episode_0054

Venom has always thought of himself as having good luck. Or, more accurately, he thought he was immune to bad luck.

He got into an argument with the person sitting next to him while drinking, killed him, and was about to be arrested when he ran away, but he accidentally entered the Abyss Church and saved his life.

After entering the church, I was assigned to the sacrificial search team, which was in some ways one of the most dangerous roles.

While performing that mission, he also created a Chaos Crystal with the stolen sacrifice.

A strange situation where good luck always follows bad luck.

So Venom had some hope that good luck would come his way after this recent misfortune.

‘It’s a shame that I used up all the Chaos Crystals, but it’s fortunate that I was able to escape.’

The knights and soldiers of the imperial family suddenly arrived.

He was barely able to escape the encirclement that Venom could never escape by using his secret weapon, the Tunnel Snakes.

Thanks to that, I was now penniless, but what mattered was that I was alive.

‘While rolling around in the classroom, I learned a few black magic tricks from the corner of my eyes.’

Venom thought that the force that attacked the sect this time had a low chance of winning, even if they had a leader.

In fact, when I thought that the Abyss Cult was going to disappear, I thought that it was actually a good opportunity.

In the forest where there are no ogres, the trolls act as kings, but compared to the cult leaders or high-ranking warlocks of other cults, Venom’s skills are weak.

Now, you won’t be able to find a black magician of your level on the continent.

It occurred to him that if he founded a new black magic organization, he could live like its god-like leader.

In the first place, black magic itself was structured so that its achievement was determined by the amount and level of the sacrifice offered rather than one’s own qualifications or training.

Venom felt the fatigue from his escape disappear as he imagined himself becoming much more powerful than he was now.

“I would like to use the Goldpool Valley Regional Transit.”

“Identity confirmed. Come this way.”

Venom moves to the transmission line following the guide on the rooftop.

He was inwardly surprised to see the convoy heading to Goldpool Valley crowded with people.

‘Why are there so many people trying to go to that rural area?’

In fact, the reason Venom chose the Gold Pool Valley region as his escape location is because he grew up there and is familiar with the area.

The fact that it was a quiet rural village also played a part.

It used to be famous for gold panning, but these days it’s a place with no special features, so few outsiders come to visit.

“The capital city can’t get any figures because of the guys who wait there every day.”

“That’s right. The purchase quantity is also limited, so even if you go at lunchtime, the items are sold out.”

I secretly eavesdropped on the nobles who looked quite wealthy, chatting away while waiting for their turn to be sent, but it was difficult to understand what they were talking about at first.

‘Figure? What is that? Is it a new product?’

Are you saying that you can get things in Goldpool Valley that you can’t get in the capital?

Venom tried to use his head to deduce the reason, but it was an area that was beyond his common sense.

And for some reason, a man wrapped in a thick robe is bothering me.

It was hard to tell exactly what he was because of the robe that half-covered his face, but he had a sculpted appearance that gave off a sense of handsomeness even just by looking at his lower body.

But it wasn’t his looks that bothered Venom. It was his aura that he felt for some reason that bothered him.

Although he was a mediocre black magician, he could tell the strength and weakness of his opponents like a wild beast.

Now Venom could smell the scent of a very dangerous strongman from the suspicious figure wearing that robe.

I really wanted to get out of here right away.

Without being able to do anything because he was afraid that doing so would make him look suspicious, Venom boarded the transporter heading to Goldpool Valley with the people.

***

“Let’s go! Rashya.”

At the sound of his young master’s excited voice, the puppy Ratchet looked like a little child waking up from bed because he didn’t want to go to school.

Rupert learned anew through Rash that animals have such outstanding ability to express their emotions.

Ada and Rash’s walk around the estate has now become an annual event.

The sight of Rash pulling a cart carrying Ada at set times in the morning, noon, and evening was already a famous sight in the territory.

The combination of a child and a puppy was not only cute to look at, but the cart carried milk one day and candy another day, and the children were busy following behind as they handed out items to the children they met.

Of course, I couldn’t send Ada alone, so I asked the soldiers to secretly escort her, so nothing bad happened.

Because it was so rural, the people were all innocent.

“Your Majesty, it’s almost time for the Saintess to visit. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course it’s a lot better now.”

Alain looks worried and concerned at Rupert’s answer.

But Rupert’s answer was not a lie.

Since the day he collapsed, he had been eating three meals a day without fail and doing physical training with Sir Muller at the parade ground in the morning.

Of course, during this process, all the employees working in the workshop were instructed to participate, so to a stranger it would look like they were training soldiers.

Moreover, Rupert felt his mind becoming clearer because he went to bed at a set time and got enough sleep.

‘But I can’t resist vitality potions! Really.’

But apart from getting healthier, should I say that this is a withdrawal symptom from the vitality potion?

I tried to hold out somehow by drinking coffee or other beverages, but the more I did that, the more I wanted the vitality potion.

I felt a serious sense of crisis, to the point where I even thought about smoking a cigarette, something I had never smoked before on Earth.

‘Did those alchemists really put drugs in the potions?’

The only positive thing is that although the working time has been significantly reduced compared to before, the speed has not slowed down that much.

Maybe it’s because my head feels clearer, but when I was drawing up the storyboard, more natural developments and productions came to mind, so the work was already finished.

Moreover, Sena, who was teaching him while he was next to him, boasted about how talented he was, and he acquired knowledge of drawing.

It has already been a great help not only in the continuity but also in the official work.

Of course, up until now, it was only background and painting, but for Rupert, who wanted to borrow even the cat’s paw, that was enough.

“According to Friar Manuel, the saint wants to ask for a sanctification for the church he is currently building. It would be better to meet him in person and discuss this.”

But even with Sena’s help, it was impossible to proceed with other tasks.

Rupert personally had a desire to try his hand at painting religious subjects, such as murals or religious paintings.

Such works were impossible because they had to be made over a period of at least a year.

I’m working on a comic book now and my body can’t handle it, so I think I’ll probably collapse again if I do such a large-scale project for a long time.

I decided to meet the saint in person and politely decline.

My father said he would meet me instead and explain the situation, but if he did that, he might get nitpicked for no reason.

Rupert decided to do it himself because he was curious about the appearance of the saint, whom even the most noble people would only be able to see once in their lifetime.

“Your Majesty, the sect’s carriage has just arrived at the mansion.”

“Okay, I’ll go down right away.”

Even the saintess was not a noblewoman, so she appeared right away when I told her my story.

Rupert checked his attire once more and moved to meet her, recalling the stories from the scriptures of the Goddess Church that he had been memorizing for some time.

***

“It is an honor to meet Gaia’s daughter in person. I am Rupert Somerset, the second son of House Somerset.”

“Rupert, may your mother’s grace be with you too.”

The saint responded to Rupert’s polite greeting with a gentle smile.

Originally, the saints were those who were chosen by the oracle of the goddess and at the moment of their selection, they shed their worldly names and lived only with the names of saints or daughters of Gaia.

Among them, the title of Daughter of Gaia is a respectful way to address the saint. Rupert, who had learned it through the tutoring of Monk Manuel over the past few days, felt satisfied with the saint’s favorable response!

A saint with soft, platinum-haired hair.

I glanced at her face, fearing that I would be scolded for staring at her so intently, but it was a face that was truly full of dignity.

Is this what the personification of the holy looks like?

If the princesses and Amelias he had met had noble and elegant appearances, the saintess was a little different.

Although it was not a flashy or overwhelming beauty, there was a feeling that its mere presence made the viewer feel comfortable.

If I had time and could observe it from a distance, it was such an impressive sight that I would have wanted to sketch it and leave it behind.

“I will guide you to the reception room.”

The saint nodded slightly at Rupert’s words.

And following the saintess were an old man who appeared to be a high-ranking member of the religious order and two knights.

‘It was no exaggeration to say that the only comparable opponent was the Imperial Guard.’

Rupert glanced at the knights following the saintess and thought.

Of course, Rupert, who was not a knight, had no ability to discern weakness and strength.

Their elite skills could be felt just by their outward appearance.

The difference was even more evident as the Somerset family had recently expanded their number of knights and soldiers.

I have a miserable feeling that even if all of our clan’s forces were to attack those two knights, we would be crushed.

“I heard you like blue tea, so I prepared it for you. Is that okay?”

“Yes, thank you.”

The luxury of the imperial aristocracy was truly something to be reckoned with. In particular, tea and snacks served to guests were expensive.

Fortunately, the blue tea, also known as green tea, that the saint enjoyed drinking this time was a cheap and popular tea that even commoners often drank.

If you have sophisticated tastes, you would have spent a lot of money to get it.

While drinking tea like that, the saintess said that the land looked peaceful and nice and gave some nice words of wisdom, and I also rapped along with her and mumbled praises for the goddess.

“Oh, by the way, I heard you collapsed. Are you okay now?”

“Yes, thanks to the goddess’s protection, I’m feeling much better now.”

“I think it was Goddess’s arrangement that we came this far. Would it be okay if I prayed for Sir Rupert?”

“Gaia’s daughter prays for me… I can’t let you worry about something so trivial. I’ll just listen to your heart.”

“No. Sir Rupert is already doing the noble work of conveying the will of the Mother Goddess to the world through fairy tales, so he deserves it.”

I looked at the knights and the figures of the sect standing still like stone statues behind the saintess.

Even when the saint suddenly told a story of prayer, they just remained silent.

‘Can I accept it?’

I finally went to the saintess’s repeated suggestions, knelt down in front of her, and bowed my head.