If the goddess had spoken to the demon race that was disguised as the Pope through Aram Karla, she couldn't leave it alone.
　Just as Aram Carla was about to talk about it, there was a sound in her stomach.

'Gosh, I'm sorry. I'm in the middle of an important conversation.

She presses her stomach in embarrassment.

'Let's have a quick bite to eat before we talk. I'll make you something. Is there anything you don't like?

It's going to be a long story, and the first step is to get hungry.
　It's important to listen to her, but it's also important to earn her trust. I don't want to force her to do anything.
　If I force her to do something, she may understand it in her head because of the situation, but the dissatisfaction will accumulate in her heart. The heart is not a logical thing.

Oh no, it's bad.
'I'm hungry too. Don't worry about it.
'Oh, I see. Well, then, please.
'Oh, and I've prepared that room over there for you. And a change of clothes. You won't be comfortable in that outfit, will you?　Just get dressed and rest until you're ready to eat.

As he said this, Aram Carla looked at his outfit.
　She was dressed in a thin, white outfit for a purification ceremony at the bathhouse. It's not the kind of outfit you'd want to show a man.

I'll be looking forward to seeing you then. And that thing I don't like is fish.

Nodding with a chuckle, she made her way to the back room.

◇

In about thirty minutes, the meal was ready and I called for her.
　She seemed to have taken a nap and was looking much better.
　She had changed into a loose-fitting loungewear. She had removed her make-up and wig, and her impressions had changed dramatically.

'Come on, eat up.'

I put pancakes and hot chocolate on the table.

I'll take it without reservation. This black drink is very delicious. It warms me up.''
It's called hot chocolate. And it's great.
I've never tasted it before. I think I've lost my appetite.
Well, we'll provide you with plenty of room. You'll be hiding in this room for a few days.

Chocolate has a soothing effect on the spirit and is highly nutritious.
　It's the perfect drink for her right now.

'Can I use this place?'
'This is the safest place to be. Something trustworthy will be bringing us supplies on a regular basis. They shouldn't be inconvenienced.

She has some work left to do in the Holy Land. And it's extremely risky to leave the Holy Land, or to break in again after leaving the Holy Land.
　Thinking about the future, hiding her in a safe house is the lowest risk.
　When I told her this explanation over dinner, she nodded with a coy smile.

''I'm sorry about everything. Oh, these pancakes are the best too. Light and fluffy. It makes me wonder what kind of bread I've been eating.
I've got a few tricks up my sleeve.

In this world, there was no such thing as baking powder for puffing up bread and cakes, but Orna developed a new one.
　The pancakes are filled with baking powder and yogurt, but with less oil.
　The baking powder reacts chemically with the yogurt, releasing a large amount of carbon dioxide gas, so the batter puffs up even more than if it had just been made with baking powder.
　The result is a fluffy, airy batter.
　Fluffy pancakes are a great way to eat even the weakest of bodies.
　In fact, she ate up both the hot chocolate and the pancakes.

Thanks for the meal. I didn't expect to have such a delicious meal at the place where I escaped. Master Rougu is a great cook as well.''
It's a hobby. Yeah, you're looking much better. Now would you mind if I asked you a question?　Goddess ... no, what was the Goddess talking to the demon race about with your body?
As a matter of fact, even though I remembered the story, I didn't really understand what the Goddess meant when she said it.

She falls on her face, apologetically.

'Just as long as I can remember, I want you to tell me exactly what you heard.

It's more of a noise if it's interpreted in a strange way.
　It is more convenient to use the original text because it may have been intentionally used in a strange way.

So, I'll just say what I heard. Then, I'll just say what I heard. The Goddess said this. ''I won't interfere, so you shouldn't interfere either.'' ''Mutually, the promised day we've been waiting for is right around the corner.'' ''It's a problem that these brave men haven't been used up so much...''
What did the demon say?
'He said he would accept the Goddess's proposal and then he would take steps to deal with the brave man... and then he also said to stay neutral.
Neutral. That's an interesting expression. That's how the demons see the Goddess, isn't it? An observer, neither friend nor foe.

There are all sorts of words that bother me.
　What does the goddess mean by "disturbance"?　It wouldn't be an attack on me, a pawn of the brave.
　The same is true of the promised day. If I only think of the demon race, I should think of it as the resurrection of the demon king, but I don't see why the goddess would wait for that.
　Finally, the last word is that the brave men are not running low. This is probably because I'm active and Epona isn't fighting the demon race. But on the contrary, the existence of a brave man sounds like an expendable item. Also, it's one of the points that I blame for not being used up.
　There is no reason why that much power doesn't have a price. I'm curious to know what's in store for us after it's been used up.
　I'll continue to gather as much detailed information as possible after that.

Thanks, that was helpful.
I'd be happy to help.
There's one more thing I don't understand. Why did you say you feared for your life?　It doesn't sound like you're in any danger from what you say about the goddess and the demon race.

Yes, there was no topic of conversation I heard today that mentioned Aram Carla.

'The Pope threatened me even before I knew he was a demon race. He wanted me to tell my people that my words were the words of the goddess... that if they disobeyed, he would kill me and prepare a convenient Aram Karla... all along, I've been refusing to do so. I prayed to the Goddess to help me. But the goddess only conveyed her voice and didn't help me when she used me to talk to the demon tribe and didn't say anything about me I was reminded that the goddess didn't help me. This morning, I passed on the words of the demon race as the words of a goddess.

She said and shed a tear.
　'One foot, just one foot too late?

'What did you say then?'
'The Goddess must be talking to Master Roug, in front of everyone. I was afraid. I was scared of dying, no, but more than that, of not being Aram Carla and going back to living like that, just being trash again. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Aram Carla hugs himself, tears streaming down his face. The white dye that he hadn't been able to remove because he held up his finger too hard is peeling off.

'How have you endured all this time?'
You're not angry?　I've been so pretty, I've even tricked Master Rogues into thinking I'm pretty, haven't I?

That's a fact.
　The timing of the Aramaic call for me to make the revelation that I didn't hear the Goddess' voice was a clear set up.
　I've already fallen from hero to great sinner who cheats on the name of the goddess.
　As soon as I come to the Holy Land, the Inquisition will begin.

'It's not you who's to blame, it's the demon tribe that drove you to it.
But still I'm...
'If you're sorry, help me out I'm going to dare to challenge his trap. We're going to get the Inquisition.

And then you break that trap head on.

'Oh no, it's suicidal. It's called an inquisition, but it's just a label and a condemnation. They have no intention of listening to you.

Yeah, I know.
　That's what religion is all about.
　Powers that be cherish their mane. Religious people are more prone to this.
　They will never admit that they are wrong, and they can't admit it.
　It's not just the Pope, but everyone involved in the Inquisition.
　If you do it right, there is no chance of winning.

'Not normally. That's why I don't do normal. With your power, your real power as a goddess' advocate, you'll win. I can assure you, the Pope has already prepared a replacement for you. You are no longer Alam Carla. They won't even try to take you back, they'll send an assassin.

It was better to crush the pieces and put new ones on them than to use hard-to-use ones.
　They don't care if they can hear the voice of the goddess.

I don't have to.

She hadn't been thinking that far ahead when she ran away.
　She hadn't doubted her worth. She had overestimated the significance of being able to hear the goddess' words.
　If I'd known this was going to happen, I would have shaken my hand off.
　It was deliberate for me to talk about catching up with her like this.

As we talked like this, I understood that Alam Carla was a pretty strong woman.
　She apologized for bothering me and said she was sorry for the trouble she was causing me. But until that moment, she has not shown any guilt towards me at all.
　If she had been a truly kind-hearted woman, she would have felt guilty from the moment she saw me and treated me like that.
　She did so at the time because she was forgiven for earning my sympathy.
　In any case, what she did was going to be found out soon enough. Then it would be less hurtful if she apologized to me.
　It's not for me that I didn't make a false oracle when the demon tribe threatened me. It's for the sake of not undermining my value of being the voice of the goddess. I knew instinctively that every time I lied, it would hurt Aram Karla's worth, and I feared that I would displease the goddess.
　It was easy to tell a lie, but it was self-evident that doing so would reduce the role of Aram Carla to something anyone could do.

(In short, she's a man of subterfuge.)

The thing to do with her is not to appeal to her emotions, but to show her merit. That is, to say that she can eliminate the Pope as an obstacle to her acting as Alam Carla and create an environment that allows her to still be Alam Carla.
　So we do.
　These people are easier to handle.

'If you are no longer Aram Carla, I will guarantee your safety and support your life but if you want to return to Aram Carla, you'll have to screw the Pope and his imposters that show up at the Inquisition with me. I have the scenarios and preparations in place to do so.

It's tough that they have already denounced me by Alam Carla. But it's just one of the scenarios I had in mind.
　We can fight, and I've prepared the necessary groundwork for a reversal.

'I understand. I'm going to fight. For atonement, and then for me I'll still be Alam Carla. I don't want to go back to those days again.

I'm surprised you're here to tell me the real story.
　He smiled gently and put a hand on his shoulder.

'You've prepared yourself well. Let's do our best.
Yes!

As expected, I was reckless to take on the Inquisition without the real Alam Carla, the real Alam Carla, the card.
　But this is how I got her.
　Once I got her, the number of moves I could make would increase at once.
　The first step in this process is to intensely spread the rumor that Aram Karla has been invited by the Goddess. While impressing the source as being her followers.
　That message, scrawled on the wall with lipstick, is our lifeline.

Without it, that's exactly what I would have been guilty of, even the murder of Aram Karla.
　Would Nevan have done the job I asked him to do?　That's the Romalung for having an agent sneaking into the cathedral.
　In a way, this is also a battle. Let me challenge you with all hands on deck.