Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Chapter 1-2. To Live in This World.
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Did you feel a sense of discomfort?
Is there any reason to feel that?
The moment he harbored such doubts, the feeling of "I shouldn't go to the chapel" warped into discomfort and vanished like a lie. His mind went blank for a moment. Confusion set in. What was that? Judah slowly looked around. Strangely, no one's gaze reached the chapel area, and no one was there. It was as if an invisible wall blocked it, and no one was aware of it.
That wasn't the only odd thing. There were traces of it not being cleaned. Just like there was an invisible wall, there was no moisture beyond a certain area.
Sniff.
The moment he unconsciously snorted and inhaled, a faint fragrance like perfume wafted in. Come to think of it, it was the flower scent he smelled when he first entered the temple. He had simply thought it made him feel good and hadn't paid it any mind, but something was off.
As he tried to walk toward the chapel, the flower scent grew thicker. It made his head slightly dizzy, furrowing his brow involuntarily. Something was there. As an experiment, he took a few steps back, and the scent faded again. It was certain. Someone had done this to keep people from the chapel.
'No way, magic?'
But this was a temple. They would use blessings, not magic. Above all, the temple priests wouldn't fail to notice magic. So it had to be an event. Judah sank into thought. He called up <Records> and checked the events he had noted down sporadically since first arriving in this world.
'Nothing?'
His memory wasn't wrong.
Yophiel's temple played no role in the scenario.
It only had a few functions to progress the game.
It sold potions that were expensive and scarce but highly effective.
When you died, it resurrected you with a blessing, serving as a starting point.
By donating a certain amount and raising favor or trust with specific NPCs, you could recruit a priest as a companion.
Later, in a sub-event, you could marry an NPC with raised favor.
But all this happened during public hours, and no event ever closed the chapel. At that moment, he spotted a priest not far away sweeping dust with a broom. He decided to approach and ask.
"Hello? Priest."
He greeted warmly, and the priest straightened up, looked at Judah, and smiled.
"Oh, Brother Judah. Here for worship?"
"Yes. But the chapel door is closed. Did it close early today?"
At the mention of the door being closed, the priest looked surprised and glanced down the corridor toward the chapel. Then he let out a hollow laugh, placed a hand on Judah's head, and ruffled his hair.
"We can't have jokes like that. The door is open, and brothers and sisters are coming and going."
At the priest's words, Judah turned around. The supposedly open door was closed, and no brothers or sisters were visible. The corridor, unlike usual, was empty, with the front door shut. What he saw and what the priest saw seemed different.
"And as you know, our temple keeps the chapel open 24 hours. It only closes on special days. Ah, of course, just because the chapel door is open doesn't mean the temple doors are 24/7, so don't come by if you can't sleep at night."
Chuckling, the priest resumed cleaning. Judah considered asking other priests, but the answer would likely be the same. With no choice, he bowed to the cleaning priest and returned to the corridor.
'I guess I have to go in.'
In Yophiel's peace-loving temple, no monster would burst out, and entering wouldn't threaten his life. Half curiosity, half tension, he walked down the corridor and grasped the handle of the closed front door. Suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind. Something felt off.
Click.
He turned the handle, but the front door was locked. In nearly five years here, he'd never seen the chapel's front door locked. About 5 meters away was a side door. He went there and grasped the handle. It turned without resistance.
Just as he was about to open it, he stopped.
'Huh? Wait a minute.'
Wasn't there one more thing that happened in the temple?
'...Why did I forget this?'
When you start the game [Twenty-Four Hearts of Perlnen], there's a background explanation. Then the chapel appears, and the game begins. Since it had nothing to do with him, he had completely forgotten.
He fully turned the handle he was holding and opened the door. Well-maintained, it opened silently, welcoming unlike the front door. As he entered, it closed on its own. As always, the chapel inside was solemn.
Candles on ornate candelabras on the walls burned, illuminating the empty chapel. Huge stained glass windows let in moonlight, lighting the interior. In that moonlight, a grand pipe organ loomed imposingly.
But all this paled before the goddess statue ahead. The reason this chapel felt sacred was entirely due to that statue before his eyes. Candlelight alone couldn't fully light the vast chapel, so magical lamps were installed on the ceiling. Their soft glow somewhat brightened the space.
[You have seen the meticulously crafted statue of [Second Holy King - Yophiel], where countless people offer prayers of peace every morning.]
[You feel the warm energy emanating from the goddess statue. This energy will soothe your mind and bring you luck.]
[For one week, growth speed increases rapidly, and fatigue recovery speed rises.]
The moment he looked at the goddess statue, the usual messages appeared, activating the buff. Nothing else. Maybe his guess was wrong; the chapel was quiet. Rather.
"It seems like no one's here."
Ah, there was someone. The entrance he'd used was on the side, hidden by chairs. A bit away from the goddess statue, up front, a boy knelt. A familiar back; Judah realized it was Cain right away. And in that instant, before he could think—
Light descended.
A dazzling, radiant, holy light fell upon the goddess statue. He covered his eyes with his arm, but the light didn't fade easily. Once his eyes adjusted to the blinding light, he lowered his arm. The light remained, like a pillar.
The moment he saw the light, Judah felt his heart race involuntarily.
Gazing at it, a faith he never had welled up inside.
It tickled his heart pleasantly. Judah felt tears flowing from his eyes. If a true god existed, it might use such light as a halo.
「Cain Sabnak.」
A beautiful, enchanting voice echoed through the chapel. Amid the descended light, the blurry form of an angel with three pairs of wings spread wide appeared. The intense light showed only a shadow, but it felt beautiful and warm.
「No, I am not Yophiel.」
Cain must have asked, as the angel replied. The dazzling light softened gradually, revealing her form. A golden crown symbolizing a high angel, three pairs of wings, green hair. Judah knew who she was.
'Gabriel.'
Judah stood speechless, awestruck by the first angel he'd seen in this world.
The angel seemed unaware of Judah, speaking only to Cain.
「I have no choice but to appear in Yophiel's temple, but I am the Third Holy King, Gabriel.」
「It's fine. I came to ask something of you.」
「No, it's something only you can do. I trust you, that's why I came.」
「Yes, hearing that makes me glad. As expected, you're brave.」
「Good. From now on, you are chosen by me, the Third Holy King Gabriel, and granted the qualification of the 'Sword.' Henceforth, as 'Gabriel's Sword,' bear the responsibility befitting that position and spread justice uprightly.」
「What you must do ahead is recover all the fragments of Perlnen, the source of conflicts spread across this world. It will be arduous, and unforeseen trials may come. But do not worry.」
「For I will always be by your side.」
With those words, light like falling from the heavens gathered in her hand, forming an orb. The orb of light slowly descended, and Cain, still kneeling, reverently extended both hands. The moment it touched his palms, it absorbed into his body. Judah quickly checked Cain's status window.
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「Status Window」
[Name: Cain Sabrak]
[Title: The Chosen One]
[True Name: Apostle of Light]
[Level: 1]
[Job: Gabriel's Sword (Hidden S)]
[Race: Demigod]
[Strength: 30 (D) / Potential SS]
[Vitality: 25 (D) / Potential S]
[Agility: 35 (D) / Potential S]
[Mana: 30 (D) / Potential A]
[Magic Resistance: 25 (D) / Potential B]
[Knowledge: 10 (F) / Potential B] ◀ Special
[Luck: 55 (C) / Potential A] ◀ Special
[Divine Power: 50 (C) / Potential SS] ◀ Special
[Favorability: 0 (Neutral)]
[Trust: 72 (Trusts)]
「Traits 4/6」
[Gabriel's Sword] - Rank: S
[Demigod] - Rank: A
[The Chosen One] - Rank: A
[Actions that Inspire Goodwill] - Rank: B
「Skills 2/6」
[Light Swordsmanship] - Rank: S
[Mercenary-Style Martial Arts] - Rank: A
──────────────────────
He must be crazy.
Judah was shocked by Cain's changed stats. His race had changed from human to demigod, and he gained a title and true name. Title, true name, and race didn't matter much, but the stats were insane.
All potentials had risen a rank from before.
Even his previously S-rank strength had jumped another rank to SS.
And a memory he'd forgotten while adapting to this world over five years resurfaced.
He recalled muttering while making the game, "The player needs this much to enjoy it easily!" as he set the options.
My god.
If he'd known he'd enter the game, and as Judah, he wouldn't have set such crazy stats. Then, Cain collapsed forward with a thud. Perhaps residual from absorbing the light orb. At the same time, Gabriel before the goddess statue vanished. The light pillar remained, but only she was gone.
Where did she go?
As he looked around, he felt a presence above and slowly raised his head.
"!"
The angel Gabriel, wings spread wide, looked down at him. He hadn't even noticed her move. She slowly descended from midair. Judah stepped back unsteadily. He tried to check her status window.
「Status Window」
[Name: Gabriel]
[Title: Third Holy King]
[True Name: Guardian of the Left Seat of the Throne]
[Level: 100]
[Job: Holy King (SSS)]
[Race: Angel]
[Unknown]
[Unknown]
[Unknown]
[Unknown]
[….]
Nothing came up. Most of her info was locked as "Unknown." As she approached closely, she narrowed her eyes, peering into Judah's as if searching.
She murmured audibly.
"Strange. There was clearly no one here."
The moment she spoke, the flower scent wafted.
'This scent...?'
Lily, lily fragrance. And it was the same one from entering the temple. Had she kept the priests and people from the chapel? The mystery was solved. But solving it wasn't important now. What mattered was Gabriel right in front of him.
She folded her wings and descended, kneeling on one knee to match his eye level. The scent grew stronger. Their eyes met. Her somewhat sad eyes and pupils; she reached out and stroked his head.
It was warm. Like Tia’s touch. And his wariness melted away naturally, astonishingly. Why be wary? She was an archangel, a symbol of benevolence, seated as Holy King. In the game, she worried for Cain more than anyone and helped in dangers.
"I sense a special power. No, not special—familiar. Like I've felt it somewhere... where was it?"
"Ah."
"Will you not tell me your name?"
As he was about to speak, the lily scent assaulted his nose strongly again. Dizzy. Something wrong. His mind grew hazy, vision blurring slightly. He gritted his teeth, squeezed his eyes shut, and shook his head vigorously; his mind cleared.
"……."
Suddenly, an inexplicable disgust surged. Realizing the danger, Judah slapped her hand away and backed off. The vanished wariness roared back, suppressed by force. Staring at her, he called the system window. In the usually hidden message window: [Resisted status ailment 'Intense Lily Scent.'] With his current magic resistance, resisting her magic was impossible. But mental effects allowed unconditional resistance via system correction. She tilted her head oddly, and the scent assaulted again. He urgently covered his nose with his sleeve and widened the distance. Thud—his back hit the door.
"What are you doing?"
Gabriel didn't answer Judah's question, staring blankly at the hand that had stroked his head moments ago. Why didn't her power work? Those intoxicated by the lily scent should enter hypnosis and answer her questions truthfully.
But it failed. She knew it didn't work on apostle-level, but this black-haired boy was just a child. If anything stood out, maybe his hair and clothes gave a dark aura. Nothing else special. Gabriel slowly took in Judah's appearance. A fleeting image crossed her mind.
"Looks familiar..."
She rummaged through memories. A sharp pain stabbed; she winced at the sudden headache.
"Hm. Yes. Definitely... Judah. Judah Arshel. That was the name, right?"
"!"
"Your reaction confirms it. My memory's still sharp. Hm—yes, Judah. It was you. Struggling to the end."
He didn't understand.
"First time seeing you so young. Cuter than expected."
Gabriel nodded as if recalling. She rose from the kneeling knee to match his height. Her sad eyes filled with curiosity.
"But I can't understand. Why are you here? Unless my memory's wrong, you were never here. Did I unwittingly twist something?"
What was she saying? Judah couldn't comprehend. She spoke as if she'd met him before. She might know his name, but... it was just confusing.
Gabriel was confused too. But unlike Judah, she quickly sorted her mind. A smile unfit for her sad eyes formed.
"Better this way. I even thought it'd be good if you weren't here at all. This time, I'll reap your soul myself. If it's the wrong path, we'll turn back. Like always."
Gabriel pointed her index finger at Judah. Ominous power gathered at her slender fingertip. Unlike warm light, it was fearsome enough to easily take a child's life. He had to dodge. If not, death.
Judah broke into cold sweat. Death meant returning to that day. No save. All efforts wasted. Eyes wide, heart pounding wildly.
He tried to dodge, but his body wouldn't move. Felt bound by invisible something. Opening his demon eye, looking down—transparent tendrils like plant stems wrapped his body.
The lily scent seeped in again. Intense aroma dulled his consciousness. Simultaneously, light shot from Gabriel's hand. Seeing the cross-shaped light flash toward him, Judah ground his teeth. Despair, helplessness, rage enveloped him, but nothing he could do.
Such a ridiculous death!
At that thought, a whisper like someone in his ear.
"This is troubling."