How A Mythical Holy Knight Lives As A Villain (Novel) - Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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To give an honest assessment of simple manual labor:
Thud, thud.
It was refreshing.
So much so that it evoked memories of when he had once swung his fists without any particular thought.
Sweat trickling down.
“Thank you!”
“No need to mention it.”
Forget the stickiness of sweat-soaked clothes, Go Johan was dedicated to the work.
Even if it was merely erecting the foundational pillars, an indescribable sense of accomplishment washed over him.
‘Ah.’
Why was that?
‘Goddess.’
Could this too not be the goddess’s grace?
“Work’s done!”
Cheol Jung-bae shouted.
“Huff, huff…!”
“Ugh, I’m dying.”
“Wa, water!”
The believers who had volunteered as workers began shouting as they sat down on the spot.
Go Johan set down the piece he had shouldered and looked at them with a dazed expression.
“Phew!”
Laughter came naturally.
He understood well.
How they had begun following him, transporting pillars with only raw strength without using mana.
Or if that was insufficient, transporting pillars using minimal mana.
“Phew, you all worked hard.”
Those who had carried pillars with him spoke thus to Go Johan.
A feeling as if they had drawn slightly closer.
Of course.
“Here, take this.”
Rather than their attitude toward Go Johan changing, it would be more accurate to say they showed a more authentic side.
“How is it?”
Cheol Jung-bae approached and spoke.
“It’s good.”
“Sometimes working without thinking is nice too.”
Cheol Jung-bae nodded naturally as he spoke.
“Later, I’ll teach you about smithing if you need it.”
“Please do.”
“Never thought I’d sweat alongside you.”
Cheol Jung-bae’s face was filled with emotion.
In Travania, no one treated Go Johan casually.
Even the Dwarf King hesitated to face him, and those haughty elves’ World Tree had even nervously proposed to him only to be rejected.
That he could sweat alongside such a being.
‘This alone is sufficient.’
Cheol Jung-bae felt he had accomplished something as important as a craftsman’s soul.
That’s when it happened.
“But, what is that?”
At the very front of the temple under construction, there was a massive structure that Go Johan and the believers had been particularly careful to transport.
It seemed larger than the entrance to the temple and seemed to have a form of some kind.
Grin.
Cheol Jung-bae answered Go Johan’s question with a deep smile.
“A statue.”
“…?”
“You don’t need to know yet. It’ll be my life’s masterwork, so feel free to look forward to it.”
“……”
A sense of unease crept up.
“It’s not, right?”
“……”
“It’s not, right?”
Go Johan asked again, but:
“Hey! If we don’t have enough pillars, the work will be delayed! Let’s hurry!”
Cheol Jung-bae rushed off quickly, shouting.
“It’s not, right?”
“I, I have lots of work too!”
Cheol Jung-bae disappeared in a flash.
Go Johan stood for a moment, looking at that massive thing again.
‘It shouldn’t be.’
It wouldn’t be.
“Could it be…”
With a towel around his neck, Go Johan walked away.
That the believers resting behind flinched was probably not mere coincidence.
*
*
*
The day after helping with the temple construction with Cheol Jung-bae and the believers.
“……”
Go Johan woke in his church quarters and sat with a dazed expression.
It was an odd feeling.
“…Why did I sleep so well?”
It was no lie that in over twenty years, he could count on one hand how deeply he had slept.
One of those occasions was yesterday.
More than six hours of deep sleep without nightmares or tossing.
He laughed hollowly in surprise at that.
‘Sometimes.’
Wouldn’t helping with temple construction be bad?
Then Go Johan’s eyes caught a note.
“Rest today as well. Dedicated bodyguard, Lee Jae-Kyung.”
It was a note written by Lee Jae-Kyung.
Perhaps thanks to sleeping deeply last night.
His anxious heart eased somewhat, so Go Johan nodded.
“Captain…”
Where Go Johan headed was Gluttony’s laboratory.
Gluttony, researching new items and elixirs together with the Dwarven, greeted Go Johan with a haggard expression.
“Still not sleeping?”
“…Don’t need to.”
“You should probably go help with the temple construction too.”
“…?”
Gluttony trembled ominously.
“…Is that an order?”
“Not exactly.”
“…Then I won’t go.”
Gluttony scratched his head as if it itched.
“Need help with anything?”
“…I’m fine.”
“Still.”
In the end, Go Johan helped with experiments on elixirs and new items.
“…This is poison though?”
The concoction made as an elixir not only didn’t increase stats but suppressed mana and weakened strength.
“Ah… that’s a failed attempt…”
Gluttony glared at the Dwarven as he said so.
“Sorry, sorry.”
The Dwarven, though skilled in craftsmanship, showed no talent in alchemy like elixir-making.
This was natural, as the Dwarves, the progenitors of the Dwarven, were a race with low mana sensitivity.
Instead, they possessed powerful ability to impart external mana to materials.
“This sword is quite decent.”
As expected, there were great developments in weapon crafting.
“…Creating items that can kill demons… is in progress. Previous ones were hard to achieve annihilation with.”
That task, which had been attempted even in Travania, ultimately ended in failure.
Had it been possible, the war would have been won.
“Will it be possible?”
At Go Johan’s concerned question:
“It seems possible.”
One of the Dwarven spoke respectfully to Go Johan.
“…Sins. The Travania beings couldn’t handle them, but we can now.”
He also heard talk of purification and improvement ongoing on the demon armor.
“…Thank you, Captain.”
Gluttony expressed his gratitude to Go Johan.
“Thanks to you, the time to produce results seems… shortened.”
Though uncertain what helped, Gluttony spoke thus.
Afterward, Go Johan stood before a certain room.
“……”
Looking at the room with a heavy face:
“Captain.”
A familiar yet unfamiliar voice echoed in Go Johan’s mind.
“Don’t worry about me.”
It was a voice both youthful and mature.
But what was common was a voice that mysteriously drew and captivated people.
“It really doesn’t seem long now. Soon…”
There was also a sense of longing.
“I think I’ll be able to leave this room.”
“Yes.”
Go Johan thought it a relief.
“I’ll always be waiting for you, Rust.”
The one confined in the room was Rust, Gluttony’s twin sister.
Before the master of greed, Rust possessed the most powerful and dangerous force, yet couldn’t even control that power.
Lest she destroy everything, she had sealed the door herself and imprisoned herself.
When she could control that power, she would emerge.
“Captain.”
Go Johan felt drawn even by her voice as she spoke.
“See you soon.”
*
*
*
After that, Go Johan sought out Greed, but:
“How’s your loss?”
“……”
“That much loss is nothing. But the price for carelessly handling the church’s… no, the Captain’s assets is great.”
In a grim atmosphere, Greed’s command continued.
“Just the head would be fine?”
“…I’ll accept it.”
“No, it’s still useful, so I’ll go easy. One finger. But never make this mistake again. Remember that.”
“…Thank you.”
This must be a joke.
“Captain, you’ve come?”
Greed greeted Go Johan.
“Well, is there anything you’d like to have?”
“……”
Go Johan smiled at Greed for a moment.
“I came to see if there was anything I could help with…”
Go Johan said.
“But it seems there’s nothing I can help with.”
What Greed was doing looked professional at first glance.
Numbers changed rapidly, displays of red and blue colors brought fatigue to Go Johan merely from watching.
Still, he could make any effort for Greed, but he was confident that would only cause Greed difficulty.
“Rest while working.”
Go Johan patted Greed’s head.
“…Just this is enough help.”
Satisfied, Greed smiled and pulled out a candy to put in her mouth, returning to her seat.
Go Johan also didn’t bother Greed further and left.
Everyone was working hard in their respective places.
‘Still.’
If there was rest allotted, shouldn’t he also look after the remaining ones?
Where Go Johan went:
“Ah… ba! Papa!”
Was where Ju In-gyeong was.
“Not papa, but oppa. Or Captain.”
“…Captain!”
Now appearing about eighteen years old, yet with such fearsome power that consciousness must always be suppressed, Go Johan picked up the girl.
“Should we.”
Go Johan said to her.
“Go out?”
“Yes!”
*
*
*
Compared to Rust, who lived entirely confined in a room, Ju In-gyeong was quite free.
But considering that Rust’s room was wider than thought and freer than imagined:
“Wow. Clouds, people.”
The one with the least freedom in the church might be the youngest girl, Ju In-gyeong.
“Like it that much?”
The believers volunteered to come along, but Go Johan refused and drove himself.
“Yes! Sky. People. Buildings!”
She was terribly dangerous, but with Go Johan, it should be fine.
Ziiing.
Ju In-gyeong lowered the window and poked her head out, looking up at the sky.
And when she seemed to grasp something, waving her hand:
Boom!
A thunderous sound echoed from the sky.
“Cloud! Cloud!”
A massive hole appeared in one of the great clouds adorning the sky, something Go Johan was certain was no illusion.
“In-gyeong, no.”
“No?”
“No.”
“No!”
Ju In-gyeong pouted but soon closed the window and sat down.
In that time, Go Johan and Ju In-gyeong arrived at their destination.
A place where another apostle who had to confront Ju In-gyeong resided.