Chapter 8
The Holy War was averted, and the encounter with Bella had also concluded successfully.
There had been a major crisis of identity confusion in the middle, but thankfully, it had been resolved somehow.
Now, then.
-Clatter. Clatter.
I was inside a high-class chariot made of magic engineering, being nursed by Belladis.
‘This is uncomfortable.’
The damage I suffered from enduring the Black Sun bastard’s attack had healed itself.
But the feeling of blood-soaked clothes clinging to my skin was extremely unpleasant.
I wanted to change clothes, or at least wash up.
But the situation wouldn’t allow it.
“.....”
A silence had settled since the moment I entered the chariot.
A soft warmth supported the back of my head, and a pleasant fragrance lingered around my nose for a while.
And then, a stinging gaze pierced my face directly.
Since there was only one other person in the chariot besides me, the owner of the gaze was obvious.
‘Hey you.’
It had been an hour since I started feigning unconsciousness.
Our Bella was still looking down at me silently.
It was a moment of truly heavy attention.
I had no choice but to manipulate the status window with my eyes closed.
[You have successfully prevented the Holy War through your heroic efforts!]
[Rewards are being distributed.]
[Reward: Constellation Community Activation]
[Through this community, you can communicate and interact with other Constellations who are observing the world.]
‘Oh.’
Just as I was thinking about what to do with the Black Sun's Incarnation, a good reward list was presented.
It was even a new community window that I hadn't seen in the Game.
As soon as I checked the tab, a structure similar to the community window I used with other users greeted me.
[Contact another Constellation to activate the community window.]
Another Constellation.
There was that guy making a fuss in the message window, wasn't there?
I chose the name without hesitation.
[Would you like to send a friend request to the Constellation, 'Black Sun's Incarnation'? ]
‘Hey.’
[The 'Black Sun's Incarnation' is responding.]
‘Accept the friend request.’
And then, the friend list was activated immediately.
As of today, the Black Sun's Incarnation and I became friends.
Could it truly be called an equal relationship?
If I wanted to, I could turn his Religious Order into ruins in a single day.
The important thing was that I now had a means to easily and quickly contact him without having to directly deal with him.
[Black Sun's Incarnation: Wh, what is this?]
‘Huh?’
Then, the guy’s messages started popping up in the prepared community window.
[Black Sun's Incarnation: Y, you! What did you do to me!]
‘What did I do?’
I allowed your existence to continue and stopped the Holy War.
Shouldn't you be thanking me?
A feeling of annoyance welled up.
‘Should I inflict it again?’
[....No!]
The Black Sun's Incarnation hurriedly stopped me.
Yeah. That’s how it should be.
It seemed that the Constellation Community meant a means to directly communicate with Constellations.
Until now, it had only sent noisy warnings through the message window, but now it felt like a full-fledged conversation.
I could do it with other Constellations too, right?
‘So.’
[Black Sun's Incarnation: ....?]
‘Shouldn’t we have a little chat now?’
A very important fact.
I still hadn’t properly grasped how this world worked.
[Black Sun's Incarnation: I, I've said all I have to say.]
‘What? What did you say? Anything other than whining for help?’
[Black Sun's Incarnation: ....]
‘Elaborate a bit more.’
Most of the Religious Order’s facilities were deactivated, and our Followers were preparing to wreak havoc all over the world.
I wanted to move around and find out myself, but I only had one body.
No matter how broken the System was, there was a limit to the amount of information I could gather at once.
The Holy War against the Black Sun had stopped for now, but the power I had established was vast enough to encompass the entire world.
That was because I had put in so much effort playing the Game.
According to the information obtained from the System and the relevant Constellation, my Religious Order was currently in great turmoil.
[Black Sun's Incarnation: I don't know the specifics, but...]
The Black Sun's Incarnation spoke haltingly, as if racking his brain.
[I know that the other Constellations, who were hiding their presence and waiting for an opportunity, have made their move.]
‘Other Constellations?’
[I, I don't know much. I heard it through the grapevine.]
The Constellations who knew me wouldn't do such a thing, so were they newly emerged ones?
‘Huh.’
To prevent me from getting bored, they've prepared such a big event. I'm already excited.
While I was leisurely fiddling with the settings window, I felt Belladis's presence.
“...Ah.”
A sigh filled with sorrowful emotion.
I wanted to open my eyes and see what she was doing, but I couldn’t abandon my persona at this point.
Belladis Rochellia.
In the Game, my heart melted at her unique charms.
While she was always cold and blunt to others, she would subtly smile at me and express her own feelings.
The so-called gap moe.
Such a person now existed perfectly in this world.
Even though she was right in front of me, I couldn't speak to her, nor could I touch her.
‘Why can’t I enjoy this?’
It was all because of the Black Sun bastards, who caused chaos with their mere existence.
[Black Sun's Incarnation: ....]
“Lord God, my Lord God.”
The back of my head was quite soft and warm.
It was Belladis’s special thigh cushion.
A place prepared only for me, which no one else in this world could enjoy.
“Please open your eyes and look upon this humble servant. And.”
Bella spoke so earnestly, not knowing what to do.
“Please punish this disgusting mongrel.”
‘...Excuse me?’
My thoughts froze at the sudden self-deprecating remark.
-Drip. Drip.
It was around then that droplets began to fall on my forehead.
‘…Tears?’
“I swore to dedicate my life to my Lord God, I clearly made a blood oath.”
Belladis's voice was now filled with sadness.
“Sob...! Please scold me for not recognizing my master and even daring to bare my fangs...!”
She was grieving.
Belladis, who always smiled brightly in the Game,
was shedding tears because of me.
‘This isn’t right.’
What I wanted to create was a dramatic reunion, a miraculous moment.
Not the tears of my favorite character.
-Swipe.
A cold sensation touched my cheek.
It was Bella's hand.
“H, How much you must have suffered. My ignorant mind cannot even begin to imagine. It's, it's so frightening.”
She, who had returned to her usual Belladis self from a devoted Follower, spoke.
Unlike earlier, when she had to forcibly show a strong Follower's appearance in front of others,
Now, there were only the two of us in the chariot.
That’s why she could let her guard down.
‘Ah, it’s because of you.’
All I could do in that situation was to shift the blame entirely onto someone else.
[Black Sun's Incarnation: Wh, what did I...]
‘If you guys hadn't drawn aggro, I wouldn't have been attacked, and it would have ended peacefully. Agree?’
[Black Sun's Incarnation: No, the Holy War was unilaterally―]
‘Huh? Talking back? Want the Curse back?’
[Black Sun's Incarnation: How can you be so unreasonable...!]
At this rate, I would look like too much of a bad guy, so I just made the Black Sun's Incarnation cry as well.
[The Constellation, 'Black Sun's Incarnation' is utterly astonished by your tyranny!]
[Due to the Constellation's response, you acquire a massive amount of Faith Level!]
Bad guy, bad bastard.
How dare you make my Follower cry?
[The Follower, 'Belladis Rochellia' worships you deeply in her heart.]
“I love you deeply in my heart. I love you, my Lord God.”
[The Follower, 'Belladis Rochellia' adores you deep within her heart.]
“Just seeing you like this in reality, my heart races as if I'm walking on air. I feel like I'm going to lose my mind...”
[Due to the Follower's Prayer, you acquire a massive amount of Faith Level!]
‘No.’
This wasn’t what I was aiming for.
Bella was still continuing her confession.
“But. I, I shouldn’t dare, right...? How dare a lowly mongrel like me, who couldn’t even recognize her master and put him in danger. I can’t do that, right…?”
‘No. It’s okay to stay like this.’
“And everyone there saw such disgraceful behavior. I’m going to be punished, sob...! I have no reason to live anymore...!”
The tears that had been falling like drizzle were now pouring down on my face like a downpour.
My face, suddenly drenched with my Follower's tears, felt strangely refreshing.
If I left her alone, she would erode her self-esteem to the depths of the abyss.
‘It’s time.’
At this point, I needed to forcibly stop her self-blame.
You've suffered while I was gone.
It felt strange to say this after abandoning her myself, but it wasn't intentional.
‘I thought she'd be happy like Lisia.’
It was my fault for not considering each Follower’s personality.
“Mmm...”
First, I’ll start the engine.
“....!”
Bella flinched and trembled as I showed signs of waking up.
It seemed she was afraid of what was about to happen.
I didn't even want to do this.
“Bel...la...?”
Opening my blurry eyes, I saw Bella's face looking down at me from directly in front.
How can her face shine even from this angle?
I want to shout to everyone, 'This is my Follower!'
“Oh, Father God...!”
She had already placed my head on her thigh and didn't know what to do.
I was very sorry. Truly sorry.
But, I lifted the back of my head from Belladis’s thigh and sat up properly.
“Where...?”
First, I pretended not to know.
“Th-This is the Religious Order's chariot, Lord God...!”
“Ah.”
“Are you hurt anywhere, uh...”
Belladis frantically checked my complexion, then hesitated, seemingly consumed by guilt.
First, I felt the need to alleviate that guilt.
“Hurt, ah...”
Pretending to examine my wounds in response to her concern, I then smiled as if everything was alright.
“Completely healed. I’m fine now.”
“I-I'm sorry. Please, punish me severely...”
“Why? Belladis handled things well.”
“I didn’t recognize my own master and even put you in danger, Lord God. That sin can never be washed away...!”
Consumed by intense self-hatred, Belladis exuded a melancholic aura, unable to even meet my eyes.
[Warning! Follower ‘Belladis Rochellia’ is experiencing self-hatred.]
[Penalties applied to the Follower’s Abilities.]
‘I know, I know.’
Checking the Ability window that appeared so obnoxiously, I saw negative values just like with Lisia.
I absolutely cannot stand by and watch my Follower's Abilities decrease.
After all the effort I put into raising them.
[Warning! If the penalty persists, there will be a permanent Ability decline.]
‘Absolutely not.’
“I’m worthless trash...!”
“Bella.”
Unable to bear seeing Belladis shed another tear, I called her name with a firm tone.
“...?”
“You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“But...!”
“The one who fed you false information and put the Religious Order in danger is—”
The reason I lifted the Black Sun’s Curse.
The reason I stubbornly let their power continue to exist.
“—All because of the Black Sun's machinations.”
[Black Sun's Incarnation: What...?!]
‘If I spared you, you have to work.’
The price for my forgiveness is simple.
Just keep being the villain.
“B-But...”
Bella looked at me with wavering eyes.
Shaken, but she couldn’t easily shake off her guilt.
It seems her feelings for me were truly heavy.
“As much as Bella loves me, I also love Bella.”
“...?!”
Confusion spread across her previously gloomy, tearful face.
And soon, her eyes met mine, filled with surprise.
‘Yes. This is it.’
Give as much as you receive.
The most essential element in managing Followers.
What I’m talking about is the most basic of business basics.
I put on a business smile and attempted to rectify Bella's turbulent heart.
“Because the Bella I love is in pain, I’m also in pain.”
“L-Lord God!”
“The place where I was hit doesn’t hurt at all, but my heart aches so much.”
“Uh...?!”
Honestly expressing my feelings, the guilt-ridden vampire Follower didn’t know what to do.
“How, how dare I...”
Hmm.
“Well, there’s nothing I can do. This Constellation will die.”
At my words, Bella’s expression crumbled as if the world had ended.
Well, who told you to resist?
Making me resort to the last resort.
“N-No! Lord God! I was wrong… Please don’t leave.”
“Shall we stop this now?”
“Y-Yes.”
To my gently offered hand of reconciliation, one faithful Follower clung like it was a lifeline.
“Okay, good.”
To put an end to this strange quarrel, I gently pulled Bella’s shoulder.
“...?”
Unable to even think of refusing, she yielded to the pulling force.
And the place she landed was...
“...?!”
My embrace.
A hug. A free hug for my Follower.
Since she lent me her thigh earlier, it was a form of repayment.
“I absolve you of your sins.”
[Follower ‘Belladis Rochellia’'s penalties have been removed.]
Having come this far, Belladis no longer belittled herself.
She trembled slightly, momentarily immersed in the afterglow.
***
After a brief atonement time.
My head was once again resting on Belladis’s lap, now as a pillow.
I gave what I received.
But she insisted I receive again.
At Belladis’s firm demand, I had no choice.
I really had no choice but to entrust my head to her.
[Black Sun's Incarnation: ....]
‘Why, what? Jealous?’
He would be jealous.
That Religious Order is filled with a gloomy, hopeless, and dark atmosphere.
They could only dream of a fluffy and warm exchange like this.
Meanwhile, Belladis, having impulsively placed my head on her thigh, was still hesitating and unsure of what to do next.
‘Do as you please.’
Having already resolved the awkwardness, I didn’t feel any resistance.
As I was enjoying this leisurely healing time.
[Warning! A ‘Neutral’ force is approaching.]
-Clatter!
‘Ugh.’
A sudden stop accompanied the incomprehensible message.
The chariot’s abrupt halt almost sent me tumbling to the floor.
If it weren’t for the soft embrace that quickly secured my head, I would have fallen ignominiously.
‘Oh.’
My mind went blank for a moment, lost in the soft, heavenly sensation.
I immediately opened the Map to check the situation.
‘This is...’
Around the green dots of my forces, smoothly moving away from the Black Sun Cult’s territory, orange dots had now gathered.
-Orange.
The color between green, representing allies, and red, representing hostile forces.
In other words, a sign that they could become either friend or foe depending on future actions.
‘What is this?’
“...Lord God. Just a moment.”
Carefully placing my head on the chariot seat, Belladis immediately went outside.
As soon as she left, I lifted my head and looked out the window.
“Ah.”
The flag flying high in the sky, and the emblem that emerged, was…
【Regarium Kingdom】
The emblem matched the one I knew.
The force that maintained a cooperative relationship with our Religious Order in the Game.
‘But why?’
Why weren’t they welcoming our Religious Order but instead radiating a confrontational aura?
Especially that man at the forefront of the force.
The man wearing the Kingdom's brilliant armor, with a solemn expression, was…
A considerably influential character in the Game.
-Ricardo Baltar.
The Kingdom's Knight Commander, and one who had risen to the position of Sword Saint.
A name that was always mentioned among the strongest in the world, and an NPC with genuinely formidable combat power.
Back when I was a baby Constellation, he helped me a great deal.
Back when the Religious Order was weak and the only thing I had to offer was the Constellation’s authority.
We benefited greatly from Quests with the Regarium Kingdom.
“Ah.”
As I reminisced about those times, I remembered a fact I had forgotten.
The Regarium Kingdom was the only nation in this dark fantasy world that truly believed in light and justice.
The King who ruled it was extremely benevolent, and these guys were just… good.
There’s no such thing as a perfectly pure group, but compared to other factions, they were incredibly clean.
‘That’s why we cooperated often.’
However.
Until just now, my people were marching to wipe out the Black Sun Cult.
Reincarnation, slaughter, blood, and more blood!
The Regarium Kingdom, which valued peace and tranquility, couldn’t possibly look favorably upon our advance.
No matter how high the Affinity we had built, wrong is wrong.
“This is bad.”
Even though everything had been undone, they didn’t know that yet.
Looking at my ominous Religious Order, they seemed to be fully prepared.
“By order of His Majesty! The Religious Order must immediately disband and quell the seeds of discord!”
The Knight Commander at the forefront shouted.
The appearance of a true Knight, unafraid even when facing my Religious Order.
“Hmm.”
But it's disappointing.
After all the help we’ve given each other, they’re suddenly treating me like an enemy.
I had no choice but to step forward myself.