I Became the Apostle of an Evil God Chapter 7

Whether Van knew his god was grumbling about him with a gloomy face or not, he didn’t even glance at Orma, focusing instead on picking out more clothes that looked like they would suit him well.

“This one looks nice too. Please add it to the total. And by any chance, is there an inn nearby?”

“Ah, were you also on a pilgrimage, Holy Knight?”

As the calamity had worsened recently, a trend had emerged where priests serving various gods would hasten to nearby temples to offer prayers—a journey known as a pilgrimage. When humans faced a trial they couldn’t dare to overcome, they naturally ran straight to their gods to pray, which only proved how terrifying and dreadful this particular calamity truly was.

Mistaking Van and Orma for being on a pilgrimage as well, the shopkeeper flashed an awkward smile, as if finally understanding why they were buying traveling clothes.

“There is an inn, but I’m not sure if there will be enough rooms. The number of priests on a pilgrimage to the temple of the god Serca nearby has increased lately, you see.”

Van nodded as he took the armful of clothes he had bought, following the shopkeeper’s polite directions.

“Thank you!”

Beaming at his first sale in a long time, the shopkeeper insisted on coming all the way to the door to see them off despite the stinging sunlight. The sun was finally setting now, painting the sky in a crimson twilight, but according to the time, it was already late evening, nearing 9:00 PM.

Orma, who had been quiet until now, caught up behind Van and asked softly.

“Don’t tell me you plan to wander around all over the place to stop the ruin?”

“That is my plan.”

“…I don’t want to. Just let everything go to ruin and die. I’m not going.”

Finding the idea thoroughly displeasing, Orma even stopped walking and stood dead in his tracks. Having already expected that Orma wouldn’t cooperate easily, Van merely shrugged.

“I have a question: if the world goes to ruin, what happens to you, Mr. Orma?”

“…What?”

“If everything dies, can you die too? Or… even then, will you be unable to die, left entirely alone in an empty, hollow universe?”

“….”

It was a question born of pure curiosity, but Orma took a step back, his face turning deathly pale. That was precisely what Orma, who had lived completely isolated for so long, feared most, and it was the very reason he had tried so desperately to die.

He had spent ages alone in a void-like hell—a place much like a world after its ruin. So… he already knew his own future. Orma knew a dread far more distant and horrific than that of humans who feared a looming death called a calamity, who feared the end.

The shadow stretching behind him grew slightly darker and longer, wavering as if it wanted to flee back into the hell where he had been hiding at any moment. Even though the hell he had been cooped up in for so long closely resembled a world where everything would vanish in ruin, he still feared a future where he would be left utterly alone.

Seeing him raise a hand to cover his mouth, it looked as though he might gag at any moment, as if he were turning sick to his stomach despite not having eaten anything for a long time. Beneath his feet, the shadow grew ferocious, feeding on its master’s terror and swelling into a menacing, monster-like shape. His ragged breathing caught vividly in Van’s ears.

Confronted with his god’s terror, Van was momentarily flustered and hurriedly closed the distance to Orma. He scrambled to soothe him, at a total loss for what to do.

“I’m sorry, I only asked because I was curious…. It will be fine. I—I will make sure… that doesn’t happen.”

“You….”

“I will never let such a thing happen, and I won’t leave you alone and lonely, Mr. Orma.”

“….”

The golden eyes whose weakness had been exposed grew clouded for an instant. Realizing that Orma’s greatest fear was becoming a ‘perfect god,’ Van shut his eyes tightly. If he found his current immortal body this burdensome, there was no way he would ever want to become a transcendent being like a true god.

Yet, ironically, Orma’s mighty divinity was exactly what was needed to keep the world from going to ruin. His vivid, pure darkness was the ultimate antithesis to a calamity that behaved as if it would burn the entire world to ashes with light.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the proverb ignorance is bliss flashed through Van’s mind. Still, since he had found out anyway, he needed to say something, but his mind only went completely blank. He was in deep trouble. He resented his own lack of eloquence.

After repeatedly opening and closing his mouth anxiously for a long while, Van figured he should at least share his plan, and began to lay it out in a stream of words.

“So what I mean is… can’t we just stop the ruin? If we use your power, Mr. Orma, to purify the calamity that is contaminating the places where the blessings and powers of each god are heavily bestowed, we can stop the ruin.”

“….”

The concrete method to save the world was detailed thoroughly in the game, so it wasn’t that difficult to remember. The player would tour the regions where each god’s blessing had been granted and witness the peril of the calamity. However, there was nothing the player could actually do. How could a mere human block the downpour of stinging sunlight?

Since the pouring light was referred to as the ‘Erosion of Blinding Radiance,’ it only made him keenly realize how badly they needed Orma, who was conversely called the god of darkness. But then, the Orma the player faced in the final chapter had already gone mad from his inability to die….

“First, I intend to go to Siol, the sanctuary of the god Banan, which is closest to here.”

“…Banan?”

Orma, who had barely calmed down and was quietly listening to Van’s words, scowled. His face filled with displeasure, as if he disliked every god’s name just by hearing it, so Van hurriedly tacked on an explanation.

“Yes, isn’t the god Banan the god of water and abundance? That’s why if Siol is contaminated, the blow will be the most severe.”

The rising temperatures, the prolonged days, the stinging sunlight. Because the areas most severely damaged by that calamity fell under Banan’s domain, if Banan fell, a world that was already struggling would collapse at an uncontrollably rapid pace.

Even with Van’s persuasion, Orma didn’t hide his gaze full of discontent, but that was all. Whether he accepted that it was something he had to do regardless of his dislike, he answered weakly with a small sigh.

“…Fine.”

After that, Orma remained quiet the entire way until they arrived at the inn. Glancing back, he seemed to be locked deep in thought, but whatever it was, Van couldn’t help but worry about the drained-looking Orma. It was actually better to see him grumbling like before… what should he do?

“Welcome!”

Lost in thought, they arrived inside the inn, which was crowded with guests. Just as the shopkeeper had said, those wearing priestly robes—seemingly here on a pilgrimage—were the most numerous, but there were also quite a few who looked as though they had sneaked in to hide from the calamity.

The innkeeper welcomed Van and Orma with a beaming smile, even though they looked suspicious at a glance. Scanning the interior of the inn, Van began to order things that might improve Orma’s mood.

“First, what is your most popular meal menu?”

“The roast chicken or the smoked meat platter sells the best.”

“Please give us one of each, and if you have cold ale, I’ll order two glasses of that as well. Please also prepare some water for washing…. Ah, and do you have a room for the night?”

Writing down Van’s order piece by piece on a sheet of paper, the innkeeper nervously twirled his beard, looking back and forth between him and Orma, who was standing blankly behind him, before speaking.

“Well, customer. Preparing the food is no problem, but we’re completely out of cold beer right now. The weather being what it is…. We have a little cider left, should I prepare that instead?”

“Yes, please give us the cider then.”

“Understood. And the water for a bath… as you know, the price of water is worth its weight in gold right now, so it’s quite expensive. Will that be alright?”

“…How much is it?”

“To prepare a generous amount for two people to wash, it will be about 1 gold.”

Exorbitantly expensive. 1 gold was a week’s wages for a holy knight belonging to the Serca Order. Bleeding tears internally, Van nodded. True to form, the innkeeper couldn’t hide the joyful twitch at the corners of his mouth as he scribbled down the order form.

“I’ll have it ready for you shortly! Including the meal, cider, and bathwater, it comes to a total of 3 gold! Oh, and as for the room….”

3 gold? And there’s still something left? Unable to hide his mind going blank at the ensuing words, Van nodded blankly, thinking of his meager wallet.

And the result was disastrous.

“…What are you going to do about this?”

“They said there are no rooms left, so what choice do we have? We’ll just have to sleep together.”

Perhaps because it was a popular inn, there was exactly one double room left. Left entirely alone together, Orma finally unleashed the temper he had been bottling up. He was about to continue grumbling, asking if calling a single large bed a double room was a joke, and how much they had been charged for something that looked cramped at a glance. However, Van had actually been waiting for Orma to just throw a tantrum instead, so his eyes immediately lit up the moment he heard the grumbling. Catching the sparkling sky-blue eyes, Orma froze, unable to finish his sentence.

“It’s been a while since you’ve eaten food, aren’t you excited? If you’re hungry, it would be fine to head straight down and eat first. Ah, or would you like to wash up first? You might feel uncomfortable.”

“….”

With a face that said he had a lot to say, Orma clamped his mouth shut again. What was displeasing him now? Sorting through the clothes he had bought, Van tilted his head toward him again, blinking his long eyelashes as he asked.

“So, would you like to wash up first? Or eat? Or else….”

Uh-oh. Saying it out loud felt a bit strange. It felt as though a ridiculous phrase like ‘Or else… me?’ was supposed to come next. Laughing awkwardly at the thought that he had self-consciously said something only a newlywed couple would say, Orma bit his lip firmly and snatched the new clothes Van was holding.

“…It’s annoying, so go wait outside.”

That bothersome apostle guy could deal with it later. First, he had to do something about this ‘beggar outfit.’