Chapter 17
“Don’t be startled. I don’t intend to harm you.”
The man spoke.
“I’m not startled,” Irix said, incredulous.
He really didn’t seem startled at all. But if he’s not startled by something like this, why did he get scared of the snake? Has he seen things like this before but never seen a snake? Usually it’s the other way around. No—actually, usually neither of them would ever see this.
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t harm you. I’m here for you—”
“Just tell me your name…”
Irix ground his teeth. He was holding back a lot—this villain, too.
The man shifted his posture and looked down at us. Not because he was tall, but because we were both sitting. He wasn’t doing it for any particular reason; he was just bored.
“Let me reveal who I am. Ha, I—huff—um—”
Why does he keep breaking his sentences like that?
I was annoyed, my breath getting choked. Irix seemed the same. He kept tapping the floor with his foot.
“You… you’re an Apostle of the Church, right?”
Eventually, Irix spoke first.
“I don’t know what that is. You don’t need to explain it to me.”
Irix pointed at the giant hand.
“That’s the power you gained thanks to the blessing your god gave you.”
Blessing, power, Apostle…
What was that again?
Seeing my face as I tried to remember, Irix came closer and spoke quickly.
“A god chooses a special believer and grants them a blessing, which gives them power. Someone who receives such a blessing is called an Apostle, and that power is called a Divine Authority.”
“…Thanks for the explanation.”
I had noticed it earlier, but he seemed to get genuinely excited whenever he explained something to someone. His eyes lit up and he smiled.
Thanks to Irix’s explanation, I remembered what a “blessing” was.
The gods in this world choose talented people who could expand their religious influence and grant them a blessing, allowing them to use divine powers.
It’s a kind of acquired superpower given by a god.
This is different from the principle of “Aether” users summoning gods.
Aether users are possessed by gods and use their power, but a blessing is purely a god’s favor. It can only be used to the extent the god allows. If you break the god’s doctrines or the god becomes displeased, the power can be revoked at any time.
This is one of the major rules of this world, so remember it well.
Blessing—underline. Apostle—underline. Divine Authority—underline twice, then arrow, then “subject to the god’s will.”
“What is the name of the god lending you your power?”
Irix asked, and the man bowed, placed his hand on his chest, and said solemnly,
“It is Lord Peregion.”
Irix’s eyes grew distant, almost misty.
…He doesn’t know.
Wait. Did that name appear in the novel? Did it?
The eyes in the hand blinked too often, making it hard to concentrate.
“Lord Peregion bestowed this blessing upon me.”
“Yeah, that seems right.”
“Right now, Lord Peregion is blocking anyone who interferes with the execution of the divine will. No one who can interfere between you and me can enter this place.”
“I see…”
Irix looked at me with a deeply thoughtful gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because that statement means you don’t intend to stop him at all.”
I understood what he meant.
In the eyes of the god, I must be no different from an ally, so I’m being ignored.
“So, what.”
“You don’t care what happens to me, do you?”
“Those guys were told to protect you, and I was just told to go find you, so I did exactly that.”
“So you’re just going to do exactly what you were told. How is that going to help you grow socially?”
“…”
I was being lectured by someone who was about to destroy the entire world.
How did my life end up like this?
Probably from the moment I saw the novel that room 301 gave me… no, from the moment I met room 301… no, no. My life was just doomed from the start.
The man, unable to bear it, raised his hand.
“Would you listen to me? I—”
I glanced at Irix.
Irix bowed his head and ground his teeth.
“If I hear that ‘I—’ one more time, I’m going to throw him out of the train.”
Yeah. He’s holding back a lot. “One more time” means he’ll endure once.
“I— I— I’m giving you a chance— huff—”
Both Irix and I moved at the same moment.
“How many times are you going to say ‘I’?”
“I don’t know. I’m just going to throw him out.”
“Yeah, do it now.”
Without listening to our conversation, the man spoke again.
“You are the vessel created for the god’s descent to the world. You understand, right?”
“I know.”
Irix took a breath and said,
“I know, but I don’t like being treated like a bowl that was reserved in a pottery workshop.”
“Oh, that is your duty. Your fate determined by the god. You are a vessel prepared as the god’s body.”
“I said I don’t like it.”
“The god who will come to the world through you will establish a great divine nation here. The earth will become the god’s heaven, and the believers will become blessed citizens.”
“…”
“…”
Thankfully, he didn’t add another “I,” so we didn’t throw him out. Instead, it became boring. He was giving far too much information that no one cared about. The snake yawned widely. I was equally bored, so I leaned back in my chair and nodded slightly. Irix grabbed the back of my chair tightly.
“Sit still. You’re too restless.”
“…”
See? The world-ending candidate is lecturing me like a kindergarten teacher.
“Rix, ask him his name.”
I pointed at the man.
“No. I don’t care anymore.”
You may not care, but I have to know.
I need to learn the story from his perspective to understand what will happen next.
“If you’re curious, why don’t you ask?”
“I feel like he won’t answer me.”
“Would he answer if I ask?”
“The snake wants to know too.”
Irix looked at the snake.
“He says he doesn’t.”
“How do you know that?”
“How do you know? You’re not even a snake.”
“Don’t call me a snake.”
“If you don’t want that, give it a different name.”
As our conversation dragged on, the man raised his hand.
“Alright. I will tell you my name.”
“Wait. Before you say your name—”
Irix pointed at the man’s face.
“Take off that mask. You need to show your face for the name to mean anything.”
“That’s easy.”
The man pulled off his mask.
A narrow, long face appeared.
Irix and I stared at it closely for a moment, then looked at each other.
I was wondering if I recognized the face, and Irix was wondering why I was staring.
“Do you know him?”
“No, I don’t. Why are you asking me? You think you know?”
Of course. This whole incident is happening because of you, so you should know!
“My name is—”
The man smiled widely and said,
“Telecus.”
Irix and I looked at each other again.
Irix shook his head first.
“I don’t recognize that name.”
“…Okay, got it.”
“?”
Irix tilted his head, surprised that I didn’t respond with “I don’t know either.”
“You know?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“No.”
“Is it really or not?”
“It’s not.”
No, it’s a name I know.
Not exactly “Telecus.”
There was someone named Tairialliacrus… (damn it) whose name was so absurdly long that I remembered it. Comparing the situation with the incidents related to that person, that Tairialliacrus is this Telecus.
To put it simply: he dies at the hands of Irix.
He’s not a viewpoint character. When Maimon found Irix, he was already dead.
I don’t know when or how he died. It was just written like this:
“Tairialliacrus, who took Irix to the Church, died.”
Telecus is easier to say, so from now on I’ll call him that.
His role is this:
He’s the one who took Irix to the Church headquarters.
Among the executives who arrived today, he was the first to move and succeeded in meeting Irix first, and successfully brought him to the Church.
In other words, he was the person we should have avoided the most today.
But he was already dead long before that.
Because of that, there is no way to know what happened in between, and Irix simply became the villain from the next scene.
Telecus, who didn’t know his fate, was delighted.
“I know how you’ve lived. I’ve been watching you the whole time.”
What is a grown man saying that to a minor?
“What is this crazy guy saying?”
Irix was very displeased.
I understand. I’m seventeen and still a minor. If some strange man said he’s been watching me all this time, I’d be furious enough to kill him.
Oh, and I’d report him too.
Hello, there’s a stalker targeting a minor. I just killed him.
