IFGO 15

Chapter 15

Getting permission from Rayhas to go out was incredibly difficult. After working so hard to earn that money while walking on thin ice, I was supposed to donate it?!

“Hey, you gods.”

I shouted as if I were arguing with them.

“Isn’t this a little unfair?”

[The God of Art, Monde, tightly closes his mouth.]

[The God of Knowledge, Hesed, pretends not to hear.]

[The God of Love, Odyssey, acts as if he didn’t hear anything.]

I stared at the mission window that was still floating in front of me for a long time.

[Would you like to donate all of your current funds inside the Universal Pouch?

(Yes/No)]

For a moment, I wondered if I should just give up on this hidden mission.

After all, I really didn’t want to lose my money.

“……”

But not long after, a thought crossed my mind.

‘Why are they suddenly asking me to make a donation?’

Was it because the three gods wanted to tease me?

No.

Ever since I entered the divine revelation, they had helped me.

Every single moment, they had acted like my guardian gods.

‘Then… wouldn’t this also be something that wouldn’t harm me?’

They might act childish sometimes, but they weren’t bad gods.

I hardened my resolve again.

‘Fine. I can earn money again soon anyway…….’

“Yes.”

As I pointed at ‘Yes’ with my hand and spoke, the red pouch I was holding began to glow.

Then the amount of money in my inventory changed to 0 francs.

I couldn’t hide my empty feeling, but I waited for what would happen next.

After a short while, a new window appeared.

[By offering what is most valuable to you at this moment, you have proven your sincere faith.]

[The three gods have agreed to unlock your divine power.]

[Pure divine power dwells within the body of the one chosen by the gods.]

[‘Divine Power’ has been unlocked.]

A deep golden glow appeared around my body, swaying like a gentle breeze, and began to circle around me.

Slowly, I reached my hand toward the golden ribbon of light.

The moment that golden light touched my fingers, I felt warmth.

It felt like standing in front of a warm fireplace.

The golden glow that had wrapped around my body several times gradually faded.

And I could feel with every inch of my skin that it was being absorbed into me.

It felt like being wrapped tightly in a warm blanket.

When the glow completely disappeared, a warm sensation remained around my heart.

I stretched out my hand and looked at my palm.

‘……Huh? Wait.’

It was the same empty palm as before.

Even the warmth that had filled my chest was slowly fading away.

I muttered in confusion.

“What? Did it actually work?”

As if everything had only been an illusion for a moment, my current state seemed no different from before.

Just as I began to suspect that they had only taken my 500 francs under the excuse of a donation, another dialogue window appeared.

[The God of Love, Odyssey, congratulates you on unlocking your divine power and blesses you.]

[The God of Knowledge, Hesed, congratulates you on unlocking your divine power and blesses you.]

[The God of Art, Monde, congratulates you on unlocking your divine power and blesses you.]

The wind began to blow around me again.

It felt similar to when I received Hesed’s blessing before, but there was a subtle difference.

Back then, it felt like the wind was simply blowing toward me.

But now, it felt as though I was forcefully inhaling the wind itself.

Like a black hole.

The wind twisted together as the gods’ blessings surrounded me and flowed into my body.

I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the sensation, before slowly lifting my eyelashes.

First, I felt Hesed’s blessing.

Just like before, my mind became incredibly clear.

No, it was even clearer than before.

I felt like I could chew through dozens of books and absorb all their knowledge.

Next, I felt as if my eyes had opened.

The luxurious interior that I had thought looked elegant suddenly seemed tacky, and I could see every tiny groove and scratch on the chandelier.

Monde’s blessing…… or perhaps something closer to a side effect.

The dust on top of a vase was irritating me far more than it should have.

‘But didn’t Odyssey also say he gave me a blessing?’

I focused again on the energy of the blessings filling my body, but I couldn’t feel anything related to love.

“……Hmm?”

Well, I didn’t have anyone I loved, and I didn’t even know what love truly was.

Maybe that blessing simply didn’t apply to me.

Regardless, after receiving the gods’ blessings, my condition had risen to its absolute peak.

With my mind clearer than ever, I opened the thickest dictionary among the mountain of books piled on my desk.

I wanted to look up the ‘divine power’ I had just seen.

Since I had obtained this ability, I needed to know exactly what it was.

“Found it.”

Luckily, there was a page about divine power, so I opened it and began reading from the first line.

The ability used by priests is called divine power, and the ability used by saints is called holy power.

Because of these terms, it is easy to misunderstand the meaning of divine power, but divine power is an entirely separate concept.

Divine power and holy power can be described as gods pouring their abilities into small and large vessels belonging to humans. Divine power is usually contained within a small vessel of an ordinary human, while holy power is contained within the large vessel of a saint, the sole servant of God.

However, divine power is like connecting a massive conduit between a god and a human. It allows one to use an enormous amount of power, almost like being the representative of a god.

Throughout history, the first and last person to use divine power and establish the concept of it was the first saint, Bergerita.

The first saint, Bergerita, who existed 500 years ago, was someone I had vaguely seen mentioned in books.

The saint who rebuilt the devastated empire alongside the first emperor, wiped away the tears of those who had lost their homes, and personally raised countless orphans.

She had played a huge role in establishing both theocracy and monarchy as the two great pillars of the empire.

‘But divine power…… is like a faucet connected directly to a god?’

It said this was a power on an entirely different level from the holy power used by ordinary saints.

A faucet pouring out endless water immediately came to mind.

‘Haha, no way.’

I was a fake saint.

‘It makes no sense that I, who am supposed to step aside once the real heroine—the true saint—appears, can use something as incredible as divine power.’

It was impossible.

Although, ever since I possessed Ariel’s body, impossible things had been happening one after another.

The moment I closed the book and looked suspiciously at the hand where the holy power had entered earlier—

Knock, knock.

As if perfectly timed, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Rayhas entered.

As always, he was wearing his white priest uniform.

He still looked as magnificent and impressive as ever.

His blond hair was neatly arranged, and just his presence alone made him look like a sacred angel descended from the heavens.

However, ever since I had seen him kill Annie, the fear planted inside me made my fingertips tremble instinctively the moment I saw him.

My eyes kept drifting toward the long sword hanging at his waist.

“I’m sorry. I thought it was Daisy.”

I apologized for speaking informally to him.

But he stood silently by the door as if he hadn’t heard my apology.

Without saying a word.

“……”

“……”

And then, a long silence began.

Why had he suddenly entered my room?

Perhaps Dwayne had told him something.

Maybe he had reported that I was making money by selling the dagger I had won at the auction for an expensive price.

Or that I was preparing to run away in the middle of the night……

Since he was a holy knight under the authority of the high priest, it wouldn’t be strange for him to report such things.

The silence grew heavier.

And I slowly began to feel anxious.

Annie’s face came to mind—the way she had died without even having time to scream.

My gaze shifted back to the handle of his sword.

Then Rayhas finally moved.

He took a step forward.

And slowly began walking toward me.

“……”

When Rayhas stopped in front of me, I looked at him with a slightly tense expression.

Even with Hesed’s blessing, I still couldn’t read what thoughts were hidden inside those deep golden eyes.

After a moment, he opened his lips.

“You may.”

His low voice flowing from his red lips made me flinch.

When I looked at him with confusion, he spoke again.

“Speak informally.”

At those words, I stared at him in shock.

What had this frightening man just said?

But then I noticed something strange about his expression.

‘……Was Rayhas always this red in the cheeks?’