#040

Since walking around the Capital Church in serf attire would actually make me stand out more, I was given a cloak to wear over my clothes.

‘Damn, this is heavy.’

Looking at it, it seemed to be made of wool. It looked like it would be warm in winter, but the surface was coarse, and above all, it had a faint smell of animals.

‘Medieval wool is so damn crappy…’

[They say that a piece of ‘wool’ long enough to wrap around the body would cost at least one sack of wheat for the fabric alone. A sack of wheat! I’d rather freeze to death!]

Fabio’s narration suddenly popped up.

‘How much is a sack of wheat?’

[Two ‘sacks’ of wheat is enough to feed one person for a year. Of course, that’s assuming the miller didn’t scam them. Do they not fear the Lord? That scoundrel deserves divine punishment!]

‘No, the cost of delivering divine punishment is so high that it’s never handed out for something like that.’

Anyway, to think that a piece of trashy cloak like this costs a year’s worth of wheat. I really can’t get used to medieval prices.

‘An era where giving someone clothes like this is considered incredible welfare…’

If I were Fabio, would I have felt like I hit the jackpot upon receiving this?

‘Who cares? To a 21st-century modern person, it looks like garbage.’

But since I am currently (former) serf Fabio, I had to react like a serf.

‘I shouldn’t say it out loud first; I’ll just put on a subtly happy expression… and if someone asks, I’ll say in a slightly excited voice that I could never afford an outer garment like this and that it’s my first time wearing one.’

“…It is quite coarse, isn’t it? That’s because it’s an outer garment worn during pilgrimages.”

“Pardon?”

“The robe you’ll receive once you become a Chanter will be much better than that. Just bear with the discomfort for a while.”

At Ter’s words, I broke into a cold sweat inwardly.

‘Did he read my feeling that this is garbage?’

It’s really uncomfortable having someone who can see emotions.

I definitely managed my facial expression…

If I act like [Reaction of (former) serf getting wool clothes for the first time in his life!! Shock, “There’s clothing this warm?!”], he’ll just think, ‘This kid is trying too hard…’

‘Still, it would be a setting error for a serf brat to complain that the clothes are coarse.’

I quickly replied.

“Discomfort? From my position, this is an expensive item that one would have to save up a great deal to buy!”

“…Really?”

Ter looked a bit skeptical.

“I’m glad if it’s not uncomfortable. If there’s anything that bothers you, feel free to tell me.”

‘…The clothes aren’t uncomfortable, but you are.’

Can’t he turn off the emotion-seeing eyes?

Thinking about having to deal with this long-term is a bit exhausting.

“Thank you for your consideration, Lord Ter.”

“…Right. Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will.”

“Go on, and be careful not to stand out.”

‘The only serf among nobles—I’m sure I won’t stand out at all.’

“Yes. Since I was an ignorant serf, it may be inevitable that I receive glares due to mistakes made out of ignorance, but I will strive not to repeat the same mistake twice.”

“No, I didn’t mean it in that sense.”

“Pardon? Then…”

“Nobles often visit the place where the Chanters stay.”

‘Nobles visiting the Chanters? Family members coming for visits?’

Even if they were removed from the family register, it’s possible they still have a good relationship in reality.

I heard there are Chanters who are employed by their own families and live as they did before.

“…Try not to mingle with those nobles if possible.”

‘Why is he telling me not to talk to them?’

I was curious, but before I could ask further, Casimir intervened.

“Now, now. I’ll tell you the precautions regarding the Chanters. Let’s go.”

Casimir said this and walked ahead with long strides. I quickly followed behind, lost in thought.

‘The reason I shouldn’t be noticed by nobles…’

What on earth could that reason be?

Is there some noble who views serfs as nothing more than flies?

‘Still, they wouldn’t be able to act out so maliciously inside the Church.’

Anyone stupid enough to violate the Doctrine in the Church of Order would have had their head chopped off long ago.

‘Then what is it? Because I’m a [Watched One]?’

Is there a reason why I must absolutely not be discovered as a [Watched One], specifically by ‘nobles’?

Nobles…

‘Nobles who weren’t removed from the register are Priests who serve their own gods, right?’

And those would be at least Bishop-level, at most Apostle-level.

‘…He said the Apostles of the subordinate gods have no idea that I am a [Watched One].’

Just as the head of the research institute is Ledeia’s Apostle but speaks as if he doesn’t know of my existence.

If so, other gods besides Loclem might be completely unaware of the Othergod, or even if they know, they might not have been given the detailed specifics.

‘Then they would want to find out how things are going through their own independent routes.’

While visiting a family member removed from the register, they might simultaneously investigate if anything unusual has happened within the Order Sect.

And if I catch the eye of such a noble?

‘I’m screwed.’

If it’s a Bishop-level, I might be able to smooth it over somehow, but if I’m caught by an Archbishop or an Apostle, there’s no way to fix it.

‘Oblivion’ is useless against a being connected to a god.

It’s like deleting CCTV records; the person who watched the CCTV doesn’t forget what they saw.

‘But if there’s such a risk, wouldn’t it be better not to send me to a place where there’s a high probability of encountering the Apostles of the subordinate gods?’

Why did the Saintess agree?

‘Did she judge that my specs are too pathetic for me to be suspected of being a Watched One?’

Or…

‘Perhaps she intentionally placed me in a spot where I’d be noticed as a decoy, since I look like I have nothing to spill even if I’m caught.’

If I were the Saintess, I would hide the truly important [Watched Ones] tightly and place the unimportant ones where they might be subtly discovered.

While those trying to uncover secrets waste their time on a nutrient-free decoy, the truly important ones would be perfectly concealed.

‘Well… from my position, I should be grateful even if she uses me like that.’

She’s feeding me, clothing me, giving me a place to sleep, and keeping me alive.

“Fabio.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think of the Fifth Apostle?”

“Pardon?”

‘Out of nowhere?’

“No, the Fifth Apostle came by when I was with the Saintess.”

“I see…”

“Anyway. I just got curious.”

Curious about what?

‘Since he can’t hear the conversations between Apostles, did he become curious about what the two of them talked about?’

Well, if I were standing there blankly while others were chatting without me, I’d be curious about the content too.

Did he think that by hearing my perspective, he could find out what happened between Adna and me?

I replied with a bright smile.

“I think the Fifth Apostle is a wonderful person.”

However, I had no intention of risking myself just to satisfy someone else’s curiosity.

This is a world where a single wrong word can get your head flown off.

‘I must not say anything that could be interpreted maliciously!’

I’ve seen it happen—you just agree that someone is a bit awkward, and suddenly you become the ‘him’ in the phrase, [He also said he can’t stand the sight of you and feels suffocated by your presence]. That’s how gossip works.

‘I’ll speak vaguely with a smiling face, so there’s nothing to nitpick.’

“Really? Which part of the Fifth is so much your taste?”

“Pardon?”

…Is this crazy bastard for real?

A low-tier bait question that even a tabloid journalist wouldn’t throw?

No, he knows full well that Adna has a childhood friend who is fanatically obsessed with her, and he’s asking me that?

I immediately wiped the smile off my face and turned serious.

“My taste? What on earth are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you confess to the Fifth?”

“Please stop saying such scary things! What if Lord Ter misunderstands because of a joke like that…”

“Eh? Was it the Sixth you decided to date?”

“What?!”

My face crumpled.

‘No, seriously, what kind of bullshit is this.’

Does this Casimir bastard enjoy flustering people by throwing out nonsense?

‘His personality is truly foul.’

Is that why he made my heart drop during the interview?

But doing that to a subordinate makes him a total jerk.

It’s not funny at all when a CEO jokingly tells an employee, ‘You’re fired!’, you piece of shit.

“I’m sure you’re joking, but this is truly perplexing, so please stop.”

“…No? Then what are you worried he’ll misunderstand?”

“Sigh… I have eyes too, you know.”

“Hmm? Ah… Right. After seeing the Saintess, the Sixth’s face couldn’t possibly be pleasing to the eye.”

‘No, this human really…’

“That’s not it! I have intuition too.”

“Ho. And what did you intuit with that intuition?”

I let out a sigh inwardly.

“The Sixth Apostle is in love with the Fifth Apostle, isn’t he?”

Casimir’s eyes widened.

“…What?”

‘Wow, look at him acting with his face to try and trick me until the end.’

“It won’t work even if you try to tease me, so stop. In any case, I have absolutely no intention of getting between those two.”

Casimir, seemingly disappointed that his acting didn’t work, covered his face with his hand.

“Pfft… pffft… How… did you notice?”

‘Why is he laughing?’

I have a bad feeling about this.

Is he going to relay exactly what I said to the Sixth Apostle and tease them, saying, ‘Hey, even the [Watched One] who just arrived at the Order today noticed you’re in love lol. Truly, only Adna doesn’t know lol. Good luck!’?

If so, the Sixth Apostle will definitely hold a grudge against me…

‘Damn. I messed up the Affinity grind.’

He wasn’t exactly the type I wanted to be close with, but he seemed like the type who would be a real pain if we were on bad terms, so I wanted to keep his Affinity up…

‘But thinking about it, it might be better to clearly state my position.’

If he knows that I’ve noticed his unrequited love and am rooting for him, he won’t do that stupid rivalry thing.

“…Apostle Ter mentioned that he has known Apostle Adna for a long time, knows her best, and is the closest person to her.”

“That… is true.”

“And he also said that his head is currently full of thoughts of Apostle Adna, and that it’s difficult to stop thinking about her…”

“Pfft, pffft.”

“He talked about nothing but Apostle Adna throughout the entire conversation; if I couldn’t figure it out after that, I’d be truly clueless.”

“Pffft… pfft, hahahaha!!”

Casimir, who had been making sounds as if holding back laughter, finally burst into a loud laugh.

‘He’s laughing like a villain having a manic episode…’

Seeing Casimir laugh so hard he was out of breath, I felt sorry for Ter all over again.

‘Well, a person in unrequited love is the best target for teasing.’

Especially since Ter tries to compete so earnestly even against a trivial serf; imagine how violently he’d react if someone teased him.

‘Still, it’s a relief that Ter is the superior.’

If Ter were under Casimir, it would have been a true living hell.

Casimir laughed for a long while, then wiped his tears and caught his breath.

“Haa, it’s been a long time since I’ve laughed like this.”

With a wide smile on his face, Casimir draped an arm over my shoulder.

“Yes, you have great intuition, our Fabio.”

‘What the fuck.’

Why am I ‘our Fabio’?

“Since our Fabio has such great intuition, I feel like I don’t even need to tell him this and that?”

“Pardon?”

‘Wait, this bastard?’

He’s just dumping the work he was dumped with?

“No, but still…”

“No, no. In my eyes, it’s enough.”

With his elbow still on my shoulder, Casimir patted my head.

“And it’s cuter when you don’t know anything.”

As he said this, Casimir curled his lips into a crooked smile.

‘Shit…’

Can the Knight Commander of the Order be this much of a thug?

Why is everything he does so thuggish?

Is it because he’s from the desert, where they believed in mirages?

Did this guy really convert to Loclem?

‘No, setting aside his personality, how did such a thuggish human rise to the position of Knight Commander of the Order?’

Did he build up achievements by being famous for tormenting people when he was a Heretic Inquisitor?

Or is it that only a genius of torment can become the Knight Commander?

“U-um, if I make a mistake because I don’t know things… wouldn’t that cause a great deal of trouble in cleaning up the aftermath?”

I spoke, trying my best not to grimace.

‘What are you going to do if an accident happens later because you dumped your work on me?’

However, Casimir didn’t care one bit about my indirect warning.

“It’s fine. I’ll take responsibility.”

‘A guy who’s too lazy to even deliver precautions is certainly going to take responsibility.’

“But preventing such things before they happen is…”

“I said it’ll be fine.”

“Casimir!”

At the sound of someone calling Casimir, I turned my head.

A man with dark skin, likely from the same desert, and an impressive mustache was approaching with a welcoming look.

‘His eyes are silver-gray too.’

Which means he also has those eyes…

‘Ugh.’

“Elamin! You’ve come at the right time. I was just about to call you.”

“And this is…?”

“Ah, the kid who’s going to be a new Chanter. His name is Fabio.”

‘I sense a hint of him trying to subcontract the work he was dumped with.’

More than that, I now understand why Casimir hung out with the Chanters so often.

‘He probably did it to be a backer for this man, so he wouldn’t be ignored by the nobles.’

A people whose national god has died are in a more miserable state than an orphan who lost both parents.

Especially if they are from a heretical people whose national god was executed by the Main God, how much would they be looked down upon in the Empire?

Considering that Nasir, a Heretic Inquisitor, shed tears of emotion just because he wasn’t discriminated against racially…

‘Primitive medieval people…’

In any case, the existence of Casimir, who succeeded immensely in the midst of that, would be enough to be the dream, hope, center, and spiritual support for the desert nomads.

Casimir himself is likely the type to strive to meet those expectations to some extent.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have plugged Nasir, who didn’t have his golden eyes gouged out, into the position of Heretic Inquisitor.

Well, in a clan society, most are related, so it’s possible he only looked after close family.

‘Then this person might be something like Casimir’s younger brother.’

“Fabio, this is Elamin.”

‘No, if he were a younger brother, Antonio would have mentioned he has a son. He wouldn’t have only adopted the sister…’

“He’s my ex-husband.”

“…Pardon?”

41 – #041