Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: Chapter 39 Inheritance (1)
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Glance, glance.
Rasha kept stealing looks at Kay, who was sitting face-to-face with Gretman.
He hadn’t spared her a single glance since entering the tent.
It was clear the business was with Gretman, and he had no intention of dealing with her.
Just a few months ago, they’d exchanged warm greetings.
How had things turned so drastically?
A sigh she couldn’t voice lingered in her mouth.
Rasha swallowed it down, just like always.
Every time she kept gulping down sighs like this, Kay’s words would suddenly pop into her head.
- Stop acting like I sacrificed myself for the church’s gain. That’s your delusion.
- What gives you the right to project your wishes onto me and expect things on your own?
- I’m putting up with it one last time today. Glorifying me like some saint pisses me off more than you think.
Each time she mulled it over, her breath caught in her throat.
‘I expected something from her?’
She couldn’t deny it. It hit too close to home.
This endless war that had dragged on since her early childhood might finally end.
She’d hoped the otherworlders brought by the gods would save this world.
Even using not just the church’s resources but her family’s wealth to secretly support them in secret—maybe that too.
‘Did I think that would make that day come sooner?’
Among them, she’d expected the most from Kay and poured in the most support.
He stood out among the many otherworlders.
On top of that, she’d heard Gretman sensed something in him.
Her one-sided expectations ballooned rapidly.
She hadn’t considered how burdensome that might be for Kay.
She’d simply been overjoyed that someone had appeared to solve things in her stead.
She was exhausted, after all.
‘That’s just an excuse, though.’
She’d realized her selfish desires, ones she hadn’t even recognized herself, and reflected on them countless times.
Could she fix things with an apology now?
But deep down, she still yearned for salvation.
In truth, every time she saw Kay, she felt the urge to use Pallao’s power.
She wanted to see for herself, with her own eyes, the potential in him to save thousands, tens of thousands of lives through charity.
With motives like that, she couldn’t bring herself to apologize.
‘Empty words won’t help.’
It felt like she’d fallen into a tunnel.
‘How can I get things back to how they were?’
As she looped through the same worries for the hundredth time,
Gretman, who had entered the tent ahead of her, spoke up.
“This is the third time I’m asking. Have you heard anything from Lord Kallos?”
“I’m not Kallos’s apostle, though?”
“Don’t play word games. We don’t have time for that.”
“We...”
Kay, who had casually perched on the edge of the wooden table in the tent, let out a deflating snort.
“Let’s get our words straight. It’s not we—it’s you all who are short on time.”
Rasha’s shoulders twitched. Gretman’s brow furrowed slightly too.
But Kay ignored their reactions and pressed on.
“You’ve apparently schemed something with Gilenios Begram... You think I’ll just play along?”
“With your personality, sure you will. That’s why we asked Lord Kallos to intervene.”
“You keep singing Kallos’s praises. What, is he some miracle cure? Impressive faith. Weren’t you Pallao’s apostle? Oh, right... Clinging to a vanished god must look pretty silly.”
“How dare you mock the goddess in my presence.”
Gretman’s aura sharpened in an instant.
Rasha unwittingly stepped between Gretman and Kay.
Fortunately, the clash she feared didn’t happen.
Gretman clicked his tongue briefly, reined in his aura, and yielded a step.
“I’ll overlook it this once, considering you’re an otherworlder. But never speak of the goddess in front of me again. Not just her—I won’t force you to revere the divine, but that doesn’t mean you can mock them.”
Rasha, who had blocked Gretman’s path, turned back.
Kay was staring at Gretman with an odd expression.
Then, abruptly.
“Do you even know what those gods you worship so fervently have done?”
She tossed out a cryptic question.
“Enough of that.”
Gretman dismissed it and dodged the answer.
Rasha swallowed dryly and glanced back at Gretman.
‘What have the gods done...?’
What on earth had happened to spark this exchange?
Doubts swirled, but there was no chance to ask.
“Unbelievable...”
Kay rubbed his face vigorously and pressed harder, his voice more agitated than before.
“You seem to know, yet you still praise them as gods? That’s some devotion.”
“Why are you so pissed? It’s not like it hurts you.”
Kay’s expression hardened coldly in a flash.
After a short, heavy silence, he snorted and muttered.
“Well, fair enough. It’s not my fault things turned out this way, and I’m done caring.”
“Enough games—answer properly. Has Lord Kallos given any word...”
“I’ve never received word directly or spoken with him.”
“That can’t be...”
“But he gave me this.”
Cutting Gretman off, Kay extended his hand.
In it was a scrap of paper.
Rasha craned her neck slightly to check it.
From her position, she could only see the edge.
‘Voucher...’
The way otherworlders received a god’s blessing.
Curious whose it was, she leaned further—and spotted “Mephroseta.”
“Indeed, the surest method for you. Why haven’t you used it yet?”
“I’ve been busy, myself.”
“Then use it now.”
“Not really in the mood...”
“If you keep being uncooperative, I have no choice. I’ve helped you before—you should return the favor.”
“Pay back the debt?”
“Yes.”
Gretman gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist as he spoke.
If Kay refused to the end, he’d force it.
Kay let out a deep, weary sigh and tore the paper in his hand.
His eyes turned golden.
For some reason, it reminded her of the day they first met.
“Ngh...”
Then, Kay clutched his mouth in pain and squeezed his eyes shut.
Rasha startled and rushed toward him.
But before her hand could reach, Kay swatted it away.
He glared ferociously at Gretman.
Gretman scanned Kay from head to toe and said.
“What will you do?”
The silence didn’t last.
“You’ve got the confidence, huh.”
With a long sigh, Kay stood and waved his hand in the air.
A pocket watch materialized where his hand moved.
Kay pocketed it and said.
“Lead the way.”
“Good. About time.”
Rasha couldn’t keep up with their conversation, which excluded her entirely.
But she grasped that Gretman meant to take Kay somewhere.
So she tried to follow as they headed for the tent flap.
“You don’t need to come.”
Gretman didn’t allow it easily.
“What do you mean...? I still can’t trust you, Lord Gretman.”
“Your trust doesn’t matter. This is all the goddess’s will. Your role is done—return to your post.”
Rasha had no intention of obeying Gretman’s order.
“Something might happen to Kay—I need to go with him.”
“Why?”
But Gretman wasn’t the only one against her joining.
She quickly turned to see Kay staring straight at her.
“Why do you need to come?”
She’d opened her mouth with something to say.
But nothing came out.
Facing his indifferent, cold gaze, words failed her.
Whether he noticed her state or not.
“I don’t need your help. Go back.”
Kay rejected her again and moved toward the tent entrance.
“Oh, and about Ahel.”
Right before stepping out.
“Stop sending him, yeah?”
“What do you...”
“I can protect my own life now without his help.”
He’d been sent originally out of concern for her safety—and now that was handled, bring him back.
Her hands grew sweaty at Kay’s increasingly firm, forceful rejection.
“Still, spatial magic is useful...”
Rasha wanted to maintain some connection to Kay until this awkwardness resolved.
“Useful or not, I don’t want to owe you anymore.”
But the response was even blunter.
“To put it plainly, it makes me uncomfortable knowing your favors and support come with expectations. If I’d known you and the church wanted something from me, I wouldn’t have accepted from the start.”
She was speechless at his stark choice of words.
“Like I’ve said repeatedly, I’m not sacrificing for you. I don’t have the power to save a world wrecked by lunatics too busy protecting their own rice bowls.”
“...”
“Of course, I’ll pay the fair price for what I’ve already received. I’m practically living in contaminated zones now, and it’ll be the same going forward—so that should more than cover my share.”
You raised us to shove us into contaminated zones anyway, right?
As his words dragged on, Rasha’s head drooped lower.
“So don’t expect anything more. There’s nothing I can do.”
Got it on bringing Ahel back.
Kay added that and left the tent without waiting for her reply.
Rasha was left alone.
The sudden quiet made the surrounding noises ring excessively loud.
A hole seemed punched in the sky, fierce rain hammering the tent.
She stood there blankly, staring at the ground for a long while.
Splash, splash.
Footsteps approached.
She jerked her head up, but the voice over them belonged to someone else.
“Hmm-hmm, hum. Luck’s on our side, as always.”
“You call that luck? Earlier that spring silkworm had its tail on fire... Huh?”
It was Kay’s comrades, Kim Yul and Yang Tae-ho, bursting into the tent through the downpour.
“Huh? Sister Rasha?”
“Hey, ain’t that the apostle lady? How you holdin’ up?”
“Ah, uh...”
Caught off guard by their sudden arrival, Rasha couldn’t even respond properly.
As she stammered, Kim Yul stepped in first with a friendly greeting.
“Long time no see! Here for hyung?”
“Uh, well...”
“Hyung just messaged he was heading out somewhere... Oh, were you with him?”
Rasha finally managed a nod.
For the first time since meeting them, she formed a proper sentence.
“Y-Yeah, something like that. I was going to go with him, but he said it wasn’t necessary... Haha.”
She laughed awkwardly, muddling through.
“Yeah... Fair point.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“Our party leader ain’t a bastard or nothin’. No need for an apostle to tag along, right?”
Yang Tae-ho stared piercingly at Rasha and said something unexpected.