Tale of Discovery

Chapter 172: Premonition ; Goddess

"Master!" Siesta screams as her body abruptly jolts up from the bed at an incredible speed.

Cold sweat rolls down on her face as she anxiously looks around before setting her sight on me.

Visible relief appears on her face as her body falls back on the bed.

Well, that was interesting. Did she see a nightmare about me or something? From the looks of it, that should be the case.

However, it's slightly worrying. If this dream of hers turned out to be a 'vision', then great trouble is coming my way.

"Siesta," I say while examining her body for any issues, "What just happened?"

She takes a few moments to recollect herself before saying,

"I just saw a bad dream."

I shake my head and say in a calm tone,

"Siesta, you should be aware that you're not just an ordinary maid to me."

Taking this opportunity, I place my hand on her cheek and say in a soothing tone,

"If you are ever troubled by anything, refer to me straight away, okay?"

Seemingly enjoying my actions, Siesta closes her eyes and listens to my words before responding by an affirmative hum.

"Good," I say, "Now, tell me what that dream of yours was."

Siesta then begins to tell me of her dream which mainly consisted of her herself and me being in somewhere dark and empty.

In that place, all kinds of horrendous monsters would attack us at random intervals.

Each time a horde approached us, Siesta and I would deal with them using various means, most of which I don't know of at the moment.

As the dream went on, the monsters increased both in number and strength, to the point that I had to resort to dealing with them using my Code.

In the end, I had Siesta go on while I handled a ridiculous all by myself. The last thing Siesta saw was me getting surrounded.

"Don't worry," I say to Siesta, "This dream is most likely not something that we should be worried about."

Who am I kidding? I'm wholly sure that this is a 'vision'.

"You know this makes me a little happy," I say, "You wouldn't have had this dream if you weren't worried about me."

My words seem to shift Siesta's attention to the sweeter aspect of the situation which results in a red flush to cover her face as she looks away.

I lean closer to her face and give her a gentle kiss on the cheek before saying,

"Let's go outside and see what's going on."

Hearing my words, Siesta's expression turns a little strange as she begins to deliberate on something.

"Now that I think about it," I state, "What did you do to the townspeople for them to regain their conscience?"

"I don't know," she responds, a little confused.

"What do you mean?" I inquire.

"I just did what I thought would help them," she replies.

From the sound of it, she just followed her guts feeling.

"You did good," I say while patting her head, "I'm sure that the townspeople will be thrilled to see their savior."

Actually, I had been keeping an eye on what has been going on outside the house, so I know that they are more than thrilled to see her.

However, I will let her find that out for herself.

"Shall we get going then?" I suggest.

"Yes, Master," she responds before getting up from the bed and following me closely as I slowly walk to the door.

But, upon reaching the door, I stop walking and turn around.

Siesta also steps and looks at me, most likely expecting me to give her an order.

"Say, how about you walk out ahead of me?" I suggest.

Siesta is both startled and confused by the suggestion but agrees to it anyway.

And so, the beautiful maid passes by my side and opens the door, only to be met with the sight of several dozen townspeople standing right outside the house.

Before Siesta can react, a middle-aged woman points at her and exclaims,

"It's the Goddess, Sera!"

Hearing this, even I am a little startled, as for the person in question, she is stunned speechless.

The other townspeople all begin to cheer while calling out numerous praises toward 'Sera'.

Hold on could 'Sera' be related to 'Seraphiel', or is it just a coincidence?

Either way, it sure is fun to watch my lovely maid being worshiped as a goddess.

However, Siesta doesn't seem to be sharing the sentiment, as she is more confused than anything else.

You know what, I suddenly feel like teasing her a little.

I move closer to Siesta and say in a voice that only she can hear,

"Whatever I do, don't panic."

Before she can respond to my words, I telekinetically lift her from the ground and utilize Illusion to make wings of light burst out from her back and her attire to change into a glowing white dress.

In response to this, the townspeople practically have stars in their eyes as they observe her float into the sky in such a fashion.

Soon, some of them begin to get on their knees and hold their hands together while muttering various praises to the 'goddess'.

In less than ten seconds, all the townspeople are on their knees with a collective belief on Siesta being the Goddess, Sera.

What's funny is that the soldiers in the distance seem like they're about to get on their knees as well.

As for Krul and Saturnus, they both have amused expressions on their face while watching all of this unfold.

I wonder if I can take this a step further.

Deciding that it's worth trying out, I utilize Paladin's Aura and focus it on the townspeople.

Unexpectedly, they react to it quite positively as some of them even begin to tear up while others begin to praise even harder.

Meanwhile, Siesta is floating above the area with an expression of pure confusion on her face.

Good, everything is going exactly the way I wanted it to.

I proceed to change the Illusion I had cast on Siesta to one that makes her completely invisible, which surprises the townspeople quite a bit.

Then, I pull Siesta toward myself and place her right behind me before dispelling the Illusion.

Seeing Siesta reappear right behind me, the townspeople are slightly startled before they all focus their sight on me.

I take in a deep breath before walking forward and shouting,

"Dear humans. I am one of the few apostles that Her Holiness has assigned to deal with the evil that is present within this kingdom."

My words pique the attention of many, including the soldiers and the girls.

I'm sure that they're all wondering what I'm up to.

Well, it's rather simple. I'm going to be making use of such an opportunity to justify any actions that I will be taking against this kingdom.

Simply put, the townspeople here will be spreading the word of apostles clearing the evil, which is the kingdom's royal family.

Not only would this make the people follow my lead once this is over, but it would also raise Albion's reputation.

Shaking such thoughts away, I continue with my 'speech',

"There have been numerous records of evil here, one of which you yourselves had fallen victim to.

"Do not be afraid, as we will make sure that evil meets its end once and for all. I, as the second apostle, give you my word."

The people seem to be satisfied with my words and beliefs as they begin to shout out praises to Sera and her apostles.

Regarding the number I had assigned to myself, it's nothing of importance, or, so I would like to think, but the people are beginning to discuss who could be the 'first'.

They're beginning to mix some of their beliefs into this matter already, making it seem all the more plausible to everyone.

I subconsciously let out a small sigh of relief, as it's refreshing to see all things go according to plan, especially if it's one that would affect a whole kingdom.

Having done what I've been planning to do, I gesture to Krul and Saturnus to come over.

I've already told Yvonne and Godeffroy what steps to take from here, with the only unexpected variable being Siesta's recognition as a goddess.

So, I don't waste any more time, by teleporting us back to the castle in Albion as soon as Krul and Saturnus are within my range.

As if she had foreseen my arrival, Irene who has been in the room that I set the teleportation to directly runs over into my embrace with a joyful look on her face.

She really is much more expressive when she has a physical body. It's almost beginning to feel like I'm genuinely raising a child.

"Father," she says while hugging me, "I missed you so much."

"But, it's only been a few days," I respond.

"That's long enough!" she groans before snuggling her head against my chest.

"Alright, alright," I say while patting her head, "How have things been here?"

Irene gets off me and says earnestly,

"Good. But, the prisoners are starting to get unruly. I punished one of them a little to set an example for the others.

"That worked from some time, but-"

Not letting her finish, I say,

"You set an example? Who did you use to do that and how did you do it?"

"It was one of the men that came to save the other prisoners," she responds, "Would Father like to see?"

I take this chance to look at the three girls behind me who also seem to be interested in the subject before looking back at Irene and saying,

"Sure. Guide all of us there, will you?"

"Of course!" she cheerfully responds.