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

#097Reader Mode

#097

What did Athanas realize?

Is Callister dangerous? Should I be worried about what he might find out?

I couldn’t resist sneaking a peek at Callister, only to catch him staring right back, eyes locked on us like a hawk.

F*ck!

So scary…

Isn’t it basic manners to look away when a couple is all over each other?

Why’s he gawking at us like some kind of voyeuristic weirdo? Like he’s trying to see how far we’ll go?

Just as I was starting to panic, I felt Athanas’ breath tickling my ear as he whispered, “It’s unbearable, this agony of you forgetting our shared moments. Since we parted ways, I’ve only managed to endure by desperately holding onto the memories…”

Aaaah!

Instant. Blush. I ducked my head, barely suppressing a squeal, but hey, it totally sold the whole ‘Fabio’s so flustered he doesn’t know what to do’ act.

Whew n-nice save…

“Um, A-Athanas? Didn’t we agree not to get too affectionate in front of people?”

“…Weren’t you trying to make me anxious by taking your sweet time? I thought you were enjoying watching me squirm.”

Wow, holy shit…

It’s not like they’ve got romance novels or TV shows in this day and age. Where the hell did he pick up lines like that? Has he been creeping on real couples having these conversations?

“Ah, I understand. But please give me some space for a moment. You are being rather rude to Mr. Callister, who is kindly explaining these things to us…”

“Oh, don’t mind me at all. Please, do go on.”

“…I beg your pardon?”

“Please continue. Shall I lay out a mat for you two?”

…This has to be sarcasm, right?

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“For what exactly? Ah, I’m being sincere. I’ve actually been delving into this topic recently and had requested Valentine’s followers for insight, but they declined. They are quite protective of the prayer room and won’t allow any interruptions during its use, even for research purposes…”

What kind of research requires that?

I had a hunch that no matter what it was, I shouldn’t touch that question with a ten-foot pole.

Asking a chatterbox about their research pet project? Yeah, that’s how you end up like the dummy in a slasher flick who ignores the big red flag about the one thing you should never, ever do.

I’d definitely f*cking regret it for sure.

“Oh, I-I see…Well, um, thanks for taking the time to show us around. I’ll probably forget everything, but I still wanted to express my gratitude. I guess we’ll be heading off now…”

“Leaving so soon? What a pity,” Callister commented with an strange, subtle smile, his eyes fixed on me. “Are you truly not considering pursuing a degree? I enjoy sharing my knowledge, but I have to admit, it’s tiresome to repeat the same introductions time and again.”

“…Pardon?”

What’s going on here?

“Could it be that we’ve met before…”

Callister’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “You’re curious if this isn’t our first meeting? Well, what do you think?”

There’s no way Oblivion would work on me…

Callister’s smile stretched into a full-on grin.

“Just kidding.”

“……”

“But do feel free to visit the library anytime. You’re always welcome. After all, this library is the most magnificent place in the Cathedral.”

…More like the most haunted part.

Callister, thankfully, let us leave without any hassle, and Athanas and I strolled out, his hand clasped tightly around mine, both of us silent.

If the library’s this messed up, I don’t even wanna think about what the rest of this university looks like.

Could one of the Othergods have already staged a hostile takeover?

An Othergod and the university….

The worst possible combo.

Lost in my jumbled thoughts, I nearly jumped when Athanas abruptly broke the silence.

“…Fabio, it might be best if you don’t dwell on this issue any longer.”

“Huh?”

“I know you’ve invested a great deal of effort into solving that problem. But perhaps it’s time to be satisfied with what you’ve already discovered? There’s something about this entire situation that feels… ominous.”

What’s he talking about?

I had already told Athanas that I knew the solution.

Rolling my eyes, a thought crossed my mind.

…Is someone eavesdropping on us right now?

“So, is that why you deliberately took away my chance to ask a question earlier?”

“You noticed?”

“Of course I’d be suspicious if you suddenly ask something like that out of nowhere. It caught me off guard. But Athanas, I figured you must have your reasons, so I just went along with it.”

For now, best to just go with the flow and see where this leads.

“Now that it’s just us, please tell me. Why did you want us to get out of there?”

“It’s something I really shouldn’t discuss, but…”

Athanas leaned in close, dropping his voice to a barely audible whisper.

“…The room we were just in seems to be connected to the ‘Research Director’.”

My mind kicked into overdrive, connecting the dots.

Research Director? Ledeia’s Apostle?

A pile of bugs in human form? That guy?

“Earlier, when my hand moved on its own and provided that answer, it had nothing to do with a ‘collective unconscious’,” Athanas said.

“Then what was it?”

“Fabio, you may be aware of this, but Ledeia’s priests can control a person’s body to a certain extent when they bestow a healing blessing.”

…I had no idea, actually.

“However, it’s strictly forbidden for them to perform such acts outside the ‘Healing Room’. That’s why they always try to get the injured person to the Healing Room, even in emergencies. There are limits to the blessings a priest can give outside a designated sanctuary.”

Athanas glanced around, as if checking for eavesdroppers, then lowered his voice even further. “What moved my hand earlier was Ledeia’s power.”

“But you just said that’s not allowed outside a sanctuary…” I started, but Athanas clapped a hand over my mouth.

“…Which is precisely why I suggested we leave. I think that place might have been the ‘laboratory’ I’ve only heard rumors about.”

Seriously?

I was completely baffled. Was he making up a believable lie to cover an earlier slip-up, or genuinely telling me something he’d discovered?

For now, I’ll just keep quiet and listen.

“The sacred text on the parchment was created by copying the contents of a forbidden book and then scratching out unnecessary characters. It exploited the rule that you forget the contents of a forbidden book the moment you leave the library.”

Wow….

I did find the order of the sacred characters odd.

Athanas spotting that is impressive as hell too.

It didn’t even seem like he was giving it more than a quick once-over…

As expected, the future Inquisitor’s eye for detail was top-notch from day one.

“…The only person who would do such a thing within the Order is the Research Director. He’s notorious for many reasons. Fabio, you should be careful too.”

I nodded my head obediently.

As Athanas finally uncovered my mouth, he hit me with one last warning, “It’s best not to get involved with the research director or the research he conducts. If you had shown interest in that ‘collective unconscious’ just now, he might have invited you to join in on the research.”

“…Just hearing about it gives me the creeps.”

Kidnapping someone to your university just because they showed some interest in your research….

It’s terrifying on a whole new level.

“Exactly. Once he confirms that you won’t remember what he does to you, he’ll start conducting increasingly horrifying experiments. And you won’t be able to tell anyone because you’ll have no memory of it,” Athanas said, his voice low and grave.

Ah.

There’s a danger like that?

I was stunned. I hadn’t even thought about that possibility.

“Even this warning I’m giving you now might vanish from our memory once we leave,” he added.

“What? No way.”

“Why do you think I’m telling you this right now?”

…Wait, what?

An icy shiver ran through me as the realization hit.

Does this mean that what just happened will disappear from Athanas’ memory?

Seriously?

If I remind him, won’t the memory come back?

But deep down, I knew it wouldn’t. I thought back to the first time I saw the power of ‘Oblivion’ in action. We had nearly bumped into people while walking through a chatty crowd, but they didn’t even react. That’s how powerful Oblivion is – it can make you ‘forget’ what you’re literally seeing with your own eyes…

“So, promise me before we go. Promise that you won’t even think about coming to the main library building alone,” Athanas urged, his voice filled with concern.

“Yeah, I promise.”

Damn, this is scary.

Was the game I played a horror game?

But even the most sadistic game developer wouldn’t have the audacity to completely erase a player’s progress like this, right?

Seriously, isn’t Oblivion way too OP?

How the hell is anyone supposed to stand a chance against something like that?

And sure, I’m immune to mental interference, but what about the rest of my colleagues?

How should we deal with this situation…

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I remembered the portable wax tablet I had stashed away in the sleeve of my apprentice priest’s robe. I whipped it out and said, “Hey, even if our memories get erased, we can still keep a record, right? If we write it down here…”

“…It might be best not to get your hopes up too much.”

Athanas said that, but he still took the wax tablet from my hands anyway.

Obviously, the security system preventing access to forbidden books isn’t going to be easily outsmarted by something like this.

After all, what’s the point if the paper with the transcribed contents remained untouched while the memory of reading the forbidden book itself got erased?

I wonder if the paper will just turn up blank, or I’ll end up subconsciously tossing it in the trash before we leave?

And since it’s a wax tablet we’re dealing with here, I might even wipe the content clean with my own hands without realizing it…

“…Try writing on the wooden side at the back, not the wax,” I suggested, nodding towards the tablet.

Without a word, Athanas did as I asked, meticulously etching our notes onto the sturdy surface. The toothpick-sized stylus kept bending under the pressure, forcing him to straighten it out several times, but eventually, recognizable letters began to take shape.

Callister, Research Director, forbidden books, oblivion, don’t go to the library.

I traced my fingers over the deeply engraved marks, feeling the grooves beneath my fingertips. Even with my eyes closed, I knew I’d be able to read this.

“Fabio.”

“Yeah?” I glanced up at the sound of my name, meeting Athanas’ gaze, but he just stared at me silently.

What’s up with him?

Finally, he spoke, his words slow and deliberate. “…If someone has a dream, but the moment they wake up, it slips away from their memory, never to be recalled again… would it be the same as if they never had the dream at all?”

His question caught me off guard, and I couldn’t help but blink in surprise.

Where the hell did that come from?

It seemed like such a random thing to ask out of the blue, but I could tell from the intensity in his eyes that it was weighing heavily on his mind.

“…Is this supposed to be some kind of riddle with a right answer?” I asked, trying to understand what he was getting at.

“No, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about lately. I wanted to hear your opinion on it.”

Do I even have an opinion on this?

I mean, isn’t it pretty normal to forget dreams right after waking up? That’s kind of the point of dreams, that they’re not meant to stick in your memory, right? Why should it matter if you can’t recall them later?

Wait, is he talking about those dreams where divine beings show up with important messages?

In the game, there’s always that 10% chance that crucial revelations delivered in dreams might not get through to the character. That’s why for the really important stuff, they use other methods, even if it costs more points…

But I don’t think that’s what he’s getting at here.

“…Is this really worth pondering?” I asked, but as soon as the words left my mouth, I realized I sounded like a grumpy old man.

I quickly clarified, “I just mean, there are only two possible answers, right? Either forgetting the dream is the same as not having it at all, or it’s not. But if the conclusion doesn’t actually change anything, then what’s the point of even asking? It wouldn’t make a difference if I never thought about it in the first place. For abstract questions like this, it’s better to save yourself the mental energy and not even go down that rabbit hole.”

“And if it was a question worth pondering?”

I shrugged. “Then go with whichever answer feels right to you. It’s not like anyone can definitively prove it either way, you know? Believe in that and live your life accordingly. If evidence later shows you were mistaken, you can always adjust your perspective. No big deal.”

Athanas nodded slowly, a slight smile tugging at his lips. “That’s… a remarkably straightforward response. Thank you for the advice.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, waving my hand nonchalantly. “I don’t feel like I said anything particularly helpful.”

“No, no, it was quite helpful.”

“Yeah?” I replied, still not fully convinced.

But why isn’t the system showing that he was deeply moved?

I mean, didn’t I just drop some serious wisdom there? That was life-altering advice, perfectly timed and everything. If it made him reconsider things even the tiniest bit, shouldn’t that count as ‘enlightenment’?

…The system is surprisingly strict about this stuff.

At this rate, I could write (copy) an entire self-help book and still not earn a single ‘favor’ point.

Or maybe Athanas is just an especially tough nut to crack…

…But doesn’t that mean he basically ignored everything I said, even after thanking me for the advice?

This bastard, seriously?

Just as I was about to write him off, a notification window finally popped up.

Aha, there it is!

He was deeply moved after all, just a little delayed!

Athanas, I knew deep down you weren’t a completely lost cause…

[SYSTEM: ‘Research Director Colomba’ was deeply moved by your words!]

…Wait, who?