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Chapter 964. Altanus (1)

“Many people, including people from aboveground are coming, so we prepared many things. Can I take you to the room you’ll be staying in first?” Genny asked.

“I must be pretty early,” I commented.

“That’s not true. There are people who arrived a week ago... Of course, it simply means that they’re excited to attend this social gathering. We’re sincerely grateful. Ah! This is your room. Did you bring any luggage with you? If you did, I’ll carry—”

“I didn’t,” I replied.

“Please let me know if you need anything. By the way, have you eaten?” Genny asked.

‘He sure talks a lot. It’s like I can hear him from all directions.’

“Maybe there are places you\'d like to visit? By the way, please refrain from wandering around the Underground Temple by yourself. This place is really big, so people visiting for the very first time often get lost. There are even places unknown to me, so if there’s any place you would like to visit, ring the bell next to the door.

"Father... would you like me to guide you to the cafeteria?” Genny asked.

‘Now isn’t the time for me to have a chit-chat with you.’

“It’s a public cafeteria used by many followers. It\'s as impressive as the one aboveground, but they offer a huge variety of delicious food, so I recommend you try it out. The popular dish is...” Genny trailed off.

‘Just go away.’

I already had many things on my mind, and I did not need his yapping.

‘Altanus? Altanus? Did you just call her Saint Altanus?’

“How about visiting that place? It has wonderful statues, Father. Can I ask if there are statues like those aboveground?” Genny asked.

Normally, I’d talk to him as well, but I was suspicious of whether Templar Gen had become a vessel of one of the old spirits. No, he definitely became a vessel. The figure before me looked exactly like the younger version of Gen.

There were too many things that I couldn’t just overlook.

Genny would probably become one of the four remaining Templars in the future.

It seemed that I was experiencing the events prior to the Templar Training Experimental Report and before the downfall of the Templars and the Mole Saint.

The social gathering probably took place when Gen was still a kid.

Genny could be one of the test subjects as well, but based on the situation down here, my first assumption was highly likely to be true. The temple was in good shape, and the sight convinced me that there were many Templars here.

Of course, I needed to gain Genny\'s favor. He\'d become a named being in the future, after all, and he had a bright and successful future ahead of him.

I had yet to decide what I was going to do, but I had come here empty-handed, so I needed someone I could rely on. The moment I saw him, I told myself that I would do that, but...

‘I really thought Benigoa was the Mole Saint.’

However, Genny\'s remark not too long ago had erased that thought in my head.

‘Altanus? The one locked up underground is Saint Altanus?\'

I lacked information. I was sure many things had changed since all this happened.

The doctrines, the books, and ways of worshiping had changed drastically as well.

The most prominent subject of worship right now was not Altanus, which meant that some unknown god was in control. What was Benigoa doing? I couldn’t understand what was going on. I needed time to gather my thoughts and get more information.

“Where are you from, Father?” Genny asked.

The kid was still busy trying to satisfy his curiosity.

Was he happy because it had been a while since someone from the outside world had visited this place?

At his age, it was only natural for him to be curious about many things. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like he was going to stop yapping anytime soon. I wanted to talk to him, but I had to be careful about my words.

‘First of all, I need more information.’

“Could you...” I paused.

“Yes!”

“Could you guide me to the library? I’d like to go to the prayer room afterward...” I requested.

It wasn’t a bad choice.

“I-I see... I was being rude, Father,” Genny said.

“No, it’s fine, Templar Genny,” I said.

He looked kind of embarrassed, which was expected, as there were answers he wanted to hear from me.

‘This is what it means to be an adult.’

He was still in his early to mid teens, so he was full of energy and curiosity.

He had to have been living his entire life here and had been doing nothing but training.

Regardless, his training couldn’t suppress his true self at all.

I was sure he found it interesting to see a visitor from aboveground.

Since he had been living his whole life here, he was definitely curious about the world up above. As a result, he unknowingly got too excited, and he ended up talking nonstop.

However, the clean and upright priest from aboveground was only interested in studying, theology, and worshiping.

I was quiet, behaved, and was careful about my actions. I was a model priest. I was a holy man who had decided to live only for God, and the revelation silenced the noisy parrot.

“You don’t need to apologize, and I’m actually grateful that you’re taking great care of an insignificant person like me. I hope you’ll keep taking care of me, Templar Genny,” I said.

“O-Okay!” Genny shouted.

‘Playing around with a little kid isn’t that hard.’

“I-I’ll take you to the library, Father,” Genny stuttered.

He looked a bit different from earlier. Someone of his age would have one or two idols.

I was not sure what kind of person his idols were, but I knew just what type of people he couldn\'t help but admire.

\'And it\'s probably priests...’

Genny was quiet, cautious about his every step. I noticed him glancing multiple times at me while I was walking beside him.

Perhaps the way I was walking cautiously without making a single sound looked cool to him. He could only hear the sound of my clothes, but even that noise sounded holy to him.

He was worried about being a nuisance. He was scared about getting in my way, so I thought helping him relax a little would be great.

“Templar Genny,” I said.

“Yes, Father!” Genny shouted.

‘Geez, that was loud.’

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

“It’s fine, Templar Genny,” I interrupted him.

It was another mistake that lowered his self-esteem.

“E-Excuse me... Father,” Genny said cautiously.

“Yes?”

“I-If you’re not satisfied about the Templar in charge...” Genny paused.

“Why do you think that?” I asked.

“I feel like... I’ve caused too much trouble... I’m afraid of getting in your way...” Genny answered.

I smiled lightly and stared deeply at him.

Eventually, I said, “You don’t have to think that way. I actually don’t know what kind of person you are... but I feel like I’ve been getting nothing but positive energy from you."

“You don’t need to criticize yourself, nor do you need to be so humble. Revealing your true self to me is more than enough for me to be grateful to you, Templar Genny,” I added.

“Ah... I-I see,” Genny said.

“It seems that you are really interested in what life is like aboveground,” I said.

“I-I’m embarrassed to say it, but I do,” he answered.

“You don’t have to feel embarrassed. I’m also interested in the world down here,” I told him.

“Ah!”

"The people selfless enough to sacrifice themselves and lock themselves up in this lightless place are the reason the surface world has become a prosperous place where the denizens are always laughing.

"I believe those martyrs are the closest to the light, and the people who have been living in this place are worthy of standing next to her," I said.

“I’d like to thank you on behalf of the people aboveground,” I said.

“I-I...”

“I would also like to thank the people aboveground, Father. The believers down here said that the Underground Temple only exists due to the priests aboveground,” Genny remarked.

\'I’m sure that’s true. Who else will pay for your living expenses?\'

“So it looks like we’re helping each other out,” I commented.

“Yes...”

I smiled as if I was telling him that we could have a mutual relationship, just like how the Underground Temple and the priests aboveground were helping each other out.

I\'d be able to obtain information about this place from him, and he\'d obtain information about the surface world from me.

\'Of course, ninety percent of the information that I\'m going to tell him are lies, but what does this kid even know? My lies are probably even better than the truth. I’m also good at telling exciting stories.\'

Genny hadn\'t said anything, but he looked like he understood what I was trying to say, and I would be fine if he interpreted my words as me saying, “Let’s get along.”

If we ended up getting close, we’d share many things with each other, and he’d ask many questions first.

We talked about many different topics until we arrived at a place that looked like a library. He stared deeply at me while talking, and it was probably because he wanted to see my reaction.

“This is the underground library, Father,” Genny said.

“It’s a nice place,” I said.

I expected this place to be big, but it was bigger than I thought.

The place was like five meters tall, and it was filled with a huge variety of books. The Underground Temple was flourishing indeed. That was what I thought. The moment I stepped foot into the library, however, the sheer size of the place made my jaw drop.

“There are books that were written here, but—”

“They\'re probably books about the surface world,” I interrupted.

“I’m glad you’re happy,” Genny said.

‘How can I not be happy?’

I had to read them as soon as possible.

I didn’t have a super good memory like Hwang Jung-Yeon, but I was confident that I would be able to memorize the key details in these books.

“Templar Genny,” I said.

“Yes?”

“I’d like to spend the night here,” I told him.

“What?”

I wanted to bury myself in these books.

I’d check the books related to religion first.

I was sure most of them were related to religion, but I had to read as much as I could. It wouldn\'t take me long to categorize these books. My plan was to put them into two categories—those I had to read thoroughly and those I could just skim.

It was imperative that they see me as someone well informed.

There would be many conversations during the social gathering, and I had to meet many people as well. If there were things unknown to me, I\'d stray away from the point or leave. If I knew something but wasn\'t exactly sure what I was talking about, I\'d just exaggerate my answer.

I’d deduce the topics that we’d most likely talk about deeply and obtain as much knowledge as possible for those topics.

I was so focused that I failed to notice my surroundings.

‘Where did he go?’

Templar Genny was missing, but I saw coffee and snacks when I turned.

I took a sip of the coffee and returned to my reading.

Fortunately, I managed to obtain the information that I wanted to acquire.

‘Where did Benigoa go?’

Benigoa wasn’t mentioned in any books.

‘Shouldn’t she be in at least this particular book?’

Even if Altanus was the Mole Saint, it was strange how Benigoa wasn’t mentioned at all.

And that was when I saw a familiar face...

It was the face of a woman, and she was staring at me.

“Ah, I’m sorry," said the woman, sounding like an awkward idiot.

‘Benigoa?’

A brown-haired maid was staring at me.