How should one put it—Regulus Corneas was in a truly miserable state.
Once he lost the Authority that froze time, his body was no different from an ordinary person's. He bled, he could be injured, and pain was real.
And his "wives" clearly loathed him beyond measure. The young women who had once been forced into expressionless obedience now broke down—crying and laughing at the same time—as they finally took back what had been stolen from them.
Beatrice was nearby, and Hayashi Maki covered her eyes at once. He didn't want her to see something so brutal.
Beatrice pouted, thinking he was overreacting… but inside, she felt oddly sweet. The fact that he cared enough to shield her from it made her feel treasured—kept "pure" in his eyes.
Regulus's frantic screaming and desperate pleas didn't matter anymore. No one was listening.
To them, he didn't deserve mercy.
After hours—after the women had finally emptied out the rage they'd carried for so long—Regulus Corneas was finished, and the life of the Greed Archbishop ended at last.
The fifty-three women had their revenge… and yet, in the silence afterward, it was as if their souls had been hollowed out. Hatred had been their fuel for too long. Now that it was gone, they didn't know where to go.
Hayashi Maki clapped his hands, drawing their attention.
"Alright. It's over. You can start a new life now. If you don't mind… join the Axis Church. Aqua-sama will cleanse your hands and wash away what happened here."
At those words, something returned to their eyes—purpose, direction. The dead gray in their gazes lifted, replaced by fragile light.
"Thank you," one blonde woman said, bowing deeply, her posture filled with reverence. To them, Hayashi Maki was the one who had pulled them out of a living hell—like a savior.
Hayashi Maki could only feel wry about it. He was supposed to be a demon, yet he kept doing the work of a god.
He gently took the woman's hand and helped her stand.
"My name is Hayashi Maki. I'm the High Priest of the Axis Church. From now on, the Axis Church is your home. Come back with me."
The word home reopened wounds. Their families, friends—entire lives—had been erased by Regulus. Tears fell again, but the women tried hard not to sob aloud, afraid of seeming "unseemly" in front of the man they revered.
Hayashi Maki couldn't deny one thing: as vile as Regulus had been, he had targeted women who were, without exception, remarkable. Out of the original hundreds, only fifty-three had survived. Thinking about how many had been killed made Hayashi Maki's irritation flare again.
He led the women back to the Axis Church and placed them under Frederica's guidance so they could adjust to church life. Later, he planned to grant them Aqua's healing arts.
Beautiful, capable women like these would make exceptional high priestesses. And beyond healing, they needed strength to protect themselves—Hayashi Maki intended to share a power of his own with them as well.
His hellfire, for instance, was ideal—devastating even on a spiritual level. But calling it "hellfire" would expose too much, so he chose a new name:
"Heaven's Punishment Flame."
A month later, after training and reorganization, the Axis Church had gained a group of elite high priestesses.
The women, once reduced to numbers, had reclaimed their real names. With nowhere else to go, they treated the Axis Church as their true home.
Aqua was delighted. With so many high-quality new believers, her confidence soared.
Hayashi Maki, in turn, demanded a "reward" from the goddess for his hard work as her diligent high priest.
Aqua froze.
Back in the divine realm, she could toss out holy relics as rewards without thinking. But here, she had nothing—she even needed money from him to go out and have fun.
Charging for healing was effective, yes… but it felt like it would damage a goddess's image.
In the end, the "reward" became… Aqua spending the entire night "training" with Hayashi Maki.
The next morning, she refused to get up no matter what.
Hayashi Maki didn't press her. He patted her head, kissed her forehead, and quietly left.
Only after he was gone did Aqua open one eye guiltily. She touched the spot he'd kissed and broke into a silly grin—
Then snapped herself back to reality.
"Wait—no! I'm a goddess! Why am I smiling?!"
She buried her face in the pillow and complained to herself.
"That awful Hayashi Maki—dragging me into this world, making me do all this… I'm miserable…"
Right then, Hayashi Maki's voice came from the doorway.
"Stop crying about how 'miserable' you are. Here—Axis Church is doing great lately, and the partnership with Anastasia went perfectly. This bag of coins is for you. Go have fun."
Aqua shot upright instantly and hugged the coin pouch like it was treasure.
"Hehe! You said it! I'm going out!"
"Go on," Hayashi Maki said. "But come home tonight. If you stay out all night, no more allowance."
"I know, I know—you're so naggy, Hayashi Maki."
She huffed, then bolted out the door.
Hayashi Maki shook his head, amused.
Aqua really was a hopeless goddess sometimes—a wine-loving, pleasure-seeking deity whose "specialty" was party entertainment.
Still… a goddess who could freely resurrect the dead and hand out divine relics without batting an eye couldn't possibly be ordinary.
Maybe he was overthinking it.
Either way, one fact didn't change:
No matter what Aqua was, she was his goddess now.
As long as he didn't let her bankrupt the church, she was surprisingly easy to keep.