NOVEL WEB Chapter 102
Chapter 102. Childhood Friend – History of Asin
Leo stared blankly at the tattoo on his right palm and arm.
The information about the ‘History of Asin’ provided insights into what were commonly known as Asin.
Long ago, during a time when non-human races prospered on this continent, these races worshipped nameless deities.
Desiring to attract the attention of the creator of all things and the master of this world, they offered prayers and sacrifices.
However, their efforts were in vain.
The deity did not accept their sacrifices and remained impartial to all races, offering nothing special to those who worshiped.
Therefore, the races began to worship their own gods, dreaming of beings who would bestow favors upon them. This resulted in the birth of the ‘Asin’.
Asin, the young gods.
Born from the desires of these races, they fulfilled the wishes of those who served them. Unlike the deity, they reciprocated offerings deserving of their worship and supported the prosperity of the races.
Among them, Oriax was the god of the Minotaurs.
The tribe that dominated the southern part of the continent was fierce.
Sensitive to their territories, the Minotaurs ruthlessly slaughtered any other races they encountered. They remembered even the smallest mistakes and relentlessly sought revenge.
As a result, they constantly fought wars with other races, piling up enemies’ corpses like mountains and offering sacrifices. They rejoiced in repaying the price for their favors by sacrificing the enemies’ corpses.
Of course, their sacrifices were meaningless. The deity, the owner of all things, did not accept offerings, so the sacrifices of the Minotaurs were nothing more than a delusional celebration of their own savagery.
However, over time, as the sacrifices repeated, their madness gave birth to their gods. Oriax emerged as their god, born amidst a heap of decay, becoming their deity.
Leo clenched his fist and repeated the chant. The footprint on his right palm was not a mere tattoo. It was a mark imbued by Oriax’s power.
It signaled the presence of an intruder in his domain… one that may not be visible to others’ eyes.
The information about the ‘History of Asin’ continued.
As ‘history’ is a record of events, the records on the savage race and their ruthless god, Oriax, were plentiful.
They slaughtered countless races, starting from the southern coastline of the continent and expanding gradually.
However, the prosperity of the Minotaurs did not last long.
As they expanded their territories, they encountered formidable foes in the southeast part of the continent, now occupied by the kingdom of Conrad.
They were the Centaurs.
The two races clashed in a fertile plain, engaging in a fierce war that lasted for decades.
The war ultimately ended in the victory of the Centaurs, who loved music and had formed alliances with neighboring races.
In fact, such ‘minor’ conflicts between races were not considered significant enough to be included in the ‘History of Asin’. However, they were included because the doomed Minotaurs sacrificed their lives to summon Oriax.
Oriax descended, piercing through the barrier between deities and creatures. In response, the Centaurs summoned their own deity, Amdukias, and the two gods clashed.
It was an epic battle.
Numerous beings, along with towering mountains, perished by Oriax’s actions, while the rocks buried deep in the earth shattered to the music sung by Amdukias with its five mouths.
The scarcity of mountains and rocks in the Conrad Kingdom was a result of this battle.
The conflict between the two deities ended with Amdukias’ victory, ending the destructive power struggle between Oriax and Amdukias. Oriax lost all the Minotaurs who worshipped him and disappeared into the shadows of history… only to reappear later.
The disappearance of races that believed in themselves and believed they vanished was different from usual.
Leo checked his palm and then shifted his gaze to the trumpet tattoo on his left forearm, bearing the symbol of Barbatos.
Unlike Oriax, who was detailed in the ‘History of Asin’ for causing various events, Barbatos…
“Leo! Are you listening? Hey, what’s that?”
Lena turned around after picking mountain fruits, breaking his reverie. She pointed to the hilt hanging from Leo’s waist.
[Achievement: Bound Item, 0/3]
[Sword – Indestructible.]
“Huh?”
“Wow! A sword? When did you get this…”
“Ta-dah!”
Leo quickly drew the sword, pretending to proudly show it off.
“Surprised, right? Look at this. Cool, isn’t it?”
This annoying guy.
Leo’s only item, the ‘sword,’ always appeared at the beginning of scenarios without any consideration. Lena, who was sharp, had noticed.
“Wow! Where did you get this? Did you find it in the mountains? Give it to me. I want to touch it.”
“I bought it in the town last week. How is it?”
“It’s heavy! Amazing! But… why did you buy something like this?”
“I wanted to learn swordsmanship, so I went a bit overboard.”
“Swordsmanship? Weren’t you supposed to be a hunter? Do hunters need something like this?”
“If you knew anything about hunting, you’d understand that a sword is useful during hunts…”
In reality, a sword was hardly useful in hunting, but Leo distorted common knowledge to inform ordinary people.
“And be prepared for bandits. I will be of age next year, so I got it in advance.”
“Oh, I see. That’s interesting.”
Lena swung the sword clumsily, poked the ground with it, and handed it back. Then she glanced at Leo.
“Ugh, did you come all the way here to show off this? You could have just shown it in the village.”
“Hehe, showing off in the village seems like showing off too much. My father also has a sword, but he leaves it at the mountain lodge and doesn’t bring it down.”
This was a blatant lie. His father didn’t have a sword. But Lena would never come to the mountain lodge…
Lena went, “Hmm,” and turned her attention back to the mountain fruits.
‘How well she handles it,’ thought Leo, making an effort not to show any habits.
He felt the ‘initial funds’ jingling in his pocket as he watched Lena’s back casually.
Her tightly braided hair brushed against Leo’s chest whenever she picked the fruits.
‘Lena…’
This time, he was considering sending Lena to the cathedral. There was an event in the Childhood Friend scenario where she could become a priestess.
His plan to marry Lena off to a prince had been abandoned since the previous engagement scenario.
He regretted seeing Lena Einarr in distress and Leo Dexter on the verge of losing his temper.
He decided not to use Lena as a tool for clearance. He resolved to make her happy and aim for clearance at the same time.
This was Minseo’s decision, but it also painfully pierced the heart of Leo in the village of Demos.
There was a time when he didn’t let Lena go just because he wanted to be happy, blocking his friend’s path selfishly.
There was undoubtedly Minseo’s influence, but he was just as guilty as her.
He didn’t want to part ways with her.
‘But now it’s time to part ways. Lena has dreams, and I have things to do… Honestly, being around Lena impedes me. Lena gave up her dream because of me. That’s not right…’
Leo steeled his heart.
Friendship. That is enough.
Lena and Leo filled a leather pouch with mountain fruits. Leo’s hand moved slowly, so Lena picked up his hand (“Leo! Why are you so slow? Hurry up, let’s go back.”), and they descended from the mountain.
“Take care. Eat your food deliciously!”
“You too…”
“?”
After seeing off Lena and returning home, Leo sighed heavily.
His father was out hunting and absent.
‘Where did I put my boots? The blanket… I probably don’t need it.’
He prepared to go hunting, leaving his room that he hadn’t seen in a long time. He wore a thin sling on his arm to avoid scratches from the branches and tied a belt around his waist. Instead of putting on a hat, he flopped onto the bed.
“Ha.”
He was planning not to return from the hunt until autumn.
Childhood friend Lena had an amazing sense. She was curious and didn’t easily overlook strange things she found. Leo was the subject of her keen interest, mixed with the habits of other Leos, and he had changed, repeating scenarios, and could not escape her gaze.
Last time, Lena had suspected, “Are you Leo? Are you hiding something from me?”
Disappointment accumulated and burst out.
Unfortunately, there was no way to resolve this. It was impossible to remember and control every little habit, and he couldn’t say, “I’m not actually Leo.”
It was difficult to explain his peculiar situation, but only Leo himself could understand the gap between being Leo and not being Leo.
Talking about this wouldn’t seem to help Lena in any special way… and he didn’t want to either.
Lena had to become a priest.
He didn’t want to complicate his friend’s thoughts by saying false things.
Also, there were practical reasons. This childhood friend scenario was being forced towards the ‘priest’ event.
The princes in the capital of the East Kingdom, Nevis, had to avoid the princes of the West Kingdom like they were non-recyclable trash. So, to get permission to cross the border, he was dragged into the event heading towards Count Tertan’s mansion.
Following that event meant death by Bart. Resentful Bart, who attacked Palace Tertan, killed all the servants and maids, and that was how the previous childhood friend scenario ended.
He had already made a choice in the Beggar Siblings scenario.
Instead of running after receiving coins from Kasia to stop Bart, he chose to kill Gilbert Forte. This was to prevent Lena from meeting that scoundrel when she went to the cathedral in Rutetia.
Leo’s heart sank heavily. His body sank deeply into the bed, sympathizing with him.
‘Let’s endure just two more months. I’ll happily send her off on the day Lena leaves.’
There was also the option of leaving for the mountain lodge to avoid Lena’s suspicions, but he was more keen on avoiding her confession.
It wouldn’t be long before Lena suggested going to pick mountain mushrooms. There, she would subtly confess, “I think I should stop studying to become a priest.”
It was a significant turning point in Lena’s attitude.
Since then, she grabbed my hand firmly, and… I cannot escape from Lena. Whether I decided to let her go or not, I cannot contain my fluttering heart.
That’s why we should keep a distance from the beginning.
Even when I tried to break off the engagement with Lena Einarr before, I had similar feelings. I had firmly decided to keep a distance before falling too deep.
I was not repeating the same mistake.
Lena and I are friends. And when Lena lightly pushes me on my back, I depart towards my dream.
Whether we awkwardly listened to Lena’s confession and cried at the end before parting ways, it’s better this way.
Lena must be a little puzzled as to why I went to the mountain and didn’t return…
Leo tossed and turned in bed. He had to leave after dinner, but for some reason, he didn’t feel like getting up from bed.
He looked at the tattoo engraved on his upper arm, which was difficult to erase Lena from, and had different thoughts.
‘Barbatos…’
A tattoo that seemed to indicate an event, much like the white necklace in the scenario of Beggar Siblings.
It was the symbol of Barbatos, with multiple trumpets intersecting.
There was hardly any information about Barbatos in the ‘History of Asin.’ It was only briefly recorded as a god born from the desire of a ‘hunter.’
In other words, Barbatos had a high possibility of being a mild god.
The lack of records meant that he had not caused any major disasters, and not all Asins were as cruel as Oriax.
Oriax was such a vicious god that he was considered one of the top five evil gods, and most Asins quietly existed, receiving the offerings of their followers in return.
The act of his father burying the head of the hunted prey in the ground after each hunt was a kind of offering ritual.
I’m not sure if he wanted something or what, but…
‘But what does this mean? Is it asking me to receive Barbatos’s power? Is it telling me to use his power to defeat Oriax?’
This tattoo seemed just as clear in pointing to a direction as the ‘lineage’ event of the street urchin siblings.
I had not paid attention to this tattoo because I didn’t know about the ‘History of Asin,’ or maybe I didn’t know that there was a chance to borrow the power of Barbatos in the childhood friend scenario.
And now, the enemy Leo had to face was a being beyond human comprehension. To confront that, it seemed like powerful abilities were necessary.
‘But…’
Leo scratched his head.
It feels uneasy. It’s a feeling that something doesn’t quite add up.
Lena, who wants to become a priestess, and the church that massacres the non-converters. Serving Barbatos was completely opposite to Lena’s future aspirations.
Lena is the heroine of this game, after all…
‘Regardless, I have to turn Lena into a princess before she becomes a priestess, so it shouldn’t matter much, but something feels off…’
Is this a trap? Or is it another maliciousness telling me to try my luck again? Or is it showing a clear path like the ‘lineage’ event?
Leo, who had been contemplating for a long time, couldn’t withstand his hunger and got up from bed. He rummaged through the kitchen and had a simple meal.
‘Let’s think it over slowly. There is still plenty of time.’
If Lena leaves…
After finishing the meal, Leo put on his boots, pushed his hat down low, and went outside. He gazed blankly at the neighboring house, Lena’s house, wondering if he should say something before leaving.
In the end, he said,
“What? At this hour?”
“Yeah. It turned out that way.”
He called out to Lena.
“Why? You could go tomorrow, right?”
“But I’ll be an adult by next year, so I need to learn hunting quickly to uphold my prestige. That’s why I’m planning to stay at the mountain for a while.”
“Really? Isn’t it dangerous? Don’t overdo it and just leave in the morning tomorrow.”
Oh, such a good idea.
Unable to bear the restless feeling, he packed his belongings in haste. Somehow, he felt like a complete fool, but it was too late to turn back now.
“It’s not at all dangerous. I’ve been back and forth with my father to the mountain a lot, so the road is somewhat familiar, and there are no bandits around. There are no large beasts either. If there were any, my father would have caught them already. It’s fine.”
“I’m worried… Alright. How long will you be away?”
“Well, I might stay longer than usual.”
“Okay. Take care and come back safely.”
“Sure… You take care too.”
“Huh? Of course, I’ll be fine. Why are you acting strange today out of all days?”
“…I’m going.”
“Go~.”
After bidding goodbye, Leo climbed up the dimly lit mountain.
The next day, Leo’s father looked at his son who had come to the mountain with a puzzled expression.
There was no reason for this sudden visit, and since it would have taken a full day to walk to the mountain, arriving during the day meant that he had left the previous evening.
However, he only nodded his head in response to his son’s words of wanting to learn hunting quickly.
Leo unpacked his belongings at the mountain and went to bed to catch up on his lack of sleep. Lying on the bed piled with cheap hides, he thought.
The day he returns to the village will be the day to bid farewell to Lena.
Sending Lena away with the ‘priest’ event that comes with autumn meant she would become the priestess she had always dreamed of.
Then Lena would be happy.
And I…
Leo soon fell asleep.
After coming to the mountain cabin, he immersed himself in hunting to forget Lena. Despite the lack of past memories, he tried to cover his growing affection for Lena naturally with friendship. No matter how many times he repeated it in the future, he would send her away so that she could become a priestess… However, as always, his plans encountered variables.
One day, over a month after coming to the cabin, Lena arrived. “Leo!” She shouted, panting heavily.