I Became the Apostle of an Evil God Chapter 8

Van obediently stepped outside the room as Orma had told him to, peering down from the second floor of the inn to observe the people below. Truthfully, there wasn’t much to see, but it was somewhat helpful for mapping out their plans for tomorrow.

Given the high number of priests, it didn’t seem like the place would feel deserted even if they woke up early at dawn… but he was a bit worried they might bump into someone who recognized him. After all, he had spent a fair amount of time living as a celebrity of sorts at the Serca Temple—and as a symbol of hope for the priests.

Maybe it would be better to set off a bit later? It’s going to be a long journey, so we need to buy horses too… they’ll be expensive, right? I don’t know if I have enough money. How much could a holy knight affiliated with a temple possibly earn anyway? When Van lived frugally at the temple, he didn’t really need money and saved it all, but at this rate, his savings were bound to hit rock bottom before long.

“…Hieek!”

“Hmm?”

He thought he had been feeling a strange gaze for a while now. Was that an inn employee? A man who had been conspicuously stealing glances this way flinched in surprise the moment he locked eyes with Van, hurriedly vanishing from sight. Well, a holy knight drenched in blood was bound to look suspicious. Van was used to that kind of reaction….

Around the time Van was having those carefree thoughts, Orma emerged, having shed his beggar look and appearing remarkably dashing. He had merely washed up and changed his clothes, but his naturally striking stature immediately caught the eye.

“…Van.”

“Do the clothes fit well, sir? I was worried the trousers might be too short… but looking at them now, they seem fine. They aren’t uncomfortable, are they? Was the bathwater at a good temperature?”

Orma looked with a slightly exasperated expression at Van, who made a fuss as he approached to check the clothes and even inspect his slightly damp hair. Does he take me for a child? While he didn’t exactly hate how Van tried to check and look after everything from A to Z, it was also a bit tedious.

Reading his god’s expression, Van flashed a slightly embarrassed smile and spoke.

“You seem fine…. Then I’ll go wash up as well. Ah, if you’re hungry, feel free to eat first, sir.”

“Forget it. Wandering around alone is a bit much.”

“Ah, then I’ll be right back after a quick wash!”

At the remark that he would wait, Van quickly dashed inside. He didn’t actually view Orma as a child, despite Orma’s thoughts, but it wasn’t entirely incorrect either. Rather, it was closer to viewing him as a dangerous predator that could cause humans to get caught up in trouble the second you took your eyes off him. A pitiful predator you could actually communicate with, who possessed a history of being abused…. Right, kind of like a black panther with a glossy, jet-black coat whose golden eyes sent a chill down your spine every time your gazes met.

Of course, a predator was still a predator, so thinking he needed to wash up quickly in case Orma caused trouble the moment he looked away, Van hastily stripped off his blood-stained clothes and submerged himself in the comfortably warm bathwater. Even though the outside had been so scorching and hot, touching the warm water made his entire body feel blissfully languid.

That aside… I should check the system messages again.

Since he had decided to believe in Orma, things like the faith gauge and levels should be visible in more detail now. Massaging his body—which had perfectly regenerated as if it had never been pierced by a spear—Van began to read through the newly unlocked faith section carefully.

[Current Status: Apostle of ‘Orma’ / Faith: 3 (Your god’s influence is faint.) ]

[Faith Level: 1 ]

[Faith Gauge: 3/10 ]

• ▷ Death by Divine Punishment +1
• ▷ Death by Divine Punishment +1
• ▷ Faith Decided +1

He didn’t know how to raise his faith score, but for now, it appeared to be a remarkably low number. Furthermore, considering the note next to it stating that his god’s influence was faint, it seemed that his faith score would increase depending on the faith level or gauge, and Orma’s authority would grow along with it.

Then if I believe in Orma like a fanatic, will Orma’s power become stronger too? For instance… being able to stop the calamity just by breathing. But how can belief be quantified like that?

Besides, wouldn’t it be unbalanced if a god’s influence grew based on the faith of a single human? If the balance was set up in a way where an individual’s faith had a fixed maximum capacity… hm, maybe he needed to find other believers to worship Orma as their god too.

The system was unfriendly with its explanations in many ways, but MOX NOX had been that kind of game from the very beginning. One could say you were meant to learn through adventure. Blinking slowly, Van checked the contents below that and fell into thought.

Looking at the faith level and gauge, the numbers seemed to increase whenever he did activities related to Orma. Since it said the faith level would rise once the faith gauge was full… it must be some kind of experience bar.

Isn’t this a bit too much?

Giving only 1 point for a death by divine punishment? Without needing much interpretation, it must be referring to how he had died twice by Orma’s hand, but 2 points was truly stingy. On top of that, deciding on his faith was only 1 point. No matter how much he could keep resurrecting, to disregard life to this extent….

Just as Van was about to sigh and close the information window, a clear notification sound rang out along with sparkling text, as if telling him not to forget.

[Faith Level 1 Achievement Celebration Gift!

1 Random Skill Ticket

Would you like to check it now? ]

At least it gave something for reaching level 1, even if it wasn’t much to brag about. Van selected ‘Yes’ with a face that wasn’t particularly thrilled. No matter how random it was, he wondered if there even were any good skills in there.

Van, who wasn’t particularly lucky, had always ended up with things close to ‘duds’ whenever he obtained random skill tickets as minor quest rewards. Considering the most useful one he had been using recently was ‘UV Protection (Rank E),’ that pretty much said it all.

[Opening Random Skill Ticket….]

Let’s not expect anything, let’s not expect anything….

[Congratulations! Obtained Human Sleep Therapy (Rank B)!

▷ Human Sleep Therapy (Rank B): A wonderful human sleep therapy that allows even those who have suffered from insomnia for a long time to enjoy a comfortable sleep. ]

“Ah.”

It was a dud. Even though he had vowed not to expect anything… just as he was thinking about why these kinds of things had unnecessarily high ranks, it happened.

Crash! Along with a booming sound of something colliding, a sound like a scream echoed from outside.

“…Khek, kf-hek!”

Only then did Van snap out of it. Lightly wiping off the water, he threw his clothes on in a flash and flung the door open. Low and behold, his holy black panther couldn’t hold back for that short duration and was currently causing a massive incident.

Orma was holding a poor inn employee by the throat with one hand, lifting his entire body into the air, though it was unclear what had displeased him so much. In contrast to his legs dangling weakly, the man’s face had turned flushed and bright red from the inability to breathe as he choked. His eyes were already out of focus, showing mostly the whites, and foam was bubbling at his mouth—it was a gruesome sight that looked like he would suffocate to death if left alone for just a bit longer.

“Mr. Orma!”

Since he didn’t know what on earth had transpired, Van first threw himself flat on the ground. Orma did not hide his displeasure. The shadow creeping out from beneath his feet wavered menacingly, waiting for a chance to swallow the wretched employee in a single bite.

Seeing how quiet it was despite this chaotic mess, Orma seemed to have unleashed his authority to block off the space so that no sound could leak out. Even though he had just come out from a bath, Van felt cold sweat running down his back as he carefully looked up at Orma. Though he hadn’t spoken a single word, Orma opened his mouth, twisting his handsome face as if he had a grievance of his own.

“He approached me out of nowhere and asked if I was the Father of the Apocalypse.”

“Ah….”

“When I replied that I didn’t know anything about that, he actually uttered my name. He then said if it wasn’t true, he would report me since I’m suspicious. What do you think, Van?”

What do I think? I think he’s insane…. Van tightly suppressed his desire to say exactly what came to mind and stole a glance at the inn employee. He had thought the man was just peeking out of curiosity, but instead, it seemed he had somehow caught a glimpse of Orma’s golden eyes.

As the calamity struck the world, people who praised and worshiped the apocalypse like that inn employee began to increase one by one. And they firmly believed that Orma, who was cooped up in hell, would spearhead that apocalypse and gladly grant death to everyone.

Simply put, it was a mindset of ‘since I’m ruined and life is hard, let’s all die together.’

In a sense, it was the same way of thinking as Orma—wishing the world would just end and everyone would die.

Even so, to threaten to report him while being certain that the entity right in front of his eyes was Orma… the man had some serious nerve. There was also likely a part of him that looked down on Orma due to the tales passed down about how he had been locked away in hell by humans.

The users in the game had been the same way. Even after seeing Orma in that grand and spectacular trailer, most of them shrugged it off, thinking, ‘Is he really all that?’ Gamers who declared their forfeit before even reaching the final chapter were one thing, but gamers who arrived at the final chapter and realized ‘Oh, he really is all that….’ after getting their heads smashed by Orma were a completely different story.

“Speak. Is there any reason I shouldn’t kill this human? Killing this bastard has absolutely nothing to do with the ruin.”

Van looked back at Orma with a bitter face. He couldn’t say anything because it wasn’t wrong. Just as Orma said, it had nothing to do with the ruin, and to say ‘Let’s spare him because he’s pitiful,’ the inn employee had already severely bruised Orma’s pride.

In fact, he didn’t even find him particularly pitiful…. If this had been hell, Orma would have killed that employee before he could even open his mouth, so Van’s first thought was that Orma was actually being remarkably lenient.

But he couldn’t exactly voice his true feelings either, saying something like, ‘H-he isn’t particularly pitiful…! But still, if you kill him, we might get kicked out of this inn! I’ve already paid all the money!’ Since he himself had been stabbed by a spear and died twice the moment he encountered Orma, there was no way that would work.

Worrying over it, Van thought, ‘Ah, whatever,’ and clasped his hands together, praying to Orma in his heart as if offering a devotion. He had already paid 3 gold for the meal and bathwater, and including the room rate for today, he had shelled out 8 gold. 8 gold! …Thinking about how the only thing he had gotten to do out of all that was a mere bath, tears naturally welled up in his eyes and he grew desperate.

“O Orma, grant us your mercy….”

“…Mercy?”

What did I even do for him to beg for mercy…. Orma’s expression turned dumbfounded at the unexpected reaction.

However, as the sky-blue eyes tracking him persistently sparkled plaintively, Orma faltered despite himself. With moisture lingering on a mystical and innocent face that had just finished bathing, and water droplets glistening at the tips of those long eyelashes, a strange sensation washed over him.

It felt as though he were doing something incredibly awful….

The force in the hand strangling the inn employee’s neck gradually loosened, and before long, Orma ultimately set the inn employee down, unable to hide his uncomfortable feelings. His mind was entirely filled with nothing but bewilderment along with a sense of embarrassment.

“Ha…. This is utterly absurd.”

“Thank you, Mr. Orma!”

“Don’t open your eyes like that at me.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s annoying….”

This is seriously ridiculous. What is this? What did I even do? I’m your god, so why are you looking at me like I’m some sort of scoundrel….

Experiencing a honey trap from his apostle for the very first time in his life, the god muttered his complicated feelings haphazardly, venting his sense of grievance.