A Revelation Lost in Translation

In the game 『The Garden』, there are several methods for acquiring companions.

One way is to hire them with money. Typically, a payment of 500 to 1,000 gold is sufficient for employment. While salaries are discretionary, offering too little might cause them to flee, whereas offering too much could lead to betrayal.

Nevertheless, it is generally better to pay generously. Higher pay increases their favorability, and even if they betray you, they won’t desert. They will also equip themselves, though whatever they choose is often mere rags, making it best for me to craft their gear if I intend to bring them along.

Another method involves raising their favorability or trust to persuade them to join. This process can be rather bothersome, often requiring the completion of specific character quests or a significant investment of time. Furthermore, some key figures in the main story might prove impossible to recruit.

The final approach is to negotiate with someone in a position to influence the desired NPC—such as their superior, parent, or friend—by offering to compensate them for the character’s services.

“This Pope is a male character? I thought it was always a female character.”

That’s odd. Could it be because I haven’t visited in so long? The Popes of Hamman’s Temple were overwhelmingly female characters. While it’s randomized and not an absolute rule, a male character appearing is a one-in-ten-thousand rarity. It’s truly amusing that such a rare occurrence would coincide with my arrival.

“You, who are you?!”

“I’ll be taking Faust and Jack. How much of a donation do I need to make? Or is it payment in kind?”

Usually, it’s money, but occasionally, they demand payment in goods or specific quests. It’s unlikely to be a quest, though, as I’ve already completed Hamman’s symbolic quest. Each deity has one symbolic quest, with the Nine Great Sages and Seven Great Thrones quests being the most renowned and lucrative. Naturally, I completed them to receive holy relics and fill my collection.

“Guards! What are the guards doing?! Drag this madman out at once!”

“You’re the Pope, so why are you speaking to your brethren as if they’re subordinates? This is also strange.”

The setting dictates that priests of the temple inherently have no hierarchy among themselves. While some characters might exclusively use formal or informal speech depending on their individual settings, the Pope’s speech is always fixed to formal language, regardless of which character assumes the role.

Yet, why is this child shouting so frantically? I’m accustomed to not being recognized, but it’s unsettling that he isn’t adhering to the Pope’s usual default settings.

“Uh, Sir Haut? It’s awfully hostile here. Could we perhaps step out for now and return later?”

“Ah, I forgot you were here. Where were you, anyway?”

“I was so embarrassed that I hid behind you and just followed along.”

“Keep hiding. We’ll be leaving soon.”

I had completely forgotten I brought Nocturne along. Faust, cradled in my arms, was on the verge of fainting. I couldn’t fathom why he was in such an unusual state. Gently swaying the Faust in my embrace, I called out to him.

“Are you perhaps sleeping? Wake up.”

“…I’m not sleeping.”

“Do you have a fear of heights? No, that can’t be it. I’ll put you down for now; I have something important to do.”

As I set Faust down, he stumbled away to a corner, his neck flushed crimson. At that, Hamman’s priests, who had been hesitantly standing by, drew their swords and charged.

“That’s odd. I haven’t done anything hostile, so why are these children so aggressive?”

“What in the world is happening?! The swords aren’t piercing him!”

“Block him! Block him! Don’t let him near His Holiness the Pope!”

I don’t know. It’s bothersome. If even a tiny bit of damage registered, I’d pretend to care, but that’s not the case. They aren’t even scratching me.

“Hamman must be so sad. He couldn’t have known his children would be this weak, could he?”

They kept shouting something among themselves, but I couldn’t understand it. I hadn’t performed any actions that would provoke NPCs, such as killing someone or stealing items in front of them. All I did was walk in, yet they kept pestering me.

I approached the seated Pope and perched myself on the edge of his desk.

“Didn’t you hear me? I’m taking Jack and Faust. Hurry up and process it. I’m busy. I still need to enchant and craft items. I also have to make accessories, and you’re wasting my time.”

“Wh-where did this ruffian come from! Are you a heretic of an evil god?!”

“Hey, even if you don’t recognize me, isn’t that a bit much? Do you know how many demons I’ve captured? Just process it quickly. Is it money or goods? Or, by any chance, is there a quest? Just say something. This is frustrating.”

He kept screaming and flailing, but wouldn’t speak. I vented my frustration into the air.

“Hamman, what’s wrong with your kids? Aren’t you going to process this quickly? Ugh. I really don’t want to have to receive a revelation.”

There is a way to recruit them without spending money. If the NPC to be recruited is a priest of a specific deity, one can offer sacrifices and pray to that deity to receive a revelation.

However, this method is bothersome in many ways. The deity who grants the revelation will constantly talk to you and pester you to look after their followers. If it’s a different deity from the player’s main god, the player’s primary deity will become sulky and complain incessantly, which I dislike.

Our Debora doesn’t really care about such things, but there’s no benefit to it. Whatever achievements I make, I’d have to share them with the deity who gave me the revelation. Honestly, they just lent me the NPC, but I did all the work.

The Pope drew a dagger from his waist and thrust it towards me, his hands trembling visibly.

“Wh-wherever you came from! You won’t leave here alive—”

“What do I care? Just answer me quickly. I’m taking Jack and Faust. What do you want in return? Money, goods, or a quest? Are you going to make me repeat myself?”

‘Is it okay to treat an old man like that?’ I thought. ‘What do I care? He’s just an NPC anyway.’ Besides, he’s not processing anything properly and just pulled out a knife. Even if the system is bugged to prevent him from recognizing me, this communication breakdown is ridiculous.

“S-Sir Haut, please calm down first, and let’s talk slowly…”

“I am talking. Didn’t you see me? Given Hamman’s personality, there’s no way he wouldn’t have sent a revelation.”

“I-I did hear that a revelation descended just before I arrived…”

Faust, who had been huddled in a corner, somehow reappeared and took my hand. I wondered how he knew I was contemplating smashing the Pope’s head. This guy is truly uncanny at reading movements.

The ones who had charged at me, clanging their swords, were now scattered and rolling on the floor, exhausted by their own efforts. I hadn’t even laid a hand on them, so I couldn’t understand why they were struggling so much. I hadn’t even beaten them to near-death; why are they acting like this?

” ‘Twilight is near. Shadows of corruption shall fall, and through them, light shall be sought. With a shield at the forefront, the hunter will push back the blood of evil…’ That’s what it said.”

“What? He sent it properly, didn’t he? Right. Knowing Hamman’s personality, there’s no way he’d stay silent if I were taking his children.”

‘And still, they’re acting like this?’ I wondered, grasping the tip of the babbling Pope’s dagger.

“And still, you act like this?”

“W-we couldn’t… interpret it.”

“What? He said it all, so why can’t you interpret it?”

Hamman is renowned for the straightforwardness of his revelations, at least compared to other deities. His nature is so direct that he rarely speaks in riddles. If even a player can interpret it, that says it all.

I looked down at the Pope, who was struggling to pull the dagger from my grasp, and spoke.

“Hey, what did you do? Hamman even told you I was coming. He already gave permission for me to take his children. So why can’t you proceed? Are you slacking off? Or are you protesting to get some extra allowance?”

“Y-you demon! Get back! Where do you think you are—!!”

“If demons heard that, they’d probably get angry and tell you not to be ridiculous.”

After all the demons I’ve slain, for the Pope of all people to call me a demon is absurd. I snapped the dagger I held in my hand, breaking it clean in two as if it were a biscuit.

“Since he already gave the revelation, I don’t need to ask for it. You should have said something earlier instead of making me waste my time.”

I stood up from the desk, flicked the dagger blade away, and dusted off my hands.

“Faust, where’s Jack? Let’s go.”

“Huh? Wh-what exactly was this revelation…? No one could interpret it.”

“You’re a high priest, and you don’t even understand what your own god is saying?”

Have they all collectively become idiots? He spoke so directly, telling them to let me take them, without any twists, yet they can’t understand it?

“You’re priests. Even if I didn’t understand, you should. I can interpret it, so why are you claiming you can’t?”

This truly makes no sense.

” ‘Twilight is near’ means there’s no time left, and ‘shadows of corruption shall fall’ means demons have begun to descend. ‘Through them, light shall be sought’ means to go out and get to work quickly.”

“The shield is Hamman’s symbol, so it refers to you. The hunter is me, the demon hunter. ‘Push back’ means to take the lead with me and diligently hunt demons.”

“Why are these guys acting so stupid? I was amazed when the AI improved, but it seems their emotional expressions became sophisticated at the cost of their intelligence. Can they really be this foolish?”

“Damn it. Why am I, the player, the one explaining all this? It’s infuriating.”

Damn it, they’re being truly troublesome. It seems they won’t simply hand them over. I’ll have no choice but to appeal to Hamman directly.

I rummaged through my inventory and found Hamman’s statue—the one I had crafted from white marble with gold embellishments. I placed it on the desk and, annoyed, glared at the Pope, who was slumped in his chair, trembling before it.

“Hey, what was Hamman’s symbolic stone?”

“Uh, eeh… Wh-what…?”

“Do all these kids have errors in their language output, or are their dialogue scripts completely messed up? Why are you stuttering? What is Hamman’s symbolic stone?”

“L-lapis lazuli, s-sir…”

I pulled out a handful of the smallest lapis lazuli stones and a small amount of gold from my inventory, placing them before the statue. Then I shouted into the air.

“Hamman! Bestow the stigmata upon Faust and Jack! Your children here refuse to give them to me!”

At that instant, the statue’s eyes flickered with a faint glow. Startled, I quickly fumbled through my inventory for a lightning resistance potion and drank it.

Immediately, a thunderbolt crashed down from the sky—!! It shattered the desk where the statue rested. The electric surge that demolished the desk did not dissipate; instead, it scattered around, creating a massive pillar of light.

The pillar of light split, enveloping Faust, while the residual lightning arced and struck both me and the Pope. Beyond a window behind the Pope, another pillar of light shone, indicating Jack’s location.

Faust clutched his hands and sank to the floor. Hamman’s mark was now etched upon the back of his hand.

“Hey, hey, are you dead?”

“Ugh…”

“Not dead, then.”

The Pope, struck by lightning alongside me, had transformed into a charred lump, rolling on the floor. A light kick sent charcoal dust scattering, and a groan confirmed he was still alive.

The gold and lapis lazuli had vanished, and the desk was reduced to dust. Only the statue remained, standing alone. I picked it up, brushed off the dust, and returned it to my inventory. As I surveyed my surroundings, Hamman’s priests, utterly pale, stumbled backward and retreated in a frantic rush.