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Chapter 116: The Priests of the God of Lies and Deception (1)

“Is Arkamis alright?”

“She seems to be,”

Ketal answered Milena’s question.

A few days had passed, and Arkamis’s condition had gradually improved.

She wasn’t back to her usual self, but she could move around without much difficulty.

Milena sighed in relief.

“That’s a relief.”

“But something’s changed about her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her attitude has changed.”

Since then, Arkamis’s demeanor had become strangely familiar.

It was as if a barrier had been removed.

Not only that, she continuously spoke highly of the Elf’s sacred land.

The sudden change was odd, but Ketal didn’t pay much attention to it.

‘I don’t really understand, but it’s probably a good thing.’

Perhaps Arkamis had lowered one of her walls.

Ketal thought of it as becoming better friends.

Growing closer to someone from a fantasy world was a satisfying thought for him.

Ketal looked at Milena.

“You still seem very busy.”

A week had passed since the demon’s descent.

But Milena was still in a state of constant busyness.

Dark circles had formed under her eyes, and her hair was unkempt, possibly from not having the time to wash it properly.

Even as she spoke with Ketal, she was processing documents.

“Thanks to you, we avoided major damage, but it wasn’t insignificant either.”

The demon’s invasion had left the capital half-destroyed.

Buildings had collapsed, and many citizens had perished.

The Akasha family was the largest merchant family in the Denian Kingdom.

They employed a large number of people and owned many properties, suffering significant losses.

Milena had to sort out the damages, account for employees who lost their lives or homes, and handle workers’ compensation.

Requests for approvals and decisions were flying towards her relentlessly.

With a weary face, Milena spoke.

“The immediate problem is the shortage of supplies. External merchant groups are hesitant to come.”

The location of the demon’s descent.

There was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen again.

The capital of Denian Kingdom was deemed a very dangerous place.

Some residents were even packing up to flee to the countryside.

The kingdom was in a state of turmoil.

To stabilize things, money was needed.

Barbosa requested cooperation from the nobles.

It was less a request and more of a demand for money and supplies.

In a modern context, this would have been problematic, but this was a fantasy world, resembling the medieval times.

The absolute monarchy could suppress dissent with force.

Naturally, Milena also received a request for cooperation, adding to her stress.

“I see.”

Ketal found it interesting.

The descent of evil.

A world falling apart because of it.

Many creative works depict such stories, but rarely do they describe the aftermath in detail.

Usually, it’s glossed over with a brief mention of overcoming and rebuilding.

But this was reality.

It wasn’t a world that could be glossed over so easily.

It was no different from a war.

Things wouldn’t go back to normal smoothly.

Seeing it in reality was somewhat fascinating.

“It must be very tough.”

But that was from Ketal’s perspective; for Milena, it must have been unbearable.

She gave a wry smile.

“It’s tough, but we have to endure.”

It was a challenge she could overcome.

In fact, it could even be an opportunity.

The more the world shook, the more a merchant like her could profit.

She refocused on the documents.

After watching her for a moment, Ketal spoke.

“Do you need help?”

“What?”

“It looks like there’s too much for you to handle alone. You don’t seem to have anyone suitable to help you either.”

“Uh…”

Milena hesitated.

“I appreciate the offer, but, um, handling these documents is quite complicated. Are you sure you can manage?”

Ketal nodded.

“Of course. Despite appearances, I’ve received a long education.”

“In that case… could you help organize the list of lost goods from this incident?”

“Understood.”

Ketal nodded and accepted the stack of documents.

Milena looked at him curiously.

A barbarian handling paperwork with a pen was an incredible sight.

But that was the extent of her thoughts.

‘He’ll probably give up soon.’

Reading and writing were one thing; processing documents was another.

Even new recruits often took hours for simple tasks.

He’d likely quit out of difficulty and boredom.

Thinking this, Milena went back to her work.

An hour passed.

The towering stack of documents was gradually being sorted.

As Milena continued her work, she heard Ketal’s voice.

“I’m done.”

“What?”

Milena snapped to attention.

Ketal had been sorting through the documents.

“…You said you’re done?”

“Yes. There may be some errors, so it would be good to double-check.”

“Oh, yes. Sure.”

Milena took the stack of documents with a flustered expression.

Her eyes widened as she checked the contents.

“What… what?”

She was astonished.

The reason was simple.

The documents were impeccably organized.

There was nothing to critique.

In fact, they seemed more perfect than when she did them herself.

‘How?’

She had given him a large number of documents, thinking he would give up quickly.

It was enough work to keep even a seasoned employee busy for half a day.

And yet, he had completed it all in just one hour, and so perfectly?

“K-Ketal, how did you…?”

“The amount of data wasn’t very large, and the content was straightforward. It wasn’t difficult.”

Ketal nonchalantly bit into a fruit.

Milena stared at him, dumbfounded.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.”

She quickly looked away.

Thanks to Ketal, Milena was able to finish her work before midnight for the first time in a week.

Taking a much-needed break, she sipped her tea.

‘What kind of person is he?’

She gazed at Ketal with a look of wonder.

The more she knew about him, the less she understood.

Simply being a barbarian from the White Snow Plains couldn’t explain everything.

As she was about to ask something, Ketal spoke first.

“I heard there are problems not just here. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right,”

Milena nodded.

The world was in turmoil.

The descent of evil wasn’t just a problem for the Denian Kingdom.

While it was unusual for two named demons to descend simultaneously, minor conflicts were continually occurring. Milena spoke.

“I’ve heard that hidden black magic groups are starting to surface. Each religious order is preparing to respond.”

“Are there many religious orders?”

“Quite a few.”

“Interesting.”

Ketal’s face showed curiosity.

Milena found Ketal’s attitude intriguing.

Barbarians typically didn’t have a favorable view of gods.

For them, the only object of belief was strength.

They despised and scorned the idea of faith in separate entities like gods.

Thus, no gods were accepted in the northern lands where the barbarians lived.

While Ketal was certainly unique, his essence was still that of a barbarian.

Given his formidable strength, she had expected him to be indifferent or hostile towards gods, yet his attitude wasn’t like that at all.

His demeanor was almost friendly.

Intrigued, Milena remembered something.

“Come to think of it, I heard a religious order is coming to the Denian Kingdom to ask for help.”

“For help?”

Ketal looked puzzled.

“A place that serves a god is seeking the kingdom’s help?”

“Not all orders are large.”

Orders that served gods like the Sun God or the Earth Goddess were very influential, almost as much as the empire itself.

But there were many orders in this world.

Some were so small that they didn’t even have the influence of a minor kingdom.

Such places often received support from nearby kingdoms.

“I see.”

Ketal thought for a moment and then tilted his head in curiosity.

“I have a question that might be inappropriate. May I ask?”

“Oh, yes. Feel free.”

“You mentioned there are many orders, which means there are many gods. What exactly are gods?”

“…….”

Milena fell silent.

After a moment, she cautiously began to speak.

“Are you asking about the fundamental nature of gods?”

“As you know, I lived in the White Snow Plains. There are no gods there. So, I’m curious about what they are exactly.”

“Hmmm….”

Milena pondered for a while before starting her explanation.

“To be honest, we don’t really know.”

“Hmm?”

Ketal tilted his head at the unexpected answer.

“What do you mean you don’t know? Aren’t they beings you worship and follow?”

“That’s true, but they are fundamentally shrouded in mystery.”

Gods had existed since before humans appeared in this world.

They watched over the earth, and when they could no longer tolerate the tyranny of evil, they descended to banish it.

Since then, those who worship the gods have settled on earth.

That was all they knew about the gods.

“Since the ancient war between gods and demons, they have never directly exerted their power on earth. Even when they do intervene, it’s through revelations or granting divine power to their followers. They never descend themselves.”

The gods did not interfere much on earth.

Even if their own order was on the brink of destruction, they would only provide a revelation or appoint a saint.

This didn’t change even if the order was destroyed.

Ketal stroked his chin, intrigued.

“Interesting.”

“The actions of such great beings are beyond human understanding.”

Milena quickly changed the subject, as if discussing it made her uncomfortable.

“In any case, I heard that a religious order has come here seeking help.”

“But it doesn’t seem like we are in a position to help anyone right now.”

They still hadn’t fully addressed the damages.

Many soldiers and knights had died, making it difficult to even guard the borders.

“They must be in a very urgent situation. It seems they’ve been going around to various places, not just here.”

Being a merchant, Milena heard all sorts of rumors.

It wasn’t hard for her to track the movements of the religious order that had come to the capital.

“Which god does this order worship?”

“Uh…”

Milena replied with an uncertain expression.

“The god of lies and deception, Kalosia.”

“…Oh?”

Ketal’s expression turned even more intrigued.

* * *

“Ugh.”

An old man groaned as he got off a carriage.

He grumbled as he stepped down.

“Hey, you could help this old man out, you know.”

“You’re probably sturdier than I am, what are you talking about?”

A black-haired girl scoffed at the old man’s words.

He sighed.

“My child, you’ve become so rough from working as a mercenary. It makes me so sad.”

“I’ve always been like this.”

The girl grumbled as she got off the carriage.

She looked around.

“This is the Denian Kingdom, right?”

“Yes. It looks more intact than I expected. I thought it would be in ruins after two demons descended.”

“Indeed.”

The girl gazed at the capital, muttering anxiously.

“What if we get rejected here as well?”

“We might all die. There’s not much we can do. We might end up being recorded as the last order serving Kalosia.”

“Stop making such unsettling remarks.”

“Well, to avoid that, you need to do your best.”

“Ugh. Why do I have to bear such a heavy responsibility? I just want to go back to the Barkan estate and work as a mercenary…”

The girl bit her nails with a worried expression.

The old man smiled gently.

“Whatever happens, we have to give it a try. Let’s go in, Heize.”