through brainwashing here in this Dungeon, also known by another name as the Room of Truth.
In this place, besides the humans being made into believers of the Twilight Church, there was another person.
“Have you come, Lord Necros?”
Paladin Eric.
No, the Banshee controlling the Paladin greeted Necros through Eric’s mouth.
And before Eric, another Paladin, Dracon, sat in a chair with his eyes closed.
“Clack?”
“Yes, thanks to you, Lord Necros, and Lord Kaleido, the brainwashing is proceeding smoothly.”
Eric had met Dracon in the mountain range.
Dracon had met the dark mages of the organization called Eclipse in the mountain range and claimed they had summoned an undead legion.
Originally, Eric had planned to use Dracon’s claims and the Church to keep Eclipse in check.
However, he had heard through the shadows that Eclipse was actually an ally.
So he changed his plan.
He would use Dracon to gain different benefits.
Among the things Dracon had said, the claim of seeing dark mages and an undead legion in the mountain range was extremely dangerous.
If the Church’s army headed for the mountain range by any chance, it would become a potential threat to the Lord’s Dungeon.
‘Such a thing must never happen.’
To prevent such a mishap, Eric had lured Dracon here.
The process of guiding him had been easy.
He simply lied that Deputy Commander Liana and a Heresy Inquisitor were here.
Dracon, confused by the death of his comrades, believed Eric’s words without doubt.
The result was that he fell under Kaleido’s illusion magic.
“How can this be… To think Eclipse existed within the Free Cities Alliance! The Free Cities Alliance was backing Eclipse!”
Dracon murmured in a drowsy voice.
As expected, the brainwashing through illusions was working well.
The brainwashing was simple.
It was nothing more than slightly distorting Dracon’s memories.
The claims of seeing an undead legion were all deleted, and falsehoods were mixed in, stating that Eclipse was actually located in the Free Cities Alliance.
The setting that all his fellow Paladins had been assassinated by the Free Cities Alliance’s security forces was implanted as well.
Within the elaborate illusionary world created by Kaleido, Dracon was slowly being brainwashed without realizing it.
Eric, having confirmed that everything was proceeding smoothly, made a resolute expression.
“Lord Necros, I have never forgotten His grace,” the Banshee controlling Eric said in a low voice.
“That I, a mere undead, can wield holy power and imitate a Paladin is all thanks to the power He bestowed.”
Without that power, I would have died long ago.
“Therefore, I wish to do what I can. As soon as Dracon’s brainwashing is complete, I will head straight for the Church.”
Dracon would tell the Church the false memories created through brainwashing.
That Eclipse had revived and the Free Cities Alliance was the backer supporting them.
Then the Church’s blade would naturally turn toward the Free Cities Alliance.
Eric spoke with a resolute gaze.
“When the Great One descends, the Seil Kingdom is far too small to fully contain His glory.”
He continued, clenching his fist tightly.
“I intend to use the Church to absorb the Free Cities Alliance. I will prepare a stage befitting Him, our Lord!”
In Eric’s pupils, the light of unwavering conviction sparkled.
From now on, the plan was to make the Seil Kingdom into an Empire.