Chapter 352

351 Revival and Reunion #2

“Come on, please line up! Lady Luna has created this holy water by capturing moonlight to bless every one of you in turn!”

Paranoi shouted loudly, her face turning red as she addressed the bustling crowd. But her voice was quickly drowned out by the angry cries of others.

“Don’t push!”

“You cheeky so-and-so, cutting the line I’ve been standing in since morning!”

“Hey, you rascal! Who do you think you’re touching? I’m Galdwin, the financial manager of the Gidmora Trading Company! I have more right to stand in front than these peasants!”

“I don’t know who you are, but you better back off, punk!”

“Argggh, these poor bastards are causing trouble!”

“Take everything they have!”

Indeed, chaos reigned everywhere. Even when only a hundred or so people gathered at the Shrine Plaza, it used to be so noisy and disorganized, but now it was an incomparably worse situation. The number of people who had flocked in the span of a few days was so great that simply counting them would take up valuable time.

“Hurry up, please line up!”

The number of people who had gathered was roughly between two to three hundred, and that was still increasing, so trying to count them accurately didn’t seem meaningful.

On the other hand, our number consisted of just three—me, Paranoi, and Antiope, who supposedly represents the Knights of the Shrine for surveillance duties.

The three of us struggling against an overwhelming crowd numbering over a hundred people—it was utterly overwhelming.

Of course, the reason so many people gathered in such a short period was quite obvious.

Rumors of the shrine built in the graveyard and the story of my wide-scaled “Blessing of Financial Luck” magic that had been circulating for two days all across Sodomora were to blame.

Naturally, it sparked curiosity.

“Reverend! Please bless me too!”

“Just a moment, please!”

“Oh, the sweet and mighty reverend! Please bless me first!”

“The sweet and mighty reverend…? I’ll bless you first then. Please lean your head this way for the baptism. After receiving the baptism, you can take 3 copper coins!”

I certainly hadn’t anticipated such an overwhelming influx of people in such a short time. As a result, neither Paranoi nor Antiope and I had any concrete plans, thus leaving us to be at the mercy of the surging crowd.

Furthermore, most of these people were impoverished, uneducated commoners, and as a result, there were many unforeseen incidents.

This made it impossible for me to relax and soothe people to earn merit values.

Consequently, the merit values I accumulated by the end of today were only around ‘+710.’ While it was a decent amount, it was far from sufficient given the number of people present.

At that moment, Paranoi let out a high-pitched cry.

“Ah…! Do not touch that stone tower! It’s a sacred altar! If that tower collapses, you will face severe divine punishment!”

“Hassan, look over there! People are already fighting—this threat of ours from the Knights is proving useless!”

“Stop it! Why are you stealing the tombstones covering graves? Return them to their rightful places immediately!”

Recently, I’ve deeply realized something—needy and sick people are not inherently pitiable and virtuous victims, and the notion that the weak are always good and the strong are always bad is nothing but a lie.

The uncultured people of the Gaia Continent, especially the selfish residents of the slums—my tongue almost hangs out in disbelief at their levels of sheer audacity.

I wanted to just beat them all up with my fists.

However, I restrained myself knowing rumors about me wouldn’t be good if I killed one of those scrawny fellows.

The situation seemed to be getting out of control today, so I had no choice but to signal to Antiope and Paranoi by waving my hand.

With a slight nod in response to my gesture, Paranoi announced:

“Alright, that’s all for today, everyone! We’ve ended the service! We’ll take a break tomorrow on Saturday, and reconvene here on Sunday!”

That’s how we dispersed all the gathered people. Even the dispersal process required significant time, making me break out in a cold sweat.

*

“Ah, that was really exhausting.”

Antiope plopped herself down at the graveyard plot where people had mostly dispersed.

Until recently, she would have been squeamish about sitting on a grave, but it now seemed her nerves were frayed enough that she no longer cared.

Paranoi was in a similar state. From the morning till the post-lunch afternoon, Paranoi had spent her time yelling at countless people, and now she rested her head on a grass-covered grave, drifting off to sleep.

I considered waking her to ask how much money we had distributed to the slum-dwellers today but decided to leave her since she seemed so deeply asleep.

With 300 people each getting 3 copper coins, it’s easy to conclude somewhere around 9 to 10 silver coins have been spent. So, I guess I should have about 3 gold coins left.

Anyway, after we established the shrine, I was quite surprised at how hard Paranoi worked, even beyond my expectations.

I covered her well with Regulus’s skin, which I wore like a cloak.

Simultaneously, I looked around at the footprints and scattered garbage across the ground, narrowing my eyes.

People had left the trash around carelessly—cleaning it up would surely take over an hour.

I said, “Too many people have come all at once.”

Antiope, lighting her pipe and exhaling a small breath, replied, “That’s to be expected. The rumors about the blessings have already spread throughout the city. Becoming a believer apparently means you earn more.”

“What should we do?”

I asked Antiope if she knew any way to handle the situation.

Since she worked as a knight at Jupiter’s shrine, I thought she might have a good understanding of shrine management.

“Hmm, I’m not quite sure. Even Bacchus’s followers didn’t gather in such a short time.”

“Indeed.”

“Still, Hotan, the pattern of your followers resembles Bacchus’s Maenads.”

“Maenads?”

I wondered what they were and then realized from the encyclopedia that “Maenads” referred to Bacchus’s followers—his worshippers of wine, revelry, and madness.

It’s kind of like an idol group’s fandom name. Like ARMY for BTS.

Real gods are not so different from idols, really.

Both derive their strength from their followers, and both essentially personify a kind of idolatry.

I asked, “What exactly are these Maenads?”

“Most of them were poor like these slum dwellers. Wine and madness seep more into the souls of the poor. Poor people, oppressed slaves, laborers, tavern prostitutes—everyone.”

As Antiope spoke, I thought of the countless taverns in the slum gates. Taverns in the slums are always crowded due to the easily accessible pleasures of affordable alcohol.

Antiope continued, “The problem is that most of them were maniacs with nothing to lose, causing all sorts of trouble and chaos. Some of them even ran around with torches, tearing apart anyone they met.”

“d*mn, that sounds pretty scary. Are you saying these hooligans of mine resemble those Maenads?”

“Hooligans…? Anyway, yes. Bacchus’s followers were initially designated as cultists because they were destroying state systems and religious conventions. Following this path, Hotan, you might be labeled as a cultist too.”

Me, a cultist?

Me, a fake god?

It’s a truth that hits home.

I am, in a way, truly one of the most genuine fake gods.

But me being a fake god doesn’t mean my followers causing trouble and being nuisances to others is acceptable.

“Of course, Hotan, if you want to become a god known for fear and madness like Bacchus—allowing things to remain in such chaos might be an excellent strategy.”

At the thought of my followers, the “Hotasanites,” spreading chaos and destruction across the land…

“I’ll set fire in the streets just like Lord Hotan did!”

“I’ll follow Lord Hotan and take multiple wives!”

“Let’s desecrate the statue of Goddess Minerva!”

It could lead to absolute mayhem—fires, plundering, rapes, and despair everywhere, possibly splitting Sodomora into Sodom and Gomorrah and ruining it entirely.

That was a horrifying concept indeed.

“Also, Hotan, the huge crowds gathering at the graveyard like this could lead to epidemics. You must take action.”

Indeed, Antiope was right. In a world where hygiene is already poor, having a large gathering at a cemetery could easily lead to outbreaks of diseases.

Could the ultimate epidemic be this?

Epidemic Druid Hotan. No, Plague God Hotan.

I must absolutely prevent anyone from referring to me as a Plague God. Imagine if Luna returned and called me, “Tch! Plague god Hotan!” or if Hippolyte and Elpride called me “Plague god,” “Plague.”

Is there a way out of this?

“Long live chaos!”

I quietly invoked the words.

『Hassan’s Possessions

Number of Followers: 197

Altars: 1

Shrines: 1

Priests: 1

Blessings: 1

Summary: The young and inexperienced god Hassan lacks established rules, leading his followers into confusion. There aren’t enough priests to guide and control them.』

The number of followers had significantly increased.

Further, the overall evaluation titled “Summary” caught my eye.

Lacks established rules.

Not enough priests to guide and control.

An evaluation I usually dismissed, but now, it felt like a poignant reality. Someone seemed to offer remarkably situation-appropriate advice.

A sudden flash of insight crossed my mind.

“Antiope, could you clean up this scattered trash with Paranoi?

I thought it was a good time to leave for some errands downtown, leaving the shrine management to Antiope and Paranoi, who are my right and left arms.

“I can’t do all this alone. It’ll take at least a day. I need to quit this job today, I’m so fatigued lately.”

But Antiope was unyieldingly resistant.

“Please do it for me. I’ll give you 2 silver coins for this. You can hire someone from nearby who looks jobless to help, or give this candy to Paranoi.”

I handed Antiope two clinking copper coins and a round bee honey candy wrapped in shiny paper on her palm.

“Hmm…”

Reluctantly agreeing with thin eyes, Antiope blew smoke from her pipe.

“If so, give me a shoulder massage tonight. My back and waist… Since I’m planning to sleep here at the shrine tonight. And I want to see that enormous spider again.”

Antiope was staying in this graveyard?

I felt both reassured and slightly anxious. Hippolyte didn’t seem fond of me being with Antiope.

“Mentioning your sister—”

“Why bring her up now? Anyway, if you don’t promise, I won’t clean either. I’m just going to lie down and rest.”

But Antiope’s attitude was unwavering, so I nodded.

“Alright then.”

Anyway, that gave me some free time.

I went to a quiet lot where no one could disturb me and spent 500 merit points to upgrade my level using the five totems Luna had prepared in advance.

Ding, Ding.

『Current Merit Points +220』

『Name: Hassan Level 29 35

Strength: 15

Agility: 6 10

Stamina: 8 10

Merit: 60

Blessings: Shining Hands, Night’s Armor, Dark Sight, Scorched Skin』

I successfully leveled up by 6 levels with only 500 merit points, feeling rather lucky.

Level 35 Hassan.

Isn’t this the level of an active Silver Tier adventurer when Elfrida was in her prime?

Of course, comparing Hassan’s level with Elfrida’s, who uses aggressive magic, might be unreasonable.

Still, the merit points that usually accumulated little by little soared thanks to the incoming followers, making me rather happy.

Being a god is indeed fantastic.

Now I can probably beat up anyone I don’t like fairly easily.

Roaaar.

I moved, feeling the overwhelming power coursing through my body.

The direction I headed was the center of the city.

The person I wanted to meet would likely be there.

As I passed through the central area’s wide open ground, murmurs of people reached my overly-sensitive ears.

“Look at that. That black-haired guy. Isn’t that Hotan? His appearance matches the rumors.”

“Yeah, he has a club on his back and a white leather cloak. Is he really the one?”

“He’s the new young god they’re talking about, right?”

Truly, I couldn’t move around freely now.

Not all the attention was positive.

“Is that kid a god? It’s a lie. I know him well—he’s a dimwit Samaritan brat.”

“Indeed, sir.”

“That kid is a rotten one. He set fire to the city, that criminal.”

Whenever someone new draws attention, it’s natural that some admire them while others detest them.

I had faintly heard from Antiope about people spreading malicious rumors about me, but now that I faced them, it was somewhat shocking.

That brat is full of lies. He hunted a lion? It was just a huge cat. The myth about catching a hydra was just catching a few thieves—that’s all.

Is that true? That catching the lion was a lie?

Yes. It was just a large cat. I saw it clearly.

Moreover, the rumors grew worse with lies upon lies.

That brat is a fraudster! I know him best because I’ve fought him directly! I brought him to his knees and beat him soundly!

“That’s correct! Rather—Sir, you look more like the Son of God!”

This situation seemed to be getting out of hand.

Trying to ignore them, I walked forward, but I couldn’t.

---