003: Using Science to Create Miracles
A.D. 48, Ancient Roman Empire, by the Adriatic Sea.
After a year of long travels, they were about to reach the highest city of Rome!
At noon, Lucius leaned against a tree some distance from Novia, gazing steadily at the silver-haired youth.
Upon the pastoral scenery, the shadows of villagers waiting in line filled the fields.
"Your faith has been seen by God. You and your family will surely receive salvation."
"R-really?"
"Naturally. But know this: all believers are friends. The strong must care for the weak."
Novia chatted amiably with the wealthy while gently distributing donated food to those in line.
Over the past year, Lucius had witnessed Novia's personal abilities many times. To make these people willingly donate food left him somewhat speechless.
When he was young, he had once encountered bandits on the outskirts of Rome. Although he managed to repel them, one bandit was left unable to walk due to injuries Lucius inflicted, eventually becoming a beggar.
Whenever Lucius passed through the streets, he would see that beggar, feeling deeply troubled inside.
Later, that former bandit fell ill. Having received care, he abandoned his original faith in the Roman gods and converted to a then-growing monotheistic religion, unexpectedly becoming a believer earlier than Lucius.
But back then, believers were mostly poor people. Not like now, where the wealthy were joining in droves.
Well, of course. Although the Age of Gods had ended only a few decades ago, humans were ultimately fickle. Roman polytheism didn't dictate how humans should live; it assisted humans who did their best. Therefore, it wasn't perfect.
In monotheism, however, the relationship between humans and God was completely reversed. God transformed from a helper of humans into a supreme authority, the source of law, morality, and order—an existence not to be questioned. Humans were to live under God's guidance, which also facilitated control.
In such an era, as long as you dared to believe, there was an implicit set of rules within your heart. After all, no matter what, the gods hadn't been gone from the earth for very long.
This was also why Novia dared to spread his message along the way. The Age of Gods was over; could your Roman gods come down and strike me?
Moreover, compared to Roman polytheism, he was actually doing practical work. His expansion strategy was standard: encircling the cities from the countryside, surrounding the nobles from the lower classes.
In the original history, Christianity defeated polytheism not because everyone was silver-tongued with inherent persuasion auras, but because it was more centralized and could send people to collect funds, money that could be used to put food in the pots of the poor.
A priest of the Temple of Athena could try to learn, but he couldn't control the head priest of the Apollo district keeping sacred maidens. He could hold out, only to look back and find the Apollo district had fallen.
Currently, things were still somewhat unstable. The only requirement for joining was that wealthy believers donated money to the church, which would then spend it on poorer believers. If everyone was poor and had no money, they still organized believers to support each other. If someone was sick with no one to care for them, other believers would come to care for them.
If someone had nothing to eat and was starving, other believers with extra food would willingly share a bite to keep them from dying.
As for theology? Philosophy? Religious rituals? Sorry, none of that existed when Jesus was alive. Cultured believers would interpret things themselves later.
But in any era, prosperous or not, the poor and suffering were always the majority. They didn't care about lofty philosophical theories or theological systems. All they cared about was this: if I give a certain amount of wheat, olive oil, and wine each month, when I'm old, the church will give me wheat, olive oil, and wine each month so I won't starve. That's enough.
So even in the original history, when the ancient Roman Empire persecuted and massacred Christians everywhere, they eventually found this grassroots religion impossible to suppress completely. They'd wipe out one group today, and another would pop up somewhere else tomorrow. After all the persecution, in the end—
Christians entered Rome!
Even the emperor began believing in God!
So as long as the foundation was laid, even if success wasn't immediate, it would be convenient for the future.
"Th-thank you, sir. God's blessing."
"Mm, take a bit more then."
At that moment, Novia's arms were wrapped around a young child.
This was a genuinely poor child. Novia clearly understood: malnourished, skin and bones, covered in dust, gaunt face, ragged clothes, vacant eyes. Such a child could be distinguished at a glance from the plump, fair-faced children of wealthy families.
The vast ancient Roman Empire had enjoyed peace and prosperity for several decades. From the bustling semi-circular open-air theaters of Aperken to the crowded colonnaded squares of Antioch, from the busy port markets of Joppa to the thronged pilgrimage roads of Ephesus, the wealthy reveled in the prosperity and abundance brought by peaceful times. On wide cobblestone roads, merchants and travelers came and went; between rows of marble apartments, citizens laughed and played.
But poverty remained the reality for the majority in this era that would persist for many years.
"R-really? Even if I die... it's okay... My sister, mother, father... are waiting..."
"If they're waiting, then hurry back. Don't keep them waiting anxiously."
Novia stroked the child's cheek. After doing so, the child's vacant expression seemed to grow slightly more peaceful.
"Thank you..."
From the child's lips came not a prayer, but merely words—an utterance of boundless gratitude.
After everything was done, having declined the believers' invitations, Novia walked toward Lucius.
Lucius, who had been watching from the side, resembled a soldier himself. Combined with the aura he emitted, people dared not approach or casually speak to him.
"Over this past year, you've done well." Lucius fell silent for a moment, then said coldly, "But in the end, when danger comes, you can only face it alone. This is inevitable sooner or later. It's futile. You're in too much danger now. I advise you to go back quickly."
Novia understood his meaning perfectly. They were currently in a calm period on the surface. If things truly turned bad, to survive, one would have to kill those who threatened them, even fellow believers.
Moreover, Novia was too conspicuous. Over the past year, his fame had spread increasingly. While Roman polytheism was tolerant of other sects' propagation, it was under the condition that they couldn't be replaced. Currently, some polytheistic nobles in Rome were probably waiting for Emperor Claudius I to return from Britain so they could demand Novia's execution.
"You're right. But if it's within easy reach and you turn a blind eye, you'll surely regret it. I extend help precisely because I don't want to regret it. That's all."
Without anger or denial, Novia simply smiled peacefully, dressed in simple clothing, his white outer garment folded over his arm.
"Hmph, you brat. Once we're inside Rome, those guys won't be so easy to talk to."
Lucius sighed. He hoped this youth could live out his natural lifespan and not suffer under the punishment of heretics.
"Right. So for now, please stay outside Rome a bit longer, Lucius. I need to go to Britain first."
Novia unhesitatingly accepted Lucius's angry words.
"You're—"
Lucius's heart surged. The currently illusory figure of Novia replied with decisive resolve.
"Fourteen days ago. By now, he should be in Britain, if nothing unexpected happened."
Lucius drew a sharp breath. This level of illusion magecraft wasn't even possessed by the Druids of old. It had even deceived his eyes, which were touched by holy blood.
But soon his expression calmed. He turned his head away as if he hadn't heard anything.
"You want Emperor Claudius to convert? That's too difficult. The Roman gods were literally in the sky just a few decades ago."
"The era of the gods has come to an end."
"Using magecraft? But don't forget, there are tens of thousands of Roman mages participating in the Britannia expedition. Even the slightest fluctuation of magical energy would be detected."
"Who said I was going to use magecraft? This is genuine divine miracles."
.....
In central Britannia, there was an oak forest shrouded in thick fog, a kingdom that, even by the twentieth century, rejected humans, birds, and beasts alike.
In this corner of the island, many mysteries persisted—ancient lifeforms whose generations were untold.
At this moment, Novia stood atop a certain hill here. Not far below him was the Britannia expeditionary force led by the current Roman Emperor, Claudius I.
The silver-haired boy looked somewhat nervously at the hastily made hot air balloon and the silver powder, among other items, prepared over a long time.
Novia's idea stemmed from the legend of Constantine. The reason the Roman Emperor Constantine, three hundred years later, converted to Christianity was that on the eve of a certain battle, he saw four enormous, fiery red crosses suddenly appear in the vast sky, accompanied by these words:
In this sign, you shall conquer.
Thus began Christianity's formal journey to become the state religion of the Roman Empire.
"Success or failure hinges on this move."
Though he said so, Novia's expression was calm. Of course it was.
Because it was just a common question: do people regret what they did, or what they didn't do?
In the end, Novia himself couldn't be sure of success. Because in the world of Type-Moon, the older the era, the stronger the side of mystery; the more recent the era, the stronger the side of science. And the "present" of the first century AD happened to be at a point just after the decline had begun. Moreover, the Age of Gods in Type-Moon was a more advanced civilization than two thousand years later, which was quite ironic.
However, Novia also had a contingency plan. If he failed, he would immediately dig up the corpse of Albion the Dragon to see if he could find any useful treasures to save his life.
"Charge!"
Thus, at dusk on that evening, the Roman expeditionary force and the allied forces of the twelve Britannian kings jointly witnessed—
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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