I, the Geo Archon Morax with 2.1 Billion Mora, Have Joined a Chat Group [278]

“Greetings.”

Zhongli gave the old man before him a slight nod.

There was no arrogance in the gesture, nor did he appear devoid of human emotion.

He looked at Dustin the Sixty-First, who was half-kneeling on the ground, just as an ordinary human might. Taking two steps forward, he extended his hand.

The gesture caught Dustin clearly off guard.

He had imagined countless scenarios for what meeting a god might be like—but never had he considered the possibility that a god would reach out a hand to help him up.

Still, he was a man of quick thinking—one who had risen through the trials of human calamity to become the Pope of the Divine Word Faith and lead a shattered people back to civilization.

“Thank you for your kindness, O mighty Dragon of Stone.”

Grasping Zhongli’s offered hand, Dustin rose to his feet without hesitation.

He didn’t lose himself in emotion. Instead, he bowed his head slightly and said with reverence, “Great Dragon of Stone, allow me to formally introduce the high-ranking leaders of the Holy Areus Papal Nation.”

He gestured toward a man whose enormous belly could probably float a one-man canoe. “This is our Minister of Finance. He—”

“There’s no need for introductions.”

Zhongli gently raised a hand. “I came not to interfere, but merely to inform you of my arrival.”

Dustin clearly froze for a moment—then a chill swept through him from the depths of his soul.

His eyes trembled. In a voice barely audible, a near-plea meant only for Zhongli’s ears, he asked:

“But didn’t you say... you made a wager with the high administrator, Lady D? That she chose the demons, and you chose us humans?”

“Have you... already given up on us?”

Zhongli, of course, understood Dustin’s fears.

He shook his head slightly. “Not at all.”

“Rather, I’ve devised a better method than issuing direct commands or guiding humanity myself. Of course, from a rational standpoint, this method has yet to be tested by time or proven in practice. I’m still refining it.”

At those words, Dustin clearly exhaled in relief.

With cautious hope in his expression, he asked, “Then... will you be entering the city? The Papal Palace is modest, but still fairly comfortable. We mortals also have many questions we’d like to ask you, if you would indulge us...”

“Hmm...” Zhongli gently declined with a shake of his head. “I won’t be going in.”

“I came here not only to meet with you, but also to ask you to notify the rest of the human nations. Have them prepare themselves mentally.”

“Prepare?” Dustin blinked, then asked, “My lord... prepare for what, exactly?”

“There’s no need for you to know just yet. I haven’t completed all of the necessary arrangements. The event will begin on the first day of the next month—New Year’s Day—after the human and demon territories are officially separated.”

“When the time comes, everything will be conveyed to you through Divine Word.”

Noticing the flicker of anxiety in Dustin’s gaze, Zhongli added calmly, “You needn’t worry. By all rational standards, I am not an evil god. I am a righteous deity, one who safeguards peoples and nations. Compared to D, I value the sanctity of human life far more.”

At this, Dustin fell silent.

He looked as though he still had something he wanted to say—but before the words could form, the scene before his eyes rippled like water, and the god who had moments ago stood so vividly before him vanished without a trace.

—Teleportation magic?

The thought flickered through his mind, only to be dismissed just as quickly.

No... This felt like something far more powerful than any teleportation magic. Possibly something beyond even the skill system itself...

Several minutes passed after Zhongli and Kumoko departed before Dustin finally exhaled a long breath.

He called for the rest of the Holy Areus officials, still kneeling in stunned reverence, to rise.

Even now, most of them seemed dazed, as if caught in a lingering dream.

Among them, the very same Minister of Finance he had singled out earlier—the most foolish of the fools—was still hovering by his side, dabbing sweat and grease from his thick forehead with a silk handkerchief. As he did, he asked:

“Your Holiness, that must’ve been the god behind our Divine Word Faith, right?”

—Utterly foolish. Did he not know the Divine Word they worship came from a female deity?

—No... Even this idiot wouldn’t forget something so basic.

—Could it be he’s testing me?

—Trying to see if the god behind the Divine Word has changed?

Dustin’s thoughts spun, but outwardly he wore a carefully measured smile—one that hid his true feelings flawlessly.

“Archbishop Glaret,” he said, voice as placid as ever, “you of all people should know that the Divine Word we receive comes from a gracious goddess. If your atrophied brain still retains that fact—if your theological training as a bishop hasn’t entirely fled your mind—you wouldn’t be asking such a question.”

“My apologies, my deepest apologies.”

The rotund man quickly stepped back, bowing low again and again. “I’ll redouble my theological studies once I return, Your Holiness. But... I’m still confused. Just what is the connection between that divine being and our Divine Word goddess? Why would such a great existence appear so suddenly, glance at us once, and leave just like that?”

“As Pope, surely you know more than we do, don’t you?”

Glaret pressed further, step by step.

Of course Dustin knew the truth. Zhongli—the Dragon of Stone—had explained everything in full.

But he had no intention of revealing anything to the greedy, power-hungry fool before him.

“Archbishop Glaret,” Dustin said coldly, “mind your tongue. Even if I do know more than you, such knowledge is reserved for the Pope alone. I understand your eagerness to inherit the seat after my death—before Dustin the Sixty-Second is old enough to ascend.”

“But right now, you have no such right.”

And with that, Dustin turned without another word and walked back through the city gates toward the Papal Palace.

He had many things left to do.

He needed to inform the other nations of the god’s descent.

He needed to prepare them for the inevitable war—ten years from now, a war between humans and demons that would not end until one side was utterly destroyed.

He was already old.
And these tasks would take every last ounce of strength he had.

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