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Evan D Sherden, Collide (3)
Their group consisted of an elderly male escort knight, a mysterious woman donning a hood, and a dazzling beautiful boy. This strangest of combinations drew a lot of attention in the restaurant.
However, no one approached them. It was mainly because of the lethal-looking sword the knight wore on his side.
“Are you Master Evan from the Sherden family? Thank you so much for inviting me to your table. Inviting a commoner like me to your table…”
“No. You’re a priest of the Earth Church.”
“Wait!”
There was no way he could’ve recognized her that easily, right away! Serpina, who thought her identity hidden while she checked out her opponents, spit out some of the ale she had ordered.
The escort who was devouring skewers looked warily at her, then back to the skewers.
“Serpina Belline, right? It’s an honor to meet you.”
“But how come you know my name? I’m just an ordinary priest…”
“…Just an ordinary priest? A common priest? Really?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
Serpina asked him gently. Evan was shocked to hear that she was a priest. This information was quite different from what he knew about her.
‘Serpina Belline. Dark brown hair and red eyes. Her appearance is also correct, as well as her name.’
How did he know about Serpina already? Of course, she was one of the main characters in the Yo-Ma Great War series.
She was an Archbishop of the Earth Church, who appeared in Yo-Ma Great War 4 and played a very impressive role!
‘Let’s see here. Serpina’s first appearance as an Archbishop in Yo-Ma Great War 4 was after 478 years of great earthly power. It is now only 463 years of great earthly power.’ Evan gasped. ‘It’s still 15 years to her first appearance in the game! What, then, she’s only 18 years old now! She is just barely an adult!’
She didn’t look very different, so he thought she had already had a high status in the temple.
Evan realized he had made his biggest mistake. If she were still only a priestess and not an Archbishop with a well-known name, then it is expected she would be surprised by being called by an unknown person, randomly!
As for Mrs. Sherden, the wife of the Marquis, it was safe to say that she was just an age scammer. It was surprising that she had the same charm and beauty, without any change, for a long time.
“I’m sorry if you misunderstood something, Master. I’m only a common priest belonging to the Sherden Diocese of the Earth Church.”
“…No, you should have an important position at the Church. I’m just astonished at the fact that a person with such great abilities is a plain priest.”
“My abilities!? The fact that you called me by my name the first time and that you already know so much about me is very strange, Master…”
Serpina was shocked to the core. ‘This is so strange! I’ve never done anything that could’ve been reported to the Marquis! Rather, I always feel embarrassed cause I haven’t been able to do much as a priest!’
However, it was Dain, not Evan, who nodded as if he understood why Serpina was so embarrassed.
“Master Evan does have the ability to see through people and their qualities.”
Serpina was surprised, her eyes wide open. Dain again nodded with a serious look.
Dain followed Evan everywhere and escorted him to different places. He had started to believe the only conclusion he could reach by constantly observing him. Evan looked at Dain with a trembling expression.
‘I’m able to recognize people well in advance only due to my knowledge of the Yo-Ma Great War series. If people keep suspecting me for being strange and weird, I might reveal my identity…”
When he tried to find explanations for things he had done so far, he couldn’t find any. About Shine and Belois, of course. Even Bernard and now the owner of this restaurant.
Evan had to admit to himself that he had been doing suspicious things, quite blatantly. Dain was not exaggerating when he said that Evan had a special ability to find talented people. Well, to lower the suspicions he had to…
‘Well… Okay, I should stop now.’
Evan looked around for a while and tried to act innocent, even if he knew that the priestess would later become an important character.
He tried to eat the skewers, to escape reality.
The exquisite spices instantly filled his mouth and then disappeared. The ingredients had exotic flavors, and overall, Evan ate a hot, spicy feast.
“Master… It’s so delicious!”
Of course, the Monster Chef’s cooking skills were remarkable, seeing as he cooked skewers by properly baking them. He also made most of the flavors and ingredients.
But the fresh meat of a monster from the dungeon was as delicious as a meal made in heaven.
Dark Mantis roamed the 31st floor of the Sherden Dungeon. It was famous for its sharp sickle-shaped arms, which posed a threat. But the soft flesh hidden between the crusts of its arms and legs was famous for being delicious enough to be called a delicacy.
‘If you were an ordinary gamer, you wouldn’t eat these things even if you were dying. But that doesn’t mean… If I’m eating this, it doesn’t mean I want to die! I want to live!’
Evan made a vague expression as he recalled: When he would return from work in his previous life, he would happily open a bottle of soju with crab meat, from King Crab, and eat them while playing the Yo-Ma Great War games.
Maybe because he had awakened those memories, now he wanted to eat even more delicious food all of a sudden!
“Master, do you really think I’m talented. I’m just a priestess with a little superior divine power at this age…”
Serpina brought Evan back to reality, with her question. Evan chewed over the meat in his mouth, vowing not to talk so blatantly before thinking next time. For now, he had to manage the girl in front of her.
“Well, well… Sure. My Sis is talented. I can affirm.”
“Oh, thank you for saying that, Master. But there is this one thing upon which I can’t yet decide. Would you tell me what would be the right thing to do…”
Serpina sighed sadly, emptying the glass of ale neatly. Just thinking about how the Bishop had treated her, her headache worsened.
What was making her frustrated at this moment were not the diminished offerings, but the ideological clash between the Bishop’s twisted thoughts and the doctrine of the Church that she had to uphold.
“What is it then?”
“Well, uh…”
Serpina couldn’t find a reason to stop herself from sharing details of her problem with Evan, who was one of the Brotherhood Pharmacy’s owners. It didn’t matter if he was even a mere puppet. A battle could be reverted between the temple and the Marquis.
Evan’s eyes shown momentarily, knowing that it wasn’t a small worry, but he nodded gently without showing his emotions.
“It’s okay if you can’t tell me about it. Eat something delicious and enjoy yourself.”
“Oh… Thank you.”
At that moment, the owner came with a tray full of skewers and laid it down on the table. He glanced at Evan, Serpina, and Dain and then said, passing by,
“Because Master Evan trusts you, you can eat comfortably here.”
“Yes? Oh, thank you…”
“Master, should I bring another ale here? I think your Sis is running out of alcohol.”
“Yes, you’re right. Bring some more for my Sis.”
“Here.”
“Oh, uh. Yes. Thank you.”
Thirty minutes had passed since then. Serpina, after emptying her fourth cup of ale and eating a total of four skewers, she had gotten drunk and angry. She had also eaten a complete Dark Mantis skewer.
“Bishop, that damn uninspirational man, that fatty, is filled with greed!”
“That’s right, his both cheeks are bulging like a frog!”
“While we are on such a topic, do you think it’s okay to be fat? I can’t even think about getting fat!”
“Yes, you’re right, Sis! You’re not fat.”
“I would forever want to be like this. I want to be skinny and look pretty!”
“Yes, yes, you look the best. You look, good Sis.”
Serpina was very irritated, and it was probably because she had always been silent and proper. When the liquor came, she drank it as soon as it was served and even ordered some more.
At first, she did not dare to get drunk in front of Master Evan, but it was already too late once they had started.
‘Because she is a priestess blessed by God, himself, and she will get drunk with a single order.’
When the drunkenness from the drinking became severe, it was treated like an abnormal condition that could swiftly be overcame with a priest’s single blessing spell. But the reason she wasn’t sobering herself was that she didn’t want to face reality. She wanted to escape from it.
“I should quit my job at the temple and become a writer!”
“Then you will be welcomed. Would you like to serve me directly as my very own priest? I will provide you such a position.”
“Oh, I’m being recruited by the Marquis! My luck has finally bloomed…!”
After drinking ale with Evan more than a dozen times, she shook her head for some minutes. It felt both good and bad.
“But I can’t do that… I pledged to make the temple go in the right direction. I am very faithful.”
“You can have good food like this every day if you work for me.”
Serpina sighed deeply. Evan carefully reached out to the glass of ale in front of her but was stopped by Dain. He offered her to drink some more.
“Is there nothing I can do to help my Sis and save the Church?”
“But if you help me, and the Bishop finds out about it, then I’ll be kicked out of the Church.”
Indeed at the time of Yo-Ma Great War 4, Serpina Belline served as the Archbishop at the headquarters of the Great Earth Church, which wasn’t in the dungeon city of Sherden!
Her efforts and talents shined there, and then she brought a revolution to the Earth Church from the beginning. Ironically, as a result, the Demon King attacked it. The headquarters suffered a serious blow and was completely destroyed in the early and middle stages of Yo-Ma Great War 4.
Serpina’s survival from the remnants of terrible destruction blew breath into the atmosphere, which had been completely frozen until then.
‘Serpina’s posting at the headquarters had somewhat saved it from being demolished completely by the Demon King forces.’
Evan’s body became tense.
When he came to know about Bernard, he was a little excited at the thought of meeting a celebrity. If he could influence Serpina too and lightly touch her heart, it could lead to a huge twist in the story of Yo-Ma Great War 4. Evan could even affect the future, more greatly through her than even with Bernard.
‘Should I send her like this, to the headquarters of the Earth Church…? But as a result of her heading to the headquarters, it is destroyed in Yo-Ma Great War 4. That is why I shouldn’t do that… It’s impossible for her to leave the Earth Church as it currently is… ‘Evan fell into this dilemma for a long time. Then the escort knight Dain quietly said,
“You should do whatever you feel is right.”
“Huh?”
“If you follow what you believe is right, we will all believe it too and follow you. It will all work out perfectly. It has already in the past, and it will work in the future.”
“Thank you, Dain.”
If Evan hadn’t been conscious about other characters in the game, he couldn’t have brought Shine under his command. Moreover, as the Blood Witch Belois had come under him too, hadn’t the history of Yo-Ma Great War 3 already been overturned? He decided that he wouldn’t act stupidly, such as not doing things differently, for fear of changing the series history!
“Sis.”
“Um… Yeah?”
Evan’s sweet voice opened Serpina’s eyes. Indeed he had a fascinating voice like himself, along with hundreds of dead endings related to politics.
“Sis, if you can’t change everything with only your own power, why don’t you let someone help you?”
“But who should I trust…?
“Me.”
A smile appeared on Evan’s face, without him even realizing it.
“Or you can trust the Marquis too.”
“But he’s the one who is always declaring that politics and religion should be separated…!”
“Sis, you can work with us ‘Anonymously’. This will ensure your personal protection, and will also help you serve the public interest.”
She would be safe even if she offended someone with her status or caused chaos if she hid her identity.
‘I don’t know for sure. Maybe let’s talk again.”
The small devil’s spiteful smile filled Serpina’s mind.
“I know now what’s the problem and how to solve it.”
The temple’s free event was held the very next day.
While Evan started making plans of his own.