Chapter: 139
After enduring all sorts of insults from his (ex-)wife, the Captain of the Guards couldn’t contain his rage anymore and sneaked into her bedroom at night. Last time, he had caught her off guard, and it made him incapable of fulfilling his duties as a man.
“Delivery of consolation items has arrived.”
The (ex-)wife sent the Captain a women’s dress and underwear, laden with a sense of remorse. It was a meaning that he could do no better than a woman, having lost his role as a man entirely. There was nothing more humiliating for the Captain than this.
In a world where roles between men and women are clearly defined, failing to adopt a man’s role was a huge flaw.
Of course, the Captain was dismissed from the guard squad. He became a complete jobless bum. To make matters worse, thanks to the effects of the Gag Filter, he had to return all the land deeds and house documents that his (ex-)wife had brought when they got married.
As soon as all his income sources were cut off, he became broke almost instantly. Even if he tried to find another job, rumors about him had spread to neighboring villages, making it impossible to find any work at all.
Eventually, the Captain… no, the man, had to leave the village in tears. He had to hustle to find a place where no rumors had reached.
However… moving from one village to another in the world of Dark Fantasy wasn’t easy. The chances of him reaching a village where his reputation hadn’t preceded him without encountering bandits, slave traders, or monsters seemed quite low. But, such was the price for his own misdeeds.
In a world where entertainment consisted solely of drinking and gambling, the Captain’s affair was a major scandal. It was juicy gossip that would be talked about for years to come.
For the villagers, it was shocking news that the Substitute Priest and the Priest were indulging in human flesh and lusting after the blood of maidens. Some even fainted upon hearing it.
As anxiety grew like wildfires in autumn, there was someone who slithered through the cracks of that fear.
It was Pia, her eyes sparkling with the ambition to promote the Lian Church. As a follower of Lian, Pia had a bit of power from the Gag Filter at her disposal.
This Gag Filter, when applied persistently, could produce bizarre effects, but when used sparingly, it could generate miracles that even gods would struggle to argue against.
“Whoa, whoa? It’s real! I’m really walking!”
She helped a paralyzed person to stand.
“Cough, cough… Huh? What is this? It doesn’t… hurt?”
She healed someone who had been suffering from tuberculosis (though occasionally, one could hear their lungs making a “pyuu” sound while they slept).
“Hey! You! Where did you stash my money?”
“Eh? Granny, you remember me?”
“Yes, you! Bring me my money! My money!”
She restored the sanity of an elderly woman suffering from dementia.
‘What… is this supposed to be such a big deal?’
In a Gag World, such feats were so ordinary that it was a reflex to think that way, but she didn’t genuinely feel like that.
Deep down, she knew that recovery wasn’t supposed to come easily in the Dark Fantasy world.
Still, her complaints stemmed from how the villagers looked at her with awe; it was too burdensome, and she wanted to escape!
One might ask why she didn’t just run away… but there was a reason she couldn’t.
“Every time I try to run away, Pia’s on the verge of tears!”
Not just Pia, but the children and villagers all tried to cry as well. So, Lian reluctantly stood on the temple’s altar like a statue, watching as Pia healed their wounds.
‘If I hadn’t done that in the first place, it wouldn’t have come to this.’
In fact, the villagers’ faith in Lian had grown so strong that they revered him as a god, even making pilgrimages from neighboring villages—all because of his own blunders.
‘I never expected this!’
As Pia began to preach to the anxious villagers, divine power surged aggressively, causing the markings on her palm to become very vivid.
Though slightly different from the original design carved by the Dark Fantasy god, the tiny mark had grown to the size of an egg. Watching it glimmer beautifully in real-time made her curious about the extent of her powers, so she ventured to the back yard of the temple to try out her divine power while everyone was having their meals.
“…!”
As soon as she used her powers, the divine energy encompassed the sky, to the point where it swallowed the entire village and even covered nearby mountains—it was so holy that it birthed a new religion.
That day, everyone with slight ailments was cured, and a few experienced miracles. Lost eyesight returned, and severed legs were restored. Withered crops swayed beautifully, and monsters lurking in the mountains vanished as if evaporating.
Lian, feeling like he had accidentally turned on the sauna lights, quickly switched off the divine energy, but the aurora lingered for a while.
He tried to deny that it was him, but unfortunately, Pia caught him in the act, and for about three minutes, a halo formed above his head that he couldn’t hide.
The scenario didn’t end there. The next morning, animals from around began to come to the temple, bowing their heads while offering fruits as if it were a scene from a myth.
From that moment onward, no matter how much Lian insisted he wasn’t a god, he had become nothing more than a “human supplicant.”
‘Can we… leave soon?’
The temple, which had been managed just enough to look decent, became increasingly extravagant day by day. Stained glass featuring Lian’s face was erected, and the statue of the god was quietly moved to a corner storage, replaced with a statue that closely resembled Lian.
At this point, Lian wanted to cry and flee. He even thought about summoning a magic sword, like a fallen god of power, to get away from it all.
“Oooh, indeed! You are the true god who controls life and death!”
“Life and death go hand in hand, so I shall be with you after death, dear Lian!”
…Instead, he only ended up spawning more zealots. The magic sword fumed upon seeing the radiant temple.
[ This is not the true beauty! ]
The sword loathed and envied the divine power that had taken hold of Lian’s left hand, instantly transforming his pristine priest robes into glamorous and beautiful attire. The magical energy seeped out, changing the entire atmosphere. With expressions and actions shifting, he looked entirely different from when he donned the priest robes.
Wanting to stop any further fanaticism, Lian left the out-of-control magical sword alone. He hoped for at least a gasp of horror from the onlookers, but even a thunderstruck expression conveying “this isn’t the god I envisioned!” would do.
Expectations were swiftly dashed.
“Heugh… so… so beautiful…”
“Please, do not lead me into temptation…”
He had worked hard to appear as beautiful as the original protagonist, and people began to debate who was more beautiful: the god of death or the god of life—Lian in both forms.
It resembled an idol culture. In a world lacking entertainment, both the seductive version of Lian and the pure and gentle version became intensely stimulating elements.
Even in a contemporary world overflowing with stimulation, many were crazy for idols; without entertainment districts here, it spread to a religious frenzy.
Every day, more people came to the village to see Lian, who found himself half-locked away to evade the zealots. Jess, Pia, Noah, and even the other kids seemed to wear remarkably satisfied expressions for some reason.
They were pleased with his half-imprisoned state, knowing how easily Lian would throw himself into danger for others.
But Lian was wilting amid the insanity of the cult.
“Help… me…”
He was both pained by the lack of freedom and exhausted by the hopeful gazes on him. It was hard to tell them to stop enjoying themselves, especially as their happiness overflowed and the divine power continued to accumulate.
“If that’s the case, if it’s alright with you, shall we go to the Duke’s House—”
“I’ll go.”
“Eh?”
“Shall we head out now?”
Lian, now withering, immediately perked up at the knight’s suggestion of visiting the Duke’s House and nodded enthusiastically.
It was finally time to leave this place and send Iris back home!
‘Oh, didn’t I forget something important?’
He tried hard to remember what it was but couldn’t think of anything.
“Oh well! If it’s that important, I’ll remember later!”
Thinking lightly, he quickly packed his bags.
…It was only after arriving at the Duke’s House that Lian realized he had forgotten to tell Iris, “Actually, we’re not siblings.”
*
After the decision to head to the Duke’s House, the group split up. Pia formed a group with the children who firmly believed in the Lian Church, promising to spread its teachings, while about twenty people opted to settle in the village.
So, about 20 people remained.
‘Wait… there were this many believers?!’
Lian was shocked to find that over half of the remaining group believed in the Lian Church. Most of them were high-ranking officials, and since they had spent so much time with Lian like family, they hadn’t been swayed by the church.
“May this journey be safe.”
“Please help us avoid monsters.”
“…”
Of course, a minority of the officials did believe in the Lian Church. They would even blurt out that it was to witness the divine journey alongside Lian… reaching a state of enlightenment.
And thus, the journey towards the Duke’s House was set to begin again—until suddenly…
“Uh, um…?”
Lian stared at the four horses pulling a four-wheeled carriage. He pointed at the pitch-black carriage adorned with the image of a white tiger emblazoned on the side.
“We’re… riding in that?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
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