The World I Was Supporting Was Real - Chapter 75



75: A Youth Yearning for Change.

“You, don’t tell me you’re thinking about something weird again—”

“Not anymore. Everything is working out just fine without me stepping in. I know that if I stick my nose in now, it would only be a self-realization disguised as doing it for the people.”

Ares said that, carefully looking at his completed manuscript.

“While I was removed from the world for a while, too much has changed….”

“…….”

The third prince Ares, instead of studying what he was supposed to study – the royal arts, was noticed for blurting out those unsettling things, yet, he couldn’t get picked as an heir.

Before his birth mother Aisha, who was especially fond of Ares, died, he was at least able to compete to some extent. But to the new Emperor Eirene, who considered the authority of the Imperial Family paramount, such thinking was unacceptable.

Ares himself wasn’t really interested in the Emperor’s seat, and didn’t particularly put himself in conflict with Eirene.

“Who would have known that a god would descend in the meantime?”

“Didn’t you say a moment ago that you didn’t believe in the existence of gods?”

“First, I’ll ask you something, sister. Do you believe in the existence of God?”

“……”

Linea hesitated for a long moment, then slowly nodded her head.

“Putting aside whether I believe in God or not… it’s certain that something close to God exists. I mean, if it wasn’t God, there’s no explaining the things that have happened repeatedly, and I’ve been at the forefront and witnessed almost all of it.”

“I see.”

Ares naturally got up from his seat, rummaging through a drawer that looked completely disorganized, and somehow managed to pull out a teapot.

Even though he was a prince, he didn’t have the maids do his chores. From getting something to having teatime, he did it all himself.

He didn’t accept any of the customary protocols that the Imperial Family was entitled to.

Before Eirene converted to the Gweodeon faith and minimized extravagance, Ares’s actions had been treated as something odd.

“I managed to get a pretty decent Lapsang Souchong. How about it?”

“That doesn’t really matter to me.”

“Come to think of it, Sister Linea, you weren’t one for tea, were you? If it were Sister Yuria, she’d know its value.”

He said this, expertly steeping the tea.

Every single movement was so restrained, he looked more like a high-ranking butler than a prince.

“Here.”

Linea drank what Ares offered.

The strong smoky scent traveled down Linea’s throat and into her mind, calming her a little.

“So, according to the Bible, the only God is this Gweogweodeon, and all miracles are this Gweogweodeon’s ‘plain facts,’ right?”

“Yeah.”

“And, in reality, after Saint Erin revealed herself – as you said, sister – all sorts of miracles have been happening.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

Ares took a sip of his tea.

“So, the thing is. This Only God Iguogwodun, he’s supposed to have existed all along, right? Then why didn’t he share his ‘unvarnished facts’ before the Holy Maiden appeared?”

“……!”

“Unlike the Holy Maiden, religion has been around for ages. If there’s a god, wouldn’t miracles have happened even without a Holy Maiden?”

“But, there are records of a Holy Maiden appearing every 200 years. And each time they performed God’s miracles-“

“Are there records of, say, suddenly handing out massive amounts of chicken for free, making peace with the demonic tribes, or turning those who didn’t believe in the Gwodun faith into devout followers with a single interview?”

“Well, th-that’s…”

Honestly, I’d never looked into it, but judging by how he’s talking, he’d clearly done his research beforehand.

And Ares said exactly what Linea had expected.

“The Holy Maiden appeared and defeated monsters, she defended the people from the demonic tribes alongside the Holy Knights… Everywhere you look, all that’s left are vague, hazy records. Which means, Lady Erin is a Holy Maiden with power so immense that it’s unheard of in the history of the Gwodun faith, right?”

“……So?”

“So, if we’re going to prove the existence of a ‘god’ based on the occurrence of miracles, then it’s more logical to say that it’s not Iguogwodun written in the scripture but Holy Maiden Erin, whom you, my sister, are protecting as a knight, who is the god.”

“The Holy Maiden…”

“So, what do you think? In your eyes—”

—Is Holy Maiden Erin a god?

Linea pictured Erin’s face.

Certainly, she possessed a very noble soul.

She could easily have seized even more power if she had wanted to, yet she was purely focused on spreading Iguogwodun’s unvarnished facts.

But… she’s a person. Like us, she breathes, eats, thinks, and has feelings of fondness and dislike.

“……The Saintess is a person.”

“Yeah. I think so too. That’s why I said there’s no god.”

“But it’s a fact that she performed miracles, right?”

“White magic still has a lot of unexplained aspects. I don’t know because I don’t have the talent, but when I see high-ranking mages at the magic tower engrossed in research, sometimes their magic is no different from a miracle .”

“So, everything’s magic? Even the Demon Lord turning into a little girl?”

“Honestly, we don’t know if the Demon Lord truly descended, or if she’s just a girl prepared by the Order. Horns and wings, those can easily be added with magic.”

“And besides that—”

Just then.

Ares lightly bowed his head.

“Sis, sorry for interrupting. But, I didn’t bring this up to argue that god absolutely cannot exist or anything like that.”

“……Huh?”

“It’s just, regardless of whether god exists or not, I think the direction the world is changing is more important. If the direction is right, who holds the reins of power won’t matter, right?”

“……Aren’t you worried?”

“About what?”

“About the religious influence growing uncontrollably. You know, right? The various things that happened in history.”

“Is it okay for a member of the Holy Knights to be saying those things?”

“Just answer the question.”

“I’m not worried.”

“Why?”

Ares turned his head, looking out the window, and said.

“It was more unsettling back then.”

“Back then?”

“Mother was clearly walking the path of destruction. A path stained with blood, where she could only be hated by everyone, worshiping only power.”

As he said, not long ago, the state of the Imperial Family wasn’t good at all.

The retainers, each in their own way, were constantly looking for opportunities to assert their rights, and Empress Eirene was in a period where she’d do anything to strengthen the imperial power.

Linaea’s dispatch to the religious order was also part of that. To place the strength of the religious order under her authority, further solidifying the Imperial Family’s position.

…Of course, no one had imagined it would turn out this way.

“But it’s not like that now. Mother is walking the path of faith. Believing in God, she moves forward with a heart wanting to believe in people. And that’s not all. The religious order cast aside their rigid doctrines and, with the will of God, declared they’d be with the people, and they communicated with the demons who seemed destined for a lifetime of conflict and achieved peace, right?”

“They’re producing nothing but positive results, so whether there’s a God or not, is there really a need for us to keep the religion in check?”

“So you think it doesn’t matter that Mother and the other retainers change like different people just by facing the Holy Saint?”

Hearing those words, Ares’s pupils widened for a moment, then slowly nodded as if understanding.

“That was it. What Linaea-noona was most worried about.”

“…”

“Sure, it’s a little scary, but… I still think it’s okay. In the end, results are all that matters.”

“Results are all that matters…”

Linaea silently stared at her teacup.

In the old teacup, the crimson liquid was still, reflecting her worried face perfectly.

“Noona. A few days ago, do you remember Mother’s speech to establish a shrine to enshrine Yiguoguo-nim?”

“Yeah. I remember it.”

“Mother, it seems like she’s been studying the scriptures a lot. Every part of her speech included God’s word.”

“Seems like you’ve studied religion more than I thought.”

“Of course. Whether you acknowledge it or not, what’s rewriting this era isn’t politics, but religion.”

“Anyway, Mother has become a saint, completely. Meaningless political squabbles have all but vanished, and the people unanimously chant our mother’s name alongside the name of god.”

—*I didn’t even need to lift a finger,* I mutter faintly, then swallow the words.

“Well, that’s only as long as the religious order continues to ‘function’ correctly, but if the current Saintess is around, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

“Ares…”

“Of course, if unlike what I think, a god truly exists, and if this god looks favorably upon us—that’s actually the best thing for us humans, right? After all—”

—If everyone can walk the right path without a bloody revolution, that’s the best-case scenario.

“…!”

“So… I think it might be okay for the religious order to continue gaining more power. What matters is how many people can be happy. That’s what politics is all about. It’s not about *who* does it, but *how* it’s done, that matters most. That’s what I think, even though I’m sorry I can’t agree with what you said, Sister.”

A faint smile touched Ares’ lips as he finished speaking, leaving Linea speechless.

* * *

‘Hmm… ‘

After checking the last panel, I reread the content once more.

So, *he’s* the Third Prince Ares, who’s only been mentioned and never shown until now.

I knew he hadn’t appeared yet, but I never forgot his name. After all, he was the one who instigated a rebellion in Eirene’s hallucinations.

Linea seems strangely reliant on him, so I figured he wouldn’t be just some ordinary extra… And yeah, his thinking is certainly extraordinary.

‘Was he trying to start a revolution, overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a republic or another form of government?’

It feels like in the ‘world line where I keep throwing in divine powers to thoroughly educate Eirene’ he jumped several steps further to establish a communist nation… But still, if a character holds thoughts like that, it makes sense why divine power would explode in such a way.

I was surprisingly impressed by the author’s design again. Even details that seemed like they could be glossed over were all intricately connected, to the point where I felt like I was actually peering into a real other world.

‘To think, this god-tier manga is being drawn just for me…’

I still stared at the view count, stuck at 1, and cautiously messaged the author.

[IgguGweoDeon: This chapter was fun too]

[IgguGweoDeon: So, it looks like Ares doesn’t trust me?]

Saying things like it doesn’t matter if there’s a god or not, and on the surface seeming to acknowledge religion –

I could tell. He was definitely not happy with the situation.

Especially given how he’d say things like there’s no need for him to lift a finger, or that his involvement in the situation was ‘merely self-actualization,’ which was practically self-deprecating.

To put it plainly, it was like seeing a young master who was, at heart, disappointed he’d lost the cause to make a ‘revolution.’

[MoneyPlease: As far as I’ve observed, that seems to be the case]

[MoneyPlease: Even with a divine miracle right in front of them, it’s hard for a creature’s common sense to fully understand it, so I hope you don’t get too angry]

[IgguGweoDeon: No no no, I’m not actually complaining or anything]

[IgguGweoDeon: Hmm]

The author says that, but in terms of his character, it’s not weird for him to think that way.

Honestly, before Erin descended, the god who ruled this world wasn’t me.

The proposition that Erin, not IgguGweoDeon, is the god, is, in a way, a pretty on-point deduction. My first miracle was giving water to Erin, after all.

Anyways.

If he was a seed of revolution, then I needed to take care of it.

Why? The reason was simple. Because it was Eirene who sat on the Emperor’s throne.

And Eirene is my wife. For real.

Isn’t it only natural for a husband to protect his wife?

[Iguogodeon: We need to get Ares on our side with the religious folks]

[Iguogodeon: It’d be a problem if he suddenly flipped out and started some revolution or whatever]

[GiveMeMoney: Are you thinking of sharing some plain facts through Erin?]

[Iguogodeon: Nah]

If it were that easy, a simple click, I could’ve easily won him over—

But what’s become even clearer this round.

Linea is absolutely terrified of Erin awakening to the blunt truth of things.

And rightfully so. Just a taste of the Bible and kids are suddenly going haywire, if I were Linea, I’d be scared of plain facts or whatever too.

Long term, I want Linea to fall from faith as well, so this method is a pass.

And…

It’s a comic, you know? If the same pattern repeats, it gets boring.

[Iguogodeon: This time]

[Iguogodeon: I’m gonna let him taste the plain facts a little differently]

[GiveMeMoney: There is nothing that cannot be done if one has the power of God]

[GiveMeMoney: Intervene as much as you can, Iguogodeon, within your abilities]

[GiveMeMoney: The world will always find the best answer for you, Iguogodeon]

[GiveMeMoney: I exist here for you, Iguogodeon]

[Iguogodeon: lololol why you talking so pretty]

[Iguogodeon: Alright! I’ll give you money! Money is all you want, right!]

I tapped, tapped, tapped, the numbers onto the screen.

It definitely felt different than usual.

[igugwodun: (Sponsor / 3,000 won / character) ]

[igugwodun: This time, the simple fact we’re diving into is temporary]

Ares, kid.

The god himself will show you how beautiful a ‘temporary simple fact’ can be.