Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 33

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 33 – D-grade Maze: Blood Feast Hall (3)
My exact playtime in the Nightmare Dungeon is 20,800 hours.
Of that, twenty thousand hours were devoted purely to cultivating Cultists, though I’d occasionally sample other classes for a change of pace.
Even the most delicious food grows tiresome if you eat it every day.
Excluding the Cultist I raised, I’ve leveled a total of five other class characters.
Among them, Imir was an Orc Berserker.
‘That’s him.’
It’s no coincidence.
The rate of mineralization varies depending on the explorer’s stats, and Imir’s insides aren’t fully crystallized yet.
A silent testament that he was raised according to the exact build I designed.
When I asked the Eye of Truth-Seeing to confirm, the Divine Mysteries he possessed matched rather closely.
“……?”
The assassin guarding my side tapped the corner of her mouth lightly.
“Why am I smiling? Because I’m thrilled, that’s why.”
New content had emerged.
Could it be that Lidni brought along an alt character too?
‘In truth, it’s more likely to be a different divinity entirely….’
Considering the current number of faithful, the Visionary of the Church of Twisted Truth might be completely unrelated to this, but since no other candidate comes to mind at the moment, I decided to believe it anyway.
After all, faith sometimes has a blindly zealous side that boldly ignores truth itself.
In any case, new and unfamiliar content has appeared in Pletica that I didn’t know about.
When was the last time I heard news this thrilling?
I gazed silently at the Berserker Imir I’d once raised myself, then opened my mouth.
“Please move this Orc outside. I intend to conduct a Human Sacrifice ritual.”
Alt or not, I was going to do what needed doing first.
What difference would it make to keep clinging to someone already dead?
This was professional dedication befitting a first-rate Cultist.
Besides, he was wicked enough that offering him as a sacrifice wouldn’t leave a bitter aftertaste, and since he was as much my own creation as any of my raised ones, he wouldn’t harbor resentment even in the depths of hell.
《This Orc possesses tremendous value as an offering. Surely the wise one will be most satisfied!》
Rosalia lifted the dead Orc without a word and headed outside.
Following the strong assassin out, I adjusted my right eye.
“You’ll be satisfied with this one too.”
Once I emerged from the Mining Site, I sought out a flat expanse near the cavern.
“Set him down here, please.”
Rosalia lowered the Orc at a prime location where the vista of sky and mountains was splendidly visible at the cliff’s edge.
Meanwhile, I retrieved the necessary items for the ritual from my leather satchel.
First was the Blind Raven Idol.
Zzzt.
The exalted one is protesting—why offer sacrifice to Lidni?
It’s petulant with a playful edge, though genuine grievance runs through it too.
“Well, this Orc isn’t poorly made, is he?”
The divine being I serve prefers offerings that are humanoid or elvish—neat-featured with a slightly lean frame.
Bulky, ferocious-looking Orcs fell at the complete opposite end of the taste spectrum.
Zzzt-zzzt!
“In truly desperate times, you say I may offer sacrifice with face and body concealed? No. An offering to the exalted one cannot have its origins obscured. That simply won’t do.”
Playing along with the comments of this capricious evil god—the only faithful one worth his attention—I enclosed the Orc’s entire body with Stones.
Abel had gathered them from the Hidden Ghoul Burrow, and until I found a more efficient way to build a makeshift altar, I could continue using them economically.
The final touch required candles.
Once I lit the candles placed at the head and feet, the preliminary preparations were complete.
Now it was time to dress the offering.
“Would you cut here for me?”
Rosalia, following my direction, brought her crimson dagger down on the Orc’s neck.
Crack!
The neck snapped in one stroke, and the head tumbled down the slope, rolling away.
I quickly retrieved the fierce-looking silver lump and placed it beside the makeshift altar as decoration, then fell into thought.
An Orc whose exterior had completely mineralized into silver.
Even for someone as experienced as me, dressing such an unusual body was a first.
How should I trim it to make Lidni’s meal even slightly more satisfying?
‘…Crispy outside, moist inside?’
My eyes snapped wide open.
To an evil god, after all, minerals were merely meat and muscle made slightly harder—nothing more than a different cut of flesh.
Served raw, it would taste absolutely exquisite.
‘Then let’s preserve the original texture of the ingredients.’
The recipe came to me just then.
All I needed was to add a bit of flavor—simplicity itself.
I borrowed a dagger from Rosalia and made a bold cut across my wrist.
Slash!
Bright crimson blood poured out in torrents, beginning to soak Imir’s silvery form.
Careful and deliberate with my movements, I worked until the orc’s entire body had taken on a reddish hue.
Then I flipped the massive corpse this way and that, ensuring the blood coated it as evenly as possible.
“……?”
Rosalia, who had been watching the ritual preparation, sent a questioning glance my way.
“The reason for the blood is that the taste may have been compromised by the silver transformation, so I’m masking it with its own scent.”
That was the way of it—inferior raw materials had to be overwhelmed with potent spices and sweeteners.
And as a bonus, it would rid us of the foul sweat-stench that clung to this Berserker-class orc.
“Phew….”
Before I could collapse from blood loss, I activated Ghoul Mobility.
The curse purchased by the Storm-Cloud Lord—by the grace of that great deity’s intent gone wonderfully awry—had transmuted the surge of ‘agility’ into ‘constitution’.
The gash the dagger had carved healed swiftly.
“Ah, so dizzy. Might you hold me so I can steady myself?”
Smack.
The cold-blooded elf’s palm struck the back of my shoulders.
“Thank you. Now if you’d please step back a little further.”
The offering was complete.
The recipe’s name: Silvered Orc with Crimson Dressing.
Once I confirmed Rosalia had withdrawn to a safe distance, I placed my hands upon the orc’s blood-garnished body and recited a brief prayer.
“You know my heart, don’t you? I, Kar, who carries the Twisted Truth in my breast always, have prepared my daily sustenance.”
This time, he would surely be pleased.
After all, wasn’t this creature reared according to my own soul-cultivated methods?
“Lidni, my lord.”
—Caw-CAW!
“The meal is prepared.”
Unlike in the Fire Ant Nest, where my master had hesitated squeamishly, now his right eye became the Blind Raven Idol and shot forth, immediately beginning to tear into the offering.
Crunch-crunch.
I’d worried slightly about whether teeth could make purchase on silver, but being the terminal of a dark god, he made short work of it.
His eating manners remained as atrocious as ever, yet there was something almost reverent in how eagerly he consumed it—my mood wasn’t entirely soured.
Chirp!
“If you don’t eat quickly, they’ll clear away the offering. Why such behavior during this sacred moment of Human Sacrifice?”
Perhaps it was Sue’je’s subtle reproach that had offended.
【Ahem….】
The dark god, master of this offering, revealed his displeasure.
【Kar, my child.】
“Yes, Visionary of the Twisted Truth. I listen.”
I dropped to one knee as I replied, and Lidni delivered his oracle with solemn weight.
【Today’s sacrifice pleases me greatly! It was not the special delicacy I had envisioned, yet the orc’s soul bore a curious resemblance to yours, and the taste was most satisfying. But I cannot fathom why you both possess souls of such similar form. Tell me—might you have orc kin among your blood?】
I shook my head with artless candor.
“I cannot say, my lord. My memory is lost. But what meaning could that hold?”
【Bah, none whatsoever! My traveler along the path toward truth, ‘MY’ traveler, has presented me with such delicacy!】
The great dark god subtly emphasized his own cultist, rebuking that exalted one, and now extended a clandestine proposal to me.
【My child. Should you abandon your faith in Sue’je, I shall bestow upon you forbidden knowledge to shake the world. Or I could grant you sorcery to topple mighty demons in a single blow!】
“That….”
【Silence! No more of that nonsense about having only two-digit numbers of believers!】
It seemed the continuous barrage of words had worn on him.
So a righteous life in pursuit of truth was indeed destined to face persecution.
【I do not offer this gift now. In a distant future, when the Twisted Truth spreads across the world once more—that is when.】
“So when the Church of Twisted Truth reclaims its former glory and renown, you shall grant vast knowledge and sorcery?”
【Precisely so!】
“To be frank, the promise seems far too vague to truly entice me.”
Crackle!
The unclean sovereign of the sky interjected as if waiting for this very moment.
“Oh, so Sue’je is offering the sacred relic Black Abyss Lightning should I abandon my faith in the Twisted Truth?”
【What is this?】
“This has put me in quite a position. You’re making a proposal that shakes even the steadfast Kar’s convictions….”
【…….】
Lidni didn’t speak again until your terminal had nearly finished consuming the offering.
【Well… then, in addition to the compensation for this sacrificial rite, I shall bestow upon you a free Divine Mystery at once!】
“Truly? Is that genuine?”
【Absolutely!】
I touched the tattoo on my collarbone discreetly, expressing my heartfelt gratitude to the divine presence of the wind-reader.
Thank you for your cooperation.
“I’ll think it over after accepting. But for now, my heart has tilted somewhat toward you, Lidni.”
【…My loyal child, you truly exhaust me!】
– Caw.
The raven, having finished its meal with practiced efficiency, returned to the eye sockets, and Lidni asked casually.
【So what do you desire this time?】
I had already made up my mind.
It was compensation for my matchless partner.
“I wish for the grade advancement of the Eye of Truth-Seeing.”
Growth-type Divine Mysteries do not automatically rise in rank as their master levels up.
You must employ specific means to raise the rank, and in the case of the Eye of Truth-Seeing, the basic Divine Mystery Lidni had granted me, I would need to consume another Divine Mystery of the Church of Twisted Truth.
“I shall make the Barrier of Deferred Wounds my companion for the journey ahead.”
【Have you already decided? A rational choice indeed.】
It wasn’t mere flattery meant to impress a handful of believers.
Once a Divine Mystery becomes sustenance, it belongs to the Eye of Truth-Seeing and I can no longer use it directly.
‘This is the right call.’
The Web of Holding All Things requires my active use, so it’s excluded.
The Barrier of Deferred Wounds, by contrast, works fine even if someone else activates it.
Moreover, since that creature perceives what even sentient beings cannot, it would trigger the Divine Mystery at far more opportune moments than I could manage.
【So be it, my child. Your wish shall be granted. As for the additional Divine Mystery for you, I shall select it myself as a reminder to guard against arrogance and presumption—treasure it well.】
This was absolutely not to be interpreted as meaning he’d grant me the cheapest Divine Mystery out of concern for the ‘Divine Power’ accumulated from faith rising from the earth.
Snap.
A small pain accompanied the etching of an eye-shaped tattoo on my right ring finger.
Then came a sharp sting in my right eye that faded in an instant.
《A Rank-1 Divine Mystery, Insight into Chaos, has taken root within your body.》
《And I, the Eye of Truth-Seeing, have become a Rank-2 Divine Mystery. Be grateful for the benevolence of the wise one!》
【Pursue truth forevermore.】
The thrifty divine presence, who had indeed granted the cheapest Divine Mystery available, soon withdrew from my mind.
Tap.
Rosalia, who had quietly approached, surveyed the blue sky around us.
“Are you saying we should go look for a Hidden Piece?”
Nod nod.
The master of gesture, the assassin, shook her head up and down with a hint of satisfaction.
I nodded in agreement as well.
“Yes. Let’s hurry and find it. The Hidden Piece.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————