As a fellow inmate, Silver Wolf asked Sampo why he had been locked up.
She would never have known without asking, and the answer gave her quite a shock.
Sampo's charges were [Illegally using air resources to perform unauthorized comedy; violating a statue of the Aeon of [Eternity] right under the church's nose, standing beside Them and stealing Their air, and refusing Their blessing.]
"Wow, you're really something. Mocking their boss right in front of their subordinates? You've got serious skills, buddy."
"Huh?" Sampo's face was full of question marks. Would you mind taking another careful look at these charges?
Stealing the air around the statue of [Eternity]? Surely I, Sampo, didn't deserve this...
All I wanted was to plant a bomb beneath the statue, blow it sky-high, then take the opportunity to pin the blame on another faction.
He had drawn up the entire plan and spent ten days on this planet for it!
And the result? He had made absolutely no progress in those ten days... The locals couldn't get through three sentences without mentioning the Aeon of [Eternity]. If he stayed any longer, Sampo would be assimilated.
There was no fun to be found in places of decadent luxury. The more a pleasure let one experience human dignity, the higher a pleasure it was!
This was Sampo's unique aesthetic interpretation of [Elation], and he could find similarities on countless planets.
But here alone... here alone, he couldn't find any! There was no decadent luxury, and it was no different from an ordinary town. Rather than improving the residents' quality of life, all the Credits earned through their excellent water res... went into modifying the statue of the Aeon of [Eternity].
There wasn't a trace of desire for money in their eyes. All Sampo saw was love for the Aeon of [Eternity].
Back in school, his homeroom teacher had said to nod and greet other teachers when they saw them. That was normal.
But... this church just had to be different! Whether it was an auntie buying vegetables or a merchant selling soap, their first reaction upon seeing a stranger wasn't to say hello, but to fucking ult them point-blank and ask whether they wanted to join the church.
They were clearly just ordinary people too weak to truss a chicken, yet Sampo could feel the incredibly pure faith within them.
Among all followers of Elation, the Masked Fools held particularly radical ideals. They would stop at nothing in their search for amusement, often turning every place they visited upside down.
In Sampo's eyes, the church and the other Masked Fools were much of a muchness, especially when they encountered followers of [Destruction].
The Masked Fools might bring out "Fools' Play" to mock them to their faces, but the church's presiding cleric and priests wouldn't do that. They would simply throw hands with you, going utterly wild!
One second, they would be laughing and joking with you; the next, upon discovering you were a little brat of [Destruction], they might slap you across the face, whether they could beat you or not.
"Girl, everyone in that church is a lunatic. That's all you need to remember."
Sampo kept wriggling. Both his hands and feet were bound with wooden ropes.
Strangely enough, nothing had happened during his ten days undercover, yet just as he was leaving because he couldn't find any fun, that man had caught him. This was ridiculous.
"So... today's your thirtieth day here?"
Sampo nodded. He had been locked up for a month! He had contacted the folks at the Tavern, but not one had come to his rescue.
Especially those two ladies surnamed Hua and Zhong. The moment they received his distress signal, they came to laugh at him!
"Running into a high-level boss in a dungeon and failing to beat it despite giving it everything you've got. I know that feeling all too well."
That was exactly Silver Wolf's situation now. No matter how good she was, she couldn't beat an Emanator, much less an Emanator of [Eternity].
Ye Yan alone, an [Eternity] Walker, was already more than she could handle. She didn't dare imagine how powerful an Emanator would be.
Hmm, maybe I should send Ye Yan a message... ask him for a hand?
"Miss Hunter, seeing as I've told you so much, would you consider escaping this place with your old pal Sampo?"
Silver Wolf, who had been about to contact Ye Yan, stopped what she was doing and looked up at Sampo.
Co-op dungeon raiding? That's certainly an option I hadn't considered. Worth a try.
"Don't underestimate me. After being locked up for so many days... I've already drawn up a brand-new jailbreak plan in my head. I just need another partner to help."
"Interesting. Working with a Masked Fool... This'll be a first."
Kafka had said that she could improvise freely in any passages outside the [script]. Silver Wolf's visit to the church wasn't even recorded in the [script], so it mattered even less.
It wasn't as though Silver Wolf had no experience with two-player games. "Let's get this straight first. I'll carry, but I won't guarantee a win."
Her thoughts returned to the present as Silver Wolf followed behind Ye Yan. She hadn't expected Sampo to get locked up again. She would reluctantly spare him a second of sympathy.
The reason Silver Wolf had gone to the church was still Ye Yan. When he was young, he had mentioned that the church was a good choice if she wanted to soak in hot springs.
Silver Wolf had believed him. She had indeed enjoyed the hot springs, only to get arrested while visiting the statue of the Aeon of [Eternity] the next day.
"Speaking of which, what's your relationship with the church like?"
Ye Yan wasn't a member of the church. That much was beyond doubt. Silver Wolf had never seen him bring up Eternity every three sentences.
"Hmm... Let me think. Pretty good." That was the most fair-minded answer Ye Yan could give, considering his identity as the Eternity Walker.
"We're all family, so there's no need to talk like strangers. As long as you believe in the Aeon of [Eternity], wherever you go, whichever corner of the galaxy you're in... the church's doors will always be open to you. You can always find a safe harbor in the church."
"That sounds so familiar, like something Kafka would say. Looking at it that way... you really do have the potential to be a Stellaron Hunter!"
Ye Yan smiled without a word. He wasn't as indifferent as Qlipoth. [Eternity] answered every question and granted every request!
And he was different from Nous, too. To gain an audience with Nous and ask Them a question, Herta had exhausted the computing power of an entire space station, whereas there was no need to pay such a price with him.
Ah~ There aren't many approachable Aeons like me left. Aside from Akivili, just look at what my colleagues are like.
A lunatic who only thinks about destroying everything, an aloof heartthrob who does nothing but build walls, and the tangled love and hatred between a doctor and a troublemaking patient...
Although he wasn't exactly anything good himself, compared with those fellows, Ye Yan felt he couldn't have been more normal.
Silver Wolf remembered one of the church's tenets: whatever sins you had committed, the Aeon of [Eternity] would forgive you. They embraced everything... except, of course, the bastards of [Destruction].
Do not blame yourself. God will forgive everything... You may shift all responsibility onto the followers of [Destruction]. Accursed [Destruction]!
If you encounter hateful followers of [Destruction], please do not be afraid. Give them a warm welcome.
After all... dogs are humanity's best friends. We must not lose our original nature because of prejudice.
Alternatively, you may choose to pick up a wooden mallet and gently awaken their slumbering souls!
Ah, lost traveler! Praise Eternity!
"Oh no, I almost got assimilated!" Silver Wolf suddenly came to her senses and banished everything related to [Eternity] from her mind.
That was what made the church so terrifying. Even after a long time had passed, recalling it would still make your hair stand on end, as though it had happened only yesterday.
She couldn't forget it. She really couldn't forget it!