“It’s an honor to finally meet you, Director.”
A man with a large, round nose, appearing to be a middle-aged human, stroked his long mustache.
[Lightning Emperor] McGuy Zaborg.
A Constellation with an impressive title that didn’t match his modest, small-town appearance. In this upcoming Twelve Gods episode, he was cast as the second statue.
After the last episode, where the Constellation [Great Chieftain] became a massive hit, raking in divine power like no tomorrow, the number of gods clamoring to appear in the game skyrocketed.
Initially, when [Lady of the Night] approached, only a few deities close to her circle followed. I had planned to use them as the basis for creating the Twelve Gods. However, far more Constellations ended up joining the queue than expected.
The gods started offering their divine relics and other priceless rewards in a competitive frenzy, enough to make my head spin. Some of the items they brought out even surpassed the club wielded by Yastora.
Considering how that club and the fact that I could now use divine power left me feeling disoriented, this new level of intensity only made things worse.
Of course, the final decision wasn’t mine—it lay in the hands of my Constellation, and she had already chosen the next god to join the Twelve. That god was now sitting across from me: [Lightning Emperor] McGuy.
“Truth be told, it’s embarrassing, but I’m a fan of yours, Director. I even managed to complete a full gacha set and collect every one of your figures.”
McGuy’s face flushed as he pulled out a series of character figurines from his coat, displaying them like prized possessions.
They were all figures of me.
Even I had never seen such a diverse array of figurines before.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёwebnovel.com.
...Complete gacha?
What on earth was the Goddess of Wisdom selling?
No wonder our recent income has been through the roof. Was this what she had been doing?
I had never even taught her about the concept of gacha. How had she managed to create such a system in a world where it didn’t exist?
As expected of our investor. Truly dependable.
“And this too! I’ve been saving diligently for it...”
Like a street vendor, McGuy began pulling out various pieces of merchandise from his coat one by one.
Even I was amazed at how much merch there was of me.
But... were all of these official products?
“Haha, it’s fine, Your Eminence. Your love for our [Akashic Archive] is evident. You’re amazing! I’ve never seen anyone complete a collection like this.”
“R-Really?”
Oh, no.
Could you stop blushing like that, sir? It’s unsettling.
“Of course. For me, it’s an honor to meet a Constellation as illustrious as yourself.”
“Hahaha, illustrious, you say. For you to praise someone as petty as me, I can’t help but feel deeply embarrassed.”
Scratching his head with an awkward laugh, McGuy looked like an ordinary middle-aged man.
And in reality, that’s exactly what he had been: an ordinary, petty man.
As a human, he had been far from selfless, chasing only after his own desires. Hardly someone you’d expect to ascend as a Constellation.
But precisely because of that, the achievements he later accomplished carried even greater weight and significance.
The tale of a small-town Constellation.
For players, it would undoubtedly be a gourmet story.
***
"Please, just spare me this once! I beg you!"
"Ma’am, who said we’re going to kill you? We’re just following the law."
A beastfolk woman groveled, bowing so low her hands seemed fused to the ground. She pleaded desperately with the guards standing before her.
"Please! My children are waiting for me at home!"
The guards exchanged uneasy glances before they shattered her small street stall and cuffed her hands.
"We don’t have a choice either."
"You should’ve known better than to break the law. Tsk."
The two guards restrained the woman and escorted her to the security headquarters.
Sigh.
Oscar, the captain of the second security division in the trade city of Lyphobia, inhaled deeply from the pipe clenched between his teeth.
This was already the third illegal street vendor arrest he had witnessed today.
As captain, he had simply ordered his subordinates to enforce the law.
It was his duty, nothing more.
But his heart was far from at ease.
Lyphobia had originally been established as a city of harmony, a place where various races invested together to foster trade and unity.
However, the laws had changed drastically in recent years.
Humans had seized a majority of the key seats in the Lyphobia City Council and implemented new regulations that outlawed activities such as street vending by beastfolk.
The complex web of political interests and power struggles left Oscar with no choice but to follow the laws.
He was not someone who could change the city. He was just one of many security captains working within Lyphobia.
"She said she had children, didn’t she?"
It seemed the woman had finally given in to desperation, hiding her ears beneath a hood to secretly open her stall in hopes of feeding her kids.
It was tragic, but Oscar had no way to help.
He was merely an ordinary cog in the system, trying to survive by adapting to it.
Sigh.
His shift finally came to an end.
Pipe still in his mouth, Oscar trudged home after clocking out.
Even though he was off-duty and technically free, his steps were anything but light.
"I was just doing my job," he muttered, trying to convince himself.
But the knot in his chest didn’t loosen.
After a shower, he flopped onto his bed and grabbed his handheld terminal.
Maybe a game would help him shake off this gloomy mood.
[Akashic Archive].
Lately, it had become his favorite escape.
"Where was I again? Ah, the Inquisitors’ storyline."
The last time he had played, work had interrupted him just as the Inquisitors were speaking.
He tapped the "Resume Story" button, and the scene he had left off on appeared before him.
"Daring to deny the eternal and divine power of Celestial God Beidos? Heretic! Judgment shall be carried out on the spot!"
Schink!
The moment he entered the game, someone’s head was severed before his eyes.
Thud!
The headless body collapsed, blood spurting from its neck as—
"Waaaah!"
"Kill all the filthy heretics!"
The crowd watching the execution erupted into wild cheers.
Their frenzy bordered on madness.
Oscar instinctively took a step back, shocked by the scene.
"...? What’s wrong, Inquisitor-General?"
A nearby Inquisitor turned to him, puzzled.
Inquisitor-General?
Oscar glanced down at his clothes.
He was dressed similarly to the Inquisitors who had just carried out the execution, but his attire bore far more ornate patterns and colors.
Apparently, in this storyline, he had taken on the role of the leader of these brutal Inquisitors.
"Surprised?"
Queen Thystina appeared beside him, chuckling softly.
"You struggled quite a bit in the last world, didn’t you? So I’ve placed you in a slightly more comfortable position this time."
A... comfortable position?
Sure, it was safer to be at the top of the hierarchy in a world rampant with heretic hunts. At least he wouldn’t risk being falsely accused and executed.
"And besides," Thystina continued, "meeting the protagonist of this world wouldn’t be easy from an ordinary position."
She gestured with her chin toward the crowd below the execution platform, where a man with a cold, stiff expression stood apart from the cheering masses.
"That’s McGuy Zaborg, the protagonist of this storyline."
The man’s face remained emotionless as he gazed up at the execution platform. Then, without a word, he turned and began weaving his way through the crowd.
"...? Inquisitor-General?"
The other Inquisitors looked at him questioningly as he continued to stand there, dazed.
"...It’s nothing. I was just scanning the crowd for potential heretics."
"As expected of you, Inquisitor-General!"
"The greatest blade of the glorious Beidos! We are in awe of your foresight!"
The surrounding Inquisitors showered him with exaggerated praise, their deference almost unsettling.
Oscar observed them carefully, trying to gather as much information as possible.
***
Day Two in the Body of the Inquisitor-General
Oscar began organizing the information he had gathered about this world.
It seemed that this place was the ancient empire of Beidos, which had collapsed ages ago.
The person whose body he had inhabited was none other than the Inquisitor-General of Beidos’ capital, tasked with identifying and executing those who dared to deny the empire’s sole deity, the Celestial God Beidos.
“So things like this actually happened in the past...”
Oscar, who had never been particularly well-versed in history, found himself increasingly shocked as he pieced together more information.
Executing innocents under the guise of rooting out heresy was unthinkable for someone accustomed to modern societal norms.
Yet, according to the documents in the Inquisitor-General’s office, the individuals executed by the Inquisitors were not truly heretics who denied the Celestial God Beidos.
Rather, they were simply people chosen for execution under orders from the higher-ups.
From his perspective as a former security captain, this was undoubtedly bizarre.
The sheer number of people executed was far too high to claim it was solely for the glory of the Celestial God Beidos.
It didn’t seem like they were judging heretics...
It felt more like they were offering sacrifices.
As he sifted through various records, he stumbled upon a file regarding the man he had seen earlier: McGuy Zaborg.
It turned out that McGuy had a connection to the very Inquisitor-General Oscar was now embodying, tied together through a history of bribery.
“...Interesting.”
Up until now, the characters central to the stories had all been great heroes—figures who sacrificed themselves for their nations or their people.
In stark contrast, McGuy was unimpressive.
While he did run a trading guild, it was a small and relatively insignificant one.
There was nothing noble or extraordinary about him—he was just an ordinary person.
So ordinary, in fact, that Oscar found it hard to believe this man was the protagonist of this story.