Episode 95
He was wondering whether to classify the man in front of him as either a braggart or a genius.
“So, what kind of person are you?”
“Luis de Breyot.”
Gaius tilted his head. It was because the name of someone who had no relation to me came out of my mouth.
Soon his eyes widened and his brows narrowed. His mind was unable to connect me with Luis de Breyot.
Gaius remembered Luis de Breiot. Even though he had never met him in person, it was impossible for him, as an inspector, not to know the third son of the duke.
I had a talent that Luis de Breiot lacked: the creative ability to tell stories.
“He sent me a message. I was to inherit a great fortune simply because I had the same name and was close in age. It was a miracle that I would never experience again in my life. For ten years, Luis de Brayo was locked in the ducal basement. The place drove him mad, and he had to talk to someone to keep from going crazy. He couldn’t use magic, but he managed to contact me through an ancient spell. It wasn’t that long. After three messages, there was no contact.”
“ah!”
It was a groundless novel.
Contacting someone’s mind and sending and receiving messages was impossible without a god. There was message magic, but it was a one-way communication. For two-way communication to be possible, there had to be a magician on both sides.
Luis de Breio was dead. The prison he had been locked in was probably cleaned out, and he had left behind nothing that could serve as evidence from his previous life.
I have most of the things memorized in my head.
“However, it was I who modified the Sardia swordsmanship and the Aura training method. The legacy of Luis de Breyo was of great help.”
Gaius was completely absorbed in the novel I had created.
“I will serve Zeno.”
Although I benefited from the bloodline of the Duke of Breio, I confessed that I would only use all my abilities for the benefit of the Zenon royal family. Gaius looked satisfied.
“Haha, Hongbok. You are truly Zeno’s blessing. I will cherish you. I will lead Hebron to become Zeno’s sword.”
* * *
Pope Harjan wore his usual gentle expression. His bearing was neat and tidy, and his robes, blessed by Harjan, shone white without a single blemish or stain.
“… … What the hell are you talking about?”
When Pope Haryan asked with a smile, the high priest’s head bowed deeply. For a moment, his white nape and ears turned red.
“I am sorry, Your Holiness. King Zenon has intervened and promised to provide 500 slaves, so I cannot ask the Viscount Hebron for slaves.”
“The King is interfering? For the sake of a mere Count Naburang?”
“It seems like Gaius mediated.”
Pope Harjan asked for 500 slaves from the Viscount Hebron. He did not ask for them for nothing, but showed his goodwill by offering to pay 40 gold per head. This was also a stepping stone to strengthen his relationship with the Viscount Hebron.
The name of the Viscount Hebron was often heard within the palace. Despite his growing status, no religious sect had taken root in Hebron.
Until then, the territory had been so poor that it had been pushed aside as a matter of interest.
But the Viscount Hebron not only refused the Pope’s offer, but also asked the King for help. To make matters worse, the King granted the Viscount Hebron’s request, sending 500 royal slaves to the Haryan Order.
“What good is a royal slave with a clear status? Can you offer those expensive slaves as sacrifices to Haryan? What nonsense do you want me to hear later?”
Royal slaves were expensive.
This was because slave traders supplied the best products to the royal family in order to make business easier.
“Royal slaves were distributed evenly throughout the temples throughout the country. They served the priests… … .”
“That’s not what I meant!”
Sparks flew from the Pope’s eyes.
When he shouted, the high priest rose from his chair and fell flat on the floor.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty!”
“That’s enough! This was a matter that we would have to discuss with King Zeno at some point anyway. He must also know the reality we are facing. After all, even our bloodshed was for Zeno’s sake.”
* * *
‘I feel like something terrible is happening.’
Gaius’s expression had been unusual for the past few days. I tried to find out what was going on, but Gaius kept his mouth shut.
I tried to use all my information power to find out, but it was impossible to find out what was bothering the royal inspector. Instead, I was able to find an incident that would upset him.
Baronship of Piorum, Baronship of Sleeze, Baronship of Nebatein, and Baronship of Regarn.
It was a small fiefdom in a region I had never heard of. Some fiefdoms were in mountain valleys where people barely made a living by cultivating slash-and-burn fields. None of them had enough military power to defend their fiefdoms.
Those four territories were raided one after another. It was said that branded monsters appeared and slaughtered the territories’ inhabitants, but I did not believe the rumors.
‘If it happened once or twice, I’d believe you, but it happened four times in a row? Monsters aren’t that carefree. Finding and killing hidden ones… … is something only a human with a purpose can do.’
Coincidentally, the Holy Knights of the Haryan Church were dispatched to the four baronial territories that had been devastated. They defeated the branded monsters that were the culprits and received a reward from King Zenon. Even more ironically, there was not a single survivor in your territory.
‘You offered 500 people as sacrifices?’
I thought of the 500 slave soldiers that Pope Harjan had demanded from me. The number of people who disappeared from your territory was just under 400.
In addition to these, there were quite a few missing commoners. The damage caused by the branded monsters was also considerable, so the anxiety of the people grew day by day.
The desk was filled with information collected from various parts of Zenon’s kingdom. Most of it was gathered from the territories surrounding Hebron, so there was only a small amount of information from distant areas, and the incidents occurred relatively late.
The anxiety of the people of Yeongji was an opportunity for the lord. If the safety of the people of Yeongji could be secured at this time, they would never leave the territory for the rest of their lives.
‘Barzai, you are a very intelligent man. If there is a god who protects his followers in times like these, I have no choice but to trust him.’
There was a religion that began to gain attention among the people of Zeno.
Barzaiism.
The ignorant people believed that Barzai was the god of battle and victory. However, there was no such god as battle and victory, and the throne of war had been occupied by Nodens from ancient times to the present.
Barzai, the god of curses.
He was a god whose presence was as vague as Brecha. When there were few people left who remembered Barzai, he took advantage of the opportunity to change his image.
-Trust Barzai! Barzai will protect you from monsters!
The cries of priests echoed through the streets. If it had been nothing more than a rumor, Barzai’s fame would not have reached my ears.
The Barzai cult joined hands with several mercenary groups and dispatched priests and holy knights to hunt branded monsters. They did not even receive any compensation. As word of the Barzai cult’s activities spread, the Barzai cult spread like wildfire.
‘Oh my, it’s not the Pope, it’s the incarnation of God, the Barzai cult has decided to do it.’
The Pope of the Barzai cult claimed that Barzai had descended upon his body. If this were true, it was clear that the Barzai cult would continue to expand for some time.
The gods could not descend at any time. Even the Pope had difficulty accepting a god. If one served a god for a long time, his body would collapse.
Therefore, it had to be supported by a powerful relic, and if it was such a great relic, it had to contain at least some of the ‘essence of the god’. If this relic was destroyed or lost, it meant that the power of the god would be weakened.
Slurp.
The sound of hot tea being poured was loud. I frowned as I looked through the documents and looked back at the girl drinking tea.
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She was a woman who looked to be in her twenties. She was wearing shabby priestly attire, but judging from the condition, it seemed to be a patchwork of commoner’s clothes.
“What role can the Brecha Church play between the noble-centered Harjan Church and the commoner-centered Barzai Church?”
“yes?”
The girl looked up at me. No, she just raised her head, but didn’t look at me. Her pupils were light brown, and they were groping around in the air, unfocused.
When I looked into the girl’s eyes, I saw that there was no magic power gathered in them. She was born blind and was also a priest of the Brecha Church. She had heard the story of my development of the three-wheeled eye and had come to see me.
“I’m asking what Brecha can do for me.”
“Before asking what God can do for me, ask what service I can give to God.”
The girl’s name was Yuria, which in ancient language meant loss.
“What did Brecha do for you?”
“You took me in even though I was born blind and made me a priest.”
Yuria was a devout priest. Her logic didn’t really resonate with me.
“What have you done for me?”
“You gave me the three-wheeled vehicle.”
“This is something I have earned. It is an ability I gained by hunting Medusa.”
Yuria said, tilting her head.
“Who created the Samryunan? If the power you have acquired is the Samryunan, then you should be grateful to Brecha, since it originated from him.”
“If that’s the case, then there’s nothing I can’t be thankful for. Everything in this world is a product of God.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“And there is nothing that cannot be cursed. All the suffering in this world is also a product of God.”
Yuria kept her mouth shut. Her logic could not refute my argument. Because Brecha was the god of truth. He was only one of many gods who ruled the world, and the responsibility for creating this world was on the shoulders of the Lord Elliot.
Since I didn’t like Yuria’s logic, I blurted out some harsh words without realizing it.
“Thank the god who took away your eyes.”
“I always live with gratitude.”
In an instant, Inferno’s habitual saying came to mind.
‘joy!’
I was planning to take it easy today. I had gone to the palace early in the morning. I had treated the king, and in the process, I had used up a lot of aura, and as I moved in and out of the teleportation magic circle, I had accumulated fatigue.
“The Barzai priest wishes to see you, my lord.”
As Hebron grew, so did the number of visitors. People lined up to meet me. I tried to filter them out, but I had to meet some of them. Among them were priests of the Barzai sect, which had recently expanded its influence.
The Barzai cult was also dominant in surrounding territories, including Zailson. The territorial residents shouted for Barzai, and the Barzai cult dispatched priests to protect the believers. From the lord’s perspective, there was no reason to expel priests who were helpful for public security.
Unlike other territories, Barzaiism was not popular among the Hebron lords. This was because the lords were able to protect the lords from monsters, and the lives of the commoners were much better than before.
