Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 122: Priests of the God of Lies and Deception (7)

“Hmm?”

Ketal was puzzled by her reaction.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, though.”

“Th-then why are you leaving? It’s because I did something wrong, right?”

Arkamis’ expression became extremely desperate.

She stammered with a worried face.

“Why, why, why? Did I do something wrong? If there’s something bothersome, I’ll fix it. I’m sorry.”

“Calm down.”

Ketal said in a calm voice.

“It’s not your fault. Something has come up.”

Ketal explained.

He had a connection with a priest whose holy sanctuary was under attack by evil forces.

He was leaving Denian’s capital to help.

Hearing this, Arkamis’ expression slowly calmed.

She stepped back with an embarrassed look.

“Oh, is that so? I thought I did something wrong.”

“There’s nothing like that. You’ve been very kind to me.”

“That’s a relief.”

Arkamis let out a sigh of relief.

She truly thought Ketal was leaving because she did something wrong.

With the misunderstanding cleared and her heart calmed for a moment, Arkamis’ face suddenly turned bright red.

‘Ah, oh no.’

She really thought it was her fault.

That’s why she clung to Ketal almost pleadingly.

Looking back at her actions, she felt very embarrassed.

“So, what’s your relationship with that priest? How long have you known them?”

She asked with a cough, clearly wanting to forget her previous behavior.

Ketal smiled and said.

“When I was a mercenary, we handled a few requests together. They were a comrade from that time.”

“…Hmm? Just that?”

Arkamis was puzzled.

Would he go to the holy sanctuary to help just for that?

“That’s right.”

“……”

Arkamis was momentarily speechless.

But she soon accepted it.

‘He’s a barbarian of the White Snowfields, after all.’

She knew well enough that Ketal had a unique personality.

There was no reason to be surprised now.

“So, dark mages are attacking a god’s holy sanctuary? They must be determined.”

“It seems to be quite rare.”

“Rare? I’ve never even heard of it.”

Arkamis shook her head.

“A god’s holy sanctuary is a place directly managed by the god. The site itself is protected by divine power, so most evils can’t even enter.”

“Interesting.”

“Attacking such a site… What are they planning?”

Attacking a god’s holy sanctuary made no sense. Even demons wouldn’t gain anything from it. If they attacked a human kingdom instead, it might make sense, but this was incomprehensible.

“Do you know which god it is?”

“It’s the god of lies and deception, Kalosia.”

“…Huh?”

Arkamis paused.

“Kalosia? That god?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm… No, it’s nothing. It probably doesn’t matter.”

“It seems like there’s some issue with the god Kalosia.”

Milena and Barbosa also reacted oddly to the name Kalosia.

‘Is it because it’s the god of lies and deception?’

Despite this, Naplas and Heize didn’t seem to have any problems.

Ketal’s comment made Arkamis flustered.

“Wait, you don’t know?”

“I’m a barbarian of the White Snowfields.”

“…Oh.”

Arkamis had a face of realization.

“Right. I assumed you’d know because even an elf like me knows this.”

Arkamis began to explain.

“A god is an entity that governs its domain. And the followers of that god are composed accordingly.”

The followers of the sun god worship the sun and love the daylight.

The followers of the earth goddess cherish and nurture the earth.

The priests of the god of strength revere strength and train their bodies.

And the priests of the god of lies and deception love lies and deception.

Ketal stroked his chin.

“So, they use lies and deception without hesitation.”

“They used to. That caused quite a few problems.”

The priests of the god of lies and deception, Kalosia, traveled the world causing all kinds of trouble.

They rigged dice and hid card numbers.

They deceived people’s eyes and effortlessly wielded the poison of lies with their tongues.

They disguised even the god they believed in and hid their true identities.

They spewed meaningless lies and committed all sorts of deception.

They deceived kings and bewildered nobles.

And the priests of Kalosia were proud of it.

Ketal’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“Something like that happened.”

“At one time, they accumulated so much bad karma that there was even talk of designating them as an evil god.”

“They don’t seem to show any signs of that now.”

Neither Naplas nor Heize used lies or deception on Ketal.

Arkamis spoke.

“In the end, things got out of hand. Every kingdom and church attacked them. The Kalosia Church was quite powerful at the time, but they couldn’t withstand it.”

The Kalosia Church eventually surrendered.

They suppressed their lies and deception, becoming ordinary priests of the god.

“After that, the Church’s power significantly diminished.”

That is the history of the Kalosia Church.

“I haven’t heard any recent news about them, so there shouldn’t be any problems now.”

But history cannot be erased.

The deeds of the Kalosia Church at that time were clearly recorded.

Even though the Church shrank and lost much of its power, they became the object of fear and wariness for people.

Ketal laughed.

“Interesting.”

He wasn’t very interested in history, but if it was a fantasy story, it was different.

It was an interesting tale.

“In any case… it’s a good deed.”

He was going to help a holy sanctuary being invaded by evil.

It was a very noble act, worthy of everyone’s applause and praise.

“It is a good deed… but.”

But Arkamis had a conflicted face.

‘This messes up my plan.’

She never thought Ketal would leave her side.

She had taken it for granted that he would stay by her side.

She only planned to achieve her goal using the iridescent grains and lure Ketal back to the elven holy sanctuary.

But Ketal was leaving her.

Considering the reason, she couldn’t stop him.

After a moment of hesitation, she subtly asked.

“What about alchemy? You’ve worked so hard to learn it, are you giving up? Isn’t that a waste?”

“I think so too, but.”

Arkamis’ face brightened.

But the following words made her face fall instantly.

“I’ve organized some books, so I plan to self-study while I’m away. Didn’t you say it’s more helpful to do things yourself than to learn from others?”

“Y-yes, I did.”

‘Why did I say that?’

She regretted her words.

She wanted to follow Ketal, but she couldn’t.

The iridescent grains had to be handled delicately.

They couldn’t be researched without a proper workshop.

After some hesitation, her eyes darkened.

“Ketal.”

She made a decision.

“I have something to say.”

“What is it?”

Arkamis took a deep breath.

Her golden eyes, shining brightly, looked at Ketal.

Just as she was about to speak, the wind blew.

Boom!

A loud noise came from the yard in front of the house.

It was the sound of something colliding.

Ketal muttered.

“Another demon?”

“N-no? It’s not that.”

Arkamis was flustered.

She didn’t sense any demonic energy.

In fact, it was the complete opposite of demonic energy.

The wind flowed in through the cracks in the door and windows.

It was filled with the energy of nature.

Arkamis’ eyes widened.

“No way.”

She quickly rushed out.

Ketal followed her.

The yard was completely wrecked by the fierce wind.

And in the center of it stood a man.

Ketal whistled.

“Handsome.”

He had a flawless, perfect face.

The masculine contours indicated that he was a man.

And his ears were clearly different from those of a human.

‘Are all male elves this androgynous and handsome?’

Are there no slightly more masculine handsome types?

I’d like to see a muscular elf sometime.

Ketal casually thought such things.

And Arkamis’ eyes widened in shock.

“You, you!”

“There you are, Lady Arkamis.”

A deep voice resonated.

The man looked at Arkamis and spoke.

“Did you enjoy your time in the human world? But I can’t let this go on any longer.”

The man stood up.

His green hair swayed.

“The world is dangerous. I can’t leave Lady Arkamis in the dangerous outside world any longer.”

The man extended his hand.

“Come with me. Let’s return to our holy sanctuary, Elfo Sagrado.”

* * *

The suddenly appeared elf asked Arkamis to return with him.

Arkamis, momentarily flustered, shouted.

“What do you mean, coming here out of the blue and saying that!”

Arkamis seemed to recognize the male elf.

She frowned.

“I have no intention of going back. I clearly said that when I left.”

“It didn’t matter before. I just thought it was a tantrum from you and accepted it. But not anymore.”

The man narrowed his eyes.

“The world is shaking. Lady Arkamis, you are a High Elf. I can’t leave you in this filthy outside world any longer. Come with me.”

“I clearly said no.”

Arkamis spoke coldly.

The man sighed.

“Then I have no choice. I apologize, but please forgive my rudeness.”

With those words, wind gathered around the man.

Arkamis roughly drew in mana.

Just as a clash was about to occur,

“Sorry to interrupt while you’re talking about something you both know.”

Ketal intervened.

“But I’d like to know what’s going on as well.”

“K-Ketal.”

Arkamis’ eyes wavered.

She hesitated, stopping the mana she was gathering.

The man frowned.

“…Barbarian. Why is someone like you by Lady Arkamis’ side?”

“Right. You and I don’t know each other, do we? It would be good to have a conversation first.”

“No.”

The man cut him off sharply.

“There’s no need.”

At the same time, wind rose up around Ketal, enveloping him.

Ketal’s eyes widened.

“Oh?”

“A barbarian like you should not meddle in the affairs of elves.”

The man completely shut Ketal out.

The wind barrier he created was extremely powerful.

Even a formidable warrior would have difficulty breaking through it.

The man tried to resume his conversation with Arkamis.

But Ketal smiled.

“Let’s not be so hasty.”

Ketal lightly snapped his fingers.

Boom!

“What!”

The wind barrier surrounding Ketal exploded.

The man hurriedly stepped back, eyes wide.

“You, you!”

“Didn’t they say most problems can be solved through conversation? How about we sit down and talk leisurely?”

Ketal said calmly.