#063

“Then what should I do? I am ignorant and foolish, so I shall act exactly as you tell me, Lord Ter.”

“…You’ll do as I say? Without your own thoughts or judgment?”

“That is correct.”

Isn’t faith basically blind obedience?

If God handed down the Ten Commandments, try saying, ‘I think the ninth commandment needs a bit of development.’

You’d be struck by lightning instantly.

However, upon hearing my answer, Tertius instead furrowed his brow.

“How can you trust me?”

‘What the….’

“…Because you are an apostle, Lord Ter.”

Isn’t refusing to trust an apostle personally chosen by God the same as saying you don’t believe in God?

“Not every action of an apostle stems from the Lord’s Will. That is why apostles clash with one another, and some commit wrongs and face Excommunication.”

‘So what do you want me to do about it?’

If I don’t trust a priest just because they can’t perfectly represent God?

Then who am I supposed to trust? Myself, who hasn’t even received the Blessing of Order?

“You cannot see divine power, and therefore, you cannot discern the will of God. For someone like you to trust me, an apostle, is not to trust the Lord, but to trust me as an individual.”

‘Then how the fuck is a bastard who can’t even see divine power supposed to believe in God?’

The faith of a bastard who can’t even recognize the Lord’s Revelation cannot be true faith?

‘His skill at laying trap cards is truly exquisite.’

But I wasn’t about to fall for this.

“…Is that not allowed?”

“What I mean is….”

“As you said, I cannot hear the Lord’s Revelation. I have not received the Blessing of Order. However, I believe in the Lord. Those who believe in the Lord have led me to have faith in Him. Is that not enough?”

“…Fabio.”

“Lord Ter. In truth, I am a fearful person. Trusting others is very difficult for me. Despite that, I want to believe. So….”

I put on a miserable face.

“…Please don’t use words that are too difficult.”

‘Yeah, your words were so complex that Fabio didn’t understand a single thing.’

“Can’t you just tell me to trust you? That it’s okay to trust only you?”

I looked up at Tertius with desperation.

“…….”

Ter remained silent.

It seemed he was speechless.

‘Understandable.’

How do you logically persuade a guy who says, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ll just do whatever you want ㅠㅠ’?

“Lord Ter. Do you harbor any ill will toward me?”

“…No.”

“Then even if I lack the ability to distinguish ill will, it means I can trust you, right? Right?”

I saw Tertius’s pupils tremble.

“…Or do you intend to harm me even though I’ve done nothing wrong?”

‘You can’t say yes, can you?’

“If not, I will trust you, Lord Ter.”

‘Can’t think of a reason to tell me not to trust you, right? You’ve forgotten how to converse without a Blessing, so you can’t refute me, right?’

“…You aren’t perhaps displeased that I trust you, are you?”

‘If you tell me not to trust you now, you’re just a narrow-minded discriminator.’

“Lord Ter. Please give me permission to trust you.”

“…Fine.”

Hearing the powerless answer from Tartarus, I beamed.

This wasn’t a fake smile.

‘He admitted it!’

That bastard said with his own mouth that it’s okay to trust him!

“Lord Ter…!”

I felt genuine joy.

Because what Ter said held great meaning for me.

‘Now the responsibility lies with him!’

From now on, whenever something happens, I can pull the ‘Stupid Fabio doesn’t know ㅠ Help me, Ter-emon!’ card!

Generally, anyone who spouts things like ‘Think for yourself and judge’ is an irresponsible bastard.

Because that’s what they say when they don’t want to take any responsibility.

If you work under such a bastard, the mistakes he made will eventually become ‘a mistake due to my own arbitrary judgment,’ and you’ll be the one sacrificed as the tail is cut.

Real piece of shit….

‘No, I can see emotions, so I should stop these useless thoughts.’

Wonderful Tertius!

Magnificent Tertius!

Tartar sauce among sauces, Tartarus!

‘I haven’t even brought up Adna yet today!’

“…Actually, Adna doesn’t know we’re eating together today.”

…The moment I thought that, Tartarus brought up Adna.

‘Still, it’s better than when we first met.’

“So let’s move quickly. Before Adna notices.”

‘I doubt Adna is interested in me, or even you….’

“I understand, Lord Ter!”

But I didn’t let it show and just smiled brightly.

Since I chose to go with the brainless trust meta, I just had to endure the Adna-bird.

‘Let’s think positively for now.’

Yes, what will be on the lunch menu today!

I hope it’s steamed trout!

“Shall we go eat now?”

“…You should change your clothes first.”

“Ah.”

…For that reason, we stopped by the Chanters’ dormitory instead of the dining hall.

Fortunately, since I had been given three sets of clothes initially, there was a spare robe in my room.

“…Then I’ll wait outside.”

“Huh? You have to help me change.”

“What?”

“You need to tie this for me.”

I pointed to the Pasia.

Tertius frowned for a moment as if it were a nuisance, but since it was a matter of regulation, he didn’t say anything to me.

“Then, excuse me.”

After Tertius entered the room, I closed the door and slid the bolt.

“…Why did you lock the door?”

“Huh? Oh, I was told to make sure the doors are locked.”

Elamin told me.

She said if there’s a room with an open door at night, the patrol will enter to check if the room is empty. Apparently, it’s to check if the owner of the room hasn’t returned yet.

I wondered if it was okay to do roll call so sloppily, but….

‘Well, the Chanters aren’t prisoners or soldiers.’

Since most of them are from noble backgrounds, they probably just established the bare minimum of rules.

Anyway, I was advised to get into the habit of always locking the door because I wouldn’t want the experience of someone suddenly thrusting a lantern in my face while I’m sleeping, so I’m being careful.

‘It doesn’t really matter since it’s daytime….’

If you think things like ‘I won’t lock it during the day, only at night,’ you’re bound to make a mistake.

“…Has anyone else entered this room?”

“Huh? No. Not particularly.”

‘I don’t have anyone to interact with in the first place.’

“How is life as a Chanter? Does it suit your aptitude?”

“Even if you ask how it is….”

‘I don’t even know what the job entails yet.’

“…I haven’t done anything other than read books, so I don’t know.”

However, I decided to hide the fact that I knew nothing about being a Chanter.

If I said that, it would be like snitching that Casimir had disobeyed orders from above.

‘Then Elamin would be in trouble.’

I couldn’t care less if Casimir was in trouble, but Elamin was different.

If there’s one thing I’ve realized through social life, it’s that it’s more important not to get on the bad side of your immediate supervisor whom you face every day than a distant superior.

“But staying at the Capital Church is wonderful. Every day I am surprised that I can enjoy such great things.”

“Is that so?”

“Lord Ter. What should I do with this robe?”

I asked while holding the robe that had become sleeveless.

“I’ll handle it.”

Tertius said so, took the robe, and passed it through the empty space between his arm and side.

Instead of coming out the back, the robe vanished like magic.

I marveled inwardly.

‘Oh, inventory.’

Since the apostle of Loclem can also use the abilities of his subordinate gods, he must have an inventory too.

So jealous.

‘The Divine Power of Horeum, the God of the Vault, was the inventory.’

The exact name is [Blessing of the Vault], but players all call it the inventory.

Horeum’s symbolic color is turquoise.

The holy land is in the northeast of the Empire.

If you receive Horeum’s Blessing, you can use an inventory, but since Horeum can withdraw the Blessing at any time, you must not put important things inside. The moment you are declared a ‘heretic’ by the Church of Order, you lose not only the inventory but everything put inside it.

That’s why players who love heretics preferred to capture a priest of Horeum and turn them into a Sacred Relic.

If several Units possessing Horeum’s Sacred Relics gather, they can store even larger objects.

Like a circle dance, if they hold each other’s hands and form a closed circle made of bodies, that becomes the entrance for objects to enter and exit.

Because of this, if enough Sacred Relics were collected, it was possible to store not only siege engines but even sailing ships in the inventory.

Having an inventory makes supply easy, and it’s useful in almost every strategy.

Therefore, unless there’s a peculiar goal of playing without an inventory, Horeum is the essential Sacred Relic that is farmed first.

Even during battle, if you kill the turquoise-haired Unit first, you can loot the supplies in that Unit’s inventory as well as take the Sacred Relic, killing two birds with one stone….

‘Oops, I’m thinking like a player again.’

And in front of an apostle who can see emotions….

Slightly flustered, I checked Tertius’s reaction.

Fortunately, Tertius seemed distracted by something else and didn’t notice I was having strange thoughts.

‘But what is he staring at so intently?’

I followed Tertius’s gaze.

‘……?’

Why my lower body…?

“…When did you get those?”

‘Ah.’

Only then did I remember the existence of the socks.

“I received them on my first day here.”

“…It seems Casimir likes you.”

‘It must be surprising that a foul-tempered son of a bitch gave me something, even if it’s just some bone-like things.’

“I’m just grateful she sees me in a positive light.”

“…I don’t think that’s your true feeling?”

‘Ugh….’

This is why I didn’t want to meet Tartarus.

I really can’t say anything.

‘Since it’s come to this, I have no choice but to use my secret weapon.’

“Is that so? I thought I was speaking honestly in my own way….”

I hesitated for a moment, then continued.

“Um…. It’s a bit scary, but including that point, I think she is cool.”

I spoke while imagining a Smilodon in my head.

“She is very strong and beautiful. To the point where any man couldn’t help but admire her.”

What is a Smilodon? An extinct mammal from the prehistoric era, a saber-toothed tiger with huge canines on both sides.

It is presumed that the Smilodon hunted by driving those sharp teeth down to cut off the prey’s windpipe.

A large carnivorous mammal weighing 300kg!

Strong and cool!

‘I just didn’t mention the subject, but I didn’t lie!’

The sentence I was uttering now contained 100% of my true feelings.

“Is that so?”

Fortunately, this method seemed to work.

“…Then what about me?”

“Pardon?”

“How am I?”

“…At first, I was frightened because you were unfamiliar and scary, but now I know that it was just a misunderstanding and that you are a very kind person.”

I answered while recalling the memory of seeing a 2-meter Burmese python at a reptile exhibit.

Unlike its terrifying size, the Burmese python is a very docile and intelligent creature.

They are so gentle that there are experiences where young children can wrap a python around their bodies and take photos.

And the texture is very nice.

“…And?”

‘And what do you mean and.’

Isn’t this enough?

“Um…. Lord Ter is handsome, and tall….”

Since I didn’t know what kind of answer he wanted, my words became increasingly fragmented.

Since I had to speak only with sincerity, there were too few things I could say.

“Not things like that.”

‘What.’

Fuck, if there’s something you want to hear, give me a specific example.

Because I don’t know what to imagine.

“…What if I do this?”

Tertius suddenly grabbed my chin and brought his face close.

I gasped in surprise for a moment.

This is….

‘This is a situation that perfectly matches the example Elamin showed me this morning!’

I quickly recalled the lesson.

If eyes meet, above all, be careful of the ‘Blessing’!

I was about to give the correct answer when I remembered that Tertius was an apostle of ‘Loclem’.

‘I almost fell into a trap!’

Looking closely, it was a variation of a previous question.

The ones I must avoid are the apostles of the subordinate gods.

Avoiding the apostles of Loclem would only mean that a goblin has something to hide.

In that case, the answer I must give is….

“I’m a bit nervous, but….”

I didn’t avoid Ter’s mint-colored eyes and looked straight up at him.

“If it’s you, Lord Ter… I truly believe it’s okay for you to do whatever you wish to me.”

The actions of Loclem’s apostle are the Lord’s Will.

One must accept everything with composure.

‘Let’s recall when I went to a hair salon that charged 50,000 won just for a men’s cut.’

That trembling and nervous heart, trusting that a professional would do it well regardless of what it was, and leaving everything to them…!

“…Fabio.”

Chapter 64