<Chapter 11>

‘W-What is this?’

A pure white window, framed by golden vines, appeared, floating in the air.

The text written on it also shone brightly in golden light.

‘This… isn’t this a system window?’

As I stared at the window with my mouth agape, I heard Alice’s voice, sounding extremely apologetic.

“I’m sorry. It broke too much, didn’t it? I tried asking around to see if it could be repaired, but I was told it could only be fixed at the Great Temple……”

“Ah, I see. It’s fine. Thank you for finding it. I didn’t even know where I’d lost it…… By the way, where did you find this?”

“Well……”

Alice hesitated for a moment before answering.

“I found it on top of the tower.”

“The tower? ……Ah, where I fell?”

Alice gave a small, awkward nod. The atmosphere between us turned uncomfortable with that small gesture.

“A-ahem.”

Kei and Cesare also cleared their throats or pretended to look at the ceiling.

Since talking seemed pointless with the system window floating right in front of me, I told the three of them that I wanted to be alone.

“Remember that book I borrowed from the library yesterday? I’d like to read it today.”

“Ah, yes. Understood. If you need anything, please call us.”

“We’ll stand guard outside the door.”

Once the three had left, I climbed onto the bed, pulled down all the canopy curtains, and stared at the white window still floating in front of me.

‘Conditions met—The divine message is now accessible, huh? The condition… is finding the remnants of heresy?’

Looking back at the timing of the two windows that appeared, it was obvious what “the remnants of heresy” referred to. I glared at the broken pendant resting on the white handkerchief. 

‘This… this is definitely the pendant the heroine was holding on the cover.’ 

According to Alice, this pendant had been found at the top of the tower where I’d thrown myself. 

Moreover, there wasn’t a single priest in the North. That meant this pendant must have belonged to “Inosensia.” 

‘But how could this be a remnant of heresy?’

Not just me, but Beatrice was also a Saintess candidate. If the pendants belonging to both of us were heretical artifacts, then that would mean… 

‘The entire Great Temple is heretical……’ 

It was at that moment…

Main Quest Triggered!

 

*Save this world destined for destruction after losing its god.

 

Reward for Success: One Wish Token

Penalty for Failure: Death

 

[Accept]

“What?”

Staring at the newly appeared window, I couldn’t hide my shock.

‘A main quest? What is this, some kind of game? ……Wait a minute!’  

This world destined for destruction after losing its god.

The title of the novel I’d read, The World That Lost Its God!

‘Don’t tell me… does this mean God worshipped in the Great Temple is fake? Is that what “losing its god” meant?’  

A chill started at the back of my neck, ran down my spine, and spread throughout my body. Hugging my trembling shoulders with both hands, another white window popped up in front of me, as if confirming my suspicions.

[Accept]

“Hold on. Hey, God. Can I have a moment to think about this?”  

Why is this so rushed? I haven’t even said no, but you’re already pushing me!  

‘No, wait. This is ridiculous. Normally, when a window like this appears, there’s supposed to be both an accept and a decline button, isn’t there? Why is there no decline button?’  

[Accept]

“Is this how you’re going to be? Keep pressuring me, and I just might refuse out of spite.”  

Maybe my grumbling had some effect because the accept button didn’t grow any larger. It just kept gleaming in a flashy golden light.  

‘Let’s think this through for a moment.’

What scenes in the novel involved the Great Temple again?  

Up to chapter 70, the novel’s setting was mainly in the North. The Great Temple was only briefly mentioned as the place Beatrice was supposed to return to. The key points I could recall were just three:  

First, all priests and holy knights begin as apprentices. They only become full-fledged priests or knights after receiving a pendant from the Pope.  

Second, the Pope traded “Inosensia” to the Emperor in exchange for a sacred artifact stored in the Imperial Treasury.  

Third, the Pope sent inquisitors to the North to find something…… Wait a second.  

‘Inquisitors?’  

Now that I think about it, yes, the Pope directly commanded three inquisitors. Two of them were dispatched to the East and South, ostensibly for demon subjugation. But their real mission was to find heresy and bring it to the Great Temple.

‘If the heretics they were searching for are actually the true followers of the real god…… doesn’t that make the Great Temple the actual heretics?’  

[Accept]

“Ugh, seriously! I’m trying to piece things together with the limited clues I have!”  

I couldn’t understand why they kept interrupting me when I was doing my best to think. It’s not like they even gave me the option to decline in the first place.  

“But hey, God. Shouldn’t something like this be given to someone who’s read the entire novel, start to finish, and gone through multiple rereads?”  

Then again, who would reread a novel where both the male lead and the heroine die and the world is destroyed?  

“Why me? Don’t tell me this is because I complained about the ending in a comment? Did you call me here out of spite, telling me, ‘If you don’t like the ending, fix it yourself’……” 

[Accept]

“Ugh, fine, fine. Can’t even get a word in,” I muttered.  

For a god, isn’t this a bit too impatient? At this rate, the entire world might just be overrun with the word [Accept].  

Grumbling, I reached out and tapped the glowing Accept text with my index finger.  

The stacked windows disappeared all at once, and a new one appeared before me.  

*You have accepted the Main Quest.
The ultimate objective has been updated.

Sub-Quest Triggered!

 

*The northern residents have long abandoned their prayers and no longer seek the divine. Faith in the North has hit rock bottom.
Guide the northern residents back to the divine and raise their faith to 100.

 
Reward: 1 Divine Oracle Token

 

[Accept/Decline]

A sub-quest…  

There didn’t seem to be any penalty for failure. Maybe that’s why this time, there was an actual Decline button included.  

Would’ve been nice if that was there earlier, I thought bitterly.  

I was about to press Accept but paused mid-action.  

“Divine Oracle Token? What’s that supposed to mean?”  

Don’t tell me… I need tokens just to receive divine messages now? Seriously?  

“You handed one out for free last time! Explain yourself, O mighty deity! You can’t just spring this on me without any context!”  

Was that free one just a sample? Like, “Try it out, and if you like it, you’ll have to start paying”?  

“Using me without payment, then trying to nickel and dime me? What kind of cheapskate god are you?”  

When they were pressuring me earlier with increasing font sizes, they were so responsive. But now? Complete silence.  

So the Accept button was just a trap? No take-backsies?  

“Customer service! Consumer protection agency! Someone help me—”  

…Yeah, right. Like any of those exist here.  

I got played. Played like a fool. 

“If I manage to stop this world from ending, I’m going to make one hell of a wish.”  

But what if they pull some, “Sorry, not allowed, pick another” nonsense? If that happens, I’ll throw a full-on tantrum.  

“……So, how do I even check the quests?”

I stared blankly into the empty air for a moment before recalling the initial message about the divine oracle.  

“Divine oracle?”  

▶ Ultimate Objective: Save the World

▷ Current Objective: Raise Northern Faith to 100

 

*Northern Faith: -1

*Key Items in Possession: None

It was simple, concise, and easy to read. But there were two glaring issues.  

Faith isn’t at zero—it’s negative?  

It wasn’t just that people didn’t believe; there were actually people actively harboring resentment toward the divine. 

Still, since it was only a -1, I decided to let it slide.  

The more disheartening part was the Key Items in Possession section being empty.  

Sure, I hadn’t been wealthy back in my world, but being dropped into a whole new one with nothing but my soul? It hit differently.  

If you’re not going to give me divine tokens, at least hand over some cash or something.

Stopping the apocalypse without any resources? What a joke.  

Just as I let out a long, defeated sigh—  

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of someone knocking at the bedroom door interrupted my thoughts.  

I assumed it was Alice and called for her to come in, but—  

“The Duke urgently requests your presence. I will escort you, so please come immediately.”  

It was David, not Alice, and he looked unusually rushed.  

“Urgent? What’s going on?”  

“You’ll see when you get there.”  

He didn’t even have the time to explain, but judging by his demeanor, he wasn’t lying. I nodded.  

Could it be that they’ve captured all the spies?  

That must be it.  

Maybe they even uncovered some unexpected secrets.  

Feeling a growing sense of urgency, I prodded David to quicken his pace as we headed to Temenos’ study.  

And there, I heard something I couldn’t have imagined.  
 

<To be continued>

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