#067

I admit I acted in a way that could be easily misunderstood.

If a female character invites you to her room and says, “I wouldn’t mind if you did anything to me,” with a shy expression, anyone would think it’s a seduction.

But in that situation, shouldn’t the normal reaction be, “Is this goblin trying to seduce me without knowing his place? How unpleasant…”?

And yet, the reaction was, “A goblin? Hmm… possible.”

“What a taste…”

Of course, with a charm of 30, I have a plain appearance that doesn’t cause discomfort, so it’s not to the point where he’d be branded a possibility enthusiast.

The problem is that this was only the second time Ter had met me.

And if you add up the total time we spent together, does it even reach three hours?

Even so, it was “possible.”

“At that point, doesn’t it mean he’s really okay with absolutely anything?”

He’s not just a Priest, but an apostle…

“No, I’m not disappointed in you, Lord Ter. This happened because of my own ignorance.”

“…You can be honest.”

“Having a guy who can see emotions is truly tedious.”

I was about to fake my emotions when a question suddenly occurred to me.

“Is it okay to keep working on the Affinity here?”

I stole a glance at Tertius.

Tertius’s face was flushed bright red, and he couldn’t meet my eyes.

“He looks utterly mortified.”

Well, from Ter’s perspective, he just got rejected by someone with 30 charm without even getting a confession…

And it wasn’t even an event triggered by raising Affinity in the first place.

I decided to resolve this amicably.

“I really don’t have any bad feelings toward you, Lord Ter. I was just so bewildered… I just need some time to organize my thoughts.”

I continued, rubbing the back of my neck.

“How should I put it… It’s like I thought bricks weren’t edible, but suddenly I was told they are. Like saying bricks are kneaded and baked in a kiln just like bread, so how are they different? No, actually, it’s like being told that buildings are made of bread…”

“Even as I say it, it sounds like nonsense.”

“Above all, if Lord Ter knew I didn’t mean it that way, you would have stopped immediately, right?”

“…Of course.”

“Then why would I have any reason to be disappointed in you? I will be careful from now on so that such misunderstandings don’t happen again. This will never happen again.”

“…Never again?”

“Doing something unknowingly is a mistake, but doing it knowingly is a fault. I’m saying I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

I can’t forget the look on Elamin’s face, as if she were thinking, ‘What do I do with this bastard?’

“It was quite humiliating…”

“Fabio. If a member of the same sex approaches you sexually in the future, what will you do?”

At Adna’s question, I answered immediately.

“I will refuse.”

“Why?”

“Huh? Well… because I don’t want to? Even though I’ve learned it’s possible, it’s something I’ve never even imagined until now, so I have no desire to do it. And I believe responding with such a mindset would be rude to the other person.”

“What if someone of the opposite sex approaches?”

“Hmm… I would refuse that as well. In a situation where I don’t even know what kind of god’s Blessing is cast upon my body, I believe it would be irresponsible to have such intimate contact with another person.”

“What if that person is a high-ranking Priest and is therefore unaffected by such things?”

…The only high-ranking female Priest I know is Adna.

Oh, wait, was there Casimir too?

“If I say it’s okay here, wouldn’t I be stepping on a landmine?”

Suppose you asked a beggar, “How would you feel if the princess of this country liked you?”

And the beggar replied, “The princess? Oh, just imagining it makes me happy!”

Wouldn’t the princess feel offended, thinking, “How dare a mere beggar imagine being with me?”

“Even so… how could I possibly dare? It would be impossible.”

Adna looked at me silently.

“…I’m not out, right?”

“I-I mean, in the first place, such things are a bit unfamiliar and uncomfortable for me…”

“…Me too.”

“You feel that way as well, Lady Adna?”

“Yes.”

Adna nodded.

“As I thought, if I had said OK, the landmine would have exploded.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried that I felt this way because I’m outside of Order. I was wondering if I should get used to it even if I hated it…”

“There is nothing you must do by force if you do not wish it.”

Perhaps because I said I had no interest in those things, Adna seemed to have become a bit more generous.

“If there is anyone who persistently clings to you even after you refuse, let me know. I will clear them away.”

“Lady Adna…”

“Now I see why Ter’s desperate unrequited love hasn’t led to anything yet.”

It’s because Adna is a fortress in that regard.

“A combination of a loose man and a fortress of a woman…”

This is a combination that will remain parallel lines forever unless the man reforms and approaches seriously.

I glanced at Ter.

Judging by his grim expression, he seemed very concerned that his Affinity with Adna had dropped because of this incident.

“…Including that fellow, of course.”

“I told you I didn’t know. I said I won’t do it again.”

“Haha…”

“I really feel like a supporting character in a 90s rom-com manga.”

What Adna just said is exactly the kind of line a fortress-like female lead would say while raising a fist: “Tell me if that guy hits on you! I’ll teach him a lesson!”

Of course, if Adna swung that fist, the walls would crack and the floor would cave in…

“But is this the time for you two to be filming a rom-com?”

Thinking about it, it’s absurd.

There are only 50 days left until The ‘Stars’ open.

And they said only the Apostles of Order and the Knight Commanders of the Inquisition know about the Othergod.

Then shouldn’t they be incredibly busy right now?

“…Did Mother God perhaps buy an option with Clear Points like ‘Overall Intelligence Decrease for the Church of Order’?”

Otherwise…

“Lord Pell. Is… is this all for the important conversation?”

“It is. Is there anything else you are curious about?”

“No, not at all. I’ve been surprised enough for today.”

“I’m actually surprised by how thoughtless you all are.”

Is this the time to worry about a goblin not knowing human sexual culture?

Is this the kind of conversation three apostles should be having?

“Then may I go back? I think I need some time to digest what I’ve heard today.”

“Of course.”

The Saintess said with a soft smile.

“Even after you return, please call me whenever you need anything. Whether you’ve become curious about your past, have other questions, or even for a trivial reason like wanting to see my face.”

Hearing the Saintess’s words, the questions I wanted to ask rose to the tip of my tongue.

But in the end, this was the only question that came out.

“…Doesn’t the Saintess have a lot of work?”

“As I told you before, I am quite free.”

“Then for fuck’s sake, why are you free?”

“Don’t other Watched Ones bother you, Saintess? I imagine you’d be busy with just that.”

“Even so, Fabio, I can always make time for you.”

“…She’s not giving away a single clue.”

I thought I might be able to indirectly find out the number of ‘Watched Ones’ who had joined the Church or the current situation…

“It can’t be helped.”

I decided to ask a more direct question.

“Would it be possible to ask something of another Watched One?”

‘Fabio’ is very confused after hearing about ‘Perpetua’, whom he does not remember.

It is natural for such a Fabio to think of other ‘Watched Ones’ who might have experienced the same confusion.

If the ‘Watched Ones’ must not know each other’s identities, wouldn’t exchange be possible as long as anonymity is maintained?

“As I said, meeting is difficult.”

“I’m not saying I want to meet in person. If you could just deliver a letter or a question…”

“That is also difficult.”

“…Didn’t you tell me to ask anything I was curious about?”

“Fabio, if it is something that is better for you to know, I will answer.”

The Saintess wore a smooth smile.

“But because it is not, I do not answer.”

“…She has no intention of telling me.”

But it was a natural answer.

Even if ‘Fabio’ is ignorant, he is a ‘Prospective Contractor of the Othergod’.

There was no reason to reveal the secrets of the Church to such a person.

I nodded.

“Thank you for your consideration!”

* * *

“Consideration my ass!”

I plunged my head deep into the bath and screamed.

“Fuck, I thought I was going to die from frustration.”

Because there was a guy who could see emotions, I felt like my brain was cramping from constantly trying to stop my thoughts.

“…Even if I try to think in my room, the door is open.”

So, I eventually came to the bathhouse. At least in a private bathroom, I could close the door and be alone.

“Let’s organize my thoughts.”

The Saintess doesn’t know what a player is.

And she thinks the playlog is something that actually happened.

“…That means to the Saintess, other players look like people who have memories of destroying the world several times.”

How did the Saintess respond when such people said they wanted to belong to Order?

“Did she accept them but not listen to them because she couldn’t trust them?”

Or perhaps, due to the restrictions of the System, information about ‘players’ simply doesn’t reach the Saintess.

Maybe the players tried to explain several times but failed…

“…If so, is the restriction on the player’s side?”

“System, is there a rule that prevents me from explaining the game to NPCs?”

The System did not respond.

“System, to what extent can the Saintess access information about players?”

Again, no response.

“System, how can I obtain information about other players?”

No response.

“System, what happens if I say another user’s Nickname? Does the whisper function activate?”

No response…

No matter what I asked, the System did not answer.

“Useless.”

I submerged myself in the water, making bubbling foam.

“…Should I just try saying all the Nicknames I know?”

I pondered for a long time, but in the end, I decided against it.

What if the first person I hit is some lunatic who hasn’t given up on the game?

“Just by finding out my Nickname, they might be able to do something.”

Since this is a world where naming holds significant meaning, it might be possible to harm someone just by knowing their Nickname.

Above all, other players probably didn’t start as a unit as incompetent as ‘Fabio’…

“…I feel like everyone else spent money on the game and I’m the only free-to-play player.”

Anyway.

I can call out Nicknames at any time, so I can reconsider it when other methods fail.

I sank into thought.

“If I were a player who converted first…”

What method would I have used to convey a message to other players?

“…I would have written a message in a place only players know, using a code only players can understand.”

Since they are gamers, they would be familiar with such puzzles.

The code doesn’t need to be incredibly complex.

I just need to write something that only someone with Earth’s common sense could recognize.

“Something like, ‘Leave the next clue where Santa Claus often visits’…”

Even if a local happened to find that sentence, they would never be able to find the answer, ‘chimney’.

Even someone who isn’t very bright could quickly figure out such a riddle.

“And as for a place only players know… it would have to be…”

A place where a Hidden Piece is located.

A place any gamer would definitely want to check.

If such a place exists…

“It would be a secret space where a Quicksave is located.”

The basement of the Branch Office.

The place I almost went down to but stopped.

“At the time, I didn’t want to go down because I thought someone might be watching.”

Of course, thinking back now, it was an absurd worry.

If those apostle bastards had worked that thoroughly, I wouldn’t be having these worries right now…

“If there are no traces of fire in the basement, I can assume I’m the only player who can move freely in the Capital Church.”

But if there are traces of fire…

“There’s a 99.9% chance it’s the work of a player.”

The reason I didn’t say 100% is because there’s a 0.1% chance Athanas did it.

Of course, the probability that Athanas has memories of ‘Die Heretic!’ was nearly 0%.

“Because a Heretic Butcher wouldn’t make a disappointed face after being told someone wouldn’t eat lunch with them.”

…Come to think of it, isn’t there no longer any reason not to get close to Athanas?

I hesitated because I was afraid of bumping into another player, but now I’m in a situation where I actually need to find that player.

The Saintess probably doesn’t know who Athanas is either…

“Tomorrow, I should try asking him to eat lunch together first.”

Chapter 68