Chapter 141
Chapter 141
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: The Comic Turns Into a Game
-----------------------------------------------------------------
'What... is this?'
I stared blankly at the elves running around for a moment... then snapped out of it and moved my mouse.
For now, let's try clicking on various things.
I experimentally clicked on the walking elves, but—
Nothing really happened in terms of interaction.
'Just a GIF animation file?'
Thinking that might be it, I clicked around some more, and—
<Tree>
[One of the essential materials. Contrary to the worldly prejudices felt from its appearance, elves don't particularly revere trees as sacred.]
<Rock>
[It's sturdy. It feels like something might come out if you smash it.]
Tooltips like these popped up for trees and rocks, letting me realize this wasn't just some animation.
So... did the author actually make a real game??
It was too unfinished to call it a proper game... but assuming it was made just to show me this, wasn't that impressive in itself?!
On closer inspection, this place... was definitely the same as the one I'd seen in the comic.
You know, the elves' village. The one where the demons came and diligently built it up.
Even the position of the Ebsilon Tree matched, so it seemed like this was a game implementation of the New Continent as I'd seen it so far.
'Oh my god...'
Dazed, I cautiously sent a message to the author.
[ Igugwoden: Writer ]
[ Igugwoden: What the hell is going on??? ]
[ Igugwoden: Why did the comic suddenly turn into a game?? ]
[ Please Donate: I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to... ]
[ Please Donate: But as I mentioned, due to the 'Armageddon' of the Rabbit, God's Messenger, two separate individual worlds have merged into one. ]
[ Igugwoden: Yeah ]
[ Please Donate: Each world has its own unique observation method. ]
[ Please Donate: Probably... the observation method of that world is definitely different from ours, ]
[ Please Donate: And the sense of dissonance you're feeling, Lord Igugwoden, likely stems from that... or so I cautiously speculate. ]
Different observation methods?
In other words, if Erin's world unfolds as a comic like before, this world unfolds as a game?
Why go to such lengths to complicate it like this? Just as that thought crossed my mind—
'...Ah!'
Come to think of it, didn't Dtamuk Thinking Army say something like that?
Something like 'This is possible? God game' or 'No matter what I do in this crap game, it won't let me kill'... yeah, I think he did.
That means, while Dtamuk Thinking Army is a sponsor like me—he perceives this world not as a comic like I do, but in game format.
You wouldn't call it a crap game or god game while reading a comic, after all.
So... the author, to maintain the setting he created...
Since Dtamuk Thinking Army perceived it as a game, having me perceive it as a game too avoids plot holes...
'He made a game in just 2 days solely for that...???'
—A chill ran down my spine!
No, it's his own setting anyway—does he have to stick to it this rigidly?
Can't he just break a few rules and add supplementary settings?
Just slap on a setting like 'Since the worlds merged, we can now observe this place in our method too'???
'Is someone holding a knife to his side threatening him??'
Of course, the author being obsessive about such minute details is why I could immerse myself in the comic...
But seeing him go this far made me newly realize he wasn't an ordinary person. Just then—
[ Please Donate: The new observation method is important, but ]
[ Please Donate: We've just succeeded in observing Erin right now. ]
[ Please Donate: It should help you understand what the world is like after Armageddon. ]
So, the game proceeds as a game, and the comic as a comic?
Personally, I preferred watching the comic over playing a game, so I was quite grateful for this.
I'd even thought maybe there'd be no comic today because he was busy preparing the game.
[ Igugwoden: Nice ]
[ Igugwoden: Igugwoden!!!! ]
[ Igugwoden: Next chapter plz hek hek ]
[ Please Donate: xowe.wo.to ]
[ Please Donate: After you enjoy it, I'll give a brief explanation about the 'new observation'. ]
Yeah. Explanations about the game can wait.
First, let's see how things turned out.
With a light heart, I clicked the link.
* * *
'...Mm...'
Sensing her consciousness slowly returning, Erin soon realized she was lying in a bed.
Checking the bed's material... it wasn't the one she usually slept in.
She cautiously sat up, rubbing her eyes and stretching her arms upward.
And then... drawn by the warm sunlight pouring in, she naturally turned her head toward the window.
Yes.
Sunlight.
The moment the pure white clouds drifting in the blue sky entered her vision—
'...Ah!'
Only then did she recall what had happened before she lost consciousness.
Right.
The sky suddenly darkened... and an overwhelming amount of God's love poured down like rain.
She had just knelt and prayed... then the Rabbit recited some spell, a pure white flash blinded her... and that was the last of her memories.
'What exactly happened...?'
For now, she knew God had used an immense amount of Plain Facts for them.
As a Saintess, she could sense it was not just for them, but for all beings on the New Continent, including the elves—but that was it.
Unsure of the exact details, she cautiously looked around. Just then—
—Creak.
The sound of a wooden door—not long built—opening made her turn her head.
There stood a woman who, like her, had been chosen by God and was humanity's leader—Eirene von Ainsberg—holding a tray.
'Your Majesty...?'
'Oh my. You're awake, Saintess?'
Eirene sat carefully by the bed and wiped Erin's forehead with a damp cloth from the tray.
'I...'
'After Armageddon ended, you lost consciousness. Probably because you're the Saintess, the burden on your body from the Plain Facts' effects was far greater than for ordinary people... or so Ophelia said.'
'Lady Ophelia?'
'Yes. Well, more precisely, it was the rabbit Ophelia carries that said it, I think.'
'I see...'
So that's it.
Did I... pass out...?
'Please wait a moment. I'll prepare some tea to help stabilize your mind and body.'
Eirene stood and left the room.
Soon after, she returned with a tea set and skillfully prepared a simple brew.
As an Empress in such a high position, it wouldn't be strange if she'd never made tea herself... yet she steeped the leaves quite adeptly.
It felt like watching a maid who'd received refined training.
'Here you are, Saintess.'
'...Thank you.'
Erin didn't refuse Eirene's kindness and took a sip of the tea she offered.
...The taste was unfamiliar, but the aroma felt quite familiar now.
The scent of Ebsilon flowers. What lingered in her mouth was definitely that.
'Were you perhaps thinking I look quite suited to it, despite appearances?'
'Pardon? No, not unsuited, but—'
'Feel free to speak comfortably, Saintess. We both serve the same Lord, after all?'
At Eirene's words and her gentle smile, Erin momentarily lost herself.
Her snow-white skin sparkling in the sunlight, her beautiful golden hair like a sunflower field.
And then, perhaps even larger than her own, the overwhelming mass of her Divine Power Pouch.
Eirene was an Empress, not a nun, so calling it a Divine Power Pouch might be odd—
But certainly.
It was a violently assertive body that proclaimed why she received Lord Igugwoden's love.
'...I thought you were really good at it.'
'My son likes drinking tea.'
'Your son... Lord Ares?'
Nod nod.
'It was my dying sister's last words. That it would be good to pass the throne to Ares. She also said spending time drinking tea together would make him open up quickly. Of course, things didn't go as she wished.'
By now, Erin knew some of the Imperial Family's circumstances.
Before Lord Ares believed in the Igugwoden Church—there had been various issues, it seemed.
'If not for Miss Karen, my son would probably still be wary and suspicious of me. In that sense, the Ainsberg family owes the Igugwoden Church—and Lord Igugwoden—once more.'
'...Ah.'
Erin, who had been blowing on the hot tea and sipping it, suddenly recalled something upon hearing Karen's name—
'Come to think of it, what happened to Lady Karen?'
Karen.
She appeared human on the outside, but her true nature was 'walking Plain Fact.'
As if to prove it, Erin clearly remembered how, during Armageddon, she had held the Rabbit in her arms and floated up into the sky.
'Miss Karen—'
Just as Eirene was about to say something.
Knock knock knock. Someone rapped on the wooden door.
'Come in.'
With the sound of the door opening, the new visitor was—a short little child.
Judging by the long ears, not human, but an elf.
Despite appearances, their age difference from human children was surely vast. They were a long-lived race, after all.
The elf girl cautiously alternated her gaze between Eirene and Erin—
Then handed over a tray with light snacks and said,
'I-I heard the Saintess had awakened, so... I brought something suitable to eat.'
'You've gone to great trouble, Rica. As I said earlier, you didn't need to bother yourself.'
'Ah, no! You've all always been so good to us... Lord Igugwoden too.'
'If you say so, I'll gladly accept your kindness. I'll be sure to tell Pibiola of your efforts.'
Pleased by Eirene stroking her head, the girl blushed slightly and spoke in her own language.
'It’s only natural for me... W-well then... I'll take my leave. Rest well, Saintess.'
After the elf girl left—
Eirene glanced carefully at where Erin was sitting.
Seeing Erin's eyes widen in surprise, she gently asked,
'You noticed, didn't you, Saintess?'
'Uh... I mean... That Rica person definitely... spoke in the elves' language, right?'
'Yes.'
'And yet, I understood her perfectly without any trouble—'
Erin was a Saintess.
Even without Eirene explaining in detail—she was a being who could discern why this had happened.
'That's right, Saintess.'
Knowing this, Eirene placed her hand over Erin's instead of explaining—
'And as you said, Saintess—this is all Lord Igugwoden's love.'
The first thing Armageddon changed—
Unhindered communication with the异種族—the elves—existing on the New Continent.
The surest way to preempt any misunderstandings between them.
'Lord Igugwoden...!'
Erin intuited.
This was merely the beginning.