The Elder's Heretical Offer

“Thanks. Here’s your reward.” After collecting all twenty Cheonhae herbs and delivering them to the old merchant, he handed me twelve lowest-grade potions as payment. It was a fitting reward for an E-grade quest.

“If fate allows, let’s meet again.” With those words, the old merchant left the guild, marking the end of this quest.

“Hmm…” Since I didn’t have anything else urgent to do, maybe I should pick up another quest? With that thought, I turned my gaze toward the guild’s bulletin board, where various request postings were listed.

…Nothing really catches my eye. The S-grade request about subjugating the gargoyle in the Eastern Labyrinth seems like it might be the most fun, but it doesn’t quite grab me. The Cheonhae herb collection was only E-grade, yet I felt compelled to do it the moment I saw it. The human heart is truly strange.

“…Inquisitor!”

While I was pondering in front of the bulletin board, the guild receptionist, a half-elf, called out to me. When a guild receptionist specifically calls someone, it usually means one of two things. The first is to welcome a player who has just arrived at the guild. The second is related to the adventurer rank system, one of the guild’s features. Since I wasn’t new to the guild, it definitely wasn’t the first. My adventurer rank was already the highest, S-grade, so it couldn’t be the second either. What could it be?

Of course, there are cases where an adventurer rank drops under certain circumstances, but at least I wasn’t in a position to meet those conditions right now. So what was it? With that question in mind, I approached the reception desk. The half-elf receptionist leaned in and whispered so that no one around could hear.

“A designated quest has arrived for you, Inquisitor. What would you like to do?”

…Huh? This was a first.

“Will you accept it?”

I slowly nodded at her words. How could I refuse? Refusing here would mean I didn’t qualify as a gamer.

Lekton Town, as the receptionist mentioned, was the only town located near Niblord. In other words, it was originally a town one had to pass through to do anything in Niblord. However, perhaps due to the influence of Albion’s subjugation opening up, there were almost no other players visible in Lekton. Well, most people coming to Niblord now were probably aiming for Albion’s subjugation, and it was much more convenient to head straight to Ribagar using the raid ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠system. Besides, Niblord had never really had many people to begin with.

“Hmm…” This town had so much to see, yet it felt a bit regrettable that everyone was only focused on Albion’s subjugation. Anyway, I looked around Lekton Town, which I hadn’t visited in a while, and headed toward the village elder’s house. The village elder was waiting for me in front of his door.

“Are you the adventurer who received my designated quest?”

At the elder’s words—he looked much older than the old merchant I had met earlier—I responded with a silent nod.

“I’d like to talk inside.”

The elder guided me into his house. Once we sat at the table, he served me snacks and black tea.

“These are tailored to this old man’s taste, so they might not be very good… I’m sorry, but this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is all I have at home right now.”

Despite what he said, the snacks and tea were quite delicious. Delicious enough that I could probably agree to most requests.

“The reason I contacted you, adventurer, is because I heard that you defeated Albion.”

As expected, it was related to Albion’s subjugation. I had anticipated it from the start. The guild had used the term “designated quest,” which I had never heard before, and the destination was a town near Niblord. It was an obvious conclusion if you thought about it even a little… Well, it was a difficult realization that only smart people could make, but I figured it out because it was me. Those idiots calling me an idiot were wrong. I should definitely bring this up when I start streaming later.

“Albion was a symbol of terror for our village… Even if it had fallen asleep long ago, we never knew when it might awaken and attack us…”

The village elder’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke. Was Albion so terrifying that merely mentioning its name filled him with fear?

“I wanted to express my gratitude first to the adventurer who defeated such an Albion.”

The village elder stood up and bowed his head to me. Even knowing he was an NPC, it felt uncomfortable to have someone much older than me bowing their head. When I waved my hand to indicate it was fine, the elder finally sat back down. Moments like this always made me wonder if this was really an NPC, if this was really AI.

“Now, moving on to the main point… Adventurer, did you perhaps use this potion when you defeated Albion?”

As the village elder spoke, he took out the World Tree’s Tear from his hand. It was the truly grateful item that had allowed me and the idiots to be the first to defeat Albion. But why was the village elder bringing it out now…?

“This potion is a special one that can only be made in our village. Do you know why?”

I shook my head at the question. I had only just learned that the World Tree’s Tear was made only in this village. The elder slightly raised the corner of his mouth and answered.

“Please follow me for a moment.”

He moved toward the back of his house, where a staircase leading underground was hidden. After descending all the stairs, there was a passageway lit by lamps, and at the end of the passageway was a massive door blocking the way. In front of that door, the village elder took out a key and inserted it into the lock.

Creaaak—

With an unpleasant sound of rusted iron scraping against iron, the door opened. Beyond it was a pure white jewel displayed on a pedestal. I wondered what it was, but only for a moment. The village elder began speaking with a serious expression.

“Have you ever found it strange? The Elun Church that currently dominates the continent claims that Elun is the one and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only absolute god. But you, the adventurer who defeated Albion, must know. Who he fought against to become the ruler of Niblord…”

The ruler of Niblord, Albion. The World Tree that had vanished from people’s memories. In other words, what the village elder wanted to say was clear. Well, I understood it because I was smart.

“Originally, it wasn’t Albion who ruled our village… who ruled Niblord. The goddess who watched over us was always Lady Skadi.”

And the thing on the pedestal now was the jewel left behind by the World Tree before it disappeared, the village elder said, biting his lip.

“When Lady Skadi fought against Albion, the Elun Church provided no support whatsoever. In the end, Lady Skadi fell to its cowardly trick, and our village had no choice but to live in fear of Albion.”

Albion’s cowardly trick. I wondered if I shouldn’t ask what that was…

“I understand the same was true for the other gods. The Elun Church was originally the weakest sect. Other gods and their churches provided them with countless support. But the Elun Church dismissed that grace as a thing of the past and offered no help when other churches were attacked…!”

Hmm. So this was the story hidden behind the heretics. Not that I was particularly curious.

“But now Lady Skadi’s existence has been revealed. So everyone will know. That the god Elun is not the only god…!”

So what the elder was saying now was…

“Adventurer who defeated Albion by borrowing Lady Skadi’s power. Would you consider joining our village and helping us revive our church?”

They’re asking me to become a heretic. Asking me to become a heretic in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠order to defeat heretics. What kind of nonsense was that? Obviously, I refused.

“I… see…”

How could you call something a god when it gets taken down by just one dragon? Our church could take down three dragons even with just me alone.

“I cannot force my benefactor… It is regrettable that we cannot walk the same path, but for now, I am satisfied that Lady Skadi’s existence has been revealed once more.”

…That aside, if what he just said was true, then this elder was a heretic too, wasn’t he…? I wanted to make him repent right here and now, but I already knew. NPCs were immune to attacks. I had once stormed into the heretics’ base and swung my warhammer at their leader, only to be driven out with a message saying the target could not be attacked. Well, it was set up that way from the beginning, so I had to accept it. World Tree, I’ll let this one slide just this once.