I Became the Apostle of an Evil God Chapter 13

“Whine…”

As if lacking the strength to even move, the child was collapsed in a heap. Van carefully scooped him up with both hands. It was hard to see well inside the pitch-black cave, but the boy looked to be about ten years old. As Van adjusted his grip to support his bottom comfortably, the whimpering child buried his head into Van’s chest. Van gently patted his back to reassure him and carried him out of the cave.

“What is that thing?”

“An underage child, as you can see, sir.”

Orma’s eyes narrowed sharply, looking at the bundle as if Van had just picked up a stray piece of trash. Swallowing the urge to demand why this thing was clinging to Van like he was its mother, Orma reached out and placed a hand on the child’s shoulder to pry him away. However, once the child was revealed in the bright sunlight, it became clear he was quite different from an ordinary human. The twitching ears and swishing tail… belonged to an animal, no matter how one looked at it.

“What do you know, it’s a beastkin.”

“Ah… right, there was a race like that. I see, so this child is a beastkin? It’s my first time seeing one in person. Hmm… I wonder if he’s from the feline clan?”

In Mox Nox, there were other humanoid races besides humans. There was a race commonly classified as ‘beastkin’ because they looked like a mix of humans and animals, and this child seemed to be one of them. Seeing the pointed ears and mottled tail, Van assumed he was from the feline clan, often called ‘cat-people.’ At Van’s words, however, the child snapped his head up, glaring with bright yellow eyes as he shouted fiercely:

“I am not from the feline clan! I am a tiger, not a cat, man!”

” I… I see. My apologies.”

“Ha. Van, put this bastard down. Where does he get off acting like a kid when he’s clearly old enough?”

“Whine! H-help me, sir!”

Old enough? Ah, come to think of it, beastkin were said to be much older than they appeared and had long lifespans. But he looked to be around eight or nine; if he was ‘old enough,’ exactly how old was he?

“He looks to be at least thirty. Are you seriously throwing a tantrum at that age?”

“Pardon? Thirty?”

Did I hear that right? Doubting his own ears, Van looked down at the whimpering child in his arms. Sensing he had been caught, the boy—who had just been shouting about being a tiger instead of a cat—was now busy avoiding Van’s gaze. He then hesitated, speaking in a tiny, shrinking voice.

“Not quite that old… I am twenty-five, brother.”

“What?”

Twenty-five? That was three years older than Van’s current physical age after his reincarnation. And the system called him a boy…?

[Hidden Quest: Convert the poor ‘young man’ captured by the bandits into a believer of your god.]

The system shamelessly swapped the word from ‘boy’ to ‘young man’ right before his eyes. Feeling a bit put off, Van carefully set the child… no, the older brother, down on the ground. Still, seeing how the young man clung tightly to his leg as if it gave him peace of mind, Van decided to let it slide.

“Aren’t you going to let go?”

“Eek! Y-you are being far too harsh, sir. Is your savior friend perhaps your lover?”

“Lover, my foot. He’s mine.”

“…For the record, I am neither his lover nor am I Orma’s property, sir.”

“Ha! Didn’t you say you’re my apostle?!”

Why is he being so childish? Even though the beastkin was technically older than Van, his outward appearance was that of a child, making Orma look incredibly immature for bickering over him. Besides, for someone who had been trapped in a bandits’ den, the beastkin looked remarkably unscathed.

Curious about his story, Van smoothed down the beastkin’s disheveled orange hair as he continued to tremble against his leg and asked, “What is your name?”

“My name is Jaena, brother. W-what is my savior’s name?”

“I am Van.”

“Van! Oh… what a beautiful name.”

The way his eyes sparkled was actually a little cute. Automatically, Van’s expression softened into a faint smile, which made Orma—who had been silently watching the entire display—fume with rage. He had no idea why he felt so thoroughly ticked off, but it was glaringly obvious that this beastkin bastard was using his childish appearance to hit on Van!

“You’ve been rescued, right? Now go your own way. Let’s go, Van.”

“Huh? W-where are you going, sir?”

“None of your business.”

Jaena flinched at Orma’s fiercely glaring eyes and sharp tone. This time, however, he didn’t just take it quietly. He hadn’t liked Orma from the start, considering how the man had been projecting his blatant displeasure at every turn.

“Just who do you think you are, picking a fight and meddling in everything since a moment ago? Uh… b-by the way, your eyes… why are they gold?”

Why were his eyes gleaming with a golden hue? Come to think of it, his hair was pitch black… and hadn’t Van called him ‘Orma’ earlier? Jaena whimpered, lowering his head under the menacing aura radiating from the man staring him down, and muttered:

“Th-those are a god’s eyes….”

“So you do know.”

“Then don’t tell me… you are Orma? As in, the evil god?!”

He gasped in pure terror. His pleasantly peach-flushed cheeks turned stark white, and his pupils slits vertically, proving just how startled he was. Orma watched this display with a look of smug triumph. It seemed he was completely determined to inflate his notorious reputation. Whether Van let out a soft sigh or not, Orma couldn’t care less.

“Now that you recognize me, beat it.”

“How are you even here? Is this place actually hell? Then, is Master Van an angel…?”

“What nonsense.”

Van internally filtered out a few choice curse words from that sentence. Before Van could even mediate, however, Jaena shrieked and threw his arms around him again.

“Why has an evil god walked out of hell! Waaah, Master Van! Save me!”

“Have you lost your mind? Get off him!”

Van felt a headache coming on. Granted, he knew this was the standard reaction of ordinary people upon encountering Orma…

But why was he hugging him for help? No matter how anyone looked at it, didn’t it seem like they were on the same side? Jaena looked incredibly adorable with his eyes pooling with tears, but unfortunately, now that he knew his real age, Van kept his guard up.

“Mr. Jaena, Orma is my god.”

” …W-what did you say?”

Jaena doubted his own ears, but Van gave a firm nod, as if confirming that he had heard correctly.

“I won’t ask by what misfortune you were captured by bandits and kept in this den, but I assume it wasn’t of your own free will. Where do you plan to go now?”

“Naturally, I wish to return to my hometown, brother….”

The hometown of a beastkin would mean a settlement on the other continent across the sea. Coincidentally, it was quite close to the temple of the god Muhwi, which was exactly where Van intended to go after visiting Siol, the sanctuary of the god Banan. He had no idea how the young man had ended up all the way here, but Van resolved to persuade Jaena step by step. Since Orma clearly found him distasteful, he would have to handle his god as well.

“Listen to me, Mr. Jaena. We are currently on a journey to save the world from destruction.”

“From destruction…?”

“A calamity has befallen the world, has it not?”

“That is true. In fact, I also came here to find the Seeker mentioned in the prophecy to seek a solution.”

“The Seeker in the prophecy?”

“I heard… he was at a temple dedicated to Serca near here.”

…Is that me? Van paused, casting a sidelong glance at Orma. Orma, making it entirely obvious that he had zero interest in this conversation, merely crossed his arms and glared daggers at Jaena. It definitely seemed like he was the one Jaena was looking for, but was he really famous enough for rumors to reach a distant continent across the ocean?

“I was on a journey to find him, but I lost my luggage, ran out of water, and fainted, which was when the bandits kidnapped me.”

“…I see.”

“Lately, there have even been rumors going around that the Seeker passed away… I was so terrified that I was just about to give up and head back to my hometown.”

It seemed persuading Jaena would be a breeze. As for Orma… should I just shoot first and ask questions later? Since the deity had been relatively lenient with him lately, maybe he would let it slide if Van begged earnestly.

“Mr. Jaena, it seems the person you are looking for is me.”

“Heavens! Master Van is the Seeker from the prophecy?”

“The title ‘Seeker’ seems to be an exaggerated rumor, but I am indeed the person the rumor is about.”

“Wow… No wonder….”

Jaena looked up at Van with glittering eyes. A mysterious, beautiful, and kind Seeker—he was exactly as Jaena had envisioned.

“But how… why are you with an evil god, brother?”

“As I mentioned before, Orma is my god. I am his apostle.”

“I told you, Van is mine.”

Van had no idea how Orma’s mind twisted it to mean that, but he hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement anyway. At that, Jaena’s face crumpled as if his whole world had shattered. Seizing that exact moment, Van grasped both of Jaena’s hands, locking him in a serious gaze.

“You said you came looking for me to stop the calamity, right? Then how about you join us?”

“…Join you?”

“Hold on a minute, what exactly do you think you’re saying right now?”

“Yes, join us. If the number of believers who worship Orma increases, we will be able to purify the calamity much faster.”

Since Van was hardly a smooth talker, his reasoning and explanation for the invitation were severely lacking. Yet, despite being told point-blank to blindly believe in an evil god, Jaena simply stared blankly into Van’s sparkling sky-blue eyes, his mouth hanging open like a fool. A moment later, he ended up nodding his head in submission.

Watching the entire spectacle unfold from the side, Orma was the only one left utterly dumbfounded, letting out a hollow laugh as he muttered to himself:

“Ha… This bastard really glides through life on easy mode, doesn’t he…”