#078

The ‘quiet place’ Athanas took me to was a prayer room.

I wondered if it was blasphemous to discuss such things in a sacred place, but as soon as I stepped inside, those thoughts vanished completely.

“Why is there a… in the prayer room?”

There was a bed.

And not just a small cot for a quick nap, but a large, luxurious bed that could easily accommodate two people.

“Because I said I would pray for Valentine.”

“Valentine…?”

“The god who presides over affection between lovers.”

Athanas knelt on one knee before a seal statue that sat abruptly in the room and offered a short prayer.

“Is this the icon of Valentine?”

“It is.”

The statue of the seal, standing upright, looked more like a cute ornament than a religious icon.

‘A seal? That’s a really cute symbol.’

Compared to someone like Ledeia, whose symbols were maggots and leeches, it was truly…

‘…But is a seal suitable as a symbol for lovers?’

I didn’t know much about the ecology of seals in the Dark Realm, but on Earth, seals were representative mammals that formed harems. They were famous for their promiscuous sexual lives…

‘…Well, maybe it just looks like a seal but is actually a marine mammal that practices monogamy.’

Thinking this, I peeked at a book that looked like a scripture next to the icon, only to slam it shut in shock.

‘Holy shit, this is an erotic book.’

The book contained explicit depictions of couples entwined in embarrassing poses. By modern standards, the drawings weren’t that stimulating, but I couldn’t believe such a thing was in a prayer room.

‘Why put an erotic book next to a holy icon?’

For reference?

Looking again, the cover read ‘Prayer Guidelines for Valentine’ in Sacred Script.

‘…Does that act count as prayer too?’

Seriously?

No, of course, if there is a god whose Domain is ‘sexual pleasure,’ points would likely increase when believers cry out their name during sexual intercourse.

I suppose that could be viewed as prayer.

And there was no logical flaw in calling the place where one prays a prayer room.

However…

‘Why is this actually real?’

My head spun.

I had realized that the notion of ‘religious = sexually conservative’ was a prejudice, but every time I saw things like this, the old-school Confucian man inside me became infuriated, shouting “You harlots!” while wildly swinging a cane.

‘Why… do these bastards have no concept that moderating one’s desires is a virtue?’

Is it because the authority of the gods is never questioned?

Since manifesting a Halo is sufficient proof of being a Priest, is there no need to differentiate themselves by emphasizing that their daily lives are far more moral and noble than others?

‘Then what’s the difference between them and the heretics?’

If they have no claim to be more moral, why are they hunting down the heretics?

‘…Well, being sexually open isn’t necessarily immoral.’

I calmed the Confucian man within me by recalling cultural relativism.

Considering how people in religions often find ingenious ways to do the very things forbidden, I thought it might actually be better to just provide the venue.

Just looking at the anecdotes of Americans struggling to drink during Prohibition…

‘…Still, I really can’t get used to this.’

It’s hard not to let it show that I’m a goblin bastard.

Of course, compared to having to pretend to be unfazed by Ledeia’s priests, simply not frowning at this was a simple task…

Click.

At that moment, I heard the sound of Athanas undoing his belt.

He unfastened the shoulder straps of his breastplate, took it off, and set it down.

He loosened his leggings and placed them beside the armor, took off his shoes, and then his socks…

“Wait, wait a minute! Why are you taking off your clothes?”

When I shouted, pale with shock, Athanas looked at me blankly.

“If someone suddenly walked in and I were fully dressed, they would suspect I came for a different purpose. Shouldn’t I at least take off my armor?”

‘That’s… true.’

I was speechless.

No matter how stupid a pursuer was, they wouldn’t be fooled into thinking a couple rolling around in a love hotel bed were engaged in ‘that act’ if they were wearing long padded coats and shoes.

It was certainly a rational and cautious action, but…

‘…Isn’t he way too unfazed?’

Unless he had simulated this situation numerous times, how could he be so fluidly natural?

I looked at Athanas with a slightly suspicious eye.

Whether Athanas interpreted that gaze as an invitation or not, he strode toward me.

“Wa-wait! What are you doing!”

“…Didn’t you ask me to loosen your Pasia?”

“I-I can do it myself!”

I recoiled in horror toward the edge of the bed.

I knew that being shy in this situation only made it more embarrassing, but I couldn’t help it. Blood rushed to my face, making it feel hot.

‘Is he really not embarrassed right now?’

I undid my Pasia, loosened my socks while glancing at Athanas’s face, and sat on the edge of the bed to take off my socks…

“…What do you think I’m going to say that makes you go this far?”

Eventually, I couldn’t hold back and asked.

From Athanas’s perspective, he had simply granted the request of someone who suddenly wanted to go to the basement of the Branch Office, only to find an unpleasant trap and a message with an unknown meaning. Then, that person suddenly said they had something to discuss in private.

‘Do people usually react this way in that situation?’

Isn’t it suspicious? If it were me, the moment I hit a trap, I would first suspect the person who told me to go down there. Why is he being so accepting? He knows nothing about me, so why…

‘He’s acting as if he already knows I’m going to tell him that the world might end.’

Now that I look at him, the fact that he looks excessively tired is also suspicious.

Could it be…

“…I told you that the reason I sleep in the Branch Office is because I hate being woken up by people at the training center.”

‘Out of nowhere?’

“That was actually a lie.”

“What? Then why….”

“I was waiting for a Revelation.”

‘Revelation?’

“The setting of a recurring nightmare was that place. The sick were offering desperate prayers there, and they died on the spot. In the dream, I was clearing away the corpses of those who had died there, wondering how long such days would continue. That sense of helplessness and despair. It was such a horrific sight I had never imagined, that I could only think of it as a Revelation.”

‘…Did he see the beginning of ‘Die Heretic!’ in a dream?’

“I was truly curious about the meaning of that Revelation. I looked for others who had the same dream, but I couldn’t investigate openly. A dream where Order collapses—surely that is something one dare not speak of. So, I visited the Branch Office every day, hoping to see what happened next. Since that place appeared in the dream, it must have some meaning.”

‘So he wasn’t just sleeping….’

I felt a bit sorry for thinking that while I was worrying about the fate of the world, Athanas was just sleeping comfortably.

“Then, I had a nightmare more terrible than usual. Usually, I would have woken up by then, but the dream wouldn’t break. At first, I was glad, thinking I might see what comes next in this dream, but after spending several days within it, I became anxious.

What if this was actually reality, and the peaceful times were the dream? What if I had succumbed to delusions because I couldn’t accept a reality where Order had collapsed? There were so many insane people in that dream. I began to fear that I might be one of them.”

‘…It’s understandable to be scared if you saw madmen.’

In ‘Die Heretic!’, the insane NPCs appear like part of the background. Mad people who cannot be interacted with. They cannot be saved; sometimes you just find them dead on the floor.

Because the insane ones keep sobbing or babbling incomprehensible things until they die, if the noise is bothersome, you can clear them away through a sub-quest.

Once you meet the Acting Pope and obtain the legal interpretation that ‘insanity constitutes a dereliction of duty,’ you can then ‘condemn’ the madmen. Then, the Saintess won’t say anything and your divine power won’t decrease even if you kill them.

However, after completing this sub-quest, one had to be careful not to let their mental strength hit rock bottom. This was because there was a downside: Athanas would commit suicide on his own before the ‘Insanity’ status condition occurred.

‘The general consensus was that it’s better to clear the sub-quest since managing mental strength isn’t that hard.’

Since Athanas wouldn’t get a good ending even if you didn’t kill them anyway…

“I prayed desperately to be woken from the dream, and to be told why I was having such a dream. And then….”

Athanas’s deep blue eyes stared straight at me.

“You woke me up.”

‘…I just thought you were dead because you wouldn’t wake up.’

I didn’t even know the person sleeping was Athanas before I woke him.

‘If I knew he was suffering from nightmares, I would have woken him up sooner.’

“I have no evidence, but I began to think that you might be related to that dream. That is why I held onto you, even by making a request that might seem absurd.”

‘So he knew it was an absurd request.’

“…I didn’t see you in the dream, so I wasn’t certain. Still, the fear that I might never wake from the nightmare vanished. Because you would let me escape. Then, you were the one who first mentioned wanting to go to the basement of this Branch Office.”

Athanas’s eyes seemed to sparkle with a strange light.

“At that moment, I felt a certain conviction. That you definitely know something about the nightmare I am having. Perhaps you have seen the same sights.

Fabio, when you went down to the basement, you were constantly scanning the floor, not the walls or the ceiling. That means you knew about that secret space.”

As I hesitated and stepped back, Athanas took another step closer. Athanas’s hand overlapped mine.

“You expected something to be beneath it. But you were greatly flustered once you realized there was a trap. When I pretended to view that trap lightly, calling it a ‘joke,’ you….”

‘…That was acting too?’

“…You looked as if you had so much you wanted to tell me. You were pale, looking at me as if you had to say something, but worrying that I wouldn’t believe you. That is why I went this far. I wanted to show you that I intend to believe whatever story you tell.”

I couldn’t respond to that confession.

My mind was a mess.

‘While Athanas was going through such anguish, I was thinking this feels like a dating sim….’

It’s a real relief that Athanas can’t read my mind.

‘More importantly, why did he have those nightmares?’

It’s good that the nightmares made him decide to trust me, but it felt too convenient, which left a bad taste in my mouth.

‘There’s no way all of this is a coincidence prepared for me.’

I’m not some gamer possessed to save the Church of Order. I’m just a player who chose to quit the game.

‘Whether it’s the System, Loclem, or the owner of the nightmares, there must be a purpose for showing Athanas that dream….’

No, there was a more important problem.

“…Don’t you suspect that I might be the one who made you have those nightmares?”

Athanas’s eyes widened slightly.

“Am I not suspicious? What if I made you have nightmares and then hovered around you, waiting for the moment your judgment was clouded? What about the possibility that I went down beforehand and set the trap? What if this is a trick to make you believe in some evil god by scaring you that Order might collapse? Why would you say you’ll believe everything I say?”

‘What is wrong with him, trying to trust a player?’

I am truly a piece-of-trash unit with nothing, but other players might hide a trump card and pretend to be helpless. Even the Saintess cannot see through a player, so how does a mere Holy Knight know anything to say, ‘I will believe what you say’? People who trust the Distorted One are incredibly cunning…

“What if I’m actually an Apostle of the Evil God, and I’m just trying to lure you in to brainwash you? Why are you so defenseless….”

“Are you an Apostle of the Evil God?”

“What? No! Absolutely not!”

“…Then is that not enough?”

“No, seriously, would an actual Apostle of the Evil God admit it with their own mouth!”

As I shouted in frustration, Athanas chuckled.

‘He’s laughing now?’

Unbelievable.

I mean, even though I’m worrying about him…

“Then, please do it. Brainwashing or whatever.”

“What?”

“Since the foolish I have completely fallen for your wicked tricks, please go ahead and deceive, brainwash… do whatever you want to the defenseless me.”

Chapter 79