Chapter 290
"Aphoom-Zhah. I'm telling you I didn't do it on purpose."
[......]
"I can't help getting severe motion sickness from teleportation magic aftereffects."
[So you soiled this body's clothes?]
"I didn't want to either. But anyway, those clothes are made with magical power. You can clean them quickly, right? I'll lend you magical power, magical power."
[So the believer did nothing wrong, is that it? Unbeliever! Unbeliever bastard! See if I ever use teleportation magic for the believer again!]
"No, you know that's not what I an."
After vomiting on Aphoom-Zhah's clothes, he maintained a distance of over one ter from him.
Aphoom-Zhah's anger, as if vomiting on a god's garnts was so trendous blasphemy, wasn't easily appeased.
Well, it was blasphemy. But did blasphemy even make sense between them?
"But your believer is human! Humans can't help it!"
[A characteristic all humans have?]
"Yes! If you have semicircular canals, you get motion sickness, and if you have a digestive system, you have to vomit what's not digested! Living as a human is hard, you know? My body doesn't move the way I want it to!"
Aphoom-Zhah hesitated and fell into thought for a mont.
Had his passionate plea worked?
Just as he was thinking that, Aphoom-Zhah looked him over from head to toe and spat out.
[I see. Believer. This body shall bestow one blessing upon you.]
"Suddenly? What blessing?"
[If you give your body to this body, you won't have to troublesoly operate a human body anymore either. Hand it over. Right now.]
"...Actually, I like troubleso things."
[Hand it over! Give the blasphemous believer's body!]
"I won't! I can't! More importantly, think about where we've co to now!"
Right after Aphoom-Zhah used teleportation magic, gentle air wrapped around his whole body instead of Asgard's cold.
First, it seed right that they had left Asgard.
But he didn't know if this was really Aquilonia.
Even if he tried to explain about coordinates and such to Aphoom-Zhah who didn't understand,
Aphoom-Zhah had just awakened, so he wouldn't be able to distinguish whether this was Aquilonia or not.
"Where exactly is this? Where did we teleport to?"
[I don't know. Since you said you ca from a place called Aquilonia, I ca to where the believer's magical power remained most.]
It must be Aquilonia, right? It was probably Aquilonia.
Since he hadn't left Aquilonia after awakening.
...Right? Why did he feel so anxious?
"That's why you should have stopped when I told you to. I said we needed to check the coordinates."
[Believer, are you perhaps the type who blas others when falling in water while stealing their bundle? It's bad to cheat gods.]
What was he babbling about?
Leaving Aphoom-Zhah who had begun lanting about 'the plight of a god suffering with a blasphemous believer,' he looked around.
The place they had fallen was in the middle of a forest. All forests looked the sa, making it hard to distinguish.
"Should we pick a direction and go down for now?"
[Where are we going, believer?]
"Won't the forest end if we go down? I think we'll have to walk until we et a private house or travelers."
[Hmm.]
Fortunately, Aphoom-Zhah stopped complaining and followed obediently.
They walked slowly and leisurely, but hiking was still hiking. It took twice as much effort as walking on flat ground.
Moreover, his mind was a bit complicated.
First, because Yurik wasn't here, and second, because he didn't think he could return to Aquilonia's royal castle.
If Yurik had been beside him, he would have known where this was just by looking around,
But right now, only a god with even less common sense than him was accompanying him.
So in the end, he had to stay sharp.
Second, Aquilonia's royal castle.
Yurik had volunteered to stay in Asgard, but he wondered how it would look to others.
He was 3rd Prince Yurik's guest, and at the sa ti a suspicious person whose identity Yurik had specially guaranteed.
Such a person went to Asgard and ca back alone without the 3rd Prince?
He would have no excuse even if dragged straight to prison.
So he couldn't go to the royal castle, and in the end, what he could do right now was handle things at the Leng Plateau with Aphoom-Zhah's help, then go back to Asgard to find Yurik...
Ah. Wasn't this too inefficient? Was there no route to handle things faster?
He scratched his tangled hair by himself and gave up thinking.
No matter how much he squeezed his brain alone, there was a limit to what he could think of. Besides, he wasn't particularly smart.
Then there was no choice. He had to borrow others' help.
First, he would find the inn where Cellinne, Dardin, Eva, and Valter were staying and explain the situation.
And tell them he was ready to stop the rampaging demons at the Leng Plateau.
He shouldn't forget to ntion that he needed to go find Yurik in Asgard too.
Then wouldn't Dardin or Eva co up with so good ideas?
They might get a little angry... but in the end, it was sothing he had discussed with Yurik.
If necessary, he would use Yurik as a shield.
While he was thinking this and working his brain hard,
[Believer.]
"What?"
[I sll blood.]
"...Blood? Human?"
[I don't know that much.]
"Which direction?"
Aphoom-Zhah pointed in a direction. It wasn't the way they were going. If they entered there, they might get lost.
Still, the reason he stopped was because Aphoom-Zhah wouldn't have stopped him over just a simple 'sll of blood.'
They walked stealthily, killing their footsteps and presence as much as possible.
Being careful not to get caught on branches or roots, after walking for a while,
Suddenly the forest ended and a wide field appeared.
The movent of plants swaying in the breeze felt refreshing.
His good mood from discovering a hidden fairytale-like place was brief.
A long wooden staff lying beside a rock near the boundary between forest and field caught his eye.
When he went to pick it up, it had uniform thickness, the bark was smoothly polished, and above all, the top was shiny.
It seed like sothing soone had used to support their body.
"Is there a village here?"
[I don't know about that. But the sll of blood has gotten stronger.]
This was driving him crazy. It was even further from here?
His heart beca a bit anxious.
Did he have ti for this? The ti when those things would pour out of the Leng Plateau was approaching day by day.
In a situation where he needed to quickly return and consult with Dardin or Eva, why did side quest-like events keep happening?
This was subtly getting on his nerves.
While he glared for a mont holding the staff, Aphoom-Zhah asked.
[Believer, you seem very uncomfortable.]
"Actually, I don't have ti. Moreover, if it's the sll of blood, violence must have been involved, and I wonder if I should interfere in such matters."
[Then wouldn't it be fine to leave it and go? Those giving off the sll of blood won't know of your existence either. Then wouldn't it be right to give up here and return to the path we were going?]
"That's true, but isn't it a bit unsettling?"
[What is?]
"I can't pinpoint it exactly but..."
[Believer. This body only said it slled blood. Can you distinguish whether it's blood shed by an animal caught by a predator, or a human killed by robbers? Blood is just blood.]
Blood was just blood.
Even while he mulled over those words, Aphoom-Zhah lectured him.
[Even if there's a human who suffered cruel treatnt ahead, it wouldn't be right for that person to bla the believer. Isn't that so? Right now, that human wouldn't even perceive the believer's existence.]
"That's true."
[This is the believer's choice and freedom, simultaneously the believer's goodwill. Is there any human who forces goodwill? If it goes against the believer's circumstances, just go. There's no one who would bla the believer for leaving this place now.]
Every word was right.
If he compared the value of saving soone who might be in danger with a fight over Aquilonia's survival,
The latter's value was overwhelmingly higher.
Moreover, there was no rit for him.
He didn't know under what circumstances the injured person was hurt, and threats might still remain nearby.
Moreover, even if he could successfully remove the threat sohow, there would be nothing good for him.
It wasn't like he had an obligation to save that person.
He might get involved in troubleso matters.
While he looked down at the staff and saved his words, Aphoom-Zhah spoke kindly.
[Let's just go back, believer. The matters the believer bears seem weighty. Throw away that old piece of wood.]
"Hmm."
[What's wrong? Did you forget the way back in the anti? This body rembers everything. Don't worry.]
Though Aphoom-Zhah kept urging him, he still felt like sothing was holding his ankle.
Ugh. Even if it made him seem like a pushover, he couldn't help it.
"No. ...I should go see who's giving off the sll of blood ahead after all."
[Why? You have no responsibility for that, do you?]
"You're right. That's true but."
Honestly, he agreed with Aphoom-Zhah's opinion to a considerable extent.
Should he say he had beco numb to others' pain from living so long? He had also beco less interested in others' circumstances.
He didn't feel like having deep interest in the hardships one other person experienced.
But no matter how much he thought about it.
"When Shub-Niggurath's seal was broken and I ca out to Aquilonia, there was the first human I t."
He rembered when Cellinne misunderstood him washing in water as being robbed and took him to the campsite.
When he said he had no clothes, Bailies also gave him half a cloak.
Of course, it was practically half-extorted by Cellinne, but afterward, they didn't demand he imdiately return the half-cloak he wore.
When he went to the campsite, everyone gladly welcod him too.
If Cellinne and Bailies had ignored him and passed by then.
"They helped when they'd never t before. Because I know people who can act that way exist, I'm probably still thinking I should prevent Aquilonia's destruction."
He wouldn't have t Yurik or gone to Asgard to retrieve Aphoom-Zhah.
So it wasn't an exaggeration to say he could stand here talking with Aphoom-Zhah all because of the kindness of Cellinne, Bailies, Eva, Dardin, and Valter.
So at least while standing on Aquilonian soil, shouldn't he return the kindness he received?
If he could save an Aquilonian person, eventually they too would have a chance to help soone.
Then Cellinne, Eva, Dardin, and Valter might benefit from it.
Since this country was so small, it might not be an empty delusion.
"So, I want to go after all."
[Believer, sotis excessive goodwill becos poison.]
"Haha. If you want to kill , re poison won't be enough."
Had he heard of a stomach trained by poisonous mushrooms?
For the goodwill he showed to kill him, it would have to at least wear Yurik's appearance.
Aphoom-Zhah still stared at him like soone solving a secret, then readily agreed.
[My believer had a reckless side. But this body likes it. Go ahead.]
"Really?"
[What do you fear? Believer, don't you have this body? I shall beco your strength.]
Though he was a god who always whined and fell into depression at the drop of a hat, he was really grateful at tis like this.
It seed even more so because he keenly realized he was useless without Aphoom-Zhah's power.
In the end, they crossed the field and continued forward.
Walking in the direction Aphoom-Zhah indicated, a small village appeared in the distance.
It was smaller than villages he had commonly seen. It was probably closer to a hamlet where just a few households lived together.
The sll of blood ca from there? Had bandits really attacked?
But when he ca close enough to visually confirm the village interior, he realized his thinking was wrong.
Destroyed houses. Trampled fences. Rotten stench.
Corpses rolling in the streets. Blood soaked black into the ground.
This wasn't sothing bandits would do. Not robbers either. This, this was clearly.
Aphoom-Zhah spoke dryly from behind.
[There's a foul sll. Believer, sothing has co and gone. That which we already know.]
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