Chapter 54 : A God Among Mortals

“Thank you, thank you…”

Arnus Count expressed endless gratitude and repeatedly bowed his head.

It was so intense that I, the one receiving the bow, felt burdened.

‘The city is also in chaos, so it would be best to return to the cliff for now.’

My presence had already been clearly demonstrated through the battle and the purification.

How they would accept me was now the task of the residents of the territory and the Count.

If I interfered with that, it would be wrong in many ways.

‘Then I wouldn’t be a god, but a monarch.’

Gods do not care about the little things. In my case, it’s more accurate to say that I can’t care because I have no experience with divine beings.

Anyway, I had done everything I had to do.

I had planted the seeds of the Blue Dragon Church through Jonan and Rachel, and I had shown many acts that could be called the power of a god.

I had prepared the seeds and the fertilizer, so the rest had to be grown by those who would follow me.

In the future, I would only intervene directly in major events or deviations of the faction.

[Rachel.]

“Dragon.”

[When everything is finished, come to the cliff.]

“Why?”

[You’ll know when you get there.]

“Yes!”

In the meantime, I had to find a way to control Rachel’s power, and I also needed to concretely define my future direction.

Next to her, Aria… I didn’t need to call her, as I didn’t need to help her control her power.

“Dragon God, are you leaving?”

Perhaps sensing that I was about to move, the Count stopped bowing and asked me.

[The cliff of the eastern sea. That is where I am. If you have anything to convey… send it through the two children.]

I left behind the value of Rachel and Aria for the last time, then slowly ascended to the sky.

Unlike usual, I felt the gazes of many people. If human eyes shone, countless dots would have been shining in the city.

‘…It’s a strange feeling.’

It was not a feeling of being generally noticed, but of receiving the gazes of those looking at a god, or a being close to it, and countless emotions overlapped. Elation, a sense of conquest, etc., are blatant but not bad feelings.

With a more dignified gesture than usual, I dug through the clouds and headed for the cliff.

It’s been about 4 months since I was reincarnated as a blue dragon. I have started to get mixed up in this world in earnest.

“Co, Count! What the hell is that…!”

When the Dragon God disappeared, the servants around them asked questions mixed with fear.

“He’s a god.”

“Gasp!”

“A, a god…!”

It was as if time, which had stopped, had begun to flow again. That was how much of an impression the Dragon God had made on people.

‘…The residents of the territory must be the same.’

I had already seen the chaos before entering the mansion. But if the being who created that chaos appeared above their heads, how would they react?

Arnus Count felt the need to quickly quell their confusion.

“Count. First, we need to calm the people down.”

Jonan also expressed the same opinion. Arnus Count nodded and prepared to leave the mansion with the knights.

“Aria. I’m sorry, I can’t be by your side at a time like this.”

It was clear that she would be confused because she had received the power of God. But he couldn’t just watch the outside as a lord, so he had to leave her and go out to solve the work.

“I’m fine, Daddy. Go safely.”

Aria bowed her small head and saw off her father, who would be busy. The Count felt both sorry and grateful to such a daughter and quickly left.

The highest-ranking person left, and the servants’ attention was drawn to none other than Jonan.

The father of the child who healed their master and talked to her.

Seeing the people slowly approaching him, Jonan stepped back, and Aria, who had sent her father off, saved him.

“Father of Rachel. Would it be alright if I wanted to ask about the Dragon?”

“…Please call me Jonan. I have plenty of time.”

“Then let’s go!”

“Let’s go together!”

So, leaving behind those who looked at them with eyes that seemed to be going crazy with curiosity, the three entered the mansion.

The servants who were left outside were saved by the old maid, Mirey, who was quietly watching the situation.

“Come here, you children who are curious about God.”

The people of the Count’s residence gathered in front of her in an instant.

‘That day’ passed a few days.

During that time, the Count’s territory had many changes, the biggest of which was the atmosphere of the city.

The battle between two huge beings, the blue dragon and Rakallushad, had caused the people of the city to suffer from nightmares and fear.

It was clear that the blue dragon god was on the side of the Count’s territory, but the people’s reactions were different.

A huge dragon that suddenly appeared, 80 meters long, was treated the same as the ancient, larger monster.

The one who stepped forward was their lord, Arnus Craystist.

He went to the center of the city, which had become a mess, and calmed the people’s uproar and deified the blue dragon.

Of course, not everyone believed and followed his words from the beginning.

But when Aria Craystist, who should have been in bed, appeared and emitted divine power, public opinion changed in an instant.

It is truly the blessing of God.

It is the Holy Maiden of the Dragon God.

God has come down to watch over us, etc.

The city was filled with voices of praise in an instant.

In this way, the fact that the people of the Count’s territory were favorable to the Cheongnyongsingyo was a great help from the Craystist father and daughter, but in fact, there was another reason.

Recently, the bad events such as drought, the red moon, and the Count’s two-year absence overlapped in succession, and the atmosphere of the territory naturally became gloomy.

But suddenly, an unfamiliar being appeared, woke up the Count and his daughter, and defeated the huge red demon.

In addition, the words that Estel Village was able to have a good harvest only because of the grace of the Dragon God spread among the residents of the territory, and the farmers of the Count’s territory were shouting his name, creating a spectacular sight.

There are numerous gods on the Artera continent, and there are numerous religions that serve them.

Therefore, the blue dragon and the Cheongnyongsingyo were able to naturally blend into the residents of the territory.

As a result of the Cheongnyongsingyo being revealed, Estel Village also came to light, and some people who directly witnessed the battle of the blue dragon wanted to live in the village.

In the end, the village grew in size, and accordingly, Count Craystist began to provide additional support.

However, one problem was that the key figures who made up the Cheongnyongsingyo had no experience in running a religion.

Even their god, the blue dragon, was the same, and this was a problem that could lead to the collapse of the power in the future.

In the end, the first task given to them was to ‘build a framework’.

At night, when the moon shines its light across the other side of the sky, a man was quietly walking down the hallway of the mansion.

The man with a sword of blue ripples, Jonan, had just received a call from the Count a little while ago and was heading to his office.

It wasn’t too late for someone to call, but Jonan understood.

Because Count Arnus had been so busy handling all the territorial affairs that had been delayed for the past two years, it was difficult to meet him before the moon rose.

Besides, the matter being called now was sensitive, so it was a meeting at night when there were no people.

Creak.

“Count, did you call?”

“Jonan.”

The Count’s face, which had been working day and night for several days, was deeply tired. But because Aria had woken up from her sickbed, unlike the past two years, his expression was filled with joy.

“I’m sorry. I had so much work piled up that I had to call you now.”

“It’s alright. More than that, what did you want to talk about… Can I assume it’s what I’m thinking?”

“That’s right.”

The Count took a breath and then got up from his chair, saying,

“I want to talk about laying the foundation for the Blue Dragon Church.”

The Blue Dragon Church was still a precarious and small force. Officially, only Jonan and Rachel’s father and daughter were members, and the support base was only Estel Village, which had been saved before the Count’s family.

But in that situation, all the people of the barony had welcomed the god named Blue Dragon, and many people wanted to follow him.

But Jonan and his daughter didn’t have the power, experience, or authority to control those people, so if things went wrong, a new Blue Dragon Church could be established.

“So before that, we need to lay the foundation and announce it. So that those who will follow the Dragon God in the future will not be confused.”

“…I was thinking about it. But…”

“You were at a loss as to where to start, right? I’ll help you.”

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t even worry that you’ll be deprived of the glorious position of first knight. I am truly grateful to Him.”

“I don’t think that.”

“Is that so? That’s good.”

There was silence between the two for a moment. And the one who ended the silence was Arnus Count.

“Jonan.”

He looked straight into Jonan’s eyes and said,

“To put it bluntly. I don’t want to reveal the existence of the Miko.”

And the words that came flew in an instant, giving Jonan enough shock.