Charlotte’s Marriage, The Expansion Of The Rat Religion

Armin and Charlotte’s wedding was held on June 15.

The reason the wedding was held earlier than expected was that since she was pregnant, they thought it would be better to hold it quickly before her belly grew any larger. Since notice had already been given in advance, representatives from countries around the world came to visit.

Meanwhile, since it was a royal wedding, it had been decided that the wedding would be held in the Hall of Kings, where Ian had held his own wedding. The wedding was quite grand. It proceeded with the performance of an orchestra, and Ian’s heart felt warm as he watched it.

His younger sister was finally getting married. Charlotte, dressed in a wedding dress, looked extremely beautiful. Looking at Armin’s face beside her, his mouth open as he laughed foolishly, Ian somehow felt that it was a waste to give her to him.

‘Stop laughing already. Everyone is laughing while looking at you.’

“She is finally going too.”

“We really raised her well, did we not?”

“Yes, she really grew up well.”

At the words of his mother standing beside him, her eyes brimming with tears, Ian himself could not help feeling emotional. Like his mother, he too had watched Charlotte grow from the moment she was born until now. Inwardly, he wondered what he would do if his daughter Karina met a man when she became an adult.

‘Karina’s wedding… Ugh, I do not think I will be able to send her off…’

For some reason, he thought it felt different from his younger sister. Thinking about the bastard who might appear someday made him feel unpleasant, but he quickly recovered his expression. Right now was his beloved younger sister’s wedding. Showing an unpleasant expression at a moment like this could itself be something upsetting.

‘If they even knew that it was because of the man who would approach my future daughter, everyone would probably be dumbfounded, right?’

To be honest, even he himself found it absurd that he was thinking such things. Still, once he had a daughter, he could not help constantly imagining such assumptions. Through Ian’s gaze as he thought such things without anyone knowing, he soon heard the priest’s words.

If all those various words were summarized, they meant that the two should cherish each other and continue a happy life together until the day they died. Many people applauded those words, and Ian also applauded in agreement.

‘Hmm, seeing the priest reminds me that they said cults have been running rampant on the continent lately.’

With each country currently proceeding with restoration, the world was quite chaotic, so all sorts of strange religions seemed to have appeared. However, there had been reports that their momentum had recently become unusual. He remembered that the name of that religion was probably the “Rat Religion.”

In truth, the power of religion was not very strong in the current age. To begin with, they could not use the power of gods known as divine power like in the past, so their religious influence had greatly decreased. Since almost a thousand years had passed since then, the power they could use itself had disappeared.

Of course, the influence that came from religion itself could certainly still be said to be alive and well. There were many people who had worshiped one god for generations, and because of that, there were many households that had supported them for a long time, allowing them to maintain themselves. Of course, recently, it could be said that those households had greatly decreased.

‘The aftermath of the Great War was definitely not small.’

It had been a war that consumed a large population of young men. Young people had been conscripted as if dragged away, and because of that, some households had no young men at all. Since only those considered the healthiest had been taken away, it was not uncommon for entire households to fall into ruin.

What would people who had lost the children who could be called their future choose to do? Those whose hearts had collapsed and whose lives had become powerless had no choice but to seek beings who would comfort such hearts. At that time, beings who comforted their hearts appeared, and they were the priests of the Rat Religion.

It was said that they were capturing people’s hearts by saying things that were far more practical than any religious values and that had many parts people could relate to. Their momentum was truly frightening, and although it had begun only two years ago in 1916, it had already spread throughout the entire continent.

It was likely safe to say that there were now almost no people who did not know about them.

‘Hmm, let us not think about them. They are people who will spread quickly and disappear quickly anyway.’

Thinking that, Ian decided to focus on his younger sister’s wedding. The wedding, which proceeded step by step like that, was able to end safely. In addition, Armin and Charlotte performed the vow kiss that declared them officially husband and wife, but unlike Ian and Adrina’s, it ended smoothly with each of them kissing the ring.

‘Unlike ours, it ended well without a single mistake.’

While he somehow felt disappointed(?) by that, he congratulated them for it ending safely. With his younger sister’s wedding ending like that, he thought that this year would now pass smoothly without anything special happening.

Of course, it was not long before he realized that thought had been mistaken.

Kii, kii~

The harbor of Pullea, the capital of the Polia Kingdom, where many seagulls flew about, could be called a place that was always crowded with many ships. Amid many transport ships and passenger ships moving about, the sight of many supplies and people going up and down at the pier continued.

Meanwhile, there were people stepping down onto this harbor’s docking facilities. All of them were smiling, and for some reason, that appearance made the people around them feel relaxed. Of course, at the same time, it also made them wonder why they were smiling like that.

The five of them passed through the inspectors at the harbor and were able to formally enter the Polia Kingdom. The moment they left the harbor, they smiled even more brightly at the sight before them. A scene of many people and many cars moving about unfolded before their eyes.

At this sight, the middle-aged man in his fifties at the very front spread both hands as if presenting it and spoke.

“Ohh, does everyone see it? This is the place where we will newly evangelize.”

“All the people of this place will soon deeply take in Lord Rat’s words.”

“I am truly looking forward to it. How should we convey Lord Rat’s words accurately?”

“First, let us go to the place with the most people. Let us begin evangelizing there.”

“Let us go quickly.”

They immediately began moving. After catching a taxi and moving, the place they headed to was none other than Bissen Square, which could be called the busiest place in the capital. Cars could be seen moving from all directions along the roads connected through the rotating intersection.

The sight of the bustling square, where not only cars but even trams moving along the tracks could be seen, was full of liveliness that showed how developed this place was. It was a sight that showed a level of development no less than any other city.

The five people who stood in such a place were able to see people walking along the fairly wide sidewalk. Since there were so many places to enjoy nearby, such as department stores and theaters, there was no choice but for the floating population to be large. Standing on one side of this sidewalk, they immediately prepared something.

Each passerby glanced at them, but soon passed by indifferently, as if busy with their own tasks. What appeared amid that sight after they removed their outerwear was pure white clothing. Its distinctive feature was that a red line was drawn straight down near the center buttons.

They showed themselves clearing their throats as if ready, and soon began speaking to the passersby in one voice, as if reciting memorized words.

“Everyone, listen. The world is far too harsh, and life is far too full of hardship. In order to overcome such a world, great comfort will be needed. However, because many of you cannot receive such comfort, you have no choice but to live through this world with difficulty. But the great and fair Lord Rat can comfort you. Let us hold hands with one another and cry out. Lord Rat, please look down upon the world. And please embrace us, who have lost so much.”

Their voices were not raised loudly. However, since all five spoke the exact same words at the same time, the words naturally seemed to dig into one’s ears. Many of the passersby simply looked once and passed by. But just as there could not be identical people in the world, there were also those who stopped and watched as if they had grown somewhat interested.

“Those people. Are they not Rat believers?”

“I feel like I have heard their words somewhere before.”

“They have finally come to our country too?”

“This is my first time seeing evangelism like that.”

“It is a little fascinating.”

There were those who spoke as if they knew them, while there were also many who watched with some curiosity. In truth, among such people, one could say there were almost none who deeply considered what those people were saying. But they simply continued their words without stopping.

“Everyone, believe in Lord Rat. The moment you believe in him, a new world will unfold. Everyone, let us live while smiling brightly. Smiles are the medicine that can drive away all diseases. Whether it is a disease of the body or a disease of the heart, all can be overcome if one smiles.”

Watching them speak with bright smiles, everyone wondered what that was. Some people immediately went elsewhere as if they found it unpleasant. But as if that did not matter, they did not stop their evangelism.

As if this was the beginning, they came out to this square every day and made known the god named Rat. Because of this situation, attention was gradually gathering on them. At the very least, even reporters heard the rumors and came to cover them, so information about the Rat Religion was gradually spreading within the kingdom.

As they did that, fifteen days quickly passed after they arrived in the Polia Kingdom.

July 1.

“Now, let us smile. Lord Rat will bestow happiness upon everyone.”

At the cries of the five of them, several dozen people stood before them and smiled brightly. That sight could only be quite unusual. The people still passing along the sidewalk of the square looked at them once each as if finding it fascinating.

If there was one thing different among this sight, it was that around ten police officers were watching them from a little distance away. They were inwardly letting out hollow laughs as they watched their actions.

“What kind of ridiculous fuss is that?”

“People are actually gathering even when they do that?”

“They are probably doing it because it is fun. Look at that, when they smile, it kind of feels like their mood gets better.”

“I heard from a relative overseas that the Rat Religion is much larger than expected.”

“Really? Then why are there only five of them?”

“It is probably because they came over recently. It seems they had only been active on the continent until now, and have entered our kingdom.”

“But are they not stopping activities like that?”

“For now, our kingdom also has freedom of religion. Evangelism is free, is it not?”

“Hey, look over there. They are priests of the Hadis Religion.”

The police were able to spot priests of the Hadis Religion glaring fiercely at the Rat Religion people evangelizing on one side. The Hadis Religion was a long-standing religious organization that had existed for quite a long time, to the point that it personally presided over events such as coronations and royal weddings.

“This feels uneasy. They will not fight each other, will they?”

“Surely they will not actually exchange blows and fight?”

“Everyone, get ready. I heard from my relative that there were many cases where those people fought each other.”

“Really?”

“Uh, uh. They are moving.”

Along with this conversation, the priests of the Hadis Religion could soon be seen approaching the place where the priests of the Rat Religion were. As the police watched nervously, the approaching priests could be heard shouting angrily.

“What kind of bizarre act is this!”

“What is the matter?”

“What is the matter? You are saying that even after doing such a thing!”

“I do not know what exactly the problem is. Have we done something wrong?”

“Of course there is something wrong! Are you not denying Lord Hadis right now! This is a land where Lord Hadis’s grace resides!”

“Of course we must deny him. We believe in Lord Rat, after all. And this land will soon become a land where Lord Rat’s comfort resides.”

“How could that make any sense! To deny Lord Hadis!”

“Why does that not make sense?”

“Enough nonsense. Leave this country at once!”

“We cannot do that. We must spread Lord Rat’s words in this kingdom.”

“We do not need Rat or anything else!”

“Hmph, there is no reasoning with you!”

“You are the ones who cannot be reasoned with! Get out of here at once!”

“I understand this is a country with freedom of religion. We have not broken the law, so we will take care of our own affairs. So stop being unreasonable and just leave.”

At those words, spoken while he even waved his hands dismissively, the priest whose face had turned completely red tried to rush at them. The police ran toward them, intervened, and stopped them.

“Now, now, what are you doing? Everyone, calm down.”

“Did the police not see them as well! Those are wicked people! They are cancerous beings who must never be allowed to spread in this country!”

“Even if you say that, we have no justification to stop them. If they are not violating the law, we cannot prevent their activities.”

“You say that because you have not seen the state of the other countries where they have spread! Do you know what wicked things they have done! They are people who took over our Hadis Religion buildings as they pleased and turned them into their own religious facilities! There are several places like that!”

It was a sight that made it possible to understand why they were acting this way. It seemed that the many Rat Religion believers who had already spread through the Old Continent were driving out the Hadis Religion. Perhaps they were reacting so violently because they thought the same thing might happen here too.

“It has not happened yet, has it? And such a thing will not happen in this country. No matter who it is, illegally occupying a space and making it their own is clearly an illegal act that violates the law.”

At the way he said it absolutely could not happen, the Hadis Religion priest felt frustrated, as if that was not the issue. The more those people’s numbers grew, the more they acted while saying everything was the will of the god named Rat. Their momentum was said to be so strong that even kings of other kingdoms could not carelessly touch them.

“In any case, violence is not allowed. If you truly wish to argue, please file an official protest regarding this.”

At the police officer’s words, the Hadis Religion priest realized that continuing to speak would accomplish nothing. And he thought that they had to formally protest this to the king. The royal family should also know the situation on the continent, so surely they would not want something called the Rat Religion entering their country.

In the end, the priests of the Hadis Religion left without being able to shout any further, and even amid this situation, the members of the Rat Religion continued carrying out their evangelism to the very end without stopping.

Furthermore, because a reporter who happened to be nearby photographed this scene, it became an opportunity for news about the Rat Religion to spread even further through the kingdom.