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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: An Uninvited Guest
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Chapter 44
【A follower of another god is approaching the user with killing intent. Caution is advised.】
This is ridiculous.
So, you're telling me someone has infiltrated the Grand Temple to kill me?
I'd understand if it were someone staying in the Grand Temple who held a grudge against me.
After all, it's not like Ordel has only made one or two enemies.
But why a follower of another god?
Ordel is a fake saintess and hasn't done any of her duties, so she shouldn't have ever met anyone from another temple.
“……”
A shiver of indignation ran through me, but I closed my eyes again for the time being. Then, pretending to toss and turn, I rolled onto my side.
Thanks to Ordel's notoriously foul temper, no one stays in this vicinity.
On top of that, with Victoria gone, there's no one to call for help.
I have to overcome this situation on my own.
【Warning! A follower of another god is rapidly approaching the user.】
The fortunate thing is that I'm not completely alone.
I stared intently at the AI system displaying the continuous warnings and waited in silence.
Beep, beeep, be-beep!
The warning ringing in my head grew faster and faster.
As if someone was continuously getting closer.
And then.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!
The moment the warning blared like crazy.
【Activating Skill: ‘Body Enhancement’.】
I pulled my hand out from under the pillow and swung it straight into the air.
Thwack!
A crisp sound of impact resonated thrillingly from my fingertips.
“Urgh, ack!”
With a pained groan, something heavy fell with a loud clatter.
When I cautiously sat up, I saw some guy wrapped in black cloth from head to toe, trembling at the foot of my bed.
Seeing the blood trickling from the head he was clutching, it seemed my strike had landed squarely.
“Wow, this thing makes a perfect weapon.”
I looked with satisfaction at what I had swung.
The object I had hidden under my pillow, thinking it might come in handy as a weapon someday, was none other than the jewelry box.
In other words, it was the divine object, ‘Box Made Out of Boredom,’ which had held the Holy Relic of Light.
“So this is why they said a divine object is better than a holy relic—it’s this sturdy.”
I glanced at the knife that had fallen next to the man writhing in pain.
A guy who breaks in late at night with a knife and killing intent… has to be an assassin.
It was a good thing the divine object was so sturdy; the thought that my own head would have been smashed instead made rage boil up from deep within me.
“Who are you?”
I prodded the spy on the floor with my foot.
The physical blow from the divine object must have been considerable, as he showed no signs of coming to his senses.
Why approach an innocent person and end up like this?
“First, I need to tie him up so he can’t escape…”
I instinctively reached for my waist, but my hands only found smooth fabric.
Right, I’m not a detective anymore. Of course I don’t have handcuffs.
Then rope… obviously not.
No choice, then. I started to strip the shirt off the spy.
“N-No…”
“Stay still.”
As he suddenly seemed to regain consciousness and began to squirm, I hit him again with the jewelry box. He instantly went still.
So obedient.
“Don’t worry, I’m not a pervert. I’m just doing this because I can’t rip up my own clothes or blankets.”
I have enough expenses as it is; why would I tear up my own things?
Tearing his clothes to tie him up is perfect and costs nothing.
I stripped off his shirt, tore it into long strips, and bound his arms. Then I ripped his pants up to his thighs and tied his legs.
I don’t know what kind of horrific training he’d been through, but though he looked thin, stripping his clothes revealed a body packed with weapon-like muscles.
This is the truly dangerous type. Without the system, I would have been helplessly murdered in my second life, too.
I aimed the jewelry box at his head with cold eyes.
“You, which god sent you?”
Of the three main gods, excluding the Sun God, there are two left.
Honestly, the answer was so obvious it felt like a waste of time to even think about it.
“The Great Sea God?”
I have no contact with the other gods whatsoever.
But the Great Sea God is different. Haven’t I recently done something to get on their nerves?
“Was our potion business that bothersome to them?”
A laugh escaped my lips.
There’s no law saying only they can run the potion business, and it was originally the Sun God’s temple’s main enterprise. They send an assassin after me just because we started it up again?
I expected we’d clash someday, but I never thought they’d resort to assassination right off the bat.
“What were your orders?”
I grabbed the chin of the man, who kept swaying as if his head hurt, and lifted it.
Through the mask, I could see dazed, unfocused eyes.
Did I hit him too hard? I need to secure physical evidence that the Great Sea God’s bastards sent an assassin after me. It’ll be a problem if he loses his mind.
No other choice.
【Activating Skill: ‘Blessing’. Healing wounds.】
I’ve never used the healing power from Blessing before. To think the first time would be on an assassin who came to kill me.
“You should be grateful to me. You blessed… Cough.”
Drip, drop.
The moment I coughed, I stopped talking and looked down.
This sticky feeling, this metallic smell.
So very familiar—blood.
What is this? Why… why am I coughing up blood?
“Kuhk, keuk! Ack!”
My body wasn’t the only one showing strange symptoms. The assassin let out a sharp cry and convulsed.
“Ugh! Cough!”
But I had no time to check on him. Another blood-flecked cough burst from my lips.
What the hell is the problem!
【The healing power of the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death’ is clashing with the curse of the ‘Raging Great Sea’!】
【The strain on the user’s body is increasing!】
“…A curse?”
‘Raging Great Sea’ is obviously an epithet for the Great Sea God, but a curse?
Isn’t this guy an assassin sent by the Great Sea God’s temple? He should be a follower, so why is he carrying a curse in his body?
“No, wait a minute.”
The Great Sea God’s curse?
Come to think of it, something like that appeared in the original novel.
Idella was horrified.
Jeremy Kals was clad in the Great Sea God’s curse as if it were armor.
Because of it, no attack could harm him, and no brainwashing could affect him.
For he was already brainwashed by a god.
Made so that he could never betray his god.
Ah, so that’s how it was. Idella finally understood.
He was no mere assassin. Even the title of Captain of the Holy Knights candidate was just a label forced upon him by others.
Jeremy Kals was a branded slave of a god.
Yes, that’s right. There was a scene like this.
Jeremy Kals.
One of the four male lead candidates from the novel , and the candidate for Captain of the Holy Knights of the Great Sea God’s temple.
And the assassin who, under the orders of the Great Sea God’s temple, tried to kill Idella several times in the novel.
That scene was when Idella, having finally captured Jeremy Kals, learned the truth about him.
I immediately pulled off the assassin’s mask.
The first thing I saw was curly hair, matted with blood and sweat.
In the dark of night, it looked almost black, but up close, it was purple.
And his eyes, which I hadn’t seen clearly before, unfocused as they were, were a rare shade of pink.
Purple hair, pink eyes, and a cool, expressionless face that nonetheless clearly revealed his youth.
It was a perfect match for the description of Jeremy Kals, the youngest of the four male lead candidates.
“Ha, unbelievable.”
I roughly swept my troublesome hair back.
To think I’d run into a male lead so unexpectedly.
What should I do about this?
‘I can’t just let him die like this.’
As the healing power and the curse continued to clash, Jeremy was in agony.
The horrifying thing was that even as he writhed in agony, his face remained completely blank and expressionless.
His body was in enough pain to let out a suppressed groan, yet his face betrayed no emotion whatsoever.
I never imagined the god’s curse I’d only read about in the novel would be this horrific.
That crazy bastard, the Great Sea God. Planting a curse like this in a person’s body?
Knock, knock.
“Saintess?”
At the voice, I snapped my head up.
It was Seth, the Captain of the Holy Knights.
“My apologies. I was just passing by when I thought I heard a commotion from your bedroom…”
Seth’s words trailed off.
“Guh, gaaah!”
Because Jeremy let out a scream.
“I’m coming in!”
Without even waiting for my reply, Seth burst through the door and into the room.
“Saintess…?”
He stared blankly as he barged in.
Right, it is a mess so chaotic it would leave anyone speechless.
A handsome, youthful man, practically half-naked, is rolling on the floor while I’m pinning him from above…
Wait a minute, this looks exactly like I dragged a man into my bedroom!
“Captain, please don’t misunderstand. This man is…!”
I was about to say he was an assassin sent by the Great Sea God, but I hastily shut my mouth.
If I say that, won’t a crazed Seth just stab him to death?
That can’t happen.
As a male lead candidate, Jeremy plays an important role later on, so I have to keep him alive, no matter what!
…The problem is, I can’t explain that right now.
I’m going crazy. What do I do?
A cold sweat trickled down my back.
