If the [Black] Demon Lord was going to use his religion and his believers against me, I didn"t see any reason to hold back on founding my own religion and use it against him.
On that note, the most vital ingredient in establishing and spreading a religion was miracles.
Fortunately, we didn"t need to prepare any since Avalon itself was a miracle.
It was a known fact that Avalon was built in just a week"s time.
Furthermore, Avalon has never been hit by any natural calamity, has always given abundant harvest, and always had clear water.
Thanks to the combination of the blessings given by Aura & the High Elves as well as the infrastructures designed by Rorono & built by the Dwarf Smiths, Avalon was far more comfortable to live in than any other city.
Miracles were in abundance in Avalon.
"We are being quite hara.s.sed, though."
Even now, believers of the [Black] Demon Lord"s religion still came to Avalon to hara.s.s us.
They claimed that I, the leader of this city, was a demon and that I was aiming to bring unhappiness to each and every citizen of the city.
To make matters worse, for some reason unknown to me, the [Black] Demon Lord included in his teachings that humans were the superior beings and that demi-humans were filthy and inferior, leading to discrimination against the latter.
Based on that, they were telling others that expelling me, the demon exploiting the citizens of Avalon, while doing the same or possibly enslaving the demi-humans would grant the ones that partic.i.p.ated G.o.d"s blessing and a better life.
Sadly, there were some who believed such foolish talks.
If left alone, it was possible there would be a revolt.
"If only it was as simple and straightforward as killing them."
Getting physical would be the simplest solution to manage such a group.
However, if possible, I would like to avoid going that road. Because if I did, exaggerated rumors that would say Avalon was suppressing free speech and that one could be imprisoned for just criticizing me, its leader, would surely spread. And if that happened, Avalon"s population growth would come to a halt.
Even worse, in the pretense of helping their fellow believers, nations controlled by the [Black] Demon Lord would unite under a single banner and march toward us.
And so, I had to find another solution.
One that would give a better impression of us.
I think now"s the time.
◇
At the moment, I was standing in a small hill overlooking Avalon.
While gazing down at the city, I did some preparations for a certain kind of event.
"Aura, have they started already?"
I spoke so, trusting that the wind would deliver the sound of my voice to the faraway Aura.
"Yes. They"re enthusiastically handing out fliers today as well. Sometimes I feel so annoyed, I want to shoot them."
Today as well, the believers of the [Black] Demon Lord"s religion were spreading ill information about me and were propagating the hate against the demi-humans.
"Hey now, they"re victims in this too. Victims tricked by the [Black] Demon Lord. Try to proceed peacefully."
I was more worried about those susceptible to being tricked by these believers" words than the believers themselves.
If we were going to start somewhere, it would be with those that haven"t been tricked yet. We needed to make them realize that following me would be much more beneficial to them.
"Rorono, has the [Divine Revelation] been prepped?"
"Mhm. No issues. Ready for use anytime."
Rorono had just finished her final check-up on the Spatial Image Imprinting & Stereophonic Audio Multiplexing Device—otherwise known as the [Divine Revelation].
It was a device whose purpose was to project images to the sky while also making sounds like my voice reach throughout the city.
In order to consolidate my position, I was going to use it today for the first time.
It was possible that its existence had already been leaked to the [Black] Demon Lord, but I highly doubted that their side knew its functions or what I would use it for.
I bet they couldn"t even imagine that this is portable.
"Oto-san, you look cooler than usual today"
Sparkles in her eyes, Kuina said so while looking at me.
"Today is a special event, after all."
In the religion I was going to found, I would be its symbol. If the symbol was going to look slovenly, it wouldn"t be much of a symbol. For that reason, I dressed myself up more than usual.
Thanks to Ruru who was great at these kinds of things, I was confident I looked the part.
And so, I took a deep breath.
"Rorono, if you please."
"Mhm"
Rorono nodded and then started up the [Divine Revelation], projecting my form to the sky.
Each citizen that looked up in the sky was in awe.
"Can everyone in Avalon hear me? Many of you might recognize my face, but let me introduce myself nonetheless. I am Procell, the head of Avalon. I am also the great sage that built this city."
My voice resounded throughout the city.
Their reactions were a mix of curiosity and fear.
Without delay, the believers of the [Black] Demon Lord"s religion began yelling the demon"s black magic! and the like.
"Recently, there have been a group of people claiming that I am not human… these people are correct. I am not human."
Confusion among the citizens grew by the moment after hearing my words.
Alright, I"ve piqued their interest.
"However, unlike what they are saying, I am not a demon. What I am is a G.o.d. And these words of mine to you are my [Divine Revelation]."
I strongly declared so.
To make others believe me, it was vital that I not only looked the part, I had to sound the part as well.
I needed to seem larger than life. I needed to seem like a voice from heaven whose words must not be argued against.
As soon as they heard me, many among the citizens showed signs of worshipping me.
This in turn made [Black]"s believers fl.u.s.tered. They shouted and protested, but their pleas held no sway.
As the moments pa.s.sed, the number of citizens that believed that I was a real G.o.d grew and grew.
Alright, here comes the critical part.
"Right after I descended to these lands, I founded Avalon. It was to be a paradise where everyone can live happily. Have you never found it strange that after all this time, this city has never been hit by any calamity? That crops planted here always result to a bountiful harvest? That even though this is already a fairly large city, the water flowing here is always clear? Or that the weather always great? The answer is simple: all of these are works of a G.o.d."
Everyone probably had, at some point, wondered about these things.
Until they came to Avalon, the farmers had to constantly fight against the issues such as the weather, pests, crop diseases, barren fields, and water shortages to name a few. Oftentimes, they"d lose. After moving to Avalon, however, such issues no longer haunted them, allowing them to lead a much more comfortable and secure life.
Meanwhile, merchants who were active in other large cities would have definitely notice that those cities tended to have water that was foul-smelling. Not to mention the levels of smoke and pollution present in them. And yet, even though Avalon was just as—if not more—prosperous as those cities, it continued to be clean and beautiful.
And here, I gave them the answers to such mysteries: I was a G.o.d and those were my miracles.
"All that being said, these miracles didn"t come solely from me. I have been borrowing the power of the demi-humans here in Avalon. Only by amplifying their powers with my own was this city possible. For that reason, it saddens me that some of you are campaigning to expel the demi-humans out."
At this point, I made a sorrowful expression.
The [Divine Revelation] truly was useful. Convincing them using the expression on my face was far better than just using my voice.
"Everyone, try to recall the non-human neighbors you"ve spent each day with. Were they evil? Did they do you any harm? I would a.s.sume no. Rather, wouldn"t you say they made your life here in Avalon richer and fuller? It is my wish that humans and demi-humans continue to share meals together, sing together, drink the night away together, and laugh together. I want everyone, humans and demi-humans alike, to be happy."
Upon hearing me, excitement among the crowd grew.
Yeah, this was the right approach.
Instead of listening to the unfounded information that demi-humans were inferior or that they were up to no good, the humans based their judgment on something very real: the memories of the life they have been sharing with the demi-humans.
"Honestly, if it was possible, I would have continued hiding the fact that I am a G.o.d. I didn"t want you to expect too much out of me. The extent of my power is rather limited. I was just barely able to make the city you"ve come to love. I am not capable of eliminating sickness altogether, or even creating infinite wealth. Rest a.s.sured, however, I am very much capable of protecting the citizens of Avalon and their happiness. But I digress. The reason I am telling you about my G.o.dhood today is, apparently, the Rigdolg Faith would not allow the continued existence of the demi-humans. They are manipulating their believers and sending them here to Avalon to bring about its ruin."
The Rigdolg Faith was the name of the [Black] Demon Lord"s religion.
The citizens who have now put things together began talking with others.
"To put it bluntly, without me, this city would stop being what it is and would eventually vanish. If the demi-humans were driven away, the current way of life will also cease to exist. These people are fully aware of such results and yet are still going for it, at the cost of everyone"s happiness. They would not stop until their beliefs and their G.o.d were the only ones. On the other hand, I want to protect your smiles and your everyday life here in Avalon. So, please, do not be deceived by their malicious words."
Along with facial expressions, I appealed to the citizens using my voice.
For a ruler, few tools would exceed the ability to spread information to all your citizens immediately and simultaneously.
Not only have I just obtained the citizenry"s support, I was also able to turn them against believers of the Rigdolg Faith.
"Lastly, I"ve come to the conclusion that I should start a religion of my own in order to unite everyone. I only have one doctrine to preach: regardless of whether you are human or demi-human, everyone should live in peace and bliss. If you approve of this ideology, you are welcome to join. I will supply the details at a later date. For now, thank you for your time. Let us continue being a place of love for all."
After those words, [Divine Revelation] was terminated.
The speech was very effective. Right away, many would-be believers were gathering.
That whole thing about everyone living in peace and bliss was proving to be quite the charmer.
Perhaps I could entice more in by offering to lighten the tax on them. Merchants would surely jump at that.
But at any rate, with this, I had a.s.sured that Avalon wouldn"t be destroyed from within. Believers of the Rigdolg Faith should find it harder to move now.
Other than staving off that threat, I stood to gain at least two other things from founding this religion.
First, if I were to hold a daily prayer meeting, I could gain tremendous amounts of strong emotions. It might just actually be my most efficient source emotions to feed on.
Secondly, it could serve as a valuable card during my negotiation with the royal family.
Be that as it may, this is only just the beginning. Things are bound to be a whole lot hectic from now on.
While stifling down a smile, I made my way back.
Now that I was on equal footing with the [Black] Demon Lord, I looked forward to his next move.
As I thought of such, a blue bird perched itself on my shoulder.
"Thank goodness. As expected of the [Dragon] Demon Lord, he"s so reasonable."
In addition to the religion plan, I had another move that was ongoing. That other plan was apparently going nicely, I should add.
Right now, I was fully prepared to welcome and deal with the royal family.
Note: I’ve decided to use [Divine Revelation] instead of [Divine Oracle]. Just a personal choice.