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Chapter 736
Chapter 736
The Siege of O’Toul Fortress drew to a close, as the Kavala Kingdom’s reinforcements were swiftly driven off by the neighboring countries allied under the Rozermoore Alliance.
Clip! Clop! Clop!
The sound of hooves echoed in the distance.
Michele rode up to the O’Toul Fortress on a white steed. He dismounted and knelt on one knee, offering a respectful bow in front of Siegfried.
“Your humble servant, Michele, greets Your Majesty.”
“You idiot...”
“My apologies for the delay, sire. I hope you can forgive—”
“You should have been here earlier!”
“P-Pardon...?”
Michele was taken aback by how irritated Siegfried sounded.
“You have no idea what we went through here!”
“What...?”
“We thought we were goners!”
“Well, I—”
“You should have finished your job on time!”
“Now, hold on a minute. Do you think I have been relaxing this whole time? Do you have any idea how much I had to talk just to get those sly old men to ally with us in such a short period of time?”
“Well done.”
“I had to run around—eh? Excuse me?” Michele muttered, taken aback by the sudden change in Siegfried’s tone. Then, he asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“Even if it was late, you got here, and that’s a huge relief for me.”
“Ah...”
“Thanks for working so hard. I mean it,” Siegfried said, patting Michele on the shoulder.
“What do you mean by that, Your Majesty...?”
“Anyway, I’m giving you a fat bonus this month.”
“Eh?”
Siegfried leaned on the fortress wall and added, “I really want to thank you for your hard work, but... I’m too exhausted right now. Let me rest for a bit.”
With that, Siegfried closed his eyes while basking in the warmth of the sun shining in the sky.
‘Looks like he’s been through hell and back,’ Michele thought. He could tell from Siegfried’s haggard face, his body language, and slumped back just how grueling the battle was.
The reason Siegfried had an outburst just now before suddenly calming down was that Michele's arrival with reinforcements had brought him undeniable relief.
The battle had indeed been grueling, and he felt like crying tears of joy the moment he saw the armies from the various neighboring nations. However, he was still the king, so he could not break down crying in front of his subjects.
Thus, he let his feelings slip and voiced out his complaints before calming down again.
“You did well, Your Majesty,” Michele said gently.
Siegfried’s figure grew faint, flickering unsteadily as he finally succumbed to sleep.
During the last few days, Siegfried hardly slept, dedicating nearly twenty hours a day to the game. The only reason he rested for four hours each day was to avoid being forcefully logged out for not meeting the mandatory rest requirement.
The grueling routine had left him both mentally and physically drained.
“Take His Majesty to his quarters,” Michele ordered.
“Yes, sir!”
The soldiers carefully carried Siegfried and moved him to his bedchamber.
***
“I would be delighted to, Your Majesty,” she replied with a smile.
And so, they went off to talk in private.
***
Saintess Janette stole glances at Siegfried before finally asking, “May I ask you something personal, Your Majesty?”
“As long as it is something I can answer... I guess?” Siegfried replied with a shrug.
“Do you... have a god you believe in?” Saintess Janette asked carefully.
“Excuse me?” he replied, looking surprised.
“I heard that Your Majesty does not follow any faith in this world. Is that true?” she pressed on.
Siegfried shrugged once again in response. He never bothered following any religion in BNW, as religion was one of the very few things that kept BNW a game for him.
In the real world, religion and faith still remained a mystery.
There could be a god out there, or there could be none.
In this game world, however, religion and gods were nothing more than artificial constructs. They were NPCs or objects at best—purely fictional.
“No, not in this world," Siegfried replied without much trouble.
“What about back in your world? Do you practice any faith over there?” Saintess Janette asked, continuing to press the matter.
“That’s...” Siegfried muttered in response, sounding unsure.
Siegfried was caught off-guard by the question, as he did not expect to be questioned by an NPC about his beliefs in the real world.
“Do you?”
“No, I do not practice any religion in my world either.”
“I see...”
“To be honest, religion is something I have never been interested in. Of course, I respect other people’s beliefs, but it is... just not for me.”
“I find that hard to believe, Your Majesty,” Saintess Janette said, shaking her head.
“E-Eh?”
“For someone with no faith, neither here nor in your world, to wield such divine power... It should not be possible at all. It defies all logic and common sense.”
“Ah...”
Siegfried realized the reason why she had been probing him regarding the matter. She must have been extremely curious about the source of the miracle he performed in the battle, as she was a clergy member herself.
“That was... something I am curious about too...” he said, sounding unsure.
“Pardon?”
“I have no idea where this divine power comes from. I am not sure why and how I can wield it either. In fact, this has been the biggest mystery in my life as of late.”
“Huh? Even Your Majesty has no idea about it?”
“I mean, do you think I would keep it from you if I did? I would just go ahead and tell you since it is not like I have any reason to hide it—”
It was then.
"Please... save us..."
"Those vile demons... our village...!"
"I beg you...! Protect us... please...!"
A bunch of voices echoed softly in Siegfried’s ears. They were so faint that it was hard to hear them, but those voices were unmistakably pleading for someone to help them.
“What was that?” Siegfried muttered, looking around his surroundings.
He couldn't quite understand the faint and fragmented whispers, but there was one thing he was sure about it. The whispers were undeniably desperate, and they all belonged to both genders, ranging from young to old.
The voices whispering to him seemed to belong to a crowd.