Chapter 152 – The Temple of Ninggard

‘The old man who gave me the magic book.’

The old man who shows up every time and acts like a shady drug dealer, but in the end has been of great help to me.
That man looks so much like the statue of Odin behind the temple over there.
It was the first time I had seen a statue of Odin in real life, so I was quite surprised. All in all, it resembled someone I knew, so I tried to get goosebumps all over my body.

Of course, there is one minor difference.
The fact that the old man I met had both his eyes open, not just his one eye.
But when I thought about it, there was something suspicious about it.

One of the old man’s pupils was unnatural, as if he were wearing a prosthetic eye.
If it wasn’t a real eye, but a prosthetic eye, it would be a perfect resemblance to Odin’s statue.

‘Who the hell have I met so far?’

I looked at Rumi, who was holding it in one hand.
It is the magic book that the old man handed to me. Remi might have known something.
However, this is a place where people gather, so it is difficult to talk casually. Rumi, like always, wasn’t the time to teach me magic, so she didn’t talk to me.

‘I’ll have to ask Rumi later. What is the relationship between that old man and Odin?’

While thinking that, I spoke to Kate, who was listening to Bella’s story.
Kate says that she is often not like a nun, but she is a nun after all.
As befits a nun who serves God, she knew a lot about the gods of the continent.

“Kate. I need to ask you something.”
“What? Bugilma-sama’s contract? I’m in favor of bringing in an outside wizard!”
“That’s not it, I want to know about the god called Odin who serves in Ninggard.”

It was an out-of-the-box question, but Kate shook her head for a moment before giving her nod.

“I know about other gods besides Baldur. In particular, Odin can be called Baldur’s father. Ask anything.”
“Is there a case where gods appear directly on the continent? For example, is it possible for a continental person to meet a god directly?”

If you brag that you met God on Earth, you will surely be treated like a psychopath. However, this was definitely the continent of Midgard, where the gods exerted their influence through various miracles.
All of them are gods with personalities, so there are gods who can move the people of the continent according to their will.
A representative example of this is Baldur, the god of light. He is a miraculous god who sprinkled his divine power on people to form the continent’s largest religious force.
Likewise, Odin may be giving people a favor somewhere.

‘The old man I met was a god from another world?’

Feeling perplexed, I waited for Kate’s answer.
But Kate gave me an unexpected answer.

“Baldur can appear on the continent. He sometimes shows up to us nuns in a spirited way. But I can’t meet other gods other than Baldur. Most of them are dead except for Baldur.”
“Lord, are you dead?”

Are the gods dead?
What else do you mean

Kate briefly told me the story of Shinhwa.

“Ragnarok! It is an anecdote about the gods recorded at the end of the Old Testament at Gwangmyeongseong Church. It refers to a great war between the gods of the Asher people who ruled the continent. At that time, Odin was the head of the gods of the Asher people Odin’s brother, Loki, rebelled.”
“Loki started a war and killed all the gods?”
“You know it well! Baldur is the only god who survived Ragnarok. That’s why we are the only church that does well on the continent. Baldur is the only god who can bestow divine power.”

Ragnarok knows it well.
Because it was a war in Norse mythology that I ate like a beef bone in various games when I was on Earth. But I didn’t know that the war of the gods would happen in another world as well.

“Odin is dead.”
“Yes, after killing Loki, who became an evil spirit, Odin also died. Even the remains are safely stored in the Vatican.”

Kate said that Odin was dead.
Since the nun, who was familiar with the stories of the gods, said that, she had no words to refute.
I pretended to be crazy and tried to get Kate to tell her about the old man.

“Isn’t it? A man named Odin isn’t dead. He’s actually alive and well. He gave me a magic book.”
“What bullshit!”
“It’s real! Don’t you believe me?”

Said Kate, clicking her tongue in amazement.

“If that’s true, I’ll call Dreamma-nim my brother for the rest of my life! Besides, it’s blasphemy to say that a dead person is alive! Members of the Ninggard will look down on Nightma-nim.”
“Oh.”

When I heard the word blasphemy, I looked around.
Inside the temple, there were several attendants who attended to Lawrence, and they glared at me as if they could hear their voices.

The glaring eyes are unusual.
I must have really blasphemed.

‘Write. I’ll just have to be quiet.’

I decided not to inquire further about Odin and to keep quiet.
Anyway, I was thinking of asking Remi separately later.

*

About 30 minutes had passed since then.
Lawrence went through Bella’s contract and she talked to him for half an hour. However, if you listen closely to the conversation between the two, you can clearly see it.

That Bella’s contract could never be established.
Lawrence, the head of the temple, rejected Bella’s request to support the wizard.

“I know that the adventurer’s guild’s shortage of wizards is serious. But I can’t give up rune mages just for that reason.”
“What the hell is the reason? You said you would provide a fair wage to rune mages!”

Compensation is not important.
Unlike her Gandalf-like appearance, Lawrence was a blocky figure. From the start, the old man had no intention of seriously considering Bella’s contract.

“We, Ninggard, are an organization that purely researches magic. We do not want to have a relationship with outsiders if possible. It’s going to happen.”
“Are you saying that magic research is more important than money!”
“That’s right! A wizard said he would study magic. What’s the problem?”

Saying that so naturally, Bella put on a distraught expression.
He used many figurative words, but in the end, what Lawrence wants to say is this. It means that you can’t have the members work as adventurers because it will interfere with magic research.

“Our Ninggard policy has been the same since 500 years ago. Stay away from the world and concentrate on magic research! Members must always be on standby at the Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Thu-Geum-Geum laboratory. We don’t have time to send them out to do adventure work.”

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday?!
The blunt words finally came out of Lawrence’s mouth!
Bella, as well as me and her lovers who heard her story were astonished.

“Now, that’s cruel-! Sorcerers here don’t even have holidays!”
“Of course. Saturday and Sunday are not in the Ninggardian lexicon. There will be no holidays in the calendar either.”

I turned my head and looked at the calendar hanging on the wall of the temple.

‘Are you serious? There is no Saturday or Sunday!’

All days of the week that should have been holidays are marked as Fridays!
As soon as I looked at the calendar, I realized that this temple of Ninggard was a mage’s hell.

A gongdori who has to eat cheap and stay stuck in the lab.
No, it’s not a ball, it’s a magic stone!

The head of the temple, Lawrence, looked around at us in amazement and laughed while his white beard fluttered.

“Chuckling.”

It wasn’t Gandalf, it was Saruman, that old man.
So determined to reject her contract, Bella finally gave up trying to persuade Lawrence.

“Okay. Ningard’s policy hasn’t changed yet. It’s the same as the boss hasn’t changed.”
“At least until I die, Nyingard will remain the same.”
“Awesome!”

Bella clenched her teeth and backed off at Lawrence, and she came up to me.
In the end, the contract was canceled, so the only thing Bella could trust was the magician belonging to the guild.

Kwak!
Bella said with a venomous expression as she took my hand.

“Mr. Luke never misses me. If you’re thinking of transferring somewhere else, slap me on the cheek and go. You know?”
“Oh, I see, Mr. Bugilma!”
“Yes. As expected, the only wizard you can trust in this world is Mr. Luke. You must never go, Mr. Luke. If Mr. Luke leaves, I will jump out of that office. I mean it. There are hundreds of complaints coming in because there are no wizards in the guild. Haaaaa !”

Oh yeah!

A beautiful black-haired beauty was looking at me with obsessive eyes. She said that she jumped out of the office in a calm tone, but it was creepy because I felt her sincerity.
She realized as she looked at Bella, who became sullen at the same time.

‘Is this Dumbella?’

Bugilma Bellatrix’s negative side ‘Dumbella’.
I have now observed Dumbella, who had been wandering only in rumors. It was no wonder that the adventurers were trembling in fear.

“Sigh…”

Bella let go of her hand and withdrew. When she said yes, she seemed to calm down a bit, but Bella didn’t want to move away from me.
She must have been quite shocked that Lawrence had skipped her contract.
It sounds like you’ve been trying really hard to push through her contract.

“Thank you for your reply. I like Mr. Luke, who is straightforward.”
“Joe, are you okay?!”
“Of course, I mean I like it as an adventurer.”

It’s a surprise.
I almost fluttered when he said I like you!
Not as a man, but as an adventurer.
Before we misunderstand, we need to distinguish properly.

“Now it’s Luke’s turn. Bring up the story of the quarter staff to the boss.”

Bella’s contract was over, and now it was my turn to explain to Lawrence the purpose of my visit to her temple.

Quarter staff.
A magic wand indispensable for awakening as a rune mage.
Bella’s escort quest is a bonus, and I actually visited Ninggard to receive quarter staff.

“Hello. I’m Luke from Yoensuu to become a rune mage.”

I approached Lawrence and first nodded.
Of course, I said hello earlier, but this old wizard seems to value etiquette as he is a strict type. When she bent her waist at a 90-degree angle and bowed politely, Lawrence laughed and liked her.

“You’re a dreamy young man with a bright personality. I’ve already heard stories about you. I heard that you’re a wizard destined to awaken with a rune mage. Indeed, someone with a great body like an ancient hero must have a talent for studying ancient magic. Right away. I want to accept you as a member and put you in my laboratory.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I like adventure more than research.”

Lawrence looked at me with a genuinely coveted expression, no kidding. If she hastily joined the Nine Guards, she would have to live the life of a magician who spends all day researching.
Breaking into a cold sweat, I turned down Lawrence’s offer to join.

“I’m not trying to join the team, I’m here to get the quarter staff. They say that anyone can get a quarter staff if they pass the ordeal in Ninggard. Can you take the ordeal now?”

When we got to the point, Lawrence nodded and said,

“If it’s an ordeal, I can give it to you right now. Before that, I have a question for you. Luke, which element do you mainly deal with? A wizard should be able to handle at least one type of element. The element is the magic of all magic. Because it is the source.”

Among the four elements, the element that is mainly dealt with.
Wizards tend to intensively train their skills to deal with one element. This is because it is better to train one properly than to learn several elements halfway through.
To become a wizard, you must decide which element to use as your main power.
I revealed to Lawrence the elements I focus on.

“Water. I am a water magician who can manipulate the creation of water, its flow and temperature, water pressure and water quality. But what does the element I deal with have to do with trials?”
“It’s related. You need to know which element you use as your main power to give quarter staff. Quarter staff also have elements that they are familiar with. Also, it is the quarter staff, not people, who give trials. A wizard who handles a familiar element Otherwise, the quarter staff will not let you go through the ordeal itself.”

Quarter staff is the one who gives me trials?
Does the magic wand judge me as an overseer?
It sounded like Russian speech, but there is nothing surprising about it.
In another world, magic wands are treated as living creatures.

But I was angry.
Hearing Lawrence’s explanation, his hands tightened and he clenched his fists.

‘How dare you evaluate people on the subject of magic tools?’

It was my belief that tools cannot rule people.
Man must rule the tool!

“I wonder what kind of quarterstaff is the one who puts me through the ordeal!”

Lawrence answered my question.
I was informed of the identity of the supervisor who would give me trials and the quarter staff who would become my magic wand.

“——The name of the quarter staff is Nistrond. We rune mages sometimes say that it is a staff that calls for winter.”