Ch.157Chapter 157

Finally, I called out the names of all the divine beings who were obsessed with me, including Faura.

After blurting it out, my heart was racing so wildly that I wondered if I’d done the right thing.

My biggest concern was how I would handle everything going forward.

“…Raedan, you look worried.”

Faura smiled as she looked at me.

Just moments ago, she had looked so pitiful, but now she seemed so composed, which was nice to see.

“…To be honest… I am a bit concerned.”

“That’s understandable. I knew what situation you were in, so I didn’t want to be greedy… but here I am.”

Despite her words, Faura couldn’t stop smiling.

I thought she was just happy, but looking again, I realized her expression was slightly different.

She was smiling at me as if she knew something.

Since Faura had previously managed to perfectly mediate when everyone gathered for a meal, I felt an inexplicable sense of trust bubbling up.

“Faura?”

“…Hehe, actually, I’ve already considered all the favorable scenarios for myself.”

As Faura gestured for me to come closer, I lent her my ear, and she whispered something to me.

At first glance, it sounded very reasonable.

But the moment she finished speaking, I trembled almost convulsively.

“W-what are you saying?!”

It was something I simply couldn’t comprehend.

It felt like something was fundamentally wrong.

Faura twisted her lips as if she understood and continued.

“Honestly, Raedan, as long as I can be with you, the order doesn’t matter to me. I was only anxious about how you felt about me… but after hearing what you said, I’m confident in this plan.”

“B-but that’s still…”

“Then do you have another way to make everyone happy?”

I wanted so badly to refute Faura’s words, but I could only bite my lip and remain silent.

As she said, I couldn’t think of a more efficient method.

No matter how hard I tried to think of alternatives, someone would end up getting hurt.

Since I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone being hurt because of me, I had no choice but to follow Faura’s suggestion.

“…As a solution for creating a world without pain, it’s perfect, but I’m not sure if it’s the right approach.”

“If it can make everyone happy, isn’t that the right thing to do?”

The Cook said with a slight smile, making me sigh involuntarily.

Could I really resolve things this way?

I glanced at Bell, but even she seemed to agree with Faura, happily panting “heh heh.”

Seeing that, I smiled and patted her head, which made her look up at me with a puzzled expression.

“Woong?”

“Don’t you have a real name, Bell? Tell me now and I’ll call you by it.”

At my words, Bell tilted her head, then shook it and said:

“Bell is fine!”

“Huh?”

“Name given by friend, so not meaningless!”

Not meaningless?

If they were close enough to give each other names, it must be precious.

“You should cherish a name given by a friend.”

“I like Bell better!”

Bell said that and then smiled very happily as she added:

“And I learned that ‘Bell’ means ‘beautiful’!”

“…?”

Wait, did she actually get a language teacher or something?

Before, I had jokingly thought that I was just learning more about Bell as time went on.

But that was terminology she couldn’t have known without being specifically taught.

There was only one being who could have taught her that.

Aphta.

I told him to maintain the world’s balance, and now he’s teaching language to a dog.

I wondered how such a lazy deity could maintain the world.

“I’m still curious though. What name did your friend give you?”

“Shenok Geroya!”

Shenok Geroya.

As I pondered the meaning of those words, I couldn’t help but sigh.

So far, the Outer Gods generally had names related to the concepts they represented.

Well, that was just a small part of what I’d learned from the Saint.

At the very least, I could tell that those two words didn’t match at all with the title “The Watcher.”

“Bell.”

“Woong?”

“Was this friend who named you… Aphta?”

“Woong!”

I could clearly feel someone in my mind flinch.

So that’s why Bell was so happy when she first met Aphta.

I don’t know exactly what he had planned, but I knew for certain that calling her by that name wouldn’t be good.

No matter how dog-like her form was, calling her a dog outright seemed a bit strange.

Wait a minute.

Does that mean I’ve been calling Bell by her name from the beginning?

Bell treats the name I gave her essentially as her real name.

Which means…

I suddenly felt a chill as I looked at Bell.

She was holding my hand with both of hers, rubbing it against her cheek and making purring sounds.

It was just a possibility, but…

When the other divine beings were desperate to have their names called, what was Bell feeling?

What if she was deliberately acting like a dog?

What if she was pretending, using her namelessness to induce me to name her…?

What if all this playing dumb was just an act, all part of a plan?

So while she was innocently showing dog-like affection to me, inside she was smiling deviously…

“Woong?”

Noticing that I was staring at her too intently, Bell blinked and looked at me.

…No.

That’s overthinking it.

If that were the case, I would have noticed something unnatural about her before now, but Bell still acts like a dog.

Besides, the other divine beings would have known.

Look.

Even now, Faura is smiling fondly at Bell’s affectionate behavior.

Instead of having strange thoughts, I should focus on figuring out how to defeat the Giant of the Snow Mountains.

#

Before Faura returned to her original world, I embraced her one last time.

Perhaps thinking she could now do so freely, she hugged me tightly, showing how much she had been holding back all this time.

The old me might have made strange noises like “Heeung, Maman” in this situation.

O-of course, it was still awkward with something heavy constantly pressing against me.

“Whew, that’s enough. I’ve recharged my Raedan energy!”

“…Ahem.”

Hearing her say such things in that warm voice made me a bit embarrassed.

What’s this “Raedan energy” anyway?

What am I, even?

“Well then, I’ll be going. …I’m sorry for giving you a hard time today.”

“It was nothing. I just flapped my mouth a bit.”

Faura chuckled at my words, finding them amusing.

“Goodbye, Bell.”

“Woof woof! No walk today!”

“Hehe, Bell?”

As Faura patted Bell’s head, Bell looked up at her.

“Woong?”

“Let’s let Raedan rest today. He’s had a tough time.”

“Huung, walk…”

“If you wait a little, he’ll take you for walks four times as long next time!”

“Muuung?! If that’s the case, I can wait!”

Bell said that and started running around me excitedly.

Yes, four times as long.

Hmm.

Maybe I could take Bell with me when I go to round up those bandits next time.

I could just say, “Bell! Go step on each of them once!”

“Well then, I’ll be going, Raedan. See you next time.”

“Human! Bye-bye!”

With that, the two of them finally disappeared from the human realm.

Phew.

I sighed involuntarily.

It felt like a storm had passed through.

Now that they were gone, I fully realized what I had done.

How should I deal with the aftermath?

Should I ask Oko to hide away with me when he’s resurrected?

…No, that’s something only scoundrels would do.

My head hurts.

For now, I should return to the Knights’ headquarters to report back and then think about it.

#

When I arrived at the Knights’ headquarters, I saw the Commander and Vice Commander seriously discussing something with their heads together, which was unusual.

Normally when I entered the headquarters at this time, I’d catch them doing something embarrassing.

“Commander, Vice Commander.”

“Ah, Tanthyn. You’re back.”

As the Vice Commander noticed me first, the Commander picked up a piece of paper and focused on it intently.

“Vice Commander? What are you looking at?”

“Ah, Tanthyn. You can join us for this mission too.”

When the Vice Commander said that, the Commander snapped his fingers and nodded, pointing at the Vice Commander.

“That’s a good idea, Vice Commander. That would eliminate quite a few variables.”

“Pardon? What exactly—”

“I’ll explain briefly.”

From the Vice Commander’s mouth, I heard about something clearly out of the ordinary.

“The Huntsman’s followers have begun actively cooperating with Candle.”