A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 78

“Thank you. Here’s your reward.”

After collecting all 20 of the Heavenly Herbs and bringing them to the old merchant, he handed me my compensation: 12 Low-grade Potions.

It was a fitting reward for an E-rank quest.

“If fate allows, let’s meet again next time.”

With that, the old merchant left the guild, marking the end of this quest.

“Hmm….”

Since I didn’t have anything pressing to do right now, should I look for another quest to tackle?

With that thought in mind, I turned my gaze to the guild’s bulletin board, which was filled with various Quest Orders.

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S-rank quest: Hunt the sleeping Gargoyles in the Eastern Maze.

A-rank quest: Collect 20 Drakes’ bones.

A-rank quest: Collect 15 Slime cores.

B-rank quest: Collect 1 Minotaur’s horn.

B-rank quest: Uncover the identity of the ghost appearing in the mansion of Rokto Village.

D-rank quest: Hunt 5 Pang Kobolds.

D-rank quest: Hunt the Orc den.

E-rank quest: Gather materials to manufacture a Golem’s core.

─────────────────

…None of them really grab my interest.

The S-rank quest to hunt the sleeping Gargoyles in the Eastern Maze seemed the most entertaining, but it didn’t exactly resonate with me.

I had instantaneously thought I had to gather Heavenly Herbs for the E-rank quest when I first saw it.

The human heart is truly strange.

“…Inquisition Officer!”

As I contemplated while looking at the board, a half-elf receptionist from the guild called out to me.

When a guild receptionist calls out to someone specifically, it usually happens in two cases.

The first is to welcome a new player to the guild.

The second is when there’s a matter related to the adventurer rank, which is one of the systems in the guild.

Since I wasn’t new to the guild, it definitely wasn’t the first case.

And my adventurer rank was already maxed out at S-rank, so it wasn’t the second either.

What could it be?

Of course, there can be situations where an adventurer’s rank drops depending on certain conditions, but at the moment, I surely wasn’t in such a condition.

So, what could it be?

With that question in mind, I approached the reception desk, and the half-elf receptionist whispered to me so softly that no one else could hear.

“There’s a designated quest that has arrived for you, Inquisition Officer. What shall we do?”

…Huh?

This was an unfamiliar situation for me.

“Will you accept it?”

I slowly nodded at her words.

How could I refuse this?

Turning it down here would mean not being cut out to be a gamer.

★

“The Village Head of Rexton Village is looking for you, Inquisition Officer.”

The village mentioned by the receptionist, Rexton, was the only village surrounding Nibrload.

In other words, it had always been the village one had to pass through to do anything in Nibrload, but… perhaps due to the Albion Hunt, there were hardly any other players visible in Rexton.

That makes sense.

Most of the people coming to Nibrload right now are likely aiming for the Albion Hunt; it’s natural that they’d find it much easier to go directly to Rivagar using the raid system instead.

To begin with, there probably hasn’t been a time when Nibrload was filled with people.

“Hmm….”

Despite this village having a lot to offer, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret that everyone was only focusing on the Albion Hunt.

In any case, I wandered around Rexton Village, where I hadn’t paid a visit in a while, and headed toward the Village Head’s house. The Village Head was waiting for me in front of his door.

“Are you the adventurer who received the designated quest?”

His voice seemed much older than that of the old merchant I had met earlier, and I quietly nodded in response.

“I would like to talk inside.”

With that, the Village Head guided me inside and placed snacks and black tea in front of me on the table.

“It might not fit this old man’s taste, so it might be bland, but it’s all I have at home right now… I apologize.”

Despite his words, the snacks and black tea were quite delicious.

They were good enough that I’d be able to grant most requests.

“The reason this old man reached out to you is… because I heard that you defeated Albion.”

Just as I suspected, it was a story related to the Albion Hunt.

I had expected this from the start.

A term like “designated quest” that I had never heard before had come up in the guild, and naturally, the destination of that designated quest was a village near Nibrload.

With just a little bit of thought, it was clear… No, it was something only a smart person could realize, but I could pick up on it.

The Rebongi, who calls me a fool, must be wrong.

I should definitely remember to mention this when I go live later.

“Albion was a symbol of terror for our village… Even though it was said to have fallen into slumber long ago, we never knew when it might awaken and attack us…”

The Village Head’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke.

Was Albion so fearsome that merely uttering its name instilled fear?

“First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the adventurer who defeated such a fearsome Albion.”

The Village Head stood up and bowed his head to me.

Even knowing he was just an NPC, it felt uncomfortable for someone so much older than me to do that.

When I waved my hand to indicate that it was alright, the Village Head finally sat back down.

Every time this happens, I wonder if this is really an NPC and if it’s AI.

“If we move to the main topic now… Did you perhaps use this potion when you defeated Albion?”

As the Village Head spoke, he produced the Tears of the World Tree from his hand.

The item that allowed me and the Rebongi to initially defeat Albion, for which I was deeply grateful.

But why is the Village Head bringing that up now…?

“This potion is a special potion that can only be made in our village. Do you know why?”

I shook my head at that question.

I only just learned that the Tears of the World Tree are made exclusively in this village.

The Village Head smirked slightly as he answered.

“Have you never found it strange? The Elun Cult that currently rules the continent claims that Elun God is the only and absolute deity. But if you are the adventurer who has defeated Albion, you must know who he fought against to become the ruler of Nibrload…”

The ruler of Nibrload, Albion.

The World Tree that vanished from people’s memories.

In other words, it was clear what the Village Head wanted to convey.

Well, I’d understand since I’m smart.

“It wasn’t Albion who originally ruled our village… It was always Scadi who watched over us.”

And the gem being displayed on the pedestal was the one that the World Tree left behind before its disappearance, the Village Head bit his lip and spoke.

“When Scadi was forced to fight Albion, the Elun Cult sent no support whatsoever. In the end, Scadi fell to his cowardly schemes, and our village had to live in fear of Albion.”

Albion’s cowardly schemes.

I wonder what that means… Should I not ask?

“I know that other gods faced similar situations. The Elun Cult was originally the weakest cult. The other gods and cults provided them with countless support. But the Elun Cult disregarded that past and offered no help when another cult was attacked…!”

Hmm.

So there were such stories hidden behind the heretics.

I wasn’t particularly curious, but…

“However, now the existence of Scadi has come to light. So everyone will come to know… that the Elun God is not the only god…!”

So what the Village Head is saying is…

“As the adventurer who defeated Albion using the power of Scadi, would you consider becoming a part of our village and helping us revive our cult?”

〔The Village Head of Rexton, Esler, proposes the creation of the Scadi Cult to you.〕

〔If you join the Scadi Cult, you will be completely immune to the freeze effect.〕

〔If you join the Scadi Cult, there is a certain chance of inflicting the freeze effect on your target when you attack.〕

〔If you join the Scadi Cult, your affinity with NPCs belonging to the Elun Cult will decrease.〕

〔Accepting means changing your class from ‘Traveler’.〕

〔Yes / No〕

So they want me to become a heretic.

To defeat heretics, they want me to become one. What kind of nonsense is that?

Of course, it’s a no.

“Is… that so…?”

After all, how can you call someone a god if they can be defeated by a single dragon?

In contrast, our cult could take down three dragons without breaking a sweat.

“I can’t force my benefactor… It’s a shame that you can’t join us, but I’m just satisfied that the existence of Scadi is now known.”

…Speaking of which, if what he just said is true, then this Village Head is also a heretic, isn’t he…?

I could very well want to make him repent right here, but… I already know.

That attacks don’t work on NPCs.

I once tried swinging a Warhammer at the leader of the heretics, and I got sent away with a message saying I couldn’t attack that target.

Well, I have to accept it as it is since that’s how it’s set up.

World Tree, I’ll let this one slide.

★

〔System: The Scadi Cult has resumed its activities across the continent.〕

〔System: The Scadi Cult class has been added in the ‘Character Creation – Class Selection’ section.〕