115 God of Curses, Jealousy, and Nightmares
***[Heroine Oscar]***
The letter sent by the first-class investigator was written about a bizarre existence called a god from across the planet.
But the name is not mentioned.
Even in the part explaining the god beyond the star, instead of a name, the moon and stars were drawn, or the god of darkness, or something like that was described vaguely.
Come to think of it, the goddess of blessing is like that, and the god of earth and wind is like that too.
Most of them spoke with the characteristics of that god.
It’s not even that it doesn’t have a name.
I waited for Benno to read all the letters before opening his mouth.
“Why do you call God by nickname instead of by name?”
Benno put the letter on the desk and looked at me.
“I don’t know much about God. It’s a really shallow knowledge compared to the priests. That’s why I don’t know if what I know is very accurate, but it is generally said that gods live on human prayers and beliefs. They say that when a god is far from man and completely forgotten, his power weakens, if not death.”
Conversely, the more people believe in it, the stronger the power of that god.
That is why gods often prove their greatness by showing their power to humans.
“They say that’s why. They say that a god has more power when he is called by a name that symbolizes that power, rather than by name. I don’t know if that’s true, but the temple says so.”
“What, if you call her a goddess of blessings, the blessings will increase, and if you call her a wind god, her winds will increase?”
It seems my tone was strange.
Benno laughed lightly.
“Yes. At least the priests seem to believe that.”
It’s a little strange, but I think it’s probably because of the brain’s association process.
When you say a certain word, you unconsciously imagine something related to it.
With that in mind, an intuitive name would be more effective than a name.
But is God really affected by such things?
Then, isn’t God surprisingly weak?
Humans hold up gods as if they were great, but in fact, they may be no different from humans.
Love, jealousy, favoritism, sometimes good and weak.
It doesn’t look like an absolute from some distant place.
It just seemed like a human-like creature that lived in a world different from ours, but only slightly stronger.
Benno softened his eyes and smiled.
“Come to think of it, Master wanted to know more than greedily about other things, but he wasn’t very interested in God. Usually, when he was young, he was curious about God, so in the past, I thought that was a bit strange.”
“…was it?”
“Yes, Master, I was deliberately reading about God so that I could tell you if you asked, but you didn’t ask at all. That knowledge is helpful now, which feels a bit strange.”
Even in my previous life, I was an atheist and had no interest in God.
In my previous life, when I was young, there were times when I prayed earnestly to God, but I quickly gave up because the reality didn’t change at all.
Even if God exists in this world, if he doesn’t care about me or help me, it’s as if he doesn’t exist.
Perhaps because I thought so and lived on Earth for decades, even after I learned that there really is a God in this world, I still have little interest in it.
But I don’t know if I should have studied a bit.
‘Because what I know about God right now is really at a child’s level.’
Benno, who was looking at me with soft eyes, suddenly smiled.
It’s like remembering the old days.
“I’ll tell you now, but the master sometimes seems like a child, and sometimes he’s so grown-up… I was a bit taken aback at first because I didn’t know how to approach him.”
It was the first time I knew that Benno was like that.
Because of the memories of my previous life, I was in a really awkward state when I was a child, neither a child nor an adult.
It was thanks to Benno that I spent that time well and was accepted well by others.
‘But on the inside, Benno was also confused and confused.’
In the dark room, only the sound of burning candles echoes quietly.
In the swaying candlelight, Benno and I looked into each other’s eyes and smiled without questioning who came first.
“You have to leave early tomorrow morning.
Listening to Benno’s words, I suddenly feel tired.
“But this report properly…”
As I said that, I let out a small yawn.
You look really tired.
Benno came behind me and put his hand on the chair.
is to wake up
At the same time as I moved, Benno pulled back the chair.
“Tomorrow’s inspection, I will accompany the person in charge of this work. He will explain the parts that I do not understand with this report alone. An almost similar report will have reached the person in charge at the same time.”
Miscellaneous details were omitted from the reports arriving at me.
Only the essential and most important things are written.
However, when, how, how, and how many people were investigated, everything was written in the report to the person in charge.
Maybe to check for something the field inspector might have missed.
So it might be best to listen to the person in charge.
“I’ll do that.”
As I muttered, he took my hand like Benno does to women.
I escort her and take her to the middle door leading to the next room.
Suddenly, laughter broke out.
When I was young, I was often led by Benno in this way.
“I miss you.”
At my words, Benno narrowed his eyes and smiled.
“So am I. At that time, I was in a state of tension every day to keep other families and royal families in check and to strengthen my master’s position, but now I think of those days as treasures.”
“… so do i.”
I said quietly and went through the middle door Benno had opened.
It’s strange that I remember things from my childhood like treasure.
In my previous life, my childhood was just a past I wanted to erase.
My body was tired and my head seemed to be half asleep, but for some reason I felt like I was walking on fluffy clouds.
I think I will have a good dream today.
I rolled up the covers and lay down next to Katrin, who was sleeping.
Katrin was supposed to be asleep, but she suddenly moved and hugged me tightly with her arms and legs.
‘Have you not slept yet?’
I looked at it in surprise, but Catherine is on a trip to dreamland.
‘Is it instinct?’
Great, Catherine.
I smiled and put a pillow on her arm and covered her with a blanket.
The amulet that Countess Becker had given her lay under her pillow in a pretty pouch.
I put it under my pillow when I sleep and somewhere in my body when I’m awake.
Maybe thanks to that, Katrin doesn’t have nightmares.
It seems like you always have happy dreams.
It seems that she dreams mostly of playing with Nana, the pony Rose, and the rhinoceros Pooh.
She was healthy and happy enough to think maybe I was overreacting.
Of course, sometimes I get depressed after hearing the nagging of the counselors’ wives with Anne.
“…”
I suddenly remembered what she had said the day she couldn’t wake up.
He said that he seemed to be trapped somewhere in his dream, but he couldn’t remember.
[…] the name ‘Crossing the Stars’ is said to have originated from the fact that it was a god who was expelled from this world and went far across the stars. Few people know, but that’s why when calling on that god, he always says to cross the star. It means to cross the stars and never return… He is the god of curses, envy, and nightmares… They say that the god of crossing the stars often comes to this world through dreams…]
Recalling the text of the report, I tightly hugged Katrin in my arms.
‘If Catherine’s dream at that time was related to a god from across the planet…’
Anxiety that I don’t know why quietly takes root in a corner of my heart.
Maybe I put too much power into it.
In her arms, Katrin frowned and murmured in her sleep.
“… ugh… yea… jah… jjamjae… booo…
Sorry, Catherine.
After slightly loosening her arms, Katrin let out a quiet breath and returned to her happy face.
‘I’m 15 years old now, wouldn’t it be a bit strange to dream of being crushed by a rhinoceros?’
I lightly pinched Katrin’s nose and gave a small smile.
Her happy face is like a tranquilizer to me.
When I was anxious, seeing her face made me feel at ease.
“…”
If she doesn’t have nightmares thanks to the amulet, if the amulet can stop the gods from across the planet, the solution is simple.
You just need to find a stronger amulet.
‘Okay, that’s fine.’
I pushed my anxiety deep into my chest and closed my eyes.
*
There is much more snow this year than before, and because of that, problems have arisen in various places.
Reports came in that there were also several villages where avalanches had occurred.
‘Is it difficult to prevent natural disasters even if you prepare so hard?’
I breathed grimly.
It is not possible to perfectly prepare for problems that could not be solved even on a modern earth with advanced equipment in this world that is only about the Middle Ages.
I know it in my head, but I can’t help but feel depressed every time a problem arises every year.
This year, monsters and beasts that couldn’t find food because of the snow came down to the village, and the damage was a little bigger.
I don’t know if it just snowed a lot.
It seems that the competition in the forest was fierce because the number of monsters increased.
It must have been because of that that the Mammoth Demon Beast came down to the people.
It was too strong for humans and difficult to defeat, but it is different between people of the same kind.
Perhaps he was an individual who was pushed out of the fight between the same monsters.
Maybe it came out of the forest to protect its young from a stronger pack.
For the time being, I was planning to go around the affected villages to check the situation.
Even if the work is done by the local officials, I am encouraged just by going and showing interest.
If Young-min and Young-min think that Young-ju is interested in them, it is easy to overcome the difficult situation right now.
I was about to get dressed and leave the room when there was a soft knock on the middle door.
There is still time for the sun to rise.
‘It’s too early for Catherine to wake up.’
I thought so, but when I saw Benno smiling and stepping back, it seemed that he had asked the lady-in-waiting to wake him up in advance.
“Come in.”
As I let go of my words, the door opened slightly to reveal Katrin’s figure.
I guess I haven’t woken up yet.
His half-open eyes were a little dazed.
“Catherine.”
As I got closer, Katrin blinked and stepped forward a bit.
“Oscar, please be careful. I heard that the snow is very slippery.”
While saying those short words, he yawned three times and covered his mouth with his hand.
‘I can sleep if I’m that sleepy.’
I smiled lightly and kissed her on the forehead.
“Thank you, Catherine. I’ll be back. Stay calm until I come. Please don’t do anything dangerous.”
“… sure.”
His lips twitched a little, perhaps because he was angry that he didn’t believe in himself.
Katrin is also scheduled to accompany her on a visit this spring, but she hasn’t been informed yet.
It was because my mother and the counselor’s wives all said that I would be so excited that it would get in the way of what I had to do.
Still, I wanted to see her happy, so I kissed Catherine on the back of her hand and whispered softly.
“If you don’t do anything dangerous and wait patiently for me, I’ll come back and give you a nice reward. Something you’ll be very happy with.”
“… really?”
Did I wake up a little?
Catherine’s eyes seemed to sparkle.
“really.”
I whispered in her ear, and Katrin nodded and smiled contentedly.
Accepting her beautiful bow, I quietly left the room this time.
Outside, the head of the investigator Benno had spoken about was already waiting.
He is a very old man.
It was a man I had seen several times when listening to reports from intelligence officials.
“You ride in the carriage with me.”
“I understand, Duke.”
Listening to the manager’s answer, I turned my gaze towards the entrance to the mansion.
Before I knew it, my mother was at the door.
“Mother, why did you come out when it’s cold?”
As I approached, my mother smiled softly.
“It’s not long before I see you off like this, Oscar. I’ll go down to the barony once Catherine takes over my job completely.”
Mother held my hand with both hands and kissed me on the lips.
“Until then, this is my greatest joy. You don’t know how happy I am to see off my son who has become a great lord. But I’m really happy, Oscar. The roads are very dangerous this year, so be especially careful.”
“Yes. Thanks, mother.”
I was a bit embarrassed and kissed my mother on the back of her hand.
Slightly behind Mother, Benno lowers his head.
With all the heads of servants lowering their heads, I climbed into the carriage.
When the head of the investigator sat down across from me, my smiling face soon changed to a working expression.
“Then, let’s hear how the ruin of Gleuk’s homeland and the gods and goddesses of blessings from across the planet are intertwined.”
Having said that, I felt a little strange.
Even just a few years ago, Benno was always present at these events.
But at some point, Benno secretly stopped attending.
Of course, most of the reports reach him, and he knows most of what goes back, but he seems to have become a shadow before he knew it.
I try not to have even a hair’s worth of influence on my decisions or thoughts.
I was happy that it recognized me as a complete lord, but on the other hand, I missed the old days a little.