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Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Kabur & Silavin
An attack on a ship approaching the Central Continent and an intervention in the Tower of Bachem.
Having delivered these two [Punishments], Kousuke took a break.
Seeing this, the officials of the Kingdom of Gates, who had mistakenly thought that it was over, looked visibly relieved.
It was true that both the sinking of the ships and the removal of the Tower were painful events for the kingdom.
But not so much that they would not be able to recover from it.
But in response, Sylvia pointed out the nail in the coffin.
“You seem to be misunderstanding. We’re not done, you know?”
There was a reason, of course, why Sylvia interrupted at this point.
It was also to prevent Kousuke from being distracted while he took a break, and above all because the next Divine Judgment was related to the temple.
Although Sylvia and Kousuke had not discussed this in advance, she could at least anticipate what was coming next.
In fact, besides Sylvia, Peach and Floria were also able to predict what was coming next.
The most crucial part, the temple, had not yet been punished.
In fact, it could be said that the real work started here.
The people involved in Kingdom of Gates, who had been thrown back down to the bottom of the valley by Sylvia’s words, were trembling with fear as to what would come next.
With that in the background, Kousuke nodded to Sylvia’s words.
“That’s right. Rather, this is where it all starts…. If we don’t bring Judgment to the temple that is the source of all this commotion, the Goddesses won’t settle down.”
Hearing that line, Temple Director Dominic looked as if he could collapse at any moment.
From the perspective of Alec and Amamiya Tower’s administrative officials watching from the side, it was a self-inflicted disaster.
[Yes, that’s right. It would be easier to bring Judgment as soon as possible, right?]
Even Eris said so and gave him some backup.
At those words, Dominic’s mouth was agape, but he no longer looked like a fish on land, along with his expression.
“Hmm. I guess…. The only thing I can think of is to eliminate the blessings of the Goddesses from the temple in question and the temples that have been associated with them until now.”
[Well, that seems reasonable, I think?]
The blessings referred to were not granted to individuals like Sylvia and the others, or to buildings such as the 5th Floor’s Temple.
In short, it was as if the Goddesses had declared that they would no longer have anything to do with the temple in question.
To the public, that was the extent of the punishment.
The participants in the Kingdom of Gates were, in fact, somewhat relieved.
King Arthur also managed not to show his expression, but the atmosphere was similar.
However, the temple head, Dominic, finally grunted and collapsed.
The Temple officials from the Kingdom of Gates side also looked as if despair was not enough.
The reaction was completely divided between those in the clergy and those who were not.
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Alec, who was completely on the sidelines, wondered about the situation and asked Sylvia.
It didn’t seem like a very heavy punishment, even to Alec.
“May I ask why those in the clergy are reacting this way?”
“Yes. Rather, I guess I’ll have to properly explain it.”
Sylvia nodded with a wry smile.
Kousuke, the actual judge, was looking in the opposite direction, as if he had already done his job.
This was intentional, of course, to demonstrate Sylvia’s presence.
The role of the clergy in the temple was originally to provide explanations of the will of the Goddesses and their intentions for the people.
Kousuke’s presence in this world would make the assignment of these roles seem complicated, but if Kousuke were to do everything, the significance of Sylvia’s role as a priestess would be lost.
“To put it plainly, for the rulers to understand, I think you can think of the <Tragedy of the Hippolis Empire>.”
Hearing Sylvia’s words, even Alec gasped.
Everyone knew of the <Tragedy of the Hippolis Empire>, even if they did not know what exactly it meant to lose the blessings of the Goddesses.
The Hippolis Empire was once the largest empire in human history that existed on the northern continent.
At one time, it boasted such enormous power that it unilaterally declared its separation from the Goddesses.
So much so that even people of the empire accepted it.
However, its final emperor, Augustus, presumed himself to be a God in this world in the last years of the empire.
The Goddesses, angered by this, suddenly appeared before the people and announced their separation from the Hippolis Empire.
As a result, crops could no longer be grown in the Hippolis empire, animals could no longer be hunted, and monsters that had lost their food supply began to attack in large numbers.
Ultimately, less than five years after Augusto’s proclamation, the Hippolis Empire was destroyed.
The Goddesses’ declaration of their separation from the Hippolis empire was written about in all kinds of stories, but few knew that it was due to the loss of their blessing.
There was a reason for this, it was to prevent the public from confusing Sylvia and Floria’s personal blessings with the blessings granted to others.
It was also believed that the specifics were blurred to make the message as easy to understand as possible.
However, the Church, which was directly related to the gods, was well-informed of the situation.
Of course, it could be said that the Goddesses had ordained that the Church should communicate the information to the public.
At Sylvia’s explanation, King Arthur’s complexion turned distinctly pale.
The warships were a loss that could not be recovered from, it could still be considered a loss in a war with some other country.
The Tower of Bachem was indeed a major industry, so it was painful to lose it, but if they were to believe Kousuke’s words, the tower would still be entered, not lost.
Therefore, they believed that they could manage to contain this as well.
But regarding the blessings at the end, there was nothing that could be done about it.
It was the decision of the Goddesses, and as humans, they could not intervene.
But here came a saving grace.
It was Sylvia, who explained earlier.
“You all seem to be mistaken, Kousuke-sama said that it is against the Temple that the blessing is lost, not the Kingdom of Gates.”
“So, then…!”
King Arthur’s expression said as if he had seen a ray of light, but Sylvia’s next words silenced him once more.
“But, you know, if a temple loses its power…. It is up to all of you to decide what will happen to the nation without the Temple.”
Sylvia said in a tone of voice that was completely otherworldly.
Not only the Temple to which Dominic belongs, which was the source of the current turmoil, but also the other temples involved will lose their function as temples if they lose the blessing.
Normally, they could get support from other churches, but that was not going to happen this time.
If they were to get involved, other churches might also lose their blessings.
If other churches did not cooperate, the temple would lose its meaning as a temple, and people’s minds would drift away from it.
If that were to happen, the focus would surely shift to the nation.
Furthermore, Goddess Elisa Meir added a follow-up.
[We will be descending directly to tell everyone about this matter, to show that we are not simply playing tricks on them.]
This was the coup de grâce, and King Arthur completely gave up thinking about how to escape at that point.
The situation was no longer in his control.
He had no choice but to return to the country as soon as possible and consult the leading figures.
He would have to decide about Temple Chief Dominic and Carl, who had brought up the subject, but right now, the affairs of the country were more important than such matters.
At this time, Arthur was so focused on his country that he had no time to think about himself.
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