They truly began to take interest in mortals after the Elf Gods arrived in Mireya, and they discovered the benefits of preaching faith from them.

In Lilith and Haral's view, the Old Gods' courtship of mortals from the start wasn't to shelter all beings but to learn from the Elf Gods—leveraging faith to make mortals into a source of their power and treating mortals as cannon fodder in their struggle against the elves!

However, the centripetal force of faith was too strong.

Without a target for faith, without a unifying belief to rally hearts, Lilith and Haral simply couldn't prevent the gods' infiltration of the organization.

So... Lilith and Haral came up with a solution.

That was to proactively construct a deity of their own, preemptively occupying the position in people's faith!

"So... you too created a deity, a 'Savior' who passed on knowledge to you?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes, Teacher, many of the Old Gods preach faith by bestowing Divine Grace. Since that's the case, we followed their lead, molding our own deity to fill the void of faith."

"That's not necessarily wrong, after all... when we were confined within the Elf's magic Tower, we indeed received attention from two beings who seemed to be divine."

"The former made a deal with us, granting us great strength. It nearly drove us mad but also gave us freedom and miraculous powers."

"As for the latter... when we were succumbing to madness, they saved us and taught us much knowledge, just as you did."

"After that, we never felt their presence again. So... what they are, whether they are truly gods, to this day we still aren't clear."

"However, although we are unsure, when we planned to fabricate a god, we were consequently inspired... That was to create a 'Savior' who saved and enlightened us."

"We possess transcendent knowledge, capable of substituting the gods' grace, and both of us have special abilities. Together we are also able to stand against the various Church groups."

"So... we successfully established our own faith."

"Of course, since the 'Savior' was fictitious, although we artificially created a belief, it still didn't allow us to receive the gods' blessings as other Churches do."

"That's why other churches labeled us as Fake believers."

"But... it was also some sort of coincidence. You had taught us transcendent knowledge as well, serving as our enlightening mentor; this fact wasn't a secret to some survivors of the North Mountain Tribe."

"Many Church groups use the fact that the 'Savior' doesn't actually exist to deny the faith of the Free City-State. To counter them, we also intertwined your story with the 'Savior', portraying you as a 'Savior' who once descended to rescue us..."

"Therefore, upon realizing that you are the Heir of the Apocalypse who appeared in the North Mountain Tribe fourteen years ago and whom we revered as Teacher, everyone began to regard you as the 'Savior'..."

Lilith said with some embarrassment.

Charlotte: ...

She understood. Turns out she had been too self-concerned, the Free City-State's "Savior" was truly fictional!

Thinking about it, the transcendent knowledge she had passed on to the two was merely suitable meditation methods, yet Charlotte and Legion Commander Badak had discussed the rich transcendent knowledge the "Savior" had passed on.

At that time, Charlotte was somewhat puzzled since she indeed hadn't taught that much. Now it seemed... it wasn't her after all!

The so-called "Savior" was fabricated from the start, and the two's profound transcendent knowledge didn't come from her.

Charlotte was now curious and puzzled.

Though the "Savior" was fictitious, the mysterious existence that had bestowed power and knowledge upon the pair was real.

Whether making a pact or imparting knowledge, Charlotte felt this method of operation was indeed very god-like.

And if it were a god, then who might it be?

Furthermore, there was the "Savior's" Holy Emblem.

One reason Charlotte believed the Savior to be herself was because the emblem of the Savior was very similar to her own Holy Emblem.

But Charlotte was certain she had never told the two about her Holy Emblem.

"Lilith, I heard you're the one who designed the 'Savior's' Holy Emblem?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes, teacher, it was I who designed it."

"Designed... it?"

Charlotte was taken aback.

Lilith nodded embarrassingly:

"Yes, I designed it. When we were planning to construct a symbol for the God, inspiration just came to me naturally, and I thought of this symbol."

"In fact, this symbol's inspiration comes from dreams I've had in the past, but...I feel like my inspiration isn't complete, or maybe the memory of the dream is blurred."

"This Holy Emblem, compared to the true sign I feel deep down I want to draw, seems to lack something. But I can't put my finger on what's missing..."

"However, I'm still perfecting it. Just give me more time, and I will eventually draw the perfect Holy Emblem from my dream!"

Charlotte: …

After a moment of silence, she gently extended her hand and used magic power to trace her own thorny rose:

"Is the Holy Emblem you saw in your dream like this?"

Seeing Charlotte's Holy Emblem, Lilith was stunned and then exclaimed in surprise:

"That's the one!"

Charlotte showed an expression of realization, then dispersed the magic power.

"Teacher! How did you know what I was thinking? The Holy Emblem you've drawn is exactly like the one in my dream!"

Lilith asked with amazement.

Charlotte didn't know how to respond.

However, after pondering for a short time, she decided to answer truthfully:

"This is my Holy Emblem."

There's no hiding it.

The Holy Emblem is unique.

Once Lilith perfects the Holy Emblem, it will probably point to her.

"Your... Holy Emblem?"

Lilith and Haral were stunned.

They exchanged glances, and after a moment of hesitation, they couldn't help but ask:

"Teacher, does this mean... you... you really are a God?!"

Charlotte thought for a moment and said:

"In some sense, yes."

Lilith and Haral fell silent again.

They looked at each other, exchanged a glance that seemed to convey a decision, and both nodded slightly.

Then, they approached Charlotte with respectful and earnest expressions:

"Teacher... we have a request…"

"Hm?"

Charlotte's gaze invited them to continue.

Both took a deep breath and asked in unison:

"Can you... become our true 'Savior'?"