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

#082Reader Mode

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T/N:٩(ˊᗜˋ*)ﾉ

#082

Casimir’s description of him stuck with me.

She said he was like a writhing mass of insects masquerading as a human.

“What does not having the Blessing of Order have to do with wanting to avoid Ledeia’s Apostle?”

“Apparently, the Blessing of Order alters your perception. What the Lord deems beautiful appears beautiful, and what He finds unsettling looks creepy as hell. Maybe it doesn’t bother those who already have the blessing, but to me, Ledeia’s Holy Flesh and her priests’ bodies squirming with that stuff is just too disgusting and hideous. I saw a healing priest once, and I nearly passed out from the sight.”

“Is that why you can’t receive the Blessing of Healing?”

…When did I ever say I can’t receive the Blessing of Healing?

I just meant it’s so horrifying that I’d rather not, not that I’m cursed or something.

“I definitely wouldn’t choose to receive it while in my right mind. But if I was gravely injured and at death’s door, I’d have no choice.” I furrowed my brows a bit. “But when did I ever say I can’t receive the Blessing of Healing?”

“…I assumed not having the Blessing of Order meant being unable to receive any blessings related to order.”

I let out a dry chuckle.

“If that were the case, finding the ‘Watched Ones’ would’ve been very simple.”

You’d just need to cast a minor but noticeable wide-range blessing and capture anyone who didn’t receive it.

“Let me reiterate: don’t make assumptions. The Watched Ones are beings that don’t originally belong to this world. Ditch any preconceived notions. Besides me, there’s a solid chance other Watched Ones have received the Blessing of Order. Never use me as the standard. Understand?”

I warned him once more.

Only after Athanas assured me he’d keep that in mind did I circle back to the original topic.

“So, what do you know about the research director? Even rumors or reputation will do.”

“I’ve heard that the research director’s accountable for half of the recently prohibited items. They say he’s a real pain to deal with, constantly devising imaginative ways to circumvent the regulations.”

It’s odd that they’re just letting a guy like that run amok.

Is it because they can’t punish him if he’s not technically breaking the law? Or is there another reason they’re leaving him be?

“If he’s notorious for his insatiable curiosity, arranging a meeting shouldn’t be too hard.” Athanas added.

“…I’m asking because I’m concerned, but how exactly do you plan to pique his curiosity?”

“Who knows? We’ll figure it out as we go along.”

This guy really acts without any plans.

Stimulating the curiosity of a mad scientist… Has he lost his mind?

“Don’t even think about recklessly approaching him. Focus on gathering information about the circulating rumors first. If new regulations are being created because of this guy, it means someone is keeping watch on what the research director is up to. Even if you don’t investigate him directly, there have to be ways to find out what he’s been researching lately. The newly created regulations might even hold some clues.”

“…I understand.”

His response feels a bit lifeless.

Just in case he was still entertaining the idea of meeting the research director, I warned him repeatedly, emphasizing the risks.

Whatever an Apostle discovers, their god discovers too. So if Athanas lets something slip and gives the Research Director a lead, Ledeia might take direct action.

I have no idea why Roklem is keeping all this hidden from his subordinate gods, but I’d rather not end up in a situation where I realize, ‘Ah, so that’s why He kept it a secret.’

Why is He so unreliable?

“…Let’s end the discussion here for now.”

Without the internet, even just looking into rumors would take a good chunk of time.

Athanas nodded. “Then I suppose we can get some sleep now.”

“Pardon? What are you…”

Before I could question if he was spouting nonsense, Athanas collapsed onto the bed like a ragdoll.

“…Wake me in 3 hours,” Athanas mumbled, then closed his eyes.

I was so stunned, I couldn’t even react.

What the hell?

He’s seriously taking a nap here? Now?

Is he out of his mind?

“Athanas?” I called his name, but no response.

He seemed to have fallen asleep instantly, as if losing consciousness.

…This is around the time he’d normally be sleeping at the branch library.

But didn’t he say he was intentionally sleeping then to receive revelations?

Was this originally his usual nap time, and he just recently changed the location to receive revelations?

A holy knight who takes a daily 3-hour nap…

He really seems pretty lax.

Doesn’t anyone give him flak for it?

More importantly, he expects me to wake him up in 3 hours. What the hell am I supposed to do for 3 hours?

There’s not even anything to read in here…

Well, there is one book: [Prayer Guidelines for Valentine].

Yeah, no. That book might as well not exist.

Unable to find anything else to do, I ended up quietly staring at Athanas’ sleeping face.

I even pinched his cheek lightly, but he didn’t stir. The guy was out cold.

Even after all those warnings I gave him…

He’d fallen asleep, completely defenseless, right in front of me.

“…What exactly do you think I’m going to do to you?”

Without his breastplate and thick underclothes, his muscular physique was faintly visible beneath the thin linen shirt.

It was a sight that made me sigh involuntarily.

Falling into a deep slumber, totally unarmed, without any weapons or armor…

Regardless of the stat difference, wouldn’t his carotid artery getting sliced while he’s off guard mean instant death?

Unlike a game where you lose a set amount of HP no matter where you’re hit, in real life, a vital spot injury means you’re done for.

I was also a bit worried about how little subcutaneous fat he seemed to have.

A thicker layer of fat means less internal bleeding from bumps and bruises, and less blood loss from knife wounds…

I should bring that up later when we’re eating together.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

“Hey Athanas, you should really eat more. You’re way too skinny right now.”

Athanas paused mid-bite and looked at me. “…That’s a first. Never heard that one before.”

“Your body fat percentage should be at least 20%… no, you need enough padding so it’s not painful when you bump into…”

“So you don’t get hurt, you mean?”

?

What’s he on about?

When did I ever say I was planning to use Athanas as a human cushion for body slam practice?

Athanas scooped a mountain of food from his plate onto mine, saying, “Don’t just tell me to gain weight. You need to eat more too.”

“Why me…?”

“I noticed earlier that you’re so thin, your ribs are clearly visible. That’s why it hurts whenever you bump into something.”

I was about to snap back, asking when the hell he saw that, but then it hit me: we were ‘pretending to date.’

Right, so using this setting, he’s seen it.

“…Still, there’s no way I can eat all this.”

“Well, whatever you don’t finish, I will. So just eat as much as you can.”

Suddenly at a loss for words, thinking of it as a dating situation, I just silently chewed and swallowed the food.

I feel like I’m seriously going to be sick.

With Athanas watching me so intently, I couldn’t even taste what I was eating.

We committed to this, so I’ve gotta put in the effort…

“Shall I walk you back to your room?”

“…No,” I managed to refuse, my voice wavering.

I was now facing head-on the aftermath I’d been avoiding earlier, fearing my SAN points would plummet to rock bottom.

Now I have to pretend we’re dating… and spread rumors about it all over town…

If an AI analyzed my face right then, it would’ve undoubtedly read as 100% embarrassed.

“We did overdo it a lot today. How about I just walk you to the front of the building then?” Athanas offered.

Despite my inability to control my expression, Athanas was hard-carrying our group project to the best of his ability. Guilt-ridden, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse even that suggestion and nodded.

…I can’t make a shitty face on day one of dating and head back alone.

Otherwise, wouldn’t Athanas become the guy rejected by a giant centipede?

For the sake of Athanas’ honor, I suppressed my urge to run away screaming with every ounce of my willpower.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

I returned, looking forward to resting comfortably in my cozy room, only to be greeted by the sight of an empty doorframe.

…If I just walk through this, it’ll look like I phased through the door.

When are they going to fix this?

The soundproofing effect is gone too, which is subtly bothering me.

Elamin doesn’t even know the door is missing, so it’s a bit awkward to ask him…

Still, my life was too precious to complain to Adna, who had broken it in the first place.

Calling the Saint to ask him to fix the door is just ridiculous…

…I don’t even know where to go to find Tertius.

I couldn’t summon him by name since I didn’t know his Apostle name.

After eliminating everyone through process of elimination, only one person was left to ask.

Casimir…

…Should I just summon the Saint instead?

It felt a bit awkward to go meet someone who was punished for something related to me, even if it was her own fault.

Of course, she’s an uncomfortable person to be around even without that factor…

…Come to think of it, why did Casimir test me?

A question suddenly popped into my mind.

According to the Saint, Casimir had deliberately withheld common sense rules from me.

He said she did that to observe how I’d act unconsciously, in order to determine my origins…

Why didn’t she just ask the Saint?

The Saint has the answer key.

Why didn’t she consult the one with the answers, instead going out of her way to test me, even risking punishment?

Of course, the Saint’s answer was actually wrong…

…Could that be why?

In fact, she had heard about ‘Perpetua’ from the Saint, but because I didn’t seem like ‘Perpetua’ at all, she decided to test me herself?

Now that I think about it, among the higher-ups who know about Othergods, Casimir is the only one who’s not an Apostle.

Apostles are those who embody God’s will through their actions.

Simply put, they’re the type of people who, if they don’t feel like studying, would easily give up, thinking, “I guess God doesn’t want me to do it.”

And if they fail the test? They’d think, “I guess failing the test is God’s will.”

You could say they outsource their thinking to God.

In Conclude, units with low faith and high intelligence often act on their own, sometimes producing surprising results. But that never happens with units high in faith.

Sometimes players forget about a scouting unit they sent out, and it keeps scouting for 7 years straight. Or they go out to fight a war that’s already over because individual missions weren’t canceled, even though the peace treaty was signed.

That’s why there was a saying: if the player’s skill is low, don’t raise faith…

The higher the faith, the more unquestioningly units follow unreasonable orders.

If Roklem threw the game and was just waiting for defeat, His Apostles would follow God’s will and await defeat without taking action.

Even if that leads to all Order’s believers suffering terribly, and the Apostles themselves meeting a horrible end.

But Casimir wouldn’t do that.

Because she’s someone who has already abandoned her faith once before.

That means Casimir has something she values more than faith.

…I should meet with her once.

Of course, I had no intention of revealing my doubts about the Saint right now.

Because within this church, Casimir would be the one most likely to suspect me.

If I said something like, “Don’t you also find the Saint’s actions suspicious?”, she might immediately execute me, thinking, “This evil bastard caught a whiff of my doubt and is trying to drive a wedge between us!”

Still, it should be okay to ask, feigning ignorance, if she noticed something odd about me that prompted her to test me like that.

The moment I opened the door to the knight commander’s office, a loud voice assaulted my ears.

“…What you’re attempting is blasphemy! Why can’t you see that it will confuse the believers and undermine the Lord’s authority?!”

A man, his back turned to me, slammed his fist on the desk with a bang, unable to contain his anger.

However, Casimir paid him no mind, fully focused on polishing the object in her hands until it gleamed.

…I should just leave.

Bad timing.

Luckily, the angry man had his back to the door.

I was carefully trying to close the door as quietly as possible when I locked eyes with Casimir.

“Fabio!”

Her voice brimmed with joy, but I felt no happiness at all.

Why are you calling out someone’s name now?!

If you’re in the middle of a fight, focus on the fight!

Don’t drag an innocent bystander into it!

I screamed internally.

“Who now…”

The angry man turned to look at me.

He appeared to be in his 40s, with neatly combed back hair. The man, his face stern, scanned me from head to toe, then furrowed his brows deeply.

It was an expression of clear disdain.

But I froze on the spot, unable to move for a different reason.

…Bishop Andrea?