Do You Believe In God? (2)

Time rewound a little.

I had seen it.

I had seen the Saintess execute the corrupt duke, wearing a smile even as she lamented.

“Y-you mean the cult leader…?”

“Yes. I am the second generation. On the day I was born and became a Saint, my mother founded it.”

So their whole family ran a religious organization together?

How deeply sinful did that sound.

Normally, avoiding involvement would have been the wise choice, but having seen it, there was no escape.

I swallowed hard.

“Th-the Vessels of God are… an organization even the Kingdom considers dangerous…”

“So it seems. That is truly sad. We merely follow the will of the Goddess, delivering judgment to the wicked and extending a hand of salvation to those who act righteously.”

“…S-specifically?”

“To live in this world as a wicked person is tragic. That is why we end their lives with our own hands and pray that they may be reborn correctly in their next life.”

So that meant killing them and forcing reincarnation, right?

Killing anyone who did not align with their ideology and resetting them?

How extreme could they be?!

I had never heard of anything like this.

In my original world, they would have been nothing more than a criminal organization.

Well, even in this world, they were pretty much the same…

“At the center of all wicked beings stands the Demon King. As one who receives the Goddess’s will, I cannot remain silent. This man is the same. He received the Goddess’s protection, yet betrayed her favor. Do you not think he deserves ten thousand deaths?”

“I-I think killing him is going too far—”

“You think so as well, don’t you?”

“Yes! I do!”

This was way too terrifying!

I had thought Erika’s smile was scary, but that had been gentle by comparison.

Now even an ordinary smile looked like the grin of a murderer.

My body trembled violently despite the lack of cold.

The Saintesses of this world were far too frightening!

“Um… what should I do, then?”

I really did not want to be killed.

I asked while trembling in fear.

Semirena smiled gently and made a request of me.

“If possible, I would be grateful if you could keep this matter secret.”

“Keep it secret… yes.”

“Please. If everyone were to learn of this, my position would be compromised.”

“Y-yes. I understand. I won’t say anything!”

If I did, it felt like my life would end before any relationships did.

After worrying about the Demon King, the Kingdom, and the cursed blade, now I had to worry about being killed by a Saintess too…?

What kind of party was this?

When I looked closely, it was almost nothing but enemies!

“And there is one more thing I would like to discuss.”

“W-what might that be?”

“Hero-sama, do you have any interest in the teachings of the Goddess?”

“Eek!”

Without warning, Semirena stepped toward me with incredible speed.

Her eyes widened, gleaming dully as she brought her face close to mine.

“If you join the Vessels of God, you will receive truly wonderful teachings. Your daily life will shine, your happiness will increase, and fortune will dwell within those who believe.”

The rapid-fire religious solicitation had begun.

I backed away, but immediately hit the wall and could not retreat further.

Semirena pressed in without hesitation.

I felt fear of a completely different kind than before.

“Ah, no, um… I’m not even from this world, so being told about the Goddess’s teachings is a bit…”

“What are you saying? The holy sword is the greatest blessing bestowed by the Goddess. A Hero is, by definition, the one most beloved by the Goddess in this world, you know?”

“I s-see…”

W-well, that might have been true originally.

But it was not.

I was not a real Hero, so I had not received any blessing from the Goddess at all.

“J-just out of curiosity… how does your religion view people who have not received the Goddess’s blessing?”

“They are no different from insects.”

“Wh—”

Casually labeled as insects.

“B-by that logic, demi-humans also have not received the Goddess’s blessing.”

“That is correct. But there is no need to worry. The Goddess is a merciful being. If they believe and continue to love her, they may eventually receive her favor as well. Those who believe shall be saved.”

Whoa…

That was the number-one phrase people imagined when thinking of religious solicitation.

And I was hearing it in real life.

If believing alone was enough to be saved, then please save me from this situation, Goddess!

“Then what about Arka…?”

“Arka is one who has received the Goddess’s blessing.”

Ah, right.

He merely had beastman blood; most of him was human.

In this world, only the human race received the Goddess’s blessing.

For Semirena, the standard of right and wrong seemed to be whether or not one had received the Goddess’s blessing.

I felt a slight sense of relief.

No, no—this was not the time to feel relieved.

“By that reasoning, we would be enemies, then,”

Exactly.

I had not come to this world through the proper route.

I had moved here on my own through the power of the cursed blade.

Which meant that we, too, had not received the Goddess’s blessing.

As Kojiro said, by her standards… we were targets for punishment.

On top of that, I was pretending to be a Hero.

If she found out…

I swallowed hard.

“So, what do you say? I would very much like the Hero-sama to join us.”

“N-no, um…”

“If you were to join us, I would do anything within my power for you.”

“A-anything?”

My resolve wavered.

“Yes. Anything… if necessary, I would even offer this body.”

“……”

Her well-shaped face, and a chest larger than Erika’s.

An appearance that stirred a man’s base desires…

I could have that?

Just by joining a religion?

“You are wavering, I see,”

N-no, this was bad.

The risk was far too great.

I had to endure this with ironclad reason.

“P-please give me time to think about it.”

“Yes. I will wait as long as necessary.”