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

#087Reader Mode

#087

I gave the reliquary a gentle shake, but there was no rattling sound from inside. It had some heft to it, so it couldn’t be empty, but I was too chicken to open it and take a peek.

If I’d known it would come to this, I should’ve asked what was inside.

The chilly, dark winter morning left me shivering and sleepy, but Athanas’ insistence that I carry this thing with me was all I could think about. I just wanted to get it over with and get inside before it was too late.

…Maybe I shouldn’t have taken it in the first place.

Carrying something with the Heretic Butcher’s name on it while meeting a servant of an Othergod? That was a recipe for disaster, like chugging cola with a mouthful of Mentos.

I stared at the reliquary for a long moment before the sound of the door opening snapped me back to reality. I quickly shoved it into my coat pocket, hoping to avoid any unwanted attention.

“Bishop!”

“…What’s that item you just put in your pocket?”

He has sharp eyes.

After a moment’s hesitation, I pulled out the reliquary. If I was going to carry it around, it was bound to draw attention anyway.

Besides, Athanas had said he’d be waiting at the door today if I didn’t bring it.

I had to choose the lesser of two evils.

Showing an item with Athanas’ name on it seemed less risky than having Athanas show up in person.

“…Do you have a lover?”

I tensed up, unsure how a servant of the Distorted One would react to finding out about Athanas.

“May I take a look for a moment?” Andrea asked, snatching the reliquary from my hand before I could respond. He squinted, meticulously examining the engraving. “Athanas…” he read aloud, his voice carrying a hint of a sigh.

As he handed the reliquary back to me, his brow furrowed slightly. “It’s a very cheap reliquary. Looks like it was hastily prepared.”

…Does he really not know who Athanas is?

Had the player pulling the strings kept him in the dark, or did he just have no recollection of Heretic Slayer?

Various thoughts raced through my mind, but I played the role of naive Fabio who got a cheap gift from his lover to perfection.

“…But it’s the thought that counts, right?”

Andrea’s expression turned skeptical. “That may be true, but people can only judge based on what they see. No matter what’s inside, this reliquary looks like a hasty, careless job. The worst part is that he thought this was good enough for you. It’s like he doesn’t value you at all.”

The room fell silent, punctuated only by Andrea’s loud tongue click.

“No need to look further. He’s clearly a man who doesn’t appreciate you as his lover. Being with him would be a waste of your time.”

I clutched the reliquary tightly, acting like a lovestruck fool. “…Even if you put it that way, it’s not possible for me to prepare even a cheap gift like this myself. And the fact that he rushed to give it to me means he must have wanted me to have it as soon as possible.”

Andrea’s face twisted into a displeased expression. “He doesn’t deserve your feelings.”

Andrea’s voice was resolute.

“Fabio, you’d be better off breaking up with him.”

I feigned shock, gasping in surprise.

…What should I say here?

I had expected Andrea to tell me to break up with him if he ever found out I was dating someone, but not because of a cheap gift. I thought he’d lecture me about how it’s not the right time for a relationship…

Suggesting a breakup because of a lack of sincerity in a gift seemed a bit ridiculous, doesn’t it?

But ‘Fabio’ is a naive country boy who doesn’t know how to take care of himself to the point that it’s frustrating to watch.

“I understand what you said was for my sake. However….”

I deliberately drew out my words.

There should be at least one frustrating and lacking point in a character’s setting.

When dealing with stubborn elderly people, it’s important to keep one thing in mind: don’t rob them of their chance to meddle.

Even if an old man habitually complains, “Can’t you get it right for once? Do you need me to babysit you?” it’s not about taking his words to heart. What he really wants is to feel needed, to be the key to making things perfect, all ‘thanks to him’.

So, you need to intentionally leave a small gap for him to fill with his advice, then go through the motions of revising it. And of course, each time, be sure to make a big fuss about how lost you would have been without his invaluable wisdom.

“…Your advice to break up is the one thing I find hard to accept.”

Andrea’s expression turned icy.

If there were a favorability meter, it would have taken a nosedive, plummeting by a solid -20 points.

But hey, this is just a minor setback for a bigger payoff.

Stubborn old men can’t stand it when you disregard their words of wisdom, but they absolutely relish the moment when you come crawling back after failing miserably. It’s their ultimate “I told you so” moment, proving they were right all along.

As long as it doesn’t ruin anything crucial or cause some serious damage, and simply involves frustratingly defying their dating advice, they won’t give you the boot right away. Then, one fine day, if you come back sniveling about how you and Athanas called it quits, and swear to live your life solely according to Andrea’s guidance from that point on, his favorability would skyrocket by a whopping +60 points. That number is practically…

But wait. There’s no need to go all-in on his route like that, is there?

It’s not like I’m trying to become the son-in-law of Andrea’s virtuous daughter or anything…

I shouldn’t let my automatic stubborn old man response kick in too often.

I almost got carried away trying to win over that obstinate old bastard.

Even if I max out Andrea’s favorability, I’ll just end up getting roped into joining his twisted faith together.

“…You will undoubtedly regret this.”

“You may be right. But if I’m going to break up, I want it to be after I’ve experienced that regret firsthand. Because if I choose to walk away based on someone else’s advice without being fully convinced, I’ll always wonder what could have been.”

“Do you really need to burn yourself to learn that fire is hot?”

After a moment’s hesitation, I bowed my head and replied.

“…Yes, I do.”

I heard a deep, exasperated sigh.

“I’m sorry. If it seems like a waste of time to teach someone who can’t even follow a single piece of advice, then I’ll just….”

I trailed off, pretending to be choked up.

“…take my leave now.”

“And where do you think you’re going? Get ready to study.”

Surprised, I looked up to see Bishop Andrea wearing an expression that made it clear he wasn’t thrilled about it, but he’d let it go.

“Bishop…!”

Wow, he’s actually letting this go.

I had been thinking of just heading back to my room for a nap if he didn’t stop me. Feeling a pang of regret, I finished taking off my outer coat. And just as I was about to hang the reliquary around my neck…

“…Hand that reliquary over to me.” he said suddenly.

“What? Why this….”

“I’ll hold onto it for you. You might lose it while playing with the kids.”

He clicks his tongue, calling it cheap, but wants to protect it for me?

“I’ll return it when you leave, so you don’t need to worry.”

Andrea’s persistence made me feel uneasy.

“…Thank you for your concern, but I promised to keep it with me at all times.”

Could it be that he had actually recognized Athanas’ name?

A sudden suspicion arose that his earlier advice to break up was just a ploy to get the reliquary from me.

“Then there’s no helping it.”

However, Andrea immediately backed off and accepted my answer. His attitude suggested that he had simply been making a casual suggestion.

…Did I overreact?

I deliberately fiddled with the reliquary throughout the lesson, but Andrea showed no particular reaction.

Stay calm.

It’s good to be vigilant, but don’t let your imagination run wild with unfounded speculations. When you start to get paranoid, you make stupid mistakes.

If anything happens, I can still summon the Saint…

“Fabio.”

“Yes, Bishop.”

I was in the middle of transferring my notes from the wax tablet to parchment when the lesson wrapped up. Unlike yesterday, when he’d left immediately, Andrea hung around today, apparently waiting for me.

“Fabio, if you don’t have any pressing engagements today, I could use your help with something.”

“I can stay for about three hours. Will it take long?”

“No, that’s more than enough time. I need assistance with simple document organization.”

Document organization, huh?

Did an opportunity to dig around for intel on Adelaide just fall right into my lap?

…No, no, no. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

I knew they often checked in on newbies when starting a task, just to ensure you were doing it right. If I got caught snooping through off-limits documents, it would definitely raise some suspicions.

And what if this was Andrea’s way of testing me?

If he was trying to figure out whether I had an ulterior motive for volunteering at the orphanage, the second I laid a finger on unrelated documents, it could turn into a “gotcha” moment real quick.

Better to just make a mental note of the document organization and never show any curiosity about irrelevant files.

With that game plan in mind, I followed Andrea down to the underground archives. But my resolve didn’t hold up for long.

“…What’s all this?”

“These are the records of when the children first arrived at the orphanage,” Andrea explained, handing me a registry of the kids.

Well, this was the last thing I expected.

“Look through it and note the children’s current status here. List the children still at the orphanage here, the adopted ones here, and the children transferred to other parishes over here.” Andrea instructed.

“…There are portraits attached to the documents,” I noticed, my eyes scanning the pages.

“Since they could be children who lost their parents, we always record their appearance right after they enter the orphanage. It allows us to find them through portraits later on if needed.”

I was dumbfounded.

Can coincidences really be this uncanny?

Since it worked out so conveniently in my favor, I started feeling anxious instead.

Maybe this is a trap he set up, suspecting that I came here to find Adelaide.

He’s probably trying to confirm his hunch by gauging my reaction.

Don’t panic. Fabio doesn’t know anything. He simply wants to help Andrea out of the goodness of his heart. Fabio is happy to assist Andrea…

I transferred the children’s names as Andrea had instructed me to do.

By repeating this simple task, my anxiety began to settle a little.

Anton, Arianna, Amanda…

That’s when I stumbled across the document of a child named ‘Alicia’.

…Oh.

I recognized her instantly from the portrait. Black hair, black eyes, and a face with a smile so wide that her dimples were on full display…

It’s Adelaide.

After a brief pause, I tried to continue working as naturally as possible, but I couldn’t.

Alicia’s document had every section except for the name and portrait scratched out and erased.

…Why though?

“She’s quite a pretty child, isn’t she?”

Holy shit!

My heart nearly leaped out of my chest when Andrea suddenly spoke from behind me.

No, it’s okay. It’s totally normal to pause when coming across a strange document.

“Bishop Andrea. This, this document is….”

The moment I turned around to ask why it was damaged…

“Are you curious about why the content is erased?”

The thread connecting to my reliquary suddenly pulled tight. Thinking for a split second that he was trying to strangle me with the necklace, I reflexively put my hand under the thread.

“Stay still. You’ll hurt your hand,” he ordered.

With a snapping sound, the necklace broke, and the reliquary rolled onto the floor.

“The reason is simple. I was afraid someone would come looking for her.”

Andrea picked up the reliquary.

“…Afraid they would find that child and force her to be sacrificed again.”