“What do you mean, ‘you don’t need to worry about Glarus’? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Just what it sounds like. Glarus isn’t the kind of god who’d do anything bad.”
Etna spoke with absolute conviction. Just to be sure, Nigel checked Etna’s Character Info Window. There was no sign of any abnormal status like [Fanaticism], nor was his [Faith] stat unusually high.
Members of this household generally lacked strong faith in Glarus. All because of that damn Mad Dragon, Odelrat. If they were going to stop an evil god, they should’ve gone all the way with it—but leaving his servant, the Mad Dragon, half-sealed had turned Intusnica into a cursed land known for harboring the beast. Anyone who’d spent their whole life fending off the monsters pouring out of Intusnica would’ve lost their faith, too.
Etna had taken part in the Great War while alive and hadn’t believed in gods either. In fact, after seeing so many wounded, he resented the god who had failed to fully seal the Mad Dragon. Nigel had heard as much from the knight who’d fought alongside his older brother. Which made this sudden defense of Glarus all the more suspicious.
“Based on what…? And hold on—Glarus? You’re on a first-name basis with a god?”
“So what? We’re not in a temple or anything. It’s not like you’re devout.”
“Well, yeah, but still…”
Nigel’s eyes flicked toward Inas, glaring. What kind of nonsense had he said to land him in this mess? Inas, pretending not to notice, kept his gaze lowered. Nigel let out a sigh.
As the awkward silence dragged on, Etna jumped in.
“Don’t glare at him. He came here out of concern for you, you know…”
“Concern, my ass.”
“Wait… did he exaggerate something? That’d be bad. This guy knows my name and my true identity, after all.”
Etna grinned playfully as he spoke. Nigel couldn’t muster a retort, just glanced between Inas and Etna with a disgruntled look.
“Father said you and this knight didn’t get along. I’m glad to hear you’ve grown close enough to share your worries.”
“He’s not even a knight yet. And we’re not close.”
“Could’ve fooled me. You two seem to get along well. Wouldn’t it be nice if you did? You’re going to be seeing him the rest of your life if he becomes your knight.”
“He’s… too talented to be just my knight.”
That wasn’t some lame excuse to push Inas away—it was the truth. If Nigel weren’t going to become Duke, Inas’s talents were wasted on being a mere noble’s guard. Even back when he’d wielded partial authority as the right hand of the Duke of Magnus, Nigel had often thought Inas was too good for his station.
Watching Nigel mutter to himself, Etna smiled contentedly.
“See? You two get along. Would you be saying he’s ‘too talented’ if you didn’t?”
“I’m just saying…”
“And besides, Nigel, I don’t think it’s hit you yet. If someone’s going to be your knight, they’d better be damn skilled.”
“Why?”
Nigel blinked in confusion, clearly clueless. Etna sighed, his expression turning grave.
“The collapse in the temple, the divine revelation you received… those things weren’t made public, but we couldn’t stop the information from leaking completely.”
“Mm…”
“A divine revelation, depending on how it’s framed, can be a powerful political weapon. There are people who’d love to use that.”
It wasn’t unexpected. Still, Nigel had no intention of abusing the revelation. He planned to keep its use strictly limited.
If he could prove it was politically useless, the pointless scheming would stop. But until then, Nigel looked like ripe prey.
Well, whatever. As long as Inas was around, there was no real threat to his life. The problem was that he couldn’t openly explain who Inas was, so he couldn’t reassure his father or brother.
Etna dropped to one knee in front of Nigel to meet his eye level.
“You said you didn’t even want the revelation, right? I heard the god forced it on you.”
“Yeah…”
“Don’t tell me—you took on a role you didn’t want just to save me?”
“No! It’s not like that…”
Nigel shook his head quickly. Honestly, he’d refused to save Etna this time around, thinking it would be better not to. He hadn’t accepted the role out of a desire to save him. If anything, he’d tried to ignore it altogether.
Unable to say so honestly, he dropped his gaze. Above him, Etna clicked his tongue.
“You didn’t need to go that far for me…”
“I told you, it’s not like that.”
Etna didn’t look convinced. Sighing, he pulled Nigel into a hug. Nigel had been about to return it, awkwardly, when he noticed Inas glaring daggers from behind and quickly dropped his hands.
Jealous of Nigel’s older brother—unbelievable. It’s not like Etna was the type to read too deeply into that. Still, the intensity of Inas’s glare made it hard to say anything. Nigel just pouted silently.
Clueless to the entire situation, Etna kissed Nigel’s forehead and cheek, then gently patted his back.
“Don’t worry too much, Nigel. I’ve got more than enough strength to protect you.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“Then what are you so worried about?”
“Well…”
Nigel trailed off, his face twisting. There were too many truths he couldn’t explain.
“…You were dead, Etna. There’s no way something like bringing a dead man back doesn’t come with a price.”
Etna’s face said Ah, so that’s what this is about. It was a serious topic, but he brushed it off too easily—it was suspicious. Nigel narrowed his eyes.
“But think about it, Nigel. Glarus is the god who upholds the world. He wouldn’t do anything evil, would he?”
“What kind of…”
Nigel was about to snap at him for being so naive, but Inas shook his head from behind.
“Lord Etna is correct. Glarus is indeed a powerful deity, but the system enforces strict penalties for deviating from his assigned role. If Glarus could act freely, we wouldn’t be sitting here calmly like this.”
Nigel glanced sideways at Etna. Since Inas mentioned the ‘system,’ Etna’s gaze had started to drift awkwardly into thin air. Watching him, Nigel felt a bitter pang—but he still glared sharply at Inas.
“…You could’ve told me this earlier!”
“Well, Glarus can interfere with you, as long as it’s within the limits of the system’s enforcement. In fact, under previous loops, even this much contact would’ve been impossible. That said, it’s unlikely we’ll see repeated contact like before. Has Glarus reached out to you again since then?”
“No…”
“Please answer honestly.”
That last line wasn’t something the old Inas would’ve said. Startled, Nigel gave a small nod. In the past, Inas would’ve believed anything he said without question. Whatever happened in the previous loop had left scars—not just on Nigel, but on Inas too.
“Seriously, nothing.”
“Then he may have been penalized. Canonically, gods can’t descend frequently. Of course, Etna’s case is different—he was revived as Glarus’s avatar. With that comes the risk that Glarus could take his life back at any time. Still, unless Etna commits some grave mistake, that would be a dangerous move even for Glarus.”
After Inas’s long explanation, Nigel let out a heavy sigh. He could’ve explained all this earlier. But Nigel had been the one who pushed him away. If Inas had shared uncertain intel, Nigel would’ve doubted him anyway, so he couldn’t really blame the guy.
Even if Glarus was a god, he wasn’t omnipotent. He couldn’t defy the system—there were loopholes, limits. Just like Inas wasn’t all-powerful.
That alone brought Nigel considerable relief.
“…Why are you two just staring at each other like that?”
“Just… talking.”
Etna, having missed the entire prior exchange, finally chimed in. Nigel gave a sheepish shrug.
“Seriously, don’t stress so much, Nigel. I had a little talk with him, and it wasn’t scary at all.”
“You met Glarus?”
Startled, Nigel asked. Etna shook his head.
“No, just heard his voice.”
“Oh…”
“Why do you sound disappointed?”
“Just… I wanted to know what he looked like.”
He wondered if Glarus had shown up looking just as annoying as Nigel had the first time. If he looked like Nigel, he probably would’ve shown up babbling excitedly the moment he got here.
“What did you two talk about?”
“He said he’d let me live and told me to live properly from now on.”
How was that not scary? It wasn’t exactly threatening, but it didn’t feel warm either.
“That’s just… your feeling, though.”
“My instincts are pretty sharp, you know. Besides…”
Etna set Nigel down and reached out his hand. In the blink of an eye, a white sword materialized in his grip. He definitely hadn’t had that at his waist just a moment ago. Nigel’s eyes went wide.
“Wh-What’s that?”
“A sword. Glarus gave it to me.”
Nigel examined the blade. It was the same pure white sword Etna had used when Ruder attacked the night before.
Back then, everything had happened so fast that Nigel hadn’t gotten a good look. But now he could see the radiant aura emanating from the weapon—it was anything but ordinary. He swallowed reflexively, tension tightening his throat.
“Looks… amazing.”
“Right?”
“Can I… see it?”
“You were never interested in stuff like this.”
If anything, he’d hated it. Swords only reminded him of the inferiority he couldn’t overcome. Nigel shifted his gaze awkwardly.
“Just curious, since it came from a god. Can’t I?”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
Apparently not a weird enough excuse to raise suspicion, Etna handed it over casually.
Nigel didn’t grab the sword directly—he examined it through its info window.
Holy Sword Raul
A relic forged from a branch of the Divine Tree and the blood of Nigel Grau Montstein. It was meant to embody pure power, but the infusion of human blood has corrupted and twisted its essence. Though it has lost its divinity, it possesses situational effects tied to karmic destiny.
Attack Power: 9,482 + 30% of user’s Magic
Effects:
Attacks against Evil Gods always hit (100% accuracy).
Successful attacks against constructs immobilize the target for 1 second.
Those who’ve sworn loyalty to Nigel Grau Montstein cannot dodge attacks from Holy Sword Raul.
The description gave Nigel chills. His blood? When the hell had they taken that? Was it back when they met before? But he hadn’t even been injured…
And those effects.
There was no mistaking it—this sword was designed to target Inas. If he got hit, it would always land, and he wouldn’t be able to move.
Was he supposed to just stand there and get pummeled?
