chapter 235

Chapter 235

“Kkii-yooong.”

“So cute.”

“Yip-yip-yip-yip-yip.”

Right now, Gio was surrounded by baby foxes.

“Guys, please...! You can’t do that!”

“W-we’re sorry, Master...!”

And soon, their parents—the foxes—came rushing over.

“The kids still haven’t learned language yet...!”

“It was cute, so it’s fine.”

“Th-thank you.”

“Looks like you’ve gotten pretty used to the work.”

“Ah, of course!”

Among the foxes who ran over was the Fox Tribe chieftain, Rami.

“We polished and refined the castle so we can serve you comfortably at any time!”

Once, Gio had torn down and rebuilt the place that had been called the fake world, turning it into an environment livable for living creatures. And over the span of ninety-four years, the tribes took on their own roles and built a small country.

That was, in other words, no different from Gio’s Demon King’s castle.

‘If combat starts, I’ll drag them underground, though.’

This side, well.

‘Should I use it as something like a deception-trap role?’

In the meantime, all the beasts had learned how to disguise themselves as humans. Gio didn’t think it mattered much, but because the form of the being they served was human, they seemed to feel a certain sense of obligation.

Among them, the fox tribe mainly took on the role of servants who decorated and cleaned various parts of the castle, the wolf tribe became guards who removed the dangers of the land they lived on, and the crow tribe became administrators who handled various facilities and governance.

“I’m glad everyone’s doing well.”

“We’re happy as well, since it seems you’ve been visiting often lately. Shall we bring Gargal or Mr. Balf? If you want to check what happened while you were away...”

“There’s no need for me to know that.”

This was not a place Argio had made in order to stay. The ones who made this small country were the beasts, and Gio had only fixed the blazing sun and made sprouts bloom so they could live.

‘The dimension itself has narrowed quite a bit because dungeonification has progressed, but...’

Well, that was a problem to think about only after the population grew further.

“If we bring the guests, can you greet them properly?”

“...Of course.”

Chieftain Rami gave a fox-like smile.

“No matter what kind of guests come, I’m confident I can make them fall head over heels.”

“Alright. I’ll trust you.”

“I will repay that trust.”

“You don’t have to try so hard.”

Gio smiled back.

“It’s all something we do to have fun.”

He was decorating a pleasure-filled amusement park.

* * *

One day, news reached the Collection Merchant that the Moon Lady Religion’s saintess had gone mad.

“...Hmm...”

Holding an invitation, Gio gently tilted his head.

“...I think Aria mentioned it once before, but if they’re reaching out this far, it seems the situation has become quite serious.”

“Well, I did hear something similar from the guildmaster, but to think they’d step forward so openly that the whole company knows... Even the lofty Moon Lady Religion must have decided they can’t help but get outside help.”

“I was curious when I heard it before, but... do saints originally go mad too? Or is it that they can’t help but go mad?”

“Either way, they’re human in the end, so there’s nothing to be done.”

At Gio’s question, Yoo Seongun shrugged.

“Above all, the Moon Lady Religion’s saintess wasn’t born with a big vessel from the start—she grew through study and training, so there’ll be side effects to match. Cases like you are rare.”

“You mean me as Giovanni, right?”

“Yeah. Normally, humans can’t commune with a god. The Moon Lady Religion seems to have found their own way to commune with their divinity, but...”

If they had ended up asking even the Collection Merchant for help, it seemed that, too, had limits.

“But religious matters really aren’t my specialty. After I started handling you, I studied all sorts of things pretty hard, but that still doesn’t mean I can dig up their internal problems.”

“There will also be information only insiders can find, so I think it can’t be helped. Especially since I’ve heard the Moon Lady Religion has a strong closed-off atmosphere. It would be difficult for an outsider like you, Mr. Yoo Seongun, to know the details.”

“Still, you seemed interested, so I tried to check a bit, but it turned out disappointing...”

“It’s fine.”

Hadn’t a good opportunity arrived? Gio smiled as he lightly swayed the silver invitation with a bluish sheen.

“Because the Moon Lady Religion called for me.”

“...That’s why I’m saying it’s a shame—if I could’ve given you some info beforehand, it would’ve been even better. Religions being closed off is common, but...”

“I’ll go with a happy heart.”

“I didn’t expect your first activity after the Little Mermaid incident would be a visit to the Moon Lady Religion.”

“It’s an unofficial activity, so wouldn’t it be fine?”

It didn’t seem like there would be a problem.

* * *

“Hunter Seo Gio?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“This way, please.”

“Thank you.”

The Moon Lady Religion had an extremely quiet atmosphere.

‘So there was a reason they said it’s a religion contrasted with the Sun Religion.’

The Sun Religion was bustling even inside. It wasn’t to the point of hurting your ears or feeling chaotic; rather, it had a bright, crisp atmosphere, like people gathered in a pleasantly lively garden.

‘But the Moon Lady Religion is... a bit more...’

It was a little different from the Temple of Death, too.

‘...Cold, is it?’

There was a chill, dispassionate air.

If you compared it to human temperament, it felt like reason was prioritized over emotion. Results over process, the group over the individual—an impression like that. Though he had only seen it briefly so far.

‘It’s not bad, but it might be a little harsh for kids to live in.’

Come to think of it, he recalled hearing that the way they selected prospective priests was, from the start, to pick those with the qualities needed in order to produce a single saint—and those who didn’t become as large a vessel as a saint became believers of the Moon Lady Religion instead.

“...”

The Moon Lady Religion’s temple, decorated with silver and marble, was a cold palette.

‘Even with the same color, it’s definitely different from the Sun Religion.’

The faintly bluish walls and pillars truly brought the moon to mind. The moon floating in space. The lights were bright, yet somehow it felt piercingly chilly. Perhaps it wasn’t just his imagination—the air was a little cool as well.

‘This atmosphere is nice too.’

The quiet temple calmed his heart. It made his head feel clear.

“This is the place.”

He was guided straight to the bishop’s office.

The one who appeared to be the Moon Lady Religion’s bishop was an elderly woman with white hair that carried the same bluish-white tone as the temple. She greeted Gio without even forming the polite smile one would normally offer a guest.

“Pleased to meet you, Hunter Seo Gio. I am Bae Seogyeong, a bishop of the Moon Lady Religion.”

“It is an honor to be invited, Bishop.”

“On the contrary, we should be the ones to thank you for accepting the invitation.”

The old woman was so thin you could see her knuckles. In this age where diversity is accepted like mad, it wouldn’t be right to say this, but judging by her darker skin and slightly different bone structure, by old-era standards she didn’t seem to be of purely Korean blood.

‘Somewhere around the Middle East?’

He didn’t know whether she had immigrated outright or simply had mixed blood, but in any case, it was nice to see. Thinking of how Kang Seodam was similar, it seemed that situations where the blood of other nations mixed into the religious world were particularly common.

Only after dismissing all the priests did the bishop open her mouth.

“I believe we conveyed the news to your manager before extending the invitation.”

“I came quietly, so you need not worry.”

“I see. Thank you. This matter is greatly tied to the prestige of our Moon Lady Religion, so all the priests are on edge.”

It was an atmosphere where one might at least sigh briefly, yet the bishop maintained her composure to the end. She then once again revealed why the Moon Lady Religion had invited Hunter Seo Gio.

“The saintess is exhausted.”

“Could you tell me the symptoms?”

“...It is a symptom that commonly appears in serving a god.”

“Have there been cases like this before?”

“It has been quite a long time since we have served a saintess as well, but if you recall that the Moon Lady Religion’s saints have, generation after generation, died young, you can guess the reason. The vessel cannot endure it.”

As if she had suddenly thought of something, the bishop looked at Gio.

“Come to think of it, you awakened as a tamer. Though you serve a divinity called the Black Cloak, you are not a formally registered priest in Korea, so I assume it would be difficult for you to know the internal circumstances of the religious world.”

“Yes, there is much I do not know.”

“Then I should also tell you the Moon Lady Religion’s story. You may have heard that every year, the Moon Lady Religion gathers priests with excellent qualities and educates them so that a saint may emerge among them.”

“Yes. I thought it was unique.”

“...Certainly, the Sun Religion expresses unpleasant feelings about the Moon Lady Religion’s educational method. However, that having a saint is a great help in serving divinity is an undeniable fact.”

“Even as you say that, you don’t look as though you feel very good about it.”

“Because the problems are clear.”

To be honest, producing a saint in itself was not the problem.

“The problem begins after one of the prospective priests is elevated into a saint. If the qualities matched from the start, that would be one thing, but a priest who cannot separate from the secular world... gradually feels an enormous burden.”

“What do you think is the reason?”

“Because they think of themselves as human.”

A saint could not be so. No— even if they were, it would have been fine if they had been a great vessel from the beginning. But if the original vessel was insufficient, and even their posture was insufficient, it became all the more difficult.

“They cannot discard the human heart.”

A saint was a saint. They had to become a child and friend of divinity, and a channel through which one could communicate.

That meant abandoning all joys and all pains one could experience as a human. That was the saint the Moon Lady Religion created.

“This saintess, if we measure by our history, is doing exceptionally well. Communication with the Moon Lady is sufficient, her ability to interpret is outstanding, and even offering gifts to the god... she accomplishes it without difficulty.”

“And yet there is a problem.”

“A saint has two paths. One is to die as a human, and the other is to become another divinity. The saintess of this generation possesses the qualities for the latter.”

Even the Moon Lady they served desired that.

“However... compared to the size of the vessel, the clear limit of the mind has become the issue.”

“A limit of the mind.”

Gio nodded.

“She seems to wish to remain human.”

“Since it is my first time serving a saintess of such caliber, I had no method of 대응. In the time when the Great Catastrophe was in full swing, there was a saintess with talent even greater than this, but the way to deal with a saint with such... an ambiguous posture was not recorded.”

“What would you like me to do?”

“Help her walk one path.”

“You said she stands at a fork where she could become human, or could become divinity. That would be an excessive task to entrust to an outsider like me.”

“The Moon Lady Religion looks at results.”

If a visible result appeared before your eyes and you experienced its influence with your whole body, there was no reason to deny it. History and tradition existed for the sake of the future; they were not for hesitation or regret.

“Therefore, we decided to find hope in Hunter Seo Gio.”

“I see.”

“It may be an impertinent thing to say, but we heard that you are the Black Cloak’s saint...”

“...”

“...Of course, we do not intend to entrust everything to you. Our Moon Lady Religion will handle it, but we judged we needed opinions from a new perspective. We concluded that at this rate, even if years pass, we will not be able to solve the problem internally.”

“I understand.”

“I ask for your help.”

It was fine no matter how Hunter Seo Gio helped the saintess.

If the saintess settled on the human path, it would be a regrettable and unfortunate thing for the Moon Lady Religion, but it would still be better than a precious talent—one that would not easily appear again—dying while unable to become either one.

And Gio was moved to the saintess’s room to grasp how serious the situation was.

“Uh, ugh... ah... ah... ahhh... ah...”

“...”

“Ah-uh... ha... haaahh...”

“...”

“Kuahahahahahak...! Hah, ha, haha! Ha!”

The girl in the middle of the room, making incomprehensible sounds, was covered in blood.

“...My.”

Did she summon Cthulhu or something?

It feels like our genre suddenly changed from a healing story into cosmic horror.

(To be continued in the next part)