NOVPUB
Chapter 328: Tail Tag (4)
Beoruk looked at the two girls again.
Ding!
[Beoruk used Supreme Sight again.]
[The status of the targets are exceptionally high. The skill has been canceled.]
[Beoruk failed to discern the truth of Helik’s words.]
[Beoruk failed to discern the truth of Rashya’s words.]
Silence followed. The ministers’ gazes darted around anxiously, trying to read Beoruk’s mood.
Beoruk, however, was now staring at Kai.
Ah, I think I’m doomed.
His eyes were hanging heavy with the fruit of suspicion.
“Everyone, leave us.”
At Beoruk’s command, the ministers took the chance and rushed out of the audience chamber.
Letting out a sigh, Kai stopped the two gods who were about to follow the ministers out. The two girls looked up at him with widened eyes.
“Hm? Why are you stopping us?”
“His Majesty said to leave, didn’t he?”
“He meant everyone except us.”
When Kai looked toward Beoruk with a look asking if that was correct, the king gave a small nod.
Beoruk then closed his eyes and fell into thought for a moment.
The power in my eyes is a gift passed down the royal bloodline of the Rashion family.
It was a power that discerned the truth or falsehood of what someone said, but naturally, it had its limitations.
When used against someone of a higher status than myself, or when asking a question related to such a being...
The skill didn’t work in those cases. If it could have been used without restriction on all targets, then no one would have been able to escape Beorc’s gaze during the previous investigation of the Church of Muldine’s infiltrators.
That means those two are...
At the very least, not human. That was the conclusion Beoruk reached because he hadn't even asked a question about someone, but merely tested, half jokingly, whether those two were praising him with sincerity.
They’re not human. Then who are they?
Given that they were with Kai, an Apostle of the Solarian Church, they were unlikely to be evil.
Beoruk looked at the two girls with a complicated look, but his eyes lingered particularly longer on Helik. After a moment, his eyes widened.
Wait. Her name is Helizabeth?
No way. It couldn’t be. But even as he denied it, Beoruk began listing the conditions he knew about her.
The name Helizabeth, golden hair, golden eyes, and a status greater than mine...
There was only one being that could possibly match.
“My heavens.”
With a shocked expression, Beoruk suddenly shot up from his seat. Then he quickly descended the stairs connected to the throne and looked at Helizabeth, who was gazing up at him.
Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, Beoruk called out to Kai in a trembling voice, “...C-Count Kai.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Please answer me truthfully. Is she truly the one I’m thinking of?”
He had found out.
Kai let out a short sigh at Beoruk’s question.
Well, with this many clues, it would be strange not to realize she’s Helik.
When Kai glanced down, Helik and Rashya were still pretending to be human.
Thus, Kai slightly leaned down and whispered to them, “Helik, your non-human identity has been exposed. Rashya still seems safe, though.”
Their reactions split in opposite directions.
“Gasp! B-but my performance was flawless...! How... How did this happen?”
“Should I be happy about this, or sad...?”
One god panicked, clutching her head over her exposed identity, as the other god grew gloomy because no one recognized her even when she told them her name directly.
For a moment, Kai suddenly had the thought that he would never be bored just by watching the two of them.
“This can’t be happening. That adventurer named Spielbucks even called me a genius at acting...! He definitely did!” Helik looked up at Kai with a face asking for agreement.
At this point, Kai had no choice but to help her awaken to the cold truth. “I’m sorry... I really am. The acting was a bit...”
That alone was enough of an answer.
“That... can’t be... That’s a lie...”
Helik crumpled to the floor, her legs giving out as she wore a dazed expression, like someone who lost their home. Even her usually proud shoulders and high nose seemed to droop a little, at least it felt that way.
Whether or not she was like that, King Beoruk knelt on one knee and paid his respects to her. “My deepest apologies. Please forgive me for not recognizing your greatness.”
“No... it’s okay... If you didn’t recognize me, then you didn’t recognize me, and that’s all there is to it..." Helik mumbled as she responded to Beoruk.
“Rashya,” Kai said.
When Kai gave a subtle signal with his eyes, quick-witted Rashya responded with a look that said to leave it to her, then supported Helik and led her to a corner of the audience chamber, gently patting her back.
Watching Helik’s back, Beoruk murmured with concern, “Hmm, could she be feeling down because I revealed her identity? It’s terrible that I failed to understand the will of such a great one... But I truly had no idea.”
“I understand. Normally, no one would imagine something like this. And, well, you know.”
That all the continent’s believers thought Helik was a charismatic middle-aged man.
“Of course I know. If her true identity were revealed, every believer on the continent would be deeply shaken.”
He was clearly a king who knew a thing or two.
“However...” Beoruk suddenly lowered his voice and asked, “I’m terribly curious. Could you give me a little hint? What kind of god did Helik marry?”
“... Pardon?”
Kai wore the expression of someone hit on the back of the head out of nowhere while walking along.
Marriage? What is he... Oh?!
Could it be that Beoruk thought Helik, no, Helizabeth, was not Helik herself, but his daughter?
It’s possible... No, based on everything he said, it’s basically certain.
Beoruk had never stated that Helizabeth was Helik. When he said all the continent’s believers would be shocked, he was probably referring to Helik having a daughter.
Quickly piecing it together, Kai decided to test him. “Marriage, huh. Hmm... I’d have to ask Helizabeth herself about her mother.”
“I see. But if she says no, there’s no need to press, so don’t strain yourself.”
“Alright.”
It was confirmed. Beoruk believed Helizabeth was Helik’s daughter.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Kai immediately approached Helik, who was crouched in a corner of the audience chamber.
Rashya comforted Helik, “Don’t be so sad. He might just be a very sharp human. Besides, at least you got recognized. I’m just that... what was it... someone no one’s ever even heard of...”
“Waah... A total nobody...”
“Right... I’m a nobody god... someone never heard of, never seen... sniff... Waaah”
“It’s okay! It’s okayyy! Sniff. I’ll remember you for the rest of my life.”
“Thank yooouuuhuuhuh...”
He had told Rashya to comfort each Helik, and now they were clinging on to each other, holding a full-on cry party.
“Can you two stop crying now?”
Kai wondered why this moment felt like déjà vu. He pressed his aching forehead and began expertly calming the two girls.
“First, Helik. I don’t think King Beoruk knows who you are.”
“Sniff. Really? He doesn’t think I’m Helik?” Helik looked at Kai with doubtful eyes.
Kai met her gaze straight on and nodded. “Yes, to be precise, he thinks you’re Helik’s daughter.”
“Daughter? Me?”
"Yes. I think the image of the Solarian God that you’ve spread is just too strongly ingrained."
For centuries, the Solarian God Helik had been worshiped by believers as a dignified, charismatic middle-aged man.
She was lucky.
The smarter a person was, the more prone they were to arrogance. They were also more prone to misconception. Beoruk was exactly that.
From what I’ve seen, Beoruk is smart. And he has that cheat skill, Supreme Sight.
He had found a target his ability didn’t work on, and that target happened to share traits with a god he knew. But what if that god was Helik? No matter how sharp Beoruk was, would he be able to overturn a perception that was centuries old and believe that she was Helik?
There’s no way.
It was far more logical to assume she was Helik’s daughter, and with Helik’s reactions and Kai’s responses, he must have gained even more certainty in that belief.
Kai glanced behind him, and sure enough, Beoruk wore a satisfied expression.
“Yes. So now, you must decide, Helik. Will you pretend to be Helik’s daughter, or reveal the truth?”
“I shall hide it at all costs,” Helik said firmly.
Her voice carried a hint of fear, and Kai couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.
Do gods normally fear their identities being exposed this much?
But there was Rashya. She was bawling because people didn’t recognize her.
Kai shook off the unnecessary thoughts and comforted both of them. “In any case, you are now officially Helizabeth, the daughter of Helik. Understood?”
“Yeup! I am the daughter of myself, Helizabeth! I shall keep that in mind.”
It sounded odd when said aloud, but there was no helping it now.
Then Kai turned to comfort Rashya. “Rashya, please calm down. Ha-Rin is very capable. Once she becomes an Apostle, she’ll quickly revive the order.”
Rashya sniffed and replied, “But... Can she really pass my trial? It’s hard... if I knew this would happen, I would’ve made it easier so even a passing ant could get through it...”
Well, if a passing ant could get through it, it wouldn’t be a trial.
“It’ll be fine. She’s more skilled than any adventurer I know. In terms of raw ability, she’s far better than me.”
“Really...?”
“Yes.”
At Kai’s words, Rashya gradually calmed her breathing, then wiped her tears with her sleeve and put on a perfectly normal expression, as if she hadn’t cried at all. Of course, the redness and swelling around her cheeks and eyes couldn’t be hidden.
“Alright. Then I’ll choose to believe in her.”
“You’re very kind.”
The professional babysitter who had successfully calmed the two girls took their hands and returned to Beoruk.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot speak about my mother.”
"Oh, please do not trouble yourself. Rather, I feel ashamed that I may have offended such a great being," King Beoruk fidgeted awkwardly before Helizabeth, unsure of how to act.
At first, Kai wondered why Beoruk was so nervous, but then he realized it made sense.
The state religion of the Kingdom of Rashion is the Church of Solaris.
To put it simply, Beoruk was like the CEO of a subsidiary company, and Helizabeth was like the daughter of the group's owner.
Helik looked coyly at Beoruk, who had made her cry, even if only for a moment. “Well, I suppose misunderstandings can happen in life. I shall overlook it just this once.”
"As expected of the daughter of the one who governs mercy, you have a generous heart. Thank you. Truly, thank you."
Kai couldn’t help but smile at Beoruk’s humbled demeanor.
Then at that moment, the doors to the audience chamber burst open as several nobles clad in full plate armor rushed in.
“Your Majesty!”
Kai let out a low murmur without realizing it. “Hmm...”
Something about the atmosphere suddenly felt off.
