Chapter 114

Ch.114 Apostle of the Goddess of War

“Hmm…….”

“Mm.”

The conversation paused briefly.

The silence stretched on.

One minute, two minutes……

Garfenn’s eyes shot open.

“Sion. What did you just say?”

Sion spoke calmly.

“Miss Anna is carrying Master’s child. I came here to deliver that news.”

At sunset.

Crimson sunlight seeped through the prison bars.

The sky was dyed red, preparing to welcome the long night ahead.

“…….”

Garfenn breathed silently for a long while.

Goddess Achille also remained silent, standing beside the two apostles and the future apostle.

What words should be spoken?

What reaction should be shown?

Even the Goddess did not know—it was a suffocating moment.

“Is it true?”

Garfenn furrowed his brow.

“Yes. Miss Anna’s belly is already swelling.”

“Haa.”

Garfenn rubbed his own face.

He had anticipated Garfenn wouldn’t simply be overjoyed. Ever since hearing he had finally identified the target of his revenge, this future had been predetermined.

Yet, Garfenn’s actual reaction upon hearing the news directly was far gloomier and more complicated than Sion had imagined.

Garfenn groaned in pain and repeatedly banged his head against the wall.

“Why, why……?”

He lowered his head deeply and muttered to himself.

“To make such a mistake right before taking revenge! You stupid bastard!”

Thud!

He also slammed his fist against the floor.

“It’s the alcohol. It’s the alcohol.”

Sion, who had been watching silently all this time, thought to himself.

‘Does Master actually like Miss Anna?’

He knew Master wasn’t the type to get someone pregnant from a one-night mistake. But sometimes, human instincts simply cannot be controlled.

Even a master who seemed forged from steel was, after all, a human being made of flesh and blood.

“Master. What do you think of Miss Anna?”

Sion broke the silence and asked.

Garfenn, who had been clutching his head, turned to look at Sion.

“……Don’t you already know?”

“I didn’t know. I never expected things between Master and Miss Anna had progressed that far.”

“Well, true.”

Garfenn stared blankly at the floor. His voice lacked strength.

“You were often outside, so perhaps you genuinely didn’t know.”

“Well, I sensed some sort of atmosphere between the two of you. But I didn’t expect it would go as far as having a child.”

Garfenn let out a long sigh.

“Well, I’m still human, still a man. It’s unavoidable to feel drawn to the opposite sex. It’s been decades since I lost my former wife—I was terribly lonely.”

“That’s understandable.”

Sion understood completely.

Harboring a desire for revenge and nurturing new emotions were separate matters.

“At first, I too was confused. To develop feelings for another woman while still holding onto my former wife and daughter—that, that……”

Garfenn slowly, painfully poked his own chest.

“It hurt here. I was afraid—afraid I might forget my family completely.”

“Yes.”

“But Anna, that woman, understood me and waited for me. She approached me first, embracing my wounds and comforting me.”

Garfenn began to cry.

A man who seemed as though he would never shed tears—wept.

“Damn it. I didn’t know I was such an easy man. Damn, damn. I never realized how comforting—how deeply comforting—it could be to receive solace in someone’s arms.”

There was something he did not say aloud.

It concerned Garfenn’s appearance.

Though not his fault, Garfenn’s grotesque appearance certainly deterred strangers from approaching him.

What Garfenn needed was not someone who fled at the sight of his outward appearance, but someone who could embrace both his looks and his heart.

That was something neither Sion nor the Goddess—nor anyone else—could provide.

Whether Garfenn’s feelings toward Anna were genuine or not, he felt comforted, and gradually sensed his wounds healing.

“I couldn’t help but open my heart. Anna was the only person who made me forget my former wife.”

“…….”

Liberation from suffering.

This must have been the peace Garfenn had searched for his entire life.

“Master, you deserve to find peace.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t Goddess Achille understand as well?”

“Haha, my Goddess is just like that.”

“There you go.”

Achille watched their conversation with a stiff, hardened expression.

[Garfenn…….]

She still felt deeply sorry for her apostle, unsure how to properly compensate for his sacrifices and wounds.

She feared his unspoken true feelings might be resentment—that fear lingered as terror within her.

Achille had demanded too many sacrifices from Garfenn. Deep in her heart, she felt guilty toward him.

Still, it remained an issue Achille continued to avoid.

“I love Anna. If possible, I even hope for a fresh start.”

“Then—”

“But.”

Garfenn abruptly cut off his own words.

“But, disciple.”

“Yes?”

“It’s just so frustrating.”

“…….”

Garfenn’s iron fist, which had struck the floor earlier, trembled violently.

“I was just beginning to feel comforted, even allowing myself to feel happy. But then, suddenly!”

He had just found the target of his revenge.

“The two things I longed for my entire life—arrived simultaneously.”

Garfenn looked at Sion with sorrowful eyes.

“What would you do, if you were me?”

“…….”

Sion’s mouth refused to open.

It was far too heavy.

A crossroads entwined with one person’s life, sorrows, and hopes.

Sion did not know which choice was right. It was a problem even he dared not bear.

How could he lightly answer such a difficult dilemma faced by his benefactor and master?

Precisely because Garfenn himself did not know, precisely because it was so difficult, he asked Sion.

“What should I do?”

To tell him to comfortably pursue revenge troubled Sion—he worried about Master’s life, and about Anna and the child who would be left alone.

To tell him to return and live happily for the rest of his life was uncertain too—would he truly find peace for the remainder of his days if he abandoned revenge?

‘How can I possibly measure a lifetime of revenge?’

Sion remained silent.

He could not utter a single word.

“I’m sorry, Sion. I’m asking you a difficult question.”

He couldn’t even say ‘it’s alright’.

He had no idea how Garfenn truly felt right now. It was already astonishing that Garfenn was maintaining enough rationality to converse with Sion like this.

Inside, he was likely far more decayed and rotten than Sion could imagine.

It was an emotion too delicate even to speculate upon.

“Master. I will always be on your side. Believe me.”

Garfenn managed a faint, formal smile—a smile contrasting sharply with the radiant grin of the Apostle of Light.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Master, you’ll probably be released tomorrow.”

A presence was sensed from outside. Visiting hours were already over.

Since the Apostle of Light’s verification was complete, they could converse freely—this was Naru’s gentle consideration.

After all, they had sat sprawled out conversing with a criminal of the Holy Kingdom.

But that was that—the Holy Kingdom was still the Holy Kingdom.

“The Holy Kingdom’s elders will bombard you with all sorts of filthy questions. They’ll pull ugly tricks.”

“Well, I expected as much.”

“Be careful of the testimony from the Commander of the Holy Sword…… I don’t know how he’ll evaluate you.”

As the topic shifted to Sion, Garfenn—who moments ago seemed to have forgotten everything—suddenly radiated hostility toward the Holy Kingdom.

But Sion immediately waved his hand dismissively.

“Oh, don’t worry about that.”

“Huh?”

“The Commander of the Holy Sword is on our side.”

“What?”

Creeeak.

“It’s time for you to come out now, Sir Sion.”

“Yes.”

Sion stood up. He bowed once more to his master.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Master. Hang in there for just one more day.”

“What? Ah, mm. Yes. Understood. See you tomorrow.”

Thud!

Sion left. Garfenn, now alone with Goddess Achille, stared blankly at the closed door.

“Goddess. What exactly did that kid Sion just say?”

[I don’t know either.]

“The Commander of the Holy Sword? That perverted trash is on our side?”

[It’s confusing. Even this Goddess wonders—what trouble has he caused now?]

“Exactly.”

They still had much to discuss.

Very, very much.

* * *

“What did you think of Sion, Lagan?”

While Sion was having an emotional reunion with his master,

An important conversation was also taking place in the Apostle’s chamber.

It was a three-way meeting between the Apostle of Light, the Commander of the Holy Sword, and Erin.

When Erin conveyed Naru’s intentions, Lagan shook his head.

“That guy. He’s truly a dangerous fellow.”

“Why?”

Lagan grimaced fiercely—“Ugh!”—as he drank the bitter tea.

Then he said:

“Didn’t you see Sion drink that tea without changing his expression even once?”

Naru and Erin exchanged glances briefly.

“That’s right.”

“See? Isn’t that dangerous? The fact he can wear a mask without flinching even while drinking such bitter tea.”

The corner of Naru’s mouth lifted slightly, amused.

“Is that your perspective?”

“It’s a statement full of implications.”

Erin sighed softly.

Indeed, the Commander was an exhausting uncle.

He never spoke plainly.

Erin conveyed Naru’s will once more.

“Do you see him as a threat to the Holy Kingdom?”

“Hmm.”

Lagan crossed his arms briefly.

His answer did not come immediately.

Separate from whether he felt favorably toward Sion, he needed to consider matters from the Holy Kingdom’s standpoint.

“Fifty-fifty.”

“Huh?”

“It depends entirely on what the kid decides.”

Startled, Erin forgot her duty and blurted out her personal opinion.

“Isn’t it up to our Holy Kingdom’s will? Ah, tea. I’m sorry, Apostle.”

Erin flinched and covered her mouth.

Naru reassured her, gently patting Erin’s head.

Lagan continued unperturbed.

“Yes. At least in my eyes, that’s how it was. That guy is the type who would raise a banner against the Holy Kingdom anytime, if he felt it necessary.”

“I see…….”

Erin replied sourly. This, after all, was Lagan’s answer directed at her.

Lagan continued.

“Regarding his strength, naturally, the Apostle has observed it more accurately than I have.”

Naru smiled angelically and nodded.

[I have seen it too.]

She spoke mentally, and Lagan gritted his teeth slightly.

[He was even more spirited than Lagan was when he first met me.]

“Hahaha, is that so?”

Lagan replied, forcing himself to endure.

“That’s truly a chilling story.”

Erin spoke cautiously.

“They say his growth was further accelerated due to the Wisdom Cult’s intervention.”

“Hmm. It’s hard to be certain whether that will yield good results.”

“They say, for now, it’s helpful.”

“Is that so?”

Lagan asked, looking at the Apostle of Light.

That was truly unexpected.

Sion displayed an abnormal rate of growth. Left unchecked, he would become a monster too powerful to control—unless one was the Apostle of Light.

That future was not far off.

Wasn’t that precisely the situation the Holy Kingdom and the Round Table Goddesses wished to avoid?

But Naru had her reasons.

“The moment will come when we need Goddess Achille’s sword.”

“…….”

Lagan’s eyes narrowed.

“I actually had something I wanted to ask too.”

Naru sipped her tea. Erin nodded slightly.

“Yes.”

“Hmm?”

“He confirmed your concern is correct.”

Lagan’s heart sank.

The moment his suspicion was confirmed as truth, his breathing trembled faintly.

“Truly, has my Goddess weakened?”

Erin swallowed hard.

She too needed to take a deep breath before speaking.

“To be precise, the entire Round Table is shaking.”

“What!?”

Lagan stood up abruptly, slamming his hand down on Naru’s cherished paulownia wood table.

Naru anxiously grabbed the overturned table and set it upright.

“Apostle! Please answer me! What exactly is happening!?”

Naru smiled bleakly and explained the situation herself.

……Lagan listened to the shocking truth until blood seemed ready to burst from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

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