Chapter 67

The last update was on 11/02 (Sat).

After finishing breakfast, we rushed out of town and started walking down the road.

We were supposed to head to our destination with Ryu, but unfortunately, he was on a long trip with Elenora. It’s not that far, so it’s not bad to walk sometimes.

Recently, I’ve come to understand that a date refers to the act of walking side by side with a member of the opposite sex. So, the current situation of walking together is undoubtedly a date.

However, it’s a shame. A voice that disrupts such a romantic event comes from under our feet.

"Direction is perfect! We should be able to reach it without getting lost."

"That’s a relief."

Lemun, who usually hates walking, was once again hiding in my shadow.

The place where the faith in the Dark God was said to have revived is a rural village near the city of Dorkness. The direction and distance Lemun indicated were spot-on.

It’s really within walking distance. I never thought a mysterious new religion would be so close...

While I was thinking about this, we had already arrived.

In the middle of the sprawling wheat fields, a small village stood alone.

So, this is the village. I remember when I inspected it before. Back then, I was causing a commotion because they thought I was the mountain god.

We stopped at the entrance to the village, and finally, Lemun peeked out from the shadow.

"Come out quickly. Is this the right place?"

"It seems to be the right village."

"Just seems to be?"

"Well, the faith in me seems to be flourishing in this area."

"You mean the faith in the Dark God has spread beyond this village?"

This is serious. The mysterious new force has been secretly expanding its influence.

I was about to enter the village to question the residents, but Lemun walked off in the wrong direction.

"Where are you going?"

"There’s a makeshift shrine over here."

There’s even such a thing. Patrick and I exchanged surprised glances and quickly followed him.

We walked about halfway around the edge of the village, to the side opposite the road, towards the mountains.

This mountain, located within the Dorkness territory, is rarely visited by people. If you go deep enough, it becomes the domain of monsters. Occasionally, lost ones make their way to human settlements, making it a dangerous mountain.

It’s also a place I used to frequent as a child.

"There it is."

At the end of Lemun’s finger was a stone shrine.

A tall, narrow rock, taller than Patrick, had been carved and shaped, and was covered by a wooden shrine. It must have taken a lot of effort to build.

Around the shrine, village children were playing. When they saw me, they started to make a fuss.

"Wow! It’s the mountain god!"

"No, it’s the lord!"

"Wow, his hair is really black."

Wow. I’m still called the mountain god.

When I was a child, I used to level up in the mountains and was occasionally spotted by the villagers, who mistook me for a guardian god who defeated monsters.

After becoming the lord, I thought I had cleared up the misunderstanding by visiting the villages...

But this is convenient. Children can’t keep secrets. I decided to ask them about the shrine casually.

"Hey, everyone. Is this stone shrine dedicated to the Dark God?"

"Dark?"

"Isn’t it the mountain god?"

"Wait, but the mountain god uses darkness to defeat monsters..."

They seem to be confused. Interestingly, in this world, the pronunciation of 'mountain' and 'darkness' is similar, just like in Japanese. Is that the cause of the confusion?

Then, Patrick, who had approached the shrine alone, said,

"It says 'mountain god' here."

Huh? So this isn’t Lemun’s shrine?

I looked at Lemun, confused, but he just twisted his neck awkwardly and didn’t say a word. This god seems a bit suspicious.

I decided to ask the village children for more information.

"Is there any other place where a god is worshipped?"

"Worshipped...?"

"Like this shrine, a place where you pray to a god."

"There’s an altar to Sannon in the mayor’s house."

The oldest-looking child answered politely.

Sannon, the God of Light. A major religion widely believed in this country. I recently had a battle with the light barrier in the capital’s church.

"Is there any other place besides that?"

"I don’t think so..."

"Got it. Sorry to take your time."

The children looked at each other curiously, bowed to us, and returned to the village.

It seems there really isn’t any faith in the Dark God. Then, what did Lemun mean by the revival of the faith?

"Can you explain what you meant?"

"...Probably."

When I glared at Lemun and questioned him, he started to speak, looking embarrassed.

"Probably... the faith in you, the lady, has shifted to me."

"..."

"See, the words 'mountain' and 'darkness' sound similar, right? And you use dark magic. The villagers here worship you as the mountain god and, at the same time, worship me as the Dark God... something like that. It makes sense that the power would come to me through you. That’s why I thought you were a priestess."

What is this? The faith shifted to Lemun because the words sound similar and you use dark magic?

What a faith thief. My believers’ faith... no, I don’t need it. I might as well give it all to Lemun.

"Uh... what’s the punchline?"

"Hehe."

Let’s go back. I signaled to Patrick and started walking.

"We’re going back. Walk on your own this time."

"Wait, hold on!"

We walked along the road, away from the village.

It was just before noon. The sun was high in the southern sky, the time when shadows are the smallest.

Lemun followed us, complaining, but when he tried to enter the shadow, I quickened my pace to keep him away.

"Is this place good?"

"Sure."

With Patrick’s approval, we both turned north.

This area is a wasteland, with only scattered rocks and sparse weeds. There are few shadows here.

"What, are you going off the road? Where are you going?"

When Lemun asked, Patrick and I turned around.

He’s definitely lying. Both Patrick and I noticed, which is why we came to this place.

"I want to hear the truth."

"What truth? I only told you the truth, lady."

"You said the faith in the Dark God had recently revived, right?"

"...Yeah."

"But that faith was due to the mountain god, which is me. I’ve been called the mountain god for over ten years. It doesn’t make sense that the faith in the Dark God wouldn’t have revived at the same time."

"...Oh, you’re so suspicious. Is that why you positioned yourselves like this?"

Exactly. We are on the north side, and Lemun is on the south side. The shadows are extending north, so the risk of Lemun using them is lower.

So far, we know his ability is to enter and exit shadows. He might have other hidden abilities, so we can’t be careless.

Lemun smiled confidently.

"Don’t look at me with such a scary face. Entering and exiting shadows isn’t that convenient. You can only exit from the shadow you entered, and there are a lot of restrictions."

"That’s a lie too."

Patrick called him out on the lie and continued.

"When Elenora arrived, Lemun jumped into my shadow. But the next time he appeared, it was in Yumiera’s shadow."

"I was trying to be careful. So, you suspected me from the start. Even your interest in the leveling story was an act to get information, right?"

"...That’s right."

I nodded calmly, and Patrick glared at me sideways, telling me not to lie.

"Attacking me with dark magic was to test what was effective, right?"

"...Yes."

"Kicking me as soon as we met was to check if physical attacks worked?"

"...You figured it out."

Patrick looked at me with a “Is this guy for real?” expression, but I shouldn’t let it bother me.

In situations like this, it’s important to maintain a mental advantage. In reality, kicking Lemun was a reflex, and my interest in the leveling story was instinctive. When I attacked with dark magic, I lost control.

"Ordering that maid not to listen to me was also part of this, right?"

"Ah, that’s true."

At the time, I was skeptical, but telling Rita was the right decision. This self-proclaimed god is too suspicious.

Physical attacks are effective, dark magic is ineffective, and the effectiveness of other attribute magic is unknown. He might still have hidden abilities.

Despite our combat readiness, Lemun still had a confident smile. No, his smile was a bit forced. He might be at his limit, but we can’t let our guard down.

A few seconds of silence.

Lemun slowly raised his hands.

"I surrender. There’s no way I can win against you two. I’ll tell the truth."

"How do we know you’re telling the truth?"

"Well... how about asking her? She’s just arrived."

Lemun pointed to an empty spot to our left.

I was about to say he was trying to distract us when something changed.

A brilliant light suddenly flooded the area.

The hot white light made me think of the sun.

"What!?"

Blinded by the light, I instinctively covered my eyes. Patrick was probably in the same situation.

The light disappeared after a few seconds.

First, I checked Lemun. He hadn’t run away and was still in his original spot.

Then, I looked at where the light had appeared. A girl stood there, about my age.

She had white hair and golden eyes, and wore a simple white dress. She exuded a divine aura.

Her white hair, which reached her waist, reflected the sunlight and shone. Her bangs were parted in the middle, revealing her broad forehead.

She slowly looked at me, Patrick, and Lemun, and then spoke.

"I am the God of Light, Sannon. I will eliminate you, Yumiera Dorkness."

Her beautiful eyes were fixed on me.

The comic adaptation has been decided!

We have published detailed information and key visuals in the activity report.