I, Karen, was cooperating with the Chronos Religion's inquiry.
Currently, the Archbishop of the Chronos Religion was hospitalized.
He had suffered bone fractures from an attack by the Calamity God—an existence classified among us as an other-dimensional organism.
Due to his advanced age, his hospital stay was dragging on.
It seemed there was even a chance he might simply retire.
However, for the Chronos Religion as a whole, it was not such a bad outcome.
The fact that the entity had launched a physical attack against the Archbishop meant that their hymns and prayers were having an effect.
At the very least, Saint Tatiana had emerged as the sole person among them completely unscathed.
The Taikyoku Nation baseball cheering squad had also sustained numerous lacerations, though thankfully they were minor injuries.
Her Majesty Emperor Shi-yun of Taikyoku, who had stood at the forefront, suffered cuts as well.
Lady Shi-yun put on a brave smile and remarked, "I am also a soldier. Something of this degree does not even count as an injury."
It was said that the citizens of Taikyoku Nation were moved to tears by Lady Shi-yun's growth.
As her friend, I too was nothing short of astonished by how much she had matured.
From a guardian's perspective, I was deeply touched, thinking, Look at how much she's grown...
I had ended up crying in spite of myself.
And right then, I snapped out of it and came to a realization.
That was the classic behavior of an old lady.
...Am I going to keep drifting closer and closer to becoming an old lady like this?
N-No, I'm barely at the age where I could be called an old lady...
Though from Lady Shi-yun's perspective, I probably seem like one...
It's true that I'm older than my husband, Lord Leo!
But the oldest one of all is Polina-san, you know!
After all, Polina-san belongs to a long-lived species!
Even if she refuses to tell me her exact age!
Even if she'll only give me the converted equivalent in our years!
Since Polina-san had also been shedding tears of emotion, I tried asking her about turning into an old lady, taking care not to be rude.
"I've already given up on that♪"
You've given up on it?!
Girl, you just threw in the towel?!
So on the inside, you're totally an old lady, aren't you?!
I couldn't stop the internal retort.
"Um... Governor-General Karen?"
"Ah, yes! What was it again?"
I snapped back to reality.
I had gotten caught up in my mental commentary after remembering our conversation.
Yes, we should have learned our lesson by now.
It's far more advantageous to play the oblivious, chaotic fool like Lord Leo does.
I'd rather have the Kamishiro clan members stay as the straight men as much as possible!
The priest conducting the hearing looked troubled.
He was a fairly young priest.
The average age of the Chronos Religion had dropped significantly.
It had reached the point where young men like him were thrust into managerial positions.
It was just like me serving as the Governor-General of Repsitore.
I felt a little sympathy for him.
"D-Did Repsitore... already know about the existence of the Calamity God?"
Why bring that up now, of all times?
"While we were not aware of the Star God itself, we had already determined that organisms from another world existed."
"Why did you keep that hidden?!"
"We did not keep it hidden."
"What?"
"Take this paper, for instance."
I produced a printed copy of a Repsitore astrophysics paper.
Unless one was a specialist, they likely wouldn't understand a single word starting from the very first line.
Naturally, I didn't understand it either.
My field of expertise was politics and economics.
"And this over here is a guide for laypeople."
It was a back issue of Monthly Maa.
From about five years ago, if I recall correctly.
Maa was an occult magazine.
Even so, its breakdowns of cutting-edge astrophysics papers were completely serious.
In Repsitore, one could not simply dismiss this sort of publication.
Even for entertainment, it wouldn't sell unless the creators went all out.
God Was Real! Cutting-Edge Astrophysics Research Reveals the True Form of God!
Seeing the headline, the priest's expression clouded over.
"...Are you serious about this?"
"Completely serious. This is simply the kind of nation ours is."
When it comes to topics of interest, specialists clash with dead-serious academic papers.
For topics that draw no interest, no one will read about them unless they are packaged as entertainment.
Capitalism devoid of morals.
That was Repsitore.
Even with stocks or politics, people who aren't interested only consume information when it's presented as entertainment.
If anything, Lord Leo—who reads books and academic papers on subjects he isn't even interested in—is the abnormal one.
"Could you perhaps instruct this ignorant junior on the contents?"
"I don't fully comprehend it myself, but since it is a discipline that unravels things that cannot be observed through mathematical formulas to begin with... the conclusion is that we knew of their existence from these equations. Taking it a step further to illustrate the shape of the other world itself is this diagram right here..."
I hadn't brought a physicist along.
There was no point in making one debate a religious figure.
In the first place, they were unsuited for this kind of setting.
I suppose in the Galactic Empire, there might be people who were both religious figures and physicists, but...
Lepsitolians were fundamentally atheists.
If anything, we were adherents of a mathematical faith, believing that everything could be unraveled through equations.
Lately, though, the Latarnia Religion and Chronos Religion—which conduct funerals—as well as Shinto and Buddhism, seemed to be on the rise.
I suppose that meant we, too, were being influenced by Lord Leo.
To discover a demand that we had ignored for so many long years... he truly is a terrifying man.
He probably isn't thinking about anything in particular himself.
No... he understands it on instinct.
Absolute atheism is simply untenable.
Even if unraveled through mathematical formulas, a god remains a god.
It does not mean that we have become gods ourselves.
The consequence of that arrogance was our disastrous, crushing defeat in the battle against a god.
We were utterly helpless.
It amounted to complete humiliation right in front of Taikyoku Nation.
Normally, I would have had to commit seppuku.
Thanks to Lord Leo prohibiting seppuku and punitive suicide when Repsitore was annexed, I managed to keep my life.
Though I was disgraced, as long as I live, there remains a chance to restore my honor.
To that end, we must step outside of rationality just a little—just the slightest bit.
The Chronos Religion priest groaned.
He probably didn't understand.
We were simply too far ahead in this field.
"I-I shall take this back with me for now."
"Before that, I recommend consulting with His Majesty Leo and Empress Veronica. It ought to be researched collaboratively by the Galactic Empire, Chronos, and Repsitore."
Why had we failed?
Rather than dwelling on subjective notions like religious devotion, we needed an objective investigation into what we lacked.
The Taikyoku Nation cheering squad, the Galactic Empire's Grand Sumo.
We had to search for commonalities among them.
In the meantime, I'll foster a professional basketball league.
If that allows us to stand against gods, investing in sports is practically free.
O God.
We shall make you regret humiliating us snakes.
A snake forgets neither a favor nor a grudge.
Ah, this is starting to get fun.
To think that rebuilding after a painful defeat could be so enjoyable!
If you lose, it's over.
That mindset was flawed.
Tasting the bitterness of defeat.
That is what makes us stronger.
Let me offer my gratitude to His Majesty for making me realize that.