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

#078Reader Mode

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#078

The ‘quiet place’ Athanas took me to turned out to be a prayer room.

I wondered if it was okay to have casual conversations in a sacred space like this, but as soon as I stepped inside, those thoughts vanished.

“Why is there a bed in the prayer room…” I asked, staring at the huge, comfy-looking bed taking up half the room. This wasn’t some little cot for power naps – two people could easily sprawl out on this thing.

“Because I said I would pray to Valentine.”

“Valentine…?”

“The God who governs affection between lovers,” he clarified, dropping to one knee in front of a statue of a seal inexplicably placed in the room. He murmured a quick prayer, and I couldn’t help but stare.

“Is that…Valentine’s holy symbol?”

“That’s right.”

The seal statue, sitting upright and looking adorably smug, seemed more like a decorative trinket than a holy image.

A seal is a pretty cute symbol.

Way better than, say, maggots and leeches, which Ledeia’s followers used…

…But are seals really the best symbol for love?

I don’t know much about Dark Realm ecology, but on Earth, seals are representative mammals that form harems. They’re famous for such promiscuous sexual behavior…

Maybe it’s a different marine mammal that’s similar to seals but monogamous?

My curiosity got the better of me, and I opened a book that looked like a tome next to the statue. But as soon as I saw the content, I slammed it shut.

F*ck, this is a lewd book.

The illustrations showed couples tangled up in some seriously NSFW poses. By modern standards, they weren’t that explicit, but I couldn’t believe a book like this was just sitting in a prayer room.

Why is there a lewd book next to the holy seal statue?

For reference or something?

Looking again, the cover read “Prayer Guidelines for Valentine” in fancy holy script.

Wait, so… engaging in sexual acts is considered praying too?

Seriously?

Well, I guess if there’s a god whose domain includes ‘sexual pleasure’, their points would probably increase when their followers engage in sexual acts while calling out their name.

In a way, that could count as a form of prayer.

And technically, there’s nothing wrong with calling a place dedicated to prayer a ‘prayer room’.

But still…

Why is this even a thing?

My head felt like it was spinning.

I know it’s just a prejudice to think that ‘Religious = Sexually conservative’. But when I come across stuff like this, the inner Confucian old fart in me gets riled up, yelling ‘Shameless! Shameless bastards!’ as he swings his cane around.

Why…don’t these bastards believe that restraining desires is a virtue?

Is it because the authority of the gods is undisputed here?

With a simple flash of a halo, one can prove they’re a priest, so maybe they don’t feel the need to set themselves apart by emphasizing that they lead a more moral, upright lifestyle than everyone else?

But then, what makes them different from the heretics?

If they’re not even claiming to be more moral, why are they out there slaughtering heretics?

…Well, being sexually open isn’t necessarily immoral, I suppose.

I tried to calm down my inner Confucian old man, reminding myself that different cultures have different values.

Thinking about how people throughout history have gone to great lengths to find creative solutions when religion stood in their way, I thought it probably would be better to just establish some ground rules and let them do their thing.

Just look at the stories of Americans doing whatever it took to get their hands on alcohol during Prohibition…

…Still, it’s really hard for me to get used to this.

Keeping my true goblin nature hidden is proving to be incredibly difficult. Of course, compared to having to maintain a straight face while looking at Ledeia’s priests, not visibly cringing at something like this is a simple matter…

Clink.

The sudden sound of Athanas unbuckling his belt made my heart skip a beat.

He unfastened his breastplate’s shoulder straps and removed it, setting it down beside him. Next came his greaves, followed by his shoes and socks…

“Wait, wait! Why are you taking off your clothes?” I practically shouted, feeling the color drain from my face.

Athanas just stared at me, unfazed. “Well, if someone barged in and found us fully clothed, they would suspect that we were here for another reason. We should at least remove our armor and coats, don’t you think?”

That’s… true.

I was at a loss for words.

Even the most stupid tracker wouldn’t mistake two people, dressed head to toe in bulky outerwear, for a couple actually getting hot and heavy on a love hotel bed.

It was certainly a rational and cautious action to throw off suspicion, but…

…Isn’t he too calm about this?

How could he be stripping so naturally like flowing water unless he’s practiced this scenario several times?

I looked at Athanas with slightly doubtful eyes.

As if understanding my gaze, Athanas took a big step towards me.

“Wa-wait! What are you doing?!”

“…Weren’t you asking me to untie your fascia?”

“I-I can do it myself!”

Flustered, I backed away until I reached the edge of the bed. I knew getting embarrassed would only make things more awkward, but I couldn’t help it. My face felt like it was on fire.

Seriously, how is he not even a little bit embarrassed right now?

As I untied my fascia and the leather on my socks, I couldn’t help but glance at Athanas’ face. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I removed my socks, but a nagging thought refused to leave me alone.

“…What do you think I’m going to say that you’re willing to go this far?” I finally blurted out, unable to contain my curiosity any longer.

Put yourself in Athanas’ shoes for a moment. Imagine agreeing to someone’s out of the blue request to visit the creepy basement of the branch library. Then upon arriving, you find yourself caught in a nasty trap and faced with a cryptic message. As if that wasn’t enough, the person who led you there suddenly insists on having a private chat.

Is this how people normally react in such situations?

It all seemed way too suspicious to me. If I were in his place, I’d definitely be side-eyeing the person who told me to go down there in the first place. Why was he being so accommodating? He probably doesn’t know anything about me, so why…

It’s almost as if he knows I’m going to bring up the possibility of the world being destroyed.

Now that I was paying closer attention, I couldn’t help but notice how exhausted he looked.

Could it be…

“…I mentioned that I sleep at the branch library because I don’t like being constantly woken up if I sleep at the training center,” Athanas suddenly brought up.

Wait, what? Where did that come from?

“That was actually a lie,” he admitted.

“What? Then why…”

“I was waiting for a revelation.”

A revelation?

“The recurring nightmares I’ve been having all took place in that location. In my dreams, I saw sick people desperately praying and dying on the spot. I found myself clearing away the corpses of those who had perished there, wondering how long this would continue. The despair and hopelessness I felt were unlike anything I had ever experienced before, so I could only interpret it as a revelation.”

Did he dream about the beginning of Heretic Slayer?

“I was truly curious about the meaning behind that revelation. I tried to find someone who had the same dream as me, but I couldn’t investigate recklessly. A dream about the collapse of order isn’t something I could dare to speak about openly, right? So, every day, I went to the branch library to see what would happen next. The fact that the place appeared in my dreams must mean there’s some significance to it.”

So he wasn’t just sleeping…

I couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. Here I was, worrying about the fate of the world, and I had assumed Athanas was just being a carefree bastard, snoozing the days away.

“But then, I had a nightmare worse than any I’d experienced before,” Athanas continued, his voice low and serious. “Even when I would typically wake up, the dream persisted. At first, I was happy to see what would unfold next, but after what felt like days trapped in the dream, I became anxious.”

He paused, his brow furrowed. “What if this nightmare is reality, and the peaceful times were nothing but a dream? What if my mind had fabricated these delusions to cope with a world in chaos? In that dream, countless people had lost their sanity. A terrifying thought struck me then – could I be one of them?”

…It would be scary if you saw people losing their minds.

In ‘Heretic Slayer’, insane NPCs were just part of the background scenery. They were unreachable, forever lost in their own shattered worlds, sometimes found broken and dead. Players couldn’t interact with or save them, no matter how much they might have wanted to help.

Those who still clung to life would cry out or babble incoherently until their last breath. If their anguished cries became too distracting during gameplay, you can get rid of them through a side-quest.

By getting the interim pope’s decree that “madness equals dereliction of duty,” players gained the authority to “condemn” the insane. From then on, even if a player chose to kill the mad ones, the Saint remained silent and their divine power didn’t decrease.

But there was a catch. After finishing this side-quest, players had to carefully manage Athanas’ mental power. If his sanity dropped too low, he would automatically commit suicide before the ‘insanity’ status ailment shows up.

Most players agreed that completing the side-quest was the better option since keeping Athanas’ mental power up wasn’t too challenging.

Athanas doesn’t get a good ending anyway even if you don’t kill them…

“I prayed desperately to be freed from these dreams and to understand why these visions haunted me. And then…” Athanas’ deep blue eyes stared straight at me. “You woke me up.”

…I just thought you might be dead because you weren’t waking up.

I didn’t even know it was you Athanas before I woke you.

If I had known you were having such awful nightmares, I would’ve woken you up sooner.

“I had no evidence, but I thought that maybe you were somehow connected to that dream. That’s why I made such an absurd request for you to wake me.”

So he knew himself that it was a ridiculous request.

“…I wasn’t certain since I didn’t see you in my dream. However, I was no longer afraid of being trapped in that nightmare forever because I believed you would free me from it. And then, you brought up wanting to visit the basement of this library branch before I could.”

Athanas’ eyes gleamed with an odd intensity.

“In that moment, I felt a strong conviction. You must know something about the nightmare I’m having. Maybe you’ve even experienced the same thing. Fabio, when we went downstairs to the basement, you kept inspecting the floor, not the walls or ceiling. That tells me you knew about that hidden space.”

I hesitated, scooting away slightly on the bed, but Athanas moved closer, his hand gently resting on mine.

“You expected to find something down there. But after discovering the trap, you were very flustered. When I referred to that trap as a ‘prank’ and tried to brush it off, you…”

…That was an act too?

“…You looked like you had so much you wanted to tell me. Pale as a ghost, you seemed desperate to confide in me but scared I wouldn’t believe you. That’s why I’m going to such lengths. I wanted to show you that I’m committed to believing whatever you tell me.”

I couldn’t respond to that confession.

My mind was in chaos.

While Athanas was struggling with this, was I really just thinking this feels a bit like a dating sim?

I’m so glad he can’t read my mind.

But why was he having these nightmares in the first place?

It’s great that they’ve made him so determined to believe me, but the convenience of it all left me feeling uneasy.

There’s no way this is all just some coincidence arranged for my benefit.

I’m not some gamer destined to save the Church of Order in this world. I’m just a player who decided to quit the game.

Whether it’s the system, Roklem, or whatever’s causing the nightmares, there must be a reason for showing that dream to Athanas…

No, an even more critical issue nagged at me.

“…Don’t you suspect that I might be the one behind your nightmares?”

Athanas’ eyes widened slightly.

“Don’t I seem suspicious? What if I’m the one giving you nightmares and lurking around to take advantage of you when your guard is down? What if I was the one who set that trap downstairs? If this is some scheme to scare you into thinking order is collapsing and make you believe in an evil god, why are you promising to believe everything I say?”

What are you trying to achieve by trusting a player?

I may just be a useless, trash-tier unit, but other players could be hiding secret weapons and pretending to be weak. Even the Saint can’t see through players’ disguises, so how can a mere holy knight claim, “I will believe what you say”? Just look at how cunning that bastard follower of the Distorted One is!

“What if I’m actually an Apostle of an evil god, and after luring you out, I brainwash you or something? Why are you being so careless…”

“Are you an Apostle of an evil god?”

“What? No! Absolutely not!”

“…Then isn’t that enough?”

“No, would a real evil apostle admit it so easily?!”

When I shouted in frustration, Athanas just chuckled.

You’re laughing now?

Absurd.

Even when I’m worrying about you…

“Then, go ahead. Brainwashing or whatever.”

“What?”

“Since foolish me has completely fallen for your evil scheme, go ahead and try deceiving and brainwashing careless me… whatever you want.”