I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 93

Chapter 93: 7 Paladins （3）

“From now on, we’ll move quietly.”

Rake, who had announced their arrival at Martba, softened her footsteps.

Being closer to Hanna meant being closer to Asha and the Black Coral Tribe’s monsters. There was no harm in being careful.

As I watched Rake move nimbly and silently like a leopard, I tried to ignore the voice ringing in my head.

‘Malak-nim. Are you listening? Please respond.’

‘It’s me, Asha of the Black Coral Tribe. Tell me when you’re coming. I’ll prepare a grand feast for the followers who have served you thus far.’

‘Malak-nim? There’s no way my prayers wouldn’t reach you?’

‘Are you perhaps avoiding me? Why? …I don’t understand. Malak-nim and I are destined to be together in the end.’

‘I will show you my devoted and unchanging love. I will love only you.’

‘If you can hear me, please answer. I am eagerly searching for you alone.’

Tsk. Asha has been trying to contact me constantly. Being a god, no, a Loa, isn’t easy.

To think I have to listen to this crazy follower’s nonsense. It felt like receiving a barrage of texts from a clingy ex-girlfriend.

‘My lord, who will defeat the demons and followers of the Goddess, and walk the path of tyranny, please answer me.’

What path of tyranny? I have no intention of walking any such path, whether it’s tyranny or pedo. There’s no way I’m fighting alongside a monster bride and a cannibal army.

And my lord? When did we get married? She’s practically setting up a household in her imagination.

She might even be creating monster babies in her head, a mix of dragon and crab, Yongge.

Is there no prayer blocking? I wish I could turn it off or on through the status window. I was trying to ignore Asha’s voice when…

“Malak-nim, is something wrong?”

Rake whispered softly. Did I make it too obvious that I was uncomfortable?

━ It’s nothing. Just a minor issue.

…There was something I was curious about, should I ask her now? Earlier, I couldn’t find the right timing because I was explaining about Hanna, Dina’s Special Forces, and my fake identity as Paladin Sanz.

The path Rake was walking on was an empty field. It should be fine to talk a little.

━ Has Loa Rakan ever contacted you?

Like Tuga who instigated Asha, other Loas might be scheming behind my back.

I was curious if that wolf was saying anything unnecessary to Rake. Although they don’t get along （Rake is the one who unilaterally dislikes him）, they are still father and daughter.

“Rakan?”

As always, Rake didn’t add ‘father’ or ‘-nim’.

“No. Never. If something like that happened, I would have told Malak-nim right away.”

━ I see. I wasn’t doubting you. I was just curious.

Rake, who was looking around, spoke again.

“…When I was young, I felt someone watching me. In places where no one was around. Back then, I thought it was Rakan.”

So he is a father after all. It seems he wasn’t completely uninterested in Rake. Rakan…it’s still unclear whether he’s my enemy.

We moved silently for several more hours. Fortunately or unfortunately, we didn’t encounter any sea monsters.

“We’re not far from the place that Paladin marked.”

Rake stood in front of a reed field. The reeds were at least 2 meters tall. It looked like a perfect place to get lost if you wandered in carelessly.

It would be incredibly eerie at night. It wouldn’t be surprising if there was a missing person’s story here. I understand why the sea monsters couldn’t find the residents of Martba and Hanna.

Soon after, we found a village hidden within the reed field. It wasn’t an ordinary medieval village.

It was a makeshift village with hastily built structures inside a crude fence made of wooden planks. Was it built after the apocalypse?

“I see civilized people.”

Rake examined the village with her superhuman vision.

━ Wait a moment.

I sent a message to Hanna. Telling her that we were near the village and to come out to greet us.

A short while later, we could see a red-haired knight peering out from beyond the fence.

Hanna looked quite haggard after not seeing her for a while. The fierce and lively appearance she had when we first met was nowhere to be found.

She must have been through a lot. It might be my fault too.

“Hello.”

Rake stood in front of Hanna with a confident stride. She was now able to hold basic conversations. She was quick to learn, perhaps because she was smart.

It must be that she simply didn’t feel the need to learn the language until now. The moment my efforts to educate the barbarians in the Imperial language by using the civilized people had finally paid off.

Rake was over 180cm tall, and Hanna was around 160cm. Perhaps because of the considerable height difference, Hanna naturally ended up looking up at Rake.

The corners of Rake’s mouth, looking down at Hanna, were slightly raised, and for some reason, she seemed to be enjoying it.

“…It’s been a while.”

Hanna, who let out a weak sigh, scanned Rake’s body. I think I knew why.

“You changed your armor?”

Rake was currently wearing gladiator armor, but the armor she had worn initially belonged to Hanna.

It was the same armor that had corroded during the Tunnel Demon subjugation.

“Ah, that?”

Rake scoffed lightly and continued.

“It wasn’t as great as I thought. It broke after a few uses, so I threw it away.”

No, Rake. Why are you picking a fight? It’s making me nervous from the start.

“You…!”

Hanna’s eyelids twitched as she frowned. Not a good sign.

━ Paladin Hanna. I’ve heard a lot about you.

I stepped in to stop this meaningless nerve war. Hanna, who was about to retort, shifted her gaze to Totem No. 3.

“Are you…Malak-nim?”

━ Nice to meet you.

It’s quite unfamiliar to hear Hanna call me Malak-nim. I feel like a hero hiding his identity.

“Nice to meet you too….It’s really a totem? And it’s glowing?”

Hanna blinked several times, as if she couldn’t believe it.

━ It’s still in an immature state. May we enter the village?

“Ah, yes.”

We entered the village with Hanna’s guidance.

“Her skin is so white. She doesn’t look like a barbarian.”

“Isn’t that gladiator armor?”

“She must have killed them and taken it.”

“…I told them countless times not to let them inside the village.”

The villagers watched Rake with uneasy eyes. Some even glared at her directly.

Hmm. It seems Hanna failed to convince the villagers. Despite that, the reason they allowed us in was probably because she was a Paladin.

They might be thinking, ‘We’re uneasy, but surely a Paladin wouldn’t harm us, right?’

Rake, undeterred, scanned the faces of those who glared at her.

“Ugh…!”

None of those who met her bright yellow eyes could hold her gaze. It was the gaze of a demigod. It would be strange if they weren’t intimidated.

I didn’t stop her because I thought this level of intimidation was necessary.

“Paladin-nim, this is the…”

A middle-aged man with a stylish mustache stepped in front of us. He must be the village head. Before Hanna could speak, Rake raised the totem.

“All of you, bow your heads to the great Loa, Malak-nim, who has descended upon this land.”

“…”

Perhaps because they were civilized people, the response wasn’t good. They hesitated, but no one knelt.

“What are you doing?”

Rake’s voice sank coldly. One minute before the Meteor Sword is drawn.

“Village Head-nim, these people came here to save us. As I said, that totem is a sacred object inhabited by a god. So…”

Hanna stepped in to mediate.

“It’s not that we don’t trust the Paladin-nim, but…”

The Village Head, glancing at Rake, had a brief conversation with Hanna.

To summarize, excluding the formalities, it would be something like, ‘How can we believe that’s a Loa? It just looks like a glowing statue to us. And we are also followers of the Goddess Religion. We may not be as devout as the Paladin-nim, but conversion is not a simple matter.’

I wanted to say, ‘Why are you questioning this when you’re on the verge of death?’, but I decided to hold back. Let’s try to understand them.

Right, they’re facing an unknown barbarian and a self-proclaimed god of a different religion, invited by an outsider Paladin. It’s understandable that they would be wary.

I need to do some talking.

━ People of Martba. My name is Malak. I am also known as the Wind and Rain God.

People’s attention focused on the talking totem. Feeling their gazes, I looked around.

It’s easy to dispel their doubts. I just need to prove that I’m a god in an effective way.

━ The fields are dying. Did you try to cultivate crops, but it didn’t go well?

Good. I found an opportunity. The Village Head nodded, confirming my words.

I used the ‘Power of the Wind and Rain God’ blessing on a small field. The dying crops grew rapidly.

“Oh, no!”

“The potatoes grew in an instant?”

“It’s the power of a god!”

People reacted in various ways: dropping what they were holding, covering their mouths and crouching, slapping their foreheads, and spreading their arms and cheering.

This is a familiar pattern. It feels like ‘Loa Malak, praised by Paladins, feared by demons, and making Karon nervous’.

“I believe you. You are indeed Loa Malak-nim.”

The Village Head, whose attitude had changed drastically, greeted me. This is the most effective method.

Rake and I received lodging and food thanks to the hospitality of the villagers who had become followers.

Now, all that’s left is to obtain the Magic Stones and cooperate with Dina’s Special Forces to deal with Asha. Huu, just thinking about it makes me feel like it’s going to be difficult.