#059

“There’s something I want to ask….”

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

I gave a quick bow and tried to pass the person blocking my path.

However, the young man with Melona-colored hair stepped in front of me again, making it impossible to get by.

“Wait, hold on! Let me finish what I was saying!”

“…Whatever it is you want to ask, I won’t be of any help. I haven’t been at this Capital Church for very long. Please ask someone else.”

“No, I want to ask you!”

I stopped, knitting my brows.

“If this is proselytizing, I decline.”

“No, it’s not that! Let me introduce myself first. I’m Sereno.”

‘…What a legendary name.’

“Can I get your name first? I can’t keep calling you ‘Chanter’!”

“You may just call me that.”

“No, I can’t! Tell me your name.”

‘…What does he want my name for?’

In a world where calling a name holds significance, there might be things possible with a name alone.

I decided to give this suspicious person a pseudonym.

“I am Stefan.”

“…Stefan?”

“I am Stefan.”

Legeno showed a brief delay in reaction.

“Stefan… is it! Right, Stefan!”

‘…Is it the name of someone he knows?’

“So, the reason I spoke to you is….”

Sereno paused for a moment, then looked me straight in the eye and spoke.

“…Because you’re a face I don’t recognize!”

Taken aback by the unexpected reason, I wore a surprised expression.

“Surely, Sereno-nim, you don’t remember every single person in this Capital Church?”

“No…?”

“Then you must spend a great deal of your day speaking to people you don’t know?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“I’ll be on my way quickly so you can speak to the next person you don’t recognize.”

“Wait, that’s not what I meant!”

‘…Suspicious.’

Why is he so insistent on talking to Random Chanter 1?

I really didn’t want to get entangled with this mysterious Melona.

“I mean, among the Chanters! I spoke to you because you’re a face I don’t recognize among the Chanters!”

“…Do you know all the other Chanters?”

“Exactly! I almost received Ordination as a Chanter myself. I might not know everyone, but I know most of them!”

‘Almost received Ordination as a Chanter…. That means he’s from a noble family.’

Since he saw someone he’d never seen before dressed as a Chanter, did he speak to me wondering if I was from a family he didn’t know?

I looked at Sereno’s hair color again.

‘…What was that Melona-colored family again?’

Since I couldn’t remember, it seemed they weren’t a family with particularly good Sacred Relics.

If it were a family I had farmed often, I would remember.

‘Even if I call it farming… it’s actually killing them to make Sacred Relics.’

Units with unusual hair colors possess the ‘Divine Bloodline’ trait.

The corpses of Divine Bloodline units are excellent Sacred Relics in themselves, and when one doesn’t yet have the power to devour a god, the only way to use the Divine Power of another Domain is to borrow the power of a Sacred Relic.

Therefore, if you raid a family with truly useful Divine Power in the early game and loot all the Sacred Relics enshrined in their Sanctuary, the late-game progression becomes much easier.

You could just steal them, but since the units of that family will chase you relentlessly to recover the stolen relics, it’s more convenient to just dispose of them all while you’re there.

Of course, you can acquire additional Sacred Relics as well….

‘…When I think of it as reality rather than a game, it’s truly an evil, demonic act.’

In reality, it’s just annihilating a whole clan settlement and stealing the corpses to use them frugally.

To think such thoughts, like a cult leader, the moment I see a person.

I suddenly found the game developer terrifying.

Didn’t they design the game so that players, including myself, would learn to perceive such acts as ‘farming’?

I’ve heard that psychopaths view reality like a game.

The only reason they don’t commit murder is that in ‘reality,’ where there are no saves or loads, it would be inconvenient to proceed if caught by the police.

If such a person first acquired the common sense learned from a ‘game,’ how would they see this world?

They might truly see people as items.

“…That’s why I became curious about who you are! Because you’re a Chanter I don’t know.”

“I see. I am Stefan. I first arrived at this Capital Church the day before yesterday. Is your curiosity satisfied?”

“So, how did you become a Chanter? Where are you from?”

I frowned.

“I would prefer not to say.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I was simply picked up while passing by. If your only reason for speaking to me was that I was an unfamiliar face, then now that you know my face and name, haven’t you achieved your objective? I would like to go now.”

“…By any chance, did your Oathbound Partner tell you not to have long conversations with strangers?”

“What?”

‘Oathbound Partner?’

Who is he talking about?

The Main God, Loclem?

‘I don’t think the god would forbid having different partners for each person.’

“Why would you think that?”

“Huh? Well, it’s because you’re wearing a blue Pasia….”

‘What does a blue Pasia even mean?’

However, I didn’t want to reveal my lack of basic knowledge as a Chanter in front of this mysterious Melona.

Since he has the kind of personality that impulsively strikes up conversations with strangers, the moment he realizes I lack common sense, he’ll likely meddle incessantly.

“…He has forbidden nothing of the sort.”

A strange light suddenly flickered in Melona’s eyes.

“Then does that mean he allowed you to read the Scripture to other people?”

‘What is he talking about?’

Is there any reason to forbid reading the Scripture?

Though it’s now a nominal title, the original reason the sacred office of Chanter was created was to read books written in other languages.

Of all things, they wouldn’t forbid reading the Scripture.

‘…Is this some idiom I don’t know?’

Just as the phrase ‘washing one’s hands’ can mean severing a negative relationship, it seemed that ‘reading the Scripture’ had some other meaning.

Reading the Scripture….

‘Fuck, what does that even mean.’

I couldn’t guess at all.

‘Still, a priest wouldn’t bring up the Scripture for something negative.’

Quickly organizing my thoughts, I replied with a small nod.

Sereno exclaimed loudly.

“Wow, really?”

‘…Did I give the wrong answer?’

I felt a sense of anxiety.

It felt like the time I nodded at a foreign restaurant without understanding a word, only to see the waiter look utterly shocked.

Did I just order a dish that is incredibly polarizing, or perhaps an absurd amount of food?

If it were a restaurant, I could hold onto them and ask for an explanation, but….

‘I should have just ignored him and walked away.’

“I see. Got it. Could I perhaps ask you for a favor later?”

“…What?”

‘Is he planning to look for me later?’

This was troublesome.

If Legeno looks for the new Chanter Stefan, he’ll find that no such person exists.

‘If I had known he knew all the Chanters, I wouldn’t have given a pseudonym.’

“Didn’t you say you know many Chanters? Please ask them instead.”

I declined indirectly.

But the Legeno bastard was persistent.

“No, I want it to be you. I took a liking to you.”

‘Liking what exactly?’

I leveled up Legeno’s suspicion level.

Even if he couldn’t tell at a glance that I was a serf, he could tell I didn’t have the Divine Bloodline.

Then he would know I don’t have a grand background.

My Charm Stat is 30, so I don’t look particularly special either….

‘Is there anything to like in that short span of time?’

You can’t tell if someone is intelligent or diligent from a first impression.

“…What exactly did you take a liking to?”

“Huh?”

Seeing Sereno’s flustered reaction, unable to give an immediate reason, I became certain.

‘The “liking” part was a lie.’

Whatever it was, he definitely had another objective.

If it were an objective one would have for ‘Fabio’….

‘Since Chanters are idle, maybe he wants to dispatch me as manpower…?’

Reading the Scripture = Working.

Asking if I was allowed to work for others probably meant asking if there was a Non-Compete Clause.

I heard that some Chanters are normally employed as Scribes or Stewards.

‘…Was blue a sign that one is already employed?’

Oathbound Partner = Employer.

Blue Pasia = Employment Offer received.

Reading the Scripture = Labor.

If I interpret it this way, it all seems to fit.

The fact that only Elamin and I were wearing blue Pasias made sense under this logic. Those from true noble families wouldn’t bother wanting to work.

‘Blue collar… Blue Pasia….’

Was what I was wearing a symbol of the labor class?

‘That’s why he’s so pushy and dismissive.’

Elamin and Athanas spoke to me politely, but this bastard spoke in informal language.

Since he’s from a noble family, looking down on others must be second nature to him.

After some deliberation, Sereno answered.

“Um… well… your voice is nice?”

‘Wow, he really has nothing to say.’

Complimenting my voice.

Isn’t that the kind of compliment you use when you can’t bring yourself to say a child is pretty or handsome, so you say, ‘Oh, he looks like he’d be good at studying’? It’s what you say when you have nothing to say but want to say something moderately positive.

“I see. Thank you for the compliment. However, I am busy, so I would appreciate it if you asked others.”

“No, it has to be you!”

‘…What the hell does he want.’

I openly scowled.

“You’re talking nonsense. It has to be me? Then what did you do when you didn’t know me?”

“Huh? What do you mean, what did I do….”

“Until just a moment ago, you didn’t even know I existed, did you? Just pretend you didn’t run into me and solve it as you did before.”

Sereno looked stunned.

“Then, I shall be on my way.”

Saying that, I walked past Sereno.

Fortunately, he didn’t stop me this time.

‘That was incredibly annoying.’

I quickened my pace.

It felt like that conversation took 30 minutes. In that time, I could have walked to the restaurant and back….

‘I should hurry to the Branch Office and look for books on the festival.’

As soon as I arrived at the Branch Office, I looked for the Librarian.

However, even after searching the entire Branch Office, I couldn’t find anyone who looked like a Librarian.

Naturally, Athanas was not there either.

‘…Do Librarians only work mornings at the Branch Office?’

Well, the Main Hall has a much larger Collection Volume and more work to do.

It was a plausible reason, but as someone who had things to ask them, it was very disappointing.

‘I’ll definitely ask them next time I see them.’

60 – #060