I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 203

Chapter 203: Epilogue （3）

A Loa? Our monster pigeon spirit Tteunteuni? That’s absurd.

…No. It’s not absurd.

Tteunteuni is a spiritual creature raised on various medicinal herbs. It evolved into a spirit through the magic of Paya, who became a Spirit Master, and grew in strength while overcoming all sorts of journeys.

Jin Malak, Rakan, Tuga, and other Loas weren’t originally spiritual creatures, were they? Like them, maybe Tteunteuni also gained something like divinity at the end of its continuous leveling up（?）.

The puzzling thing is divinity. To gain divinity, you need faith. Was Tteunteuni ever worshipped?

━ Hmm.

It’s not like I have absolutely no clue.

I don’t know about worship, but Tteunteuni is very popular with young children, especially girls. Countless girls come holding their parents’ hands just to see Tteunteuni.

You could say it’s almost BTS-level popularity. Anyway, Tteunteuni was the best animal idol in the Tribal Federation.

Even Jin Malak, who’s also an animal（?）, had to acknowledge Tteunteuni’s superiority when it came to approval ratings from children.

As a mascot, Tteunteuni, who spends most of its time within the Tribal Federation, is a better fit than Jin Malak, who only appears during wartime.

And although I hate to admit it, it’s also cuter.

‘Huh? Malak-nim? I’ve only seen you as a totem.’

‘But Malak-nim, you were scary when you manifested…’

‘I cried when I saw you.’

‘You’re ugly~!’

I can confidently say that I’ve never been jealous, not even once. I’m not petty enough to get upset over the attention of children.

Anyway, could it be that the children’s love and faith were converted into something akin to divinity, giving Tteunteuni power? As someone who doesn’t know the exact criteria for divinity, I couldn’t help but think so.

Damn it, Jin Malak, you should’ve left a Loa guide or something!

“Ah, so that’s what it was.”

“Indeed…unwavering faith and reverence become the power of the Loas. Could the children’s pure affection have become divinity?”

Did it sound plausible to Rake and Paya as well? After hearing my reasoning, they nodded their heads.

“…Then what should we do? Should we just watch?”

━ It would be best to do so.

“…”

Paya looked up at Tteunteuni with sad eyes. She gently stroked Tteunteuni’s beak with her small hand.

“I wish you wouldn’t go far and stay by my side… But, I should be happy, right? It’s a good thing.”

Did Tteunteuni hear Paya’s mutterings?

Kweeek…

Tteunteuni opened its beak as if to answer. Then, it closed its eyes tightly and started trembling.

“Tteunteuni?”

Yellowish light spread like a spiderweb, enveloping Tteunteuni’s body.

“Tteunteuni!”

Tteunteuni transformed like a larva inside a cocoon. Paya tapped on the cocoon made of light, but there was no response.

Did it become a pupa to ascend to Loahood? If so, it might be dangerous to touch it in this state.

━ Priestess Paya. Calm down. Tteunteuni has embarked on a journey to become a Loa.

“Ah…!”

The tears that had welled up in Paya’s eyes streamed down her cheeks.

━ …

I understand her sadness. Paya spent many years with Tteunteuni. But I couldn’t help but think it was a good thing.

Now, in addition to Rakan, there’s one more Loa on my side, on humanity’s side. Tteunteuni, who often did fan service（mainly cooing and flapping its wings） for the children who followed it around, will become a reliable ally Loa.

I hope it doesn’t suddenly become arrogant like Tuga after becoming a Loa.

I calmed Paya down and isolated the area where Tteunteuni was lying. It’s called isolation, but we can’t stop the children from coming to see it.

▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄

A few days have passed since Tteunteuni entered the divine power cocoon.

[Petit Noah: Please pray for Tteunteuni]

[Dairy Cow Bikini Dance: “Tteunteuni, I’ll always remember you”… A tearful and rain-soaked farewell]

[Morning Tent Erection Knight: Tteunteuni is!!! Leaving?!! （Image of someone crying their eyes out）]

[Bangguseok Choseon: Seeing Tteunteuni was so healing ㅠㅠ]

[Maljukgeoriboksangsa: Should we make a Tteunteuni totem too?]

[I Trusted the Monkey Man but: Isn’t it good to have more ally Loas? Why are the kids so sad?]

[Dinosaur Punch: To wish Tteunteuni well on its journey to a better place, I made a ‘Tteunteuni Special Lunch Set’. It’s bread shaped like Tteunteuni.]

[Close-Range Spy: To commemorate Tteunteuni, I will abstain from eating chicken for a month]

The community, which had been quiet for a while, was bustling with new topics, and.

“Waaaaah~!”

“Waaaaaaaaaah!!! Waaaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Tteunteuni…don’t go…!”

“Mom…is Tteunteuni dying?”

“Stay healthy there too, Tteunteuni…”

“Nooo~!”

The reality was a bit more boisterous.

The cries of children standing in front of Tteunteuni’s isolation facility echoed throughout the Tribal Federation.

“It’s a good thing! Stop crying, it’s bad luck!”

“Tteunteuni is becoming a Loa like Malak-nim. Shouldn’t we be happy?”

“It’s a joyous occasion! We should hold a festival!”

Barbarian parents tried to soothe their crying children.

Barbarians are closer to religious people who worship Loas. For them, Tteunteuni’s ascension was something to be celebrated.

But as cultures and races mixed, the education system for children（?） also changed. It was revised to be more pro-civilization under the leadership of the Saint and Rachel.

Because of this, the children couldn’t purely rejoice in Tteunteuni’s ascension.

“If you don’t quiet down, I’ll offer you as a sacrifice to the infidel Karon! He loves the flesh of young children!”

“Do you want to become a zombie?”

“Waaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Karon had become the very embodiment of a ghost story, like the Korean boogeyman and the Hong Kong ghost lady.

Some barbarian parents even tried to discipline their children with clubs（I stopped them, of course）, but civilized parents tended to empathize with their children’s sadness.

“It’s okay. He’ll definitely come back down. Just like Malak-nim.”

“If you cry, Tteunteuni will be sad too.”

The children were comforted like this, but they couldn’t stop crying. It can’t be helped. They’re too young to accept farewells.

“Hey, it’s not like Tteunteuni is going to die.”

“Let the kids cry, you jerk.”

Siu flicked the back of the complaining Monkey’s head. Even though he said that, Monkey came to see the isolated Tteunteuni.

Although we used the term isolation, it’s not like we blocked it from view. We just prevented anyone from getting too close. Everyone can see Tteunteuni in its cocoon form.

“Sanz-nim.”

Rake, who was observing the situation, spoke up. It was a small voice that only I could hear.

“Yeah?”

“Are you a Loa right now, Sanz-nim?”

“That’s a tough question.”

I inherited Jin Malak’s will and could even use totem abilities through the status window’s effect, but if you ask me if that makes me a Loa, well, I don’t know.

After disappearing following Jin Malak’s annihilation, I could no longer use ‘Manifestation’. Can I be considered a Loa even without a body to manifest?

“…If you’re not a Loa, will you also go through a process like Tteunteuni to be reborn as a Loa, Sanz-nim?”

“Maybe?”

“…”

Rake seemed to dislike that possibility. Well, I don’t want to go back to that Spirit World place either.

“…I hope you’ll stay here, Sanz-nim.”

“Huh?”

“By my side, always. …Is that not possible?”

“…”

She suddenly turned her face away, embarrassed.

I thought it was a proposal. It must be a statement filled with respect and loyalty, right?

“…”

To change the mood, I checked the community. Maybe because of the hot topic, the speed at which posts were being uploaded was incredibly fast. If I missed even a moment, they would pile up.

[LuluTV: Tell the kids to stop making a fuss

Honestly, if you were told to choose between a pigeon and Tteunteuni, could you choose?]

━ Comments ━

[Very Black Female Prisoner: Think before you speak, you crazy bastard hahaha How can you not recognize that size?]

[Not a Netkama: What’s the template?]

[Goollreu: Top-tier aggro hahaha]

[Shotgun Attack: Pretending to be an anti-fan while pretending to be a fan]

“What kind of template is this?”

It’s sad that I can’t understand all the jokes because everyone was possessed on different days.

[3Reps500: I can understand frowning at the noise of children crying

But if you say, ‘It’s not even dead, why are you crying so much over something like that’… aren’t there many things you can say back?

Why are you so angry over losing a mere sports game?

Why do you even buy figures for a mere anime?

Why are you crying so much over the death of a mere character?

Why are you crying like your family died over the death of a mere stray dog?

There are so many things that can’t be explained as ‘mere’ once someone starts to like something…

Anyway, it’s going far away. We might not see it again. Let them cry.]

“Oh.”

There were also a few quite serious posts. I was exploring the community filled with all sorts of nonsense when.

[Skynet: Sanz-nim. Please reply when you see this message.]

I received a private message from an unexpected person.

Skynet? It’s been a while since I’ve heard from this guy. He’s one of the few Paladins who didn’t join the Tribal Federation.

[What’s up?]

[Skynet: I heard you’re Malak-nim’s messenger. Is that true?]

[Yep?]

[Skynet: I see. Then you can communicate with Malak-nim?]

[Yep]

[Skynet: I see.]

What’s going on?

My curiosity turned to shock at Skynet’s next message.

[Skynet: I am the administrator of the status window.]

“What…?”