Apostle of the Void

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 38: In the Red Mountain Range (2)

“Are you okay, dear? Your companions are all leaving…”

A witch, appearing to be in her forties, asked. She was the acting head of the investigation team since Priestess Serna was leaving the Red Mountains.

This indicated one thing: it was a top priority to make a good impression.

“Ugh, sniff, sob….”

Arzen pretended to swallow his tears.

“I really, really didn’t want to part with everyone… but, sniff, the justice in my heart… sniff, sob, is crying out to help the witch and do what’s right, waah!”

“Oh my, I can’t believe there’s such a solid kid! Yuz must have recommended you!”

“Just give me any task! I may still be lacking, but I’ll do my best in anything!”

He turned the special situation of leaving the party to his advantage, creating a context to build goodwill even more perfectly than usual.

'Ha ha ha! Thank you, you useless stepping stones! To have helped me so wonderfully until the very end!'

Moved to the point of tears, the witch provided Arzen with detailed explanations about the request.

“Perhaps to block the spiritual energy of the Red Mountains, the kobolds have started driving these large nails deep into the ground.”

The large nail the witch presented to Arzen was about three feet long.

“This was made by the kobolds using magic stones, and I have no idea how many they’ve driven into the mountains.”

“Should I dig this out?”

“Yes. The special request is for a ‘daily exploration,’ and for this large nail, you’ll be paid per piece once you bring it back. It’ll be a direct transaction.”

Arzen smiled in satisfaction.

'Wow, she’s really a witch who knows how to communicate well!'

Having dealt with adventurers who cared only about money, it seemed she understood how to manage her counterparts.

'This is actually great!'

After all, the relationship between a requestor and an adventurer is based on mutual benefit.

With such clear calculations, there was no need to haggle or complicate matters.

At that moment, the witch’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh, I forgot to ask the most important thing. What’s your rank?”

A hurdle right off the bat!

But don’t forget the lesson emphasized from long ago!

The perfect lie only requires a tiny bit of truth!

“I was in a silver-ranked party, but is it really necessary to mention that?”

Using a subtle evasion to conceal the truth.

'This way, I won’t have to worry about being scolded later for lying, nor will I be anxious about getting caught!'

The witch nodded as if she understood.

“Right, I shouldn’t have asked unnecessarily. Then, I look forward to working with you.”

“Then I’ll start the work from tomorrow.”

Arzen accepted the request form from the witch and headed back to the foot of the mountain.

It was truly bustling with adventurers to the point of being overwhelming.

'Heh, if cockroaches walked on two legs, this might be what they’d look like in a swarm.'

The “Divine Guillotine” was the Platinum Adventurer’s Guild.

The useless ones at the bottom of the adventurer society dared not even enter such a place.

Though it was hardly different from being a slave, it was only natural for Arzen, who had experienced the divine realm, to have no connection with such lowly ranks.

'Hehehe.'

With a smug smile of superiority, Arzen deliberately tensed his shoulders and swaggered through the crowd.

However, his boyish body was frail! Instead, it was Arzen who was getting knocked around by the bulky adventurers, leaving him battered and bruised.

“These lower-class folks with muscles for brains… How could you possibly hope to outdo me, Arzen, if you can’t manage even this? I’ll let it slide this time.”

***

Arzen headed to the Adventurer Guild's field branch.

Whenever a large-scale investigation mission arises, an intense game of survival ensues within the guild.

Those who lose are stripped of their comfortable work-life balance in the city and sent to work in outdoor tents like this one.

Naturally, the receptionists' gazes were filled with hostility.

“Let’s see.”

Arzen searched for his prey.

It would be best if the receptionists were on the verge of breaking down from the heavy workload.

That’s how he could earn their goodwill most easily.

“The second hurdle is… to verify if it’s true that I, a Steel-ranked adventurer, received a designated request from the Witch Association!”

If Arzen were to confirm this with the witch and it got out that he was Steel-ranked… his sweet honey pot would shatter.

“So I need to find the receptionist who is just about ready to break!”

He quickly spotted his target.

It was the counter where an adventurer had been arguing with a receptionist since he first entered.

“No, where’s the damage? You didn’t even pay the proper price? Do you think it’s easy being an adventurer? Do you find joy in shortchanging us, huh?”

“No! Damn, you really can’t understand a thing! Even a little damage to a Rat Spider’s fur drastically lowers its value!”

“How bad could it be…?”

“Hey, I’m not stealing your money! Do you think I’m getting a bonus for buying this cheap? I’m just following the rules, you want to die?”

“Gah.”

The receptionist, who would normally greet adventurers with a smile, wore a face more ferocious than a beast during field duty.

Work-life balance was that important.

As the adventurer, having endured all sorts of insults, teared up and dashed outside, the other adventurers began to murmur.

“Isn’t that a bit much?”

“Seriously.”

“Let’s avoid that counter.”

“We should file a complaint with the guild.”

Though adventurers pretended to be the strongest, deep down, they wanted the receptionists to support them.

“Fools! You need to know how to turn that to your advantage!”

Having locked onto his target, Arzen stepped back outside.

After purchasing a cool carbonated drink from a traveling merchant, he returned.

The receptionist was covering her face with both hands, and adventurers were refusing to line up at that counter.

Arzen made his way toward her.

The adventurers hurriedly warned him, shouting, “Hey, it’s hell up there!”

“Hello, Miss!”

In moments of crisis, one must view it as a ladder.

Only those who know how to use even such situations can claim victory in life.

“You must be exhausted! Here, take this and cheer up!”

“Oh my…”

“I’m here to submit a designated request! I have plenty of time, so please take your time!”

The receptionist's eyes glistened with tears as she gulped down the carbonated drink.

Then she quickly began processing the paperwork.

“Oh, Arzen, you’re about to qualify for your promotion exam, huh? That’s impressive!”

Wait, already?

It seemed he had earned more contribution points than expected from this mission.

“Hehe, I was just lucky.”

Still, he had to pretend to be humble.

He reminded himself that humility was the number one virtue when trying to win someone over.

“Right, keep working hard. How wonderful would it be if all adventurers were as cute and honest as you, Arzen? Honestly, they’re all just greedy trash.”

The first rule of winning over women was unconditional empathy.

“If you don’t understand, just memorize it!”

Whenever a woman said something, he just had to repeat these three phrases.

“Gah, that’s so true.”

“Oh my, really?”

“Wow, what should we do?”

If he used these three catchphrases, gaining the favor of any woman would be as easy as pie.

“Come back again~ Next time, I’ll give you a present, Arzen!”

How about that?

Isn’t life just so easy?

“Yes!”

Just as Arzen was flashing a triumphant smile after smoothly overcoming both the first and second hurdles, she said,

“Oh, wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

“Since your last mission was rated as Eighth Grade, the guild requires a separate report. If you submit it, it might help with your contribution points.”

A report? Just hearing the word made his blood boil.

Reports were a major factor in determining contribution points in party hunts—essentially the honor system.

“The <Divine Guillotine> must have written a terrible report to obstruct my promotion…”

That was only for missions that Steel-ranked adventurers could participate in; they hadn’t even acknowledged his involvement in the others.

“Your party members already submitted brief reports, so what do you think? Want to hear them?”

His heart sank at those words.

“Could it be that those guys slandered me like the <Divine Guillotine>?

The chances were high.

Humans were inherently selfish.

Among them, adventurers were even more so.

It was far too common in this savage world for a party to fall apart and then label someone as trash.

“Let’s see, the leader wrote this on behalf of the party: ‘Arzen not only provided miracles but also skillfully handled summoning spells, greatly contributing to the completion of this mission…’”

“?”

“The Silver rank praised it, so the contribution assessment is favorable. How about you write something as well, Arzen?”

With a dazed expression, Arzen picked up the pen.

“Huh, this is odd.”

Following Yuz's warning, he excluded any mention of the sealing techniques from this mission.

- Sia is in charge of anger and spent the whole day fuming, but she wields a sword exceptionally well.

- Jerome has a quirky personality, but he shoots very accurately.

- Kitan may be a bit dim-witted, but he has an excellent sense of direction.

As he wrote about the goblin extermination, Arzen planned to pen harsh criticisms about the trash who abandoned him...

But this was the best he could do...

Even that, after much deliberation while tapping the pen on the desk, he ended up striking through useless phrases like ‘~ but’ or ‘~ however’...

- Sia wields a sword exceptionally well.

- Jerome shoots very accurately.

- Kitan has a great sense of direction.

The receptionist chuckled softly.

“Thank you for the information. I’ll rewrite it excluding the stricken parts.”

“......”

“It seems you had a lot of fun on this mission with your party, Arzen.”

Arzen’s head was still spinning.

He stepped outside the guild.

“Did I… just miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?”

No, that couldn’t be right.

Arzen shook his head vigorously.

“With the overwhelming power of the Void and my overwhelming appearance combined, I’ve already conquered nearly half the world!”

After all, they say world domination is for the diligent.

“I must move forward! There’s no time to associate with trash beneath Silver rank!”

---

The Red Pilgrims

The Red Pilgrims wore robes adorned with red flames. Each of them, trained directly in martial arts by the Flame Dragon, Akirea, had served as exceptional martial artists, ensuring the safety of the Adrion continent.

Their number was about one hundred.

In operations like these, they usually paired off and traveled across the continent, which is how they earned the name “pilgrims.”

“The esteemed one has arrived.”

A dragon descended from the distant sky, its form transforming into that of a dragon warrior amidst flames.

The Crimson Flame, Akirea.

Over ten pilgrims knelt in reverence before her majesty.

“I’ve heard we’ve secured an important witness.”

At Akirea's inquiry, Whitney, one of the five leaders of the pilgrims, respectfully responded.

“Yes, they were originally an executive of the <Divine Guillotine> but left a few years ago for some unknown reason.”

“Guide her to me.”

“While your highness orders it... she does not speak at all. If permitted, I intend to attempt interrogation.”

“Interrogation is forbidden under any circumstances. That is the principle. Do not forget it.”

“My humble apologies for my reckless words… Please forgive me.”

Despite the high status of the pilgrim, standing before this dragon—who was fire itself—felt like being overshadowed.

No, perhaps it wasn’t overshadowed but rather embraced.

The Crimson Flame Akirea… she was a flame that enveloped all living beings warmly and gently.

“Is that her?”

The woman the pilgrims brought forth and made kneel appeared young.

She looked to be in her late twenties, but her hair was tangled like rotting seaweed, and her body was in tatters.

Seeing her disheveled state caused wrinkles to form at the corners of Akirea’s eyes, prompting Whitney to speak up urgently.

“Your highness, this is not our doing. She was in such a state when we found her.”

“How peculiar. If she was an executive of an adventurer’s party, she should have been a promising adventurer.”

“I... we also have no idea why. We kept asking, but she just sticks out her tongue with a derisive smile and doesn’t answer. Is she out of her mind?”

Akirea approached the woman.

「I’ve heard you don’t speak at all. What is the reason?」

The woman didn’t respond.

Instead, she raised her head and merely stuck out her tongue with an irreverent grin.

The pilgrims flared up and rolled up their sleeves, but Akirea raised her hand, stopping them.

「You’re bleeding.」

Akirea offered a sorrowful smile.

The pilgrims tilted their heads in confusion.

Although the woman had dried blood clots all over her body, she wasn’t bleeding at all.

「Despite your suffering so much... it is my shortcoming that I have not heard your moans until now.」

From the fingertips of Akirea, who grasped the woman's shoulders, surreal flames ignited.

This was not the flames of annihilation or splitting, but the flames of purification.

As all evil and impurities were burned away in those flames... everything that gnawed at the woman was incinerated.

【─────────!】

Something the pilgrims had never seen before emerged.

Etched upon the woman’s tongue was the Mark of the Void.

To be precise, it was the Curse of the Anti-Dragon.

That irreverent mark could not withstand the transcendent flames and erupted from its host's body.

The Void did not take shape but appeared as a mere conglomeration of raging power.

Even so, it carried an overwhelming might that sent chills down their spines.

“Y-your highness!”

The moment the Void charged fiercely at Akirea.

With a speed that transcended perception, Akirea moved her hand to seize the Void.

Though it tried to root itself in Akirea’s grasp, its movements were completely halted...

「Be gone into the flames.」

As a blaze of intense heat surged from her fingertips, the Void was instantaneously obliterated.

【─────────!】

The tension that had caused cold sweat to trickle down their backs dissipated, leaving an eerie silence.

Nothing, no one, could dare to intrude upon this profound stillness.

The only being who could break this silence was the one who had created it… Akirea herself.

「Where has the fetter that bound your soul in blood gone?」

At this question, the woman absentmindedly groped her body.

Her body, renewed in the flames... was truly a fragment of a miracle.

It seemed that no water in the world could cleanse anything more purely than this.

“Nowhere... not anywhere, your highness.”

The woman couldn’t believe this situation, couldn’t fathom it at all, and yet, amidst the rising tears, she bowed deeply.

However, she found herself unable to do so.

Truly warm hands cradled her face.

Those hands held the warmth of everyday life that anyone would dream of in their sleep.

「Yes, now you can speak. I am called Akirea. It is the name given to me by my mother, meaning ‘freedom.’ What is your name?」

The counterpart was a dragon. A being she could not even dare to meet gaze with.

That gentle smile completely denied such common sense...

It was the kind of radiant smile that said it was alright to share sadness, pain, and joy face to face, just like her father and mother had done.

“Kirke, it’s Kirke...!”

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]