Vol. 11 - Chapter 624 - Giran's 2nd trial, planned negotiations
(Well, I always meant to use those points to buy rings and bracelets, but that's not the point here. It's time to show what I learned as a businessman.)
Allen claimed he wanted to give all the billions of Faith Points he had. While he had been a gamer in his past life, he felt like this situation was more similar to what he saw in his job as a businessman.
'What are you trying to say~? Lord Ninlil has no interest in becoming a Higher God~ There's no way we could've known what you wanted when you visited us~'
The Archangel complained that Allen had not explained anything, and there was no way of knowing that would be related to the birdmen in any way.
'I agree with that, Allen. We can't understand what your true intentions are.'
"My true intentions? Well, then let me tell you what I saw in the Paradise of Primordial Beasts."
'What you saw..? Go on.'
"There was a dry lake there, but once in the past it was filled with water and the Fish God lived there."
'You mean the Fish God Mingia? I heard such a God lived, but it was before I was even born.'
"But now it's a barren land, with no Sacred Fish or Mythical Fish."
Allen had asked Albahar about Sacred or Mythical Fishes. The last Sacred Fish was Makris, and now there was no one occupying the Fish God's area.
'I don't understand how this is related.'
"I'm pointing out that if the God of Water Aqua was truly blessing the world, there would be a Fish God as well."
'The God of Water…'
"I mean, since the Four Great Gods have unfair blessings, they eradicated both Fish and Bird Gods."
'Th-those are baseless accusations! No one is allowed to become a God through underhanded means! That's the same for all Gods!!'
The First Angel Lupto shouted loudly. Allen tried to explain that just how the Fish God had fallen out of favor, the Mythical Bird Rame would have no way of becoming a God, but that only enraged Lupto.
(I guess this is Lutpo's righteousness. She sounds more emotional than before.)
Allen acted like he was trying to explain his point, but Lupto became enraged. Her angry voice seemed to be rooted in a deep conviction though. The Archangel Ranran also seemed surprised by that, but she continued talking.
'A-and that's supposed to mean that the God of Wind shouldn't exist?'
"There's a limit to prayers. People pray whenever they have a moment to feel grateful. The God of Water Aqua also tried to achieve that with the Sacred Fish Makris, and his dream was never granted."
'The God of Water Aqua's goal… Why would a human know any of that…'
Lupto looked conflicted, showing that she knew what Allen was referring to.
(How many mermen do you think there are? The God of Water Aqua is really crafty for that.)
The mermen empire of Prostia included many provinces and vassal states, including Clebeur which was built on the surface.
There were many dozens of times more mermen than birdmen, and they all prayed to Aqua. As a Sacred Fish, Makris also had a festival in his honor every year, where he would receive prayers, while also crediting Aqua for his creation. But Makris never managed to become a Mythical Beast, and then Aqua seemed to be intent on getting rid of him and turning him into a summon.
Allen still recalled the logs that appeared on the Grimoire at that time, and they did not resemble those written by Lupto in the past. He was sure it was Aqua taking over that time. She had also given Allen an urgent quest to defeat the Evil God, as that would liberate the position of a Higher God, and Aqua would receive a lot more prayers from Prostia after that.
'What wicked assumptions are you making now? I won't allow any offense to the Gods!!'
Ranran could not keep up with the conversation, but she was getting angrier.
(Actually, if they turn a blind eye to this, the relationship between people and gods will end, and if the Demon King's Army doesn't attack they also won't get as much prayers.)
"I'm really sorry, it was all a wild delusion. I'll take off all the prints from the magic devices then."
'Huh? What did you say?'
Lupto and the other angels looked confused.
"As I said, it seems I overthinked about the God of Water Aqua. I apologize for trying to create a God through such underhanded methods."
Lupto and the other angels were silent for a bit, but they soon realized what Allen wanted to do.
'Allen! Why is that all you'll do? Get rid of the magic devices as well, all of them~'
The Archangel was still angry.
(Wait what? Why is she so angry? Oh, I see.. I guess there's only around a million divine people in the divine realm, compared to all the birdmen. They won't be enough to keep the God of Wind afloat, just like how Freya struggled when Digragni showed up.)
Allen was kneeling down, but his face was contorted into an ominous grin. The God of Wind Ninlil received prayers from two races, birdmen and divine people, but there were thirty times more birdmen than divine people.
The divine people also used the power of wind to power their lifestyle above the clouds, so they prayed to the God of Wind a lot as well. But if Rameciel stopped relying on wind, then all of the birdmen would stop praying to him, and those prayers would go to another God, instead of the God of Wind or Rame.
"A-Allen…Lady Lupto seems rather upset, are you sure this is the best course of action?"
"Y-yes…we really don't want to receive divine punishment."
The prime minister and king did not want to sour their relationship with the Gods.
"My apologies. While it's true that I'm attempting to turn Rame into a Divine Bird, it's still me as a third party meddling with these matters. I realize that's not common, but it'll be alright.."
(Rame didn't ask for this after all.)
Allen had done everything of his own accord.
"It'll be alright? Are you sure about that?"
The prime minister refused to look at Lupto, and instead tried to gain reassurance from Allen.
"Don't worry. I'll still give you all the magic devices I promised, as an apology for involving you in this issue. Just make sure you detach the images of Rame from them, as we agreed just now."
Allen turned to look at the king and prime minister, and they nodded rapidly.
'Allen…I guess this is the same thing you're doing against the Demon King's Army.'
Lupto's voice sounded weak now.
"Wha-?! That's preposterous. Me and all my allies are constantly working to deal with the Demon King's Army. Just look here, all the Faith Points me and my friends have gathered so far. We'll put all of these to use to help everyone we can. I apologize for my rude behavior earlier, but that's all I plan to accomplish."
Allen knelt down and took out the Faith Card with 21000000000 Points, showing he had hunted millions of ghosts, and dozens of Demigod Rank ghosts. Defeating ghosts meant returning souls to the spiral of life, returning them to order. In a way, that was a great contribution to the divine realm. That was something the angels should commend Allen for, though he did not say that directly.
'To think there's a human who's gotten this close to the laws of nature…'
'Lady Lupto~ Don't be impressed and do something already~'
Ranran was getting desperate seeing Allen and Lupto talk like that. There was a bit of a stalemate there, as Lupto turned to look at the magic device in the room. Then she turned to look at Allen's companions, and the king and prime minister. After that she made sure there was no one else in there.
Lupto's anger slowly faded away, almost like she had never been really angry.
(Oh? Does this mean she had already noticed everything from the start? Well, I guess she mostly came here to vent, and to reprimand me.)
'Allen, it seems it's our loss. So tell me, what did you want to accomplish by bringing us here?'
"I just want Shea to pass her trials and get stronger. I appreciate your consideration."
Allen's voice also relaxed a little.
'I'll have to discuss that with Lord Elmea for a bit, you'll have to wait a bit for a response.'
"Of course. Giran did mention that I have to set things in motion for the trial to be complete, so I hope you can help with that as well."
'I-Is this really for the best~?'
'Of course. Allen isn't covering the entire land in magic devices after all. Otherwise he would've never gone to talk with you in the first place.'
'Huh? What does that mean?'
The Archangel seemed confused and could not understand what was happening. Lupto had seen through Allen's schemes though, and had made things go a bit more in her favor. The whole premise of the incident was strange after all, Allen could have brought all those magic devices to Rameciel without visiting the God of Wind. But he had done that, so Lupto could infer that Allen had been trying to plan out negotiations for a certain outcome all along.