Chapter 91

Chapter 91: 7 Paladins （1）

As soon as I moved my consciousness to Totem No. 3, I saw Rake’s face, sleeping soundly while hugging the totem.

The location…is inside a cave. I can hear her soft snores.

Did she use up a lot of energy? To think she’s sleeping even though the sun hasn’t set yet.

━ …

This is the first time I’ve seen Rake so unguarded. Should I take this opportunity to appreciate her sleeping face?

“Malak-nim?”

My appreciation of Rake’s sound sleep was short-lived. As if she felt my presence in the totem, Rake opened her eyes immediately.

It feels like it hasn’t even been a few seconds since I transferred my consciousness. She’s quick.

━ You must have been tired.

“I couldn’t sleep because I was moving magic stones at dawn.”

Rake replied after rubbing her face a few times. It’s a bit funny how she’s trying to maintain a stern expression.

I briefly praised Rake, who said she had moved the magic stones four times.

Last time I heard, Kanto moved three magic stone chests with the warriors…So that makes nine times in total, with Rake’s four times and my two times.

Harry said we need twelve to move the Giant.

Since I’m going to Martba with Rake to get the magic stones there, we only need to visit two areas.

I can leave this to Kanto, the auto-hunting specialist. He’s quite the idle character.

“It’s been a while.”

Rake gave a slightly belated greeting.

━ It has. It’s been a week.

“Have you been very busy?”

━ I’ve been moving between various tribes.

For some reason, her expression seems a bit sullen.

“I didn’t expect you wouldn’t visit even once.”

━ …

Uh…That’s because I was absorbed in the awesomeness of the Totem Golem. Sorry.

“I thought you would come when the Dark Cloud appeared.”

I didn’t visit because I thought Rake would handle it well.

Anyway, she seems quite disappointed, so I should say something nice.

This is what they call managing favorability.

Rake is the strongest unit I have. It’s necessary to manage and maintain her like this.

…Of course, I don’t think of her as just a unit.

━ I was always thinking of you.

This is true. When we were ambushed by the Centipede Infected, or when I was beaten by the Hippopotamus Demon, I thought of Rake a lot.

There were many times I wished…Rake was there.

“…What were you thinking?”

Rake’s expression softens a bit.

━ That things would have gone better if you were by my side.

Right. What good is the Totem Golem? It turns into a tin can against Mid-ranking Demons.

Rake, who can take down three Mid-ranking Demons with support, is the best. Definitely.

“Is that so?”

The corners of Rake’s lips lifted slightly. It seems she wants to grin but is holding back.

You can’t hide your age when you see things like this. In Earth terms, she’s a college freshman.

She can’t hide her emotions well like a skilled adult like me.

After some small talk, I got to the main point.

━ There’s another reason why we need to go to Martba besides the magic stones.

I told her about the Black Coral Tribe, the Sea People, and the Loa, Tuga.

━ Asha, the Priestess of the Black Coral Tribe, has become Tuga’s avatar.

“An avatar…When a human accepts the power of a god, it doesn’t end well. She made a bold choice.”

Good. This is where it gets important.

━ I’ve decided to defeat them.

Even though she’s a demigod, Rake is still a barbarian who serves a Loa. Confronting a Loa must be a difficult thing for her too.

It’s natural for her to feel resistance. I was thinking about what I should do to persuade Rake when I continued speaking.

━ Asha, she asked me to take her as my bride, saying she would help my manifestation. And…

“Bride?”

Rake, who had been listening calmly until now, frowned and reacted strongly.

If she’s interrupting me, it means she’s very flustered.

Ah, right.

Rake is my passionate fan. She likes me enough to hug my figure, I mean, my totem, and sleep.

It’s only natural for a devoted fan to be angry about dating rumors.

Let’s stir this anger a little more. I feel sorry for manipulating her emotions, but it’s an urgent situation, so I’ll push aside my guilt for now.

Sorry, Rake!

━ That’s right. She said she would have children with me and rule the land with them.

“Children? Ha, she doesn’t know her place. Just a human borrowing the power of a god.”

Rake’s eyes are burning quietly. It seems she’s truly angry.

“Let’s go. We’ll kill her while we’re at it, on our way to get the magic stones.”

Good. ‘Anger inducement’ is a success.

━ Are you sure? This is about confronting a Loa.

I asked one more time just in case. Loa are special beings to barbarians.

“It doesn’t matter if the enemy is a Loa or not.”

I thought she would say something like ‘It’s okay!’ or ‘Let’s do it!’, but a completely different answer came out.

“I don’t serve Malak-nim because he’s a Loa.”

Rake looked at me. Or rather, at Totem No. 3.

“I serve you because you’re kind, Malak-nim.”

━ …I see.

I didn’t expect to hear such embarrassing, no, such touching words.

If it was really me standing in front of her instead of the totem, I would be blushing and looking at the ground right now.

I’m weak to such straightforward confessions.

“I’m not lying.”

Rake averted her gaze, seemingly embarrassed after saying that. But the fact that she didn’t take back her words shows her strong character.

“…”

━ …

This prolonged silence isn’t good.

“Martba is far away, so it would be difficult to take the entire Tribal Federation.”

That was a good change of subject, Rake. I was looking for something to say too.

━ That’s right. It seems like the two of us will have to go.

At first, I thought about trying to make Asha fight the Shadow Demon. The problem is, to get to Tibera, you have to go through Symphony.

We need to know what they’re going to do. We might cause great damage to the Tribal Federation if we carelessly involve them.

━ We need to deal with them before they cause more trouble.

I don’t know how strong Asha and the Black Coral Tribe are. I just know they don’t feel as threatening as a High-ranking Demon.

Wouldn’t I be able to defeat them if I use the Totem of Chaos well?

If Hanna’s message reached Dina’s Special Forces, they would be moving towards Martba too.

If things go wrong, I’m going to ask for Dina’s Special Forces’ help. I think it’s okay to reveal my identity and ask the Paladins for cooperation.

Originally, I was going to hide my identity until I gained the power to defeat a High-ranking Demon. But the situation has changed.

I think I need to clearly reveal my identity and solidify my position before guys like Tuga cause more trouble.

I also have some hope that I can reason with the intelligent Princess Dina.

“It’s been a while since Malak-nim and I have moved together.”

Rake nodded with a satisfied expression.

Uh…I didn’t tell her that we’d meet Hanna. Of course, I didn’t mention Dina’s Special Forces either.

Well, let’s take it slow on the way. Rake knows that Hanna is in Martba. She must have guessed.

━ I’ll stop by the Tribal Federation for a moment.

It’s time to give Kanto the auto-hunting task. I also need to see if Harry is well prepared to pilot the Giant.

Leaving behind Rake, who seemed a bit disappointed, I moved my consciousness to Totem No. 1.

“Ah, you’re here.”

Paya is cleaning Totem No. 1. I don’t see Harry.

━ I have business with Mage Harry.

“Harry-nim is at the training ground right now. He’s working hard to build up his stamina.”

He’s diligently preparing to ride the Giant. Should I go watch him while giving Kanto his quest?

I can’t miss a 70-year-old grandpa’s training session.

I asked her if she could move Totem No. 2 for me.

The Totem Golem is in the warehouse because it’s heavily damaged, and only Totem No. 2 is out, placed on the altar.

I’m thinking about repairing the Totem Golem after dealing with the Shadow Demon. It’s a bit much to ask Harry, who’s about to pilot the Giant, to repair it too.

“Yes!”

Paya replied energetically and left the altar carrying Totem No. 2. Her toddling walk is cute.

“Hahaha! Just give me three days! I, Kanto, will bring you plenty!”

That bastard, no, Kanto is playing with the women in the square. I’m pissed off seeing him having fun alone while I’m so busy.

Why are you the only one playing with the women?!

“Ouch, ouch!”

I see Harry getting beaten up by Dodo. He looked a bit chubby because he was wearing padded cloth armor.

“That old man is such a whiner.”

Our Milk Jug Youth, Dodo, is working as a training instructor. He unexpectedly has the qualities of a good teacher.

He showed promise when he was teaching Noah.

“You little punk! Were you raised by wolves…!”

Harry, who was thrown to the ground, screamed. Dodo’s veins popped out at the sudden insult to his parents, but now is not the time to worry about that.

━ Mage Harry.

I called Harry and told him to go to the underground research lab and wait, as the preparations to awaken the Giant were almost complete.

“Well, it’s about time I went. I need to check on the Giant too.”

Harry, covered in dirt and dust, stroking his beard in his messy cloth armor, was, how should I put it, an unpleasant sight.

━ I’ll assign you some warriors. Depart today.

“As you wish.”

Good. Now only one thing left to do.

[Hanna.]

I sent a personal message to Hanna.

[Not a Netkama: What?]

[Don’t be surprised.]

[Not a Netkama: Why are you suddenly being serious? It’s making me anxious.]

[The barbarians’ Loa, Malak-nim, truly exists.]

It’s time to tell her the truth. Well, a small part of it.