#074

It was a reaction of complete unexpectedness.

‘…Is that natural? I’ve rejected him coldly every single time.’

I quickly added, “If you have other plans, please don’t feel obligated.”

“No, I would like to eat with you,” Athanas said, rising from his seat.

“I thought you had an appointment today as well.”

“…The person I was supposed to eat with suddenly said they were busy today.”

“Is that so? Then it is my good fortune. Thanks to that, I am able to spend time with you.”

‘Wow, seriously….’

Once I started thinking of this as a dating sim, everything sounded like a dating sim line.

‘I wish someone would just use Oblivion on me.’

I didn’t want to be conscious of it, but my mind kept rendering this in the version of [Heretic♡Love: The Apostle of Othergod Wants to Love!], and it was driving me absolutely crazy.

‘The problem is that I’m the one who feels like the heroine.’

A female character who cancels an existing appointment just to eat with someone, then makes an excuse that it was canceled by chance….

This feels exactly like an event that triggers once your Affinity has reached 40%.

‘But I only asked him to eat three times, and he’s already approaching me with a blush….’

Isn’t the conquest too easy?

‘Well… he does look like he’d be easy.’

With monsters, those that look clumsy and simple are weak, while those with complex shapes and various appendages are strong.

In that sense, ‘Fabio’ was clearly at the level of a dirt rabbit that appears at the entrance of a village.

He had the aura of a lowest-grade prey that could be caught even by swinging a tree branch.

He felt like “Passerby A,” a character created in a dating sim with the catchphrase “Every single character can be conquered!” just to elicit the reaction, “Wait, even this guy has an ending?!”

‘Compared to him, Athanas….’

Just looking at him, you can feel the volume of the scenario.

He’s even a guy who has ‘Heretic Butcher’ as one of his possible futures.

‘This bastard is going to be incredibly hard to conquer, and the True Ending is definitely a Merrybad Ending.’

He’s the kind of spoiler-ridden character where, if you only look at the Good Ending, the dialogue recovery rate is less than 10%.

The kind of character people would be burning up for, screaming Athanas’s name, though they can’t say why because it’s a spoiler….

‘To be honest, the Heretic Death Ending was a Merrybad Ending too.’

As I thought this, I glanced at Athanas, and our eyes suddenly met.

‘Whoa….’

It’s my first time seeing Athanas smile.

I should have taken a screenshot of this….

‘…But doesn’t smiling like that when eyes meet mean he’s totally into me?’

I had that insane thought for a moment before quickly snapping back to reality.

‘I told myself to consider all possibilities, not to indulge in delusions.’

If I saw someone posting a question like [We locked eyes and he smiled. What if he confesses to me?], I would have clicked my tongue and called them underdeveloped in the prefrontal cortex.

“I hope that person is busy tomorrow as well.”

“…Why?”

“Because tomorrow, I want to eat with you again, Fabio.”

‘…I mean, if this isn’t flirting, then what is?’

“Haha….”

I laughed awkwardly.

In my head, the side saying ‘Maybe he just really hates eating alone!’ and the side saying ‘Does that make any sense, you idiot!’ began to fight.

‘This is eating up so much memory….’

If I didn’t force-quit this damn [Heretic♡Love] running wildly in my head, I’d spend the whole day thinking about this.

‘Let’s just say what I thought of under the stairs earlier.’

“I’m glad to hear that. After meeting a strange person recently, I was worried about going around alone….”

“A strange person?”

“It must be obvious that I’m wearing a blue Pasia, yet they asked if I could read the Scripture for them.”

I paused for a moment, but Athanas showed no particular reaction.

“…Actually, since I haven’t been a Chanter for long, I didn’t know what it meant to ask someone to read the Scripture. My goodness. I had a bad feeling about it, so I declined, but if I had agreed without knowing, it would have been a very embarrassing situation.”

“That could have been dangerous.”

“Haha, right. Since I already have a Count whom I’ve decided to serve with all my heart and soul, it would have been like betraying him.”

As I said this, I observed Athanas’s expression.

‘Seeing as there’s no reaction even after I’ve said this much….’

He must have already known what the blue Pasia meant.

And since a Holy Knight who believes in the God of Order couldn’t possibly have a Chaos Evil taste for things like NTR….

‘Athanas…. You really hated eating alone that much….’

Come to think of it, the reason Athanas came to the Branch Office every day was because he was being ostracized.

The way he suddenly brought up his own story just because I woke him up while passing by….

‘He’s the type who can’t regulate distance because he has too few friends.’

…A stray dog longing for human contact will wag its tail happily even if a homeless person pets it.

Thinking that Athanas’s reaction was like that made my heart ache a little.

‘I should eat with him tomorrow too.’

* * *

The lunch menu consisted of roast duck with a strong scent of spices, pickled herring, soup with clams, and white bread.

My jaw nearly dropped when I saw the amount of food Athanas brought.

‘If he were born in the modern era, he would have been a huge success as a mukbang creator….’

There must not have been much to eat during the Heretic Death timeline; how did he endure it?

‘Is that why he never smiled and always had a rotten expression?’

Because he was hungry?

‘A sufficient amount of carbohydrates is indeed a necessary condition for Happinesss….’

“…What kind of person is the Count?”

“The Count?”

Because I was suddenly asked a question while watching the mukbang, I experienced a brief moment of buffering.

The Count….

The master whom ‘Fabio’ sincerely serves.

The one who asked ‘Fabio,’ a mere serf, to become his own personal Chanter….

‘…A guy with weird tastes?’

A noble who picks up a giant salamander from a stream and says, ‘I’m going to raise this.’

No matter how I think about it, he isn’t normal.

But I couldn’t say that.

‘I’ll just speak the way Elamin thinks of Casimir.’

“…He is a generous person who gave a deficient person like me the opportunity to serve him. How could I possibly speak of him? He is my sky. Even if he had no interest in me, I would serve him with all my heart, yet he even sent me to the Capital Church, telling me to see and learn many things. I do not know how to repay this grace.”

“You respect him deeply. May I ask his name?”

“That… we agreed to keep it a secret.”

“Then I shall not ask.”

‘He really lets it slide easily.’

Is hiring a Chanter considered a matter of privacy, so it’s polite not to pry….

After that, trivial conversation continued.

I was wondering when to bring up the main point when Athanas spoke first, perfectly timed.

“How should I compensate you for dirtying your clothes yesterday?”

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about it. It was just an item I was issued.”

“Still….”

“…If it really bothers you, could you give me a small favor?”

“I will help with anything I can.”

“It’s nothing much….”

“Please speak comfortably.”

“Well, it’s just that I haven’t been at this Capital Church for very long. There are many places I want to visit, but alone, it’s a bit….”

“Do you want me to guide you through the Capital Church?”

“If you aren’t too busy, I would like to ask that of you.”

“I can clear one day.”

Athanas said with a smile.

“Where would you like to visit? The Pantheon? The Bell Tower? The Grand Chapel? If there is a Saint you particularly admire, visiting a related site is also a good experience. Or the cemeteries where Saints are buried are also popular destinations.”

I hesitated for a moment.

‘To avoid looking strange, I should probably tour those places first….’

But I didn’t have the luxury of time.

“…I want to go to the basement of the Branch Office.”

“The basement… you say?”

Athanas looked surprised.

“Why do you seek such a place?”

I tried to probe to see if there was a 0.01% chance that Athanas knew about that space….

‘I can’t tell from this.’

That is a natural reaction.

However, without completely letting go of my suspicion, I played it off.

“Actually, it’s nothing much, but I’m a country bumpkin. I’ve rarely seen a large building with a basement in my life. So, when I first came to the Branch Office, I kept wondering what was beneath it.”

“…I see. But there probably isn’t anything special there.”

“That’s exactly why I want to go. You know, honey is always sweet, but if you eat honey and then eat a carrot, you can’t taste the sweetness. In that case, isn’t it wiser to eat the carrot first?”

Athanas looked like he didn’t quite understand, but he nodded for now.

“Then, very well.”

“Thank you! Actually, I could go to the basement alone, but it’s so dark that I didn’t dare to.”

“…Dark?”

“It’s a basement, so of course it’s pitch black, isn’t it? I thought there would be lanterns placed around, but there weren’t any.”

“Lanterns….”

Athanas seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.

“I see. Come to think of it, it might be necessary for someone not accustomed to seeing in the dark.”

“Do Holy Knights see clearly in the dark even without lanterns?”

“We are trained to do so.”

‘Can you actually do that through training?’

It suddenly hit me again that this is another world.

‘Is this why technological progress is slow? Because they can solve everything with sheer willpower?’

“Then tomorrow, I’ll bring a lantern with me.”

Tomorrow.

It would be difficult for a Holy Knight to clear an afternoon schedule on the same day.

I nodded.

“Understood.”

Anyway, the days are short in winter, so the overall daily routine tends to end early.

Since I was also feeling the aftereffects of poor sleep, I decided to just rest for one day.

* * *

And the next day.

‘…I arrived first.’

In the Branch Office, only a few Librarians were busily moving books.

I opened a book and organized my thoughts.

‘The place where [Regression] is located is a secret spot revealed only after a layer of the wooden floor is burned, so if anyone tried to open it, traces must have remained.’

Even if the entire floor had been replaced, if it had been less than a year, the fact that the floor was new could not be hidden.

‘…If the wooden floor is old and there are no burn marks, I’ll pretend to drop the lantern today and start a fire.’

There was no need to prepare separately to put out the fire.

I didn’t know the exact principle, but in the game, only that specific part burned away cleanly.

Of course, there is also the possibility that there is no secret space at all and it’s just a normal wooden floor, which could lead to a full-scale fire.

In that case….

‘I’ll just call the Saintess.’

It would be like using Excalibur to kill a chicken, but as long as it’s solved, isn’t that enough?

And if it’s the Saintess, she could give a definitive answer that there is nothing suspicious in that place.

Rather than looking a bit strange to the Saintess, it was more important to confirm that [Regression] was definitely not there.

‘If there really is a secret space, and [Regression] is there when opened….’

I intended to let Athanas have it.

I considered taking it myself, but ‘Fabio’s’ abilities were too lacking for it to be useful.

It would be quite helpful for covering up mistakes, hiding, or escaping, but….

‘If the Church is incompetent, this isn’t a game where I can survive just by hiding well on my own.’

Athanas would be flustered, but if I persuaded him well, he might cooperate with me.

If persuasion didn’t work….

‘…I’ll call the Saintess and report that Athanas seems to have obtained [Regression].’

No matter how much of a Saintess she is, she would have no choice but to become vigilant if she felt the power of [Regression].

The best way to prevent the world from perishing is for the Church of Order to wake up and prepare properly.

If I, who am immune to mental interference, obtained [Regression], it would be too suspicious, and there was a possibility they wouldn’t listen to me.

‘Because there’s a higher probability they’d think a Watched One awakened a strange power due to the influence of an Othergod.’

If it were Athanas, who has the Blessing of Order, it would be fine.

And if there is a secret space and traces left by someone….

“I am a bit late. Shall we go down now?”

At Athanas’s voice, I stopped my train of thought.

‘…Let’s see for myself first and then think.’

* * *

‘I hoped to find traces of a player here, but….’

When I actually confirmed the burn marks in the expected spot, I felt as if my heart dropped.

Athanas brought the lantern closer to the floor.

“This… looks like a mark made intentionally by someone.”

“How fascinating. Doesn’t it look like some kind of secret door?”

I forced an excited tone into my voice.

“I suppose so. But I do not know if it is alright to open it.”

“…If it weren’t allowed, wouldn’t it be locked?”

Athanas seemed to ponder, then felt around the door.

‘A door warped by high heat is simply detached.’

“It is not locked.”

With a creaking sound, Athanas lifted and moved the door.

‘If I had come alone, I wouldn’t have had the strength to move that.’

While I was thinking that, Athanas fearlessly hopped down.

“Wait, it’s dangerous….”

“It is not that deep of a space.”

Just as he said, as Athanas reached out, a hand popped up from the floor.

‘A bit deeper than 2 meters.’

I intended to perch on the edge and descend carefully, but Athanas grabbed my waist without a word, lifted me up effortlessly, and set me down on the floor.

“…Thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

‘Being lifted up like that… I think it’s the first time since I was about 5 years old.’

I shone the lantern into the secret space.

“What could have been here?”

It was a small space, not even 2 pyeong, so there was no need to examine it for long.

[Regression] is located in the center of this secret place, inside something that looks like a stone coffin, though it’s too small to be a coffin.

And that stone coffin….

‘…is open.’

My heart began to thumping wildly.

“Is there… something inside there?”

Chapter 75