CH 123

So Kairos seemed to be very interested in things between men. He came into the oracle room to get a closer look at the male leads as he was being a fan.

‘Kairos… He pretends to work hard at the oracle room, so this is what he likes?’

When I took out the book and looked at the cover, I couldn’t see the author’s name, but the phrase #[Published by Salerium] came in.

‘You can’t read under the age of 190.’

They added 0 by mistake, didn’t they?

When I opened the book, spicy and explicit phrases came in.

I don’t usually enjoy reading BL novels, but I decided to read it because I was curious about what it was about. Yet soon after, the brilliant writing skills of the noble writer grabbed me by the collar and pulled me into the book.

‘Amazing… Isn’t Reihausd rolling too much?’

Originally, stimulating things are delicious.

‘Gasp, crazy. I want an illustration for this!’

I often lamented the lack of illustrations.

“Miss Ariel, let’s go in.”

It must have been about two hours. Ravi was back.

Unknowingly, I hurriedly put the novel I had been reading into the bookshelf again.

‘Shall I ask Kairos if he can lend it to me later…? No, this isn’t the time, let’s come to my senses.’

“It’s ready, Miss Ariel.”

At Ravi’s words, I followed him and headed out of the palace again.

“Yes, I’m ready too.”

I decided to forget what I had just seen in my mind. Though the images of the tangled male leads were floating around, there was still something else important to do.

I was in an unstable state on the verge of death and life, and I didn’t know how much time I had left. I had to find out what I was aiming for as quickly as possible.

As I came down the long stairs, I saw a large space like a plaza.

The temple was a complex structure as large as it was, so it wasn’t easy to figure out where it was. Surprised that there were about 500 women lined up in this plaza, I asked Ravi.

“Are there so many people in the clothing management department?”

“The Shrine 4 has a small number of people. There are over 1,000 people in the clothing management department of Shrine 2.”

Perhaps because it’s a world of death where new recruits are constantly pouring in, the number of people is comparable to that of the continent.

Standing in front of countless women wearing dresses that looked like government officials, I opened my mouth.

“My name is Ariel, and I came here because of Sir Kairos’ consideration. The reason I called you all is to find someone.”

Most were young women, some in their early teens, and a few older women.

There’s a story that if people go to Salerium, the dead will live at the age they want the most, so there must be a gap between the age I see and the actual age.

‘Where is the soul of the ‘real’ Camilla, I wonder’

I looked at the women and opened my mouth.

“I came here to find the official who was summoned to this world by ‘Professor Draive’s necromancy three years ago.”

At that, people murmured.

“I really need her help. But even if it’s a help, there’s nothing grand, just talk to me. So, if you have ever been summoned to the present world by ‘Professor Draive’s necromancy, please raise your hand.”

But no one raised a hand except for a buzz.

Ravi, who was watching, spoke to them.

“As a special reward, I will give 1,000 saint to any officer who helps the guest of Sir Kairos.”

At those words, the people’s murmur grew.

‘Saint’ seemed to be the coin concept of Salerium.

In the book about the God of Death and Salerium I read before, it was said that if you collect something valuable from Salerium and hand it over, you can reincarnate into a new life.

Just as all humans have a ‘survival instinct’, all the dead have a ‘reincarnation instinct’, so the dead want reincarnation.

“1,000 saint is the amount of money that can buy a ‘first-class reincarnation ticket’, you know.”

“Gee, I don’t know who it is, but she’s lucky.”

It seemed that the reward given by Ravi was valuable enough to buy the right of reincarnation with favorable conditions.

“How much are the officials’ salaries?”

“On average about 50 saint a year.”

“So that means she doesn’t intend to come out.”

That’s why she doesn’t budge despite such unconventional conditions.

Now it was my turn to figure out who she was.

I focused on my vision.

I also received the sensitivity buff from the God of Justice, Hetuse. So I was able to find out who was lying or who had something to hide.

“…Are there really no people who were summoned to Professor Draive’s necromancy three years ago?”

Then a woman caught my eye. As I was attracted like a magnet according to Hetuse’s response.

A woman in her twenties with long green hair was fiddling her own hands with an anxious look. Her face was beautiful, and her eyes were a beautiful bright brown.

‘Is it this woman?’

She looked around and turned around, looking for a way out.

“Wait.”

I walked straight towards her. I got the feeling that she was the ‘real Camilla’.

The woman who met my eyes hurriedly turned around and started walking quickly.

I shouted behind her.

“You’re Camilla, aren’t you?”

Camilla’s feet, which had been walking fast, stopped.

“Please help me. There’s something I need to know about ‘the God of Lies.’”

All eyes were on us. The noisy crowd became quiet as if water had been poured on them.

“…”

After a while, Camilla slowly turned her body to look at me. Her brown eyes gleamed with a bewildered light.

She pursed her lips.

“My name is Rita now.”

Perhaps that’s the name newly bestowed on her as she enters Salerium.

[“Izar. How about the name Camilla, which means ‘eternal joy’ for this baby?”]

But the name she had when she was in Bellatrix’s belly was… ‘Camilla.’

“…Although my name was Camilla before she was even born.”

Seeing my persistent gaze, she murmured in desperation.

It occurred to me that at last, I had found the key.

***

I sat across from Rita and drank tea in a skyscraper-high pavilion overlooking endless temples.

“He was a pure person full of academic curiosity. So I wanted to help him.”

A dark light shone in Rita’s eyes.

“But why did you not respond to his summons three years ago?”

“That…”

Her hand was gripping the handle of the teacup.

“He’s a living person and I’m a dead person. I decided it wasn’t good to get too close.”

From the look on Rita’s expression, I could see why she had cut ties with Draive.

Seeing her still making that expression three years later, I think she probably liked him a little bit. That must be why she told Draive her ‘real name’.

“…I see.”

Although the pavilion in the air of Salerium was located at a very high place, not a single wind blew. That fact woke me up to the fact that I was now in the world of death.

“Professor Draive is doing well. And… maybe he missed you too. For a long time since you disappeared.”

The book Draive gave me also contained some of his private feelings for her. It’s been three years now and it’s a thing of the past, but I hoped that these words would comfort her.

“…Is that so.”

Rita looked into the distance and smiled bitterly.

After a while I looked at her and opened my mouth.

“I heard you told Draive about ‘the God of Lies, Bellatrix.’ I thought that only Izar or Bellatrix’s real daughter knew the story that no one else knew.”

Rita nodded her head.

“I was a helpless soul in the womb, but as a special child of a God, I was able to remember the name my mother gave me.”

Her brown eyes were sunken with gloom.

“Do you remember what happened after that?”

Rita opened her mouth again.

“Mother gave me to God Raid to give me strength, and he annihilated me. Then I came to Salerium. Even if I’m a child of a God, if I die, I’m no different from humans. So helpless.”

“…”

“Ah, I didn’t tell you the story before that. How God Raid tricked Mother.”

The Camilla I knew was the heir to Raid and Bellatrix, the two rebel Gods, and a demon who inherited Raid’s power.

But the ‘real Camilla’ in front of me was the child of Bellatrix and Izar, so the two are essentially different.

“My soul was given with the mighty power of God Raid… He said it would make me the ruler of the world. In an evil world where even the Gods are betrayed, it makes me a true queen who will stand on top without being hurt by anyone.”

I now know the full story for sure.

“However, Raid didn’t keep his promise.”

“Yes. He secretly took away my soul given to him by Mother, and after pouring power into a soul he created himself in a form similar to it, he deceived her that it was me.”

Rita gave a bitter smile.

To sum it up, it was:

Hundreds of years ago, Raid received and destroyed the soul of the daughter of the God of Lies, Bellatrix, and now Camilla… In other words, he tricked Bellatrix by calling the evil spirit he created Camilla.

“Do you know about the affairs of this world? What happened to Raid now?”

I asked her with sunken eyes.

“No. We belong to Salerium, and whatever happens in this world has nothing to do with us. I still resent and hate Raid, but it’s also something from my previous life, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“God Raid is gone.”

At my words, I saw Rita’s eyes shake violently.

“What did you say? God Raid… is gone?”

“It was revealed that he held the concurrent position of the Demon King, thus he was deprived of his divinity by the Gods. Raid’s son completely ruined his weakening. But ‘fake Camilla’ is still with your mother.”

Rita’s lips trembled at my words.

“My goodness… God Kairos.”

I looked at the woman’s face and said.

“But there is a problem. Bellatrix still thinks ‘fake Camilla’ is you and protects her.”

At that, Rita gasped again.

I spoke calmly.

“Actually, everyone thinks she died because of the curse… I don’t think so.”

It was a strong intuition.

“The appearance of Bellatrix in the book… What is it? It was really human.”

Other Gods also displayed ways of thinking and behaving similar to humans. But if it’s a kind of leeway that comes from absolute ability… Bellatrix seemed different.

Bellatrix, the God with the lowest rank and power among the Gods, loves humans and even has children with them.

She could have easily extinguished the soul in her stomach, which is the blood of a human man who betrayed her own love and had an affair.

Still, she didn’t. Rather, she intended to give the child the mighty power of Raid. She hoped that the child wouldn’t be betrayed and hurt like she was.

“Like a real mother… She wanted to do things endlessly for her child.”

I just had a sore throat.

“That’s why I think she’s doing everything she can to save the dying ‘fake Camilla’. Because she’s a God with stronger maternal love than anyone else.”

Even if it was to great harm to Bellatrix herself.

The God of Lies can’t lift Diego’s curse. But the matter of saving Camilla’s life is a little different. If, with all her might, she tries to prolong Camilla’s life… there will be variables.

In addition, as I approached death, I tried to feel Camilla through my correspondence with the two Gods. As a demon, she would go to the afterlife of the demon, not Salerium, but at least I could recognize whether she crossed the line of death through the responses of the God of Death and the God of Justice. And Camilla’s presence wasn’t felt at all.

“Ha…”

The eyes of Rita, who was sitting in front of me, were twitching. Soon, tears welled up in her eyes.

After a while she covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

“How did our destiny turn out to be like this? Poor Mother…”

I could understand her feelings, so I waited for a long time until she stopped crying.