It is best to have a clear target when becoming a god.
Like the High God, a “god who made the world” that people can easily accept, or like a god of blacksmiths that clearly targets a specific profession for recruitment as devotees.
Since power increases in proportion to the number of believers, you cannot compete with the High God if you are a half-baked deity.
You could not defeat the High God by number of devotees, but you had to be threatening enough to the opponent.
In the present situation, the most effective choice was a god who could become “hope” for humans.
For example, repeatedly causing wars across the world and then becoming the “god of peace.” Or spreading a terrible plague and becoming the “god of health.”
Is there any method to gain strong faith stronger than handing people precisely what they earnestly wish for when they are in the deepest despair?
However, this method had the problem that it would be hard for Xion to prove that he himself was that god.
Since Reinhild’s life was on the line, Xion did not want to gamble. Rather than several middling means, he needed one sure thing.
So after much thought he decided on the “god of plenty.”
Xion had worked the fields without rest for the past 500 years for this day.
Until he made Audrit into a land of plenty.
And Xion was the very master of that land of plenty.
“A god of farmers and a god of plenty are about the same, then.”
Reinhild decided to keep it simple.
“But would there not already be something like a ‘god of plenty’ even now. Does it not exist?”
“Of course an existing god of plenty does exist.”
“Can you become a god that already exists?”
“If that god’s influence is strong, it is difficult, but the god of plenty is on the weaker side. Merely spreading the rumor that the god of plenty is the master of Audrit would easily let me overlay the existing god.”
The already existing entity called the god of plenty would be absorbed by Xion as is.
If the god of plenty’s influence became considerable in the future, he could assert the logic that the god of plenty is in fact the god who governs the world, and even swallow the High God.
Of course this method carried various risks, and if done poorly, the High God could absorb him instead, so it could not be attempted rashly.
But the mere fact that Xion had already absorbed a god once would be enough to put pressure on the High God.
“That is strange. Humans like eating so much, so why is the god of plenty weak?”
“The privileged class who enjoy an environment suitable for religious activity want delicious produce to appear on their table and the money to buy it to swell, not for the land to be fertile and the crops to grow well.”
“But there are humans in farming villages like Root too. Why do those humans not believe in the god of plenty?”
“In out-of-the-way villages like this there are no temples built, so it is hard to believe in various gods. For that reason they end up believing in the best-known High God.”
Rather than hoping the god of rain will bring an appropriate amount of rain, the god of pests will make pests disappear, and the god of the mountain will keep monsters from coming down the mountain, it was more convenient to gather all wishes together and ask the High God.
Seen one way, the High God felt like that much of an unreachable opponent, but Xion intended to turn this point to his advantage.
He would push forward step by step from the countryside where the High God’s influence reached less, by putting forth the name of “a god who is in charge of everything related to farming.”
He had already built several temples in the city of Audrit and surrounding villages.
All that remained was to bring the “god of plenty” before the world.
“I will announce to the world that all of Audrit’s produce has received the blessing of the god of plenty. Since Audrit is known as a land of plenty, it will be easy to engrave that image in people’s minds and the rumor will spread quickly.”
“What if Xion fails to absorb the god of plenty and only ends up doing something good for the original god?”
“Have you heard it said that there is another master in Audrit apart from the Count of Audrit?”
“Another master?”
A certain book came to mind.
The Land of Plenty, Audrit by an author named Neria.
That book stated that Audrit has a separate real owner and that it was entirely thanks to that “one’s” protection that Audrit could become a land of plenty.
“Do not tell me that is Xion.”
“That is correct. If I make use of that name already known to the world, absorbing the god of plenty will not be difficult.”
Audrit, which became a land of plenty because it is ruled by the god of plenty known as “that one.”
It is easy to understand and intuitive, so it is easy to engrave in the minds of people in rural villages who dislike complicated things.
If the saying spreads, “If you believe in the god of plenty, you can cultivate high-quality crops like those from Audrit,” then even in other villages where farming is the main source of income, people will come to believe in the existence of the god of plenty.
“After that we will build temples in cities outside Audrit as well and distribute grain to the poor in the name of the god of plenty.”
If some unknown group hands out food, should that not create faith, or should people get angry, asking whether they are being looked down on.
As a Demon King, it was behavior Reinhild could not understand, but he nodded as if roughly understanding.
Come to think of it, even when he was not close to Reinhild, Xion would bring food first and push it forward.
If he remembered how lethally delicious it was to the point he suspected an attempt to poison the Demon King, it did not feel all that unpleasant, so perhaps for humans that was a sign of friendliness.
“To those who can barely earn enough to live day by day, a small helping hand feels huge. Their faith toward the god of plenty grows larger than toward the High God who has never once helped their lives. Even if there are those who feel backlash because of good deeds, it does not matter. If that backlash is carved deep in their minds, that in itself becomes power for a god.”
“But you said most who believe in the High God are the wealthy. If we are going to reduce the High God’s devotees, should we not target that side rather than rural humans.”
“That is why at this point we will halt all distribution of Audrit’s agricultural products. In the name of the god of plenty.”
“Eh.”
Reinhild could not understand.
At the very time when rural humans had just begun to believe in the god of plenty, should they not spread produce even more actively?
“The nobles have already become accustomed to ingredients from Audrit. What will happen if one day they suddenly cannot eat them?”
“There will be an uproar.”
If from tomorrow Reinhild were told to eat food made by someone other than Xion rather than Xion’s delicious cooking, anger would surge up.
Delicious cuisine is this frightening.
“Even when we blocked outside distribution of produce for a very brief time before, there was an uproar. If that period becomes longer, great chaos will come. There may be a reaction like, ‘Even if he is a god, is it acceptable to torment us like this.’”
“Is that not a bad thing.”
“It is a very positive reaction.”
It seemed like pure negativity, so how could this be a positive reaction.
“The thought ‘the god of plenty is tormenting us’ is, even if unconsciously, no different from acknowledging the existence of the god of plenty. They might not care if some specific god or his devotees perform good deeds, but the threat to their enjoyment of eating will feel serious.”
“Originally, beings that are a threat linger more deeply in memory than those that are helpful.”
Reinhild nodded vigorously.
“Next, we will distribute produce only to cities that have a temple of the god of plenty. Then the nobles will take the lead in trying to build temples.”
“There will be humans who try to become devotees in order to procure produce.”
Humans in the upper classes, including nobles and wealthy merchants, believed in the High God because they lacked for nothing.
Thus Xion decided to create a lack for them.
For that he created fertile land over 500 years that could cultivate grains and fruits worthy of the name land of plenty, and actively distributed Audrit produce to the capital and other large cities, completely changing the nobles’ palates.
The moment they, instead of spewing complaints toward the god of plenty, pray to the god of plenty in order to enjoy the same benefits as devotees will be the very moment when power is taken from the High God.
He knew well that merely becoming a god did not automatically mean he could defeat the High God.
So Xion did not stop training, thinking only of the day when he would drive his sword into the High God with his own hand.
Originally, Xion’s fate had bound him so that he could not become stronger than a Demon King, but when he was stripped of the title of Hero, he became able to gain strength beyond that.
If a divine rank were added to that, even if he could not completely erase the High God, could he not at least pose a threat?
If he did not give up and kept swinging his sword toward the High God, someday the day would come when he would drive the Hero’s Sword that god bestowed straight into his heart.
And that day would be the day he took Reinhild back.
Xion pulled Reinhild tightly into his arms.
Even while grumbling that it was stifling, Reinhild did not push Xion away. Instead he put his arms around Xion’s back and hugged him in return.
Perhaps because Reinhild was so very lovable, Xion hesitated to speak his next words.
“However, there is a very big problem with this plan.”
“A problem?”
Following Xion’s grave expression, Reinhild also became grave.
Could it be that Xion would be hurt or fall ill? There were no side effects or aftereffects in the process of becoming a god, were there.
What should he do then? He hated Xion being in pain. Should he practice how to nurse him?
In the tense atmosphere, Xion cautiously spoke.
“I will have to be away from Rein for a while.”
“How could that be!”
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