"The Queen Spider... Has Lost?"
Galm, who was inside the shop, swallowed dryly without realizing it, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing even with his own eyes.
If I don't show my power, this loose-tongued brat won't shut up, eh?
"......I, I beg your forgiveness!! I greet the ancient god."
Her face was filled with confusion. It was only natural. She had just felt the power of an ancient god, long thought to have vanished.
But she couldn't doubt it. The blessing of Zipra, the god she served, was exerting all its might to inform her that the black wolf before her eyes was indeed an ancient god.
Not only Hien's son, but an ancient god too... Just where did a monster like that come from...?
Ralka shuddered involuntarily, having witnessed an event that would turn the continent upside down.
The three gods of corruption are all greedy ones, without exception. Tell me honestly why you've set up base in a land where the power of annihilation still lingers. You naughty little thing.
"Wh-what do you mean...? I am a follower of the Void. I remained in this land solely to block the power of annihilation for the sake of serving Kalderet!!"
Is that so?
Crunch. Kalderet pressed down harder on Ralka's head.
The corrupt ones follow me, but on the other hand, they're cute little things always scheming to surpass me. The moment they spot a gap, they try to snatch my position.
"H-ha... What are you...?"
Zipra didn't set up a barrier here out of faith in me to prevent the power of annihilation from escaping into the world.
"Then?"
It's because they wanted to somehow devour that power of annihilation too. Trusting in the Void while reaching for annihilation as well—it's so adorably deserving of a beating, I could just die laughing.
Kalderet chuckled deeply.
They deluded themselves into thinking they could surpass me with something like that. At best, it just lets them give off a faint whiff of annihilation.
"H-haaah...!"
Recalling what he'd said earlier about Zipra, Adel nodded in agreement with Garon's words.
Look at her. Look at her. I tell you, they're all weirdos.
Step—step—step—
With each step Kalderet took, Ralka's shoulders trembled violently.
Call forth Zipra. I need to see that cute old thing's face.
"You mean descend a god? Th-that's impossible!"
Why? The kid right in front of you summoned Garon less than a year after contracting with him.
"Th-that's...!"
Ralka looked at Adel with trembling eyes.
"Kalderet. Don't make her any more uncomfortable. Summoning a god isn't something even a pope can do easily. She's already reflecting plenty on us."
Adel, you're still too soft. With relationships like this, you have to make it clear from the start. Otherwise, she'll bare her fangs again.
"H-how could I...?! I would never!! To think the great ancient god has descended!!"
You didn't know?
"I swear it! I swear!!!"
Ralka now pressed her face to the floor, practically prostrating herself.
I could've sworn I mentioned it.
"......Pardon? Wh-what do you...?"
Adel clearly called my name. I guess the black spider didn't relay that, huh?
Th-that black spider bastard...!! You brainless idiot!! I ought to drag you here and torture you, you spider scum!! I won't let you get away with this!
In that moment, Ralka's mind grew chaotic. She hurled endless curses at the black spider in her head, but it was utterly pointless right now.
"You're right. Kalderet, in relationships like this, it has to be firm. You can't just trust people based on past memories alone. Come to think of it, even back then, we made sure to imprint the master-servant bond firmly."
Adel emphasized the word "firmly."
"Well, I'll be. I've gone soft myself."
As he shrugged, Ralka's shoulders twitched in tandem, trembling. She couldn't even predict what Adel might do next.
"Eat."
It was then. Adel tossed the fork with the sausage still impaled on it in front of her.
"I'm not resorting to violence or anything. As fellow worshippers of the Void, it'd look bad if we started brawling."
As Adel smiled amid the wreckage of the shop, Ralka felt like she'd stepped in something truly rotten.
"Th-this?"
"Yeah. I'm not hungry. But it's made with such care—too much of a waste to throw out. Handing it back to the owner is only polite. Let's make up with this. What do you say?"
"H-ha...!"
Ralka stared at the sausage on the floor with a pale face. She knew better than anyone what it was made of.
"You made it yourself—surely you can eat it? For the queen of lawless Ruinxen, you're awfully refined."
This vicious monster...
Watching her, Galm realized just how foolish he'd been to trifle with Adel.
At the same time, he understood that a single word had changed Ruinxen's master.
Squish.
So what if you're not soft—what is it, then? Nice guy like you. Thinking something like this will uphold the honor of loyalty.
Kalderet spoke while pressing down on the sausage on the plate with his front paw.
Instead of this pointless nonsense, it would be better to just have her cut off her own finger and make food with it.
"Why cut off a precious finger? She needs it intact to use Zipra's Eight Trigrams Formation."
Eight Trigrams? Eight fingers are plenty.
"Is that so?"
"I-I'll eat well!!!"
Not knowing what else might come up, Ralka scooped up the mangled sausage from the floor with a crumpled face and shoved it into her mouth.
No matter how you look at it, this just seems like plain old bullying.
"Hardly. I'm teaching her manners right now."
[...She's the contractor of that god, huh.]
Garon shook his head with a sigh, as if deciding not to say more.
Hey, contractor of Zipra. What did you feel after eating that?
"......Pardon?"
I like Zipra. That kid was always eyeing my back, but it was possible only because she sought strength.
Ralka lifted her head at his words.
Do you know why god ranks exist? In truth, god ranks were created by human standards. Gods are born with great power, so many grow complacent in it. But humans aren't like that.
Kalderet continued.
In human eyes, the complacent ones are deemed obsolete. That's why the gods of corruption are seen as strong—they're always craving something.
"Y-yes!!"
Of course, the other gods wary of that craving brand them as evil gods, but I don't hate change. Without change, you're no different from the dead.
"Thank you..."
But it seems you've misunderstood how to satisfy her as Zipra's contractor.
"You mean...?"
In that instant, Ralka's eyes gleamed. Forgetting the sausage she'd just eaten, she knelt politely before Kalderet.
"Could it be... you're offering to teach me a way to draw even closer to Zipra?"
Nothing I can't do. The Void doesn't come from fear. It comes from the emptiness of voiding one's inner self. Do you know why Zipra couldn't defeat me? She sought emptiness through slaughter.
"......!!"
Not death, but killing oneself. That is the Void.
"Such profound words..."
Heh heh, if a god's words feel easy, you should become a god yourself. Don't you think?
"Wise words indeed. To receive the ancient god's grace—how could I..."
Kalderet turned his head and nodded toward Adel with his chin.
The method is simple. That kid is my contractor. No need for more explanation, right?
At his words, Ralka teared up with deep emotion.
"O-of course!! Though I am Zipra's contractor, ultimately I am also a devotee of Kalderet. I shall serve you for life...!!"
Hear that?
"So you're the one helping me out in the end."
Adel shrugged as if to say it was up to her.
"Gr-gracious ancient god...!!"
Enough. You'll wear my tail out.
Kalderet mercilessly kicked the cheek of Ralka, who was rubbing her face against his hind leg.
"The god has graced me with a kick...!! I am unworthy!!"
Clutching her cheek, now red with a clear paw print, she cried out in delight.
[...Isn't she a bit off her rocker?]
Garon stared at the two and asked, as if dumbfounded.
"That's her true nature. She's a brutally cruel dark priestess, but she has this quirky side."
Namely, her fanatic devotion to gods.
Adel had dealt with Ralka's personality exhaustively in his previous life, so he was confident this trip to Ruinxen would go smoothly. His plan to subdue her with his own power without Kalderet's help had gone slightly awry, but the result was satisfying.
"Ralka. I'm looking for someone."
"Command me, Adel-nim. If you wish, I'll bring them back even if I have to hack off their limbs. Or turn them into an undead."
"......No need to hack limbs or make undead. Just bring them. It shouldn't be hard for you."
"I shall remember."
Adel spoke of Mahal Arram from the Chan Kingdom, and as expected of Ruinxen's all-knowing queen, she remembered his whereabouts.
"But he's been gone from the city for at least three days. Finding him will take some time."
"Doesn't matter. I have another thing to do in Ruinxen meanwhile."
Adel waved it off nonchalantly at her report.
[Another task?]
"Yeah."
Propping his chin, Adel gazed at Ralka.
"I hear the Queen Spider's nest rivals the Ulan tribe's treasury."
"H-ha... You're too kind."
Adel addressed her as she laughed awkwardly.
"Show me."
"Pardon? Oh, my... my nest? Haha, well, I've collected quite a bit diligently, but... um..."
Ralka averted her eyes, replying with an embarrassed expression.
"Don't want to? As Kalderet's contractor, I should be the same as Kalderet to you. Can't manage that much?"
[Weren't you just refusing my help earlier?]
"Might as well make thorough use of it now. It's the best way to handle her."
[Good point.]
"I'll ask again. Do you hate taking me to your nest?"
"N-no way!! Absolutely not!!"
"Then? Got some skeletons in the warehouse closet?"
"No!!"
She frantically waved her hands.
Well, she doesn't want to show it off. Most of the stuff inside was stolen from continental kingdoms, after all.
But the reason for her panic wasn't just the expensive treasures.
And that was the very reason Adel wanted to go to the nest.
"What are you waiting for? Lead the way."
Ralka let out a low sigh of resignation and stood up.
The real reason she doesn't want to open the warehouse is because it holds items tied to her past. And that's exactly what I want.
She'd agreed so readily because she thought he wouldn't recognize it.
I didn't know in my previous life either. It was a secret she revealed only after becoming my follower for ten years.
"......Understood. Follow me."
As Adel followed behind her, his eyes shone with the greatest anticipation since arriving in Ruinxen.