I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 164

Chapter 164

Where Have I Seen This Before?

***

A voice filled with joy pierced through the silence that had settled between the two people.

“Ah! Lian has made plants grow from barren land!”

From a distance, a follower of ‘Lianism,’ who was always spreading the faith, shouted loudly and ran off. The sound of Lianism followers chattering inside the mansion could be heard.

“What? He created life?”

“No, they said he created the land!”

As rumors often do, Lian’s story was blown out of proportion. The followers of ‘Lianism’ were people who always spouted nonsense without hesitation, so no one stopped them. As a result, the rumors grew bigger and bigger.

“It’s the creation of heaven and earth! He’s making the world!”

Since the commotion was only within the Lianism circle, Lian, with an enlightened expression, didn’t bother to correct the spreading rumors—though that’s a story for later. Right now, the topic at hand was the suspicious priest.

Thanks to the magic barrier that blocked their conversation, there was no risk of their words leaking out. However, since a Lianism follower could bring more people, they needed to change locations.

The two headed to the back of the mansion, behind a small storage shed. The shed, used for storing firewood and miscellaneous items, was small but large enough to hide their conversation.

“That priest may be suspicious, but they might possess power comparable to yours, so we can’t interrogate them recklessly. Can you help me? As a fellow priest, you might notice something I can’t.”

“If that’s the case, of course I’ll help!”

“Thank you.”

Hearing that the priest might have power similar to his own, Lian’s gaze naturally shifted to the divine mark.

When he first received the divine mark, it was a noticeable color, but as his divine power grew stronger, it mysteriously changed to a shade similar to his skin tone, making it hard to notice unless examined closely.

The mark had grown in size as his divine power increased, now spreading from his wrist to his forearm. If the mark had not changed to a color similar to his skin, he might have had to wear gloves all the time.

‘It’s a relief that the divine mark isn’t something that speaks.’

The mark, a symbol of his contract with the cursed sword, could be adjusted in size and color according to the sword’s will. He could ask the sword to make it less noticeable. When the cursed sword became extremely excited, the mark would creep up to his shoulder in a sinister pattern, so he had to be cautious during those times. But since there were no strong opponents to excite the sword that much, it wasn’t a major concern.

‘It was kind of funny how the color darkened whenever it drank blood.’

Watching the mark darken and lighten repeatedly whenever the sword absorbed blood reminded Lian of a charging electronic device.

Thinking about the mark naturally brought back memories of what the ‘Dark Fantasy World God’ had told him when he received it.

‘Come to think of it… The god did say that visiting the temple would provide a lot of help.’

Since it was advice from a god, Lian had planned to remember it well and use it when the time came—until he visited the temple in the village.

‘Instead of help, it was just a nuisance.’

The temple Lian visited had been a den of criminals, with not a single proper priest in sight. From the perspective of the Dark Fantasy God, who was being trampled on by the gag god, it was understandable that he would feel wronged.

The problem was that other temples were in a similar state. The temples were so corrupt that criminals could easily rise to the position of high priest. Finding a temple managed by a devout high priest was harder than plucking a star from the sky.

The best chance would be to visit the high temple in the imperial capital.

‘I’ll visit when the opportunity arises.’

Though he had no plans to leave his party, he intended to help them from a distance whenever they were in mortal danger. So, he couldn’t easily decide to head to the capital. There was also the possibility that the high temple might be completely rotten, so he concluded with, ‘I’ll visit when the opportunity arises.’

“Then, I’ll call for you when we’re ready, so take a rest.”

As Lian organized his thoughts about visiting the temple, the conversation came to an end.

***

Since moving in a large group would attract wary gazes from the villagers, Lian, the Duchess, the knight commander, and the mage set out to find the priest together.

It wasn’t difficult to find the priest.

“Thank you!”

“Please be more careful in the future.”

In the center of the village, the priest was situated in the most splendid building. He was an elderly man, his hair turned white with age. His long, flowing beard reached down below his chin, giving him the appearance of a kindly Santa Claus. He looked like someone who could have been molded from the word ‘benevolent.’

The old man seemed like a ‘normal person,’ out of place in the eerie village, and just looking at him brought a strange sense of relief.

‘Why does he seem… familiar?’

Lian furrowed his brow, staring intently at the old man’s face, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t recall where he had seen him before, and a question mark hovered over his head. It seemed like something he should remember, but the old man’s distinctive appearance made it hard to believe he could forget.

While Lian was lost in thought, the Duchess approached the priest and began a conversation on behalf of the group.

The conversation between the elderly priest, who looked like the epitome of a devout man, and the Duchess, who wore a gentle expression, seemed peaceful on the surface. But upon closer inspection, it wasn’t hard to notice the sharp words hidden beneath.

‘Wow, so this is how nobles talk.’

The way the Duchess asked completely different questions to check if the priest gave the same answers was chilling.

Lian was inwardly impressed by the Duchess’s eloquence.

‘It seems like they didn’t even need me.’

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the priest began to say something unexpected.

“Ah, the changes in the environment around here are not my doing.”

“What do you mean? The villagers clearly said…”

“Ah, if I explain that, it might take a while. Is that alright?”

“Go ahead.”

“Ahem—… I am a servant of the gods, wandering from place to place, spreading their will. Following the gods’ teaching to not desire too much, I have helped the sick without asking for anything in return, receiving small tokens of gratitude and continuing my journey. I came to this village for the same reason.”

The old man stroked his long white beard and began to tell his story at length, like a grandfather repeating an old tale. Since they didn’t know where they might find useful information, the Duchess endured the boredom and listened carefully.

To summarize the long conversation:

The priest had come to the village with the intention of helping the villagers and receiving some money or food in return. Since doctors were rare in this world, the priest was welcomed and began treating the villagers.

Not long after he started treating them, a sudden snowstorm hit, and the priest had no choice but to stay in the village for a while.

The problem arose when the snowstorm lasted for over a week. The wandering priest, with his weak divine power, was of little help in treating serious injuries, and before long, he became a burden, consuming the village’s food supply.

Knowing that being thrown out into the snowstorm would mean certain death, the priest desperately sought a solution. The only idea that came to him was to pray to the gods.

As he rose early in the morning to pray, he saw the snowstorm outside being swept away by a strange wind. Overwhelmed by the miraculous sight, the priest offered a prayer of thanks to the gods, believing it was all due to their mercy.

Unable to contain his joy, he went around telling the villagers that it was all thanks to the gods. Of course, no one believed him.

The priest, convinced that the village had been chosen by the gods, stayed a few more days to continue his prayers. The problem began the next day.

The day after, the monsters lurking around the village started melting away as if they were dissolving. The following day, the snow piled up around the village began to melt, revealing fresh green grass.

As the miraculous events continued for several days, the villagers began to praise the priest as a messenger sent by the gods. It was around this time that the priest realized something was wrong.

The strange energy that filled the air didn’t feel like divine mercy.

The priest belatedly shouted that it was all a misunderstanding, but the villagers, as if possessed by something, didn’t listen to a word he said.

Realizing the situation had become dire, the priest tried to leave the village to seek help from another temple, but the villagers, their eyes wild as if possessed by demons, chased after him. Left with no choice, the priest stayed in the village, searching for any suspicious traces.

‘So, he’s basically saying he’s an ally?’

In games or novels, there’s always an ally who appears to break through a hopeless situation. The old man in front of them seemed to be just that kind of ‘ally.’

“I would ask for your help with the investigation if possible… but I know that I am the most suspicious person in this village. So, please at least take the information I’ve gathered so far.”

The priest said this as he handed over a bundle of old papers. After the mage confirmed that there were no curses or spells on the papers, they were passed to the Duchess.

“I commend your efforts. If we need help, may we come to you for advice?”

“Haha, if you do, I would be most grateful.”

The Duchess expressed her respect for the priest, who had worked hard to gather information to save the village, and then returned to the mansion with the group.

“It seems the priest is not the culprit.”

“Well, we can’t be sure of that.”

When the knight commander muttered to himself, the Duchess responded in a firm voice.

“There’s a reason they say to be most cautious of children, women, and the elderly. Don’t make hasty judgments.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

As Lian followed behind the group, he furrowed his brow and stroked his chin.

‘I’ve definitely seen him somewhere before… Ugh…’

Lian was groaning inwardly, struggling with the persistent sense of déjà vu. In situations like this, where the feeling kept coming back, brushing it off with a shrug and thinking ‘Oh well, it’s probably nothing!’ would only lead to trouble later. A small snowball would turn into a massive avalanche, burying him if he didn’t keep trying to remember.

***

‘Kuhahaha…! Everything is going according to plan.’

The kind old man with the long white beard was inwardly letting out a sinister laugh, completely at odds with his appearance.

As the Duchess had suspected, the priest was indeed the one responsible for the strange happenings in the village.

‘Heh, if I had known it would turn out like this, I should have taken over the body from the start.’

But the priest’s secret didn’t end there. He had taken over someone else’s body and was merely pretending to be human.

‘I kind of regret holding back my tears and enduring all that nonsense in the past.’

The image of the pink-haired perverted woman, who had constantly cried and thrown tantrums, and even stalked Erboan, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, only to be kicked out of the Demon King’s army, flashed vividly in the priest’s mind.

That’s right. The original owner of the body the priest had taken over was none other than the ‘Necromancer,’ who had been blasted into the sky by Lian and the Duchess’s attack.

The Necromancer had been shot up into the sky like a rocket, only to die from shock, leaving her body vacant for the priest to take over.

It might have seemed like a stroke of bad luck that she lost her body after enjoying so much fortune, but it was all part of a predetermined plan.

The reason she had been able to control powerful monsters and even succeed in using the difficult space-shifting magic that had made Erboan shake his head in disbelief—all of it was due to the artificial ‘luck’ created by the priest.

All the fortune she had enjoyed was thanks to an unfair deal that required her to give up everything, including her soul. The reason this deal, which even the Necromancer herself hadn’t been aware of, had been possible was simple.

The being that had swallowed up the Necromancer’s body was far beyond human.

‘Ah—no, I guess if I had taken over her body from the start, I wouldn’t have had the golden opportunity to infiltrate the Duchess’s household. So, I suppose you could say I took over at just the right time. Heh, this is all proof that the blessings of “that one” are with me!’

The priest’s true identity was an ‘Outer God’ who had slipped into the Dark Fantasy World, aiming to devour the empty world along with ‘that one.’

Though the word ‘god’ might suggest immense power, the priest was actually one of the weaker Outer Gods.

In fact, he was even weaker than the Outer God who had dived into the gag god’s mouth after trying to invade Lian’s mind. To put it bluntly, he was a bottom-tier god, more of a minor deity than a true god.

Because of this, the priest’s plan was as sneaky and underhanded as one would expect from a weakling.

‘In a situation like this, where everyone is on high alert, not knowing when the enemy might appear, a helping hand will seem especially sweet. Breaking down the mental defenses of a human already worn out from terrible experiences is as easy as swallowing up a world without life.’

To summarize his long-winded thoughts: ‘I’ll create an artificial crisis, save the Duchess from it, and gain her trust to get close to her.’

It was a plan as childish as teaming up with bullies to create a fake crisis and then swooping in to play the hero.

The ridiculous-sounding plot, ‘The Duchess Who Repays Her Debt,’ had been set in motion the moment the Duchess arrived in the village.

‘If everything goes smoothly from here, I’ll become the Duchess’s benefactor and infiltrate the heart of the empire. Once there, I’ll gather valuable information to aid the Demon King’s army and earn the favor of “that one”! Heh heh…!’

Having successfully completed the first stage of his plan—presenting himself as a harmless person to the Duchess—the priest was brimming with confidence. He was already grinning as if the sweet fruit of success was within his grasp.

The Outer God, or rather, the minor deity, had no idea.

He didn’t know that the very being he worshipped as ‘that one’ was wary of a certain presence in the village.

Nor did he know that this presence possessed a power (filtered through a gag lens) that ensured ‘anyone who smugly reveals their plan in their head will fail 100% of the time.’

“Why is this happening…?”

And so, the minor deity could only stare blankly at his ruined plan.

End of Chapter