Chapter 30

Ugh…

I’ve returned to the room and am once again going through the memories I’ve gathered so far.

Lately, half of the offerings have been from the Ansellus Kingdom, while the other half have been believers. That’s probably why there are so few people who know about a country called the Yeongyang Church Nation.

Decades ago, the Ansellus Kingdom wiped out the Yeongyang Church Nation. I thought that if I looked into the offerings brought in from the Ansellus Kingdom, I’d find more people who knew about the Yeongyang Church Nation.

But upon reviewing the memories, it turned out that ordinary folks didn’t know anything about the Yeongyang Church Nation. If they knew anything at all, it was just that some weird religion existed.

It’s kinda like how some Americans might not even be aware if another country exists or not.

I’d like to learn more, but unfortunately, all the info isn’t just dropping into my lap.

Right now, half of the blessed individuals are under Witga’s command on the Cogni-Lasve Kingdom front, while the other half are directly under Hieronymus’ orders in the Ansellus Kingdom.

Things aren’t exactly going according to plan on either side.

The front between the two kingdoms is leaning toward peace talks. Witga’s trying hard to sow discord and prevent that from happening.

And it’s the same with Hieronymus.

He seems to have gone too dark. The blessed ones are getting captured and killed, though most of them manage to escape because they have the ability to flee. But the regular folks without blessings? They’re dying in large numbers.

Things are getting worse day by day.

Of course, part of that is due to Ansellus Kingdom handling things well, but there’s another reason.

Tisah.

Yeah, that boy who ran away back then. He was heading to the Ansellus Kingdom for revenge.

But you can’t escape your nature, right? Along the way, he saved someone, got misunderstood, ran into trouble, and had to escape.

He kept repeating that cycle.

So far, his good deeds have helped others, but they haven’t really helped him personally—at least not at the time.

But those seemingly useless good deeds piled up and became the foundation for the Ansellus Kingdom to trust him.

He was recognized as an ally by the Ansellus Kingdom—though he’s still being monitored.

Still, it was enough for Tisah to freely share information about the Future Hope Church.

There, we learned not only about Hieronymus as a leader but also about me.

Yeah.

The Future Hope Church calls themselves the Apostle of God—a girl.

Someone who gives blessings.

And I explained that when someone receives my blessing, their hair turns purple, and they gain special abilities.

After that explanation, the Ansellus Kingdom started dragging anyone from the Future Hope Church with purple hair straight to the lab.

In the lab, they undergo experiments close to torture until they die.

You get to witness all their pain, despair, and screams.

But all I feel is this vague sense of warmth coming soon.

Anyway, after death, warmth arrives.

It’s disappointing that they don’t achieve greater warmth by struggling more, but it feels nice when it does come.

Through those experiments, I was able to figure out how long the blessed individuals could last and how their powers varied from person to person.

The workers conducting the experiments often talk while dissecting the blessed, which helps me learn a lot.

For instance, about magic.

Of course, I’ve licked people who use magic plenty of times. Their light was no different from regular folks, and their warmth varied similarly—some had more, some less.

The issue is that I have no clue about magic power.

When a wizard uses magic, I remember the process, and I can sense the magic somewhat, but it doesn’t feel significantly different—just varying degrees of sensitivity.

But no matter what I try, I can’t produce magic.

Even while running outside and chanting spells, I couldn’t feel any magic power. Trying to mimic the moment I first learned magic yielded nothing—I couldn’t sense any magic power.

It feels like I lack that kind of power entirely.

Does this body just not have any talent for magic?

Or maybe I’m too full to sense it?

I don’t know.

But I did learn something.

If a wizard receives my blessing, they might unlock even stronger powers.

But since the Future Hope Church won’t ever include wizards, it’s fortunate.

Because wizards are typically from the upper class.

Special abilities tend to grant power in violent worlds.

Magic is no exception.

Since not everyone can use magic through effort alone—it heavily depends on talent—all the wizards I’ve encountered were offerings.

Thinking back, there was a period where I only encountered wizards for a day or two. Was that also one of Hieronymus’ or Tisah’s experiments?

But it made no difference.

An offering is an offering.

A blessing is a blessing.

Truthfully, between Hieronymus and me, offerings and blessings have no real connection.

It’s just an implicit rule—one offering per person.

Maybe Hieronymus is worried that stating one offering equals one blessing might cause issues during future negotiations.

Like how I did with Andrew—two offerings for one blessing.

Still, that’s fine, but greed isn’t good.

Especially if you’re powerless, you could end up with one offering for a hundred blessings, like warm broth poured into a bowl.

It’s important to create a mutual respect situation.

I’m also slowly building goodwill for when I might truly feel powerless later.

Anyway, let’s return to the Ansellus Kingdom.

The Ansellus Kingdom labeled the blessed as heretics and created a method to distinguish them. It’s not the old witch test—throwing someone in water to see if they float or sink.

Instead, the Ansellus Kingdom developed a special device. It looks like a fan. They wave it over people for inspection.

If someone has received my blessing, the fan becomes so heavy it’s hard to lift.

I seem to create strong resistance.

So when testing the blessed, the fan stops mid-air like it hit a rock. Even if you push hard, it moves down extremely slowly.

Thus, even if someone dyes their hair, this device can still detect them.

Amazing, huh?

That’s how the Ansellus Kingdom is systematically dealing with the Future Hope Church.

Will Hieronymus be able to collapse the Ansellus Kingdom before then?

I don’t care how it goes. Well, I’d prefer if things were delayed a bit—I haven’t gotten close to Hieronymus yet.

Hehe.

The Future Hope Church is just a cult made up of society’s bottom feeders anyway. There’s no way they can climb to the top easily.

They do have rules and laws.

But desires are stronger.

Since they’ve lost so much already, they think it’s okay to take a little back.

This gradual overflow resulted in dividing everyone into two groups: those of the Future Hope Church and those who aren’t. And they moved toward plundering those who weren’t part of the church.

Of course, there are people who found salvation here.

Even if it looks like exploitation from an outsider’s perspective, it might mean something different to them.

But it’s not allowed.

We’ve already crossed the line.

This place was built beyond the line from the start.

This place is destined to fall. So we need to scrape everything clean before that happens.

Yes, the most important goal.

Finding the way to summon me.

Ah, no.

I need to conduct an experiment for later. When three people come daily seeking blessings, this is the perfect time.

When else will I consistently get so many opportunities?

I’ve set an auxiliary goal—an experiment.

What kind of experiment?

I’ll input information.

Where should I start? Hmm.

Let’s keep it simple.

How about inserting the title “Outsider”? Only Tisah refers to me that way. Now, I’ll expand it.

While giving blessings, I’ll embed specific information.

Will it succeed?

No, I must make it succeed.

Only then can I bring about greater happiness later.

“Hello, Tisah.”

So, I greeted Tisah as she returned to the room. She now accepts my greetings as a given.

“Hey, Rebecca. Ugh, what’s Yasle up to? If he wants revenge, he should at least take better care of himself.”

As soon as she entered, she turned left.

There’s her designated spot. She threw her hood onto the sofa, placed her cane made of skulls beside her, and sat down in her seat.

“Joanna, prepare the usual drink.”

“Yes, Mistress Tisah.”

She orders a drink from Joanna while slouching in her chair.

This means she’s comfortable here.

But there’s something nagging at me.

“Who is Yasle?”

Tisah, lounged in her chair, lazily waved her hand and replied in a tired voice.

“Hieronymus’ real name. What a fool. Survived this long and chooses revenge. Now he’s creating this mess and exhausting himself before he can even take revenge.”

Ah.

So that’s his real name.

Yasle.

Yes, I’ve remembered. I need to search through people’s memories again. Will I find new information? But I can’t afford to make mistakes here.

Pretend I don’t know.

Even knowing the name, act uninterested.

“Is Tisah feeling tired? Would you like a blessing?”

If possible, I asked a question that would divert her attention, embedding a small wish.

“I don’t need it. No matter what happens, I won’t accept help from someone like you.”

Yes, I know. Even though Tisah’s guard has softened, it hasn’t disappeared completely.

She reacts almost obsessively when it comes to herself, despite being indifferent to others.

So…

“Got it, Rebecca. I will never contract with someone like you again.”

She answers while glaring at me from her seated position.

Tisah, the witch who has lived over a hundred years.

Was that longevity due to contracting with someone else? Meaning, is Tisah feeding off someone else’s life force?

But for warmth, I’d snatch it from anyone. There’s a time limit, but I still have time. So I say:

“If you’re struggling, call me, Tisah. I’ll come find you.”

Because if you possess the knowledge to summon me into this world, I won’t let it slip away.

“Wake up.”

At my words, Tisah scowled and gave a short reply before flopping onto the couch.

Hehe.

Look, the mention of Yasle is already fading into the distant past, isn’t it?

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