Chapter 32.5

My name is Lusia. I was a former queen’s knight, but I’m just a normal believer now.

[You came. Lusia-san.]

[Sorry to keep you waiting. The preparation took a little too much time.]

[No, it is still before the appointed time. You don’t need to worry.]

This person is Maria. The one who joined this group earlier than I did. In short, she is my senior. I tried to call her Maria-san, but she said the suffix isn’t necessary.

“Jin-sama, the G.o.d, is the only one we should respect, so you, me and the other believers are in the same relationship”

Our leader, Jin-sama, is surely a messenger of G.o.d. Maria and myself were rescued from the brink of death and despair by his power. However, I don’t think that was his purpose, but that doesn’t matter. The fact that we were saved by him is all that matters.

“If you were saved by someone, you should repay the kindness. So, if you were saved by G.o.d, you should devote yourself to Him.”

Maria-san said that, and I realized the true meaning of her words at the time Master saved me. From that moment on, I was no longer a knight. I was reborn as a believer.

[Well, then… Let’s start our first regular meeting.]

[Yes. I will take notes.]

[Thank you in advance.]

Right now, Maria and I are the only people who believe in our master.  So… in this regular meeting, we decide to talk about our stance, our belief, and how to spread the belief.

[Our first agenda item: Alternative ways to devote ourselves for this belief.]

[Alternative ways?]

[Yeah, since I’m traveling with Jin-sama, I have no problem in dedicating myself to him. However, Lusia-san is going to take a separate action, so I think it’s necessary to have a subst.i.tute for praying.]

[I see… I’m going to pray to the subst.i.tute because praying to Master in person is impossible.]

I’m envious of Maria, who can travel together with him, but I can’t say this out loud.

[Yeah, you can pray in the general direction of where Jin-sama is located, but I don’t recommend doing that because it is often considerably difficult to detect his direction.]

[You are right. Given distance between us, a minute difference in angles could potentially yield a great deal of error in our calculations. Our belief and prayers won’t reach him if they can’t reach his position accurately.]

[Yes. This is why our agenda is to decide upon what will work as a subst.i.tute.]

It is difficult. What about a simple image of him?

[This is what I’ve prepared. First is a wooden statue.]

So she displayed a wood carving that imitated Master’s appearance. It is a very delicate piece of work. I’ve heard that Maria-san has a lot of abilities, so I guess this is one of them.

[Next, the painting.]

It is a picture of Master. Both the wooden statue and the painting capture Master’s characteristics extremely well.

[But I want to reject these two.]

[Why? Aren’t they

really well-made?]

[No, they look too immature, at best. I can’t even draw one percent of Master’s greatness. I can’t use it as a symbol unless , , and

Maria-san’s ambition is praiseworthy. Her faith to Master is also stronger than mine. According to Maria, I won’t be allowed to use anything half-done as a symbol.

[But, isn’t it easy for Maria-san to reach a Level 10 in those skills?]

[Yeah, but it will take too much time with my own efforts, and it will cause trouble for Jin-sama.]

Master can raise skill levels for us, but we would need to tell him about the purpose.

That’s right. Master hates to be called “G.o.d”. Or a “Hero”, for that matter. Maria-san said this with a sad expression when she called Master these things the first time she met him, and she got scolded for doing so afterwards. The worst disgrace in her life…

[Therefore, I intend to use a crest as a subst.i.tute.]

[A crest?]

[Yeah, by using a crest combination as a symbol of Jin-sama, we can show our belief while preventing Jin-sama from suspecting anything.]

[I see… It would be possible to carry it all the time, and it’s easy to ma.s.s produce. In addition, it won’t be a problem should it be seen.]

[Yeah, let’s put out this plan at once.]

[Yes.]

[Well, then… Onto the the next agenda item.]

[Yes?]

[The second agenda item is how to spread the belief.]

[To increase the number of believers.]

[Yeah, but I feel this is a dead end, somehow.]

[Why?]

There is only one person who can do it, so increasing the number of believers won’t be easy.

[That is definitely a concern.]

Maria mutters when she is thinking about my idea.

[Sadly, our activities won’t be officially recognized by Jin-sama. Won’t this make it harder to increase the number of believers?]

*sigh* Both Maria-san and I sigh.

[Please think about one commonality: We were both badly damaged slaves who were healed by Jin-sama. It is probably the one thing that will make it easier for us to convince others to follow our belief.]

[That’s right. It felt like I was reborn at that moment.]

[But it is hard to intentionally do that. Jin-sama doesn’t hesitate to buy slaves, but only those who have somehow captured his interest.]

I hear I was bought because of my queen knight’s status, and for Maria, it was her hero’s status. He wouldn’t have bought damaged slaves if it hadn’t been for that. And the unusual slave is extremely rare, too.

[So, let’s change our approach a little.]

[How?]

[Lusia-san, the meaning is to buy damaged slaves.]

Slaves can buy other slaves in this world, but the master of slave’s slave still has property rights over them. Those slaves will have two masters.

[Fortunately, Lusia will take a separate action in the future. The clan will be established after that, and then more slaves can be added. At that time, you can buy a damaged slave and start teaching our belief. Lusia-san also has skill, too. It isn’t difficult.]

Perhaps, in the newly-made clan, I will have a duty to buy new slaves. I get it. At that time, I can find more believers and heal them, as well.

[But… Won’t new believers give their faith to me instead?]

[Yeah, that’s possible. So, it will be necessary for you to make your stance as G.o.d’s spokesman to the end, Lusia-san. Show them that Lusia-san is worshiping Jin-sama in the end.]

[And this crest is for that purpose, right?]

[Yeah, we can use wooden statue and picture to show his face, but…]

[I shouldn’t ask for much. Understood. I will fulfill this role.]

This is an important role. I must succeed, no matter what.

[I will leave this in your care. Since I have a duty to be Jin-sama’s guard, I don’t think I’ll have time to partic.i.p.ate in this after we leave this city.]

[That is a far more important role. Please leave this trivial matter related to our belief to me. I will leave Master in your care.]

[Yes, with my own body…]

[The last agenda item for today…]

[Yes.]

[What should we name our group?]

[Err…]

I never thought about a name, at all. Just Me, the believer and Master. That is the only conclusion I have. However, we will need a suitable name to call ourselves when the number of believer increases in the future.

[Honest Jin-sama?]

[Then Jin-sama will know about it immediately.]

[In that case, what about naming it after one of Jin-sama’s special powers?]

[That’s the same. You are focused too much on Jin-sama, and special power isn’t a general word…]

[Then… Other than special power and skill… How about “Kyou” (TL note: 教 from 異能教/Special power)(TL note: if anyone have better idea, please comment)?]

[Hmm… That doesn’t show how strong Jin-sama really is, but it expresses Jin-sama’s power in a straightforward manner. It is good. I couldn’t have come up with with it alone.]

[Thank you very much.]

[We are… “Kyou”, who are worshiping Jin-sama and using the crest as a symbol of Master. Our current action is to spread our belief to damaged slaves. Are there any objections or questions?]

[No, I don’t have any.]

[Then, the first regular meeting is adjourned.]

[[Thank you very much]]

Thus, today’s first regular meeting has ended.

A: Should I report this to Master? Well… It seems it will cause no harm to Master. Even so, they seems to forget the fact that was originally Sakura-san’s magic.

[Huh? Lusia-san, did you say something?]

[Uh? No, not at all.]

~fin First Regular Meeting