Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 105

105. Childhood Friend - Enchantment

“Hey, Rev. You came down right away this time. Are you heading to the big village too?”

At the entrance of Demos village, a young man waved cheerfully at Rev.

The young man, named Dino, who liked to hum songs, whistled when he saw the jerky Rev was carrying.

“Yes. Are you going too, brother?”

“Yeah, I’m going. But you should have seen it. Last night, Uncle Leslie... hahaha. It was quite a scene.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Well...”

Rev listened intently, thinking something significant had happened, but it was nothing much.

Rev calmed his surprised heart and chatted briefly with Dino before parting ways. After saying they’d see each other in the morning, Rev headed home, thinking about something more serious than Uncle Leslie's antics.

Just now, Dino had called him ‘Rev.’

‘As I thought, my name has changed.’

Since learning his true name, his father had also called him Rev, as if that had been his name all along.

Unless the conversation with Barbatos was broadcasted live, there was only one explanation.

Leo's name had originally been Rev. It was clear that the Leos, the protagonists of the game [Raising Lena], each had their own names. They lost their names when they became playable characters in the game.

‘But what use is knowing my true name?’

Even after learning his true name, no message had appeared. Despite the intense effect, it seemed like a hidden element in the game that didn’t matter whether known or unknown.

However, Rev felt happy.

Having always doubted his identity, mingling with Minseo and losing his past memories, knowing his true name brought him peace of mind.

He also felt liberated from some sort of constraint. Though difficult to express, he remembered something Cassia had said.

- “You can call me sister now, Your Highness. I feel relieved. Somehow... I feel free.”

Rev felt similarly.

It was like breaking free from shackles he hadn’t realized were there.

Humming a tune, he entered his house, tossed the jerky aside, and flopped onto his bed.

‘What should I do now...’

With Oriax’s footprint gone, he considered going to the Conrad Kingdom to find the beggar siblings, but he had time.

It was autumn now, and the siblings' downfall was scheduled for the following winter.

Even accounting for travel time, he had half a year left.

‘Should I visit Nevis first? I need to investigate that place anyway... And honestly, the beggar siblings' scenario is already tangled.’

The repercussions of killing Gilbert Forte were greater than expected.

To clear the beggar siblings' scenario, he likely needed the help of Cardinal Verke, but Baron Gustav Monarch, who seemed closely connected to him, was in Orville.

A prince who murdered a noble.

Given that Count Gustav Peter was unlikely to help Leo de Yeriel, and having caused such a major incident, seeking help would be even harder.

So all Rev could do was try to persuade the siblings to avoid tragedy...

[Achievement: Apostle of Barbatos - You can borrow Barbatos's power proportional to your offerings. You cannot serve other Godchildren.]

Gathering Barbatos's power and dealing with Prince Eric himself.

Lying with his arm as a pillow, Rev recalled information from {History of Asin}. The achievement 'Apostle of Barbatos' seemed to have unlocked some additional information.

This world was one rife with divine power struggles.

The absolute majority of humans were unaware of the battles between the Godchild and the Godchildren trying to build power behind the scenes.

Strictly speaking, calling it a battle was an exaggeration.

This world belonged to the main god. Godchildren were insignificant compared to the main god, like fireflies before the sun. Calling it a battle was overestimating them. They were merely beings clinging to the main god's world, stealing power.

However, the one true main god was indifferent to the world of his creations.

Granting his divine power to humans was a relatively recent event, with the first saint spreading the main god's power during the early days of the Arcaea Empire.

This heralded an era of suffering for the Godchildren. The Arcaea Empire, in alliance with the Cross Church centered around the saint, wiped out different races across the continent.

As the different races were annihilated and the Empire proclaimed the 'Age of Humanity,' countless Godchildren disappeared.

But they weren’t entirely gone.

At that time, many barbarians followed the gods of different races, and the early Cross Church, prioritizing humanity, treated them leniently.

The Cross Church only started exterminating non-converting barbarians very recently, less than thirty years ago, so many Godchildren still remained.

Additionally, humans themselves gave birth to Godchildren, with Barbatos being one of them. He was a relatively young god born from the wishes of hunters.

Rev lay on his side, deep in thought.

‘But how do I gather Barbatos’s power?’

The Godchildren accepted anything of value.

Fortunately, what was valuable to them wasn’t vastly different from human perception.

Anything precious, anything with emotional ties from creations, would suffice.

For example, the heads and hearts of the prey his father offered were imbued with his hard work and gratitude. And the prey surely resented losing its heart and head...

These offerings were appetizing to the Godchildren.

There were some preferences.

Oriax, being a god sensitive to his domain and violent, preferred the bodies of defeated enemies the most. Barbatos, being a god of hunting, would prefer the carcasses of hunted prey.

‘Hunting, huh... I’d need to catch at least a magical beast to make it worthwhile. No matter how efficient an apostle’s offerings are, it would take forever to gather power by hunting small game.’

Rev clicked his tongue in frustration.

Unfortunately, there were hardly any magical beasts in the southern part of the continent. The problem was troublesome, but it wasn’t the end of it.

‘How do I use Barbatos’s power?’

Prince Eric summoned Oriax, called forth monsters, and wielded power to push back knights. Yet, despite being an apostle, Rev still knew nothing about how to utilize his own newfound powers.

‘No, shouldn’t there be some kind of instruction? A skill window popping up or information flowing in the moment you become an apostle, so you know what to do?’

This game was incredibly annoying in its details.

Not that he expected much, but this was too muChapter So, what now?

‘Should I ask Barbatos? Or is it because I haven’t gathered enough of his power yet?’

After pondering the fruitless questions, Rev muttered, “Oh, whatever,” and went to sleep.

He decided he would try offering another sacrifice later, covering himself with a blanket to rest from the fatigue of a whole day coming down from the lodge.

The next morning, Rev set off for the big village with the village youths. They all sweated profusely as they pushed the cart with all their might. Hans was not among them.

“Where’s Hans?”

“Who knows? He hasn’t been around lately.”

“He’s probably slacking off somewhere again. Isn’t it always the same?”

Exchanging casual banter and gossip, the youths arrived at Torito. As the sun set, they set up a circular tent around the cart to guard it and fell asleep.

The next day, they went to a nearby stream to wash up before heading to the market to sell the goods they had brought.

Rev entered the market with his jerky slung over his shoulder...

“Please, I really want to go this time.”

“I told you, no. We can’t take a rookie with no experience.”

“But I’ve worked so hard...”

“No. I’ll let you go next time. Next time.”

He saw Hans pleading with a merchant. Hans was begging for something, but when he was rejected, he let out a shrill cry in frustration.

“That ignorant fool...”

The merchant clicked his tongue, and Hans stomped away angrily.

Rev tried to pass by without acknowledging him, but his eyes met Hans’s fiery gaze.

Hans approached, sneering.

“Hah! Look at you. Pretending to be so close with Lena...”

“...Move. What’s your problem?”

“I’m just telling you the truth. Lena had no interest in guys like you or me. You saw her, right? Waving goodbye happily as she left.”

Rev scowled and tried to walk around him, but Hans continued to prattle on with his open mouth.

“She’s never coming back to this backwater village. Lutetia is the capital of the Holy Kingdom, right? She’s no priest. She just wanted to get out of this dump. No woman becomes a priest.”

Ugh—this is infuriating.

Rev’s blood pressure soared.

He considered punching him, but took a deep breath and relaxed his clenched fists.

He had already beaten Hans once before. But in this game, every new scenario reset everything, making it pointless.

‘Sigh. What’s the point of hitting him? I’ll be leaving soon anyway... Ignoring him is the best option.’

He had beaten and even killed Hans before. He had decided to overlook Hans’s past wrongdoings, and this time, apart from his rude comments, Hans hadn’t done anything wrong.

Just ignore him. That’s the best way.

And he’s spouting nonsense anyway.

Thinking it wasn’t worth his time, Rev calmed himself. Ignoring Hans, he walked on purposefully.

However, Hans’s parting words struck a nerve.

“And what’s Lena going to study there? I hear the city is full of handsome guys. She’ll probably get infatuated and hook up with one of them. Damn it.”

Rev’s steps slowed, but he kept walking. He looked for a merchant to sell the jerky to, but the anger simmered within him.

Lena having no interest in him, leaving happily... those things didn’t matter. Hans was speaking without knowing anything.

But the comment about her getting infatuated with a handsome city guy irked him.

It reminded him of Lena being swayed by Gilbert Forte’s charm and getting into trouble.

Of course, that guy was dead now, so there was nothing to worry about... but it was infuriating. Insulting him was one thing, but he couldn’t stand Lena being insulted.

Suppressing his rising anger, Rev approached a merchant and began negotiating the jerky’s sale.

However, the young merchant also annoyed him.

“The jerky’s poorly dried. Whoever did it, did a lousy job.”

He glanced over the inexperienced youth and remarked.

“This will spoil quickly. Hmm, let’s see. It looks fine for now... How about this much? It’s a low price because it’s hard to sell jerky with a short shelf life.”

The coins in Rev’s hand were a pittance, despite the large quantity of jerky he had brought.

This wasn’t the first time.

Having experienced this treatment before, Rev placed the money back on the table without a word, intending to take the jerky back...

- Look into his eyes.

Rev glared at the merchant.

Rev’s eyes glowed a deep crimson, and the merchant’s attitude changed abruptly.

“Oh, my, can’t even take a joke? I was just teasing a bit since you seemed new at this. Sorry about that.”

The merchant tapped Rev’s shoulder amiably and handed him some silver coins. The amount, though still meager, was better than before, enough to barely avoid a loss.

“What’s your name? Let’s get to know each other. I feel like we’ll be doing business for a long time.”

Rev finished the conversation quickly and left the market. Returning to the cart, he collapsed in exhaustion.

[Enchanted Eyes]

Barbatos’s power had been unlocked.