The Devil Who Grants Wishes

184 – Faith (2)

“–That’s how it is.”

“…Hmm.”

Emperor Aquileia’s words were very shocking. The emperor probably thought I was listening in silence, but inside I was beyond dumbfounded and almost lost my mind.

So now… The empire is completely falling apart because of me?

Uhm… Let’s calm down. The emperor may have made this wish to me in an exaggerated way in order to destroy the cult.

If the religious order disappears, the person who will benefit the most politically is the emperor, right?

[Flora, can you hear me?]

[Yes, Faust.]

In the end, what I chose was cross-validation.

Didn’t Flora once rule on behalf of my followers in the underworld when she was driven out of her mind by the God of Light? It is enough to compare and contrast whether the emperor’s words are really true or whether they are exaggerated.

I sent Flora a telepath to ask her about the whole incident, and her answer left me unable to properly choose what to say.

…It was true.

Although it may be a bit of an exaggeration, it is undoubtedly true that all of the empire’s capabilities are being used to expand religious circles, not to repair damage.

‘First of all, I don’t know what to do with Pierre… It’s too wasteful to kill him.’

Assuming that what Flora and the Emperor say are correct, Pierre is an incredibly talented person.

He completely reformed the Faustian faith, which started from nothing, into a religion and a sect. He swallowed up the remnants of the Seraphia Church without a hitch, and used his enormous political power to destroy all of the emperor’s power and make it his own.

Of course, my presence would have had a huge impact in the process, but even taking that into account, Pierre’s political capabilities are at a fairly high level.

The sin is great, but is it right to kill this guy? Wouldn’t it be better to keep him alive and make his faith in me more sound?

[Aigokeros, just ask one question.]

[Please come to Xiamen.]

[Can the faith in me… Be completely eradicated?]

[…There will be no. No, I can definitely say there is not.]

Just in case, I asked Aigokeros for advice, but the answer I received was as I expected.

Under the current situation, it is impossible to eliminate faith in Me.

If I were to travel around the world committing destruction and evil deeds, it would be possible someday… But I don’t necessarily want to do such a thing.

No, this is also ambiguous, as humans naturally have a sense of awe at something that has tremendous destruction, so it can actually have the opposite effect.

Why, the belief in lightning has been discovered all over the world, right? It’s similar to that.

We cannot weaken the faith of believers by not providing them with a reward for their faith. The reason they don’t give rewards to believers is because it’s the same for other gods.

If I can’t get rid of the faith in me… Wouldn’t it be better if I firmly controlled that faith?

I, the living God, will be by my side to control everything so that the faith does not go astray and the bad aspects of religion do not come out.

For that purpose… Hmm, I guess it would be unreasonable to kill Pierre.

We need an expert who is knowledgeable about religion and has excellent political capabilities, and at the moment, Pierre is the only one who can satisfy that need.

First of all, you have to hold the reins perfectly.

“Raise your head, emperor.”

“…Yes, Master Faust.”

Even if I was lost in thought for several minutes, the emperor, who had been sitting still with his head bowed to the ground, stood up.

…The eyes are very different from what I was used to.

The emperor’s eyes that I saw before were filled with only hatred and resentment towards me, but now those emotions do not appear. He is simply showing his broken heart.

“I will solve the problems facing the empire. However, it is difficult for me to do everything.”

“Yes?”

“Ask to stop the tyranny of the church ultimately means that you want to rule this empire perfectly, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“Then I cannot think that I can completely grant your wish just by preventing the tyranny of the church. Even if the church disappears right now, you will not be able to act as emperor. It is easy to gain authority, but the authority you have lost Because it is very difficult to get it back.”

“That can’t be possible…”

“So, we need to solve the problem more fundamentally. Let me teach you the attitude and knowledge you must have as a monarch.”

After speaking roughly, he summoned a book from his hand.

The name of the book is Monarchism, and even though it is not a monarch, it is a popular book that is widely read on earth as an educational book.

This is a book created based on my memory.

Surprisingly, none of my memories on Earth are forgotten, and they are so vivid, as if I was seeing them in a video, and I couldn’t forget them even if I wanted to, so I was able to copy them like this.

“Ah, ah…”

With the expression of someone receiving the Necronomicon, the emperor carefully accepts the monarchy theory I gave him.

No, there is no need to go that far… The monarchy is a book with more problems than you might think.

The limitations of Machiavelli, from the fact that he denigrates mercenaries and defends the citizen army even though mercenaries are a superior military group, to being a poor expert in knowledge other than his major… Well, that’s not what’s important to me right now. .

You gave that book to the emperor in order to cut out the evils and preserve the sect’s integrity, and to divert the emperor’s attention from the sect, right?

It’s so effective that the church is now acting as if they’ve completely forgotten about it, but that’s probably okay.

“Then now, slowly-“

“–Great Faust!!”

At that moment, the door to the throne room burst open, and the old man’s loud voice rang out from there.

And that voice was so familiar to my ears. I first heard it 20 years ago when the exorcist priests attacked me, and recently I have heard it often since I am in charge of overseeing my faith.

Pierre.

The reason that made the emperor kneel at my feet and beg for mercy.

**********

Ugh… Am I late?

I thought I ran as fast as I could, but it looks like the Emperor and Faust have already finished their conversation. It became impossible to intervene in the middle and interfere with the emperor’s wishes.

Faust is losing interest in the emperor, and the emperor looks up at Faust with an expression that is too much to bear… Wait a minute, what is that book?

“Faust, what is that book?”

“It is the price of the contract.”

It may be considered rude to ask a question to a god and a devil, but Pierre can’t really care about that right now.

Pierre urgently asks Faust a question, and Faust answers the question obediently.

However, no matter how obediently you answer, the meaning contained in that answer is not obedient.

“…A price.”

After hearing Faust’s answer, Pierre’s mind is filled with all kinds of complicated calculations.

Given a book in return, I can’t possibly think that the book is normal.

Isn’t it the soul of the emperor above all else?

The value of a soul is directly proportional to the strength of its owner, but its value can also increase depending on the owner’s social status.

And the emperor is so overwhelming that his social position is unrivaled.

In other words, the book received in exchange for such a valuable soul… How much dangerous knowledge is contained in it?

Wouldn’t it be possible to take the lives of countless people just by reading that book and writing their names in it?

“Faust, we serve you with sincerity! But why are you like this…!”

It is not difficult to predict what the emperor, who was tired of the tyranny of the Faustian Church, would do with that book.

In other words, the current Faust has given an enormous means of murder to the emperor, who is certain to kill his followers, and in other words, this is no different from a great betrayal.

The result of believing in and adhering to Faust is death. If this is not betrayal, then what is it?

“Do you want it too?”

“…Yes?”

“I asked if you wanted that book too.”

However, Faust’s words after that were enough to make Pierre even more shocked.

Do you want that book?

It would be a lie if I said I didn’t want it. Since knowledge can be obtained in exchange for a soul, doesn’t it seem like you can obtain all kinds of dangerous knowledge that you shouldn’t know?

But… No.

“I guess you don’t want it.”

If you do something like that, wouldn’t it be like selling your soul to the devil?

Thanks to his long history as a priest, Pierre knows very well that the words of someone who sells his soul to the devil only bring endless pain and suffering, so he rejects Faust’s offer with just a facial expression.

“Then… There is only one thing to do now.”

“Well, what…”

“Guide me to your office.”

Pierre has a lot of things he wants to say. What is he doing? Why is he driving his followers to death? Why is he betraying them without giving them a reward for their loyalty?

But I can’t say.

Faust’s spirit gave Pierre a great sense of intimidation just by standing still.

Just like when I first encountered Faust as the bishop of the exorcism priesthood 20 years ago.

Pierre keeps his mouth shut and, trembling at Faust’s urging, leads Faust into the office, leaving only the emperor in the throne room who upholds the theory of monarchy as if it were the Ten Commandments.