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

#083Reader Mode

#083

Bishop Andrea stood before Casimir, not a single gray hair on his head and no sign of the convulsive coughing fits that plagued him in the game. In fact, without the burden of illness, he looked nearly two decades younger than his digital counterpart.

Why is Andrea here…

“Don’t just stand there, come on in,” Casimir said, gesturing towards me. “My door is always open to you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had company. I didn’t mean to interrupt…”

“Company?” Casimir scoffed. “Oh, you mean this unwanted guest?”

At that, the veins on Andrea’s neck bulged with indignation.

“Entertaining a reader during work hours?! How can someone who doesn’t even adhere to the doctrine that only those who have fulfilled their duties have the right to indulge in leisure activities possibly pass judgment on the sins of others?”

Casimir rose from her seat, her movements deliberate and measured.

“I appreciate you reminding me of something I had momentarily forgotten, Bishop Andrea. Neglecting my responsibilities during office hours to attend to personal matters is, indeed, a transgression worthy of condemnation. I’m astounded that it slipped my mind.”

“If you understand, then you’ll send that reader away this instant—”

“Oh, Roklem!” Casimir exclaimed, her voice filled with reverence. “Before me stands a sinner who has forsaken his own duties to slander others during working hours. Forgive me for not immediately denouncing this sinner and allowing him to persist in his ways!”

The moment Andrea opened his mouth to retort, no sound emerged.

“…!! ……!!”

It was like watching a scene on mute. Casimir’s lips twisted into a mocking smile.

“No need to express such gratitude for my intervention in preventing your tongue from committing further sins, Bishop Andrea. I was merely fulfilling my obligation.”

Damn, she’s not holding back with the humiliation…

Andrea’s face turned a deep shade of crimson.

Unable to endure the degradation any longer, Andrea clamped his mouth shut and spun on his heel. I quickly stepped aside, pressing myself against the wall next to the door and lowering my head. But Andrea deliberately paused in front of me.

What the actual f*ck?

Why wasn’t he leaving? I raised my head, only to find Andrea glaring at me with intense fury.

Was he trying to intimidate me?

I held his gaze, refusing to back down, and Andrea’s eyebrows twitched before he finally stormed out.

Well, that’s one way to make a first impression.

I had planned to approach him cautiously, thinking he might have some clues about the game…

But why did I have to run into him under the worst possible circumstances?

With an internal sigh, I stepped into the office.

“Why was that man so upset just now? He looked seriously angry when he left, glaring daggers at me.”

“Don’t worry about him. He’s always had a bad personality to begin with.”

“Did you say he’s Bishop Andrea? For a priest serving the Lord, he sure doesn’t seem to have a handle on his emotions…”

My gaze drifted to Casimir’s desk, where the astrolabe Antonio had given me gleamed, practically showing off.

“…I’m realizing again just how rare it is to find exceptional clergymen like Mr. Antonio, even in a Cathedral this size. I assumed all those who believed in order would be like him.”

“If that were the case, I’d be out of a job. There’d be no one left to condemn.”

Casimir’s smile held no trace of ill will towards me.

I had thought the head of the heretic inquisition might harbor some resentment about being punished for testing a ‘Watched One’…

I guess she really did just get a slap on the wrist and was let off the hook.

“…Is that bishop one of the hypocrites you mentioned before?”

Antonio had made a tremendous sacrifice to change the law, but instead of his achievements being celebrated, people started acting like he didn’t even exist. Casimir had referred to those who went along with it as hypocrites.

…And she threw that at me, a complete stranger, as an essay topic without even mentioning it was connected to her.

Seriously, if I had answered wrongly about Antonio’s actions back then, what would have happened…

“What makes you think that?”

“Because while that bishop was getting angry, you kept polishing the astrolabe like you were trying to rub it in his face.”

Casimir chuckled and ruffled my hair.

“You got me. I took your advice to heart.”

“…May I ask what law Antonio changed? I’m curious why that bishop got so angry.”

“That guy wasn’t angry because of what the law actually changed.”

“Then why…?”

“He’s the kind of person who thinks there’s something inherently wrong with a law notarized by God being altered based on human suggestion. If the law can change, people might start to question whether the current judgments could later be proven wrong…”

Casimir scoffed.

“And he has the nerve to accuse others of blasphemy? An unchanging law is a dead law, and those who cling to a dead law will end up dead, even if they’re gods.”

…Are you talking about Nephiton?

“So, what brings you here? Do you have a favor to ask?”

I did have a favor in mind, but blurting out “My door is broken” felt a bit awkward given the current situation.

“Um, I hate to bother you with something so trivial, but I couldn’t think of anyone else to turn to…”

“Oh? Who’s been giving you a hard time now? Want me to make sure they think twice before messing with you again?”

“No! It’s not like that at all!”

“Then what is it?”

“…I was wondering when my door will be fixed.”

“Door?” Casimir blinked, looking puzzled. “What’s wrong with your door? If it’s just broken, Elamin would’ve taken care of it.”

“I’m not sure if ‘broken’ is the right word…”

I explained how Adna had taken an axe to the door and now there was an invisible barrier in its place. Casimir seemed utterly baffled.

“The fifth Apostle? Why? What possessed her to break down your door?”

“…The Saint had summoned me, saying he had something to tell me. I was in my room at the time.”

“Couldn’t she have just knocked?”

“I don’t know why she didn’t do that.”

“Were you up to something in there when it happened?”

As if I was doing anything suspicious.

Did she think I was locking myself in, setting up some shady heretic altar?

I was about to defend my innocence when I remembered what had actually transpired—the near-miss oral microbiome exchange incident involving Tartar Sauce.

“…I was changing my clothes. Something had gotten on them.”

“Well, she must have had her reasons for taking an axe to it. I’ll look into it.”

Among the people who say they’ll investigate, no one ever actually does.

“Oh, that reminds me, I haven’t apologized yet.” Casimir rummaged through her desk drawer and placed something in my hand.

“You must have been really confused since I didn’t explain anything. This might not be much in the way of compensation, but…”

The item, wrapped in linen cloth, was smaller than my palm. Based on the lack of a solid feel, it didn’t seem to be made of any precious metal.

As I started to unwrap the cloth, Casimir covered my hand, gently stopping me.

“I recommend finding out what it is before you open it.”

“…What is it?”

“A severed tongue.”

“Come again?”

For a moment, I doubted my own ears.

“Whose…”

“Whose do you think? It’s mine.”

My jaw dropped, a mix of shock and horror washing over me.

“Why your tongue…”

“It was punishment for disobeying orders. I was sentenced to spend a day without a tongue.”

Aargh!

A light punishment, she called it!

She said it was just a light punishment!

Is cutting out one’s tongue no big deal around here? Because it can regenerate?

So, was her tongue now made of Ledeia’s Holy Flesh?

That thought made my skin crawl twice as much.

“W-Why are you giving this to me?” I stammered, staring at the gruesome object in my hand.

“I thought it would make quite a unique holy relic. Elamin mentioned he was planning to give you an amulet anyway, so I figured we could craft it with this and kept it.”

…Is this what it feels like when a bear rips out its own bile to offer you for nourishment?

I was grateful, but not really.

I have to… carry this thing around?

A person’s severed tongue?

“Can’t I just appreciate the gesture? Actually carrying it is a bit…”

“You seem averse to it.”

I nodded.

Look, I know that it’s good manners to accept gifts graciously, but I absolutely couldn’t do that now. Because if I pretended to be happy about this, I might find myself on the receiving end of more body parts in the future.

“That’s understandable. You’re probably used to holy relics being made of bones. Elamin said he still gets a bit disturbed by the fleshy ones too.”

Bones aren’t okay either.

“Well, once it’s tucked away in a reliquary, you won’t have to look at it often, so it shouldn’t bother you too much.”

Is ‘no’ not an option here?

More importantly, put it in a reliquary or something already if you’ve got one lying around!

Right now, I felt like someone carrying around a pulled tooth wrapped in tissue…

“Now that I think about it, it would be good to have my name engraved on the reliquary in big text.”

“…Your name, Casimir?”

What, like a certificate of authenticity?

No, well, it must be for some other weird Dark Realm reason.

Just as speaking a name held power, perhaps engraving it could amplify the relic’s effects…

“It’s a lover’s tradition.”

“Pardon?”

“It symbolizes being together with your loved one forever. Priests can’t exactly exchange symbols of marriage with each other, so they do this instead.”

Wait, so lovers in the Dark Realm chop off body parts, swap them, and carry them around as a display of affection?

…Can’t they just carry each other’s pictures like normal people?

Do the people in the Dark Realm miss their lovers when they see a severed tongue?

It was a sentiment I truly had no desire to understand.

“If my name is on it, annoying bastards won’t show up to bother you again.”

“…If it has that kind of meaning, you can’t engrave your name on it.”

Casimir blinked and then flashed a mischievous grin.

“Why, do you want someone to approach you?”

I was about to say no, but then I remembered I had to spread rumors about dating ‘Athanas’.

“Well, it’s not that I want to be approached…”

“Hmm?”

“…Because I’m already dating someone.”

Saying those words out loud made me want to bash my head against the wall.

“Since when?”

“Today…”

“Name?”

“A holy knight…named Athanas…”

“A man?”

I nodded slightly, my head bowed.

Even without looking, I could feel my face burning bright red.

“…I thought you were averse to same-sex relationships?”

“I was, when I thought it was forbidden, something that shouldn’t be done. But when I found out that’s not actually the case…”

I felt my mouth going dry as I spoke.

“I realized, maybe the reason I couldn’t take my eyes off him even though we’re both guys, and my heart raced when I got close to him, could be…love.”

Love, tension, fear, anxiety, stress – they all kick your sympathetic nervous system into overdrive.

So the way your body reacts around your crush can be similar to your reactions when you see a tiger.

“So, is that why you asked to fix the door?”

?

What is she saying?

Does she think the repair request was just an excuse, and I actually came to announce I’m dating someone?

Casimir took back the ‘gift’ in my hand and said,

“I’ll send it to Elamin when the reliquary is ready. That’d be more convenient, right?”

“Thank you for being so considerate!”

I’m saved!

Sweet relief washed over me.

Because I definitely didn’t want to go back to my room holding that in my hand.

The shape, texture, and weight I could feel even through the linen were way too distracting…

“…Being able to fall in love is a good thing,” Casimir suddenly muttered, echoing Elamin. “Because that’s a very human emotion.”

“Haha…” I laughed awkwardly.

Yes, actually I’m a robot bastard with no human emotions, you got me.

When you think of human emotions, shouldn’t compassion be the most obvious one?

Damn lovebirds…

Before my SAN points could drop any further, I quickly said goodbye and left the office.

…If I could just be alone, I’d even hide in a coffin at this point.

I was so tense all day that my head was throbbing.

For now, I needed to rest without thinking about anything.

I can deal with tomorrow’s problems tomorrow…

I was walking with that resolution when someone suddenly blocked my path. I tried to step aside.

…What the hell?

Why do they keep blocking me?

My patience was already at its limit, so running into someone who pissed me off put me in a really foul mood.

“Hey, why are you blocking—”

I was about to snap, but shut my mouth as soon as I saw who it was.

…Bishop Andrea?

Why is he here?

Was he waiting for me?

He’s afraid to mess with Casimir, so he wants to take out his anger on me instead?

I reflexively raised my hand to my chest. If he made even one threatening move, I was going to call for the Saint.

“…Your name is Fabio, right?”

Andrea flipped through a book that looked like a bible, then closed it with a snap.

“Fabio, could you spare me a moment?”

“…Why?”

“I’d like to share some enlightening words with you.”