Chapter 3
The priest thought he had talked his way out of the crisis with his clever words, and he even felt proud of himself for it.
Was this not proof that, despite the passing years, he was still a wise adviser and the man best suited to being a priest?
Unfortunately, it took less than a day for that pride to crumble.
That was because everyone’s attention had focused not on the priest, but on the person at the center of the miracle.
In the face of God’s miracle, all the accomplishments the priest had built up over the years amounted to nothing.
The priest had no choice but to admit that, in trying to avoid a minor danger, he had created the worst enemy imaginable.
If he left Ivan alone, the man might seize all of his influence simply by continuing to breathe.
This was no delusion but an undeniable truth, and the priest could not bear it. Even if Ivan really had been chosen by God, he could never tolerate it.
He had to crush Ivan before he grew too powerful.
If necessary, he would even frame him.
Thus, from the moment Ivan returned from the dead, the outcome of this matter had been practically decided.
***
Though he had come looking for an excuse, the priest felt a genuine curiosity about the object called soap.
After all, he was also a shaman who dealt in the arcane. There was nothing strange about being captivated by new knowledge.
He even forgot why he had come for a while—until the soap slipped from his hand and struck him squarely on the bridge of his nose.
The priest was now convinced that Ivan truly was an evil spirit.
What else could make such an unholy object if not an evil spirit?
“You cursed bastard, now you’re trying to kill me too!!”
When the priest began thrashing about like a mad old man, people gathered around in an instant.
Ivan found it difficult to understand what was happening. Until just moments ago, the priest had been pretending to be quite dignified, and now had he suddenly developed dementia?
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Shut up! Today, I’ll strip away that hideous mask of yours!!”
The priest huffed as he kicked the door open and stormed out, then shouted loudly in front of everyone.
“As the priest of my tribe, I have something to say to all of you!! What happened a few days ago was not a miracle from God, but a terrible tragedy!!”
“Nonsense!”
Havel was furious. He looked ready to throw a punch at any moment.
“Are you saying that my brother coming back to life was a terrible tragedy? If you came here to say such nonsense, you’d better prepare yourself!”
“I’m sorry, but your friend is already dead. An evil spirit has merely stolen his body.”
‘How did he know?’
It had merely been a lucky guess, but Ivan, unaware of that fact, felt chills run all over his body.
“Didn’t you say yourself that it was a miracle from God!”
“I was mistaken. No—rather than a mistake, an evil spirit briefly clouded my eyes and kept me from thinking clearly.”
“You’re saying that now···.”
“Think about it. Does it make any sense to lose one’s memory after coming back from the dead? If Valdor had bestowed a miracle, it wouldn’t have been so sloppy.”
The priest was slightly surprised by his own words. He had merely blurted them out, but it was a fairly convincing argument, wasn’t it?
“That is a little strange.”
“Exactly. Why would the great Valdor grant a miracle to a creature like that?”
The words and actions of a shaman carried spiritual power. When a few plants he had placed in the crowd added their own remarks, the spark spread in every direction.
The priest sensed that the tide had turned in his favor.
“Not only that, he has been hiding away under the pretense of recovering while making a monstrosity too vile to even name! I went there alone to ascertain its true nature, only to suffer this horrific injury.”
The priest pointed to his nose, which was still bleeding.
Ivan felt a terrible murderous urge as he looked at that hateful sight. Havel felt the same way.
The difference was that Havel did not stop at merely thinking about it.
“Shut—up!! So the crazy old man really means to go through with this!! How dare you slander my brother!!”
When Havel charged at him with a hand axe in his grip, the priest’s face turned deathly pale.
“Good grief!! Th-this bastard has truly been possessed by an evil spirit!!”
“I’ll kill you!!”
Before anyone could stop him, Havel swung his hand axe. Just before it could split the priest’s skull, a thick hand seized Havel’s wrist and twisted it.
“Who dares···. Father?”
Instead of answering, the man slapped Havel across the cheek with his other hand. Unable to withstand the impact, Havel fell and rolled across the floor.
The man looked down at the fallen Havel with cold eyes.
“You fool. How many times have I told you not to call me that in front of people?”
“···Great Chieftain, I’m sorry, but this is a personal matter. Please step aside.”
“There’s no need. I’ve more or less heard what happened.”
The Great Chieftain stared silently at Ivan.
“I won’t kill you. Leave this place. Right now.”
It was a command, not an offer. Havel howled in protest.
“Why? Don’t tell me you really believe that ridiculous nonsense!”
“The truth is irrelevant. What matters is that the priest has devoted himself to the tribe since before you were even born.”
“What does that matter···.”
“It matters. All the more so for the sake of the tribe’s future.”
With his back to the dumbstruck Havel, the Great Chieftain asked Ivan a question.
“Tell me. Between you and the priest, which of you is more valuable?”
“······.”
Faced with a question whose answer had already been decided, Ivan could not say a word.
“No answer. I’ll take that as acceptance.”
The Great Chieftain left without even looking back, as if he had said all he had to say. Amid the commotion, everyone’s eyes focused on Ivan.
‘Fuck.’
I should have picked a better class. Ivan repeated yet another regret, though he had lost count of how many it had been.
***
“···Ivan, don’t worry too much. You’ll be able to come back soon. I’ll do whatever I can.”
“Yeah. Just don’t overdo it.”
“You can stay here for now, until then. Do you remember this place? We used to play here a lot when we were young.”
Ivan looked at the shabby house in an isolated corner of the forest. It was a little worn, but it still had everything a proper house needed.
His first thought was that the situation seemed almost too convenient.
Could even being expelled have been part of the game’s progression? Otherwise, why would there be a house in a place like this?
It could have been nothing more than a delusion, but Ivan decided to think of it that way. At least it was better for his mental health.
If all this was the inevitable course of fate, what could struggling against it accomplish?
Havel set the sack he had brought down on the floor.
“Ivan, I brought some things you might need from now on. I’ll come visit from time to time, too, so don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Havel. I’m always the one taking from you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. This much is only natural between brothers. Oh, right—I almost forgot this.”
Havel drew a hand axe from his belt and handed it to Ivan.
“It’s the thing I treasure most. It’ll probably come in handy.”
Ivan was suddenly overcome with emotion. At the same time, he felt a powerful urge to confess the truth.
“Havel, there’s something I want to tell you···.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
But when it came time to reveal the truth, he could not get the words out.
A fear swept over him that he might lose the only friend who had ever taken his side in this unfamiliar world.
That would be truly terrible.
“···No, it’s nothing. Just···thank you.”
“That was anticlimactic. Anyway, take care.”
Even after Havel left, Ivan stood there blankly for a long while.
A terrible loneliness chilled him to the bone.
He even wondered whether it might be better to simply die like this without doing anything at all.
At that moment, Ivan raised his hand and slapped his own cheek with all his strength. He had struck himself so hard that his face swelled red.
Only then did his mind clear a little. Ivan spat out saliva tinged with blood.
“Come to think of it, this is fucking bullshit. Did I come here because I wanted to? I was dragged here by force.”
When pushed to the brink, one has to become a little shameless to survive.
Ivan erased every weak emotion swirling in his mind—regret, loneliness, guilt, and every other trace of weakness.
Creak—. When he opened the old door, he saw the bare interior of the house. A chilly breeze blew through holes here and there.
A fire would make things a little better. But before that, he needed to eat something.
‘It was pretty heavy···. I wonder what’s inside?’
Smacking his lips, Ivan untied the sack he had received and opened it up.
Inside were a long knife, condiments such as salt, a fur pelt to sleep beneath, and a leather flask filled with liquor.
No matter how many times he searched through it, there was no food.
“Ah, you fucking bastard···.”
He could practically picture Havel giving him a thumbs-up.
What else could he do? If he wanted to eat and stay alive, he had to do something.
Ivan sighed deeply, took up the axe, and set off in search of prey.