chapter 38
“That place was originally our village. I wasn’t satisfied. There were many days of starvation. Still, they were good people who helped each other. Aunt Mary, Uncle Charlie…heh”
The child was unable to speak and burst into tears. I quietly waited for the child to continue talking. Eventually, the child stopped crying and continued the story.
“Then one day, those people showed up. He was kind at first. I learned many things from our villagers. A place where a lot of fruit grows, a road where wild animals walk. Then, when winter came and there was less to eat, it suddenly changed. Originally, they robbed the food that our villagers had gathered and drove them to the winter mountains to find something to eat.”
It’s actually quite common so far. It’s happening everywhere.
“By the way, what is there in the winter mountains? Because the harvest is not good. They locked them all up, and one by one…”
“stop”
I stopped talking. It was something I could understand even without hearing the back story. I already knew it when the remains dug out of the ground looked close to white bones. How could a corpse that had just been buried in the ground be left with only white bones?
“So the curse is what you did, right?”
The child nodded. Rather, the treatment of this girl gave me a headache. Even if you take this child, it doesn’t become an environment where you can properly educate yourself.
“Sir Joseph”
“Your saint”
Joseph was ready to jump out and cut down all the villagers. Judging by the conversation, he noticed what had happened.
“We don’t know what happened here.”
“yes?”
“Is that child at fault?”
I pointed to the child. If it’s the heretic judge’s standard, of course there is. Because I killed people using a curse. Normally, it would have been cut and killed with a single knife. But Joseph did not have an easy answer. There will be countless conflicts in your mind.
“So we don’t know.”
“All right.”
Joseph agreed surprisingly easily. But Joseph’s ordeal was not yet over. Five black dots appeared in the far sky. it was getting closer Five huge crows were flying. It was a crow that was bigger than an eagle, so I thought it might be a monster, but it wasn’t.
As the crows approached, the knights drew their swords in unison and went into a state of alert.
“are you okay. Everyone back off.”
I turned back the knights because I knew the crows’ identities. The crows circled the air a couple of times before landing one after another at a distance from me.
“Be careful. saint”
Jake and Joseph quickly blocked my way. In their place, they tend to do their own thing or be a bit overprotective.
“are you okay. They are people you know.”
As soon as I ran out of words, the crows began to transform into people. It was all women with beautiful appearance who turned into people and stood up.
“witch!”
As expected, Joseph had a seizure. Witches and the Church of Divinity have not been on good terms for a very long time. In fact, the Divinity Church is almost unilaterally hunting witches.
As he drew his sword at an invisible speed like a master-level knight, the aura began to spurt out.
“Sir Joseph, stop.”
I had to step forward and restrain him once again. It was a rather exquisite move, and Joseph had to kill the momentum he was about to jump forward.
One of the five witches stepped forward and knelt softly in front of me.
“Adriana, a member of the Witches of the West, sees the saint.”
“This is St. Germain Akasha. What did you come here for?”
They don’t know me, but I know them. The alter egos from #2 to #10 are still roaming the continent. The village of the Witches of the West is hidden in the northern part of the Empire. Similar to the village where the elves live, it is hidden behind a barrier, but it cannot block even the spirits. I’ve been observing the witches’ village for a while.
“I heard that my child was here and came to pick it up, but for some reason, it was a little late.”
“Did Melania prophesy that?”
At my words, Adriana’s eyes widened. I wouldn’t have known that I even knew that. Melania is the head of the Witches of the West and a prophetess.
“You know us well. I was surprised. yes that’s right Melania-sama told me.”
“Right. Didn’t she say something else?”
“I told my saint that one day, the witches of the west might be able to help.”
“Right.”
Unlike the witches of the East, Western witches hate fighting and are moderate, but their power cannot be ignored. It might be the crisis that Junon said would come in handy someday.
I turned my head and saw the child who was watching this situation with fearful eyes. Following the Witch of the West would be the best outcome for this child.
“Let me take you”
The witches went to the child and began to persuade him with explanations. Joseph, who was looking at it, asked, still alert.
“Do you know them?”
“They don’t know me, but I do.”
“Why do you leave them alone? Just give me an order and I’ll…”
Joseph did not seem to understand the situation easily. I cut off Joseph’s excitement.
“Sir Joseph”
“Yes, saint.”
“Did Junon ever tell you to kill the witches?”
Joseph rolled his eyes. No such revelation or oracle has ever been given. I also studied theology quite a bit at one time. There is no such thing.
“Have you ever seen witches of the west harm people?”
It won’t be this either. At least the western witches I know are not a group that harms people first.
“Then why should we harm them?”
Joseph made no answer. No one would ever have told Joseph this matter.
Leaving behind the stony Joseph, I approached the witches. It seemed that the child had been persuaded by the witches.
“Are you leaving right away?”
“If the Holy Son permits it, I will.”
“Okay, let me clean up this place”
Adriana smiled and bowed her head in gratitude. Then the girl stepped forward. He seemed to have something to say.
“My name is Nivea. I will make sure to repay the favor someday.”
“Okay go and be happy”
Nivea will surely become a powerful witch. It’s good if you can help.
“I will go to Needlestone someday”
Needlestone is the name of the place where the Witches of the West live. Adriana’s face was worried. No matter what anyone says, the church is the enemy of witches.
“Don’t worry, only I know and never will.”
“Thank you for your consideration. saint”
The witches who greeted them took Nivea and quickly disappeared. Unlike when he came, he did not transform. It seemed that it was because Nivea could not use transformation yet.
Joseph was still frozen in that position. It seemed like a big realization was coming. I bit people and waited for Joseph to wake up. It wasn’t until sunset that Joseph came to his senses.
“It has caused concern.”
Joseph was the first to come in front of me and bow his head.
“Did you get anything?”
“Yes, I think I know a little bit about Junon-sama.”
Do you know the meaning of Junon? I don’t even know if I’ve met you in person.
“There was nothing wrong”
“yes?”
“I met Junon-nim in person, but he only said strange things and gave me work.”
Joseph panicked again. If an ordinary person had said such a thing, he would have cut his throat for blasphemy, but isn’t he a saint?
“Are you sure?”
“What?”
“Did you really meet him in person?”
“yes”
Joseph knelt down and began to pray. Paladins and priests followed suit and began to follow Joseph. I sighed and moved before the prayer was over.
The villagers gathered all together in the center of the village. If left alone, all those cursed will die. It may be the cruelest way. I used the power of disease while watching people tremble in fear and pain.
No villagers were left alive before Joseph and the knights prayed. If I hadn’t done it, Joseph and the knights would have done it anyway before they left town. The sun was going down when the burial was finished by calling the spirit of the earth.
“let’s go.”
No matter how nervous you are, sleeping in a place like this is disgusting. We found a vacant lot away from the village and started preparing for camp there.
Even in the evening I cooked. It’s better than when I showed it for the first time, but the escorts of the church still made a fuss when I cooked it myself. After all, I ate well after cooking.
It was a short day, but many things happened. As I lay down at night, many thoughts came to my mind. It is the power of a set of information. The nine alter egos wandering the continent are still giving me a lot of information.
Right now there are 10 of them, but if they continue to grow and move hundreds or thousands of clones, nothing on the continent will escape my eyes.
Then, in this world, I thought that I might be reaching the realm of omniscience. In the case of Ctula, it seemed that he knew everything deep down without using an alter ego. No matter how many alter egos increase, it will never be the same. So, is it not a battery?
After a long time, I was deeply immersed in my thoughts and fell into oblivion of time. It was already morning when I woke up to the sound of Jake waking me up.
The party embarked on a normal journey again. In the towns and cities I stopped along the way, I sought out the sick and bestowed healing powers on them. Sick people are everywhere. This is especially true for those who find it difficult to receive treatment from priests or doctors.
The second saint’s reputation for my actions began to rise. Everywhere they went, they were welcomed and overflowed with tears of gratitude and joy.
Some have changed greatly on this journey. Joseph and his troops, who had been feared by everyone during his time as the heretic judge but had never received such a warm welcome, were gradually escaping from the appearance of a massacre unit. However, the object of fanaticism has changed to me. It was a bit daunting.
After a long journey across the border, they finally arrived at Count Ctolari’s estate. At the border of the territory, Count Ctolari and his ranger troops greeted us.
“I was waiting. Count Saint-Germain Akasha”
Although he is in his 50s, the current Count Ctolari was a young heir brought by Count Mays a long time ago. In other words, this person is over 100 years old.
“Long time no see. Count Jace Ctolari”
“Did we ever meet?”
“Yes, a long time ago.”
Count Ctolari tilted his head at my smiling face, but I couldn’t remember. We were guided to Count Ctolari’s mansion, and a place was set up for a private meeting with Count Ctolari.
“Do you have a special reason for visiting our county family?”
The second saint, who had suddenly appeared, decided to come and visit. From Count Ctolari’s point of view, he must have wondered what this was about. Moreover, Count Ctolari must have been more so since he was a person with a corner.
“Didn’t he tell you?”
“What are you talking about?”
Count Ctolari pretended not to know. The acting was great. After all, the experience accumulated over 100 years is amazing.
“I’m here to meet Ctula-nim.”
Count Ctolari’s face instantly turned cold. However, in an instant, it returned to its original face.
“You said we met a long time ago, right? Aren’t you the little boy that Count Mays brought you?”
For the first time, Count Ctolari showed his embarrassed face.
“What is your true identity?”