Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Most Fearsome Form
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Question.
Which team suffers the most when creating housing content?
The answer.
“I think I’m going to die.”
That would be the art team.
Our planning team and the programming folks next door are having a tough time too, but if I had to pick the department sweating the most, it would have to be them.
Of course. That’s just how building a village is.
They’re the ones who have to model every single building, tool, crafting table, and gathering spot like fields and ore veins, all while ensuring everything looks harmonious and not out of place when combined.
So, it was no wonder that Han Seo-rim (overloaded with stress) was complaining like this.
It’s a bit unfortunate that all I can do is listen.
“Why is there so much to make? Wasn’t this supposed to be a combat-only game?”
A sharp glare was shot my way.
What followed was a complaint disguised as a question, to which I replied.
“This is more fun.”
“That’s…!”
Han Seo-rim was at a loss for words.
After all, it’s a given that having more things to do in a game is better.
Han Seo-rim, who had been looking at me with a pout, soon let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
Then she said.
“…Anyway, the models will be ready by this evening. Please check them tomorrow morning.”
“I won’t be here tomorrow morning.”
“What?”
“Tomorrow’s Sunday.”
“So what?”
Does the concept of a day off not exist in her head?
Or does she think I’m someone who works without a single day off?
“But you’ve always come in on Sundays until now.”
It seems to be the latter.
She’s right, but not this week.
“I have plans.”
“What plans?”
“I have to go to church.”
“You?”
Han Seo-rim looked at me in shock, as if she’d just witnessed something impossible.
I asked.
“Want to come with?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
What a very Gen Z-like retort.
To cut to the chase, Han Seo-rim decided to come along.
“What, it was because of Chapter 2? That makes sense.”
Chapter 2 of Identity is “The Blind Priestess’s Wish.”
In game terms, it’s the chapter where you save the priestess of Smile Village.
***
The way a game illuminates its world should be indirect and sensory.
It’s not a famous saying, just my personal theory.
You could say I don’t want to ruin the game’s pacing with background explanations.
Digging into a more personal reason, as a gamer myself, I dislike long scripts, so I don’t include them.
I think this approach is quite plausible.
After all, don’t most players perceive the game by sharing the protagonist’s point of view?
To put it bluntly, the user’s perception of the world is shaped by visual modeling.
Take the world of Identity, for example.
If a field spreads out before you and a farmer appears, you’d think, “This place must have a story related to farming.”
In the same vein, if there’s a single, well-maintained church in a shabby village, the player will naturally perceive that church as the heart of the map.
Now, it’s an extension of that concept.
You use narrative devices like the prologue to explain the world and its era, which serve as the frame of a picture.
Then, by showing the world’s scenery and characters through the chapters, won’t the picture inside the frame be completed?
To add, information like “The Oltore Empire in Identity is an agrarian society that believes in a certain religion” gets conveyed to the user without needing explicit explanation.
That’s why the details of each chapter’s design are so important.
My reason for coming all the way to a church today is along the same lines.
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
“Amen~.”
I analyzed the church’s interior design and the tone of the prayers.
The atmosphere in the church was silent.
No, I should say it had a subdued grandeur.
That would be called reverence.
I observed such things throughout the mass.
In doing so, I came to a clear realization.
The fact that even though not everything inside this space is a religious symbol, certain characteristic things create the atmosphere of the space.
Jesus on the cross, the paintings and artifacts along the walls, and even the vestments worn by the priest on the altar.
‘No need to overdo it.’
So, what was Han Seo-rim thinking?
I glanced at the seat next to me and was filled with bewilderment.
“…Why are you so fervent in your prayers? And what’s that on your head? Are you Catholic?”
Han Seo-rim was engrossed in the mass.
She was even wearing a chapel veil on her head; anyone would mistake her for a Catholic.
Han Seo-rim glanced around before speaking in a low voice.
“I looked it up, and it said I should wear one. Besides, with Jesus right there in front of us, it would feel weird to be half-hearted about it. You have to follow the customs in a place like this.”
“Is that so?”
“Don’t you feel any guilt?”
“Not really.”
“This guy is going to hell.”
I’ve already been there.
…is what I couldn’t say.
To be honest, yes, having been to hell has made me quite skeptical about religion.
The hell that actually exists was different from any of the hells described by the religions of this world.
It is a place that exists solely to inflict pain upon the soul.
It prioritizes the wounds of the heart over physical pain, devising endlessly creative methods that make you instinctively think, ‘I never want to go there again.’
There is absolutely no way to save yourself from within, and the one path to salvation that exists is limited to saving others.
So how could I not feel skeptical about a salvation crafted by the hand of God?
As far as I know, salvation is only completed when people save one another.
Hell is a place where only those who cannot do so remain until the end.
As I was thinking, my thoughts suddenly drifted to another area.
‘…No, it’s not like God doesn’t exist at all.’
Come to think of it, that’s right.
After all, if some great will was responsible for dropping me into that hell as an observer, making me witness all the hells, and finally dropping me into a past timeline, then the existence of God becomes a rather believable hypothesis.
Of course, digging deeper into this hypothesis only amplifies the questions.
The most baffling question of all was none other than.
‘Why me?’
What was the reason for showing such things to someone like me, who lived and died as a nobody game director?
If they had shown such a sight to a devout and promising religious figure and sent them to the past, wouldn’t they have been able to achieve far greater religious feats than I?
I tend to dismiss religion as an old-fashioned value system.
I have even less of a sacred belief in the existence of God.
I don’t need to look far; even in the military, the only reason I went to religious services was to get a non-military-issue hamburger.
Therefore, if there truly is a divine being who wrought this miracle upon me, I believe it wouldn’t be a religious entity from oral traditions.
My thoughts continued along these lines.
The mass had moved on to the sermon.
At that moment, I encountered quite a coincidence.
The elderly, benevolent priest said.
“They say an angel comes in the most fearsome form.”
Angel.
That was the central theme of Chapter 2.
***
E-40 set off again and arrived at a shabby village.
He wore the “Sun-Scrunched Face” he had received from the farmer.
Should it be called infiltration?
He had no particular objective, but it was an undeniable fact that entering the village had become easier.
E-40 felt a sense of gratitude toward the farmer and stopped by the market to replenish supplies for his journey.
The market was lively.
Though it was shabby, the people exuded vitality.
It was a sight that naturally pleased E-40.
It was then.
—Ah! It’s time for prayer! You should hurry to the front of the church too!
A market merchant suddenly led E-40 to the church.
When he arrived, indeed, a priestess with the “Closed-Eyed Face” and impressive, dazzling white hair was on the dais, preparing for the prayer meeting.
E-40 blended into the crowd somewhere and quietly observed the situation.
He had to.
The Oltore Empire was a nation that served the emperor, the apostle of the one God.
That was why the “Smile,” the sacred stigma of the god, was sanctified, and not attending a religious ceremony was a heinous act punishable by severe penalty as heresy.
Moreover, in a small village like this, the priest also served as the village chief.
Getting on her bad side before he left would be troublesome.
—Now that everyone is here, let’s begin!
The priestess began the prayer meeting, spreading her arms wide.
—Ooh! Glory to the great Lord and His apostle, His Majesty the Emperor!
E-40 performed the rites as he had learned them his entire life.
But it was a mistake.
This was a humble village in a corner of the empire, but what E-40 had learned were the courtly rites he had mastered as an expressionless knight.
A stir went through the church.
As E-40 swallowed his panic, the priestess belatedly noticed him and began to look his way.
E-40 felt his heart pound.
It was then.
—Ooh! Brother!
The priestess pointed at E-40 and said.
—The face of a farmer! And a sword at your hip! You must be the legendary farmer blessed by His Majesty’s grace!
—Wh-what?! You don’t mean the legendary farmer who mastered the “Harvest Slash”?
—So he really exists! Wow!
Amidst the cheers of the crowd, E-40 swallowed his bewilderment.
He couldn’t help it.
How could he not be, when he had no idea what a legendary farmer even was?
But E-40 did not try to clear up the misunderstanding.
He decided it was better to play along than to arouse more suspicion.
—Brother Legendary Farmer! Would you please come up here?!
At the priestess’s shout, E-40 walked confidently onto the dais.
Ahem!
He gave a silent cough and puffed out his chest, and a roar of “Woooow!!” erupted.
For some reason, E-40 felt his cheeks flush.
The priestess began her speech with him by her side.
—We have an honored guest today! Let us all offer a prayer of thanks to our Lord and His Majesty with reverent hearts!
And so, the prayer meeting ended with an unexpected happening.
As people began to disperse one by one, E-40 let out a sigh of relief and tried to leave.
Just then, the priestess spoke to him.
—You went through a lot, wanderer.
Her voice was not the passionate one from moments before.
E-40 was startled by her very calm voice.
The priestess spoke calmly.
—I don’t know your reasons, but you are wandering, having left your duties. The legendary farmer—it was a pretty plausible excuse, wasn’t it?
How did she find out?
He knew the reason immediately.
—The legendary farmer doesn’t exist. It’s just an oral tradition, but the people in this backwater village don’t know that.
Damn! To make such a mistake!
As his heart pounded with the fear of being discovered, the priestess dispelled his worries.
—It’s all right. I have no intention of reporting you. Isn’t that a relief? As one whose eyes are closed, I cannot see any faults. Now, you should be on your way.
The priestess disappeared.
E-40 remained alone, standing blankly in the silent church for a long time, before belatedly feeling relief and gratitude.
What followed was a rising curiosity about the priestess.
Originally, the priestess’s “Closed-Eyed Face” was something one could only receive by achieving excellent grades at the empire’s highest educational institution.
But why would such a loyal person let a suspicious character like a “wandering farmer who knows courtly rites” go just like that?
E-40 did not let his curiosity rest.
For he was a person who had to live as he wished, and a person who had to see and feel many things.
Carefully, E-40 took a step.
He tiptoed toward the inner chamber the priestess had entered.
The infiltration skills he had learned as a knight were effective.
Beyond the church hall, there was a small side room and a staircase leading to a basement.
It felt like he was on some secret expedition.
But that excitement soon turned to shock.
E-40 was stunned by the sight before him.
—Hah! H-how did you get here!
A huge basement.
In it was treasure.
A very large amount of it, at that.
It wasn’t embezzlement or anything of the sort.
The former knight E-40 knew.
The imperial seal stamped on the carts carrying the treasure.
This meant only one thing.
—…You’ve found out. Yes, this treasure is the money our entire village has earned, and it’s the tax that goes to the imperial capital. It’s quite a lot, isn’t it? The villagers probably don’t even know they’ve accumulated this much wealth.
Tax going to the imperial capital.
That was it.
The reason the village looked shabby, and the reason no one questioned it, was because the priestess had hidden from the villagers the fact that they had earned this much money.
E-40 became curious about the reason.
The priestess said with a melancholy look.
—The villagers aren’t sad about not earning much money. But they would be sad if they realized so much of it was taken in taxes. I’ve covered their eyes. I hoped they wouldn’t become unhappy by seeing the wealth they’ve been deprived of.
The empire collects all surplus income above a designated amount from each village and distributes it to other, poorer villages.
E-40 knew about this practice.
But, facing the process that led to such an outcome at this moment, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of pity.
E-40 thought of a clever trick.
A way to secretly use a portion of this treasure as a village fund instead of paying it as tax.
He tried to explain it with gestures, but the priestess shook her head.
—That’s impossible. It would be disloyalty to the empire. As a priestess, I must be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor, the apostle of God.
E-40 suddenly felt frustrated.
A question welled up inside him: could it truly be the Lord’s will to take away the fruits of their blood and sweat like this?
The priestess was as perceptive as the farmer.
As if she had sensed E-40’s thoughts, she said.
—The empire is in an age of peace. That’s because there are strict laws for the good of the whole. As the scriptures say, an angel comes in the most fearsome form. The reason they seem harsh is likely because they establish peace through an angel’s fearfulness.
The priestess placed a hand on E-40’s shoulder.
—What can be done? We must endure it. You should leave. The tax collector will be here soon.
E-40 did not like her interpretation.
How could something that comes in a fearsome form and brings fear be called an angel?
As far as E-40 knew, no matter how fearsome an angel’s form, their outstretched hand had to be warm.
Just like the Smile that had saved him.
E-40 looked at the priestess intently.
And so, he realized something.
She was a person with her eyes closed.
Just as she had overlooked his fault, she had closed her eyes to this absurdity.
Perhaps it was because she couldn’t resist it on her own.
That must have been a source of sadness.
E-40 knew the feeling of being betrayed by what you had believed in your entire life.
She must be constantly doubting the truth of the faith she had believed in.
Furthermore, she was a very kind person.
After all, not just anyone could make the decision to endure the burden and suffer alone.
In that case, there was only one thing for E-40 to do.
To help her, who had turned a blind eye for him and was shouldering this heavy truth alone, hoping the villagers would not be sad.
E-40 decided to become her angel.
A true angel, who brings salvation, not fear.
Angel (2)