Chapter 107 – The Value Of The Holy War (1)

The aftermath unfolded relatively smoothly.

First, my body, which was on the verge of breaking and shattering from recklessly moving within the violet smoke that refused approach, needed treatment from Diana. But for some reason, things felt off from the moment she started hiding from others’ gazes while “treating” me.

“Di, Diana?”

“Yurian. Yuuriaan~ Diana was so tired. Huh? Huh?”

“Okay, okay, so can you just… for now…”

“Uung~ Can’t Diana have a kiss? Surely… Diana isn’t disliked?”

“That’s not it! Not at all. It’s just that the timing isn’t right. Once things are resolved…”

“……Surely that woman was right? You even kissed that fox. Really… was that woman right? Huh?”

“Hic!”

The treatment process was more intense than expected, but somehow I managed to receive it.

It was half treatment, half expression of affection, and it was questionable who it was actually for. Moreover, since it was Diana who had faced Lilith, I ended up receiving physical therapy that was a mix of treatment, affection, and interrogation, leaving me seeing stars.

After the treatment, I held the sleeping Karsilla in my arms… Ugh, this is strange. I should be fully healed, so why does my body ache and throb like this? It must be… a mistake, right?

“Uung~”

“Oh, oh, yes, it’s Daddy, Daddy.”

I could still feel the light weight of Karsilla as she rubbed her face against my chest. Although the horns on her head remained, seeing her sleeping soundly in her small, former body brought a sigh of relief.

‘Thank goodness.’

As I stroked Karsilla’s head, who was breathing softly in her sleep, I noticed she was clutching something tightly in her chest. It was a knuckle duster. That knuckle duster… it’s changed?

‘Huh. She was so attached to the one I gave her, but what’s this? Did she change it for another one? Wow, I’m a little hurt.’

No matter how I looked at it, it was very different from the knuckle duster I had given her. It didn’t seem like the same one. Only after bringing up the information window did I realize that this knuckle duster was indeed the one I had given her. Then who is the mage who enchanted it? It seems like I’ll have a lot to ask Karsilla when she wakes up.

Still, she’s been through a lot, so let’s let her sleep soundly for now. I stroked Karsilla’s head as she slept soundly, then laid her down next to Diana and came out. Whew, I almost got caught. She’s so quick. If I had been caught again, I would have been kissed for five minutes.

‘……Wait. What is this? Shouldn’t I be happy about this? Why am I avoiding Diana’s kisses? This is… this is what the married men at my old workplace used to do.’

Shit, shit. What is this? Why am I acting like a married man?!

A chill ran down my spine, and I quickly went outside to find Lilith causing a commotion, claiming she was wronged. Her cries of injustice seemed too genuine to be an act.

“It’s unfair! It’s unfaaaair!! Yurian, bring that bastard here! Bring him here!”

“I’m here.”

“Yes! It’s unfair! You don’t know how much I helped you, but I’ll explain everything from the beginning! Listen.”

“Okay. Drag her away.”

“Yaaah! You son of a bitch! How much did I help you!! It’s unfair!”

My ears are going to fall off.

It was hard to dismiss her cries of injustice as mere nonsense. Karsilla had returned to her former self and regained stability. It would be easier if it were completely false, but it seemed to be somewhat true, which was troublesome.

Of course, this was just my own thought. At least on the surface, Lilith needed to be punished. Because of the gazes of the mercenaries and guards who fought alongside us in the ruined city, a show of punishment was necessary.

Above all, the head of the church was glaring, so I had to at least pretend to punish the demon Lilith.

I lightly whispered into Lilith’s ear as she passed by.

“Okay, calm down. I’ll come find you tonight, so let’s talk then. Until then, be quiet.”

I quickly whispered into Lilith’s ear and gave a small wink to Irian, who had stopped pretending not to notice. That sharp-eared guy must have heard everything I said, so he’ll take care of it.

Lilith, who wasn’t a clueless demon either, understood my words and obediently went along. Watching her ample rear as she was dragged away by Irian, I organized my thoughts on Lilith’s value.

‘Lilith is necessary. Aside from whether she helped me or has feelings for me, as she claims, I can’t just let her knowledge go. Now that she’s in my hands, I can’t easily let her go.’

This incident made me realize how shallow my knowledge was. I was confident that I knew everything through the game… but it was arrogance.

I’m well-versed in the events and incidents that are visible on the surface. I can even grasp what will happen in the future to some extent. But the stories hidden behind the events, the tangled and intertwined tales, are a different matter.

The information I gained through simple game quests was just superficial. I never dreamed that the more intimate information of this world, which has become a living reality, would be this important.

The butterfly effect.

I had just dismissed it as the butterfly effect. I had often felt deviations from the game story before, and I had been able to deal with them using my knowledge.

I thought that if I controlled the variables related to me and Cha Hyewon, the irregulars, I could grasp and deal with most of the information in this world.

But I was wrong. It wasn’t that simple.

The deviation from the story caused by me and Cha Hyewon, the irregulars, was just a superficial phenomenon. Perhaps I had been feeling it myself from before. It was only after this incident made it clear that I was moving so hastily.

I guess I’m not protagonist material after all. A bitter smile escaped me, but I couldn’t give up like this.

Okay, let’s think.

On the surface, it all started when I took in a small, lonely-looking girl from the orphanage, who would clearly become a powerful boss monster in the future. Me and Cha Hyewon? Well… when you think about it, the changes centered around the child ‘Karsilla’ were greater than the changes caused by me and Cha Hyewon.

In the end, it means that the stories hidden beneath the surface that I hadn’t grasped have changed.

The demon grand duke and his followers. The conflicts surrounding him.

Maybe… I was thinking wrong.

The idea that I was the protagonist, or that Cha Hyewon was the protagonist, was arrogance. Because I thought that I or Cha Hyewon were the protagonists of this world, I only thought about the changes caused by me and Cha Hyewon, but what is the reality?

Looking at the results, it’s almost as if… Karsilla is the protagonist. Everything is happening and changing around Karsilla.

In the end, Karsilla is the center of change. Not because of me, but more accurately, the path of this world was twisted when I took in Karsilla.

Because of that, the Blood-Mad Grand Duke, who didn’t appear in the game, and his followers appeared, attacked us, and even clashed so fiercely.

I don’t know what kind of situations will unfold in the future. I don’t know how the numerous hidden stories that I can’t grasp with my game knowledge are connected.

That’s why Lilith is important. Her combat power itself is weak, but she is a demon who has survived cleverly behind the scenes of history for a long time. Lilith, who has existed for a very long time and watched history, is a treasure trove of information.

Her claim that she was wronged and that she helped me doesn’t seem to be completely false. I don’t think Lilith’s affection is a lie. The status window wouldn’t lie, so Lilith’s affection for me must be true.

And above all, Lilith’s information is very important to me. I’m not going to be beaten up without knowing anything anymore.

Change? The game story has already changed this much, so what am I afraid of now? It doesn’t matter. Karsilla is more important, so those changes are nothing.

Okay.

I’ve roughly sorted it out… now what?

The city is in this state, and everyone is exhausted from the continuous battles. On top of that, I had been hiding Diana’s identity as a saint, but this incident revealed her location to the church. The church will surely come after me for the saint who disappeared without permission.

What can I do to resolve this situation? How can I shift the blame and responsibility that will come back to me?

I felt a gaze and looked around.

The city was already in ruins, but the disintegration rays of the eyeball monster and the battle with the combat angel had completely devastated it.

And in that desolate place, there were the eyes of countless people scattered around.

‘When did so many people get here?’

I looked further away and saw people approaching in droves. They were in a state of ruin, like refugees, their eyes full of wariness, but they kept coming.

‘The city was attacked four days ago. That means monsters have been appearing in the city and sporadic battles have been going on. Those people… they must be people who were hiding from the monsters and battles. Then why are they coming this way?’

The head of the church was the problem.

That old man, even in this situation, is using mercenaries and guards to gather people. He’s gathering people by treating the injured, feeding the hungry with the remaining supplies, and providing safety to those in danger. He’s a true clergyman, but… what is he going to do with all those refugees?

We’re also short on supplies.

Diana’s rescue team, which was organized to rescue our group, came with ample supplies, but it was only enough for about 100 people.

At first glance, there are hundreds of refugees gathered now… no, maybe even over a thousand. We can’t feed, house, and protect them forever. Above all, we don’t know when the monsters still lurking around will attack.

I vaguely asked Lilith, and she said that these monsters had nothing to do with her. They’re the Blood-Mad Grand Duke’s kids… they’re such annoying bastards.

I’m tired, exhausted, and my head is spinning. I just want to give up and dump everything on the head of the church, but I can’t do that.

‘……Wait. This, this situation…?’

I looked around calmly.

This scenery. This scene. I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.

“Ah.”

“Yurian?”

Yes. I remember.

A long time ago, I saw a photo of a destroyed city from World War II on the internet. A photo of a destroyed city full of refugees suddenly came to mind.

“Cha Hyewon. Gather the people.”

“People? Who?”

“Gather all our people. …No. Mercenaries, guards, refugees. Gather everyone. There’s a large open space here, so we can gather them there. Gather everyone who can come here.”

“It’s easy to gather them, but what are you going to do with them? You need to know what you’re going to do. Are you going to gather them to monitor them or manage the refugees? If that’s the case, it would be better to gather the mercenaries first and tell them, wouldn’t it?”

“No. It’s not that.”

“Then? What are you going to do?”

I answered Cha Hyewon’s question, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

“A speech.”

“……What?”

“A public speech… you know?”