Ch.109Chapter 109. Armchair Chosen One (1)

Chapter 109. Armchair Chosen One (1)

I logged into the community. I had a few things to check.

[LoveDeathMeow: Meow meow meow~! (Contemplating today’s lunch)]

[ShotgunAttack: These days I live for watching Petit Noah’s Tribal Alliance series]

[Brahmanda: I’m raising mice]

[3Rep500: Is there any way to allocate points to stats instead of skills? If there’s a status window, it should show stats too…]

[ITrustedTheMonkeyMan: Real-time Paladin collapse… Hidden family discovered]

[Ghoulr: Is it just me, or have the demons been a bit quieter since that Malak guy or whatever appeared?]

[OneSlice: ‘Capital’]

These are today’s posts. I spotted a few that caught my interest.

Should I take a look? There’s no rush to check things anyway.

Getting information is important, so this is definitely not procrastination. Yep, absolutely.

[Brahmanda: I’m raising mice these days

I caught a group of mice with the trap I made before. About seven of them, and they were easily caught when I lured them with a few peanuts.

They’re not much different from Earth mice. They seem to be a bit larger, like sewer rats. Of course, there were no infected ones. I even pricked them slightly with a needle to check their blood color, so I’m sure.

I’m keeping them in a glass tank now. I give them a few nuts every morning and evening, and it’s quite cute how they hold them with both front paws while nibbling.

I was raising them to have meat without hunting, like raising chickens or pigs… but it feels weird now. I was planning to eat a few after they grew more and had babies, but it’s not easy. Even knowing I shouldn’t get attached, it’s hard not to.

I think they recognize me too. Every time I come, they perk up their ears and stand on two feet, which reminds me of the dog I used to have.

It might seem like a trivial concern, but I felt troubled and wanted to write a few words.

(Photo of mice staring blankly from inside a tank with air holes)

Could you eat them? When they’re this cute?]

The dog they used to have must be the one they mentioned when explaining various things to stop Abraham’s suicide show, saying it died while they were raising it.

They really love animals.

Most of the comments were reactions like “are you crazy,” “showing off,” “abandon your weak mindset,” and so on. They probably think it’s a useless concern in this terrible world.

I think differently.

Previously, a user with the nickname ‘EvenAWildflower’ posted asking for help in the community, saying they hadn’t eaten anything for two days.

When everyone else ignored them, Brahmanda left a comment saying they would share food and to contact them via private message.

Since the rest of the conversation happened through private messages, I don’t know if that promise was kept, but one thing is certain.

[EvenAWildflower: The trees are growing well, perhaps because of the rain]

[EvenAWildflower: It’s been raining a lot lately. Is the sky being temperamental?]

These posts were from a few days ago. The user who was worried about starving to death is still alive. I believe they received food.

I’m not trying to say Brahmanda is a good person. It just means they’re in a stable enough situation to share food with others. They might even be somewhat self-sufficient.

Can’t you feel their abundance just from the fact that they have nuts to feed mice? It’s because their situation isn’t bad that they can afford such peace of mind.

[UltraSansMadWithMoonlightMassacreMode: Keep them as pets]

ㄴ [UltraSansMadWithMoonlightMassacreMode: Use them as demon or cultist detectors. Mice have super sensitive senses like smell. They’re the first to flee when earthquakes or disasters happen]

Brahmanda seems to have already decided to keep them as pets. In this case, it’s best to point out the practical uses of mice.

“I’m raising them because they’re cute despite being useless and just consuming food” is less comforting than “I’m raising them because they’re useful AND cute.” This is my own way of being considerate to the kind user Brahmanda.

Feeling satisfied with my good deed, I read the next post.

[ITrustedTheMonkeyMan: Real-time Paladin collapse… Hidden family discovered

I found a cave in the mountains and went in, but there was already a family living there;;

It’s a family of four—father, mother, daughter, and son. Maybe because I’m a Paladin, they weren’t too hostile.

I entered the cave to rest briefly since it was raining and I’d been walking for a long time, but the father’s expression doesn’t look good, damn it lol

He speaks super politely, but what he’s saying is basically “Please get out. This is our home. We have absolutely no food to spare.”

Shit, what should I do? My original home was destroyed by a flood, so I can’t go back there;;

What should I do? Kick them out? Or should I try to persuade them somehow?]

So their home was flooded. Come to think of it, the ‘EvenAWildflower’ user also mentioned a lot of rain.

I heard it rained tremendously during the week I was unconscious. There were even days when it rained all day long.

…This is actually my fault.

I once used “Malak’s Domain” while in an “Unstable Manifestation” state. At the time, only the sky flickered, but it seems to have had some effect afterward.

I guess it’s fortunate there wasn’t any thunder and lightning.

This is something I shouldn’t casually give advice about. I just hope they don’t kill the family.

I hope they find some compromise.

[OneSlice: ‘Capital’

(Photo of a building covered in bizarre vines that look like black tentacles)

I took this and ran immediately.

Don’t ever go to the capital.]

– Comments –

[Ghoulr: Completely pickled in magic]

[CowBikiniDance: What’s with those tentacles OMG Is that house alive and moving?]

[3Rep500: I shouldn’t even pee in that direction]

The capital… I’ve heard there’s a powerful demon living there, comparable to the Dark Cloud, though I don’t know what kind of demonic realm it is.

Looking at the seemingly infected building gives me some sense of the danger level.

I’ll have to go there eventually to destroy the dimensional gate in the capital and end this journey, but I’ll need to be thoroughly prepared.

Now, let me fulfill the purpose of my community visit.

I searched for “Rinojohnnson” in the search bar. Recent posts… none.

Still, I shouldn’t let my guard down. There might be other Paladins being controlled by him.

I looked for users who speak unnecessarily formally or use old-fashioned language like Charon.

[AhHangHang: Darn it~~, sh…it…

My d,ick should be up and at ’em every mornin’~~!

But it ain’t risin’ at all~~~ ^^; Goodness, I reckon this might be a big problem~~~;;

What a darn embarrassment~ Sheesh~]

Hmm.

[FourEmperorTrueEye: Mortals

I am famished

If you do not offer living sacrifices

Be prepared for extinction

With my gleaming teeth

I shall pass merciless judgment

Death is repaid with death,

Obedience with happiness

If you do not wish to incur the wrath of the dragon lord

Act now]

Hmm.

No sign of Charon. At least he doesn’t seem to be leaving bait posts through the Paladins he controls.

Maybe he’s still smarting from that dick joke and not even lurking anymore?

If not, I’d have to assume he’s completely adapted to the community and now uses normal speech patterns, which is harder to believe.

Would that serious old fart put in that much effort for this space? I don’t think so.

Finally, let me send a message to ArmchairChosenOne.

[hi]

[heard about the situation from Petit Noah and Malak]

The reply came five minutes later.

[ArmchairChosenOne: Wow]

[ArmchairChosenOne: You’re the Herald, right?]

[yep]

[ArmchairChosenOne: Amazing]

[mind if I ask a few things?]

[Malak asked me to]

[ArmchairChosenOne: Oh, that’s fine]

I asked about her region, the location of the cathedral, and the appearance or characteristics of the demons.

For zombies, we could identify them by their red glowing eyes and such.

[ArmchairChosenOne: I haven’t seen them directly. As soon as the Pope sensed their presence, everyone took shelter underground…]

At least I got the location.

[it’s ok]

No matter how I look at it, this isn’t Charon’s speech pattern. My last remaining doubts have been cleared.

[are the Pope and believers doing well?]

[ArmchairChosenOne: Everyone is lying down to minimize movement]

[ArmchairChosenOne: They were really happy when they heard Malak was coming :)]

[from now on contact me instead of Petit Noah]

[I have a direct line so information gets passed faster]

[ArmchairChosenOne: Ah, okay!]

[I’ll contact you again when we’re close]

[ArmchairChosenOne: Thank you!]

Good. All preparations are complete. Now I just need to choose who to bring along.

First, my guardian Lakye must come… who else?

Kanto and the warriors need to keep auto-hunting running, and mages like Luna and Harry lack stamina, so they’re out.

Asha should stay at headquarters in case of an attack. So who should I bring?

While I was contemplating this:

“Um… I really want to go too. ArmchairChosenOne is my first friend… and I want to level up more… is that okay?”

Noah hesitantly expressed her desire to participate.

“The current Toughie should be able to fly with four or five people on its back.”

Paya also steps forward, as if she’d been waiting for this. She occasionally complained that it had been too long since we fought together. She wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity.

Suddenly I’m about to take two minors with me. They both have plenty of practical experience, so it should be fine, right?