[Title: The Child of the Gods.

Description: Over ninety-nine percent of your population sees you not as just one of many Golden Lords, but as The Golden Lord, the true Child of the Gods. By upgrading this title to the second level, you will unlock the option to choose gods as patrons of your territory.

Effect: +30% reverence among followers of any deity of the Faith of the Nine, +10 prestige, +10% prestige gain, +20% damage against creatures of darkness.]

[The Goddess of Life knows of your existence and watches you with interest, aware that you possess a seed from the Tree of Life.]

[The Goddess of Beauty knows of your existence and silently admires your beauty, struggling to remember when she blessed a mortal with features so divine.]

[The Goddess of Death and Darkness knows of your existence and smiles mysteriously at you, her gaze lingering on the Blood Emperor’s ring resting on your finger.]

[The God of War knows of your existence—...]

[The God of Justice and Light knows of your—...]

...

Obviously, Ethan only paid attention to what the goddesses thought of him, completely ignoring the notifications concerning the other five gods, all of whom happened to be men.

He had many doubts about these deities.

He knew the Church of the Nine was corrupt to its core, but before passing judgment on the gods themselves, he needed to learn more about them.

Still, now wasn’t the time to dwell on such matters.

[Attention! The fervor in Goldenveil is extremely high, but there is no church. Build a church within two years to prevent a drop in the population’s loyalty.]

[Your noble title has been upgraded! Intermediate Baron -> High Baron]

A satisfied smile tugged at the corner of Ethan’s lips.

As for the creation of a church, he first wanted to know whether he’d even allow the church’s influence to take root in Goldenveil at all.

If he could establish his own independent one, he’d build it without hesitation. Otherwise, he’d simply find another way to handle the matter.

Whether every god was rotten remained unclear to him, but when it came to the church, there wasn’t a shred of doubt in his mind.

It was as rotten as a goblin’s teeth.

’System... can I trust the gods?’ he asked mentally.

[Some yes, some no. Jump on the goddesses’ tits and kill the male gods!]

’That doesn’t help much...’ Ethan sighed.

[What I can say is that they aren’t your enemies, but you should be careful when accepting the blessing of the God of War, and even more careful with the God of Light.

They aren’t the rulers of this world, but merely its representatives. When the time comes, you’ll understand everything.]

’Ah... let me see, the only deities you have a good opinion of are the triad of life, death, and beauty? The three women among the nine?’

[Hehehe... the host knows me, and I know the host too~]

Ethan couldn’t argue with that logic.

The Great Pervert’s SSS-Rank Summoning System was, indeed, worthy of its name, a true simp.

Well, he was cut from the same cloth, so there was no point in playing the hypocrite.

"Hm... why the serious expression, my love? Smile a little." Elena’s voice drifted in from beside him, soft as silk and warm with affection.

Ethan turned toward her, the bitter look easing from his face. "Nothing," he said, shaking his head.

His hands slid along the curve of her delicate waist before traveling upward, palms cupping her ample breasts from below.

The plump, heavy mounds settled into his grip with a delicious weight and a soft moan slipped past Elena’s lips, her breath catching in her throat. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He gave a slow, appreciative squeeze, and then smiled.

Just as he was ready to enter the mansion, pull her closer and lose himself in her for a while, a faint pulse of mana rippled through the entire mansion.

The two exchanged a knowing glance that quickly melted into smiles.

Alice had finished her advance!

***

"Ah... fuck this damn place, why is it so hard to find a good beer around here!"

A roar full of rage tore through the forest as a long blade sliced through the undergrowth.

The owner of that voice stood nearly two meters tall, a woman so thick with muscle she looked more like a bodybuilder than any ordinary warrior.

Clearly, she wasn’t human in the usual sense. She was a berserker, a rare variant of humans.

"Calm down, sister, there must be a settlement around here somewhere. It’s on the map!"

A man with short green hair and pointed ears spoke up, his slender fingers tracing a line across weathered parchment. "Is it... Darkwall?"

He was half-elf, clearly, and judging by his lean frame and the staff slung across his back, a healer as well.

Behind the pair trailed the rest of the party: an archer and two warriors clad in travel-worn armor.

A classic adventuring band.

After a few more moments studying the map, the half-elf’s eyes lit up.

"I found it! Just follow this trail another five kilometers or so and we should get there." He smiled, fiddling with his brass compass.

"Ugh... I hope that place has some good beer to drink. If not, I’ll drink from you, little elf, straight from the source!"

The berserker’s booming laugh echoed, ignoring the grim expression that fell over the half-elf’s face.

He had already explored that dense forest between her legs once, and for the sake of his hips and penis, he’d rather not repeat the experience.

And so the group pressed on in silence for another hour, until at last they came to a halt.

On the horizon rose a wide, well-maintained wall, its gate standing open and manned by a pair of lone sentries.

They approached with cautious steps, one of the warriors taking the lead.

"Good afternoon, friends. We’re just adventurers looking for a place to rest on our journey. Is there a tavern here that offers good beer and a place to sleep?"

At those words, the guards exchanged a brief glance before nodding.

"Just follow the main avenue until you reach the Lord’s mansion. You will see the Blue Sea Tavern from there."

A warm smile spread across the warrior’s face and with a nod of thanks, he led his party through the gate.

The first adventurers Goldenveil had ever welcomed were immediately struck by the dense mana and aura that surrounded them.

The berserker, the only one among them to have reached the third stage, inhaled deeply, drawing that pristine air into her lungs with something close to reverence.

The sight of the mansion left them speechless, as did the streets of incomparable beauty that stretched out before them. Above all, however, was the rewards for the quests on the tavern.

Goldenveil was a strange city.

A wall encircled a massive perimeter, yet most the land within remained empty, while at the same time, perfectly laid streets crisscrossed every inch of it, demarcating plots that hadn’t yet been built upon.

To the adventurers, the place seemed like paradise on earth.

Without hesitation, they pulled generous handfuls of coin from their pouches and rented rooms at the tavern for a full month.