Goddess Kaleidoscope

"Of course I'm listening to you! Come to think of it, we've known each other for almost three years now, and you've kept all the promises you made back then. It would be really unreasonable for a goddess like me to renege on my promises."

"W-what did you say?"

“I said I would keep my promise. I’ve been avoiding you because I wasn’t mentally prepared, but now I am.”

"No, wait a minute... Do I need to be mentally prepared for this? Isn't it very simple? Aina, Shanis, and the three sisters were all done in a flash, very quickly."

Upon hearing Ludwig's words, Hume was startled, and dozens of gigabytes of terrible images flashed through his mind in an instant.

It was only then that Hume realized there seemed to be, probably, possibly some kind of communication gap between himself and Ludd, leading to misunderstandings. Hume thought to himself, "If you were really that brave, why would I need to go through all this trouble?"

To pinpoint the problem, Hume tentatively asked Ludd about the "commitment" part.

Lud scratched his head, somewhat puzzled, but still answered truthfully.

"It's about establishing a divinely chosen relationship, and then you grant me the highest level of access to divine power, just like Aina and the others."

"Is this the promise you've been chasing me for, demanding I fulfill?"

"What else? Besides, I really didn't chase after you for it! I just mentioned it casually that day, and I never expected you to turn around and run away. Apart from this, have we made any other promises?"

"I'm fucking..."

He suddenly realized that it was all a misunderstanding, and that he had been blushing and his heart was pounding for half a month because of this misunderstanding. In the end, he even went to Ludd's room in the middle of the night with this outfit, which almost made Hume faint from anger.

Ludwig remained puzzled. Rather than saying he had forgotten what he and Hume had said, it was more accurate to say that he had always taken it as a joke between friends and never taken it seriously.

Silence fell over the room. Then, Hume abruptly rose, expressionless, tilted his head back, and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp. He then strode towards the door and pressed his hand against it. A powerful divine force instantly unleashed itself, forming a formidable barrier that enveloped the entire room.

Hume then locked the door from the inside, then rolled the brass key into a small metal ball and casually tossed it into a nearby trash can.

Having quickly finished all this, Hume turned to look at Ludd and silently took off his glasses. His face appeared calm, but his eyes revealed a hint of madness, giving Ludd a vague sense of foreboding.

End of this chapter

That night, both Ludd and Hume matured considerably.

The whole process was full of twists and turns. At first, Lu De was caught off guard and was forcibly exploited by the well-prepared evil goddess. However, after three clashes, Lu De gradually gained control of the rhythm and got rid of his disadvantageous position. The two sides entered a stalemate phase of competing in willpower and physical strength.

During the stalemate, Lu De suddenly remembered the teachings of the anti-Japanese martyrs: if we have no guns or cannons, let the enemy make them for us.

So she decisively used her own characteristics as a priest to directly buff herself with Hume's divine power, finally turning the tide and forcing Hume to surrender unconditionally, ending this connection between man and god! Hume, who was full of wisdom, only felt mentally dazed, because the development of the whole process was completely different from what she had expected.

She originally thought that as a god, even if Lud was immune to all divine magic damage, she would definitely have an overwhelming advantage if it were just a contest of strength.

As it turned out, Lu pretended to beg for mercy and tricked her into giving him the God's Chosen Blessing. Then, he turned around and used his divine power to buff himself, forcibly turning the tables and becoming a god with a mortal body!

Afterwards, the two remained silent in the messy bedroom. In his "super sage mode," Lud was clear-headed and rational like never before. Recalling his previous actions, he felt he needed to apologize to Hume. But just as he was about to say something, Hume swiftly and unexpectedly teleported away from the room, leaving Lud alone in the chaos.

For the next two days, Hume "disappeared" again, while Ludd remained tight-lipped about what had happened that night, pretending that nothing had occurred.

But everyone felt that Lord Lu seemed to have undergone some kind of inexplicable transformation overnight; in short, he was different from before. Shanis and her elder sister Atropos, who knew the truth, were filled with awe at Lud's feat of defeating a god with his physical body.

Soon, Lude's work in Yanmu City was coming to an end, and the people staying at the tavern began to pack their bags, preparing to return to Pine Town in batches.

However, not everyone is leaving. The Black Hand Brotherhood, which has completed its initial reorganization, is now a subordinate organization of the Pantheon. In order to help Trin consolidate his position in the Brotherhood, Rudd not only made him the Chosen of the God of Thieves, granting him the power to use divine magic, but also had Hume, who had regained his divine power, create seven combat-type divine messengers to act as his protectors.

These seven combat-type divine messengers, codenamed "Faceless Group," are all muscular men with powerful builds but bodies as black as ink. They usually hide in Terlin's shadow and can be summoned at any time when needed.

In addition, Trinn's biological mother, Lindy, and grandmother, Lacey, who have both become undead, also remain here to assist their son (grandson) in managing the Brotherhood. After all, Trinn's current identity is the necromancer Dick, and it would be a waste of his title if he had no ghosts by his side.

As for the others, they all returned to Pine Town with Lud and would rely on the idol's divine power for regular long-distance communication thereafter.

The day before their departure, the Rainbow Dance Troupe held a farewell party for Lude and his companions at the Sky Opera House, also celebrating the conclusion of their performance of "The Cave King." In the entire city of Yanmu, the number of people who hadn't seen the play was now extremely small; some die-hard fans had even watched it more than ten times, to the point where they could recite lines even in their sleep.

Normally, the entire song and dance troupe would embark on a new round of national tours, followed by performances in neighboring countries. Depending on the popularity of the play in different regions, sometimes a single play could take three to five years to complete the entire cycle. However, the advent of projectors has made touring much simpler and faster than before.

So, through Lude's efforts, Brothers Film Company bought the exclusive screening rights to "The Count of Monte Cristo" for a high price of five thousand gold coins, and then handed them over to its various mobile screening teams to be responsible for conducting a nationwide tour.

Servis then went to the capital for a month-long performance, after which she would not go anywhere else but lead the team directly to Pine Town to film "Seven Samurai," which was the world's first true film.

Besides the members of the Rainbow Dance Troupe, Faceless Jade and Snake Lady Shirley also came to the celebration party on behalf of the newly established Brothers Film Company. In addition, there were some excellent actors recruited from other small and medium-sized dance troupes. Even though they did not participate in the performance of "The Cave King", they were still allowed to attend the banquet. Rude hoped that they could integrate into the group as soon as possible.

At the banquet, Ludwig revealed his true identity for the first time. Hugo was just a pseudonym; his real name was Ludwig, the High Priest of the Pantheon in the North, and Pinetown was his parish. He promised to give everyone a good welcome once they arrived in the North.

Everyone was quite surprised. They never expected that Mr. Hugo, who had been chatting and laughing with them all along, was actually a priest, and even had such an impressive title as "Saint".

Despite the surprise, no one found it strange. After all, there were clergy members from Yanmu City to compare them to. Even Bishop August of the Holy Church of Light often ran into people like him at places like the Silver House. It was actually quite elegant for a saint to have a hobby of writing scripts, not vulgar at all.

The next morning, the group, having packed their bags, officially set off to return home. The red dragon, Amy, carrying the passenger basket, was already waiting outside the city, while Nidhogg and Tawawa had already gone back ahead, as they were worried about their two troublesome children back home.

The group left the city discreetly, and those who came to see them off had already been persuaded to return by Lud at the city gate, so there were no outsiders present at the moment.

When the group arrived at the meeting point, they discovered that Hume, who had been missing for several days, had arrived ahead of them and was now sitting on top of Amy, enjoying the view.

Normally, dragons would never allow anyone to ride on their heads like this; the dignity of the noble dragon race cannot be violated! But Hume only slightly revealed a trace of his aura as a mid-level god, and Amy instantly understood the difference in strength between the two sides, so she decisively admitted defeat.

After not seeing him for a few days, Hume seemed to have adjusted his mindset and appeared to be no different from before. However, Lude clearly noticed that when he looked at Hume, the other man subtly avoided his gaze, and Lude himself felt a little embarrassed.

Regardless of how we will continue to get along in the future, it's certain that we can no longer be brothers.

"Let's go! It's time to go back."

………………

On the same day that Lud and his party left Yanmu City, almost at the same time, at another city gate, Bishop August of the Holy Church of Light finally welcomed the Grand Church Inspection Team that he had been "thinking about day and night".

In order to deal with the inspection team, Auguste hastily and hastily boosted his "reputation" in the city, using real money and food to temporarily shut up the mouths of those poor people. In addition, he also prepared a generous gift for the inspection team members.

However, when August saw the large banner carried by the Sun Knight at the head of the patrol convoy, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, instantly plummeted into an abyss.

It was actually the Balance Sword... the banner of the Holy Maiden of Light.

Looking at the radiant banner, August's face turned ashen, for he knew that he was probably doomed this time.

End of this chapter

Winter has passed and spring has arrived; the ice and snow are gradually melting.

In the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed since Lud and his group returned to Pine Town. In mid-April, when spring was in full bloom, it was the season for spring planting in the northern region of the kingdom, and there were less than three weeks left before the start of the new semester at Brewster Academy.

After returning from Yanmu City in the south, Lude took a long-awaited rest. After all, in this winter with heavy snow falling everywhere, the northern region, completely covered in white, seemed to have time standing still, and there were many things that he wanted to do but couldn't.

So during this time, Ludé calmed down and thought a lot, and formulated a series of plans for the next stage of development of the Pantheon and Pine Town, among which the absorption of population was of paramount importance.

The Baron's family had previously conducted a census in the territory. The permanent population of Pine Town was about 15,000, and there were 11 villages and settlements of various sizes in the surrounding area with a population of nearly 7,000. The total population of the territory exceeded 22,000, not including the migrant population that poured in at the beginning of spring.

This total population seems quite large, considering that when Lude first arrived in Pine Tree Village, there were only a little over four hundred people. However, compared to the powerful lords of the region, it was nothing.

Throughout the northern region of the kingdom, there are a total of twenty-three feudal lords, large and small. The first-ranked Duke of Gamelin has 850,000 subjects, the second-ranked Earl of Ramli has 600,000, and the third-ranked Viscount of Maup has 170,000. These three families together account for 70% of the total population of the northern region.

However, if we look at the entire Kingdom of Duran, the population of the relatively sparsely populated northern region only accounts for one-sixth of the entire kingdom, so the 20,000-plus people in Pine Town really can't be considered a large number.

Rudd hopes to increase the population of Pine Town to over 100,000 within the next three to five years. This is not only to increase the source of faith, but also to prepare for a future industrial revolution (a fantasy version) in conjunction with the neighboring dwarves.

In fact, Pine Town is not lacking in either technology or resources. Lud has the technology, the dwarves have the mines, and the Pantheon is the dominant power in the area, with no traditional sects causing trouble. It can be said that the only weakness is the population.

However, Ludwig was also aware that the rapid population growth would bring not only benefits but also various troubles. The most pressing of these was the issue of religious belief.

Back when Songshu Town was just a village, it was sparsely populated and poor, so naturally no one cared about it. Now that Lude has developed it, naturally there are those guys who don't want to plant trees but only want to pick peaches who come uninvited.

Imagine if the population of Pine Town increased to 100,000, but all 80,000 of the new residents were believers in a single religious sect, then the Pantheon's followers would become a minority.

If this group is then incited by some religious leader, relying on their numbers to demand that the "minority" submit to the "majority," or even launch a purge and persecute the Pantheon's followers, then all of Rudd's previous efforts for the town's development will have been in vain!

This situation is not impossible; rather, there are already some unsettling signs. As early as last year, several religious immigrant groups appeared in Pine Tree Town, ranging from dozens to hundreds of people, usually led by one or two baptized monks.

Some were alright; they knew to "pay their respects" and beg Lude for leniency. But there were also those who didn't follow the rules of the underworld, arriving quietly and secretly spreading their teachings. It was only thanks to the Pantheon's popularity in Pine Tree Town that these guys were reported by concerned citizens as soon as they started their little schemes.

To be honest, these second- or third-tier minor sects are all potential allies that can be won over. The Pantheon is a catch-all, and you can put anything into it, but there is one prerequisite: Lud must be the absolute core of leadership. He doesn't want to have his power divided by a bunch of clueless charlatans.

As Lud was silently pondering how to deal with these challenges that were likely to occur in the future, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Lud said, "Come in," and then saw Romian push open the door and walk in.

"Master, I'm back."

"Thank you for your hard work. How did the abundant blessing ceremony go?"

"Yes! The ceremony went smoothly, and the goddess responded to us."

"That's good."

Looking at his beautiful and increasingly capable female disciple, Lu De smiled with satisfaction and praised her highly. The praise from her master secretly pleased Long Niang, and a shy blush appeared on her face.

Counting the days, it has been two years since Romian became Rude's apprentice. Since becoming an apprentice priestess, Rude has begun to cultivate her, entrusting her with some relatively simple daily tasks. Romian is also very happy to be able to share the burden with her beloved master.

Previously, Lude was "on a business trip" in Yanmu City for three months, leaving Romian to oversee things back home. Although there were fewer things to do in winter, there were no mishaps during those three months, which shows that Romian is fully capable of handling things on her own.

So not long after his return, Rude promoted Romian to a higher position and entrusted her with the responsibility of this year's bountiful harvest blessing. This activity was first created by Rude during the spring planting season two years ago. On the surface, it was no different from a regular religious ceremony. Rude led the farmers to set up altars and offer sacrifices in the fields. However, after completing the routine procedures, Rude took out the "golden fertilizer" that he had prepared in advance and sold it on the spot at a very low price.

Lude cannot produce fertilizer at this stage, so he uses divine power to compensate for the lack of technology, creating something that can also increase crop yields.

It is worth mentioning that Lude initially wanted to give it away for free, but later thought that this was not appropriate, so he priced it at ten copper coins per bag of Golden Fertilizer. Each bag weighs 1,500 grams and can fertilize about ten acres of land, increasing the yield by 30% to 50% compared to unused fields.

Rather than being a money-grubber like Lu De, if he really wanted to profit from this, he should know that selling medicine would be much more lucrative. The retail price of one bottle of "Evelina's Tears" is equivalent to three thousand bags of Jin Ke La. The main reason he didn't want to cultivate the locals' habit of getting things for free.

Of course! If you're really broke and can't afford it, no problem, the temple also has a "check-in event" that will give you some.

Lude stipulated that there would be a specific "God's Day" each month. On this day, one could go to the temple to pray to the corresponding god and receive a small gift. The reward for the Medicine God's Day in April was a small bag of 200 grams of Jin Ke La (a type of medicinal herb).

Thanks to Lude's efforts in building water conservancy projects, improving agricultural techniques, and applying fertilizers, the grain production in Pine Tree Town has seen a leap in growth. The locals believe that this land must have been blessed by the kind and beautiful goddesses of the Pantheon.

End of this chapter

Agriculture, as the primary industry, is the foundation of everything. Lude originally planned to spend five years developing agriculture, but the divine magic was far more effective than he had imagined. Therefore, he exceeded his goal in half the original time and was able to move on to the next stage.

With a solid material foundation in place, Lude plans to focus on both industry and culture, developing them in tandem.

Fortunately, the first cohort of students from Brewster College has successfully graduated, and every year graduates from various majors will continue to enter society. Although there is still a shortage of talent and it is far from being abundant, at least the embarrassing situation of having no one to use will no longer occur as in the past.

In the development plan that Lud presented to the Baron's family, Pine Town would vigorously develop light industries related to people's livelihoods, such as food, textiles, and ceramics, over the next three to five years. As for heavy industries such as metallurgy, they would cooperate with the neighboring dwarves who had both mines and technology.

Songshu Town is only so big. Although Lu De is confident in his path, he's not arrogant enough to think he can build a complete industrial chain with just 20,000 people. As long as he can develop a second flagship industry besides pharmaceuticals before the completion of the second phase of the development plan, then the entire plan can be considered a success!

Regarding the second phase of development plans, Lud also intends to involve surrounding territories. Of the twenty-three feudal lords in the north, the top three have good relations with their Pantheon, and the northern branch of the Church of War can also be considered allies. While their bishop Ural cannot be fully trusted, he is at least someone they can get along with.

Three weeks later, Brewster College opened as scheduled. The first day of the first semester each year is the day for new students to enroll. This year, the number of new students has doubled compared to last year, with international students from other places exceeding local students for the first time, accounting for more than 60%.