Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 96

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 96: Qualification, Proven
The Guide of Catastrophic Genesis.
A god of unyielding lies and purposeless transformation.
The current chief deity of the Evil God Faction and the mightiest evil god, gleaming with no fewer than one thousand believers.
Okail.
“The Wise One grows bitter. So it has come to this at last.”
Ring-ring.
Lidni and Suet’je had assented to the faith in this new Divine Entity without any particular protest.
It seemed they had foreseen to some degree that, as chief deity of the Evil God Faction, they would eventually serve Okail.
Whir-whir-whirl!
Meanwhile, the Silent One’s terminal—the serpent tattoo—was riding along the Hand Clutching Embers and spinning wildly in violent protest.
In a way, it was a natural reaction.
Leria, the former chief deity of the Evil God Faction, had fallen to the relentless heretic trials of the Age of the Grand Cathedral, and seizing that opportunity, the evil god who surged forward with terrible momentum was none other than Okail.
—Hissss!
Though it glared at me and opened its mouth wide in threat, the tattoo was still so small that it only seemed endearing.
“Please calm yourself and hear me out first.”
I set down Okail’s idol in the middle of our House Ritual Basement and continued speaking.
“I understand Leria’s feelings perfectly well. Surely you know I’m an expert in empathy?”
“An expert in empathic ruin, more like,” the Wise One muttered inwardly.
Twitch-twitch.
“But consider this more deeply. In any case, I can never become Okail’s intimate servant. He will never grant me great Secret Arts. After all, you maintain heretic cultists in the double digits who are actively at work.”
Lidni, Suet’je, Leria.
These three great Divine Entities had fewer than a hundred believers each, and believers with the Heretic Cultist Class were virtually extinct.
In Pletika, I was the only heretic cultist among the three.
But the chief deity of the Evil God Faction, having many other heretic cultists to attend to, would hardly continue watching over me as the others did.
“Surely he won’t favor me in the first place. He is so grave and serious in all matters. He won’t take kindly to someone like me, who pranks those around him for the sake of faith in Lidni.”
“Glib-tongued jesting is not the form of faith the Wise One desires!” the Wise One protested silently.
Whoosh-whoosh.
“Leria, truth be told, what I’ve said so far is not terribly important. What I think is essential is this.”
The serpent tattoo’s eyes brightened with keen interest.
—Hiss?
“Precisely: Okail will become the successor to the Kar-loving Evil God Group!”
I’ve known Kar far longer than that!
What evil god exists who hasn’t seen the great exploits Kar performed at the Sanctuary of Rest Purification?
Against such an annoying evil god who swiftly seized the position of chief deity of the Evil God Faction, one could wield that sort of prestige.
As I explained with concrete examples, the light in the serpent tattoo’s eyes grew ever brighter.
“What do you say?”
The Silent One’s terminal nodded its head rapidly.
It seemed impressed by my skillful persuasion and had finally decided to accept.
“True to form for ‘three believers’—how foolish. Taken in by such shallow deception, merely something to boast of!” the Wise One scoffed internally.
If they’re happy, it isn’t deception.
A certain employer who had hired a young orphan fresh from leaving a children’s home as a part-timer had taught me this lesson through action, not words.
Though that person had become half-paralyzed for reasons unknown, the wisdom I’d gained then still lived and breathed vividly in my mind.
“Since Leria understands as well, I shall now begin the prayer to become a heretic cultist of Catastrophic Genesis.”
Merely becoming a believer is enough with sincere faith alone.
But to become a heretic cultist, one must satisfy the qualification requirements set forth by the evil god.
Even if the soul is inscribed with the Heretic Cultist Class, should the evil god refuse, one would live as nothing more than powerless.
“O sovereign who plunges the earthly realm into chaos with unyielding lies, and causes the earth to flow ever onward through purposeless transformation.”
I kneel, and clasp my hands together.
I recite the prayer as solemnly as possible.
Okail despises light-hearted, perfectly orderly intellects in the extreme.
“I yearn for the cunning to drive fate toward an unpredictable future. I beseech you, heed my call.”
Okail has no fixed form.
Thus all his idols differ in appearance, and his prayers and doctrines vary completely from continent to continent.
The essential principle to remember is chaos.
Disorder in which nothing can be confirmed.
“I admire you greatly. And… what of my prosthetic arm? Isn’t it splendid? Okail, too, is magnificent.”
Thus, for about five minutes.
As I prayed without ceasing in earnest, my body and spirit began to grow fluid.
My form, always held fixed and steady, flowed like water.
A mind that always dwells in one place scatters like wind, tumbling in all directions.
【Half-elf.】
Then, after a moment.
A voice rang out—one bearing a gravitas incomparable to any other Evil God.
At once, all the wandering thoughts and idle musings that had been churning in my head began to tangle and twist together.
Pierre is a western continent dwarf alchemist.
Guild wars taste sweet.
The goblin chieftain’s sigh.
■■, I wish to see you.
【Your business.】
At the great Divine Entity’s voice ringing out once more, the thoughts that had been spinning dizzily subsided all at once.
I spoke, concentrating my mind as hard as I could so that my wavering heart and spirit would not crumble.
“…Greetings, Okail. I wish to become a Believer in your faith.”
With Okail, flattery of any sort holds no sway.
When offering prayer, speak only necessity—no meaningless praise.
When conducting ritual, eliminate all pretense and formality.
When bestowing Secret Arts, do so independent of affection or devotion, matching exactly what the offering and the Believer’s Rank demand.
In summary, a stern Evil God who abandoned romance and pursued only pragmatism.
【I verify your qualification.】
Such is his decorum that his oracles rarely exceed seven characters.
【If unsatisfied, I depart.】
For some reason it sounds like a somewhat dim-witted fool speaking.
Should anyone with such irreverent thoughts cross my sight, I shall thoroughly thrash them.
I opened my mouth hastily, before the guide of Catastrophic Genesis truly left.
“As for qualification—I have already been proving it. Continuously, from just moments ago.”
The Believer kneeling before the idol slowly raised his head.
“Greetings, Okail.”
Immediately after, the “second Kar” emerged from the staircase leading up to the first floor and knelt on one knee.
“I am the true half-elf Kar. I have been hidden here and offered prayer for five minutes. Since the moment Okail began to regard this way, that impostor has been speaking in my stead.”
“That is false. I am the true one who stood before the idol. He merely hid the whole time and chose this moment to appear.”
“You fraud! Why don’t you withdraw at once!”
“How dare you, pretender, raise your voice to me!”
【…….】
After a moment of silence, the guide of Catastrophic Genesis issued an oracle in measured tones.
【Before the idol. Is it you?】
“Ah! You thought I had twisted the answer just once more. But the truth is I was the second Kar—the one who hid while twisting the layers eight times further to offer prayer.”
The “Kar” before the idol who had claimed authenticity laughed broadly.
“And I am the terminal of the wise one and a fragment of the divine instrument—the Eye That Whispers Lies!”
The effect of the Eye That Whispers Lies.
It summons phantoms that move of their own volition within the bounds of sight.
“My task is complete, so I’ll withdraw now?”
The Kar who had been offering prayer melted away gradually, then was absorbed into the left eye.
I continued to bow my head respectfully and spoke once more.
“I believe this sufficiently satisfies the qualification requirements.”
The evaluation standard for an aspiring Believer of Catastrophic Genesis.
The false art of deception—tricking another.
Unlike the others, this Evil God examiner had many Believers and layfolk to tend to, so she was not watching me closely—and that was the opening I exploited to deceive her.
【…I acknowledge this.】
Okail displayed majesty by conveying all admiration and interest through her restrained oracle.
【I grant you the Secret Art.】
A sharp sting arose on my right thigh.
Stripping the Sky Invader trousers down to shorts to check, I found a chain-link tattoo had formed, coiling once around the white flesh of my thigh.
《First Tier Secret Art – Transformation (Growth Type)》
《You may alter your outward appearance. Only form changes; substance remains intact. Clothing falls under the Secret Art’s effect, but prosthetics do not—take note.》
The foundational Secret Art of a Believer of Catastrophic Genesis.
True to one who despises needless pretense, the Secret Art’s name too was coined with utmost practicality.
【I request your continued faith.】
Leaving only her dry encouragement, Okail withdrew.
She did not even speak of matters concerning religious devotion.
For now, I was merely one among the many Believers of Catastrophic Genesis, unworthy of her attention.
“Okail, you’re truly magnificent!”
Yes, this is how an Evil God ought to be.
A true Evil God knew how to dismiss the Heretic Cultists so casually, then brazenly demand they surrender body and soul the moment their assistance became necessary.
《Okail’s desired faith is a future without purpose and the transformation of destiny. :)》
“Much obliged.”
Now all preparations were complete.
I ascended, experimenting with the Transformation skill to alter my body and clothes as I went.
In the living room, at the table, the siblings and the housekeeper Rachel were enjoying a board game together with Barthimir, who had followed me down here.
“Kar, the work is finished—”
Merlin, wearing a bright expression from winning, widened her eyes.
The reactions of the others present were little different.
“Merlin, what do you think of me now?”
“…Kar? Why have you taken on the appearance of young master Odilon?”
“I’ve just acquired a Secret Art called Transformation.”
“I wasn’t asking how.”
“Tell me how you feel looking at my form now.”
While Merlin observed me with a reluctant expression, Rachel suddenly leapt to her feet and cried out.
“What a marvelous transformation technique! So your scheme is to take the place of that sickly Odilon after all! I shall follow you to the very end—!”
“No.”
“Understood.”
The housekeeper who had been shouting so loudly settled back into her seat as though nothing had happened.
Abel let out a soft laugh and offered a sensible response.
“There’s no sense of wrongness whatsoever. Honestly, I thought young master Odilon had been hiding in the basement all this time and had just come up.”
“Is that so?”
I traced a V-shape with my hand and shifted into the forms of the other members.
Rosalia, Pendrick, Barthimir.
When I finally became Lucius, Barthimir broke into applause.
“Wow! It performs incredibly well for a Secret Art bestowed by an Evil God!”
“That’s not particularly true, actually.”
Despite Barthimir’s high praise, the First Tier Transformation was hardly that useful.
The drawbacks far outweighed the advantages.
“Even while in this transformed state, continuous Secret Arts maintain their effect, but activated ones cannot be used at all.”
“Hmm, that’s rather limiting…”
The majority of Secret Arts I’d barely managed to gather were blocked.
This alone was fatal enough, but there was an even more serious problem.
“Moreover, each time I use it, my personality merges with the target of transformation. Overuse it and my identity becomes so confused I won’t even know who I am anymore.”
Okail has no fixed form, no set identity.
Thus, the Heretic Cultists who serve him gradually become beings who can be anything and nothing at once, eventually descending into Pseudo-Monsters at the end.
“That’s why ordinary Heretic Cultists of the Catastrophic Genesis use Transformation only once a month for safety.”
“…You’ve been using such a Secret Art so recklessly!?”
“Yes. Yet strangely, my sense of self hasn’t wavered at all.”
I’d experimented by transforming into Merlin, but I hadn’t felt the slightest urge to hug a purse of coins every night because money was so appealing.
I used Transformation without restraint since I could remove the side effects later with another Secret Art I’d obtain, but the fact that nothing seemed wrong at all was bewildering.
“It’s as though the drawbacks have practically disappeared, isn’t it?”
“…You’re already imitating my manner of speech.”
“I’ve always spoken this way.”
“You took the side effects head-on!”
“What are you even talking about!”
“Stop it, Kar!”
After playing the Merlin game for a while longer, I returned to my original form.
“It was all an act.”
……
I patted the sulking Merlin’s shoulder while furrowing my brow.
‘But why am I really so unaffected?’
I’d been expecting to become a one-man army with a hundred fractured identities in complete identity confusion, but disappointingly, my head was just slightly foggy at most.
Was it because of the Mark given by the two Arteins?
Whoooosh.
The Artein of the past had said something.
– In times like these, being mad becomes an advantage.
What do you mean by that?
“Sponsor, but where do you intend to use that Secret Art?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Abel is clever enough, but still young—his mind doesn’t quite work in these particular directions yet.
As a sponsor, I kindly taught him how to apply the Transformation.
“Of course, it’s for sowing discord and spreading slander.”
***
Dream Path of District 3 South.
The third floor of an elegant mansion.
An Astronomical Observation Device sat upon the windowsill, glowing as it projected the forms of five objects into the empty air.
“…The time has come.”
The Explorer, the mansion’s owner, sat motionless and murmured, whereupon a voice flowed from the Longsword.
– Are all preparations complete, sir?
“Of course.”
– I confess, I’m uneasy.
“…Why?”
The Shield answered, not the sword.
– Well, the infiltration wasn’t discovered, was it. Yet you spoke with such confidence.
“…….”
The Explorer clenched his teeth.
Because the Shield was right.
He wanted to offer some excuse, but nothing came to mind, so he simply remained silent.
– It’s too early for reproach yet.
This time it was the Staff with Bells that spoke.
– If we can only secure administrative authority over District 3, we could gladly overlook one failure. What do you think?
“An obvious question.”
The Explorer curled his lips upward, rose from his seat, and seized a strange garment lying nearby.
Clothing that resembled human skin.
“Soon enough, District 3 will fall into my hands. You each wait in your assigned places.”
The Explorer touched the Astronomical Observation Device, dispersing the phantom forms suspended in air, then turned his gaze toward a side table beside the bed.
A Fish Sculpture, radiating an unfathomable gravitas, gazed downward with five pairs of eyes bearing an inscrutable stare.
“…I will surely succeed. For a true order where all stand at equal heights.”

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