"I'm back!"
Melody, who had retrieved the Magic Book, rode the waves into the air and then leapt onto Loren's ship.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
Where she had just been heroic, she was now pitiful. She slammed onto the deck, multiple abrasions across her body, especially on her tail.
"Why did you do that?"
Loren picked Melody up and placed her into the prepared fish tank. He honestly couldn't understand why she had done such a thing.
"Because I realized my persona in your eyes has completely collapsed. I wanted to look cool and salvage a little image."
"……"
That reason made sense. Loren had no rebuttal.
As he spoke, Loren administered a Healing Potion to Melody.
Loren's Healing Potion had no side effects; it could be drunk like a beverage.
"Yes! Of course I want to go!"
Hearing the God of Light and Fire, Melody became excited.
"Aside from pirates, the Church of Light and Fire slaughters more Merfolk than anyone else.
"Pirates capture Merfolk to sell them, but those people kill for killing's sake. They want to drive Merfolk to extinction..."
The God of Light and Fire's territory was also coastal. Their ships always carried combatants; while clearing pirates they also killed Merfolk on sight.
"Alright, then come with us."
"How do you plan to deal with them? Is there anything I can do to help?"
Mentioning fighting the Church of Light and Fire immediately sharpened Melody's attention.
"We'll use the Outer Gods... It's better you don't know the details. It's easy to be tainted by the Outer Gods."
"Don't worry about that. My charm prevents me from being tainted or controlled."
Melody showed the Inverted Cross Pendant at her chest. The gemstone at its center emitted a faint glow.
"Even Merfolk get tainted if they stay long in the sea, so we usually don't leave our territory for long. Only a Merfolk Princess wearing a pendant can remain away for extended periods."
"Alright..."
Since Melody said so, Loren saw no need to avoid the topic with her.
"This trip isn't just to disgust the God of Light and Fire, it's also to weaken Them.
"They are very cautious. Their slaughter of Merfolk likely stems from seeing Merfolk as a threat. Other gods aren't as careful, so I decided to weaken Them first."
Saying this, Loren put a sheet of paper on the table beside the fish tank and began writing and drawing.
Melody craned her head to see what Loren was writing.
"Hit a snake's vital point. The God of Light and Fire's cohesion comes not only from brute force, but from their self-righteous sense of justice and courage.
"In their eyes, their aggression is justice, their slaughter is courage."
In a sense, the God of Light and Fire's followers were even more sanctimonious than the people of the Canaan Kingdom—just different directions, but both were unpleasant.
"So, we shatter their courage. Lose courage, and their faith weakens.
"Then, even if the God of Light and Fire can maintain order by force, it won't matter."
Loren explained his plan. Melody listened attentively, growing more excited.
"What's our concrete plan?"
At Melody's question, Loren wrote one name on the paper: the God of Fear, Ignafas.
Loren had used Its power before; that time he had directly killed an angel of the God of Plague.
At the same time, when Loren switched the World Card to the Angler's ability, a figure appeared beside him—the angel who had been killed earlier. Its soul was now controlled by Loren.
Loren wasn't worried the God of Light and Fire could track him through the angel's soul. He still had the Hermit Card, and the Tarot of the Perpetual Observer far outranked the Orthodox Gods.
"Unlike other angels, the God of Light and Fire, to display Its military might, often has Its angels walk the mortal world, so Their followers are very familiar with several of Those angels."
Other Orthodox Gods were lofty and distant. The God of Light and Fire acted more like a tyrant; Its attitude toward followers differed from other gods.
"If, under those circumstances, they learned of an angel's tragic death, what would they think?"
"You're a genius! How can I help?"
Melody couldn't help but admire Loren's cunning, eager to take part.
"This plan only needs me. You can just think of it as touring the Holy Flame Empire."
Loren controlled the Angel of Light and flew it toward the distance. To prevent mishaps, Loren severed the angel's own thoughts; now it would only act on Loren's instructions.
Loren wasn't afraid of anyone noticing the Angler's fishing lines. If they discovered them, it would only heighten their fear.
A high-ranking angel, controlled by a fish.
...
The sea voyage was dull; once the novelty wore off, boredom remained.
During this time Loren hadn't heard news of Headmaster Casper; the Endless Ocean was huge after all.
In this unfamiliar place, Lilith was anxious and clung to Loren.
Perhaps because Loren had repeatedly cut his finger to feed Lilith blood, she developed a feeling like nursing in a mother's arms. She clung to Loren more and had picked up the habit of nibbling his fingers—like a child.
As a result, Loren found it inconvenient to do other things. The others had to "use words, not hands"...
"Master, we're almost there..."
Movila excitedly found Loren. Her clones flew ahead and had already spotted the continent.
"But it's chaotic over there. It should be the God of Freedom's territory, not the God of Light and Fire's."
"Perfect. We can check the God of Freedom's side on the way."
If the God of Light and Fire made a move, They would likely strike the God of Freedom first. There would be signs before any war, so Loren could investigate.
"Melody, you should go by sea to the God of Light and Fire's side and prepare to support us.
"I can push the fish tank ashore. With cognitive concealment, you won't be discovered. It just won't be convenient if you have to escape in a hurry."
"Alright..."
Melody was a little disappointed but ultimately jumped into the sea and bade Loren farewell.
Meanwhile, the ghost ship had already docked. After Loren and the others disembarked, the ghost ship sank into the sea.
Loren kept the Hermit Card active. The people at the harbor didn't notice them. Loren blended into the crowd coming off a passenger ship.
Many of those people were tourists; the largest group were from the Nofica Theocracy.
"Ah... the scent of freedom!"
A tourist from the Nofica Theocracy walked along the harbor, set down her handbag, and spread her arms to feel the sea breeze.
"I have finally escaped Nofica's stale dogma and come to the free kingdom of Elecia!"
No sooner had she said that than a thief ran past and snatched her suitcase. As she turned, someone ripped off one of her earrings, tearing her earlobe.
Amid her screams, Loren calmly entered Elecia, the coastal nation that worshiped the God of Freedom.