#046

“…Pardon?”

“You seemed more surprised to see my face than you were when you almost fell earlier.”

“I was?”

“As soon as you saw me, you said ‘Ah…’”

“That was….”

“My name is Athanas. Were you perhaps trying to call my name?”

I was speechless.

‘What kind of forced logical leap is that?’

Usually, ‘Ah…’ is just a sigh of realization.

To think that ‘Ah…’ was me halfway through calling Athanas’s name. Even a long-running mystery series that has run out of tricks and is just repeating desperate plot twists wouldn’t have dialogue like that.

‘If you’re going to test me, at least do it with a basis that makes me feel a bit intimidated.’

I couldn’t even bring myself to act intimidated for the sake of the performance because my pride was too wounded.

I intended to tell him that, of course, I wasn’t.

However, what actually came out of my mouth was this pathetic sound.

“Ah, n-no, I wasn’t…?”

To make matters worse, the cup I was holding slipped due to the sweat on my palms.

A loud clang echoed through the air.

I felt like tearing my hair out.

‘Just fucking advertise it that you’ve been hit right in the bullseye!’

I must be so intimidated by Athanas that I can’t even manage a simple lie.

‘I’m screwed.’

At this point, for the sake of my dignity, I wished someone would come out holding a [Test Ended] sign.

Still, I decided to do my best to deny it until the end.

“How… uh, A… Anatas? No, how would I know Lord Athanas? I only arrived at this Capital Church yesterday, and before that, I lived in a very remote frontier village.”

“Where is that frontier village located?”

“Uh… you probably wouldn’t know it even if I told you.”

“I can only know if I hear it. Please tell me.”

“It’s… do you know the County of Richelon? They established several frontier villages in the forested area to the north to expand farmland. It’s one of those, but it’s not even on the map, so you likely wouldn’t know it.”

“Why were you in such a frontier village?”

“What do you mean why…. I was a serf. I went there because they give you land and significant tax exemptions; there are many benefits to moving to a frontier village.”

“You were a serf?”

“Yes, that’s right. So, isn’t it obvious that there’s no way I would know Lord Athanas? I swear, I have truly seen Lord Athanas for the first time today.”

“Then why were you so surprised to see me?”

‘Fuck….’

Just tell me you know I’m a player and demand that I spill everything.

“T-that… I don’t know either. Why I was so surprised….”

However, the last shred of my reason prevented me from self-destructing.

‘There is still a possibility that this isn’t a test, but a simple coincidence.’

Since I had experienced it once already, I couldn’t ignore that possibility.

Weren’t the names Ada and Pella—names that were almost impossible to call a coincidence—actually a coincidence?

Therefore, Athanas might have come to the Branch Office for a reason completely unrelated to me, and this situation might have occurred simply because he happened to strike up a conversation.

Some guy who almost tripped because he was startled, and then started sweating suspiciously the moment their eyes met after being caught….

‘Even I would ask why he was so surprised.’

“…Could it be that you have seen me before, but simply do not remember?”

Athanas spoke with a serious expression.

“They say human memories do not disappear completely. It is just that one becomes unable to recall them. Even if you cannot recall it, you may have seen me.”

“No, uh, but that… isn’t that impossible? This is the first time I’ve ever left my hometown for such a distance. Unless Lord Athanas has stayed in the County of Richelon, there’s no way I could have seen you in the past.”

“It may not have been in the past.”

“…Pardon?”

If not in the past?

‘He’s definitely testing to see if I’m a player, right?’

I was almost certain this was a test, but I asked to be sure.

“If it’s something I saw but don’t remember, shouldn’t it be something from the past? How can one remember or forget something they haven’t experienced?”

Athanas answered as if it were obvious.

“It is possible if you saw it in a dream.”

“A dream….”

‘Right. This is Medieval Land, where they seriously believe in dreams.’

I felt a bit deflated.

In the Dark Realm, where gods actually exist, taking dreams seriously isn’t superstition, but a very rational way of thinking.

In fact, many prophecies and Revelations are delivered through dreams.

But to think of the possibility of a dream first when someone recognizes a person they’ve never met….

‘I’m still far from adopting a medieval mindset.’

I spoke awkwardly.

“T-then, why would Lord Athanas appear in my dream?”

Athanas did not answer and simply gazed at me.

That was all, yet my heart beat frantically.

“…Come to think of it, I haven’t asked your name yet.”

“I-it’s Fabio.”

“Papabio…. That is a fine name.”

‘No….’

He’s turning a person’s name into something like Papa Smurf.

“Papabio. There is something I wish to ask you.”

‘It’s Fabio, not Papabio….’

“What made you leave the frontier village and come here to the Capital Church?”

…Fear of the Mother God?

But I couldn’t possibly answer that.

While I was pondering what to say, Athanas continued.

“If you were a serf in a frontier village, it means you gave up all the land you reclaimed with your own hands to come here. What changed your mind?”

“That is….”

“A longing for the Sacred Office? If that were all, the diocese in the county would have accepted you. Therefore, you must have had another reason.”

“Uh….”

“A reason why you absolutely had to come to the Capital Church.”

‘Is he just hitting the skip button?’

I was getting a bit absurd.

I mean, if you’re not going to listen to the answer, why ask the question?

“Papabio. Does this place not feel familiar? You may have seen it in a dream. Though it likely looked different from how it appears now.”

‘He’s openly asking if I have memories of “Die Heretic!”, right?’

“Even if you say so, I don’t remember, so I don’t know what to say….”

“Papabio.”

“And I’m not Papabio, but….”

“Perhaps you are a chosen person.”

‘What the….’

What nonsense.

I frowned.

‘I mean, I was chosen. Chosen by a piece-of-trash god and the Mother God.’

I felt a slight sense of dissonance in Athanas’s choice of words.

A chosen person.

That’s not a term you’d use for a [Watched One].

‘How much does Athanas know?’

Did the Saintess not tell him anything about the Othergods?

Even so….

“You must have come to the Capital Church to find me. Is that not so?”

“…Pardon?”

“I have also been waiting for you.”

‘What is he talking about.’

The dissonance grew.

There could be a player who came to find Athanas.

Since there are crazy people who Conclude just to die by Athanas’s hand.

But waiting for me?

“I-I’m not quite sure what you mean.”

“I have received a Revelation from the Lord.”

“What….”

“It was a dream of a world where Order has collapsed and plagues are rampant.”

‘Did he dream about the plot of the “Die Heretic!” game?’

Athanas gestured to the surroundings.

“This place was filled with groaning patients. Now, the sick are healed instantly and walk out on their own, so there is no need for such a place, but in a world where the Goddess of Healing has vanished, a place to isolate the sick was necessary. This place was a prison from which such people could not leave until they died.”

‘Chapter 1….’

“I was powerless there. There was nothing I could do except clear away their Corpses. I could not even ease their pain. It was truly horrific. Do you know who brought about such a hell? The god who spreads the plague….”

“Wait, shouldn’t you tell the Saintess about such things?”

I interrupted him urgently.

‘No matter how much I pretend not to know, it’s useless if he tells me everything!’

I didn’t want to be in a situation like, ‘You’ve heard it now. It can’t be helped. You are now in a community of fate with us!’

I can’t even erase the memories I got through Oblivion!

“Such a terrifying Revelation! It would be best to tell the Saintess as soon as possible!”

“…There is one thing you are overlooking.”

Athanas turned around and looked at me.

“Why was it me?”

“Pardon?”

“Why do you think the Lord showed that horrific future to me? There is the Saintess, who is closest to the Lord, and there are several apostles. Why would He give such a Revelation to a mere Holy Knight like me?”

Why? Because you’re the protagonist of “Die Heretic!”, obviously.

“…I waited. Because I thought the apostles would come to find me.”

You’re the one who should go find them; what do you mean you waited?

Does the CEO have to go find the intern to get a report?

“But not a single apostle came to find me. Therefore, I reached a conclusion. That there must be a reason why the Lord gave this Revelation only to me, and not to the apostles….”

‘How does the conclusion even lead there?’

I felt a sense of foreboding.

“So, Athanas, you’re saying you didn’t tell the apostles about a Revelation that you assume was given only to you? Because there must be a reason the Lord did so?”

“That is correct.”

“What in the….”

I opened my mouth and then closed it.

‘What is this? Is this guy an idiot?’

This is a script, right? It’s a script?

It’s a script designed to be so stupid and flawed that I can’t possibly resist saying something, right?

Like one of those ridiculous game ads where some moron fails a simple task and a window pops up saying [Can you do it?].

“Then how did you plan to stop this tragedy without telling the apostles? What could you possibly do alone….”

“That is why the Lord sent someone to be with me. And that person is you.”

As I met those clear eyes devoid of a single doubt, goosebumps suddenly raced down my spine.

‘What if… this isn’t a test?’

What if that wasn’t acting, but words coming straight from the heart….

‘He’s completely insane.’

First of all, his behavior was too illogical.

He doesn’t reveal this fact to the apostles, but he spills everything to a person whose name he doesn’t even properly know?

“Seriously… no, isn’t it possible that I’m not a chosen person? Why are you revealing something you didn’t even tell an apostle to someone whose name you don’t even know properly?”

“Not know your name, Papabio….”

“Fabio! It’s Fabio! Not Papabio!”

I shouted, then covered my face for a moment and took a deep breath.

No, I didn’t want to get involved, but this was different.

Athanas isn’t a stupid character, and there’s no way he would act so irrationally.

There had to be some other reason.

The reason Athanas was acting this way….

A terrifying thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘Did another player brainwash him?’

If I assume that the strange ‘thought’ that he shouldn’t confess this to the apostles was planted by a brainwasher, it all fit together.

That way, their scheme wouldn’t be discovered.

“…Athanas. Your words and actions are illogical. Have you never suspected such a thing? Whether the one who gave you the Revelation was truly the Lord? Have you considered the possibility that it was a prank by an Evil God in disguise?”

“Of course I have considered it.”

‘Don’t lie to me, you fucker.’

If he had seriously considered it, he would have gone to an apostle immediately for a psychiatric evaluation.

“Really? Then how did you become certain that it was the Lord’s Revelation? Without confirmation from the Saintess, the being closest to the Lord?”

“…Are you curious?”

“If I say I’m curious, will you tell me?”

“Of course. Once you hear it, Fabio, you will be convinced as well.”

‘Usually, after a line like that, they 100% use brainwashing….’

Chapter 47