Chapter 56 – Apostle (3)

The healing ability of Apostle ‘Michael’ was quite remarkable.

Before long, the young man who had been embedded in the wall stopped coughing blood and could stand normally.

Though judging by his pale face, he hadn’t completely recovered.

Still, even that level of healing was more effective than the potion Hoffman had used.

Hoffman’s potion had barely healed his external wounds.

Priests or clergy who could heal this quickly were rare even in that other world.

His ability seemed comparable to the high-level priests with divine power, of whom there were only one or two per diocese.

“I have some business to attend to, so I’ll leave first.”

After receiving urgent treatment, the young man bid everyone farewell and was the first to leave the building.

Though it didn’t seem like he really had business to attend to, no one stopped him from leaving.

Since his provocation was likely ordered by the Apostle anyway, I didn’t have major complaints about him.

Besides, after getting hit once, he at least made sure to say goodbye properly before leaving.

After the young man left, the Apostle spread both hands toward us.

“I apologize. We showed you an unpleasant sight. I believe Ihan made a mistake due to his fiery temperament. Since it was all done for me and God, please forgive him for my sake.”

It was an insincere apology like those I’d often heard in my past life.

In that other world, people rarely apologized, but when they did, it felt sincere…

Of course, that was a world where insincere apologies could get your head cracked.

Moreover, knowing that everything was ordered by the man before us, there was no way we could accept an apology that blamed someone who had left.

As I stared at him intently, Zahina’s voice came from behind.

“Why blame him when you ordered it? Shouldn’t you be the one apologizing?”

If Hoffman and I had noticed, there’s no way Zahina hadn’t.

Though she had changed a lot since coming here, Zahina was still fundamentally an elf.

The elf’s inconsiderate words froze the atmosphere in the room.

“Ha, ha, there seems to be some misunderstanding.”

The Apostle tried to make excuses, but we just stared blankly at him.

“…It seems we made too many mistakes upon first meeting and caused misunderstandings. We should have proper discussions later. For urgent matters, you can speak with the management team leader.”

Though he seemed to have much to say originally, there wasn’t much he could say in this situation.

The Apostle bowed to us and fled the room.

Sensing movement going up to the second floor, it seemed his room was up there.

After the Apostle left, the remaining awakened one sighed.

“It’s awkward to apologize again… but since I’m part of this side.”

He bowed his head to us.

“I’m sorry. We made a big mistake with you all.”

This time, it felt like a proper apology.

Moreover, since he was closer to a third party, there was no need to stay angry when the main culprit wasn’t even present.

I spoke to him in a calm tone.

“You underestimated us too much.”

The male awakened one sighed at my words.

“Honestly, it was hard to believe. A test was necessary. Though the additional action was excessive.”

I crossed my arms and asked him.

“Didn’t you know?”

He scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.

“I knew when the Apostle gave the signal. By the time I tried to stop it, the outcome was already decided.”

Seo-eun, standing beside him, looked at him with surprised eyes.

“Did the Apostle really give a signal?”

Seo-eun seemed genuinely unaware… Wasn’t it discussed beforehand?

“It was a signal difficult for ordinary people to notice. I only recognized it because I’d seen it before.”

After answering Seo-eun, he looked at us with surprised eyes.

“I’m amazed. I never thought you would notice.”

Hoffman looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“How could you not know that? It’s a simple technique anyone who can manipulate mana can use. Though I can’t use it myself, I can certainly recognize it.”

Hoffman was right.

The technique the Apostle used was a very basic one that simply materialized body mana in a way others could perceive.

“Ah… I guess it’s not so simple here.”

However, this was still a world that didn’t understand what mana was.

What we considered common techniques could be revolutionary here.

From what I heard, Seo-eun hadn’t known about it.

The man had apparently realized too late and tried to stop it, but wasn’t in time.

Still, I found it hard to trust the man completely. We’d need to watch him more carefully.

Understanding the situation, Seo-eun heaved a deep sigh.

“He’s being reckless again. Even with advice, he always acts like this. It’s really troublesome.”

Her expression was like that of a mother dealing with a disobedient child.

“This sacred territory exists entirely because of that person, the Apostle. Though there are many complaints, we can’t do anything about it.”

True, without him maintaining the safe zone, everyone here would have died long ago.

“We can’t exactly tie him up and just have him maintain the sacred territory,”

Judging by her expression, she would have done exactly that if she could.

“He used to listen somewhat, but he’s becoming more willful. Plus, the number of followers like Ihan is increasing, and so are the people who resent him…”

I could see fatigue settling on her face.

Seeing this, my hand twitched, but before I could move, the awakened one standing beside her patted her shoulder.

“Thank you. Unlike myself, I lost my temper in front of people I just met.”

Having regained her composure, Seo-eun seemed unable to understand her own behavior from moments ago.

“Let’s stop criticizing the Apostle for now and focus on what needs to be done.”

“I heard from Yerim, but will you be staying here from now on?”

“We plan to stay for a while.”

“For a while… It’s the first time someone who entered the safe zone has said that.”

Seo-eun clicked her tongue at my words and continued.

“Well, though it’s still hard to believe you’re from another world, you’re clearly powered individuals, so we should treat you properly whether you stay for a while or not.”

She started counting on her fingers.

“I’ll arrange accommodation for you all. Not tents, but inside buildings, and rations too… Ah, you know you’ll have to work to receive accommodation and rations, right?”

I tried to probe a bit at Seo-eun’s words.

“Can we choose what work to do?”

“That’s difficult. We don’t have many types of jobs available. Moreover, since you’re powered individuals…”

It was as expected.

They wouldn’t assign us paperwork or similar tasks.

I looked at the man standing beside her.

“All the awakened ones, or rather powered individuals, are here… Do we also have to guard the Apostle?”

The man frowned at my words, and Seo-eun sighed.

“We had no choice. We had to protect the Apostle.”

Then she explained the reason to us.

“Originally, the Apostle was a chaplain at this school until he was expelled from the church for being deemed a cult leader.”

I’d heard the Apostle was called a cult leader, but to think he was actually this school’s chaplain…

It was truly absurd.

“After being expelled from the school, he protested for reinstatement in front of the school gates every day, until he became an Apostle.”

Now I understood why a cult leader had established a safe zone at a religious university – there was a reasonable explanation.

It was amusing that someone expelled from the school had awakened, but that’s how natural mana awakening worked.

Completely random, without regard for connections, education, age, character, or wealth.

That’s why such absurd situations occurred.

“So the believers at this school deeply hate him. Even more people started hating him when the current chaplain abandoned religion to follow him.”

Apparently, he had been regularly criticized, pelted with rotten eggs, and attacked by others multiple times.

“We know we need powered individuals in our collection teams. We also knew we needed reconnaissance teams to check the surrounding situation.”

Seo-eun looked at me with an aggrieved expression.

“But maintaining the safe zone was more important.”

Though I found her wronged expression quite amusing after so long, I hid that thought and asked her:

“So what will our job be?”

Seemingly displeased with my question following her passionate explanation, Seo-eun pouted, but true to her nature, she answered:

“We haven’t had any way to check what’s happened around us. For now, please help us with reconnaissance of the surrounding area.”

The accommodation Seo-eun provided was far better than expected.

It wasn’t a tent, nor a lecture room with mats laid out.

Our lodging was in the university dormitory.

“Two rooms were empty.”

Though she said they were empty rooms, traces of previous occupants remained.

It seemed people had been using them until recently.

In this world, there could only be one reason why the occupants were gone.

I didn’t ask why they became vacant, and she didn’t tell me.

“You can get meals at the student cafeteria downstairs. Rest well today, and if you need anything, contact room 103 downstairs. That’s where Jaeha and I stay.”

Apparently, the powered individual with her was named Jaeha.

It seemed they assigned us to this dormitory to keep us under surveillance by placing us near the awakened ones.

As I was thinking this, I turned to look at Seo-eun.

“Are you two living together?”

Seo-eun smiled brightly at my question.

“Actually, we’re married. Though we couldn’t have a wedding ceremony in this world.”

I stared at her with my mouth open at her words.

Marriage…

Hearing about the marriage, I couldn’t bring myself to offer congratulations. I seemed somewhat shocked by the unexpected news.

With that smile, she left, and I could only smile bitterly at the space she had occupied.

To make such a definitive end.

This world’s god seemed far more eccentric than the god of our world.

That day, after resting comfortably in the dormitory rooms, we headed to the museum where Human Resources was located.

Though Seo-eun had given us ration tickets when she left, having seen yesterday’s rations being distributed, we ate using the food remaining in our pockets.

Perhaps because work hadn’t started yet, only two people were in the office.

The early arrivals were Team Leader Seo-eun and Yerim.

While Seo-eun wore similar clothes to yesterday, Yerim was dressed completely differently.

Instead of normal clothes, Yerim wore thick clothing wrapped with books.

“Today, please first check the western area where you came from. Check how many zombies and skeletons there are, and also look for places with remaining food. Lastly, please check the water purification plant.”

Following Seo-eun’s words, Yerim bowed to us.

“Please let me join the reconnaissance. I beg you.”

We couldn’t misunderstand what the two meant.

They were asking us to take Yerim to her dead father.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s wrong to make personal requests from the start, but Yerim is like a sister to me. Please.”

I stared at the two women bowing their heads.