Apostle of the Void

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 14 - Short-Term Contract Worker(6)

“Speak honestly. If you don’t want to get hurt.”

Arzen felt a whirlwind in his eyes.

Who did you talk to? Who was that guy? It was the same interrogative voice he’d heard relentlessly while in the Divine Guillotine.

His heart raced, thundering like it might break through his chest.

‘In a situation like this…’

However, hearing it so often meant he knew what the best course of action was in a crisis.

“Uh, well, I use a bit of magic. Summoning magic.”

That was the truth.

He wasn’t revealing everything mindlessly, but rather just part of the truth—about 50%—while concealing the rest.

‘Those who interrogate like this can pick up on lies with remarkable skill!’

That’s why he needed to take this indirect approach.

“Magic? You?”

While the lead witch narrowed her eyes suspiciously, the youngest-looking witch clapped her hands and laughed.

“Our Arzen was a magician? What a traitor! You should use spells like us! How unfair~!”

“Hey!”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The lead witch stepped closer to Arzen, gripping his shoulders to keep him from escaping.

“Show me.”

“W-what?”

“Show me your magic.”

It felt like the moment had finally arrived.

To put it bluntly… it was a dire situation.

But he couldn’t hesitate now.

“Um, well…”

His experiences getting beaten by the thugs from Divine Guillotine were coming in handy now.

Instead, he needed to leverage his greatest asset: being “a boy who hasn’t fully matured yet.”

He covered his face with both hands, trembling as if about to burst into tears—this was his best tactic.

“If there are so many people watching, I get, um, nervous…”

This approach had worked wonders with the thugs from Divine Guillotine, especially with the women.

“Ah! So cute! Senpai! That’s magic, right? Even slimes would explode from that charm!”

“Hm, is that so? I think it could even cause the Earth to explode.”

“Aren’t you guys going to shut up?”

The lead witch pointed toward the door with her chin.

“Then go outside and summon a creature, then come back in. Just try to run away. We’re doing this for your sake, you know.”

She must have been thinking about his performance.

Arzen smirked inwardly.

‘Heh, but you’ve completely fallen for my scheme. How weak!’

He stepped outside, pretending to be shy, and closed the door.

‘The high witch… I don’t sense such a powerful presence around her.’

After checking subtly to see where the watchful eyes might be lurking, he quietly began to recite the incantation.

“Kaz tu Arcturus.”

Buuuuuuum…… The Void Wasp appeared from beyond the void dimension.

Lately, he had recited this incantation so often that he had become quite skilled at controlling the number summoned just by the feeling in his chest.

Right now, he had summoned two, including the wasp.

“Wasp! Is there the smallest one? Like, really, really tiny, harmless-looking, and gives off very little void energy!”

Buuuuuuuuum…….

It seemed this wasn’t information that was registered; the agile wasp just stared silently at Arzen.

Perhaps the ability to miniaturize void creatures was a technique that needed to be unlocked.

“What’s taking so long?”

At that moment, the lead witch suddenly burst through the door.

‘Holy sh*t!’

He found himself face-to-face with the largest void creature, the wasp.

The worst-case scenario unfolded in his mind.

- You little brat, what’s with that wicked power? Come here.

- Kyaah!

He would be dragged off to the Room of Repentance…….

After enduring all kinds of torture, he would spill the truth……

And ultimately, handed over to the Inquisition, meeting a gruesome end… the worst conclusion.

‘Should I run?’

Where to?

The witches had broomstick flying skills, so they would catch up in no time.

‘Escape from here?’

That was impossible.

The power of the void was likely nearly invincible if perfected, given that he had previously defeated the hydra……

‘But I’m weak now!’

On the other hand, the witches working at the association specialized in combat.

He could recognize them by their red uniforms.

Witches were divided into three types by their attire: Red, Blue, and Yellow.

Among them, the red-clad witches were the “Red Witches,” specialized in combat.

‘Excuses…… But witches can sense energy…… Would that even work?’

In that brief moment, hundreds of thoughts raced through his mind.

However, there was no solution in sight.

‘Damn.’

Arzen instinctively sensed his doom.

He had only two choices: either struggle until caught or surrender peacefully to endure less torture.

“What the hell, it’s real.”

But just as he was about to give up, the witches reacted in a strange way.

“It’s real?”

“What? I want to see too.”

What unfolded next was utterly bewildering.

The youngest witch was fussing over how cute the void creature was.

“Wow, it’s so fluffy! Is it because the summoner is cute? Even the summoned creature is super cute!”

“Ugh, you have a strong stomach. I can't stand bugs.”

“But it looks cute, like a honeybee.”

“Hey! Don’t bring it over here! Just the sound of a honeybee or wasp flapping its wings gives me chills all over!”

The most dangerous, top-ranking witch was examining the hornet.

“Magic... Hmm, the aura feels similar. Who was it again? That mage from the Magic Bureau’s special unit six months ago.”

“Oh, the summoner? Yeah, it feels like the magic they used!”

“Summoning magic is pretty rare; I thought there were no paths to learn it outside the official Magic Tower. Where did you learn this?”

The answer to that question is simple. Just withhold 50% of the truth taught by the mysterious Old Rodenkal.

So I can just say it was an unknown old man who taught me.

“If you were a shaman, we would have treated you really well and taught you more!”

“Shut up.”

When the top witch growled at the youngest, the youngest fell silent.

The top witch scratched her head and sighed.

“I thought that idiot Samson was using you as a front for embezzlement, but it seems like it’s real.”

Samson...

How long had you been a consistent piece of trash even before I met you?

“I’m sorry. I mentioned danger because I didn’t want you to get in trouble for embezzlement. Or worse, if you went down the sewers without knowing, it would be a big deal.”

“...!”

“You need a stamp? Hand it here. I’m in charge while the branch manager is away.”

The top witch stamped the document with the witch association's seal, then playfully punched Arzen on the head.

“If Samson tries anything bad or hurts you, come tell me.”

“!”

“I’ll take care of him. Working hard is good, but don’t overdo it, okay? It would be a disaster if you got hurt.”

When Arzen looked up, he was surprised. The stern expression from earlier had completely vanished.

In its place was only a gentle smile on her face.

‘Something... um, something...’

The moment almost brought tears to his eyes...

Maybe it was just that fleeting moment.

Kirké’s smile might have overlapped in his mind...

‘No, no. It’s the shock of realizing that witches can actually be kind people.’

Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t quite understand why he had been so scared of witches.

‘Witches are the guardians of the Republic!’

They are the ones who spread the teachings of the Dragon Scripture in this land.

Of course, there are corrupted individuals everywhere.

But it’s natural for those with complete personalities to outnumber those in other professions.

‘The Divine Guillotine also tried to stay as far away from witches as possible...’

As he descended the stairs, looking at the witch association’s seal stamped on the document...

His heart was still racing, but it felt different from fear.

‘If I have to come back next time, maybe I won’t be so tense... will that be okay?’

Arzen headed straight to the Adventurer's Guild.

It was a unique experience to visit the guild to place a quest order.

As he showed up in his official uniform, the adventurers began to lick their lips in anticipation.

Even before the notice went up on the corkboard, they started competing with arm wrestling and verbal sparring.

It seemed that the quests issued by the city hall were quite popular due to their neat reward system and tax exemptions.

The public servant’s counter was separate from that of the adventurers. This one felt more polished and organized.

“Yes, I’ve confirmed the quest form. The notarization is complete.”

“Um, about that…”

“What can I help you with?”

“The department head mentioned that he liked the archer who came for the last quest, so could you prioritize assigning him?”

“I see, a designated quest? In this case, since the quest reward is a byproduct, the guild has the authority to purchase all of the relevant byproducts. There will be an additional 4% surcharge on the existing guild fee during the purchase. Is that acceptable?”

He wasn’t in a position to be picky, so it was fine.

Nodding, the receptionist, who wore glasses and was unfamiliar to him, quickly registered the quest.

He had thought there would be a separate fee for placing the order, but it seemed the guild’s referral fee covered that cost.

‘Great, now that the work is done…’

Arzen returned to city hall to return his uniform.

After placing the quest in his uniform, he felt a bit embarrassed to visit in casual clothes, so he decided to grab lunch outside first.

He then completely changed into his sewer work outfit.

Consulting the map, he headed towards the southwestern entrance of the sewer.

‘My two workdays this week are over. For the next three days, I can experiment with my strength to my heart’s content.’

His newly acquired power: the Void Bugs!

Over the next three days, he aimed to thoroughly experiment with this power and significantly increase the number of Void Bugs he could control!

‘If we had to classify the power of the Void, it would be, as the witches said, in the summoning category.’

First, he needed to chant the command to summon the creatures.

“Kaz tu Arcturus.”

At that command, insects tore through dimensions and emerged.

A hornet and twelve Void Bugs!

The sheer sight of the squadron was enough to make his heart race with excitement, but he knew it was still too early to be satisfied.

“Su ja Heros! Fuse with the hornet!”

Three Void Bugs clashed their heads together.

The entire ontological status of those creatures twisted and transformed into a new form.

Every time he witnessed that spectacle, it felt wondrous.

“Wow, that’s so cool! Especially that powerful head and jaw!”

Arzen danced around, excitedly stroking the sturdy jaw of the hornet.

‘How can it be so reassuring!’

The close-range offensive capability had surely been significantly bolstered.

“Hornet, position three bugs beside the hornet. No, place the hornet at the front and form a triangle with three behind.”

As always, the hornet satisfactorily executed the command.

Just having the hornet at the forefront brought a sense of order to the formation, which felt immensely satisfying.

If he were to compare it to a human battalion, it felt like having heavily armored cavalry leading the charge.

“Having the hornets follow behind really enhances the feeling.”

“Now there are six remaining Void Bugs. Su ja Kunia! All six, merge into three hornets and gather in front of me!”

A similar effect occurred as when they fused with the hornet.

Within that effect!

The six Void Bugs transformed into three hornets, their venom sacs and abdomens significantly enlarged.

“Ah~ this is it, this is it, this is it! So reassuring! I just want to squeeze their big, round bellies and make them fart!”

Arzen danced with joy as he touched the bellies of the hornets.

“Hornet, spread the hornets a bit wider in a triangle formation compared to the Void Bugs. Hmm~ about double the size?”

Bzzzz… The hornet's wingbeats sent a chemical command signal to the hornets.

The sight of the hornets lined up behind the Void Bugs was truly a heart-stirring spectacle.

This time, it felt like arranging an archer battalion.

He felt a sense of satisfaction akin to that of a commander ruling over the world.

“Alright, today we’ll charge straight through the central section and exit on the other side!”

Arzen crossed his arms with delight and looked at his most trusted Void Bug, the hornet.

“Hornet, you guard me. Just clear out the slimes on the ceiling. I need to capture every moment of my squad’s historic movement with my own eyes. Now, advance!”

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]