Lead's ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) face crossed into my focal range. The moment my nose brushed against it in the blurred vision.

“Ahhh!”

<Ah, Ayleth?!>

The video cut off abruptly.

[ Cinematic video 'Fragments of Memory (3) — Corruption (Memory Synchronization: Unknown)' has ended.]

The situation afterward could only be imagined, or rather, inferred.

Did, did it happen? Did we? Really? Really?

A scream echoed within me again, and I gasped for breath.

<Ayleth, what's wrong?>

"I'm s-sorry. I was just so startled."

<What happened that made you scream like that?>

“I... I’ll tell you later. Later.”

I still hadn’t regained my composure and was too disoriented to answer clearly.

Despite that, the system, indifferent to my shock, dropped a quest.

[ 'Leading the Final Dark Forces Level 5 (Difficulty: Unknown)'

Obtain Livrily safely.

Success Reward: Livrily

Failure Penalty: Your Corruption, World Destruction]

Just seeing the word "corruption" made me uneasy. I felt like I needed to brace myself mentally.

✠

It had been a fortnight since the inauguration ceremony of the Tower Master and the official proclamation of the Language Church. I had officially begun my duties as the pope of the Language Church.

The most prominent task was administering baptism.

I called the white mages to the ‘Saint Lucretia Church,’ which would serve as the base for the Language Church in Ragneif.

The shabby abandoned church where I first met Hilde had been transformed into a grand sanctuary in no time, thanks to the influx of personnel and skills.

[ The number of followers of the 'Language that Constructs Worlds' sect has increased.]

[ The holy power of the newly enrolled followers has been restored.]

“My goodness! White magic is back! This is a miracle!”

“By receiving baptism and being embraced by the Lord of Language, the once-dried holy power has been replenished. Oh, by the way, it’s no longer called white magic, but holy power now.”

“Yes, yes! I’ll remember! Thank you so much, Your Holiness!”

“The thanks are not mine to take.”

“Ah, yes! Thank you, Lord of Language!”

“Good. That’s it.”

Before the proclamation of the Language Church, simply having faith was enough to gain followers. But since the official declaration, it seemed baptism was required for that to happen.

The difficulty of proselytizing had been increased, as the Satirist had explained.

[‘The Balance-Tuning Satirist’ says that when dealing with heretics, the penalty of having to hide your identity is why they've been lenient.]

Thus, I had to face this challenge head-on.

With the full support of Tower Master Lead, the expansion of the Language Church proceeded smoothly.

There were no problems with recruiting people since we only had to absorb the white mages who had been managed by the state. And Lead helped a lot with the organizational structure and rules of the church.

Having lived as a paladin for nearly 900 years, his knowledge was like a Bible in these matters.

Before long, the line of people waiting for baptism had ended. Hilde, checking the list of new members, said,

“The last person just finished. We’ll need to do this every day for the next week, are you okay with that?”

“No problem.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll prepare the schedule.”

I had assigned Hilde some simple administrative tasks, and surprisingly, she was handling everything efficiently.

She even showed great enthusiasm for the issue of reassigning the white mages as official members of the Language Church and improving their treatment. She was doing the work I was planning to do, making her look very impressive.

As a result, Hilde had quickly risen through the ranks to become the first cardinal of the Language Church.

Oh, and we had also designed the priest robes. Since Ragneif's magical republic favored dark colors culturally, the robes were boldly black for a successful localization.

Hilde mentioned my next schedule.

“Now it’s time for confession. Since it’s your first day, there’s only one person.”

“I guess I should move to the next room. Want to join me tomorrow, Hilde?”

“I... I have too much work...”

Her voice trembled pitifully. As a new sect, Hilde really did have a lot of work to do.

<By the way, I’ve been feeding her well, but she’s still not gaining any weight.>

Probably because of overwork. I felt a sharp sense of responsibility.

“Don’t try to do everything yourself. If there’s someone to help, delegate.”

“C-could I really do that?!”

“Yes. You’ve already started baptism today, and since the white mages are now part of the Language Church, you can assign them where needed.”

“Yes, yes!”

Hilde nodded vigorously, her platinum hair swinging with the motion, her eyes sparkling like she had witnessed a miracle.

<How much have I overworked her?>

Ahem. I’ll reflect on that.

While we were moving to the confession room, Hilde casually spoke.

“Speaking of which, Lord Mage told me something.”

“Lord Mage?”

“Oh, I mean, Tower Master. He gave himself a title a week ago and told me to call him that from now on.”

“Gave himself a title?”

“Yes.”

Hmm, our Lead. He’s engaging in some spectacular tyranny.

“Well, it’s good to have an external title. The higher, the better...”

[‘The Scales that Judge Souls’ likes your rationalization.]

“So, what about Lead?”

“Ah, um... Are you... lovers?”

“......”

It was a sudden mental attack.

[‘The Scales that Judge Souls’ panicked, wondering if you had already bought the genre switch.]

[‘The Balance-Tuning Satirist’ is nervously awaiting what’s coming next.]

[‘The Inspector of Forbidden Knowledge’ is silently hoping you’ll get into some trouble.]

[‘The Language that Constructs Worlds’ is nervously eyeing your cash balance.]

[‘The Creator’s Economic Manager’ is demanding the release of the genre switch trial version.]

I forced a smile and calmly responded.

“Hilde, why would you think that?”

“Well... You two were in the Tower Master’s bedroom for two days straight...”

Ah, I expected this misunderstanding.

“No, it’s not like that, Hilde.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Yes.”

Hilde was a very good child. She accepted my word without needing me to repeat myself three times.

Soon we arrived at the confession room, which looked like an old-fashioned wooden wardrobe.

“Well then, Hilde, I’ll see you later.”

“Yes.”

I opened one of the doors to the confession room and entered. The space for anonymity was dark and enclosed.

‘It’s cozy, like stepping into a coffin... Oh dear. Did I catch something from Lead?’

A shadow of a person appeared beyond the grid partition. It seemed the penitent had been waiting.

“Dear Penitent, confess your sins, believing in the infinite love and mercy of the Lord of Language.”

Just as I was about to begin the sacrament with a warm yet authoritative voice.

“I have committed a great sin.”

“......”

Was it just my imagination? The deep, smooth voice seemed oddly familiar.

<Isn’t that Lead in the next room?>

It seemed my feeling wasn’t wrong. Given that sweet voice, it would be impossible to mistake it for someone else.

[‘The Scales that Judge Souls’ is imagining what’s happening in the closed space and enjoying the scenario!]

[‘The Language that Constructs Worlds’ scolds the indecent thoughts.]

[‘The Scales that Judge Souls’ grins, saying that with the genre change, 19+ romance will come true.]

[‘The Eyes Watching the Chaos of the World’ sniffles and sheds a tear over a potion they’re brewing for gender change.]

A low chuckle echoed, as though to draw attention away from the chaotic messages. My embarrassment had clearly conveyed itself to him, and it seemed to amuse him.

<Really? Playing pranks during a sacred sacrament?>

I too felt a little guilty.

“I ask you to confess your sins with a truly repentant heart, brother.”

I deliberately adopted a stern tone, which immediately silenced the laughter.

<Go ahead, confess your sin. Although, I doubt a sacrament can cleanse a sin like attempting to destroy the world.>

After all, the sin Lead was about to confess wasn’t even a failed attempt at world destruction.

Even if it was a joke, as long as Lead was genuinely repenting, it was the only reason he’d come to the confessional.

“...I had feelings for someone, but I tried to forcefully take them.”

Why does the phrasing sound like that?

[‘The Scales that Judge Souls’ blows air out through their nose, excited.]

What kind of delusion did the Scales have? He was clearly excited.

<...Was it really that bad?>

What were they imagining? Agnes seemed shocked.

If I hadn’t previewed it through the cinematic video, I might have misinterpreted this situation severely.

Anyway, I tried to guide Lead to confess in detail without letting on that I already knew.

“Please, be specific.”

“I gave the person the scythe of the Demon Lord as a gift and set up a magic threshold they couldn’t cross. Then, I made them fight the third-ranked Demon Lord and forced them to devour that power.”

“This bad... No, keep going.”

“They resisted a lot. I wanted to politely offer my hand and help them up, but the situation didn’t allow it, so I had to use force a little. I’m really sorry for being rude and touching their head without permission.”

“Why are you apologizing for that part... Never mind, continue.”