How to Understand the Deep Sea
Contrary to Ban and Jaena’s worries, a week had passed since the ship departed and nothing had happened at all.
He thought the captain who’d regained consciousness would drop hints or say something about Orma, but the captain acted as if he’d completely forgotten that Orma had boarded the ship, or as if he’d forgotten his very existence.
The darkness that flowed into the captain’s head completely disappeared, right? Though Ban believed Orma’s words, he felt needlessly uneasy and holed up in his cabin as much as possible to avoid bumping into people.
Of course, it wasn’t only Orma he was worried about. After all, he too was the century’s sodomite who’d turned Gillia upside down…
If someone recognized him and acknowledged him, that would be far too troublesome. Fortunately, since he’d reserved a VIP cabin with his excess money, all meals were brought to his cabin, so Ban could live quietly inside his cabin like a dead mouse.
“Aren’t you bored?”
“Mm, I’m managing well enough. If I’d known it would be like this, I should’ve bought some books and put them in the darkness… That’s a bit regrettable.”
“Gail has lots of grimoires. Should I steal some for you? No wait, let’s just make him transcribe them one by one into that notebook.”
How is his head so quick when it comes to using Gail?
Ban ended up laughing along at Orma’s words as he giggled.
They say you become like those you love—the problem was that now he didn’t think that idea was so bad.
Then Orma looked at Ban with that strange expression again, staring intently.
He’d been poking at Ban teasingly, and seemed to be thinking about something…
“…But you know we’re not stopping with just this, right?”
You crazy bastard, why are you suddenly bringing that up?
When the active Jaena left the cabin alone saying he was bored, leaving just the two of them, Ban kept remembering those events at all the wrong times.
Orma looked peaceful, but it felt like only Ban was inwardly feeling needless embarrassment while worrying about that time. After all, Orma hadn’t kissed him even once since boarding the ship, though he used to kiss him using breathing as an excuse.
Let’s be composed. But it’s not like he was shameless enough to ask when they’d do that ‘next part.’
When the ordinary conversation they were having like this would break off, Ban would nervously swallow and avoid Orma’s gaze alone.
Setting everything else aside, on this ship where Jaena could burst back in at any moment, he wanted to avoid such suggestive matters as much as possible.
“Lord Ban! Lord Orma! I’ve come bearing absolutely tremendous news!”
Right, just like now, bursting through the door excitedly and shouting.
“Not interested.”
Before Ban could even react, Orma responded with an indifferent face as if more annoyed at having their time alone interrupted, openly showing his annoyance.
Then Jaena approached Orma while making a fuss as always, hopping up and down.
“Aish, this time it’s really amazing! There’s going to be a party on the ship tonight!”
“…A party on the ship?”
“What party on the ship.”
“Hmm, have you two heard the name ‘Kinsha’? Even if Lord Orma doesn’t know it, Lord Ban must have heard of it!”
“I haven’t.”
“Aah! How can you not know Kinsha! It’s the name of an absolutely enormous trading company!”
Tsk tsk, if he’d cared about such things, would Ban have lived shut up in a temple?
While the religious order superficially taught not to covet worldly things, Ban had grown up at least keeping up appearances with that. He hadn’t been particularly interested in anything except Orma to begin with.
But Jaena looked at Ban flailing as if looking at a Korean person who grew up not knowing a major corporation like ‘Sam-X.’
“The ship we’re on! Is a Kinsha trading company merchant vessel! So how can you not know!”
“I see.”
“…Lord Ban is too indifferent to everything except Lord Orma. Anyway, the son of the Kinsha trading company head is on this ship, and today is that son’s birthday, so they’re holding a party on the ship to celebrate!”
“Is that so.”
“Aaah!”
Though ‘I see’ and ‘Is that so’ were pronounced differently, they both meant the same thing. They meant ‘I’m not curious at all, so do I need to know?’ Of course, this much of a response only came out because it was Ban—Orma didn’t even answer and was busy ignoring him.
Even though they were a god and that god’s apostle, weren’t they too indifferent to and detached from worldly affairs? Sometimes when Jaena conversed or traveled with the two, he felt a bit lonely.
When they had no interest in anything except calamity and destruction. When the god and apostle only had interest in each other.
No matter how accustomed he was to being treated as a third wheel, he couldn’t help but feel lonely and left out.
Jaena bristled and raised his tail straight up, then brought up the reason they had to go to the party on the ship.
“The son of the Kinsha trading company head promised to give a very rare treasure to everyone who attends his birthday party!”
“You’re the one who doesn’t know how the world works. If it’s a really rare treasure, why would he give it to others? And it doesn’t make sense to give it to people whose faces he doesn’t even know.”
“…”
Can’t argue with that. Of course, Jaena also thought at best they might get some expensive liquor or something. Still, the reason he’d told Ban and Orma this news was because he thought if they were there, he wouldn’t be treated like a child and could drink…
In the end, Jaena turned his head grumbling.
“Tch, if you don’t want to go, don’t. I’m going to attend! Will Lord Ban and Lord Orma not be attending?”
“Mm…”
Unusually, a quick answer didn’t come from Ban. Both Jaena and Orma glanced at Ban.
He didn’t seem very interested, but did he want to go enough to cross his arms and think about it?
“Ban, do you want to go?”
“What if people recognize me and it becomes needlessly noisy?”
“Well, would they throw you into the sea now?”
Even if they tried to do that, would it be possible with Orma’s eyes wide open?
Whatever the case, Orma was willing to let Ban do whatever he wanted. If he wanted to attend the party on the ship but was conscious of others’ eyes, making it so they wouldn’t recognize Ban by covering their eyes was as easy as pie.
Well, even if Ban wasn’t interested in such parties, he’d been cooped up in the cabin for almost a week straight, so it was understandable he’d be antsy. Orma was happy and entertained just by being alone with Ban even without doing anything, but Ban might not be the same.
Especially since Ban, unlike the merely cunning Jaena, was very diligent and would practice swordsmanship daily to exercise his body, but he hadn’t been able to do it at all for nearly a week.
“You don’t need to worry about that. You just need to decide whether you want to go or not.”
How sweet of you. Ban grinned at Orma’s words as he leaned toward him.
But to be precise, Ban didn’t want to go to the party on the ship—he had to go. A quest had appeared, and its contents were quite ominous.
[Why is your god called the ‘Evil God’ and reluctant to wield his authority? But whether he wishes it or not, it’s time for your god to wield his second authority…
Hidden Quest: Attend the party on the ship and identify the reality of the rare treasure.
Identifying the reality of the rare treasure (0/1)
Manifestation of the God’s Authority
Reward: Faith +5, Faith Gauge +5, Mana +20]
First of all, the quest reward had changed. To be precise, unlike before when it gave lots of Faith and Faith Gauge, the rewards for those two were clearly lowered, and instead it newly offered ‘Mana.’
As if it knew Orma’s circumstances precisely. As if it knew all about Ban’s fear of his changes. The reward it offered instead, asking if he didn’t need mana, was rather laughable.
Ban pondered the quest contents while crossing his arms, lost in thought. To Jaena and Orma, Ban must have looked like he was wondering whether to go to the party on the ship or not… but more fundamental questions arose.
Come to think of it, didn’t the system’s purpose seem like it wanted to make Orma into a perfect god?
Even just the introduction unrelated to the quest was like that. Why is Orma called the Evil God and reluctant to wield his authority?
Even though Ban already knew the reason, it was suspicious how it acted like there was more. Because he coveted the power of a god, then learned the truth and went crazy rampaging and slaughtering people, and because he didn’t want to become a god…
But what if there were other reasons? Could he find out if he went to the party on the ship?
Not only that, the phrase ‘whether he wishes it or not, it’s time to wield his second authority’ was also strange.
If it was talking about his second authority, it seemed to mean preservation or maintenance rather than darkness, and indeed Orma had mainly used only darkness and hadn’t really tried to use other powers.
Until now he’d assumed there must be a reason without much thought, but looking at the quest contents, it seemed like that could be quite an important clue and another thread to follow.
“…Let’s go, to the party on the ship.”
If it bothered and concerned him, he had no choice but to go. Whether Orma knew or didn’t know Ban’s thoughts as he carefully decided to attend the party, he just looked at Ban and smiled broadly without answering.
