I Became the Apostle of an Evil God Chapter 39

“So, what are we going to buy first, mate?”

At Jaena’s cheerful voice, Van hurriedly tore his eyes away from Orma and began to lay out the plan. He had mapped out the most optimal route to spend a large sum of money as quickly as possible, anticipating that carrying the gold bars would be heavy… though, well, that didn’t matter much anymore.

“First, I was thinking of buying a horse for you, Jaena. Wasn’t it uncomfortable riding together with Lord Orma?”

“That’s a very good idea. He was so noisy it was annoying.”

“Oho. Ahem, actually, I wouldn’t mind riding with you, Lord Van!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I told you to cut out the cheap tricks.”

“It’s not a cheap trick! I’m small and light, so buying another horse would be closer to overspending. I’m just trying to be thrifty out of a spirit of saving—”

“You saw how much money we have earlier, right? We don’t need to save on stuff like that. Why don’t you worry about hiding your dark motives instead?”

“Che, dark motives! Have you ever considered that you’re trying to be way too overprotective when it comes to Lord Van? Lord Van is this tall! He’s great with a sword! And he’s strong! I’m this small, yet you only pick on me every day!”

Despite Jaena’s confident declaration that if anyone deserved to be overprotected, it should be his child-like self and not Van—who was a literal knight—Orma didn’t even bat an eye. He just crossed his arms and retorted:

“He’s pretty.”

“….”

“Hold on a second, Jaena. Why are you accepting that?”

Van had thought Jaena’s point was perfectly reasonable, but Jaena merely glanced at him and gave a slow nod.

It was a sophistry so absolute that it left no room for denial. Then again, hadn’t Jaena himself been completely captivated by that face from the start, getting reeled into the faith without even caring whether the man was Orma or an evil god? Seeing Van’s face morph into a look of sheer absurdity, Jaena also melted into a silly puddle and giggled.

“Anyway… do whatever you want with the horse! But Lord Orma made a promise to me, so we absolutely must stop by a weapons dealer!”

“A weapons dealer? What kind of promise did you make?”

“Well… just… something.”

“What do you mean, something! Ahem, why are you trying to hide it? Lord Orma promised to teach me spearmanship!”

What on earth had possessed Orma to make a promise like that? Van’s eyes went wide at the rather shocking news that Orma, who found Jaena to be such a nuisance, was going to personally teach him how to wield a spear. At his reaction, Orma waved a hand dismissively as if defending himself.

“That dead weight hides behind your back whenever anything happens, so I’m just telling him to learn some spearmanship and take care of his own body, that’s all.”

“I see. Well, it certainly would be helpful if Jaena had the strength to protect himself.”

Van nodded, agreeing it was a sound idea. However, just because Orma was insanely good at wielding a spear didn’t mean he would be good at teaching someone else. Van worried inwardly that Orma would end up beating Jaena like a dog under the guise of training, but he kept his mouth shut.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t entirely strange for Orma to find Jaena suspicious. Even if Jaena’s actual age was older than his own, his outward appearance was that of a young child… isn’t it a bit weird for someone like him to cross the continent alone just to find a seeker?

Though the beastmen were said to be stronger and possess superior martial prowess compared to average humans, there would still be limits to his height and physical stature. On top of that, hadn’t Jaena been captured and held in a bandits’ den when Van first discovered him? Recalling that moment, it didn’t seem like the guy could protect himself at all, which made Van slightly curious about how he had ended up starting such a long, grueling journey across the continent by himself.

…Well, he would probably tell him when the time was right.

“Let’s go quickly! Hurry, hurry!”

Utterly thrilled, Jaena ran ahead a good distance despite having no idea where the weapons dealer was, waving both hands to call out to Orma and Van.

“We’re leaving now. Did anyone leave or forget anything?”

“Mm-hmm, I got my spear, and I packed the water and the portioned food pouches perfectly!”

Whether he loved the spear that was as tall as his own height that much, Jaena busily checked the luggage while sitting atop his small horse with the spear tightly strapped to his back. It actually made things look more chaotic, though…. Right next to him, in stark contrast, Orma merely gave a slow shake of his head with a thoroughly bored face. Van subtly opened Orma’s shadow to double-check the inside before slowly leading his horse forward.

Thanks to the calamity, it looked like broad daylight, but they had already entered 5:00 PM. Ordinarily, he would have stayed in Siol for another day, but remembering the bizarre stunt Banan had pulled with the fountains made Van feel strangely anxious, making him think it would be best to leave Siol quickly.

Yet, after taking just a few steps, Van instinctively paused and looked back at the buildings of Siol.

“What? Did you leave something behind?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Was it really okay to leave like this, practically running away? Banan surely knew they were leaving Siol today, yet she hadn’t shown herself.

Was it alright to go without even saying goodbye? Of course, judging by Orma’s story, Banan staying out of sight was actually doing Orma a favor, but still….

The tragedy of their story left a bitter taste in his mouth. What exactly was the nature of the bond between a parent and a child? What truly counted as doing something for the other’s sake?

What did Banan want to do with Orma? Did she want to make amends and get along well again, or was she satisfied with merely seeking forgiveness? Well, it could be neither. Looking at those fountains right now, he couldn’t even tell what she was trying to accomplish or what she was thinking….

“Ah.”

The moment the fountain sculpting Orma flashed through his mind, a realization suddenly struck him. Van hurriedly pulled up his status window and skimmed through it.

[Current Status: Apostle of ‘Orma’ / Faith: 45 (Someone has recognized the miracle performed by your god.)]

Faith Level: 2

Faith Gauge: 3/12

▷ Witnessed a Divine Miracle +2

▷ Witnessed a Divine Authority +1

The faith gauge had gone up by 2, but his Faith stat had risen noticeably. He could have sworn the last time he checked it was at 35, so for it to shoot up by 10 was a massive jump. And looking at the explanation next to it, it meant someone had recognized the solar eclipse—the purification—as a deed performed by Orma.

Could this have been Banan’s intention all along?

Faith was precisely the foundation that allowed a god to manifest their divine authority. Granted, a god’s power didn’t necessarily weaken just because people didn’t believe in them, but it certainly could grow stronger if they did.

In other words, if someone realized that the recent solar eclipse was a miracle wrought by ‘Orma’… even if it was just a tiny handful of people, followers who believed in him could begin to emerge. Being called an evil god was a thing of the ancient past; humans were creatures whose faith would gush out of nowhere the moment a god capable of overcoming the immediate calamity before their eyes made an appearance.

“What are you contemplating so deeply?”

“…Lord Orma, it seems that someone other than us has learned of your existence and started to believe in you, sir.”

“What?”

“They know that yesterday’s solar eclipse was a miracle performed by you, sir.”

In an instant, Orma’s face contorted. Seeing him grind his teeth while muttering a quiet “Banan….”, it seemed that even without laying eyes on the fountains, he had deduced Banan’s hand was at play in the current situation.

His structurally perfect, handsome face instantly turned ominous, and his golden eyes gleamed with pure, unfiltered malice. He looked so fierce that it felt like he would instantly slaughter any devotee on the spot the moment they dared to step into his line of sight to offer a prayer.

“…If I catch them in front of my eyes, I’ll kill them.”

“They’re just offering a prayer out of faith in you, sir. What do you mean, you’ll kill them?”

“Whether it’s an apostle or a follower, you guys are more than enough.”

Hearing him say that any further increase would just strengthen this damn divine power and make things a hassle, it appeared Orma was well aware that a god’s power grew in proportion to their faith.

Even so, saying you’ll kill a follower the moment you meet them? Seriously, damn it, Lord Orma, wouldn’t it be better to shed that stigma of being an evil god….

As Van swallowed a sigh and badmouthed him internally like he usually did, Orma suddenly whipped his head toward him and let out a scoffing sneer.

“You were just cursing me in your head, weren’t you?”

“…Excuse me?”

Just because you’re displeased about something else, are you seriously picking on your blameless apostle now, man? Van put on a sullen face and shook his head, but Orma narrowed his eyes as if he found the denial pathetic and continued to press him.

“You did.”

“I did not.”

“I’m telling you, I just heard you offering a prayer to me.”

“…A prayer?”

A prayer? When did I ever pray to Orma…. As Van blinked his eyes blankly, a dark foreboding that felt like the sky was crashing down gripped him, and he opened his mouth cautiously.

“What kind of prayer did I offer, sir?”

“You were nagging me, saying, ‘Damn it, Lord Orma, wouldn’t it be better to shed that stigma of being an evil god.'”

“Ah….”

You never told me that a god’s influence rising in proportion to faith meant something like this, man. Of course, a god hearing the prayers offered by their apostle would be a basic divine authority, but this was a bit too much…. Squeezing his eyes shut, Van could only repeat a single sentence over and over in his head.

I am so screwed….