The Church of Helena.
Every major city, town, and village in the empire had a branch of this religion. There were places in other kingdoms and empires that also shared the same faith.
In Sofenia, the church was at the edge of the city center. It was nestled between the commercial district and the residential zones.
This way, people who were going to work, shopping, or going home would always see the church as they passed by.
This way, most people would always stop by for a quick prayer to the goddess. The traffic around the church was always high.
Especially today, the amount of people at church is sizable. The streets were so crowded that our carriage had a hard time passing by.
"Guards, create a path!" I ordered from the inside. The guards that were beside the carriage on their horses must have heard.
Their hearing was good enough to pass through the somewhat thin walls of the carriage.
Drrrm!
I could hear a small hum as I saw the swarm of people around my carriage dispersing. They were quickly backing off as my guards were flaring their mana.
The feeling that their auras give is enough to cause a sense of physical and psychological sense of suppression to civilians.
It is the best way to keep the rowdy masses in control. Sometimes I can't believe how quickly normal people adapt. They had only just begun to get better but already had the time to go to church.
"I guess the clergy put in the effort this time." I said to Emily who sat next to me.
I had to force her there or she was going to sit across from me. I wasn't always going to let her get her way. I also needed someone's company so I didn't rethink my decision.
"Indeed. Even though we sent the herbs, it was the clergy who did most of the work. They assisted the alchemists with making medicine. They fed the medicine to people.
They even used their divine healing skills often. Most of the clergy did not even rest for more than a couple hours in the last 2 weeks." Emily explained.
I was busy at the warehouses while Emily often accompanied the workers who made the deliveries. She had personally seen how hard the 100 or so men and women of faith worked.
Sure the nobles and city guards whelped quite a bit but they were not as selfless as the clergy. The noble and city guards had gotten adequate rest while the clergy didn't.
They were the ones who had played the largest role in helping the 10,000 citizens recover.
"Even though I don't like how much influence the church has, I can't deny the work they put in to maintain it." I said.
I really don't like the church. Even though they stay away from political conflicts, they hold the faith of the people.
Let's say you ask a random person on the street "Who do you trust more, the church or the emperor?", most would say the church.
To the average citizen, the church was the strongest spiritual presence.
"That is why they don't interfere in politics, young miss. All they do is hold prayers, provide healing services, give out food in the slums, and collect donations." Emily said with a smile.
She often attended church events with my parents. During her free time, she would volunteer to hand out food to the slum dwellers.
She firmly believed that the church was an organization to be loved, not feared.
"What do you think about all the strong nuns and priests that they have?" I asked with curiosity. The carriage had begun moving again.
"They must still protect the people from the influence of other religions. Especially evil ones like the blood cult. It is only right for some of them to fight. Godeess Helenea is an advocate of protecting oneself from harm. I see no wrong in them having some fighters. "
Emily's viewpoint was not wrong. As a religion, they did indeed need to enforce their beliefs in the region. They had some 9th combatants but most of them were supports.
Their highest nuns and priests provided support magic fueled by divine energy. A form of energy that is very different from mana.
"Even though most of them are supports, they do have some holy knights that stay hidden," I added.
The church had its own soldiers who were geared toward fighting. Some of them could even contend on equal grounds to the empire's 9th-tier generals.
They had shown up more than once in the past when a city was overrun by some strange cult, not the blood cult.
"The holy knights might be strong but they are not more numerous than the empire's forces combined. There is no need to worry so much about them." No matter what I say, there was no saying Emily, not that I really had to.
The church often kept the commoner's attention away from the nobles. This lets the nobles operate in peace. For that, the nobles were more than happy to let the church do their own thing.
Many nobles often donated to the church as that gave people a better impression of them. Some nobles were also wholeheartedly devout to the goddess.
Overall, as much as I didn't like how such a powerful organization kept itself wrapped so nicely, I could not deny its usefulness.
"Hmph. There's no point in convincing you. Let's go." I said. We had arrived in front of the church. The carriage door was opened by one of my guards.
I stepped out on my own while lifting my black dress. I was wearing a dress that was more flowy towards the legs. Unlike my usual dresses that were meant for movement, this one is more formal.
I couldn't show up to church in casual wear. It was something that the clergy made mandatory for nobles. I forget why that is.
The commoners can wear their normal clothes.
I steadied myself and helped Emilt get off the carriage. She was wearing a very frilly maid dress. It was hard for her to get off elegantly unless I gave her my hand.
She might be stronger and more agile than me but she couldn't jump out of the carriage. It wasn't proper noble etiquette to do that, especially in front of a crowd.
With her settled, I turned my gaze to the church. A pure white building with wide arches and domes. Tall, thick pillars supported a behemoth of a structure as the whole place seemed to be carved from a single block of stone.
Every inch of the place had meticulous designs and patterns etched all over the. Some parts even had finely shaped gems embedded in them. They were a light purple color gem, found in large amounts in our empire.
"Ah..." I sighed at the sight as I looked at Emily. Her eyes twinkled just like the first time she saw this place. Her smile was much wider than usual. A smile she never shows me when we are at home.
The crowd of people surrounding us was parting. They made a straight path for us to pass. Even if the guards were not intimidating them, they would do the same.
The people loved the churches but they feared the nobles. This was especially the case for me. With how Ryan used to torment these people for fun on a daily basis, they wouldn't have good thoughts about his fiance.
"Welcome young heir of Zocraten." A supple voice called out. At the very top of the stairs, a woman in a pure white nun outfit walked out.
"Holy Sister Fontaine." I said with a smirk as I approached the smiling woman. Her cascading blond hair curled at the ends and those blue eyes.
Characteristics that belong to most of the upper female clergy. It was because the goddess had some hair and eyes that women with these features had an easier time climbing the clerical ladder.
"I have already forfeited my noble status. You can call me Holy Sister Emily now." she said, returning the smirk.
I already knew she had given up her nobility but I wasn't going to call her Emily. I already had an Emily beside me, a better Emily.
She probably knew that I already knew and was doing this to irk her. She wasn't going to say anything about it. She thought herself above that.
"My maid is called Emily so it might sprout confusion. May I just call you Holy Sister." I asked politely. There were tons of people here.
Appearances had to be kept up. I couldn't show my dislike even if I wanted to.
"That is alright. Follow me. She is waiting for you." she said walking away elegantly.
I nodded in understanding and followed her.
I was right, the goddess was watching. No wonder she hadn't gone back to the capital church. General Katrina whom she came with had already returned.
She was staying here to oversee my communication with the goddess.
As we walked through the halls painted with murals of the goddess, I stared at Lady Fontaine's back.
Her manner of walking had changed. She didn't sway her hips much and her stature had something demure about it. It seemed that church life had cleaned her up.
She no longer seemed to have any trace of her intentional seductiveness from before. I wonder if those men she used to play with the hearts of are in pain.
It didn't take long for us to arrive in a small, room. The walls were painted in a lavender color.
On the ground was a circle formed by many candles. In front of this circle was a detailed stone statue of the goddess Helena. Her face was eerily similar to mine.
"The room has already been enchanted with anti-spying spells. I will wait out here for your safety." Lady Fontaine closed her eyes as she stood beside the door to the room.
I nodded at her and then looked at Emily. "Be careful." she said with concern.
'Hmm..." I had nothing else to stay. with a 9th-tier priestess protecting me, no one should be able to interrupt the ritual without passing through her first. This wasn't going to take long but it is good to be cautious.
Even the goddess can't always be sure about what might go wrong.
I walked into the dimly lit room.
Bang!
The doors shut on their own behind me. I walked over to the candles and sat cross-legged in the circle they formed.
I put my arms beside me and closed my eyes. This was the position I entered when cultivating mana. However, it was going to be used for something different.
If anyone were to ask why someone like me with above average talent became strong enough to lead the entire continent in a war, I would have to say that it was because of the goddess.
Ryan leading the war was normal as was going to find all sorts of rare treasures in the future. He would become strong to the point where he was no longer placed on the tier system.
He had enough talent and luck to be the best of the best. I on the other hand was barely mediocre. There were talents that far surpassed me all over the continent.
I was nothing, the Zlatan empire where I was considered good enough was remote land in the south of a continent. A continent that is 1,000,000 times larger than the empire's entire land.
There were numerous places within this vast land where my talent was considered trash. This was not even counting the other continents that were hundreds or thousands of times bigger than this one.
I don't know where they went when our realm was invaded but right now, that doesn't concern me.
In order to stay alongside Ryan, I had to make use of the goddess.
As for how I made use of her, it is because I am a natural-born Divine Vessel.
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Author: I know that there hasn't been much action for a while but we will get to it right after the next chapter.
I hope to extensively establish the world before speeding up the pace. World building is going to be very important for this story to work.
The characters also need more depth. I hope to have nicely made villains and side characters so sometimes I will take my time developing them.
I'll do my best to improve in all aspects as we go on.
Please comment with any suggestions. Leave a review if you can.
Thank you for reading.