#019

Since it was a bound trait, it wouldn’t disappear even if I cut something off.

‘Should I call this a blessing engraved on the soul?’

Though it felt more like a curse than a blessing.

Thinking about it now, it’s infuriating. If it weren’t for the trait Happiness gave me, I wouldn’t have had to undergo an investigation by a high priest in the first place.

“…Who are we going to see right now?”

The priests of the Order Sect are largely divided into those who serve only Loclem and those who serve both Loclem and one of the gods beneath him.

Chanters and bell ringers are also clergy, but since one must be a priest to directly borrow the Divine Power of a god, there is a massive difference in status.

‘The unit cost is probably about 30 times different, too.’

From the rank of priest upward, they can perform the sacrament of Baptism, and when they pray to a god, that prayer goes directly to the deity.

This is exactly why, when performing a Conclude, it’s fine to kill a bell ringer as long as there are no witnesses, but one must be careful with priests, as killing them can immediately trigger an onslaught of Heretic Inquisitors. That’s why you shouldn’t attack a priest unless you’re confident you can kill them instantly before they can pray….

‘Ah, I started thinking like a player again.’

Anyway, above the rank of priest are bishops and archbishops, and those from archbishop upward are considered high priests.

And while Patriarchs, Cardinals, and the Pope seem like ranks following the archbishop at first glance, they are actually positions an archbishop can hold.

If a bishop is like a manager and an archbishop is like a department head, then a Patriarch, Cardinal, or Pope is like a team leader, part leader, or head of headquarters.

Just as one can be both a department head and a part leader, one can be an archbishop and a Cardinal, or an archbishop, a Cardinal, and the Pope all at once.

The highest-ranking priest serving only Loclem is the Pope, and the highest-ranking priest serving both Loclem and another god is the Patriarch.

In other words, a Patriarch is like the CEO of a subsidiary.

Of course, “small-fry” gods with only a few priests under them don’t have Patriarchs.

How ridiculous would it be to have a head of headquarters in a startup with only five employees, including the CEO?

Instead, they are called ‘apostles.’ Since ‘apostle’ is a title given only to a proxy personally chosen by a god, it seems like it would only be given to someone incredibly great, but in reality, their status varies wildly depending on which god’s apostle they are.

It’s similar to how the CEO of a conglomerate with over 30,000 employees is a CEO, but a self-employed person running a shop alone without any part-timers is also a CEO.

Generally, it’s believed that from the rank of archbishop, one is connected to a god.

This is because only someone of archbishop rank can withstand the burden of a god using their body as a CCTV to directly observe the Dark Realm.

In an emergency, a god might briefly borrow the eyes of a priest, but if they exceed the time limit even slightly, the priest cannot handle the burden, and their eyeballs burst, leaking blood.

Bishops can endure it a bit longer….

Actually, the true brokenness of the archbishop unit comes from their ability to declare a Sanctuary, so there’s not much meaning in a god forcibly descending upon a priest-level unit.

Once a Sanctuary is declared, the god can intervene directly. To put it in gaming terms, having an archbishop allows you to fire target-locked missiles.

As long as a Sanctuary is declared, even a high-performance unit that couldn’t be killed by dozens of Holy Knights can be melted away in a single hit of [Heavenly Punishment].

Of course, since declaring a Sanctuary is a miracle that requires a significant price, it wouldn’t be used just to appraise some weirdo from a serf background. To verify a blessing, simply having the ‘Eye’ descend would be enough….

‘Even if the priest I’m meeting now isn’t an archbishop, if my trait isn’t verified, they’ll probably escalate it to an archbishop next.’

“Would you be more nervous if you knew who it was?”

Do you still want to know?

At Casimir’s words, I nodded.

‘Seeing the Knight Commander speak like that, it’s definitely someone of archbishop rank.’

“Then I should prepare myself mentally even more. It would be troublesome to freeze up in shock if I met them without knowing.”

Commander Casimir agreed, saying that made sense.

“The person you are meeting now is the Saintess.”

‘…The Saintess?’

I stopped in my tracks without realizing it.

“The Saintess…?”

Saintess Adelaide?

Am I going to see Adelaide right now?

I was excited for a moment, but then immediately calmed down.

‘No, the Saintess at this point in time wouldn’t be Adelaide.’

In Heretic Slayer, since the Order Sect is basically in a state of collapse, the original Saintess is described as having already died as a sacrifice.

Instead, the ‘Gray Saintess’ Adelaide appears as a major character. Because the next Saintess was too young, the ‘Gray Saintess’ was a half-baked Saintess forcibly selected to fill the gap.

Loclem’s symbol is pure white, and the Saintess—regardless of her original hair color—has her hair turn snow-white the moment she is chosen as an apostle.

However, the half-baked Saintess could not fully accept that power, and her black hair only turned half-white, which is why she bore the dishonorable title of the Gray Saintess.

‘The personality of the Order Sect, giving a derogatory title to someone who took on a proxy role while shaving off their own life….’

Anyway, Adelaide is a character that anyone who has played Heretic Slayer cannot help but feel fond of.

A girl of only 16 years old saving the world by sacrificing her own lifespan—if you don’t feel for her, you’re not human.

‘Since this is roughly 8 years before the start of Die Heretic!, Adelaide must be 8 years old.’

Recalling Adelaide’s unhappy end in Heretic Slayer, my heart suddenly grew heavy.

When I first saw the ending of Die Heretic!, I cried my eyes out, screaming at the game developers to bring Adelaide back….

‘…No matter which of the 15 becomes the Concluder, this Dark Realm is going to be a mess.’

If the current Saintess doesn’t last long, Adelaide will once again take over the role, grinding away her lifespan to protect this world.

Because that’s the kind of child Adelaide is.

…I remember now.

Actually, the reason I first started Conclude was because it shared the same world-view as Heretic Slayer but started earlier, and I wondered if I could make Adelaide live a happy life….

‘Damn it, if I hadn’t started back then, I wouldn’t be here right now.’

As that thought crossed my mind, my heart suddenly turned cold.

Between a (former) serf piece of trash who could be executed today and Adelaide, who will live for another 8 years, who is more miserable?

Me.

‘Moreover, I’m not meeting a half-baked Saintess, but a proper one….’

Even the Gray Saintess could exercise Divine Power so powerful it was hard to believe she was half-baked.

Except for the fact that she coughed up blood every time she used it.

But a complete Saintess?

The Saintess is the one closest to God among the apostles, ranking even higher than the Pope.

‘If I’m unlucky, I might be hit by [Heavenly Punishment] and die instantly the moment I see her face.’

“You’ve completely frozen. Are you that nervous?”

‘I’m on the verge of execution, of course I’m nervous.’

“The Saintess is human too, so there’s no need to be so tense.”

‘There’s a god behind that human.’

“…Did your legs give out? Want me to carry you?”

“No, no. I’ll walk on my own.”

Right, let’s just think of it as going to see a Saintess unit in person.

The setting guide said that every Saintess is an incredible beauty.

‘I wonder how beautiful she is.’

And come to think of it, being judged by the Saintess was a great stroke of luck.

Not in the sense of some industry reward, but because the special skill the Saintess possesses was very suitable for my current situation.

‘The Saintess has the Eye of Judgment, so she’ll know I haven’t committed any crimes.’

Since Loclem is called the [God of Order and Judgment], the Saintess also possesses the Divine Power of [Judgment].

When judging heretics, if the crime committed is heavy, the punishment is correspondingly painful; but if the person is a victim who committed a crime unintentionally, she sends them away without pain.

‘The reason the Gray Saintess kept casting [Heavenly Punishment] while shaving off her own life was because she wanted the mutants created by the Othergod to at least go without pain at the end….’

Of course, for the clergy of the Order Sect, there is no option to not kill the mutants.

Because those contaminated by the Divine Power of the Othergod accumulate the sin of disturbing Order simply by existing.

Killing them before they drift further away from the ‘Land of Order,’ the paradise for those who believe in Loclem, is the highest form of compassion, service, and good deed the clergy can perform.

‘Madness Medieval-land….’

Anyway, once she confirms I’ve committed no crime, the Saintess will feel very sorry for me and grant me a painless Heavenly Punishment.

‘Come to think of it, if I die now, will I go to the Land of Order?’

Death is scary, but I don’t want to live forever in a land that’s eternally boring.

While lost in these thoughts, I arrived before a grand door.

It was the door that appeared in the game’s cinematic intro.

Reflexively, I looked down at my clothes.

‘Serf look.’

Since not even a day had passed since I arrived at the Capital Church, it was a serf look that was a bit dirty with sweat and dust.

Because I don’t like breaking the atmosphere of a game, I was the kind of user who would wear mismatched clothes for performance but quickly change into TPO-appropriate attire at points where a cinematic seemed likely to occur.

‘But I’m about to die wearing a serf look.’

I’d washed my face and hands, but a shabby tunic, shabby cloth pants, and leather shoes—which were the only relatively new things—couldn’t possibly look good.

‘Meeting the Saintess in a serf look….’

Well, it might have the effect of making me look pitiful.

‘I’m dying without even getting to do some fashion-flexing after being possessed into a game.’

Now that I thought I was about to kick the bucket, all sorts of random thoughts entered my head.

Screeeech.

Casimir stepped forward and opened the door.

Beyond the door, there were two people.

One had very short bobbed hair, and the other had long hair reaching down to the waist, loosely tied; both were a white that seemed to radiate a brilliant glow. Both wore silver-white ornaments covering the upper half of their faces, so their eyes were not visible.

‘Too bad. I wanted to see how pretty she was.’

The face of the Saintess, said to be so beautiful, will remain a face of imagination until the end.

‘Is it better to leave room for imagination than to be disappointed because she’s not my type?’

The beauty you desire… no, the beauty is beneath the ornament.

‘If one is the Saintess… is the other an apostle?’

Fortunately, there was no need to ask who the Saintess was.

Because the one with long hair was a man.

“Are you Fabio?”

The Saintess took a step forward and spoke.

“Y-yes. It is an honor to meet you! Saintess!”

The Saintess paused for a moment.

‘…What is it?’

Is she already using the Eye of Judgment?

As I began to be drenched in cold sweat, the Saintess, who had been in a loading state, moved again.

“…Why are you so terrified?”

If you have committed no sin, there should be no reason to fear before judgment.

At the Saintess’s words, I felt wronged.

‘Even people without sins are scared when they go to a police station!’

“I-it is because I heard that I am outside of Order.”

“Did you not leave by your own will? Do you perhaps worry that Loclem might deliver an unfair judgment?”

No, you’ve got to be kidding.

How on earth does one get to the thought: “He’s scared? Does that mean he doesn’t trust the god?”

Is this the thought process of a fanatic?

Is being a Saintess like a quality assurance mark for being the number one fanatic with peak faith?

‘No, stop thinking. They said the Saintess can tell when a person is lying, so she might be able to read blasphemous thoughts too.’

“I-I know that Loclem always delivers only the correct judgments, but I am still afraid of being punished.”

“There is no need to be tense.”

At a nod from the Saintess, the apostle standing behind her approached me.

The apostle reached out, and the fingertips lightly touched the space between my brows.

‘What the fuck.’

[

SYSTEM:

Due to the effect of ‘Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme,’ the ‘Blessing of Consolation’ is nullified.]

Having reflexively cursed the moment the system window appeared, I felt a bit awkward after reading the content.

‘I thought they were using some kind of hypnosis.’

So she cast a blessing to relax me because I was so tense.

Because of heretic bastards like Nasir, I reflexively cursed.

Because of this shitty trait that repels even good effects, it wasn’t helpful at all, but my heart warmed a bit knowing that I wasn’t being treated like a high traitor.

Though the apostle seemed flustered that their blessing didn’t work.

“Th-thank you.”

“It is nothing. Since my blessing did not work, I cannot be thanked….”

“Still, I am thanking you for your consideration.”

‘But now that it’s proven that even the Divine Power used by an apostle-level doesn’t work… I’m screwed.’

I composed myself again.

Right, everyone dies eventually, so I might just be going a bit early….

“…I think this conversation will be long. Sit.”

The Saintess pointed to a table nearby.

It was a small, square table, the kind one would have tea at.

As I sat in the nearest seat, the Saintess sat opposite me, the apostle to my right, and Casimir to my left.

‘It’s quite crowded.’

“Shall we start by introducing ourselves?”

The Saintess said.

‘This feels like the first meeting of a team project where members were assigned randomly.’

“Y-yes! I am Fabio….”

“Is that truly your name?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if that is truly your name, Fabio.”

‘What did she see?’

I was genuinely flustered.

The status window? Or did she guess it because my soul is different? If not that name, what is she talking about? The nickname written in the status window? My main account nickname? Or my real name?

My name, what should I answer….

[Fabio! That is my name!]

[My father often told me that Fabio is a name symbolizing agriculture and harvest. Could there be a better name than this! I shall become a wealthy farmer!]

‘What the fuck.’

Seeing the sudden appearance of the narration, I was so dumbfounded that my tension vanished instantly.

“…I-I have been called that ever since I was born into this land. Could I possibly have another name?”

‘This statement is not a lie.’

Since coming to the Dark Realm, I’ve been called Fabio, and this body has been called Fabio ever since it received Baptism at birth.

‘I wonder if the Saintess can see through this lie?’

However, since her expression was hidden, it was difficult to guess what she was thinking after hearing my words.

“…I asked because some demons steal a Baptismal Name during a contract and grant a new name. If you do not know, that is sufficient.”

‘Because of that ornament, I really can’t read any emotions. Is that why it’s used during interrogations?’

“Then it is my turn to say my name. My name is Ada.”

Please call me Ada-nim, not Saintess-nim.

At the Saintess’s words, I forgot everything I was thinking.

How can a person’s name be like this?

Chapter 20