Chapter 186: Mentor (3)

Chapter 186: Mentor (3)

『Translator: RainTL』

༺ Mentor (3) ༻

Korin Lork’s offer conveyed by Ednar Illusan sent a huge wave of commotion throughout Mound.

Normally, they would have ignored his word, however, he revealed his knowledge of their group, the members, and even its location at Dana Shee.

Most importantly, his offer was backed up by the Saintess.

Some voiced out their wishes to follow what he offered – they were the ones who were exhausted from the long life of living in secret and hardships, but they were a minority.

The majority didn’t wish for a change despite trusting the Saintess.

There was also a small group that was strongly against the offer. The problem was that their group was one of the groups with the biggest amount of say inside Mound.

“What is Leprechaun that senile old man thinking!”

“Why wouldn’t he turn it down on the spot? Illusan that bitch should also be considered a traitor for even bringing such an offer!”

“It must be one of the dirty tricks of the Kingdom!”

Werewolves.

They were a group of beastmen, who prided themselves in being one of the top military forces within Mound alongside the vampires.

“Mr. Ku Shee. What is your opinion on it?”

The question directed at Ku Shee immediately gathered the eyes of the surrounding beastmen. Suppressing their will to discuss their frustration and anger, they waited for the alpha of their pack to make a decision.

For vampires, elders who lived the longest tended to take the lead, whereas beastmen were led by the bloodline.

The blood of the sublime king who gathered all the beastmen who had been roaming across the world in fear of the Full Moon – the proof of that bloodline was the fur gleaming in silver. It was proof that their blood was pure.

For beastmen, gold and silver wolves were the symbol of power and legitimacy.

“I...”

Ku Shee carefully parted his lips.

What happened 10 years ago was most certainly his fault, and that was what was pushing their entire race into the pit of annihilation.

However, he didn’t regret his actions. He would have made the same choice even if he were to go back to the past.

Despite the tragedy it led to, it was an inevitable deed that had to be done.

The ones that escaped the purge of the Saintess over to the Old Faith would probably start talking about their union, and he would become the number one target of their fury.

‘Turning back now will not resolve anything.’

It would be great if things could end with just his own life but...

Their race was able to become one only because of the presence of a silver wolf, which was him.

They were able to aim for one goal because they had a silver wolf as the leader.

It was too late for him to shoulder the responsibility and guilt by himself.

“Princess Miruam and us... One of us must cease to exist.”

If one of them had to be gone, it was clear what their choice would have to be.

“We cannot co-exist with her. Even if this may be a huge sin, I would gladly become the worst evil of the world if I must.”

In the end, it was just an extension of what happened ten years ago.

Like how they took everything Miruam had, and like how Miruam had been hunting them down over the last ten years.

They had to kill each other to survive.

***

Throughout the Summer Holiday, I was a bit worried about Estelle after her journey to Mag Mell.

At the start, I was concerned about the reaction she would have after realizing the true identity of the god she had believed in her entire life but I thought everything was fine after seeing her behave as normal.

She then returned to Zeon while saying that she had some errands to run but...

『Saintess Estelle, punishing the corrupt traitors of the Order!』

“...What the heck.”

What I heard in the news was that Estelle had crushed the heads of the pope and the cardinals after her return.

It wasn’t technically a bad thing for us.

Unlike the Old Faith, the Pursuers of Paradise weren’t able to seize control over the entirety of the New Faith because of the Saintess. Considering how the role played by the Saintess during the final war was to go around fighting half of the Order as they yelled out, ‘All hail Valtazar!’ It was good that we dealt with them beforehand but...

I don’t remember her being this type of character?

-Ding! Ding! Ding!

In any case, on that Saturday, I was waiting in front of the clock tower in the plaza, as the tower’s bell signaled the start of the afternoon.

『Superb! O mighty warrior! A mere human lasting this long against this king is a wondrous feat!』

『I don’t want to hear nonsense from a tyrant who got chased out of his own country.』

While waiting for the Saintess to arrive, I recalled the power of Eochaid Bres’ Sun – the large star that threatened to scorch the world.

‘It is going a lot better so far than it did in the game but...’

We exterminated the Tower of Mages, acquired Claiomh Solais and Undry, and even dealt with Valtazar’s faction that was hiding inside the New Faith.

Marie, Alicia, and Hua Ran were all looking exceptional compared to how they were in the game, and both Master and the Saintess were on my side.

Even the wolf siblings, who used to be the subordinates of Dun Scaith, were with us.

‘So then what is it? What is this ominous feeling in my mind?’

Is... something going wrong?

For some reason, I had that ominous doubt budding in my head.

I was thinking about all that when I spotted Estelle getting off a magic carriage at the stop.

“Dongsaeng~!”

Recognizing me from a distance, she hopped her way towards me.

I was worried that the people around us would notice her due to how much of a celebrity she was, but no one even spared her a glance, which must have been the power of a magic spell or her prayers.

“Give me your hand!”

She immediately asked for my hand upon arrival.

“But... why?”

“You don’t want to?”

Why is my hand the first thing she asks for? It’s not like I hate it but...

“Isn’t this sexual harassment?”

“I don’t mind you doing it to me, Korin-dongsaeng!”

“Please, stop making these weird jokes!”

Seeing me shake my head, Estelle instead lifted the corners of her lips and gave an alluring smile that could topple kingdoms.

“You are quite cute, aren’t you~?”

“...”

“I wasn’t joking though.”

Estelle said while poking the tip of my nose with her finger.

“Well, leaving the jokes aside.”

After teasing me a whole lot, she suddenly changed the topic in joy. She was very cheeky.

“As you said, there were a lot of rats inside the Order that were above cardinals.”

“I heard from Master that you have dealt with the pope as well.”

“Nn. Pope Sicarii... That traitor betrayed all of us. Of course, I understand that it’s the true faith that he was following, but he wasn’t on ‘our side’, was he?”

“...”

Fortunately, it appeared that the Saintess wasn’t in great despair despite witnessing the truth behind her faith.

“Korin.”

She suddenly reached out and held onto my hands, before talking about something completely unexpected.

“We have to lead them.”

“Pardon?”

Where did this come from all of a sudden?

“We have to lead the pitiful believers that are following the wrong god. We have the duty to guide them to the correct path.”

“Umm... R, right.”

“Right now, I’m working on changing the principles of the New Faith little by little and our interpretation of the scripture.”

“...What?”

“It won’t take long. In just 10 to 20 years, it should be possible to change the target of faith from the ‘Lord’ to the ‘Danann’.”

“Huh?”

“And when that time comes, we will become the master of their new faith. Because we have the right to do so.”

...How am I supposed to react to this?

“When that time comes... the believers of the Order will worship you as their god.”

“...Huh?”

For a very long time, I was simply lost for words.

It literally took minutes to comprehend what she was saying, and my brain froze the moment I understood what she meant.

Is the Saintess... suggesting I become the god of the new world right now?

I wasn’t misunderstanding this, was I?

The Saintess, who used to be the most faithful believer, was now trying to make me a god after her corruption!

“Fufu. I’m looking forward to it.”

Estelle pulled my hand towards her and gave me a loving kiss on my cheek.

“I did well, right?”

“Ah...”

I, is this... okay?

***

Estelle was the Saintess – a believer who believed in the Lord more than anyone else both in the game and in the last iteration.

She was one of the key characters of the last arc, leading the few faithful Holy Knights against the Pursuers of Paradise who sang ‘All hail Valtazar’.

Even aside from her faith, she also had the kind heart of a Saintess so I was expecting a positive response even after revealing the truth about gods to her.

“...So how did it turn out like this?”

A new world? A new god? They’ll worship me?”

Uhh... how did this even happen?

『That is because you are the inheritor of the Sun. The moment Claiomh Solais acknowledged you as its master, you have already technically inherited Nuada’s divinity.』

I suddenly recalled the words from Lugh Lamhfada at Mag Mell. The inheritor of the Sun... inheriting Nuada’s divinity. Besides—

『Brat. This is not the fight between Goidels and the Danann. It is an honorable battle between a Danann and a Danann.』

...They were acknowledging and supporting me based on a different reason to the game. All of them including Nuada, Dagda, and Lugh said that their desires would be fulfilled regardless of the winner.

“Don’t tell me...”

Is this because I was selected by the Sun, unlike how it went in the game?

‘Looking back, I remember Master constantly saying that I was her successor...’

I thought she was talking about the Six Ways of the Spear though!

-Knock knock!

My mind was turning into a mess when someone knocked on the door. I could only think of one person who would knock on my door this late into the night.

Thinking that it must be Hua Ran, I opened the door.

-Creak!

“Who is it...”

Outside the door was a completely unexpected guest.

“Hello, Sir Korin. Did you enjoy your date with Estelle?”

She said with a cold smile on her face as I turned to the object she was carrying in her hands. It was none other than—

“You want this, don’t you? Let’s make a deal.”

—Lia Fail, the Great Stone of Destiny.