Chapter 211: No Interference
At the entrance of the Pantheon, upon entering the massive doors, a tall staircase was immediately there, and from it, hallways branched out to either side. From each hallway rose another staircase, and from each staircase, more hallways split again... In this way, staircases and corridors were geometrically stacked, reaching dozens of meters up to the ceiling.
But of course, the gods who resided in the Pantheon could instantly move to any location they wished, which made these architectural features merely for show.
"...If it wasn’t only for show, then climbing these stairs would have been a tiring task," said Sairan Muel.
Hwee-Kyung squinted and looked up and down the entrance of the Pantheon. The Pantheon’s messengers seemed to be in a rush, hurriedly navigating the stairs and corridors while carrying items or loudly receiving orders from superiors. It was a chaotic scene.
"...It still looks tiring.”
"Hm."
Sairan seemed bewildered for a moment.
"In truth, they aren't that busy."
A Platy messenger hurriedly passed in front of Sairan and Hwee-Kyung and suddenly tripped over vigorously. Their beak had been open from running, but as they fell, the lower part of their beak snapped shut.
Hwee-Kyung went over and helped the Platty up.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, ma'am! Thank you! I must go!"
With that, the Platy dusted off their body, picked up the things they had been carrying, and dashed off again.
"They seem busy."
"Well...that’s because that's their job. They find fulfillment in a busy workday. If they were really busy, they would have used dragonflies."
"Dragonflies?"
"Yes, dragonflies."
Sairan made a slight wave of his hand in the air.
Suddenly, two dragonflies emerged from some corridor and approached Sairan and Hwee-Kyung. To Hwee-Kyung, they looked enormous because their wings spanned the length of her arms. The two dragonflies then each flew behind Sairan and Hwee-Kyung, attaching themselves to their backs and flapping their wings.
The two of them slowly lifted off the ground, hovering a few centimeters above. Sairan could feel the vigorous fluttering of the dragonfly attached to him.
"When in a hurry, everyone uses dragonflies."
"Sairan, wait. I missed the moment to be surprised."
"Don’t worry, it’s too early to be surprised."
Sairan took Hwee-Kyung's hand and pulled.
They soared through the air, navigating as if their own bodies had wings, and entered one of the many corridors. The ceilings in the Pantheon were so high that flying wasn't a problem at all.
After flying past a few messengers, they paused in front of a door. The two dragonflies, having completed their task, set the two people down and flew away.
As Sairan looked at Hwee-Kyung, Hwee-Kyung said, "I think I understand why the messengers don't use dragonflies."
"Why?"
"...It's too embarrassing."
"I knew you'd like it."
"I didn’t say I liked it, I said it’s embarrassing. Everyone stares."
Sairan shrugged and opened the door. Floating in the air was a sphere, and on the sphere, four shapes were drawn, which everyone could tell was the appearance of the world. In front of the sphere was a donut-shaped table with chairs, set up so that those seated could look up at the sphere.
Hwee-Kyung looked around. "Is it just us?"
"I think all the others are all too busy, so... Oh, no, nevermind."
"Oh, I didn't see because they were too small."
Sairan lightly hit Hwee-Kyung's chin with his tail. Hwee-Kyung glared at him. This Lizard, though upright and good-mannered, sometimes was impolite toward his companion.
Sairan said, "It's been a while...Overflowing God."
Overflowing God, the player Jang-Wan, looked up.
Hwee-Kyung felt slightly tense at the sight.
The lion mask covering Jang-Wan's face had a tendency to be intimidating to mortals, similar to species with fierce-looking faces like Trolls, Rakshasas, or Goblins.
Furthermore, all players possessed a passive skill called Presence, which grew proportionately with their Faith level and translated to interpersonal influence to all mortals.
"Sairan, and Hwee-Kyung? ...Sit anywhere you'd like."
Hwee-Kyung took a seat nervously, while Sairan did so in a casual manner.
Then Jang-Wan said, "...There was a minor battle on the fourth continent. The scale wasn't that significant, but it seemed related to a coastal battle on the eastern side of the third continent, so the other gods and apostles went to look into it."
This was what the players referred to as the third conference room.
While the first conference room was typically for the players only, the third one had a similar function but a different number of seats. It was a place where the research members—a name given by the apostles and players for mortals competent enough to be admitted into the Pantheon—gathered and shared their opinions.
"Night Sky mentioned that your task, Hwee-Kyung, is to address a leakage issue. I’m assuming Sairan must have briefly explained to you, but gods can influence causality based on mortals' beliefs, but this faith, quantified as Faith resources, is being consumed with unclear causes. When Faith resources are being consumed without the interference of gods, that means there's a leak somewhere. Although we've resolved much of the issue, some still remain..."
While explaining, Jang-Wan paused, looking at Hwee-Kyung and Sairan, and lowered her head.
"I've been rambling on my own again, haven’t I."
Hwee-Kyung was taken aback. “Oh, no. Not at all.”
"Did you two have a good rest?"
Hwee-Kyung and Sairan exchanged glances for a moment.
After their wedding, Sung-Woon had given them a long vacation.
Although they could only visit the Prairie of Beginnings, the upper world, and the Pantheon, that alone included diverse realms that one couldn't fully explore in an entire mortal lifetime, so it was more than enough for Hwee-Kyung to enjoy the journey.
As Hwee-Kyung talked about the trip, Jang-Wan chimed in. Hwee-Kyung wondered if the battle amongst the gods was emergent, but Jang-Wan's reaction eased those concerns.
Wrapping up the topic of the trip, Hwee-Kyung said, "But Overflowing God…”
"...?"
"You share some resemblance to Night Sky."
"..."
As Jang-Wan remained silent for a moment, Hwee-Kyung whispered to Sairan, "Sairan, I think I misspoke."
"Hwee-Kyung, you've been saying inappropriate things since a while ago."
Jang-Wan lightly waved her hand, "Let's forget about that and move on to the matter at hand."
"Alright."
Jang-Wan said, "Have you heard about the revolution?"
Sairan replied, "While it's not part of my duty, I heard about it long ago. Oh, but I'm unfamiliar with the current continental situation, if that’s what you’re talking about."
Jang-Wan nodded.
She then gave a brief overview of the situation on the second continent. The Pantheon had observed several revolutions, but only about two were successful. In the midst of this, Night Sky, by not interfering in one that succeeded, indirectly made it a revolution that, while not protected by the Pantheon, remained free from the Angry One’s interference.
"The third revolution is what's important."
Hwee-Kyung thought to herself.
'A sophisticated game board is created, but the fate of the board depends on a single piece that moves by itself and can't be touched. Why does this feel familiar?'
Jang-Wan added, "However, there's been a recent complication."
"...What do you mean by complication?"
"A republic has been established."
The concept of a republic was already known, so both Hwee-Kyung and Sairan understood easily. But Hwee-Kyung then tilted her head as if she was slightly confused.
"Isn't the ultimate goal of the current revolution to establish a republic? That means said goal has been reached, so it doesn't necessarily seem like something bad."
"Not exactly," Jang-Wan replied. "When a revolution happens, it inevitably gathers a crowd. And with that crowd comes power. And what would happen with that power?"
As Sairan looked at Hwee-Kyung, Hwee-Kyung just shook her head.
Jangwan answered, "It corrupts."
"It corrupts...you say?"
"Yes. That's the nature of the effect power has on people. Just as it's natural to resist unfair pressure, power that accumulates inevitably corrupts."
Though Jang-Wan was talking based on her experience in the game The Lost World, she didn’t find the need to mention that because with The Lost World becoming more than a mere game, those experiences were practically truths.
Jang-Wan continued, "That's why we hoped the revolution wouldn't come together into a single force. If the leadership of the revolution remained vague, the state of the revolution could last longer. This would also increase the revolutionary momentum. On the other hand, if a country is established, energy is spent on internal foundations rather than on external matters, and that in itself is a disadvantage."
Hwee-Kyung understood Jang-Wan's point. A non-interfered revolution essentially meant chaotic energy, and having such energy within the Union Kingdom was threatening. But now that this revolution had been named the Independent Republic of Collegoton, that energy would gradually get isolated and reduced.
"Did it naturally happen this way? Or..."
"I believe it's close to something that occurred without interference. It's just bad luck. However..."
"However?"
"If things have reached this point, it's hard to predict what will happen next. Even if the Angry One can't directly interfere, there are plenty who willingly serve the Angry One, and so, there will also be those who act for the Angry One indirectly."
The Independent Republic of Collegoton, to begin with, was too far from the Empire while being inside the Union Kingdom, so they were bound to be influenced by the Union Kingdom.
Hwee-Kyung asked, "Oh, but..."
"Speak."
"What does this have to do with the leakage problem we were assigned?"
***
In Sarcho's parliamentary office, Sarcho repeated the words the person in red mask had said with a trembling voice, "So, Comrade Dain...is trying to contact Rubeil?"
"Yes."
The Rubeil revolutionary faction was one of the major pro-Empire revolutionary factions.
'No, not just a simple pro-Empire faction. To be precise...'
They could be seen as a direct faction of Night Sky. It was known that the Rubeil slave labor camp and other revolutionary factions influenced by it had all apostatized to Night Sky’s Pantheon.
Sarcho shook their head. "That's nonsense. Our nation has already decided to honor the Angry One as our state religion."
"It may have been decided, but is it set in stone?"
Sarcho furrowed their eyebrows.
Just as the person in the red mask stated, it wasn't a finalized decision. The Collegoton government was currently laying down the foundations of the nation, and establishing a state religion was also part of that process.
"But the state religion is more or less decided..."
The ruling revolutionary party, of course, and even opposition parties like the Full-Tailed Party and the Anti-Revolution Party, surprisingly agreed on the choice of state religion. It wasn't set in stone yet, but there was no room for further debate.
"Have you ever met a member outside of the parliament?"
"...No. I've been busy lately."
"What about factions within the Revolutionary Party?"
"I see your intention is to divide us."
The person in the red mask shook their head. "You're being excluded."
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