Make a Contract and Become My Apostle
Everything he had built over years of blood, sweat, and tears was crumbling to pieces in an instant.
"Strip everything in sight! Rip up the floorboards, and smash the walls if they look suspicious!"
"Got it!"
For several years, he had operated out of a decent mountain pass, robbing passersby. What started as a petty criminal enterprise with a few buddies had somehow grown into a notorious bandit gang feared throughout the region.
Of course, the journey had been anything but smooth. He had agonized over countless difficult decisions to get to this point. Though they were just a backwater bandit crew, survival demanded a certain level of cunning.
First, to evade the authorities, they had to choose an ambiguous borderland between cities. Second, they needed a route with steady traffic but not so much that it drew unwanted attention. To put it bluntly, if they flew too close to the sun, the iron fist of the law would crush them instantly.
So, they happily shook down easy targets, but whenever someone with real power crossed the mountain, they kept as quiet as dead mice. Low profile, long lifespan. But not too low. That was his business motto.
But then, a group of people arrived who completely shattered that common sense.
"Boss, I found it! They really hid it under the floorboards!"
"Nice! Good job!"
There were only four of them. A young human man, a hulking green-skinned brute, an elf, and a little girl. His entire bandit gang had been annihilated by just these four. To make matters worse, the little girl hadn't even participated in the fight. She had merely watched with glee as the bandits were utterly demolished.
"Yohan, there's more here."
"Awesome. This is actually pretty good."
Led by the man named Yohan, the quartet had wiped out the entire gang in the blink of an eye. It was a display of sheer, overwhelming force. His crew was supposed to be the toughest bunch in these parts, yet they had been slaughtered without putting up any real resistance. The only reason I, the boss, am still breathing isn't because of luck. They spared me for a reason, the bandit boss thought with absolute certainty.
Reaching that conclusion, a sudden wave of fury washed over him.
"Hey, you bastards! Have you no business ethics?!"
The bandit boss suddenly roared at the intruders who were busy ransacking his hideout.
"What?"
At that moment, the man named Yohan turned his gaze toward him. The bandit boss flinched, utterly terrified by that look, but he forced his racing heart to calm down and glared back with a face flushed with indignation.
"Huh? You guys... don't you have even a shred of professional courtesy between fellow thieves?!"
The bandit boss cried out, his voice tinged more with pathetic desperation than actual anger. At this, Yohan and the others froze, their eyes locking onto him.
"Hey, what did this guy just say?"
The man named Yohan asked the green giant standing next to him. The green brute glanced at the bandit boss and shrugged.
"I think he thinks you're a highwayman just like him, Boss."
At Billy's reply, Yohan let out a dry chuckle.
"We are not bandits or robbers."
The elf spoke up next. She walked over to the bandit boss, dropping to one knee to meet his gaze.
"We don't shake down innocent people like you do."
"The hell you don't! You four—no, three of you—just slaughtered my entire crew!"
The bandit boss spat back, the veins in his neck bulging at the elf's words.
"Well, that's because you're bad people. We were just punishing you."
The elf replied in a remarkably soft, gentle tone. Yet, beneath that calm voice lay a chilling hint of madness.
"We are the Knig—"
Just as the elf was about to finish her sentence, Yohan cut her off.
"Seriously, don't do that."
He snapped at the elf as if he knew exactly what she was about to say and wanted to stop it at all costs.
"Billy."
"Yep."
Instead of answering Yohan, the elf simply called out to the green giant, who had been watching blankly. As if he had done this a thousand times before, Billy smoothly stepped toward Yohan.
"Come on, Boss. You're getting embarrassed again."
"Hey! Let go of me, you bastard!"
Billy, the green giant, pinned Yohan with a grin. His arms instantly locked behind his back, Yohan thrashed wildly, but he was no match for the half-troll's strength.
"I'll say it again. We are the Goddess Knights."
"Blegh!"
Falco declared to the bandit boss. At the exact same moment, Yohan gagged in disgust. Knights...
"W-wait a minute."
The bandit boss finally realized who these people were.
"Y-you guys! You're that self-proclaimed knight order, aren't you? The bastards who go around hunting down easy criminal targets and robbing them blind!"
There were rumors of lunatics who called themselves a "knight order" while committing all sorts of atrocities. Though their numbers were few, each individual possessed terrifying martial prowess. It was said that no criminal organization had ever survived their raids. Those grim rumors were true. And, horrifyingly, they had just become the bandit boss's brutal reality.
"Knights, my ass! You're just highwaymen like the rest of us!"
"No, we're not. I'm telling the truth."
The bandit boss shook his head at his outburst. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper.
"Hey! I told you to stop!"
Behind her, Yohan's agonized shriek echoed through the hideout, but Falco ignored him completely.
"Here, look."
She unrolled the paper and laid it on the ground. It was packed with dense writing.
Free to Join!
Receive various benefits upon joining and experience divine miracles firsthand!
JOIN IMMEDIATELY!
The bandit boss unconsciously muttered the words aloud. It didn't take long for him to realize what this paper was. These people weren't just a gang of thugs. They were completely, utterly insane.
"Come find us if you're interested. The path of faith is always open. But no more bad deeds."
Falco stood up and walked back to the group. At the same time, Billy finally released Yohan from his grip.
"Ugh, seriously, that was so cringe I could barely watch."
"Haha, sorry about that. But everyone except you likes it, Boss, so please cut us some slack."
"Shut up."
Yohan grumbled, and Billy offered a sheepish apology. Yohan merely snapped back and let out a deep, heavy sigh.
"Alright. We've looted everything worth taking. Let's get out of here."
Yohan signaled the other three. In an instant, the group vanished from the bandit hideout.
"..."
Left alone with his arms tied, the bandit boss could only stare blankly at the flyer on the floor, his mind completely shattered.
The self-proclaimed knight order loaded their spoils onto a wagon and began their journey home. The petite girl sat in an empty spot on the wagon, while Yohan rode the horse pulling it, holding the reins.
"By the way, Falco."
"What is it?"
Billy and Falco, walking alongside the wagon, struck up a brief conversation.
"We gave him the flyer, but do you really think he'd want to join our church after we just demolished his entire gang?"
Falco nodded understandingly at Billy's question.
"It doesn't matter if he joins or not. The important thing is the message."
After answering Billy, Falco glanced at the girl sitting on the wagon. The girl had stood up and was rummaging through the pile of looted antiques.
"Verily, I sense a faint trace of my divine power dwelling within one of these objects."
The girl pulled a metal chain necklace out of the pile.
"Let us see."
Then, opening her mouth wide, she tossed the necklace in and chewed it right up.
"Whoa..."
An exclamation of awe escaped Billy's lips as he watched.
"No matter how many times I see it, that is just amazing."
He offered his honest impression.
"Right? I'm telling you, if we took her on tour and put on a show, we'd make a fortune."
Yohan, who had been quietly holding the reins, chimed in.
"How dare you! Dost thou take me for some rare beast?"
"Come on, think about it. 'Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Witness the girl who chews solid iron like tender meat!'"
The girl scolded him, but Yohan ignored her and kept going.
"Pfft—"
Yohan spoke in an exaggerated showman's voice, causing Billy to burst out laughing.
"I truly cannot comprehend thee. Thou art perfectly fine making such jests, yet thou utterly abhorrest the name of our Knight Order. Why is that?"
This time, the girl addressed Yohan.
"Because... it's embarrassing as hell."
Yohan replied with absolute sincerity.
"Oh, Yohan. Dost thou find my very existence shameful?"
The girl asked. This time, Yohan didn't answer immediately. It seemed like a question that required some thought.
"It's not that... Ugh, whatever. Just don't do that when I'm around. Seriously, my ears turn red from pure embarrassment."
Unlike before, Yohan mumbled in a quiet, defeated voice.
"So bashful."
Falco chimed in.
"Shut up."
He couldn't even deny it because she was right. Yohan shook his head and focused back on steering the horse. They were always like this. Even that silly conversation they just had was typical.
Yohan glanced back at the girl sitting in the cargo bed. To any onlooker, she was just an exceptionally pale little kid. But she was far from ordinary. Devouring solid iron like food was barely a parlor trick to her.
This child, who spoke like a grumpy old man, was actually a goddess stripped of her name. It sounded completely insane, but it was the absolute truth.
An ordinary human man, a green-skinned musclehead, and an elf. This was a combination of races that would normally never travel together. Yet, they were united under the banner of this tiny goddess.
Among them, Yohan was special. While the other two had merely witnessed the goddess's miracles, Yohan had gone a step further.
An Apostle of God. That was the title and duty bestowed upon him by the Nameless Goddess.
An Apostle's duty was to spread faith and gather believers in a land where worship of the goddess had all but vanished. At the same time, he had to follow her teachings, punishing the wicked and extending a helping hand to the needy. The goddess particularly enjoyed punishing bad guys—just like the bandits they had wiped out moments ago.
However, Yohan hadn't always been her Apostle. In fact, until recently, his life had been miles away from anything resembling faith. He had simply ended up here after being summoned by the goddess. Yohan felt a sudden wave of nostalgia.
"..."
But his expression soured in an instant. Even by the most generous standards, it wasn't a pleasant memory to look back on. Yohan recalled the events of a few months ago.
At the bottom of a deep pit, illuminated only by a single, thin beam of moonlight.
"Those motherfuckers."
Yohan sat slumped on the dirt floor, muttering curses under his breath. The bastards he had called comrades had stabbed him in the back. Literally. Left with a blade in his spine and tossed into a deep pit, he was on the verge of taking his last breath. The searing pain in his chest was beginning to fade—a sure sign that death was knocking at his door.
Just as he was about to surrender to the encroaching darkness.
—Who goes there?
A voice echoed.