Frankly, there were no companions in Fantasy that I wasn’t aware of.

  … If I searched as hard as I could, there might be one or two. Even so, if I ignored them in the past, then they were completely useless dummies. That left me with nothing to worry about.

  My point was…


  “I… lost?”


  “It was inevitable, Tomato.”


  I knew the fighting style of any of my companions as well as my own. On the other hand, they didn’t know anything about me.

  And that difference alone could determine the outcome of a battle since spines, once bent as a consequence of a single mistake, could no longer be fixed.

  “Thomas lost…”


  “My prince…”


  “I thought he was the strongest!”


  “I feel manipulated.”


  The mermaids watching him raised their complaints.

  Though they had previously fully supported him, the fish’s attitudes changed dramatically.

  They were brutally honest about it.

  Before Tomato lost to me, they really were rooting for him with all their hearts.

  But now?

  They doubted his genes after he lost to a weak Hero.

  They could fall out of love just as easily as they fell in.

  Such was their nature.

  … The latter happened quite rarely, though.

  ? Luke: Holy Knights Commander Thomas. He’s ranked 3rd in terms of popularity among female Heroes, but his fame has since dropped due to his promiscuity in the new curriculum. Regardless, his skills remain top-notch. Did I say everything right?

  ? Isis: 3rd?

  ? Luna: That’s outdated information based on the 4th curriculum. Thomas from the 5th curriculum is of little interest. Chris, the Northern Continent’s genius swordsman, is the new craze!

  ? Lilith: The popularity ranking of male companions according to mollanwiki: Green Cake (younger version) in 1st, Green Cake (older version) in 2nd, Chris in 3rd, Nasus in 4th, Kang Han Soo in 5th, and Thomas only in 6th.

  ? Maria: Hey! Stop slandering Thomas!

  Holy Knights Commander Tomato, refusing to accompany the impregnable Saintess A, founded a harem with mermaids and reigned over this lake as its king ever since. However, this glorious life came to an end when he was defeated.

  All the mermaids abandoned him.

  “Ah, my harem…”


  The tomato, who had lost everything he had, fell into depression.

  He turned into ketchup, not tomato juice.

  Nevertheless, I decided to help him.

  “Open your soul to Mollan, Tomato, and you shall understand how pathetic and little of a tomato you’ve been all this time. Henceforth, you must realize your true purpose.”


  “My name is Thomas! How many times do I have to repeat… Kh?!”


  “You talk too much. Spend the next year begging to be forgiven for your sins.”


  Everything went according to plan.

  My popularity skyrocketed when I converted Aqua and Tomata into neophytes.

  I didn’t recruit them as companions.

  I made believers out of them.

  There was a big difference between those two concepts.

  Aqua and Tomato abandoned atheism and became Master Mollan’s loyal followers after hearing doctrines about his teachings from the righteous G-Class Hero!

  When rumors about it spread, all the glory went to me.

  “What’s the difference between this method and recruiting companions?”


  Despite previously claiming she would remain silent, Disco suddenly raised a question.

  She couldn’t seem to make sense of anything.

  “Companions are pests that devour the Hero’s reputation. Even if the Hero did everything alone, they would be forced to share their glory with them.”


  “But they provide a lot of help, don’t they?”


  “How is that any different from mercenaries?”


  “The Hero leads the people.”


  “Then how is that any different from mercenary leaders? Is it that Heroes are cheaper? Haha! There are quite a few like that among mercenaries. Despite having high skills, since they’re not being advertised, they suffer from low visibility. However, that also means their service fees are a lot more economical.”


  That was how companies worked.

  Despite having outstanding capabilities, new employees couldn’t fully spread their wings and soar due to their low positions.

  Likewise, in the mercenary industry, reputation was more important than skills. After all, there were many cases in which mercenaries turned into bandits during missions.

  In that sense, the Hero was nothing more than a mercenary whose reputation was guaranteed by a Fantasy god.

  No more, no less.

  “…”


  “For a Hero to be different from a mercenary, they must have power so overwhelming they would no longer require the help and sacrifice of a third party. Such power can only come from Mollan!”


  “Everything you said sounded convincing, but why did you have to bring it back to Mollan?!”


  “That’s a stupid question. All roads lead to Mollan!”


  I couldn’t understand her.

  Wouldn’t an employee of Mollansoft, one of the leading companies in the universe, know the greatness of Mollan?

  Shouldn’t she be considered a fraud otherwise?

  “… The way you look at me is making me uncomfortable.”


  “That’s great.”


  “And you openly admit it! You really— Ahem! I should just stay silent.”


  I spread rumors all over the place afterward.

  Delighted by the Righteous Hero’s words, Aqua and Tomato became ardent acolytes of Mollan’s Teachings, believing in the Great Being without complaints.

  Such was the difference between companions and followers.

  “Hero.”


  “Did I allow you to speak using the human language, Tomato?”


  “I need to ask you something.”


  “No.”


  “Please, listen to just this one request! Please!”


  He reminded me of how Lanuvel pretended to be cute.

  I didn’t like it, but my instincts, supported by my 200 years of experience, told me I should listen to him.

  “Fine. I’ll allow it just this once.”


  “Thank you! Ahem. Please convert the Holy Kingdom’s Saintess with your wisdom, Hero. In doing so, I promise to become a true worshipper of Mollan’s Teachings!”


  “Ah, that’s right. You’ve been dreaming about her ass, haven’t you?”


  “Ahem.”


  Realizing he had no chance, he left his homeland, which revered him as a hero, and founded a harem.

  That event wasn’t in the 4th curriculum.

  Even so, his unrequited love for her seemed to have remained unchanged.

  “Alright. I’ll consider it, but you need to pray to Mollan regularly.”


  She would soon reveal herself on her own anyway.

  To bring back her childhood friend Aqua the mermaid.

  *****

  When I challenged her, Saintess A didn’t even last 3 seconds.

  All I did was provoke her a little, and she swiftly flew into a rage and accepted my challenge.

  ‘Whose faith is deeper?’


  Hearing those words, Saintess A found herself unable to refuse.

  “How could the recently summoned Hero have such faith…?”


  Bearing witness to my blinding divine radiance, she fell down due to sheer shock, her ass plopping onto the ground.

  Her reaction wasn’t that unexpected.

  I, the Hero who just came from another world, turned out to be an ardent follower of Mollan’s Teachings, one of Fantasy’s popular religions. What was possibly even more surprising for her was that the strength of my beliefs surpassed even hers.

  Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t make sense. In fact, to understand it, one had to first learn the difference between mollan and mullan.

  With the Righteous Hero’s smile, I replied, “Because I am the True Hero.”


  All the others were just pathetic copycats.

  ? Allah: Did he teach the basics of religion in school? Achieving Z-rank Faith is already difficult enough as it is since its limit couldn’t be overcome by sacrificing skills, yet his is already ranked ZZZ?”


  ? Odin: And due to his Monk profession, he now has ZZZ-rank Divinity to go along with it. This is insane!

  ? Zeus: What’s wrong with the Saintess?

  ? Luna: I’m actually curious about her. What would happen if someone else’s faith defeated her?

  A clever student among the idiots raised a really good question.

  “You’re supposed to be the one most devoted to God in this world, yet your faith still lost to mine. You are not worthy of your Saintess position.”


  “Ah…”


  I had no way to strip someone of their profession.

  The system itself was the only one who could do that.

  However, it was important for her to feel unworthy of her current job upon hearing my words.

  ? Race: Holy Human

  ? Level: 1590

  ? Job: Saintess (Faith → Resurrection ↑)

  ? Skills: Faith ZZ, Healing Z, Glamor Z, Virtue Z, Preaching MAX…


  ? Status: Holy

  That was her stats before she met me. Now, however, it had changed into this.

  ? Race: High Human

  ? Level: 1590

  ? Job: Religious Leader (Preaching → Brainwashing ↑)

  ? Skills: Healing Z, Glamor Z, Virtue Z, Preaching MAX, Charm MAX…


  ? Status: Despair, Confusion, Self-flagellation, Regression, Denial…


  Saintess A’s new occupation was truly rubbish.

  It would’ve been a completely different matter if she had become the leader of Mollan’s Teachings. Unfortunately for her, she only became the head of a minor religion prevalent only in the Holy Kingdom and a few small countries.

  Her Brainwashing was probably only ranked B.

  Compared to her previous profession, which allowed her to bring the dead back to life, it was utter garbage.

  There were over 30 healers under Mollan’s Teachings whose Healing rank was equal or even higher than hers now that she had lost her previous job.

  I was in the higher education course, after all.

  Even so, she could still prove useful to me.

  “You can be an amazing tool for public relations. Tomato, I’m leaving her in your care. I don’t think you’d dare give up your love and run away now anyway.”


  “Mollan! Mollan! Mollan!”


  Tomato hugged her narrow waist as he praised the Great Being. He couldn’t even hold her hand in the Holy Kingdom before.

  I checked his stats.

  ? Race: Holy Human

  ? Level: 3214

  ? Job: Holy Knight (Divinity = Blessing ↑)

  ? Skills: Life Energy Z, Divinity Z, Faith MAX, Swimming MAX, Sword Mastery MAX…


  ? Status: Delight, Faith, Corruption, Praise…


  His Faith skill’s rank, which used to be at the very bottom, sharply rose from F to MAX.

  The power of love was impressive! At this rate, he would reach Z rank in no time.

  My reputation had grown even more.

  “That’s not a problem, is it?”


  It was like rewriting history.

  Without Saintess A, the Holy Kingdom was immediately annexed by the Holy Empire under the princess’s orders.

  Having lost her faith and destiny, she could now only rely on Tomato, regardless of how unprincipled he was. Hence, in just a few days, she became his wife.

  Their magnificent wedding ceremony took place in the Temple of Mollan’s Teachings.

  More importantly…


  “You’re a curious Hero.”


  “You’re no different from me.”


  I now faced the most dangerous person.

  This was definitely not a coincidence.

  He probably came to check the shocking rumor that Tomato and Saintess A were married.

  “Haha! Nice to meet you, dear junior. I am the MAX-Class Righteous Hero.”


  Kang Han Soo, my alter ego created by my cowardly wife.

  “Get lost.”


  “Oops.”


  Fshuh!

  Fshuh!

  We grabbed each other by the neck between our 6th and 7th vertebrae. As I tried to tighten my grip, I stopped abruptly.

  I realized it. If this continued, we would both die.

  “… Let go.”


  “You let go first.”


  This was why I didn’t want to face him.

  “Stop it, fathers… Heroes!”


  If not for Green Cake’s intervention, everything would have ended rather disappointingly at that moment.

  *****

  As a result, Kang Han Soo, without anyone’s permission, joined my party.

  However, he didn’t take control of my adventure as he did with our other pathetic juniors. After all…


  “Starting today, junior—”


  “What is more important to you? Master Mollan or adventures?”


  “Master Mollan, obviously.”


  “Since my Faith is higher, we will proceed according to my command. Mollan.”


  “Tsk.”


  Kang Han Soo obediently followed my instructions, albeit with an anger-filled expression.

  If we fought with each other, I would’ve lost, but I managed to avoid certain death due to my Faith’s absolute superiority. He couldn’t resist Master Mollan’s will.

  ? Luke: This is the omnipotence of Mollan’s Teachings… There’s no other way to describe it.

  ? Zeus: Omnipotence? That’s insane!

  ? Luna: Admit it already!

  ? Isis: Wow! Mollan’s Teachings are truly impressive! He even tamed Kang Han Soo himself!

  ? Lilith: Maybe I should give it a try too.

  ? Piko: Embrace enlightenment. I have been trying to guide you towards the right path for so long now. This teacher is amazing.

  ? Allah: Now I feel sorry for Satan, who spent 19 years collecting companions.

  ? Leon: Kang Han Soo ] 49 companions

  ? Sieg: My condolences…


  ? M. Satan: It was the best available method at the time since I wasn’t aware of Mollan’s Teachings’ greatness. Its doctrines were too complex…


  With the entry of Kan Han Soo, the unit’s combat power increased by about 60%.

  It was already possible for me to conquer the tower even now.

  However, I decided to head to the Dumplings Kingdom instead.

  “Greetings, Hero! My name is White Chicken!”


  The Snow Woman, a mutant harpy, welcomed us by flapping her wings.

  She was glad to see her owner after so long.

  “And I’m Alex, her husband. That being said, I didn’t think you would actively help the Hero…”


  Alex calmed his wife’s excitement and turned to Kang Han Soo.

  Shrugging, he replied, “Don’t mind me. I’m a new convert. Mollan.”


  “Uh… Is that so.”


  I showed my Righteous Hero’s smile to the GG-ranked swordsman who could single-handedly climb to the 80th floor.

  “Mollan’s Revelation: Chapter 8, Verse 19. Ignorant married man, remember who made you happy by bringing you an armless wife…”


  “… Mollan.”


  “Mollan will show us the way.”


  With this dream team, conquering the Demon Lord’s Tower would be a walk in the park.