Apostle of the Goddess of War

Chapter 132

Ch.132 Apostle of the Goddess of War

Knock, knock.

Sion knocked on the door. Upon hearing a response, he opened it. Gustein, who was working, looked up at Sion.

He rubbed his tired eyes and took off his glasses.

“You’re here.”

“……Yes.”

Both of them were still unable to fully let go of Garfenn. They didn’t converse as cheerfully as before.

A calm and solemn atmosphere had settled over the office.

“Sit down. Shall I get you some tea?”

“Water is fine.”

Glug glug.

After pouring a glass of water, Gustein sat opposite Sion. The bags under his weary eyes were worse than before.

“I’ve heard the gist of the story. Rumors are widespread.”

“You mean about what happened in the Holy Kingdom?”

“Yes. On the day the Light disappeared, I felt something unusual here in Elim too. I never imagined something like that had happened.”

The Goddess Eru had vanished, and the heavenly gates had closed. Humanity was now in a state of great confusion.

Nevertheless, it fell to the goddess churches to bind and lead these people. There was a trend of people from ordinary villages and cities gradually gathering towards the church cities.

Sion explained the events in the Holy Kingdom to Gustein in detail. He shared everything he remembered, leaving nothing out.

Gustein was one of the few adults Sion could rely on. He had to trust him completely and seek his strength.

“……It’s more serious than I thought.”

“It is.”

“It’s a huge relief that you, at least, returned alive.”

“I am ashamed.”

Gustein smiled at the dejected Sion.

“Don’t be discouraged. It’s not your fault. Is the Goddess blaming you?”

[No.]

“No.”

“Then that’s that.”

Sion pouted his lips and feigned nonchalance. The uncomfortable feeling didn’t disappear. It was only a slight comfort.

“Anyway…… I suppose the most urgent matter is gathering the shards of the Holy Grail.”

“That seems to be the case.”

“The Evil God faction must have hidden somewhere again. They’ll need to select and raise new Apostles and expand their forces once more.”

Sion nodded in agreement.

“At least we have some breathing room now.”

“Probably, those bastards will also be out searching for the shards.”

“Since their goal is to seize the Round Table.”

To lay hands on the power of the Supreme Goddess. One could say the Round Table itself was the authority of the Goddess Eru.

That power was compressed into the Holy Grail and scattered throughout the world, so it was only natural everyone would be desperate to find the fragments.

“Everything leads back to the fragments. The Holy Grail War…….”

“All the other factions must already be preparing, right?”

“They’ll move quickly. We mustn’t fall behind.”

Gustein pressed firmly on his temples, where a headache was beginning. He hadn’t been sleeping properly and had been working continuously.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m not alright. I want to retire quickly and rest so badly it’s killing me.”

“What about Ruina?”

“She’s learning diligently. She picks things up quickly too. But I still can’t hand over all of Elim’s duties to her yet.”

Ruina was still attending the academy, focusing on her studies. In her spare time, she helped Gustein, but it seemed she still didn’t meet Gustein’s standards.

“She’s smart, so you could probably just leave it to her.”

“You’re unexpectedly cold-hearted.”

“Because real experience is good for growth.”

Gustein laughed. He took Sion’s water glass and drank from it.

“We need to make our own plans too.”

“I’ll search for the fragments. I alone am enough to move around.”

“Are you really sure about that?”

“Are you really sure about that?”

“I’m just walking the path of my teacher.”

“……That is what being an Apostle is, but…”

Sion lifted the corner of his mouth. He listened to the training shouts coming from outside.

“Now you can truly trust and leave Elim to us.”

“The Order of the War Knight? Well, since Kegan took up his post, they’ve been growing frighteningly fast.”

One could tell without even looking closely.

The look in Tier and Set’s eyes, seen after a long time, was incomparable to before. Even though they still had youthful faces, they were imbued with the sharp sense unique to warriors.

“I hear they are carrying out missions too?”

“That’s right. I form teams with members who have good training results and send them on minor monster subjugation missions. Their reputation is quite good, I hear?”

Sion nodded with satisfaction.

“Who selects them?”

“Kehehe. That kid Set never misses a chance to participate. You’ll be surprised when you see him?”

“Really?”

“Have a match with him. He should be quite good.”

“I will.”

Gustein leaned back on the sofa and spoke.

“If you need anything, just say so. Elim’s situation isn’t so bad that I have to rely solely on your hands like before.”

“And that’s all thanks to me, right?”

“Cheeky brat.”

Sion chuckled.

“I need information. I can’t just wander the country aimlessly looking for fragments.”

“Information…”

Gustein scratched his cheek. It seemed he hadn’t groomed his beard for quite some time. It was noticeably unkempt.

“I was already thinking we needed to establish our own information network for the Church of War. I had a plan, but it hasn’t been easy.”

“What is it?”

“The Abundance Cult. Their information guild.”

“Ah.”

Sion’s reaction suggested he understood. He too had someone in mind.

Sion and Garfenn simultaneously said the same name.

“Loenhaughter.”

“Loenhaughter.”

A flicker of amusement passed over both their faces. A slight smile appeared.

“As expected.”

“He kept visiting Elim consistently while you were absent.”

“Is that so?”

“Just when I’d forget, he’d show up, giving money, saying it was investment funds from the Apur Merchant Guild, or mining profits, or business subsidies, and then leave.”

“He must have some intention.”

Gustein affirmed that.

“When I asked, he said this: ‘To win his favor’.”

“Is he trying to convert to our side?”

“Hard to say. He’s an inscrutable man. It would be better to talk to him directly.”

He was someone who had consistently provided Sion with valuable information since before. He seemed to act independently of the Apur Guild Leader’s will.

There was no reason for Sion to refuse either. He also believed his information-gathering ability was necessary for Elim.

Now that the Holy Grail War had begun,

Grasping the whereabouts of the fragments and the movements of major hostile factions was most important. It was a war where victory depended on gaining the upper hand in the information battle.

The War Cultist was someone who observed the war situation while envisioning the bigger picture more than anyone.

‘Regardless of the source of his information, we need his capabilities.’

Sion nodded.

“I should go meet Loenhaughter.”

“Go ahead.”

“Bishop, please look into potential personnel who can act as informants for us.”

Gustein let out a hollow laugh. It was a laugh of pride, seeing Sion now looking quite like a leader guiding Elim.

“We have plenty of guys like that to spare.”

***

Before leaving for Foils, Sion visited the Church of War.

It was a newly constructed building. It was a building newly erected while Sion was away in the Holy Kingdom.

As the church’s influence grew, the demands of the believers poured in, and thanks to the merchants of Foils, who took notice and competitively sent investment funds, materials, and manpower, it was built quickly.

“May the Goddess of War be with you.”

“May the Goddess of War be with you.”

“Ah, thank you. Thank you!”

Sion waited for his turn. In front of the large statue erected against the wall, War Priestess Kaili prayed for the believers and generously offered them words of blessing.

And—

Clink clatter.

She also received offerings.

The procedure was like this:

First, a believer who had given an offering or donation would kneel before Kaili and pray. After roughly listening to their worries or wishes, Kaili would check the ‘sincerity’ (the amount) that had entered the prayer room and determine the content of her blessing.

If the amount was satisfactory or the offering was splendid, three phrases of blessing. Formal words about things working out well. And a short prayer offered to the Goddess.

Lately, these prayer offerings were responsible for Elim’s financial situation.

Watching Kaili pretend to close her eyes but secretly peek at the donation amount, Sion couldn’t help but laugh.

Who would dare raise their head inside the Church of War and look directly upon the Priestess’s revered face? No one would do such a thing.

Now that even heaven had disappeared, it was a world where the presence of a goddess close by had become even more precious. In that sense, the Goddess Achille watched over her believers from a very close place.

Even now.

[Sion! Sion! My Apostle! Do you see that! Is that really me!]

‘Yes, it is. The statue couldn’t fully capture your beauty, Goddess.’

[Of course! Who would dare capture my entirety?]

Even as she said that, Achille’s face was filled with delight.

The Goddess, who had started properly looking around Elim since yesterday, truly jumped around like a child.

The increased number of believers, the unrecognizably changed scenery of Elim, the neatly maintained streets, the newly built church capable of accommodating hundreds…

The Goddess was so happy she almost used vulgar language. Not that she actually did.

[Behold, my Apostle. All these believers are now offering prayers to me. Can you believe it?]

[Behold, my Apostle. All these believers are now offering prayers to me. Can you believe it?]

‘I can’t believe it.’

Sion’s ears were ringing. The Goddess was more talkative than he thought.

When his teacher used to pretend to close his ears while talking with the Goddess, Sion now thought he understood why.

‘It was literally the act of closing his ears.’

It seemed that doing so made the Goddess’s voice inaudible.

[Sion! Sion! That, that person isn’t from Elim, but from Foils! I can smell the scent of the Goddess of Abundance’s money all the way here! Oooh! Conversion! It’s a conversion! Ahahahat!]

Sion closed his ears.

[You see! This Goddess is now truly— S, Sion……?]

Because it was his turn.

Sion placed his ‘sincerity’ in the offering box, put his hands together, and prayed.

“Please grant me what I need for my temporary trip to Foils. May the Goddess of War watch over me.”

“Kick.”

Kaili laughed in a voice only Sion could hear. It was a fresh, plum-like laugh.

It was the first time Sion had seen his youngest sister smile since his return.

“Although your sincerity is lacking, the heart alone is not everything in a life of faith. I will convey the believer’s heart well to the Goddess.”

“Can I trust that?”

“Yes. If it weren’t for that outdated rabbit doll, she would have granted it immediately.”

Sion and Kaili made eye contact and laughed.

It was a pity that he couldn’t ruffle her hair recklessly now that she was a Priestess.

‘Managing?’

Sion mouthed the words.

Kaili pouted her lips and made a tearful face.

‘It’s boring!’

Kaili whined. It had been so long since she had whined. Kaili wanted to hug her Brother Sion right away.

‘Well done.’

Sion gave a thumbs-up. Kaili wrinkled her small nose bridge and pretended to cry.

Anyway, she was a cute little sister. And he was grateful she hadn’t changed at all.

‘I’ll be back.’

‘Have a safe trip.’

Kaili clenched both fists in support. But then she spoke.

“Since you’re going to Foils, please establish a Church of War branch in Foils and return.”

“Huh?”

“It will work out, you’ll see.”

Sion rose, feeling puzzled. When he looked at Kaili with his head tilted, our War Priestess called the next person and saw Sion out.

“Next money ju—… believer.”

Sion chuckled and stuck out his tongue.

‘The Priestess has already become corrupted.’

***

Ruina was in class, so she couldn’t say goodbye. They had only had a brief conversation while he ate breakfast this morning.

Because Anna was due to give birth soon, Ruina also had almost no free time.

Sion went straight to the Order of the War Knight barracks.

It was a proper barracks built a short distance from Elim.

It was on a completely different level from the days when they lived under temporary tents in the training grounds. It was Sion’s first time at the barracks too, so his mouth hung open.

‘It’s really full-fledged now.’

[The place that produces my warriors…….]

The Goddess also blushed with pleasure, her face beaming. She showed the most excitement seeing this warrior training ground, more than when seeing the church or the believers’ streets.

It was a very Goddess of War-like aspect.

The sound of training came from the training hall. A powerful energy was transmitted through the air. The numbers had increased significantly.

“Temporary halt!”

As Sion approached, Kegan raised his fist and halted the knight order’s training.

Before the flustered Sion could say anything, Kegan shouted.

“Salute to the Apostle of War!”

Snap!

The training knights simultaneously turned towards Sion with precise movements. Then, placing their fists over their chests, they shouted.

“May the Goddess of War be with us!”

“……What.”

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