Chapter 19

Ch.19 Apostle of the Goddess of War

The more he thought about it, the more outrageous it felt.

Sion felt as if all the blood in his head had drained away.

‘I wonder if the goddess has heard this pig’s vile words?’

He wished she hadn’t heard them at all.

Wasn’t this tantamount to sacrilege?

How could someone think so little of the War Cult to even utter such words?

Naturally, the goddess Achilles was also listening. The only reason she didn’t immediately unleash her rising fury was because she trusted her beloved Sion.

[Sion, I’m curious how you’ll handle this situation.]

Now then, show me.

Goddess of War, Achilles silently watched Sion, holding her breath.

‘I could cut his throat right now, but I’ll hear him out first. Spilling blood in the meeting room would be crude.’

Sion calmly controlled his emotions and opened his eyes.

“Guildmaster Apur?”

“Yes, Sir Sion?”

“Do you even know what you just said?”

Apur answered while refilling his wine glass again.

“Of course. I know it well, which is why I was extremely cautious and treated you with delicate hospitality.”

“Are you unaware that this is sacrilege?”

“Well, I wonder. Was it considered sacrilege in the War Cult? I thought it was common practice to accept requests from other Cults.”

Apur lowered his voice defiantly, as if refusing to back down. By now, Loenhaugter had taken position beside Apur.

So they weren’t hesitating even at the prospect of a violent clash.

Sion gritted his teeth as his anger steadily rose.

From the Order of the Holy Sword to Apur—so many people looked down on Sion, on the War Cult.

If they had simply looked down on Sion himself, he could have laughed it off.

But this was happening to Sion, a disciple of the War Cult.

Because the Cult’s status was so low, such absurd situations arose.

‘This won’t do. It can’t continue.’

It was time to correct this once and for all.

Sion spoke, his voice laced with coldness.

“There’s something I’ve recently realized.”

“Hm?”

“I have a certain talent. A knack for violence. And I’m very, very confident in it.”

“What are you talking about?”

Loenhaugter chimed in.

Despite trying so hard to avoid conflict, they had ended up in a confrontation after all.

“So don’t provoke me. Whether it’s Foils or the Order of the Holy Sword… I will mercilessly cut down anything that dares to desecrate my goddess.”

“Sir Sion, that sounds rather reckless.”

Loenhaugter tightened his grip on his sword hilt as he spoke.

Sion snorted and replied,

“You’re the one being recklessly rude.”

Loenhaugter cleared his throat and glanced at Apur, who looked deeply troubled as he stared at Sion.

Sion was being far more confrontational than expected. He hadn’t anticipated such a response.

“Had this been a difficult request, you could’ve gone to the mercenary guild or asked the Order of the Holy Sword. Did you assign me an assassination request simply because you thought the War Cult was weak and easy to manipulate?”

Sion began pressing his point sharply.

Apur tried to counter, but every word was true, and his mouth shut on its own.

“You probably thought, ‘The War Cult? We can just pay them off.’ That was your despicable reasoning, wasn’t it? You’d flatter a penniless Cult’s priest, feed him precious food, and then make a request—making it hard for him to refuse. And you’ve probably done this before, haven’t you?”

“……”

Apur sighed deeply and sat back in his chair. He stopped drinking wine.

“It seems you’ve misunderstood greatly. Please calm down and listen to what I have to say.”

“I’m perfectly rational. Please, speak freely.”

Sion remained standing near the door as he spoke. Apur ran his hands through his hair and began.

“First, it’s true that I looked down on the War Cult. I can’t deny that. I apologize. I will pray to the Goddess of War with a heavy heart.”

“Yes. You absolutely must do that.”

Sion warned coldly, as if he might draw his sword at any moment.

Apur sighed again.

“But this wasn’t sacrilege. You could call it an unspoken custom. The merchant guild of the Abundance Cult has long maintained cooperative relationships with other Cults in this manner.”

“You mean by assigning assassination requests?”

Sion crossed his arms and frowned. It sounded highly suspicious.

“O-of course not just simple assassinations. To be precise, we only accept requests related to Cult affairs.”

“Cult-related…”

Sion recalled Father Gustein’s words.

In reality, Cults that served the goddess often clashed over big and small conflicts.

Outwardly, they smiled at each other, but in the shadows, they engaged in dirty slander and intrigue. Religion was like that.

Moreover, since a goddess’s strength was somewhat proportional to the number of her disciples, such phenomena were unavoidable.

“So alliances and rivalries form between Cults based on mutual interests. This is how the Abundance Cult survives, despite being forbidden from forming knightly orders.”

Sion slightly lowered his guard.

Aside from his personal discomfort, it was difficult to fault the Abundance Cult’s doctrines and customs.

Since the request was Cult-related, Sion decided it was worth hearing more.

“I understand your reasoning. But be more careful from now on. My patience is already at its limit. If you make another mistake—well, it won’t be a mistake then.”

Sion gripped his sword tightly as he spoke. His gaze didn’t even flinch at Loenhaugter, who stood guarding Apur.

He radiated such confidence it could have been mistaken for arrogance.

But Apur and Loenhaugter clearly understood it wasn’t arrogance.

Knowing one’s limits meant one had survived long and would survive longer.

“I’ll remember. I’ll also properly apologize later, in the way of those who serve the Goddess of Abundance.”

“Understood.”

“Thank you for your generosity.”

An apology was accepted, a misunderstanding cleared. Finally, they were ready for an honest conversation.

Loenhaugter relaxed, relieved.

‘I thought I was going to die for no reason. Really…’

He had wanted to test his strength against Sion, but he had no desire to truly cross swords.

‘Just from his presence earlier, I can tell—he’s a monster.’

If Sion had drawn his sword, they would all have died. It was a foregone conclusion, no need to debate possibilities.

Sion returned and sat down again—a sign he was halfway accepting the assassination request.

The final decision would depend on what he heard next, but at least his mood had improved.

“Sir Sion, are you familiar with the doctrine of the Abundance Cult, to which all merchants belong?”

“No.”

“The Abundance Cult has only two doctrines.”

Apur raised his index finger.

“First principle: Solve everything with gold.”

Apur raised a second finger.

“Second principle: Uphold the first principle. Pretty simple, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Sion reluctantly agreed. It was truly intuitive and clean. The War Cult didn’t even have a single doctrine.

“Because of these doctrines, we don’t maintain churches or form military groups like knightly orders.”

Instead, they solved every problem in the world with gold.

When armed conflict arose, they hired mercenaries with money. For religious issues, which mercenaries couldn’t handle, they hired knightly orders from other Cults.

“So that’s why you contacted me.”

“I’m so glad my intentions have finally been fully understood!”

“Hm.”

“A problem arose, and just then I heard news of you, Sir Sion. I thought, ‘This is the man!’”

Sion tilted his head and asked,

“Why didn’t you ask the Order of the Holy Sword instead?”

“Haha, because the Order of the Holy Sword is too expensive.”

“I see.”

This was the reason Apur had looked down on the War Cult. Since it was a weak Cult, he assumed the price for their services would be low.

Of course, since the person he approached was Sion, he nearly ended up in a major disaster.

“Haha. That was a joke. The real reason isn’t that.”

“Then what is it?”

Sion leaned in, listening intently.

“I heard you’re even more skilled than the Order of the Holy Sword. Is that true?”

“Well…”

Sion didn’t outright deny it.

“So naturally, I came to you.”

“Hm, I understand.”

“Of course, the compensation will be generous—nothing to complain about.”

Sion casually added,

“I’ll take as much as possible.”

“Haha! That’s the spirit. Of course you will. As long as you successfully resolve the matter, I’ll give you an amount that will shock you.”

Apur was confident when it came to money.

“First… let’s make one thing clear. I’ll handle this my way. Any killing will be done according to my judgment.”

Accepting the request, but drawing a line.

This statement clearly established that he, Sion, held the authority.

“Of course, that’s fine. Anyway, you’ll accept, won’t you?”

“I’ll hear you out first.”

Hehehe, Apur rubbed his palms together and gave a sly chuckle. He seemed to be carefully gauging Sion’s reactions, adjusting his tone accordingly.

“There’s a man named Holt. He was a Holy Knight of the Wisdom Cult. Now, he’s a fugitive who’s wanted.”

A former Holy Knight who had fled and become a wanted criminal—just hearing that sparked Sion’s curiosity about the details.

Sion straightened his posture, absorbing every piece of information without missing a single word.

“To be honest, I’m not interested in the specifics. What matters to me is the damage he’s caused to my business.”

“Your business?”

When Sion asked, Apur’s voice carried a hint of anger.

“I recently secured mining rights. I was working hard and making profits when this man Holt sneaked into my mine and occupied it at will. Because of him, I’ve had to halt the entire operation.”

“I see.”

Apur continued complaining, adding more details.

“Did you just sit back and do nothing?”

“Of course not.”

Apur listed his efforts one by one.

He had hired mercenaries and even tried bribing Holt.

Every attempt ended in failure.

As a former holy knight, Holt was far too strong for ordinary mercenaries. And his goal was survival, not money.

“For these reasons, I needed to request help from a highly skilled holy knight. Just then, I heard about you, Sir Sion. Good heavens! A knight of the War Cult!”

After hearing the full story, Apur seemed to have made a reasonable choice after exhausting all other options.

Having tried everything without success, he had resorted to this gamble.

“Holy knights of the War Cult don’t solve everything with swordplay. That’s a mistaken prejudice.”

Sion didn’t hide his displeasure. Apur, realizing he had crossed a line, quickly corrected himself.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant you’re that strong.”

“……How much is the compensation?”

Sion looked at Apur and stood up. Since he had decided to accept, all he needed was the necessary information before leaving.

“I’ll give you 10% of the mine’s profits for the next three months.”

Apur proposed confidently, but the offer was meaningless to Sion.

He hadn’t endured Apur’s disgusting breathing just to earn such a trivial amount.

“Fund the War Cult’s reconstruction project. Whatever amount is needed.”

“What?”

“We need to rebuild the church and construct many houses in the village. Invest with the future in mind. When the War Cult revives, Guildmaster, you’ll gain a strong ally. It’s a profit, isn’t it?”

Apur’s eyes widened. It was obvious he was mentally calculating the benefits.

“If you don’t answer within five seconds, I’ll consider it a refusal and leave. Five.”

“No! Why do you keep doing this—”

“Four.”

Grrr—!

Apur clenched his fists in anger, trembling.

But to Sion, he posed no threat at all.

Sion had already seen that Apur had no other cards to play and was using that to his advantage.

Clearly, Apur was the one at a disadvantage here.

“Three.”

“O-okay!”

“Two.”

“I’ll invest! I said I will! Damn it!”

Only then did Sion smile slightly and extend his hand. Apur sighed deeply, as if the ground had caved in, and reluctantly shook his hand.

Like a cat who set out to catch a mouse only to have its entire pantry looted, the loss was too sudden and overwhelming to react in time.

“Deciding so hastily… I really dislike this. Business requires caution, and there are so many things to coordinate. Doing things so abruptly like this—hah…”

He seemed to have a firm philosophy about business. Well, that was none of Sion’s concern. But he did have something to say.

“Without weighing the pros and cons, Guildmaster, you’ll gain enormous benefits. For just a little money, you’ll earn the trust and protection of the Goddess of War.”

Apur looked at this overly confident young priest.

‘…Those eyes. I’ve seen them before. The eyes of a hero destined to conquer the world. This is the cheapest time to invest.’

The merchant’s initial skepticism quickly turned into conviction.

Even if he didn’t fully understand, he had a gut feeling that investing in this young knight wouldn’t result in loss.

“Conversion might be difficult, but I’d like to build a good relationship with the War Cult.”

“Then I look forward to it.”

Meanwhile, the goddess Achilles, who had been listening to all this, couldn’t speak.

She still hadn’t swallowed the wine in her mouth.

She had been so shocked when Sion turned the negotiation around that she hadn’t even breathed.

The goddess blinked slowly.

‘Wait… j-just now, what exactly did Sion get out of this?’

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