Show Me Your Stats!-Chapter 175

First, I have to win over the landowners.

All the prominent families in Solar who held power formed their networks around the temple. They held gatherings every week during temple prayer meetings, and the temple even had a space set aside specifically for them.

It wasn’t just the landowners. If Act made a public move to support her, most of the temple followers would likely side with Ayra as well. Most importantly, when D-Day arrived, the evacuation would go far more smoothly.

Ayra recalled the day she had fought Janus. On that day, a significant number of her people had refused to evacuate and instead flocked to the temple. That showed not only a lack of trust in the lord’s castle but also how deeply the temple and the High Priest served as spiritual anchors for the citizens.

If the temple still rejected her on D-Day, how large would the casualties be... Ayra furrowed her brows. She still didn’t like Act, but with so little time left before D-Day, personal feelings had to be set aside.

However, while she might bring Act in as a vassal, there was no way she could carry Theon with him. That man had, without a shadow of doubt, betrayed Solar. Ayra had to determine for herself whether Act had supported that betrayal too, and how he truly viewed Theon.

Letting out a deep sigh, Ayra spurred her horse and quickened her return to the lord’s castle.

❄

After resting for a day to recover her strength, Ayra woke to find Janus missing. Puzzled, she opened the map window to check—sure enough, a dark red dot was pacing through the courtyard of the castle. Looking out the window, she saw him kicking at snow with his toes as he walked, apparently on a stroll.

She considered calling him but stopped herself. She was about to meet someone she couldn’t describe as “pleasant” even out of politeness—it was probably better to go alone. Calling in Botello, she asked him to make sure Janus got a good meal, then headed for the temple.

Recently, the temple had lost significant trust due to the war with Sobletz—and at the center of that disgrace stood Theon.

The people of Solar, who had lived in near-total isolation for generations like a natural fortress, were highly wary of outsiders. Mages, considered highly talented in the outside world, were viewed here as borderline heretical. It was only after the creation of Bloomroad and increased exchange with the outside world that this attitude had started to ease—but even now, it still lingered.

That also meant, conversely, that the people’s pride and love for Solar ran extremely deep. Yet Theon had dared to suggest they join hands with Sobletz—an external enemy.

Even when terrified by the war, the people had not wholeheartedly rallied to Theon’s speeches. Then Ayra, under the name of ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Morunka, had elevated Bloom into a hero and led them through the crisis. This only intensified their pride in Solar, and once peace was restored, they began to express open revulsion toward the statements Theon had made.

Naturally, Ayra seized the moment and used Hera and the vigilante corps to spread rumors about Theon. Stories spread that he had taken bribes from Sobletz. Not long ago, he’d even been pelted with stones when he stepped outside the temple. Since then, frightened, Theon had holed himself up inside the temple and shoved Act out in front as a human shield.

Ayra scoffed at the ridiculousness of it all—then recalled that during the time Theon was out making noise, Act had barely appeared at all.

Now that I think about it, the poor expression on Act’s face last time, and the fact that he was near the mercenary office... it was probably because his mother went missing during the earthquake.

Now that she knew Teanu’s story, it made sense. Just as Theon had used Act as leverage to remarry his sister however he pleased, he likely used Teanu as leverage to control Act in return. If so, then that worked in Ayra’s favor.

Upon arriving at the temple, Ayra told the priest standing at the entrance that she wanted to speak with Act privately. The priest, recognizing her immediately, scurried off into the temple in a panic. Ayra, suppressing her shivers, pulled back her hood. Silver hair cascaded like a waterfall from beneath her robe, drawing the gaze of everyone around.

“You’ve all come early for morning prayers. I’m sure Lord Morunka is greatly pleased with your devotion.”

Ayra wore the brightest, most beautiful smile she’d ever mustered—and thoroughly enjoyed the effect of combining her looks with her now 70%+ approval rating. Her efforts in building the territory had not been in vain. The citizens cheered as they flocked around her.

“L-Lord Ayra!”

“It’s our Lord! The Lord’s here!”

It felt like she was a celebrity as the people shouted greetings and blessings at her. To please them, Ayra unleashed her imagination to the fullest and conjured dazzling magical sculptures of Morunka and Bloom—shimmering figures of ice. It felt like just yesterday these people had condemned mages as heretics, and now they were mesmerized by the beauty of her magic.

She was savoring the moment when she suddenly felt someone staring at her intently. Already knowing who it was, Ayra turned with a pleasant smile—sure enough, it was Act, casting a cold look her way. He glanced at the two ice sculptures she’d conjured, then spoke in an icy voice.

“It’s been a while, Lord Ayra. It’s cold—shall we go inside?”

“Yes, the weather is indeed quite chilly.”

Ayra had removed her hood to make full use of her appearance, but in truth, she was freezing to death. She quickly followed him. Once inside, she immediately pulled her hood back up—her ears had already gone numb.

Act led her to a VIP room. A young priest, hurrying in to serve, stared wide-eyed at Ayra and did his best to pour warm tea with exaggerated solemnity.

“So, what brings you here today, my lord?”

Act looked even thinner than before, and his complexion was poor. The moment she saw his pale face, Ayra felt the urge to tell him that his mother and sister were safe—but she held back. There was always a reason when a quest warned you not to do something. Even if she said it now, it likely wouldn’t win gratitude—just suspicion.

“The tea smells nice. Judging by the flower shape, is it brewed from Sacred Flame?”

To ease the tension, Ayra brought up the tea as she discreetly opened Act’s stat window.

HP: 1342

MP: 911

Physical ATK: 132

Magical ATK: 0

Favorability: -31♡

[View Details]

Title: High Priest of Solar

Class: High Priest

Strength: 48

Intelligence: 236

Skills: Doctrine Preaching, Heretic Identification, Faith Awakening

Owned Titles:

Diligent Cleric

Savior of the Slums

Theon’s Illegitimate Son

Related Characters:

Attera la Teanu: O merciful God, I pray You protect and watch over my mother ‖ 93♡

Garotta: I’ve barely even seen her face... ‖ 24♡

Bloom: Was he truly chosen by God? ‖ 15♡

Solar Sing Ayra: A heretic? A nonbeliever? A fraud? ‖ -31♡

Attera la Theon: A vile, decrepit worm not fit to be called a believer ‖ -78♡

Current Thought: Unlockable upon Spirit GM’s final level.

The previous High Priest, Theon, had abused his position to commit all manner of corruption. He used his sister for political marriage deals and had no qualms about aligning with external enemies to preserve his power. In contrast, Act—surprisingly—was almost the ideal image of a faithful priest.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

Among his listed related characters were landowners, some of whom he’d labeled as “lazy pigs” with scathing commentary. Perhaps because of his cold personality, Act gave out favorability points very stingily. Those with high favorability tended to be judged as genuinely pious.

“Huh?”

As Ayra read down the stat window, something caught her eye.

Back when she had pulled in the chief priest from Sobletz’s main temple to officiate Hera’s marriage ceremony, Act’s favorability had been terrible. The last time she checked, it had hovered around -50. But now... it had risen quite a bit.

“It’s not like we’ve even had much contact since then, though?”

As Ayra frowned in puzzlement, Act, with a clearly displeased expression—as if wondering why they were having such a pointless conversation—began explaining the Sacred Flame tea.