“The question of whether the System is an existence worthy of worship... is something I have some doubts about.”

At those words of mine.

The old man who, until just moments ago, had been bowing his head toward me.

“How dare you...”

Cardinal Jeong Suhwan’s face flushed red.

I could feel mana boiling up from his body.

The moment I was about to grip my weapon to respond in kind.

“Calm yourselves!”

Lee Haein suppressed the group of priests trying to rise up.

Then looked at me once again.

“I do not understand.”

However.

Her expression, too, was twisted as if she could not accept it.

“You are the one who has received more of His grace than anyone else. Is the number displayed in your status window not proof of that?”

As she said.

I was among those who had received more help from this power than anyone.

“You should know why you are still alive on this land.”

Without this power.

Surviving on this land would have been impossible.

“I do feel grateful.”

However.

When I thought back on everything I had seen until now.

The System... can’t be seen as purely good, either.

I, too, accepted the System as an ally.

It was friendly toward humans, of course.

And it had also given me tremendous help.

But at the same time.

“Its identity, its origin—nothing about it is known.”

It was infinitely hostile toward beings outside humanity.

And it did not hesitate to commit acts so vile they were hard to believe.

To begin with, I had often wondered whether this thing was even a single personality at all.

“How anyone can trust an existence like that completely... honestly, I find it a little questionable.”

At those words of mine.

The cardinal and priests stared at me with frowns on their faces.

...Was this the wrong move after all?

However.

The doubt that remained inside me was far too clear.

I could not ignore it and side with them.

“...I more or less understand the situation.”

This could worsen our relationship with them.

Thinking that.

I looked at them with a faintly worried expression, but.

“Your words and behavior were somewhat extreme, so I thought you were denying our faith entirely... but that was not the case.”

“......”

“You simply have not yet properly realized His love.”

Contrary to my worries.

“Then it is only natural for someone like you to harbor questions.”

“...What?”

The expressions with which they had been glaring at me.

Were not quite as hostile as I had expected.

***

“Why are you so surprised? Did you think we were fanatics who would blindly force our faith upon others?”

At those words.

I could not bring myself to answer that yes, I had thought exactly that.

Not only Lee Haein, who looked calm.

But even the other priests, who had been flushed with anger, were calming themselves as they looked at me.

Surprisingly.

They truly considered my question reasonable.

“It is only natural.”

And.

The reason for that was nothing particularly grand.

“We, too, did not hold faith in Him from the very beginning.”

At those words.

I looked at them with slightly surprised eyes.

“The structure... the existence many call the System. Before we came to hold faith in it, we too had countless questions and doubts.”

On my tongue.

I could feel the emotions they carried as they spoke.

“There was a time when we thought it might be an unbelievable power, perhaps no different from those invaders.”

That.

Was not merely empty talk.

“We pondered those countless questions and worked to find answers to them.”

Unlike what I had first thought.

They genuinely.

Had once held doubts about that System.

And.

“After finding those answers, we came to possess the firm faith we have now.”

After they had obtained answers to those doubts.

Their current faith had been completed.

“...How?”

If that was the case, I had no choice but to ask.

“By what method did you resolve those doubts?”

I considered myself to have learned a fair amount about the structure of this world.

Even I still had questions about the existence called the System.

And yet, despite having harbored the same doubts about the System that I did.

They were saying they had already obtained answers to those doubts.

“It is not difficult to tell you that.”

And.

At my question, Lee Haein spoke with a faint smile.

“Please visit our territory. Our central cathedral.”

“......”

“If you do, we can show you the answers to those questions.”

Show me.

...Did that mean there was physical evidence?

While I was wondering about that.

Someone raised a voice toward Lee Haein.

“Priest Lee Haein...”

“What is it, Cardinal?”

Cardinal Jeong Suhwan.

The man serving as the guild master of that Church.

***

“You cannot mean... you intend to show him that place?”

“That is correct.”

“That is absurd...”

And then.

The two of them began arguing, excluding me entirely.

“He is still an outsider. He has no right to be invited into the depths of the Church!”

“He is an outsider for the moment, but he is also someone qualified to lead us. Did you not acknowledge that part as well, Cardinal?” 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“He merely has the qualifications. He has not yet ascended to that position. Right now, he is in a state of doubt toward our faith.”

“...The simplest and fastest way to resolve that doubt is to show him that place.”

“How can we trust him and do such a thing...?”

As if he were afraid of something.

The old man continued speaking with eyes full of vigilance.

“If he still fails to resolve his doubts after seeing that place and abandons us, what then? At that point, we will have exposed our greatest secret to an enemy.”

“...I do not believe Sergeant Shin Youngjun is that sort of person.”

“Priest Lee Haein!”

With a loud shout.

The old man glared at her and spoke firmly.

“Less than an hour has passed since this man met us and conversed with us. You must not hastily judge whether he is that sort of person or not.”

“......”

“He may become our leader someday. When that time comes, I intend to gladly accept his guidance. But right now, the leader of the Church is me.”

“But...”

“I will make this clear. We cannot reveal that place to an outsider. If we are to do so, then at the very least...”

The old man turned his head toward me.

Then opened his mouth with a guarded expression.

“It must be after the coronation.”

At the words that came out of the old man’s mouth.

I frowned and thought.

...Coronation?

It was not a word one often had the chance to hear in the modern day.

I was puzzled, unable to understand what it meant for that word to suddenly appear, but.

“...Understood.”

The woman named Lee Haein seemed to understand its meaning.

Though she wore a dissatisfied expression, she nodded as if there was no helping it.

And.

“First, we thank the members of the Legion for bringing Sergeant Shin before us, as we requested.”

She turned her head toward us.

Then continued in a polite voice.

Right.

Those people had said they had no intention of cooperating with us unless I appeared.

And conversely, that meant.

“Now that we have confirmed Sergeant Shin is still with the Legion, I believe we can make a proper request.”

If I was here.

It meant they were willing to cooperate.

“If you grant us just one request, our Church will cooperate with the Legion, become a force under the Legion, and offer our loyalty.”

“...A request?”

And.

The condition they put forward in order to cooperate with us was fairly simple.

“We would like Sergeant Shin Youngjun to visit our Church and hold a coronation.”

“You said something like that earlier too. A coronation?”

“Yes. We do not intend to ask anything complicated of you.”

She smiled as she spoke.

“If you become the pope of our Church, then the Church will follow your will.”

***

“Everyone, return!”

“What? But, Sister...”

“I will explain the details once we return, so withdraw the forces.”

Not long after the soldiers and I came out of the tent in the middle of the bridge.

The forces that had filled the surrounding area began to withdraw.

“...They really are pulling back?”

“What are they thinking, leaving like that when we could stab them in the back?”

The soldiers and I stared blankly at the sight.

As we did.

“...So.”

Corporal Seo Suhyeok watched them receding until the very end.

Then opened his mouth toward me.

“What will you do?”

“What do you mean, what will I do? About what?”

“That coronation or whatever it was.”

At those words.

I scratched my head and muttered.

“Good question.”

For now.

Just confirming that I was in the Legion.

Was apparently enough for them to decide they had no intention of being hostile toward us, and they had chosen to withdraw their forces.

At the very least, if we maintained this state.

It meant there would be no reason for us to become hostile with them.

However.

In the end, if we want to proceed with merging them into our side, I’ll have to hold that coronation or whatever it is.

Right now.

The occupation rate of the Republic of Korea was divided among three forces.

The Gyeonggi Province Survivors’ Association, the Legion, and that Church.

I had heard that talks with the Association had already progressed.

So we were in a situation where we could unite as a single organization at any time.

The problem was them.

We do need to complete the occupation war.

I had already learned what completing an occupation war meant in the fight against the grand duke.

It meant the power of the System would grow stronger, and the strengthened System would be able to support humanity more.

That alone was more than enough reason to carry out the occupation war.

And beyond that.

There’s also the threat growing in the north...

I did not know how great that threat would be.

But there was a high chance it would grow into a greater threat as time passed.

We had to finish the occupation war as quickly as possible and prepare for it.

In the end.

It meant holding that coronation they had requested was the best method.

“I am a little worried.”

“I doubt they would try anything, but... it means the Legion Commander will have to go straight into the middle of enemy territory.”

Corporal Jeon Gwangil and Squad Leader Lee Sanga seemed somewhat worried.

“As for me, I believe a certain degree of risk is worth accepting.”

As for Sergeant Lee Minjae.

He seemed to think that even if we had to accept some danger, participating in that coronation would be better.

“If you really dislike doing something that troublesome.”

And.

“Striking them in the back right now is also an option.”

“......”

“They really are withdrawing obediently. I had marked several strongpoints that would be troublesome if a battle broke out. But at this rate, if we launch a preemptive strike now, we can win easily enough.”

As for Corporal Seo Suhyeok.

He was outright suggesting that we stab them in the back and attempt a military annexation.

“...That’s a joke, right?”

“Well, about half of it was a joke.”

“I’m glad at least half of it was.”

“If we did that, there’s a high chance they would fight to the death. If we’re thinking about a clean merger, it probably wouldn’t be a good method.”

“...Ah. So that was the part you were worried about.”

Things like guilt over stabbing an opponent in the back when they had trusted us and withdrawn obediently.

Apparently, he did not feel much of that.

...Anyway.

I, too, sank into thought as I watched them withdraw.

I didn’t... sense malice from them.

The taste I felt on my tongue.

Even if they were hiding something.

I had not felt any clear malice toward me there.

To begin with, even without the taste on my tongue, it was obvious enough that they were hiding something.

The problem is that I don’t know what they’re hiding...

In a situation like this.

For me, the Legion Commander, to head to the center of a force of that scale would certainly be dangerous.

However.

“Gwangil. Suhyeok.”

“Yes, sir.”

After thinking for a moment.

I soon made my decision and opened my mouth.

“Gather soldiers.”

“......”

“Among the ones nearby, pick the ones you trust most.”

“...That means.”

Certainly.

Heading to the center of a force of that scale was dangerous.

There was no telling what sort of danger might be lurking there.

But if that was the case.

“...They never said I couldn’t bring an escort force, did they?”

Then all I had to do was enter with enough power.

Enough to break through whatever danger there might be.

“...We’ll get the men ready.”

With those words.

The two corporals quickly ran off somewhere.

“...Are you really going?”

“Well, for now.”

“Do you need to choose such a dangerous method? Even if it takes a little more time, merging with them through some other method...”

As she watched the two corporals leave.

Squad Leader Lee Sanga sent me a worried look.

But I answered with a shrug.

“That’s not the only reason.”

“......”

If all we needed was to merge with them.

I might have thought about it a little longer.

As Suhyeok had said.

Merging through force was also one of our options.

—If you hold that coronation...

But.

—You’ll show me the reason you came to hold faith?

—Yes.

Even so.

There was a separate reason I decided to accept that proposal.

—This one... have it dig into the identity of the System.

—System! Is this not different from the contract...?

—The System, was it? It is good to trust it. But at the same time, doubt it thoroughly.

Since the first day ruin came to this land.

A question I had carried all along.

—I guarantee it.

The existence giving us this power.

What its identity and purpose were.

—The answers to every question you hold... will be there.

In order to find out.