Faith

Thinking this over, Altair spoke through the carriage window. "Nir, change course. Take us to the Church of Harvest on Rose Street in Daqiao South District."

The carriage slowly came to a stop, and Nir's voice came from outside. "Understood, Count Altair."

Vera blinked her big eyes and asked curiously, "Count Altair, do you believe in the Earth Mother Goddess?"

As for that question, he had no such faith. Most people like him didn't believe in gods at all.

After all, his guiding principle was to make survival the foundation, then build his personal beliefs on top of it. Roselle Gustav—Huang Tao—was one such person.

Altair smiled at Vera. "I don't. I'm just curious, and since we happen to be nearby, I thought we'd take a look."

"What about you and Irene, Vera? Which god do you believe in?"

Vera answered without hesitation, "We don't believe in any gods, either now or before. Their existence has no meaning to us."

When the carriage came to a complete stop, Altair and Vera got out and saw a church that wasn't very large. Compared with the Three Major Churches of the Loen Kingdom, it was cramped.

Wheat ears, flowers, and spring water were engraved on the church's outer walls, surrounding the Life Emblem, a simple depiction of an infant. Its architectural style stood out clearly from the buildings around it.

After stepping down from the carriage and steadying herself, Vera looked at the building before her and asked in surprise, "This is the Earth Mother Goddess's church? How can it be so small? I remember the Church of the Earth Mother is one of the Seven True God Churches. This is so different from what I imagined!"

Altair made no attempt to stop Vera from saying this, because it was true.

Although this world had no explicit restrictions on religious belief, "freedom of religion" did exist in name.

But that freedom came with all kinds of restrictions. For instance, the systems of belief in different regions were relatively fixed, making it difficult for outside faiths to take root.

Local churches might even destroy other "heretical" faiths, resulting in vastly different religious environments from one region to another.

For example, most people on the North Continent believed in the Seven True Gods, most on the South Continent believed in the God of Death and the God of Restraint, and those on the Eastern Continent believed in the True Creator.

"Freedom of religion" was merely a diplomatic line. In the Loen Kingdom, on the North Continent, most people believed in one of just three of the Seven True God Churches.

The Church of the Evernight Goddess had its headquarters in Winter County, Loen Kingdom. It also had many noble adherents and considerable influence in society.

Historically, Bexland had once been the headquarters of the Church of the Lord of Storms. For some unknown reason, it later moved to Pasu Island, but it had left behind deep roots and considerable influence.

The Church of Steam and Machinery, also known as the Church of the God of Craftsmen, had changed its name after the Industrial Revolution sparked by Roselle Gustav led to a divine advent. Thanks to the Industrial Revolution's influence, the church had gained many believers among Bexland's industrial workers and technical professionals.

Roselle Gustav probably never would have imagined, early on, that he would personally cut off every path back for himself.

He'd help Steam Girl fully digest her Potion and secure her a stable divine position. If they ever met again, he'd definitely mock her to her face. Just thinking about it was amusing.

Of course, that didn't mean everyone believed in only these three gods. Some people followed the other gods as well. But the other churches faced restrictions on their missionary work.

Take the Church of the Earth Mother, for example. It had believers and churches in the Loen Kingdom, but its missionary work was heavily restricted.

That was because she wasn't one of the faiths native to the region. The Church of the Earth Mother's main church was in the Forsak Empire, and, on the surface, she was also the "mother" of the God of Combat.

The two countries were enemies, and the Royal Family wasn't foolish enough to aid its foe by letting its people believe in her.

Altair considered this, then said to Vera, "Come on, we're already at the entrance. Let's go inside and take a look."

With that, Altair walked slowly toward the church.

Perhaps because there were so few believers, the church's front door wasn't standing open. It was only half open.

He reached the door and pushed it lightly. It opened with ease.

Looking at the decorations around him, he thought, No wonder the church is named after the Earth Mother Goddess. The decorations lack grandeur and solemnity, but have a warmth and serenity to them. The interior centers on abundance, life, and the earth.

Sunlight shone through the stained glass, casting mottled patterns across the murals, like rippling waves of light over a field of wheat.

Most of the sculptures around them were reliefs of plants. Along the edges, there were even clay pots growing all kinds of crops. The air carried the fresh scent of soil and plants.

The underlying code buried in his soul began to surface. Looking at this church, he felt that if he'd transmigrated into a world where he could live in peace and stability, he would absolutely have joined. He could farm in peace and live a leisurely life.

While Altair and Vera were still admiring the church's decorations, a towering "giant" slowly emerged from a side door. When the figure drew near, it became clear that he was wearing the robes of a Church of the Earth Mother bishop.

The clergyman approached them but didn't interrupt their admiration. Instead, he waited quietly.

After Altair had finished admiring the church's decorations, he turned to look at the newcomer.

In fact, he'd sensed the man's arrival through a Spirituality warning as soon as the clergyman appeared. But since the man hadn't done anything suspicious, Altair had withdrawn his Spirituality and returned to his sightseeing.

When the clergyman caught Altair's eye, he gave him a slight nod as a polite greeting.

Altair returned the greeting, then examined the newcomer more closely. The clergyman was definitely 2.2 meters tall. Did he have giant blood?

He appeared to be around fifty or sixty. His face was stern, his eyes pale blue, and he wore brown bishop's robes.

Although he was dressed as a bishop of the Church of the Earth Mother, he couldn't hide or change the murderous air about him. Altair guessed that he'd killed quite a few people.

There was only one person who fit that description: Bishop Utrasky, mentioned in the original story.

He'd been a pirate, and the original story also stated that he was the Church of the Earth Mother's only bishop at the Church of Harvest in Bexland. It was easy enough to confirm his identity.

When Vera came back to her senses, she looked beside her and let out a startled "Ah!"

Altair reached out and patted her back, reassuring her that he was still there and calming her down.

After Vera had settled, the bishop approached and apologized with a look of deep regret. "I'm truly sorry, miss. I never imagined that I would startle you."

Vera patted her chest lightly. After hearing the man apologize, she said, "Bishop, I'm fine. I just came to my senses and suddenly realized there was someone beside me, so I was startled. It's nothing serious. I was too absorbed in looking around."