Chapter 144: Harvest (4)

“It’s been a while since we gathered somewhere other than the conference room.”

It was noon on a day when a chilly wind started to blow through the window.

I leaned against the wall and looked at the characters beyond my smartphone.

The Catterant branch of the Church was crowded with many characters today.

Estasia had invited the other apostles to the regular meeting, and they had accepted and came to the Catterant branch themselves.

Perin and Yuto had helped the apostles move quickly.

When Yuto first descended from the sky, the Church’s believers were so surprised that they almost ran away.

Of course, by now they had adapted somewhat, and they were having a good time eating the prepared food.

“It’s peaceful. This isn’t so bad, is it?”

I uttered a short impression as I watched the apostles eating.

I used to be interested only in hunting and expansion every day, but seeing them spend peaceful time like this made me feel not bad at all.

I felt time passing quickly as I stared blankly at the laughing and chatting characters.

And at the center of it all was none other than Estasia.

She was a troublesome character who always caused strange things, but her surroundings were always peaceful and quiet.

“The number of strawberries seems a bit low, though.”

My gaze shifted from the harvest festival to Estasia, who was eating strawberries.

As usual, she had emptied the basket full of strawberries.

Next to her, Aronia was making a sad face at the empty basket.

I couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

-“Estasia! Did you eat them all by yourself again!”

-“It’s because Aronia was slow to remove the strawberry stems.”

-“Estasiaaaaaa······!”

It was the same scenery as always.

Estasia caused some trouble, and Aronia complained about it.

If I looked closely, she was the only character who had a different genre of game.

Estasia showed a face that would fit in a healing game.

Naturally, Estasia’s own influence was the biggest reason why her surroundings changed like that.

Estasia’s outrageous actions always brought positive results.

“What about the others······.”

This time, I turned my head to look at the other apostles.

The next thing that caught my eye was Peter, who was picking bread in the corner.

Peter, who had become an apostle this time, was having a meal with the bishop.

-“Hmm… The bread is really delicious.”

-“Hehe… Thank you.”

-“I think I could eat this bread all day long.”

Was it because Peter had risen to the position of an apostle?

The bishop looked a bit uncomfortable as he faced Peter.

Well, it was natural, since there was a hierarchy in the Church.

As I watched Peter eating bread, Estasia shouted at him from nearby.

-“Servant. Come here and help Aronia with the strawberries.”

Peter seemed annoyed by the word servant, and he shouted back at Estasia.

-“I’m not a servant!”

-“Non-servant person. Help Aronia with the strawberries.”

-“Call me Apostle Peter!”

Of course, there was no normal conversation between them.

I wondered if there was anyone who could have a normal conversation with Estasia.

I looked away from Peter, who was yelling at Estasia, and moved my gaze to the other apostles.

There was a fire pit in front of me, where skewers of meat were being grilled.

Eutenia and Perin were waiting for their skewers and chatting.

-“Don’t fairies avoid meat?”

-“We eat meat too.”

-“Hmm… That’s interesting.”

They were talking about whether fairies were vegetarians or not.

Perin didn’t seem to care much, as he grabbed a skewer that was browned nicely.

Yum yum.

Eutenia quickly accepted his example and picked up her own skewer.

The skewer had chicken and green onions alternately. It looked quite tasty from the outside.

-“It would have been nice if Daniel was here too.”

-“Why didn’t Daniel come?”

-“He said he would spend the harvest festival quietly with the believers who are learning assassination skills from him.”

I finally learned why Daniel didn’t come from Eutenia’s story.

I wondered why I didn’t see Daniel, but he must have been taking care of his subordinates quietly.

It was a fitting behavior for an assassin.

I admired Daniel’s thoughtful gesture and turned my head to see Arcrosis drinking beer next to him.

Arcrosis was facing Pluto and Evan, and they were enjoying their beer glasses together.

“Why is a skeleton eating food?”

I asked as I watched the beer dripping from Arcrosis’s bottom.

They were similar races, but Pluto and Arcrosis had completely different outcomes.

Pluto had a slightly flushed face from being drunk, and Arcrosis kept soaking his chair with beer.

Looking at the silent table atmosphere, they seemed to enjoy the mood itself.

-“Would you like some bread too?”

-“I’ll take it gratefully.”

When one of the believers next to him offered him a piece of bread, Arcrosis quickly put it in his mouth.

Of course, the bread that went into his mouth also fell on his chair.

The food waste accumulated on Arcrosis’s chair was increasing in quantity.

I sighed as I saw the bread soaked in beer.

“He’s just throwing bread and beer on the street.”

At the same time, I saw the remains of a cup noodle rolling on my table.

It contrasted with the food piled up on Arcrosis’s chair.

Well, I didn’t mind that much.

That’s what gamers are like.

Even if I eat a little less now, I want to give something more to the characters beyond the small screen.

I get excited over a tiny piece of data that I can’t even see properly.

“It’s good for me if I starve a little and my characters eat well and do well.”

I laid down my body on the floor that was leaning against the wall precariously.

The cold touch of the floor was transmitted to my back.

With one hand raised obliquely, I saw the characters laughing and chatting beyond the screen.

I lifted the corners of my mouth slightly as I watched the scene.

It felt like I was full just by watching.

“Let’s go together until the end.”

Beyond the old film that I didn’t know when I attached, countless pixels were shining densely.

There was a world beyond the small LCD screen.

There was a small world that would collapse if I didn’t touch it.

***

The Holy Land, Crossbridge.

In the magic training room located underground of the Temple of Knowledge, Hus’s eyes looked at Arein in front of him.

Hus’s eyes were full of determination as he looked at the hero of the previous era.

On the other hand, Arein’s eyes were dull as he watched Hus.

Arein put down the book he was holding and asked him.

“Do you want to learn magic from me?”

“That’s exactly what I said.”

Hus nodded and agreed as he faced Arein.

It had been quite some time since Arein Crost came back to life.

And during that time, Hus had been researching about Arein.

Hus had only one conclusion after searching through countless documents about Arein.

The hero of knowledge from the previous era, Arein Crost.

Arein was a true magician of a different caliber than Hus himself.

“Maybe you can… teach me something that will help me surpass my brother.”

Hus said that and clenched his device in his hand.

The device of knowledge, Hieroglyph, gave him a powerful ability.

With it, Hus could reproduce any magic he saw once with his eyes.

But even with such power, Hus couldn’t beat his brother Evan.

Hus Allemier had experienced it firsthand in the last battle.

He realized that he was nothing but a novice who relied on the power of the device.

“Did you say your brother is an apostle of the evil god?”

Arein opened his mouth as he leaned against the wall of the training room, listening to Hus’s story.

He seemed to remember the short conversation they had before.

“The second apostle, Evan Allemier… That’s the name of my nemesis that I have to defeat.”

“Brothers who became an apostle and a hero… What a strange fate.”

A strange fate.

There was no better word to describe Hus’s destiny.

His admired brother became an apostle of the evil god that he hated so much.

With the signpost that pointed his way gone, Hus was left alone to grope his way on a path that left no traces.

Hus bit his lower lip as he thought of Evan’s appearance as an apostle.

“He wasn’t like that. He was more faithful than anyone…”

“The higher you are, the stronger the shock when you fall.”

“…”

“When those who had noble faith fall, they tend to show stronger hostility towards the goddess than others.”

Arein’s eyes were filled with complex emotions as he said that.

Hus watched him and quickly realized something and asked him.

“Is that something you experienced…?”

“It’s the story of the people I dealt with by my own hands. Among them was someone who was my old friend.”

“…”

“That’s what war is. A time when you kill many people and lose even more things. Brothers are no exception.”

Brothers are no exception.

Arein’s words pierced Hus’s heart deeply.

After saying that, Arein turned his gaze to the opposite side of Hus.

His eyes were directed at the symbol of the temple engraved on the wall.

It was the same symbol as the one engraved on Hus’s arm, the mark of a hero.

The magician who looked at the symbol on the wall asked him a question.

“So, do you have the confidence to fight your brother?”

The question Arein asked.

It was a thought that had been haunting Hus’s mind for a long time.

Could he kill Evan, who had become an apostle, with his own hands?

He didn’t want to do it. But it was something he had to do.

It was because he had a clear answer that Hus could finally come to Arein.

“I have to stop him with my own hands. Otherwise… I won’t be able to protect what’s left.”

“Is that your answer?”

“…”

Silence fell over the training room where only two people remained.

Arien looked like he was pondering something in his head, as seen by Hus’s eyes.

Thud. Thump.

Arien’s fingers tapped the wall briefly.

He lifted his head again after a long time of thinking, five minutes after Hus’s last answer.

“Fine. I’ll teach you the combat methods of a mage.”

“Really?”

“I have no reason to refuse to train a disciple.”

Arien’s gaze turned back to Hus.

He picked up the leather gloves he had taken off the floor and started to put them on his hands.

He didn’t forget to give advice to Hus as he did so.

“First of all, put down that hieroglyph.”

“Aren’t you going to teach me magic? Why do I have to put down the hieroglyph, what the hell…”

“I’ll teach you from the basics again.”

That was Arien’s first instruction after deciding to teach Hus.

To put down the hieroglyph he was holding in his hand.

It was a bewildering request for Hus, who had learned countless magic through the hieroglyph.

Using the hieroglyph was essential to learn new magic.

He thought Arien would teach him a more powerful way to use the hieroglyph.

But he told him to put down the hieroglyph he was holding first.

It was a hard story to accept for Hus.

“Let me tell you in advance. You have only one goal. To prepare and manifest magic at the same time as the hieroglyph.”

“Is that possible?”

“The artifact should only be a tool to assist you. First, become a great mage yourself.”

Arien flicked his finger.

Bang.

The hieroglyph in Hus’s hand flew away and hit the wall.

Hus looked at Arien with a hollow expression, having lost the hieroglyph in his hand in an instant.

“It won’t be easy to defeat the apostles of the evil god unless you do that much.”

A clear lightning was contained in Arien’s hand as he spoke.