Chapter 30: Application

I groaned in relief as I stood up, only to freeze when I realized that my body had been fully healed.

I could still remember the way my skin melted and my organs spilled out... The thought of it alone made my stomach churn.

I could still remember the horrible sensation of my flesh coming apart, the helplessness of watching my own body fall to pieces, and the terror of knowing there was nothing I could do to stop it.

’How did I end up in the Neverending Staircase again?’

I tried to piece together what had happened...

I could vaguely remember blindly running through the darkness, desperately trying to escape from whatever had been chasing me.

My legs had kept moving even when I could barely feel them anymore. Then, when my body finally gave up and I collapsed, I somehow ended up here...

It seemed that through the Staircase’s strange constitution of "No one can die here," I had somehow managed to get my body back in one piece...?

I looked at the finger where I had put the Ring of Sacrilege. As I expected, it was still there...

I thought it would have at least come off when my skin melted, but for some reason, it felt like it had become a part of me...?

I stared at the ring for a while, suddenly feeling uneasy.

What if it really had fused with my body? What if I couldn’t take it off anymore?

I had no idea what would happen if I tried to force it out, and after everything I had just been through, I wasn’t exactly eager to find out.

I slowly raised my head and looked at the Neverending Staircase.

I had nearly died... No... I had experienced something so horrible that I could barely bring myself to think about it, and yet I was still here.

A sense of unease crept into my mind, but above all else, I felt an overwhelming sense of doom and fear.

I couldn’t help but collapse onto the steps and draw my knees to my chest in frustration and fear.

It wasn’t that I had underestimated how dangerous the world of [Arcana] was... It was just that certain parts of my preparations had been miscalculated, which had nearly gotten me killed.

’This... this is my reality now...?’

It was a bitter pill to swallow. Honestly, I really didn’t want this to be the life I would have to live from now on...

But some things just had to be accepted, no matter how much I disliked them.

It seemed that my plan of soloing everything was going to have to change.

As much as I wanted to handle everything on my own, the events that had just transpired had made it clear that I couldn’t afford to be so careless anymore.

I had already experienced firsthand just how terrifying the world of [Arcana] could be, and I wasn’t particularly eager to experience something like that again...

If I wanted to survive in this place, I would have to make some changes to my original plans.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to abandon my preparations entirely.

Rather, I needed to find a way to make use of the people and resources available to me.

’Hm... should I try a more cultist approach...?’

...

Harley, David, and Marilyn were prostrating themselves in the same area where they usually praised "Mr. Moon" or "Lord Moon."

Only this time, their gathering was less extravagant, and there were only a few offerings laid out before them due to the rules their Lord had previously established.

They had clearly taken his instructions seriously, even if the changes had made their usual gathering feel a little emptier than before.

Still, none of them seemed particularly bothered by it.

After all, as long as they could continue to worship their Lord, a few fewer offerings hardly seemed like something worth complaining about.

Creak.

The door in front of them opened once again, revealing the tall, suited man with a stern expression.

The three immediately turned toward him, their faces lighting up with excitement as they hurriedly greeted their returning Lord.

"Lord Moon! You have come back!"

Their voices were filled with genuine joy, as though the mere sight of him was enough to brighten their entire day.

None of them really knew what had happened or what their Lord had been doing when he asked them to create a distraction last time.

They had no idea what purpose that distraction had served, nor did they know what kind of situation he had gotten himself involved in afterward.

However, none of those questions seemed particularly important to them.

The sense of faith in their minds had become extremely warped, to the point that their thoughts and feelings toward their Lord were no longer entirely normal.

It felt as though every time they were in Lord Moon’s presence, their minds would grow muddy, and the only thoughts left in their heads would revolve around how wonderful their Lord was.

His presence seemed to make it difficult for them to think about anything else.

Whatever doubts or questions they might have had would gradually fade away, leaving behind an overwhelming sense of admiration and devotion.

It was a strange thought that constantly crept into their minds, yet they found themselves unable to resist it...

No... they didn’t even want to resist those thoughts.

After all, why would they want to resist something that felt so right?

These thoughts... they are for Lord Moon...

"..."

I gazed at the three who were still prostrating themselves in front of me before setting down the old man I was carrying.

He was another victim of the Staircase...

And, unfortunately, he wasn’t in a particularly good condition.

The old man had been trapped there for almost eight hundred thousand days.

Even after finally being brought out of that place, he still wasn’t responding very well.

I couldn’t even be certain how much damaged his mental state had suffered due to the time he had spent there.

Regardless, leaving him unattended wasn’t exactly a good idea.

I carefully laid him down on the couch before turning to look at my "three followers."

"Take care of him, and make sure he adjusts to the real world properly."

I didn’t bother explaining anything further.

I trusted that they could at least handle something as simple as looking after an elderly man, especially when I had already given them clear instructions.

Fortunately, none of the three complained.

They immediately got up and walked over to the patient, seemingly ready to carry out my orders.

Seeing that they were already taking care of things, I turned my attention toward the person I had called over for a different reason.

"Harley, come with me."

Hearing his name, Harley’s face lit up with joy.

He immediately straightened himself up before happily approaching his "Lord," looking as though he had just received some sort of blessing.

"What is it that you need from me, Lord Moon?"

Once again, my lips twitched a little at how awkward that sounded.

’Seriously, do you have to call me that every single time?’

Ah, right. My friends used to jokingly call me Lord Moon because of how big a fan I was of [Cult of the Moon]...

Back then, it had just been a silly nickname between friends.

I certainly hadn’t expected that, one day, I would end up in a situation where people were actually calling me that with such genuine devotion.

And now, looking at Harley’s expression, I wasn’t even sure whether I should feel embarrassed or concerned.

’Hm... I’ve only been in this place for less than a month, and I already can’t wait to go home...’

This place truly was wretched.

Usually, if someone got transported into their favorite fantasy world, they’d be happy, right?

At least, that was what I had always thought. Getting to experience the world of a story you loved firsthand sounded like a dream come true.

You would get to see all the things you had once only read about, meet the people you had always been curious about, and perhaps even experience adventures that would never have been possible in your original world.

Of course, that was assuming you didn’t have to worry about being killed by some horrifying supernatural entity every other day.

Unfortunately, the world of [Arcana] wasn’t exactly the kind of fantasy world where an ordinary person could live peacefully just because they knew a lot about its lore.

Knowing what was going to happen didn’t necessarily mean I could prevent it, and knowing how dangerous something was didn’t mean I could survive an encounter with it.

If anything, my recent experiences had made that painfully clear.

I inwardly sighed before turning toward Harley and finally replying.

"There’s a job I want you to apply for..."

With that, I asked to use the computer in one of his bedrooms. After sitting down in front of it, I began searching through the websites until I finally found the correct one.

It was a rather simple-looking page, with barely anything on it besides the organization’s name and a button inviting people to submit their applications.

Still, the moment I saw the familiar name displayed on the screen, I couldn’t help but feel a little complicated.

[A.E.G.I.S.]

[Click here to apply!]