Chapter 25
Episode 25
As soon as the door opened, the space that unfolded was much wider than I expected.
It was dark, lit only by candles without any other light sources.
Dozens of people were bowing their heads silently before a plaster statue.
The overall atmosphere was eerie, but the most unsettling thing was the plaster statue located in the center.
As I froze in place, staring at the plaster statue, Kellen asked in a polite tone.
“What are your thoughts, Betty?”
“That plaster statue? Excuse me, but are you perhaps worshipping a deity…?”
This was a question that might be a bit rude to a priest who believed in that deity.
But Kellen didn't seem to mind such things.
“The one we worship is ‘Metheus’, the ‘God of Bargains’.”
“Is everyone here… worshipping him?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
No matter what Kellen and I said, the devotees bowing their heads didn't stir.
What was even more suspicious was that plaster statue.
Its long, unbound hair, its endlessly grotesque upturned lips, and its brazenly reclining pose…
Despite being a pure white plaster statue, it exuded an infinitely wicked aura.
All the gods I knew were from myths, but
I had never heard of such a monstrous god.
“Excuse me, Kellen.”
“Yes, Betty. Please speak.”
“This is a continued impertinent question, but… if he is the God of Bargains, what exactly does he do?”
At my words, Kellen offered a bright smile.
“He is a god who receives offerings through us, and in return, grants abilities or grants what we desire.”
Could such a thing truly be possible?
If these things were really possible, wouldn't there have been quite a few people who had believed in this god for a long time?
Moreover, Kellen was so composed even after saying such things.
“Then, Kellen, about the ‘offerings’ you mentioned earlier…?”
“Ah, those.”
He casually pointed to a large box in front of the statue.
“Offerings are usually placed there.”
“…But there’s nothing there now?”
“It’s because the ritual hasn’t been going on for long. They will be placed once the current prayer ritual is finished.”
Not only Kellen but also Enoch seemed unconcerned by the situation.
It was enough to make me think that the conversation I overheard between Kellen and the priests earlier was a hallucination.
“What are offerings usually made of?”
“There isn’t a specific type of offering, but…”
Kellen paused slightly before continuing.
“Even though he is the god I serve, he is quite particular.”
He gave an awkward laugh and dropped a bombshell.
“These days, he doesn’t accept offerings unless they are living humans.”
“…Living people?”
Kellen spoke in a bashful tone, like someone confessing an embarrassing fact.
“Yes, haha. This is quite something.”
He felt no guilt whatsoever about offering people as sacrifices.
I didn’t want to exchange any more words with him, but I needed more clues about the missing people.
I looked back at the box in front of the plaster statue that he had pointed to earlier and asked.
“What happens to them if they are offered there?”
“Well… the method varies a bit each time, but in conclusion, they die.”
I hadn’t expected him to say such a blunt thing as ‘they die if offered’.
Kellen’s unvarnished answer left me speechless.
As I stood there silently, he patted my shoulder.
“Don’t worry. You won’t be offered as a sacrifice, Betty.”
He looked at me with pity, as if truly comforting me.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“It’s because you resemble ‘that person’ so much.”
That person? As I raised an eyebrow, Kellen replied nonchalantly.
“Do you happen to know the love story between the god ‘Fitz’ and the human ‘Bestia’?”
Of course, I did.
It was a story I didn’t know until just a few months ago, and even now, I didn’t know it in detail.
As I nodded silently, Kellen’s expression brightened further.
“If you know it, the story will be much easier!”
“Are you saying that the appearance of ‘Bestia’ from mythology resembles me?”
“Not only that, but isn’t the name similar too?”
He seemed excited talking about myths, much like the Young Duke, but
I felt like I was going to throw up at Kellen’s appearance.
“What does my resemblance to ‘Bestia’ have to do with me not being offered as a sacrifice?”
“Metheus and Bestia were close friends.”
That unsettling god was friends with the mythological ‘Bestia’?
According to her words in my dream, ‘Fitz’ and ‘Bestia’ actually existed. If
the god Kellen blindly believes in, ‘Metheus’, also exists,
could it be that the God of Bargains also had a genuinely close relationship?
“You don’t need to take it so seriously.”
Kellen said to me politely.
“Metheus will be pleased just by having Betty by his side.”
“…You didn’t bring me here because I use Healing Magic, did you?”
“I apologize for that part.”
I glared at him with a stern expression, but Kellen looked at me with interest instead.
“Ah, it seems the offerings for today have arrived.”
People in priestly robes pulled a cart and stopped before the statue.
Then, they began placing the three people lying inside onto the statue one by one.
Even at a glance, they showed no signs of life, but they were clearly not corpses.
Kellen had explicitly said earlier that they offered ‘living people’ as sacrifices.
Only after the offerings were placed did the praying devotees rise.
Their eyes were unfocused and vacant, as if they were collectively insane.
“Are they all sane? How could they… offer living people…”
An unpleasant feeling welled up, making me nauseous, but Kellen seemed unconcerned.
“They have chosen a glorious death.”
“Are you saying they volunteered to become offerings?”
“Yes, that’s right. They are also devotees.”
The ones offered were actual ‘devotees’?
Then why did none of the people praying show any genuine pleasure or joy?
Unfortunately, I had no more time to ponder.
As if the ritual had begun, the bodies of the three people placed before the statue began to float in the air.
It was impossible to arrest this strange religious group on the spot.
If so, I had to save the three people and the child offered as sacrifices.
“Enoch, come here!”
“Huh?”
I think I heard him ask why I called him, but I didn’t have time to answer.
I grabbed Enoch’s wrist as he approached me and ran directly towards the statue.
“Betty, what is it? Why are you running?”
“I’ll explain later! Run if you don’t want to get hurt!”
I, who reacted sensitively to magic power and could sense it, knew.
The wicked aura emanating from that statue was brainwashing people.
So, my plan is this.
Destroy the statue, and run!
I expected Kellen to stop me, but he just stood there with his arms crossed, watching.
He probably thought, ‘What can a child with Healing Magic do?’
Of course, I can’t attack others with healing abilities.
But you see.
It is possible to ‘release’ magic power!
Enoch and I quickly ran towards the statue and reached out.
“Enoch, step back!”
Fortunately, Enoch was a very obedient child.
“Okay!”
The moment I spoke, Enoch nimbly hid behind some rolling furniture.
I condensed all my magic power into one hand and hurled it towards the statue.
But there was something I overlooked.
No matter how forcefully I threw it, my body is that of a child, isn’t it?
The mass of magic power I threw fell pathetically in front of the statue.
At the sight of its pathetic state, I thought my plan had failed.
Then, pure white light spread from the mass of magic power in all directions, and a large explosion soon occurred.
The explosion was larger than expected, and my young body was thrown high into the air.
Thinking I might die if I fell like this, I quickly curled up.
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the immense pain I would feel upon hitting the ground.
I should have felt it, but…
“Bestia!”
The Young Duke, who had appeared out of nowhere, was holding me.
“Young Duke!”
Tears welled up in my eyes from relief, but he didn’t comfort me as usual.
“How could you come to such a dangerous place alone!”
Ah, but I was the one who destroyed this building.
“What kind of dangerous group is this, to destroy an entire building like this…”
The Young Duke, without finishing his sentence, gritted his teeth.
I’m sorry. That dangerous act, I did it.
I didn’t know I would destroy the building either.
I had many things I wanted to say, but my words slipped my mind when the Young Duke buried his face in my shoulder.
I saw his hair, soaked with cold sweat, along with the sound of his ragged breathing.
I felt sorry for him, who must have searched everywhere for me.
“…I’m sorry.”
I expected a casual reply as usual, but
The Young Duke gently embraced me.
For some reason, I felt like I should be comforting him instead of the other way around.
To be continued in the next episode ▶
