Me, a priest? How could that be!

Chapter 37 The Incompetent Goddess

It's strange, really.

As soon as Charlotte signed her name to join the Axis Cult, the skill points required for "Divine Light Fist" in the skill section of her adventurer card instantly dropped from 100 to 1.

The barrier to entry for others to learn a skill remains the same, while mine has decreased a hundredfold.

Despite Aqua's repeated explanations that Charlotte was particularly suited to the skill, which was why the skill required so few points, Kazuma Sato still felt that the skill wasn't as powerful as he had imagined, and took the opportunity to constantly mock her.

The two began to attack and fight each other.

Charlotte's feelings are complex, filled with anxiety and uncertainty.

It's like sticking to a diet for months, only to eventually succumb to the temptation of hamburgers, fried chicken, and barbecue, causing all your hard work to be in vain.

Fortunately, he made a three-point agreement with Aqua.

She stated that even if she joined the Axis cult, she would not recruit people on the streets, would not blindly serve her, and would not do anything to harm the Eris cult.

Aqua said she could accept it all.

In fact, her goal was not that Charlotte should not join the Axis cult, nor did she care whether she believed in her; what she cared about was that her position in the squad should not be taken away.

The necessary condition for returning to the Heavenly Realm is to defeat the Demon King, but if she is not involved in this process, who can guarantee that we can return after the defeat is over?

"Hmph hmph hmph~"

Aqua, tossing Charlotte's cult membership application around, said smugly to Kazuma Sato, "So, Kazuma, now you won't invite Charlotte to join the team, right? Besides, with a goddess as powerful as me helping you, you should be grateful and believe in me!"

"You've got one thing wrong, Aqua."

"What?"

"I don't value the High Priest of the Church of Eris; I value Charlotte herself. Besides, even if he becomes a follower of the Axis, he still has more common sense than you! So Charlotte, join the team."

"Why?!"

Everything Aqua did was in vain.

One person's conversion leads to the injury of two others.

Aqua wanted to shout something more, but Kazuma Sato had no interest in listening to her anymore. He grabbed her and, along with Darkness, Megumin, and the others, said goodbye to Charlotte and left.

It seems like they'll come and bother us again later.

Charlotte lay sprawled on the union's table, listlessly fiddling with his wine glass. No one knew what he was thinking, though his eye would twitch occasionally, as if he were contemplating something unpleasant.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

The sound came from behind.

"What's wrong, Charlotte? Why do you always look so gloomy whenever I see you? You're a priest, aren't you? You'll be disliked by the believers who seek your help."

"...It's Chris."

"I'm here! May I sit here?"

"please."

Chris sat down beside him and said, "Oh dear, I rushed here as soon as I heard it was cabbage harvest season, but I still missed it. It's all because someone insisted that I come along, and that's why I missed such an important holiday."

"I'm sorry. It's not exactly compensation, but I'll treat you to a vegetable salad. Big sister, over here! Vegetable salad and sparkling wine, please!"

"Really!? Thank you!"

The thief girl grinned triumphantly.

Although she was suspected of trying to freeload, Charlotte had indeed delayed Chris's work, so this could be considered an apology and... compensation.

Chris was eating a vegetable salad.

The delicious, fresh cabbage lifted her spirits, washing away all the fatigue from her recent hard work. It was just Charlotte's gaze that made her inexplicably uncomfortable.

Because those were eyes filled with struggle, torment, guilt, and sympathy.

"W-What are you doing, staring at me like that?"

"It's okay, just eat as much as you want."

"oh oh……"

But that look in his eyes became even more obvious.

"Please, Charlotte," Chris couldn't take it anymore, "your eyes remind me of the way a noblewoman's wife, who was having an affair, looked at her husband when I visited her home before—it's almost exactly the same! Seriously, what's wrong with you!?"

"I...I..."

Charlotte hesitated for a long time.

Finally, he told her the whole story of how he joined the Axis cult.

And so on, and so forth.

"...You're lying, right?" Chris's eyes widened, the vegetable salad in front of her suddenly lost its appeal, and she stammered, "You said...you joined the Axis Cult?!"

"It's alright, Chris. Although my body has joined the Axis Cult, my heart still belongs to the Eris Cult!"

"That's what that philandering noblewoman's wife said too!"

Chris felt like crying.

She was like an incompetent husband, whose beloved was given away to a cuckold by his senior.

I went first!

I was here first!

Whether it's becoming friends or getting him into church, I was the one who started it... Why... why did it turn out like this...?

I don't know why.

My eyes suddenly felt a little wet.

"So," Charlotte said, clasping her hands together in a pleading manner, "Chris, can you forgive me?"

"Hmph, hmph..."

Chris turned away, secretly wiping her eyes, and said in a tone that was both arrogant and dissatisfied, "This kind of thing has nothing to do with me. Joining the Axis Cult is Eris's business, isn't it?"

"No, that's not how it is."

Charlotte shook her head, and said very seriously, "Just like before, I don't care what the goddess Eris thinks, I care what Chris thinks, so... can you forgive me?"

He looked directly into her eyes with sincerity.

It is said that sincerity is the ultimate weapon. Although Chris had some dissatisfaction in her heart, she softened and chose to forgive Charlotte after seeing her like this.

The reincarnated person before me cannot learn skills, despite having made tremendous efforts to achieve this.

She knew about this.

She also knows how powerful the goddess's exclusive skill "Divine Light Fist" is, and she is also very skilled at this move.

Unfortunately, she wasn't her original form descended to the mortal realm.

This allowed Aqua to take advantage of the situation.

Chris looked at Charlotte, a strange feeling rising within her, and couldn't help but ask, "Charlotte, do you know me—"

"Actually, I also had the idea of ​​leaving the Axis cult, and I have taken action to do so."

"...What?"

"Yes, I tried it."

Charlotte said.

He had been thinking of using a blank ticket.

Now that you've learned "Divine Light Fist," is it okay to leave the church?

That's just how people in China are.

If it works, I'll give it a try; if it doesn't, then get lost.

Furthermore, at the time, Kazuma Sato stated that what he needed was Charlotte, and it didn't matter whether the title preceding it was the Church of Eris or the Church of Axis, so he only needed to slightly deceive Aqua to get her to agree.

However, it didn't work.

His skills didn't allow him to exploit any loopholes.

Once you leave the church, your skills are immediately sealed. This time, you can't even use 100 skill points, which makes Charlotte beat her chest in frustration, feeling that she has accidentally cut off her way out.

"How could this be...?"

Chris finally understood.

Charlotte didn't actually have any reverence for the goddess, nor did he have any faith in her. No wonder he kept saying he didn't care about Eris's opinion, but only about his own.

But this leads to a problem.

If Aqua can use her skills to lure Charlotte into joining the church, then naturally others can too.

No, we can't just leave it like this!

We need to do something!