Rise of the OtherGod Apostle: Not a Cult Leader, but a Serf?!

#056Reader Mode

#056

Unfortunately, ‘Fabio’ wasn’t the type of trash who could just ignore someone who was pouring their heart out.

A character should be consistent in their actions.

Wouldn’t it be odd if the guy who always greeted the village bell ringer with respect suddenly started snubbing people the moment he stepped into the Order?

After all, keeping up appearances mattered.

“I may not be able to offer much help, but I can at least listen to you.”

Just say no, please.

However, Athanas’s eyes lit up with gratitude, making me squirm a bit under his intense gaze.

“…Fabio.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have plans for dinner tonight?”

“I’m afraid I do,” I lied smoothly.

“…Oh, I see.”

What? Were you about to suggest we have dinner together if I said no?

Something was definitely off here.

At this rate, I was on the fast track to being promoted from ‘just some random guy’ to ‘Athanas’s only friend.’

Should I change Fabio’s character setting?

Not to the point of being a complete hermit, but maybe being a little more aloof and not wearing my heart on my sleeve wouldn’t hurt.

Honestly, if some random Paladin 1 had made the same offer, I’d be down for dinner and potentially making a new friend.

But this is Athanas we’re talking about.

The. Main. Character.

A prospective contractor of an ‘evil’ Othergod, hanging out with the protagonist of Heretic Slayer?

It’s a combination that’s just begging for trouble.

Athanas hesitated for a moment before asking, “Then, may I join you?”

“…That’s a bit difficult.” I replied, choosing my words carefully.

“Just a bit difficult?”

“Actually, it’s quite difficult.” I emphasized.

“Quite difficult…is that so?”

“Yes.”

This is the kind of person you don’t encourage.

There are always those who won’t take a hint and keep talking, even with minimal responses.

In these scenarios, the best move is to claim you’re too busy and leave them on ‘seen.’

I swung my cloak around my shoulders and put my books away.

“I’m quite busy, so I’ll be leaving now. If you find yourself feeling sleepy before I get here tomorrow, please write down the time you’d like to be woken up on a wax tablet or something similar. I’ll make sure to wake you up then.”

“…That’s very thoughtful of you.”

“I’ll be on my way then.”

“Just a moment, please…”

“Was there something else?”

Athanas paused awkwardly, then seemed to think better of it. “No, just… please take care.”

Fortunately, he didn’t ask to come along.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Had he hinted at wanting to tag along, I would’ve had to think of some lame excuse about a last-minute plan, apologize for not being available tomorrow, and mentally blacklisted the branch library forever.

I don’t want to be seen as being close to Athanas.

With the number of players around, someone’s bound to be watching his every move, right?

No need to draw any extra scrutiny my way.

Stepping out into the crisp air, I realized that winter was fast approaching. It wasn’t just the chill that gave it away, but the way darkness fell so quickly. Each day felt shorter than the last, with winter solstice and the opening of the starry sky looming just around the corner.

Looking up at the sky, the cold bit at my cheeks.

Just under two months left, huh?

A group of carefree kids raced past me, their laughter as picturesque as a scene from some feel-good movie. I couldn’t help but chuckle. It was such a cliché.

It really is peaceful…

A world where Athanas’s biggest worry in life was dealing with jealous peers.

If things stay peaceful like this, Athanas is going to turn out completely different compared to the ‘Heretic Slayer’ version of him.

…I really want that for Adelaide too.

I hope she never turns into the Grey Saintess or anything like that. Instead, just living a simple, easy-going life, free from hardships and receives her well-deserved ordination.

I wish for her to be blissfully clueless that the world’s order could fall apart around her, never even dreaming of the power she might hold in those darker times.

When reading about martyred saints, I hope she thinks,“That could never be me.”

…Seeing Adelaide just being her normal, cheerful self would be such a breath of fresh air, especially compared to the Adelaide I came to know and root for in the game.

…I never imagined Athanas would have that kind of personality.

Just the thought of Athanas, sulking in his chair, cracked me up again.

The sight was just too funny.

I wish I could’ve taken a screenshot.

It was one of those moments you just had to share. I would’ve sent it to the other players…

Words fell short capturing the epic hilarity of that scene.

Just two more months….

And then, we can all get together, bursting into laughter, recounting the tales of our adventures here…right?

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

“Athanas! Where in the world have you been sneaking off to now?”

A young guy with sea-green hair stormed up to Athanas, looking ticked the moment he caught sight of him.

“…Sereno.”

“Listen, you’re in my debt, got it? I covered for you by saying you were organizing your gear when they took attendance. Without me, they’d have dragged us all out searching for you!”

“Thank you. I owe you one.”

“Don’t even try to get away with just a ‘thanks’!”

“…I’ll handle your gear maintenance for a week.”

“A month! And throw in cleaning our room too!”

“Have some conscience and be satisfied with a week.”

“Fine, but only if you tell me where you were today, you sneak. What were you up to, huh?”

“If I agree to a month, will you leave it at that?”

Sereno’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That desperate to keep it under wraps? What are you hiding, Athanas?”

Ignoring the question, Athanas started to tidy up his belongings, with Sereno badgering him non-stop.

“What were you doing? Athanas!”

Sereno kept on, but Athanas wouldn’t answer.

Unfortunately, since their room was a double, Athanas had no way of getting rid of his talkative roommate.

“Alright, just for one day then! I’ll overlook it if you take over the cleaning for one day! But tell me, what really made you skip training today?”

“…I fell asleep.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“I simply fell into a deep sleep, and no one was there to wake me. That’s the whole story.”

“Seriously?”

Sereno looked skeptical at first, then his voiced spiked, realizing he’d been played.

“You planned this! You knew I’d negotiate!”

“Your readiness to compromise for just one day’s cleaning was quite generous.”

“Forget what I said, just forget it!”

“The Lord says a word once spoken flies beyond recall. A paladin, of all people, should not backtrack on their words, lest they contradict the doctrine’s teachings.”

“And skipping duties gives you the right to lecture me?”

Athanas just shrugged in response.

“Fine. Since you’ve been sleeping all day, you can take my night watch duty twice. You shouldn’t need more sleep, right?”

“No, I’m still feeling tired and plan to turn in early tonight.”

“What? More sleep? So, were you lying about skipping because you were asleep?”

“If need be, I could prove it true before an inquisitor, though it shouldn’t come to that. I have a witness who saw me asleep all day…” Athanas trailed off, suddenly serious.

“What? Why the sudden seriousness?”

“Sereno, I need to ask a favor.”

“Now what?”

“If I bring someone here, could you act like we’re on bad terms when I signal you?”

“What? Why would we need to pretend that?”

“Because I lied to someone I met today. Told them I was being bullied, that I felt very alone and distressed.”

Sereno burst out laughing. “Bullied? Us? Bullying you? Say something that makes sense.”

“Will you help me?”

“Why in the realms did you tell such a ridiculous lie in the first place? And who is this person?”

Athanas stayed silent.

“Look, if you don’t explain, I’ll tell the person you’re lying the second you give the signal.”

“…His name is Fabio.”

“And his affiliation is?”

“A reader.”

“A reader? How did you end up meeting a reader?”

A lightbulb seemed to go off in Sereno’s head, his eyes widening as he stared at Athanas. “Hold on, is that your real reason for skipping training? Because you were ‘sleeping’?”

“…Absolutely not, so don’t jump to any strange conclusions. I really did fall asleep while reading in the branch library.”

“The branch library, not the main one? Why go there?”

“…I just felt like being in a quieter place. More importantly though, is to not get caught in this lie.“

“I really don’t get it. Why would you tell such a nonsensical lie?”

“I needed an excuse to talk to him.”

“…So you just threw out being bullied lately to get a conversation going? Make some sense.”

“I had to bring up something like that; otherwise, he would’ve definitely walked away.”

“What… did you receive some divine revelation that made you think you have to capture this person’s attention at all costs?”

Sereno said it sarcastically, but Athanas looked deep in thought, his expression serious.

“A revelation… Perhaps it was something similar to that.”

“You’re telling me you received a revelation to seduce a reader you’d just met?”

“It was an impulse to discover more about him, to understand what kind of person he is.”

“So, you’re saying you received a revelation from Valentine?”

Within the gods of the Pantheon, Valentine’s domain is love and sexuality. However, marriage falls under Roklem the God of Order. Ledeia, the goddess of healing and fertility, oversees conception and childbirth. So Valentine’s authority is limited to fruitless love, pleasure without commitment, and unrestrained affection.

One of Valentine’s core beliefs is that the purest love has no responsibilities or obligations – it exists through love alone. While openly worshipping Valentine was uncommon, many prayed to him privately bashfully. This secret devotion made Valentine occupy quite a high position in the pantheon despite being kept hush.

Valentine was especially renowned for revealing one’s true love through dreams.

However, there was a problem with this. While Valentine showed souls the one who’ll set their emotions on fire, his interpretation of ‘true love’ did not guarantee mutual or lasting feelings with that person. He was known to stir passions without commitment. Some saw Valentine as the god of fickleness and ruin because he would also reveal dreams of potential other lovers even if one’s heart was sworn to another.

Athanas was about to deny ever having a revelation from Valentine, but realized he had no good explanation.

…It might be useful to leave this misunderstanding like this.

Even with his power of [Retrograde], Athanas’s actions were constrained by the 1-hour window he could affect the past.

He simply couldn’t investigate anywhere further than an hour away in either direction. This is why Athanas continued seeking companions – with limitations, his important mission required a team.

But if I say I feel like I received a revelation from Valentine, others might easily accept my absence or inexplicable actions.

Because nothing makes people act more irrationally than the stirrings of love and passion.

“…Maybe.”

“Wow…” Sereno was astonished.

A revelation from Valentine!

And it was to Athanas of all people!

The same boring Athanas who dismisses gossip and tells you to focus on training instead!

While Valentine’s revelations rarely ended well for those involved, Sereno couldn’t help but find the drama wildly amusing when watching from the sidelines. After all, the tales of love sparked by the god of passion always made for great entertainment, whether they crashed and burned or soared into the sunset.

“So, are you going to help me?”

“Of course!” Sereno exclaimed. “How could I miss this? It’s going to be too fun to miss!”

…Athanas saw Sereno’s eyes light up with glee and he briefly considered using [Retrograde] to make this conversation never happen.

T/N:

MC: Athanas is going to turn out completely different compared to the ‘Heretic Slayer’ version of him.

ME:

I dunno MC about ‘completely’ different haha.

To anyone confused about the timeline: this madman Athanas has been reloading time back 1 hour repeatedly since their first encounter near the basement. The guy is so relentless that he kept rewinding time back until he literally fainted and faceplanted! It’s still only ‘Fabio’s’ first day at the branch library. The author has dropped some hints that there will be unseen ‘reloads’, so we’ll have to keep an eye on Athanas for any suspicious behavior.