The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 283

“Lord Ciel, are you looking for me?”

After the door opened, Tara stepped past Avena and quickly walked to Ciel, lowering her head.

At this moment, Tara was wearing a delicate white church robe, with a black cloak embroidered with golden patterns draped over her. It looked as if the robes of the Divine Advent Church and the Church of the Savior Goddess were mixed and matched.

This was the first time Ciel had seen Tara dressed so formally… But this serious attire on the petite Tara unexpectedly gave off a strange feeling—one simply couldn’t associate Tara with the words “high-ranking and powerful.”

Tara seemed to not have seen Ciel for a while, so her emotions were a little stirred. Ciel looked at Tara before her and slowly said, “How are things with the church?”

Ciel wanted to confirm whether there had been any troublesome issues after the church merger.

“Very smoothly, Lord Ciel.” Tara slightly raised her head, looking at Ciel’s chin, trying not to make direct eye contact with Ciel. She said respectfully, “Those high-ranking officials of the Church of the Savior Goddess, after seeing the Divine Servant, all expressed that they would obey the Divine Servant’s will.”

“The Pope of the Church of the Savior Goddess has also retired behind the scenes and no longer manages the affairs of the Church of the Savior Goddess. Currently, Percy is liaising with Cardinal Madeline and Archbishop Eleanor. Everything is currently merging in an orderly manner.”

The church re-merger was, after all, a big matter. It couldn’t be completely settled within a few months. It still required some time for consultation, and this was not only for the sake of the Savior Goddess and Divine Advent Churches but also for their respective believers.

Ciel confidently left these detailed matters to Tara, so she didn’t press further. She only needed some general changes.

After listening to Tara’s explanation, Ciel subtly nodded, then continued to ask, “What about North Ansu? Have they caused you any trouble? And the Church of the God of Order?”

After Tara pondered her words for a moment, she said, “North Ansu is progressing in an orderly fashion…”

Listening to Tara’s account, Ciel learned the general situation in North Ansu.

The merged Church of the Savior Goddess did not choose to change its name, for the sake of its original large base of believers. This was also to make it more acceptable to the believers in North Ansu.

Under the name of the Church of the Savior Goddess, they began to spread the antidote for the “Rotting Disease” in North Ansu, spraying the diluted antidote on all infected lands as much as possible.

In addition, both the Savior Goddess and Divine Advent denominations began sending volunteers to North Ansu on a large scale to help the famine-stricken people. They set up dozens of relief points, distributing relief food to refugees daily, trying to ensure they wouldn’t starve.

Of course, a large portion of this relief food was donated by Charles and Prime Minister William, in the name of Princess Vitalis, which earned Princess Vitalis considerable renown in North Ansu.

Suffering North Ansu was an excellent breeding ground for “Ascetics” and “Missionaries.” If it weren’t for Forte and the Society of Merriment in North Ansu’s obstruction, the Church of the Savior Goddess would have gone there long ago.

This was not only for doctrine but also for advancement.

In North Ansu now, on the transcendent level, news of church attendants advancing to “Ascetics” or priests advancing to “Missionaries” returned frequently, reporting constant victories.

On the ordinary human level, several stories of Church of the Savior Goddess pastors helping people also spread widely, and a phenomenal figure appeared, almost universally praised, even reported by the news in the capital, Ansu.

He was an attendant of the Church of the Savior Goddess who daily helped and guided disaster victims on how to treat contaminated land, even distributing his own basic food to the affected populace. In the end, he himself starved to death in a relief point piled with food.

Although it was known he was completing the reconstitution ritual of an “Ascetic,” ordinary people could not carry it out to the end like him. The church also posthumously awarded him the title of “Saint,” an honor no one had enjoyed in decades.

The land was recovering, the affected populace received help, and the power of the Church of the Savior Goddess was growing rapidly… This side seemed to have no problems whatsoever.

“What about the Divine Advent Church?” Ciel continued to ask, “Has not changing the name, and the power distribution, caused any dissatisfaction among them?”

“No.” Tara shook her head. “The church merger is the Divine Servant’s will. The Divine Servant’s will is the Mother Goddess’s will. They will naturally cooperate to their fullest… but…”

Ciel: “But?”

Tara: “But they indeed have some dissenting voices. Some mid-level bishops and high priests who haven’t personally witnessed the Divine Servant’s descent have begun to question the reality of the Divine Servant’s descent… because their prayers still receive no response, and there’s no sign that the Mother Goddess’s revival is real…”

Tara’s words made Ciel lower her head in thought.

This was indeed a problem…

It seems she’ll have to use the 【Omniscient】 ability…

Ciel could not directly modify the symbols of the Church of the Savior Goddess and make their prayers directed at herself. The prayers and murmurs of millions of people would probably cause her to collapse directly.

She could establish another cardinalate, elder council, or secret council within the church, creating a clandestine structure. Only those who entered it would gain the opportunity to pray to Ciel, along with new Goddess Church pendants.

Then, she could subtly absorb some individuals with extreme fanaticism towards the Mother Goddess. This way, she could both alleviate the concerns of those below and directly command the high- and mid-tier forces, exercising direct leadership.

As for how many people to accept into this “small group,” it would entirely depend on how many people Ciel’s mind could accommodate praying to her…

“This is easy to solve. I will give you some special pendants later. Praying to them will allow direct communication with the Mother Goddess.” Ciel said.

“Yes! Mother Goddess!” Tara’s eyes lit up.

She had never even thought that prayer could directly communicate with the Mother Goddess. Now that Ciel had said this, Tara was the most excited.

This way… even when busy, she would feel as if the Mother Goddess was always by her side…