Inside a tent at the Swamp Territory construction camp.
"Gods above! My Lord, my Lady, I can't believe you truly received an Oracle."
York and Lucia gave their prepared story, simply confirming the process of receiving the Miracle. Lawrence immediately cried out in excitement.
"This is the first time in three hundred years that a Miracle from a Deity has descended upon the world!"
"What incredible fortune! To think that I, Lawrence, would be lucky enough to witness the Descent of a Miracle in my lifetime."
Lawrence's exclamation also caused the two Knight's Squires and three merchants in the tent to look thrilled.
However, in contrast to the merchants and Knight's Squires, a trace of worry appeared on old Butler Mo Wen's face.
"Mr. Lawrence, while being noticed by a Deity, and even receiving an Oracle, is certainly cause for great joy..."
"...we mustn't forget that the Oracle spoke of coming chaos. For us mortals, that is not necessarily a good thing."
As Butler Mo Wen spoke at the opportune moment, the expressions of Lawrence and the others in the tent instantly grew serious.
Seeing this, Lucia and York exchanged a glance before she spoke:
"What Butler Mo Wen says is true."
"This time, the Deity's Descent with a Miracle and an Oracle was, in fact, more of a warning to us mortals."
"I don't know how to describe this Oracle, nor can I explain it with words, but I could feel an unprecedented sense of urgency from the message the Deity conveyed."
"It was a concern for us mortal believers, and a sorrow for the chaos to come."
Lucia wasn't actually confident as she said this, but to be safe and to downplay the impact of the Miracle in the Swamp Territory, she had no choice but to continue:
"The Oracle didn't directly state the source of the chaos, but I believe that if it prompted a Deity who hasn't appeared for over three hundred years to descend again, it must be something of immense importance."
"Forgive my bold speculation, but this chaos might even lead to a cataclysm on the scale of the Ancient God Wars."
"And this happens to confirm the urgency of the great, unnamed being from the Oracle."
"It urged us mortals to seize the time we have and increase our strength as quickly as possible, to prepare for this impending cataclysm."
As Lucia finished, her expression turned somewhat helpless and sorrowful. "The Oakland Continent, our Human United Kingdom... it has been at peace for far, far too long. The spirit of mortals today is a far cry from that of the great heroes of old. Modern humans in this Mortal World are mostly just pathetic wretches living off the remnants of their Bloodline's legacy. They don't even dare to face the risks of things like Bloodline infusions or second awakening ceremonies, which could greatly increase their strength, let alone face..."
Lucia didn't finish her sentence.
After all, continuing in that vein would have seriously damaged the dignity of the Nobility.
Moreover, she was merely a Tierless noble lady. If word got out that she was saying such things, the repercussions would not be good. She could even be suspected of slandering the powerful individuals of the various human Kingdoms.
Therefore, Lucia wisely stopped herself.
"This... My Lady, isn't what you're saying a bit too alarmist?"
Upon hearing this, Lawrence's expression was grave, but he was also skeptical.
"You yourself said the Oracle was difficult to interpret, and that you only sensed some guidance from the Deity in the light of the Oracle."
"So, could this chaos just be referring to an event like the war with the Alien Races three hundred years ago?"
"You have to remember, back then the Human Alliance Army, guided by the Storm God's mortal vessel, successfully defeated the Beastman Alliance Army. As a result, the Human Alliance Army was able to occupy a large, relatively fertile part of the Northern Territory."
"The situation was critical and the continent was in chaos, but didn't the final outcome turn out for the best?"
As Lawrence finished speaking, the merchants beside him nodded in agreement.
"Mr. Lawrence has a point."
"Chaos is a frequent occurrence on the Oakland Continent. Even if the chaos mentioned in the Oracle is dangerous, it's unlikely to reach the horrific scale of the Ancient God Wars."
"That's right. According to existing records, there hasn't been a war among the Deities on the Oakland Continent for at least several thousand years. In fact, the number of times Deities have descended to the Mortal World has been decreasing."
One of the merchants stepped forward and spoke, looking quite confident.
"The influence of the Deities on the Mortal World has actually been waning for some time."
"This is true for both the Deities of the Human Race and the Deities of the Alien Races."
"Just as some Churches in certain Kingdoms on the continent have been preaching, the Deities of Oakland—both human and alien—slowly formed a sort of tacit understanding, perhaps even a pact, after numerous divine wars."
"That is: Deities are only responsible for matters of their Divine Kingdoms and faith, while everything in the Mortal World is gradually being left to powerful mortals and the Royal Families to handle themselves."
"'Deities to the divine, mortals to the mortal,' so to speak. That's the gist of it."
"Of course, it's not absolute. Many Churches preach that the Storm God descended three hundred years ago, but even they can't deny that His interference in the mortal realm was quite limited."
"He merely used the body of a Saintess as His mortal vessel to lead the Human Alliance Army in crushing the invasion led by the Beast God's own vessel from the Beastman Empire, and then He returned to His Divine Kingdom."
"So, my Lady, it's not my intention to show off my knowledge, but it seems you may be worrying too much."
Hearing the merchant's explanation, both Lucia and even York, who was beside her, were visibly stunned.
Clearly, neither of them had ever heard of such a thing, let alone understood it.
Churches in some Kingdoms on the continent were actually preaching such things?
'Deities to the divine, mortals to the mortal?'
How heretical! To so brazenly discuss the Deities?
Although the influence of the major Churches wasn't what it used to be, they still held the greatest power beneath the throne.
In the Silver Lion Duchy, and even in the Eagle Kingdom and its many subordinate Duchies, the Truth Church was still incredibly sensitive about such matters.
While one wouldn't be convicted simply for their words about faith in the Deities in this day and age, it was entirely possible that if you caught their attention, you'd be dragged off to the Church to "bathe in Divine Grace" or be "re-educated" for a year or two.
"Such a bold idea actually exists in other Kingdoms?"
York was clearly startled and couldn't help but blurt out.
"I mean, this whole 'Deities to the divine, mortals to the mortal' idea?"
The old merchant chuckled at his words.
"My Lord and Lady, you are indeed very young. Of course, I don't mean any offense."
"It's just that you are both young and have always remained in the Eagle Kingdom, never traveling to other nations, so it's normal that you wouldn't know of these things."
"The number of Divine Descents has been steadily decreasing. As a result, such talk has existed in some Kingdoms for a long time. Many are even implementing acts to abolish Peasant Slaves—something the Nobility of the Eagle Kingdom wouldn't even dare to imagine."
"The Eagle Kingdom is located on the frontier. It may seem prosperous, but it's a far cry from the central Kingdoms and the Three Great Empires."
"Speaking of which, this old one hails from the Croatia Empire, one of the Three Great Empires. It's just that my small business went bankrupt five years ago. To pay off my debts, I answered the recruitment call from the Count of the Korola Highlands and became one of the managers of the Corolla family's merchant association."
Hearing this, everyone looked at the little old merchant in astonishment, with the exception of Lawrence, the head of the merchant group.
Who would have thought that this little old man, who seemed to be just one of the insignificant managers of the merchant association, had such a background?
And so, driven by curiosity, the group began to ask the little old man about his experiences in the Empire, for a short time even forgetting that they had been discussing the Miracle.