Chapter 175 – Those Who Noticed. (1)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The archaeologist Teyra.

In the past he had been a fifth-tier mage of the Red Tower, but after becoming fascinated by an artifact discovered in Colony, he had spent roughly twenty years pursuing relics of the forgotten age without shying away from danger.

At first, he felt puzzled by Karmakses III’s summons.

Because of Karmakses III’s support, he had been able to remain in Colony and continue his archaeological research.

But Teyra knew.

That Karmakses III did not have much interest in archaeology itself.

What the king wanted, in the end, was only the byproducts that accompanied the ancient objects Teyra unearthed and found.

That was why.

“Do incarnate gods truly exist?”

At Karmakses III’s question, he felt even more puzzled.

To summon him suddenly and ask that.

Had the king suddenly developed an interest in archaeology itself?

Even so, Teyra answered with complete sincerity.

“…So according to your words, you mean that incarnate gods might truly exist?”

“Rather than saying they might, it would be more correct to say that incarnate gods truly do exist.”

“Can you take responsibility for those words?”

“Yes.”

At the follow-up confirmation, he nodded without hesitation.

Because he had seen one himself.

It had been long ago, while he was exploring ancient mysteries.

In the land of the lizardmen, which he had entered despite the risk of death should he be discovered, he had witnessed it.

An incarnate god.

Not only outwardly different, but a being whose very force and presence were on another level entirely, one that handled not borrowed holy power like priests, but the essence of power itself.

Awe.

Fear.

Exaltation.

The fervor surrounding the masses of lizardmen who revered that being remained vivid in his memory even now.

But why was Karmakses III suddenly curious about incarnate gods?

At first he wondered if the king had heard a passing rumor somewhere and felt only shallow curiosity.

But.

He is serious.

Karmakses III’s expression was graver than ever.

As if he were agonizing over a matter upon which the fate of the nation itself hung.

“…Then is there a way to confirm whether someone is an incarnate god?”

“Confirm, you say?”

“Yes.”

It was an unexpected question.

“Forgive me, but what exactly do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said. Is there a way to confirm that the other party is an incarnate god?”

“Rather than confirmation, incarnate gods differ from ordinary humans even in outward appearance. In other words, it is usually possible to judge with the naked eye alone.”

“…Is that so?”

Karmakses III’s face warped strangely once more.

After a moment of thought, he carefully opened his mouth again.

“…Then if an incarnate god were disguised as a human, would that be possible?”

“If you ask purely in terms of possibility, I cannot say there is none.”

“Then is there a way to see through that disguise? Preferably without the other party realizing the attempt.”

At the continued questioning, Teyra felt as though he was beginning to understand why the king was asking about incarnate gods.

Has someone appeared whom he suspects to be an incarnate god?

A short guess.

But because the information given was too sparse, he did not continue along that line of thought and instead nodded.

“I have never attempted it even once, but in conclusion, there is a method.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Teyra recalled an item he had recently obtained from one of the forgotten ancient ruins.

“Then when the time comes, I will call for you, and you will help me with it. It will not take long. I have heard that he is coming to Colony soon.”

“Understood.”

Pushing down his curiosity, Teyra bowed and withdrew.

Then Karmakses III was left alone.

…If Marquis Palladio really is a god.

His eyes sank into deep seriousness.

####

The next day.

After finishing every errand in Lartania, Alon met Rine before departing.

“So you are leaving now.”

“I should.”

“That is unfortunate.”

Unlike yesterday, the strain was gone from her expression.

If anything, she looked even more fine than usual.

No.

She was trying to look fine.

Holding up a faint smile and desperately refusing to let any other emotion show.

Looking at that, Alon hesitated for a moment.

And then.

“Rine.”

“Yes?”

He spoke calmly.

“What happened in the past is, in the end, only what happened in the past.”

The smile on Rine’s face slowly faded away.

To be honest, Alon had thought carefully about whether he should say this at all.

Because it meant breaking through the mask she had put on and dragging into the open something she clearly did not want to talk about.

And yet.

If it could let Rine feel even a little more at ease.

That feeling won out.

Of course, he did not know the truth.

He did not know what she had gone through in the past.

Nor why the exposure of her past frightened her so much.

The only things he could infer were two.

First, that her past, likely something related to the apostle’s schemes, had remained with her as a deep trauma.

Second, that Rine feared the eyes of others, including Alon, might change if that past came to light.

Alon too did not want to forcibly drag into the open an injury she was desperately hiding.

But if it remained hidden forever, then there would also never be a chance for new skin to grow over it.

That was why, after all his hesitation, he had spoken.

“Ri…”

He slowly swallowed the words he had meant to continue with.

Instead.

Tap. Tap.

He lightly patted her shoulder.

Even if the feeling came from concern for Rine, it could still be deception if he, who did not know what she had gone through, kept talking as though he did.

And in truth, no further words were needed.

If it were Seol Lang that would be different, but Rine would understand what he meant.

“I will be going.”

Just as he was about to leave after patting her shoulder a couple more times.

“…Thank you, Godfather.”

At the voice that followed, the heaviness in Alon’s heart eased a little.

Because a smile had risen to Rine’s lips.

Not the polished one she wore for others.

A faint but natural smile.

Seeing it, Alon thought that perhaps this was the first time he had seen Rine’s real expression.

“Very well.”

He answered quietly and turned away.

Alon himself did not realize it, but a small smile had also settled at the corners of his own mouth.

####

In a small canyon on the northern outskirts of Lartania.

A place where only a few monsters existed in the silent stillness.

Thud.

A hand suddenly burst out of the ground.

An arm tinged with the bluish hue of a corpse, as though it had been buried beneath the soil for a very long time.

Soon a series of cracking sounds followed, as though bones were snapping into place, and color gradually began to return to it.

Then the mound of earth broke apart and a naked female body sprang up from within.

“Hoo.”

The one who emerged with a quiet sigh was the apostle of Greed, Emil.

She brushed off the dirt from her body as though it were only a nuisance and stood up.

Her naked body, blue beneath the moonlight like that of a corpse.

But soon her whole body began reconstructing itself with repeated cracking sounds.

And before long, healthy color returned to it like that of a living human.

After looking over the restored body as if appraising it, she smiled faintly and murmured.

“Ah. I died.”

It was a reaction that sounded slightly regretful.

Yet far too light to suit the subject of death.

But she could react that way because to her, death was not especially frightening.

Perhaps it would be different for the other apostles.

But the memories Greed had granted her were enough to reverse that death and raise her again several times over.

Marquis Palladio, was it?

Having fully regained her life, the apostle of Greed recalled the man who had killed her.

The mage, no, the magus, who had used magic with an endlessly blank face.

No matter how I think of it, he is strange. He should be only a half-complete one without even proper formulae, and yet why is his magical ability so outstanding? Fine, let us leave strength aside. But the divine power dissolved into his mana, just what was that?

Emil wore a peculiar expression.

In truth, she had possessed the power to break free from the prison Alon created.

Because the Book of the Rotten Tree she wielded stored enough mana to allow such an escape.

And yet, because of the divine power contained in Alon’s mana, she had been unable to move the mana stored in the Book of the Rotten Tree properly.

The vessel was only a little stronger than I expected… though I did think there were various things odd about him from the reports. Meeting him in person, he is worse than that.

She admitted that she had underestimated Marquis Palladio.

Perhaps it would have been better to break him first before carrying out the plan.

The reason Emil had dealt somewhat leisurely with Marquis Palladio was because she intended to awaken Rine as a vessel through him.

Everything about the situation had pointed that way.

That Marquis Palladio was extremely important to the vessel.

She had judged him useful at the time, and so he should not have been killed.

Well, what has passed has passed. I should recover first.

Emil looked down at her hands, which were already starting to tremble a little.

Naturally, she could not revive infinitely, and the risk that came with it was great as well.

Above all, the moment she revived, her abilities fell sharply.

The reason was that resurrection occurred by bodily transfer.

She did not revive in the exact same body that had died.

Rather, her soul separated and moved into a body prepared in advance.

Put simply, no matter how much effort she made, the moment she died, everything based on physical accomplishment rather than knowledge was lost.

In game terms, it was like inheriting only traits and starting again from level one.

Of course, because knowledge was retained, the speed at which she could regain her former ability was fast.

Well, I can prepare again. It was fortunate I did not use the materials in advance.

Emil began reconstructing the plan in her head.

This time in a way that did not underestimate Marquis Palladio, and that would awaken Rine more certainly as a vessel.

After adjusting the plan for a while, Emil smiled slightly.

This time, shall I prepare it slowly and leisurely?

And she tried to step into the dark forest.

Stab.

“Huh?”

But she could not.

“Hello.”

Because someone had lightly thrust a sword into her back beneath the Blue Moon.