Perhaps it was quite a painful experience for the red mist to be hit by you once.

The red mist remained quiet without showing any special behavior anymore.

But you knew.

It hadn’t given up, but was just waiting for an opportunity.

Amid the subtle checks between you two, Sophia’s story continued to progress.

Intense holy power and the position of being a conversation partner to a renowned priest.

With these two powers in hand, Sophia’s standing became completely different from before.

She was able to freely move around outside, and conversely, the number of people visiting her home to talk with her increased day by day.

If Sophia had shown arrogant behavior or become lazy, relying only on the holy power she possessed, people would have praised her outwardly but inwardly kept her at a distance.

But Sophia’s thirst for knowledge was real, and she showed an attitude of not considering the holy power she possessed as anything special.

As this was a city of learning and debate, it was a place where the attitude of pursuing cultivation, knowledge, and the principles of things was considered worthy of respect.

To receive the benefits of holy power, out of simple curiosity, to become close to the elderly priest using her as an intermediary, to see through her false reputation and steal her fame.

Those who approached Sophia with various intentions had countless conversations with her, and Sophia continued to grow as a scholar, using all those conversations as nourishment. As a result, people acknowledged her, were inspired by her, and respected her.

Even Sophia’s father, who was initially bewildered by this situation, flipped his palm and actively favored her when the family’s reputation rose due to Sophia’s fame.

Of course, as with all things in the world, there were those who harbored negative emotions towards Sophia and tried to bite her somehow as this happened.

Typically, her older brother was like that.

“Father, we must do something about Sophia right away! How can you just watch when a girl without proper citizenship acts so wantonly?”

“It’s a long-standing custom of the city to recognize those with mana and holy power as citizens, even if they are female or the family’s wealth is somewhat lacking. Anyway, Sophia will gain citizenship in just a few more years, so is there any need to be so picky?”

“This is not the time to be so relaxed! Do you know what people are saying outside? They’re saying Sophia is the most excellent and superior in our family! That our family is nothing without Sophia! Does this make any sense now?”

Despite the older brother’s intense complaints, the father didn’t nod.

He just looked at his son with worried eyes.

“As soon as she gains citizenship, Sophia will leave the family and become independent.”

“What?”

“That child requested it first. At first, I wondered why she made such a request, but now I see she did it knowing this would happen. She saw through in advance that there would be discord if she stayed here, huh?” Sophia’s father put both hands on his son’s shoulders and looked into his eyes. “Do you understand? That child has no intention at all of competing with you for the heir position. You’re the one who will inherit the family’s wealth and history. Does that ease your anxiety now?”

“Ah, Father, I didn’t speak with that purpose…”

“Now, look at my arm here. I had constant minor spasms due to aftereffects from going to the battlefield when I was young, but after Sophia took a look at it once, that completely disappeared. No, that’s not all. I no longer have to worry about joint pain when going up and down stairs, nor do I need to worry about fatigue the next day after working late.”

“…”

“Even nobles from other nations who have filled their warehouses with all sorts of treasures and lush grains can’t easily enjoy such luxury. Only a king or a great noble equivalent to that can barely reach a similar position. That’s what a priest is. Just having one by your side can keep you away from disease and aging.”

“…”

“If you can’t embrace that child with familial affection, evaluate her with the eyes of a merchant weighing gains and losses. I’m already old enough, so at best I can avoid minor illnesses, but if you, who are still young, receive the benefits of holy power every day, your lifespan itself will be different. Now, tell me. Which is more beneficial to you, hating and pushing that child away or embracing her as family?”

“I understand what you’re trying to say.”

Although it seemed to you that he didn’t understand at all no matter how you looked at it, Sophia’s father seemed satisfied with that answer and sent his son away, soothing him.

You had tried to see if you could preemptively crack his skull, thinking this guy might be a future bomb, but unfortunately, hitting was impossible.

It was truly a sorrowful thing.

“It’s annoying to see a young girl acting all high and mighty as if she’s a genius or a saint. It’s tarnishing the history and tradition of this city.”

“Ah, Lord! Why have you shared your power with a foolish one who refuses to serve by your side? If you had given me that power, I would have served you wholeheartedly!”

“Arrogant girl. How dare she ignore my proposal! It’s only natural that we noble scholars should be healed before the ignorant rabble on the streets!”

There were others scattered here and there in the city who harbored complaints against Sophia and grumbled, but conversely, this meant that Sophia’s reputation was rising day by day to the extent that such people couldn’t freely raise their voices publicly.

And among them, those who most fiercely followed Sophia were those who raised questions about the heavenly realm called “God’s country” and the god they served.

“Is the ‘Lord’ that the Kingdom of Heaven speaks of really an omnipotent being?”

“Can the presence or absence of holy power be a criterion for judging one’s faith?”

“They take those with holy power to God’s country, but is that really God’s will?”

These were not people who particularly hated God or wanted to deny His existence.

Rather, these belonged to a type extremely faithful to the essence of scholars.

To hold the question “Why?” for all ideas in the world, and to explore it.

Not to accept a phenomenon as just “natural”, but to find the reason for it.

It was just that they kept questioning and exploring everything, and eventually applied the same standard to the existence of “God”—they didn’t particularly harbor malice.

But people treated them as heretics and eccentrics.

Even in Doria, which could be called a nation of scholars, questioning God or trying to judge His right and wrong was considered blasphemous.

In fact, it was only because it was Doria that they survived after raising questions; in other nations, they would have had their heads cut off openly without being able to complain.

The influence of the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth was that absolute.

At least because of the eyes of people around, they couldn’t freely speak content doubting God, and even if they courageously spoke out, they couldn’t avoid the nitpicking of “Aren’t you just jealous because you can’t go to the Kingdom of Heaven?”

But Sophia was different.

She was a rare being who chose to remain on earth despite being qualified to go to heaven, and at the same time, she was chosen as a discussion partner by a renowned priest despite directly questioning the policies of the Kingdom of Heaven, far from being persecuted.

To those who harbored doubts inwardly but couldn’t freely raise their voices, blocked by the absolute proposition of blasphemy, Sophia was truly an ideal focal point.

They doubted God, discussed God, and tried to understand God.

People called these individuals, or their gatherings, Hubris.

Due to the patriarchal social structure, Sophia only had the name Sophia without a separate surname, but when she rose to the position of representing the Hubris school, that title was treated as something like a surname.

Although it was somewhat different from the concept of surname you knew.

Thus, several more years passed again.

Saying it like this makes it seem like a very long time had passed, but in fact, your perceived time wasn’t that long.

It was similar to how even if decades passed in a dream, it didn’t feel long in one’s perception.

Sophia, who had been a girl, had grown into a figure similar to what you knew, but a little younger.

Many admired her with her beautiful green hair and outstanding beauty, but Sophia didn’t marry.

It was quite alien when looking at the culture of Doria that you had observed, and this was possible not only because of Sophia’s own will, but also because various political intentions were complexly intertwined.

The Hubris school led by Sophia had grown into a massive force unrecognizable from its past appearance as just a small club, and Sophia also served as an emergency responder and doctor in preparation for urgent patients in the city.

Various forces in the city didn’t want the balance of power to tilt towards a specific force on the occasion of Sophia’s marriage, and rumors that Sophia might ascend to heaven at any time also served as a breakwater, allowing her to avoid marriage.

Suddenly, you felt that your hazy perception of time suddenly became clear.

Also, the presence of the blurry red mist began to become clearer.

It was evidence that an event that could be called a turning point in Sophia’s life was approaching, like the question and answer with the elderly priest before.

“Lady Sophia, there’s something I’ve been doubting but denying all along, but now I’m certain. The Kingdom of Heaven, they are absolutely not good beings or fair ones as known to the world!”

“We secured an ancient book from the ruins of the old kingdom and we realized that the civilization of this continent is developing strangely slowly, and that there are those who are inducing it!”

“The reason why records of the great civilizations that existed in the past are strangely nonexistent, the reason why those who try to find out about the origin of those called magic beasts keep disappearing, the reason why when a certain nation tries to grow stronger beyond a certain level, ‘misfortune’ happens to come and collapse it! We doubted, and now we know the answer.”

“It’s them! They instigated discord on earth, put tyrants on thrones, and hindered the development of civilization! While pretending to comfort people with gentle and merciful faces, they were committing acts more vicious than any evil criminal organization behind the scenes!”

“We must spread this fact widely, and all the people on earth must join forces to escape from the cage they have set up!”

To the words of the school people, Sophia answered, “No, if we denounce heaven without clear evidence. The world will rather try to silence us and erase our existence. Before raising our voices recklessly, we must first secure solid physical evidence, and also build a foundation for people to accept it.”

“—I understand. Let’s inform people of the truth and make them denounce the hubris of heaven. Now is the time for the light of earth to dispel the dark clouds of heaven. Let’s hurry.”

Two voices overlapped with each other.

The world split in two, and two scenes unfolded before your eyes.

《STAGE 2nd. VS ≡二三二≡≡二三二≡》

《If you win the confrontation, you can choose the desired history.》

《If you lose the confrontation, ≡二三二≡≡二三二≡ will ≡二三二≡≡二三二≡ with Sophia Hubris’s body》

The red mist gathered and took on a human form.

If the red mist you first encountered was just a lump in human form, this one was closer to the shape of a woman.

Although your body was a little heavier than usual, you didn’t mind.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ evaluates that compared to a giant boulder blocking the way, something like you is no different from a small fry!]

***

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