Chapter 17: 17

Evil god. It sounded like a very bad name, but in reality, it wasn’t particularly special. To put it simply, he was classified as an evil god by the main denominations of the current continent. The Church of Corruption was also one of the denominations classified as worshiping evil spirits in that way. Of course, unlike the current churches of the evil god, those were subjugated a long time ago.

Unlike the mainstream denominations that cooperated without any conditions when it came to opposing the evil gods, unfortunately, there’d been no cooperation between those who worshipped entities designated as evil. In addition, it was unclear whether this being was classified as such because it went crazy or due to persecution.

I asked the lord.

“Isn’t the siege too large for one worshiper of an evil god to maintain?”

The lord’s face, which was too innocent, grew gloomier.

“According to the priests who sensed the deity, at least four different denominations are working together to besiege Kelton.”

The criteria for judging the divinity the priests felt belonged to an evil god was very simple. The energy was similar to a blocklist made by the gods, so the moment they felt their divinity, the priests couldn’t help but be overcome with an instinctive disgust.

The problem was that the blocklist of these gods wasn’t renewed at all, even if the denomination of the evil god was completely subjugated. So even though the Church of Corruption was overthrown in the past, the priests of the present age felt great disgust at it.

Anyway, something was really wrong here. Cooperation between worshippers?

“It’s not common for those who worship evil to cooperate. Do you have any guesses as to what they want?”

The lord shook his head.

“I can’t even guess. No matter how much I think about it, Kelton is just a common city that doesn’t have anything special to say. Haah.”

There was deep concern in his sigh.

“To think that something like this happened as soon as I took office…if my father were still alive, he would have come up with a solution….”

A middle-aged knight with a reticent impression behind him whispered into the lord’s ear. Perhaps he was advised not to show weakness in front of his guests. As soon as he heard the whisper, the lord put on a brighter expression.

“Still, it’s winter, so there’s enough food in the city, and the soldiers’ morale isn’t bad. The situation is stable, but the problem is that no one knows that Kelton is isolated because of the sudden siege.”

I could slowly guess the proposal that the lord was about to ask.

“So, we need a small squadron to break through the monster’s siege and deliver the news of Kelton to other cities.”

Yeah, I thought so. Even though the lord was very sorry to impose, he was willing to ask us to risk our lives because I was a priest who worshipped the gods. Priests didn’t spare their lives when dealing with the evil gods, so he must have calculated that I would have no choice but to grant his request.

In fact, as long as I was pretending to be a priest who served the goddess of maintenance, I couldn’t refuse. It was checkmate.

‘Kill!!!’

Ignoring Mother’s harsh cry to slap the lord in the face and run away, I answered with a smile.

“I’ll help.”

For now, let’s accept and think about it a bit more.

“Priest Marnak!”

An unexpected reaction came from Carmen sitting next to me.

“How can you accept it so blindly?! If you accept, you should at least hear the details of the operation before making a decision!”

It was a welcome rebuke since every word he spoke was full of concern for me. Was this what travel companions were for? However, the lord’s expression grew uncomfortable, so I restrained Carmen.

“I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do. If it’s related to the worshipers of the evil god, as a priest, I have to help.”

As I spoke, I hoped my inner thoughts would reach him. Please make more of a fuss, Carmen! That way, the rewards from the lord will increase! Besides, I’ve decided what to bring with me.

Carmen spoke to the lord as if he had heard my telepathy.

“I will also join this operation.”

The lord wiped away his sweat and murmured.

“It is certainly an honor for a son of Baltas to voluntarily engage in such dangerous work, but….”

The lord’s reluctance toward Carmen was because he was the son of the Black Wolf, Ensis Baltas, even though he was an illegitimate bastard. He was worried about what might happen if the Black Wolf’s son died.

“I have the skills to protect myself, so the lord doesn’t have to worry too much.”

“But…”

I listened as they went back and forth. The lord tried several times to convince Carmen, but he had already decided to follow me. Stren Plkor let out a deep sigh.

“Okay. You’re so determined there’s nothing I can do about it, and I promise to give you the best possible support I can.”

Carmen bowed his head deeply to express his gratitude. I decided to chime in then.

“Lord, is it okay if I ask you a question?”

He answered me with a more depressing look than when he talked about the worshipers of the evil god.

“Speak at ease.”

“Can you give me that thing?”

I reached over and pointed to one of the ornaments. I was pointing to a wide bowl, but the Lord glanced at the bowl and asked me.

“That bowl?”

“Yes. I can feel the protection of the Goddess I serve from that vessel.”

It was a blatant lie. No, just half a lie. It was true that there was a blessing in that vessel, but it wasn’t from the maintenance goddess.

“Really? It’s just an ornament anyway. You there. Move the bowl to the priest’s room.”

As the Lord gave instructions, the employees bowed their heads slightly, then carefully picked up the bowl and disappeared. I smiled.

“When will the operation begin?”

“As the monsters are gathering more and more, it is better to start the operation as soon as it gets dark. We plan to do it tonight. There is still a little time left, so why don’t you take a nap in the meanwhile?”

“We will.”

Carmen and I left the gloomy lord behind and parted to our respective rooms. As I entered the room given to me, I saw the bowl on the table.

‘Kill!’

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I nodded at Mother’s words that I got something hard to find.

“That’s right. I never dreamed I could find something of the Seekers of the Stream.”

The god worshiped by the flowseekers had powers related to water, and the protection hanging onto this vessel was also related to water. The lord didn’t seem to notice the protection blessing, but even if he did, he couldn’t use this vessel. Because, except for me, a sacred object was something only priests who worshipped that god could use.

On the other hand, holy relics were objects that anyone could use without having to worship the god. Naturally, making a holy relic required more complicated than a simple blessing. That was why each church paid special attention to recovering their holy relics.

“Let’s try it.”

As I touched the bowl and expressed the blessing, water gushed from inside the bowl.

“I don’t have to worry about washing my face after using the Butcher.”

‘Kill!’

I pulled out the Froststeel sword and submerged the blade in the water. As Mother explained, this water had a minor side effect, so when a weapon was dipped in this way, a little bit of the protection seeped into the blade for a while after it was taken out. I then took out the Butcher and put it on the table next to me. When the Froststeel sword had absorbed enough protection, I thought of immersing the Butcher.

While I waited, I moved to the bed.

“Mother. Do you have any guesses about this incident?”

‘Kill?’

I chuckled at the answer. Indeed, how could she know?

“Well, that’s right. I’ll take my chances and look into it a little more.”

There was only one thing I was worried about. If this world was really in the game I used to play, there should be something like the main quest. I was worried this might be a warning signal that it had started, but I didn’t know anything about its contents.

I gently patted Mother’s hand as it jumped out of my pocket and played on my chest.

“Well, no matter what, I have no choice but to try at least once, right?”

‘Kill…?’

I smiled at Mother’s question, asking what I was talking about all of a sudden.

“Nothing.”

*

“Hyah!”

As Kelton’s gate opened, five horses jumped out and raced through the snow. The wind slapped at my face. The horses didn’t like me, but they reluctantly followed my orders as I led them.

Shortly after they started running along the road, a dozen different cries followed.

“Kyiiiigh!”

“Khaaaaah!”

“Grrr!”

“Keep running!”

Carmen’s call cut through the air.

Of the five participating in this operation, except for Carmen and me, three were priests. Two of them were priests of the Restoration Church, which worshipped the goddess of healing and health, and both were huge. The other was a reluctant Reformation Church priest, wearing their unique white armor.

As the monsters drew closer, the Reformation Church priest took out the battle hammer behind his back and swung it.

“Libra of Retribution!!!”

A hammer of light fell. The beasts’ screams could be heard from behind us, but there was no time to look back.

When the two priests of Restoration Church chanted, a white light covered our steeds. The horses, not tired anymore, kept galloping. However, as if to ridicule our struggle, the monsters kept coming.

The time was near. I shouted the lines I had prepared in advance for Carmen.

“I’ll get their attention!”

Carmen exclaimed.

“What kind of bullshit is that? Even if it’s you, Priest Marnak, it’s unreasonable to stand alone against that horde!”

“But if we keep going like this, they’ll catch up!”

“We can lose them!”

The arrow loosed from his bowstring pierced the head of a beast about to spring from the roadside.

“You know better than anyone that we can’t lose them this way! I’ll stay!”

“If we all work together, we can definitely do it! Don’t do it! Priest Marnak!”

I smiled and looked at Carmen.

“Reinforcements, Carmen. Be sure to bring them.”

I let go of the horse’s reins and jumped off.

“Priest Marnak!”

The priests from the Reformation Church and the Restoration Church passed by me and bowed their heads to pay tribute to my sacrifice. After answering them with a nod, I drew the Butcher from my back and smiled.

“Wasn’t my line just now a little cool?”

‘Kill!’

Hearing Mother’s praise that my acting was very good, I started the Butcher’s engine.

Whaaaaaaang!

A harsh start-up sound resounded across the dark night. As if in response, the mixed roar of a horde of monsters replied. I raised the Butcher and walked out to welcome them.

Now it was time to find out what the hell was going on in the heads of the worshipers who gathered here.

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