Chapter 18

While on the move, I heard that this country is one of the oldest and most stable in the world. It seems that the Holy Kingdom of Hilalmea, which was destroyed 300 years ago along with the first interworld holy maiden, relocated its headquarters to this country. Therefore, the Pope I'm about to meet is the top figure in this world's religion. When they moved from the Holy Kingdom of Hilalmea, they experienced a harsh journey, and during that journey, the weak and frail were naturally eliminated. By the time they built a new church in this country, only the mentally and physically robust priests remained. For the past 250 years, the church has been run without a trace of corruption. The first line of their doctrine apparently reads, "A healthy body houses a healthy soul." It sounds familiar, doesn't it? According to Jiro, half of the church members are muscle-bound. As their status rises, they somehow become leaner and stronger. Is the Pope the strongest of them all?

We arrived at a room about twice the size of the one we were in before, an empty room where high-ranking nobles and state guests meet the king. The king was at the back of the room, the prime minister and general a few steps in front, the Pope and his accompanying priests near the entrance, and we were positioned against the middle wall.

"Pope, what is the urgent matter? You can skip the formalities and tell me what it is, can't you?"

The king's words were met with a slight bow.

The Pope, who was not the martial arts master or sage-like old man I imagined, but a silver-haired, long-haired, archaic-smiling, incredibly handsome man of the same age as the king, replied. It was hard to tell if he was muscular under his loose clothing.

"Your Majesty, I appreciate your promptness. The reason for my sudden visit is that during this morning's worship, the statue of the goddess suddenly crumbled to pieces. Upon investigation, it was found that the same thing had happened in nearby churches. I came to confirm if something had happened to the holy maiden."

Everyone was surprised by the Pope's words. I was the only one who saw the shadow of a gal god.

"……I don't know about the statue, but we have reports that the holy maiden is well and unharmed today."

"Is there any change in her condition?"

"We have been informed by the maid attending the holy maiden that there is no change. If you wish, you can meet her and confirm it yourself."

"No, if she is well, that's fine. But then, the cause of the statue's collapse is……"

As the Pope and the king conversed, everyone fell silent with serious faces.

*Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring*

A cheerful mechanical sound announced an incoming call. Everyone, who had never heard such a sound, jumped in unison. The source of the sound was the backpack I always carried. Jiro, the only one who understood, was flustered.

I took out my smartphone from the backpack and looked at the screen, which showed a video call notification. I swiped the screen.

*Hello, it's me, the god you met before. Do you remember me?*

"Of course, I remember."

*That's great! As I mentioned before, I have finished dealing with the stupid goddess, so I thought I should inform you, who was inconvenienced by her. It was tough, but I killed her! In this incident, other lower gods were also involved to varying degrees, so I dealt with them all!*

The gal god, who must have been holding in a lot of frustration, spoke with a refreshing smile.

"Thank you for your hard work."

*Yes! It was really tiring, but I killed them all! The main culprit, the stupid goddess, I stripped of all her powers and turned her into a regular human. The other lower gods involved, I demoted to spirits and killed them, of course, after significantly reducing their powers! Ahaha, ah, ahahaha! Take that!*

"That's great."

*Ah! Sorry, I got a bit excited. Anyway, I have bestowed some of the powers I took from the lower gods upon you! Enjoy this world to the fullest! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me! Do you have any questions?*

"About the holy maiden and Jiro, what will happen to them now that the goddess is gone?"

*Ah, the girl called the holy maiden, without the goddess's blessing, has become a regular, ordinary human. I checked her, but her nature wasn't very good, so I didn't enhance her abilities. As for the man who fell on you, I only enhanced his physical strength. His soul has adapted too much to this world, and further enhancements might turn him into a monster, so I couldn't do as much as I did for you! Oh, and the demon king the stupid goddess was creating is now just a somewhat strong monster, so you can rest assured! I will now manage this world, so please look forward to it! That's all!*

*Beep beep beep beep*

I took a deep breath; talking to such a high-energy person is exhausting.

"Kaita? Were you talking to someone just now?"

"Yeah, I was talking to a god. Didn't you hear?"

Arusuhein, who was carrying me, must have heard, I thought.

"No? I only heard Kaita's voice. A god? The goddess?"

"Hmm, the goddess was disqualified and became a human."

"The goddess was disqualified?"

"Is that true?!"

Arusuhein and I were talking when the Pope interrupted! He was so close!

"The goddess was disqualified and became a human?"

"Yes, and the other gods became spirits."

"The other gods became spirits?"

The Pope was stunned. The prime minister, who had approached, asked,

"Kaita, can you prove this?"

"The holy maiden lost the goddess's blessing and the demon king became just a monster."

"I see, the holy maiden lost the goddess's blessing and became a regular human, and the demon king became just a monster? No, that's strange, the goddess sends the holy maiden because the demon king appears, right?"

"The demon king was created by the goddess."

"! What for?! Isn't the goddess supposed to guide us on the right path?"

"Maybe she did something bad and was disqualified."

"Very well, let's start with what we can verify immediately. If we test the holy maiden's magic again, we can see if she has lost the goddess's blessing."

The king's summary was accepted by the Pope, and we all moved.

"Hey, Jiro, didn't you hear the god's voice?"

"No, not at all. I only heard Kaita's voice and thought he was making a business call."

"In a way, it was a business call."

"No, no, no, what kind of high-level business call is that? Did Kaita become a god or something?"

"I received the god's power as compensation."

"Such a considerate god! But what kind of power? It's a bit scary! And it sounds like a middle schooler's fantasy!"

"Jiro received physical enhancement from the god."

"Physical enhancement?"

"Exactly!"

"Really? When did that happen? So, you're like a demon now?"

"An amusing conversation? Physical enhancement from a god, I look forward to future training!"

Suddenly, the general spoke from behind.

"No, no, no! I can't control it yet! I can't handle the general's full power!"

"What, I can adjust! Hahaha!"

The general left, looking very pleased. In contrast, Jiro looked utterly despairing.

"I might die in the next training."

Arusuhein patted his back, a pitiful sight.

We arrived at the room with the magic measurement orb, where the bitchy holy maiden was standing, fuming.

"What do you want, calling me here suddenly?!"

"We need to confirm something, so we need to measure your magic again."

"Hmm, if you cancel today's tasks, I'll do it."

The bitchy holy maiden answered the king with a condescending tone. What does she think of herself? In a normal Japanese person's mind, even a child would be more polite to a king.

"Hey, Kaita, is she really the holy maiden? Isn't she lacking common sense?"

"Bitchy holy maiden, she's dumb."

"Yeah, but isn't her attitude towards the king too much? She must be really stupid."

While talking to Jiro, the magic measurement orb was apparently ready, and the Director Tailsmya had arrived and was urging the bitchy holy maiden to touch the orb.

"Fine, I'll do it if you want!"

When she touched the orb, it was clearly different from the last time. The chaotic pattern remained the same, and the magic power was the same, but the white band that was there before was completely gone.

"This, this is……"

The Pope was trembling again.

"It's decided."

The king's heavy voice made the former holy maiden, now just a bitch, sense something.

"What? It's the same as before! No explanation?!"

"Unchanged? The most important part has changed, hasn't it?"

Director Tailsmya, who had not received any explanation, understood just by looking at the magic.

"Huh? It's the same as before."

"Don't you understand? You have lost the qualifications to be a holy maiden."

"Huh? That's impossible! If I, chosen by the goddess, am not the holy maiden, who is? Are you stupid? Or are your eyes rotten? I'll do it again, so look properly!"

She touched the orb again, but the white band, known as the goddess's blessing, did not appear.

"Hey, what's going on with this! Is this machine broken?"

In a state of confusion, she repeatedly hit the orb.

"It's not broken. The goddess who blessed you is no longer here."

The king's heavy voice made her pause.

"Huh? I don't understand! The goddess is a god, right? She can't just disappear!"

"The fact is, your blessing is gone."

"This! It's a machine malfunction! Fix it now!"

The Director Tailsmya, who was shouted at, silently touched the orb, which then showed a red, intricate arabesque pattern.

"It's not broken."

"Huh? What's going on? The goddess is gone? Then what about the otome game? My reverse harem?"

"I don't understand what you're saying, but since you are no longer a holy maiden, there's no reason to keep you in this castle. Considering that you came from another world, we will send you to a convent."

"No way! I'm not going there! You called me here, so you should take responsibility and prepare my reverse harem!"

"You were called by the goddess, not us. If you want responsibility, take it from the goddess. She has been demoted to a human and is somewhere in this world. Guards, take her away. If she doesn't want to go to the convent, we'll give her some living expenses and let her go wherever she wants."

"No way, no way, no wayyyyyy"

The bitch's voice echoed and faded away.