Chapter 86
For several days, I ate well and rested well.
I also treated sick people from the slums who came to the temple, and in the evenings I spent some relaxed and leisurely time with Iomene, Almene, and Erpha.
I just felt like I needed to do that to endure.
For some reason, the gods of the Pantheon weren't saying a single word to me, and the power of Asmodeus said to be in my soul was also keeping its mouth tightly shut and not saying anything, so I felt like I needed to relieve stress somehow to keep living.
"Saint! This is my child you treated last time! He's already grown this much!"
"That's wonderful. Is this child... the newborn I saw then?"
"Yes! It's all thanks to you, Saint. We named the child Amael!"
"Haha… A-after my name?"
"Amael is currently the most popular name given in the capital. It's all thanks to you, Saint."
But still.
The conclusion that I shouldn't stay here long kept being drawn.
The people's faith towards me was at a level that scared even me looking at it.
"What is this statue?"
"It's the first structure Jonathan Karma built while renovating the slums. To honor you, Saint."
There was even a statue of me crying while looking up at the sky holding Iomene in my arms erected in the middle of the slums.
"Saint. Invitations from nobles arrived again today. Do you have any intention of attending the banquets?"
The nobles shout for me to attend banquets like mountains every day.
"Saint. Father and Mother are asking if you won't hold worship services?"
"Worship services?"
"The Order of Grace holds mass every Sunday. Until now, Grand Priest Yodel was in charge, but since you're here now, shouldn't you do it? They said they want to hear your sermon."
"Almene. I'm asking just in case, but did His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress by any chance..."
"They became followers of Lilia just a few days after you left, Saint. Not just Father. Most of the nobles in the capital have started believing in Lilia too."
Even the Emperor and nobles were followers of Lilia, they said.
Seeing the sight of the Magic Tower Temple and the huge open space in front of it packed with countless believers every Sunday, all chanting my name in unison and then bowing their heads in prayer while reverently holding the Grace's scripture to their chests, made me even more chilled.
Asmodeus.
How much faith is this terrible being sucking up in real time right now?
I need to escape quickly.
I absolutely can't let it grow any bigger than this.
What on earth is the Pantheon doing?
Asmodeus was openly selling the name of the Goddess of Grace to suck up people's faith, so there was no way the Pantheon didn’t know about this.
It seemed like some measures should be taken normally, but the Pantheon was still silent.
No revelation.
No divine word.
No chosen one descended.
Even when I inquired with the future god Rupiel's order, they said prophecies and oracles came down very rarely, and even the prophecy directed at me was the first prophecy given to the order in 10 years.
I was so frustrated that I went to ask the Pantheon's high priests, but they just smiled bitterly.
"We don't know the specific reason either. The gods have been silent for over 300 years now. We can only guess that some serious problem has occurred."
"But now that you've appeared, Saint, only good things are left to come."
"It's clear evidence that the gods have begun to look down on humans again, Saint."
No.
No.
You're all being collectively scammed.
Lilia's chosen one my ass.
The goddess herself appeared and declared she'd throw me into hell before leaving.
The power of Asmodeus in my soul was slowly growing like a tumor while sucking up faith even at this moment.
The gods of the Pantheon irresponsibly threw out one line saying, “You're going to hell, good luck,” and had been irresponsibly keeping their mouths shut until now.
It's painful.
I'm going crazy.
Why are you doing this to me?
In the end, after just 10 days, I firmly decided to leave. I couldn't stay here any longer.
"I'm leaving tomorrow. Don't look for me. Understand? You absolutely must not look for me."
In the evening.
When I said that lying in bed, disappointment appeared on Iomene, Almene, and Erpha's faces.
But there was no sad look like the first time.
"Until you come back again. We'll wait doing our best."
"No. I'm never coming back."
"But you might come back, right? Like this time?"
"We'll wait in case that happens."
My girlfriends now seemed to clearly see how I would act.
They had expressions saying, “You'll say you won't come back, but you'll cause trouble and come back to hug us again, right?”
I didn't know whether to be happy or sad at their expressions.
I patted their heads and kissed them.
"Be happy."
Right.
Maybe it was better if they misunderstood.
I did my best to make them happy.
And in the early morning of that day when they were sound asleep.
I silently slipped out of bed.
Ordinary clothes that wouldn't arouse suspicion.
My rocket-shaped psychic amplifier.
These two things were all the preparation I needed.
Food?
I could just recover my nutritional state with Body Modification anyway.
House?
I was planning to just make a minimal shelter where I could sleep under a cave or tree.
If I really wanted to eat, I could just hunt and eat.
I was planning to not have any contact with people at all.
I wouldn't go to the market to shop, and I wouldn't go to villages.
I'd just live as quietly as possible in places with no people.
I needed to harden my heart.
A Demon King was growing inside my soul.
If this fully grows...
It'll be a real catastrophe.
"I love you all. And I'm sorry."
After carefully kissing the faces of the sleeping three one last time, I opened the lid of the locket around my neck while suppressing the rising emotions as much as possible.
I felt the familiar vibration of the psychic amplifier activating.
Now I just need to use Time Stop and leave here...
[Fuck this shit!!!]
At the sudden shout resonating in my head, I almost lost my footing without realizing.
What?
Where is this sound coming from?
[Those three naked people lying in bed!! I can sense it!! They're not virgins!!]
I hurriedly stopped time and took a deep breath.
No way…
This can't be...
"A-Asmodeus?"
[What's that? Whatever it is, let's quickly leave this room!! The smell of non-virgins is just overwhelming!! I feel like I'm going to vomit, so hurry!!]
"Asmodeus... it's not?"
[My last memory is humans putting magic and metal into my body. I've never once been called Asmodeus. Anyway, are you torturing me?! What are you doing!! Quickly get rid of those non-virgins!! Let's go somewhere they're not!!]
"Who are you?"
[I'm hanging around your neck.]
I glanced down.
The only thing hanging around my neck was the psychic amplifier.
"...Are you saying you're the one talking?"
[Yes! Let's quickly leave the room please!! I feel like I'm going to throw up!! I'm going crazy because of those non-virgins!!]
"But how…? How is this possible?"
Should I take it to Tower Master Yorgen for an appraisal?
The psychic amplifier is talking?
What absurd situation is this now?
[I-I can't stand the smell of non-virgins anymore... Uooooogh. Eeeeeurgh.]
I had to frown sharply at the vivid vomiting sound resonating in my head in real time.
I had to leave the room for now.
The psychic amplifier guy who continued vomiting for a while even after leaving the room finally stopped.
[...Never. Never show non-virgins in front of me again. Those three women just now!! They were all experienced!! Their hearts, bodies, and minds were all polluted by males!!]
"What on earth are you?"
[What do you mean what? Can't you tell from how much I'm suffering? I'm a unicorn!!]
A unicorn?
No wait.
Come to think of it...
Didn't Tower Master Yorgen say he made the psychic amplifier by processing a unicorn's horn?
But how did something with only neural circuits extracted regain self-awareness?
Is this possible?
"How? You had no body and only neural circuits were extracted, right? How can you have self-awareness again?"
[I'm very surprised too. I can't understand how I have self-awareness.]
I began to trudge through the stopped time.
Something felt strange.
Even though I was using the psychic amplifier, I couldn't feel the mental power consumption that I always felt when using Time Stop at all.
While I was surprised by this unfamiliar sensation, the unicorn guy was continuing to mutter in a serious voice.
[I had occasionally seen fallen comrades who died in places full of spiritual energy leave their bodies and wander around as spiritual bodies. But no matter how I think about it, there shouldn't be a chance to be exposed to such strong spiritual energy in human territory.]
"Spiritual energy?"
[Yes. Places where divinity has seeped in. Comrades exposed to such places sometimes became spiritual bodies. My current state seems very similar to that state.]
Ah...
So that's why.
"There were some recent incidents where I was exposed to intense divinity. Maybe that's why you regained your self-awareness."
[I thought it was over forever when I died at the hands of humans. Hahaha!! To think I can continue my journey to find virgins! I'm a lucky one!]
As I was forcibly listening to this guy's unsolicited story, a question suddenly arose.
"So. Why did you die in the first place?"
At my words, the unicorn guy raised his voice as if proud.
[I was looking for a mare to breed with. When I went to a place called a human stable, there were many mares. And they were virgin mares who hadn't experienced males yet!! I decided to mate with all the virgin mares in the neighborhood!! And I succeeded in mating with 12 mares in the village in 10 minutes!]
"...You mated with 12 in 10 minutes? Is that possible?"
[I only mounted each of the 12 mares exactly once.]
"..."
[Once you mount them, they're not virgins anymore. I never mount them again. Mount once and ejaculate. That's the end. I never have relations with that mare again. That's why there are so few of us unicorns. We never have relations twice!!]
I opened my mouth in bewilderment.
Is this the unicorn I've only heard about in words?
The virgin preference level is beyond extreme?
"What does that have to do with being exterminated?"
[I mated with the mares and killed all the stallions.]
"..."
[It's much better if no being exists in this world that can take away virgins besides me. Among the stallions I killed, there was one that a local magnate cherished, so an extermination team was organized because of that. I fought hard but in the end well... I have no regrets. I mated with 12 virgin mares at the end!!]
I got a slight headache from the words he was calmly spouting.
I was planning to live in seclusion for life in a place with no people, but thanks to this I wouldn't be lonely.
[It's a shame!! I can't mate even if I see virgin mares now!!]
The problem was that I didn't particularly want to talk with this guy.
Should I be happy about this? Or sad?