Chapter 9: Grant Me Wisdom

Chapter 9: Grant Me Wisdom

Cape Prison, the Black Cell.

Deputy Captain Edton grumbled and cursed as he escorted Lyman back to his cell.

"How the hell did the guillotine go unused? And I even had someone sharpen the blade for nothing. What trick did you pull on the Inquisitor?"

Lyman sniffled, all "innocent": "I don't know either. Maybe it's 'cause I asked the Inquisitor, Your Honor, to lock me up?"

"Huh? You got a screw loose, kid?"

"I'm scared I might really be a cultist. What if I end up hurting somebody..."

Lyman repeated the words he had said to Aether.

The deputy captain was blown away by his acting, scratched his head, then locked the cell door, looking confused.

As he walked away, he muttered to himself: "In all my years at Cape Prison, I've never seen the likes of this. Could he really be innocent? What's the world coming to? If crazy stuff like this can happen, why can't I be captain?"

Once he confirmed the guard was gone, Lyman wasted no time summoning the Book of the Evil God.

[You have completed the mission "Truth or Lies."]

"Reward earned: New chapter unlocked."

Lyman quickly flipped to the table of contents but found nothing new under "Chapter 2: Sylen."

Is the Book of the Evil God bugging out?

His eyes drifted to the bottom of the table of contents, where he finally found a line of small text:

"Appendix I: World Overview."

"An appendix? Why the hell doesn't this stupid book unlock stuff in order?"

With a thought, the Book of the Evil God flipped itself to a later page. On yellowed parchment, a quaint map was sketched with fine lines.

At the center of the map were two landmasses, north and south, mirroring each other like an hourglass, connected by a narrow isthmus. The seas around them were packed with weird sea monsters and sailing ships, giving it a real medieval vibe.

On a lone island off the southwest coast of the northern continent, an eye was drawn in blood-red ink, like it was crying blood. Lyman found the words "Cape Prison" on the small island.

"So Cape Prison's here... Is this eye marking where I am?"

Lyman finally had a rough idea of the world he was in. This world map didn't just show the lay of the land and borders—it even had long "notes" explaining each region's conditions, wildlife, and local goods.

Every passage he read just flowed into his head, becoming part of his memory without him even trying.

The "Holy Nation," to which Cape Prison belonged, was located on the northern continent. It worshipped the "God of Dawn" and was the biggest power in the north. Like a lot of theocracies back on Earth, the Holy Nation loved spreading its faith and starting wars with its neighbors, with the motto: "You infidels won't convert, and you won't die—what am I supposed to do with you?" After years of that, hardly any independent nations were left in the north.

As for the Holy Nation's "specialties," Lyman skimmed it and only saw stuff like slimes, wraiths, and dragons.

Book of the Evil God, you call that "specialties"?

The middle area between the two continents was one big forest, ruled by the elves. They had a monopoly on the trade routes and were super xenophobic, so the only way to get from north to south was by sea.

The southern continent was mostly primitive and untamed. The notes said that "a once-great civilization has now fallen into decline, becoming a legend." The Holy Nation had established colonies along the southern coast. Seemed like this world's situation was a lot like the Americas back on Earth.

Also, the dwarves lived here, deep under the mountains. Aside from being famous for their top-notch craftsmanship, not much was known about them.

In a world with no satellites, a world map plus a flora and fauna guide was worth a fortune. Too bad it wasn't much use to Lyman, stuck in prison—though it made for decent bedtime reading.

The World Overview was way too much for Lyman to take in all at once, so he shut the Book of the Evil God, planning to read it bit by bit later. He had plenty of time, after all.

He wondered if Inquisitor Aether would actually hand down a not-guilty verdict. Lyman was sure he'd won Aether's trust. But that Nashel guy was a different story.

Was he the type to "kill a hundred by mistake rather than let one get away"? He was the perfect complement to Aether's by-the-book justice—if Lyman were high up in the tribunal, he'd have paired Aether with a guy like that too.

Even though Nashel seemed all carefree and laid-back, Lyman could tell some of it was an act. Not that Nashel had some "Masterful Acting" skill—he just naturally liked playing that part. Under that easygoing exterior, there might be a pair of sharp, observant eyes.

"What does he think of me?" Lyman wondered. "Will he oppose Aether's decision? How will those two deal with me?"

Too bad he couldn't "drop in" on the inquisitors like he had with Sylen to find out.

Alright, that's enough—time to hit the hay!

Lyman patted the straw and settled in comfortably.

He'd barely closed his eyes for five seconds before he shot upright.

"Book of the Evil God, what are you up to now?!"

His palm was burning for no reason—the Book of the Evil God was using that to get his attention.

Grimacing, Lyman summoned the Book of the Evil God and flipped to his chapter. "You'd better have something important, or else I'll be angry—and then I'll be angry! Hmph!"

[You have triggered a new mission: "Foundation of Faith II"]

"Description: To build a grand temple, one must first lay a solid foundation. You too must build your church upon bedrock. Now is the time to add bricks and mortar to your sanctuary."

"Objective: Recruit a second Apostle (0/1)"

"Reward: Choose one Supernatural Ability from the pool."

Lyman was wide awake in an instant!

A second apostle! A new supernatural ability!

Last time, "Masterful Acting" was useful but not suited for combat. If he could draw a powerful ability this time, he'd be soaring!

"Please, let me get lucky for once!"

Lyman pressed the page and focused his mind.

As before, a faintly glowing card appeared in his hand. Along with it came the muffled prayers of many voices from distant places.

"Great god, please make my husband leave that homewrecker and come back to me!"

"Oh god, can you make that beautiful lady fall in love with me? I'd do anything!"

"Damn it, I can't write! Tomorrow is the deadline—god, grant me some inspiration!"

Lyman: "..."

The wishes of people in this other world are refreshingly down-to-earth today.

Last time he chose Sylen because his life was in danger. This time, he might switch it up and pick someone smarter—someone who could help him escape prison.

Lyman's thoughts wandered through the sea of prayers, and soon, a faint prayer caught his ear.

"Oh gods! Whether you're a righteous god or an evil god, please grant me wisdom!"

Oh? Wisdom? That's a pretty unusual thing to ask for.

Most people pray for wisdom to solve a problem. But if you're already praying, why not just ask the god to fix the problem outright instead of asking for wisdom?

That's what makes this particular prayer stand out.

Lyman got curious and zeroed in on that voice.

Just like when he'd heard Sylen's prayer earlier, his soul slipped free of his body and shot across worlds in an instant. When Lyman opened his eyes again, he was no longer in his cell but standing in... a cave?

The ceiling and walls were jagged, uneven rock, with no windows—the only light came from candles. But the furnishings were quite comfortable: the floor was covered in animal-hide rugs, bookshelves were set into the walls, with shields and axe-shaped decorations hanging on them; a low table was piled with hammers, mallets, iron tongs, and other tools, along with a set of glass alchemy vessels.

Hunched over the low table was a small, stocky figure.

"Oh gods, please dip into your boundless sea of wisdom and grant me just a drop! I'll repay your kindness with endless accomplishments!"

The small figure clasped her hands to her chest and whispered a prayer.

Lyman floated over to this person and looked down at the top of her head. At first he thought she was a kid—she was only about as tall as an elementary schooler. But those broad shoulders, sturdy arms, and calloused hands told him this was an adult.

She was a dwarf! A dwarven girl, no less!

In fantasy novels, dwarves are usually depicted as hardy warriors, master smiths, or inventors. This world was no exception. Wasn't that sword Sylen had taken the work of a dwarven smith?

Suddenly, Lyman saw a glimmer of hope.

Dwarf! Craftsman! Warrior! Siege engines! Explosives! Prison break!

Only at times like this did Lyman's brain make such leaps.

Okay, okay, you're the one, Miss Dwarf! I don't know what kind of trouble you're in, but I'll do my best to help. Your "brother in faith" is waiting for you to come rescue him!

Lyman was about to "descend" next to the dwarven girl as a shadow, just like last time, when something felt off.

"I'm supposed to be an unfathomable evil god. If I personally answer every prayer from my followers, wouldn't that kill my mystique? Like how a big company CEO wouldn't handle every little thing personally, right? They'd usually send a subordinate to handle it. But I don't have any subordinates—my only one is Sylen..."

As an evil god, he was still a one-man operation—enough to make anyone weep.

"Wait, no subordinates—can I just create one myself?

"Last time I appeared as a shadowy figure, but this time I'll use a different form and claim to be a servant of the god. The dwarven girl won't know the difference anyway. Can't I just pull that off?

"But does the Book of the Evil God even have this function? It's so dumb..."

"You can customize the form you appear in before your followers. Simply visualize the new form in your mind."

A line of text suddenly appeared on the Book of the Evil God.

"Hey! It actually responded!" Lyman was startled. "Book of the Evil God, you've changed! You used to ignore me!"

The Book of the Evil God returned to its usual silence.

Lyman stopped bickering with the Book of the Evil God and instead began to visualize his new form in his mind.

The previous shadowy evil god look was all about being unfathomable and mysterious, so the new form would go the opposite route—cute and approachable. Maybe even a bit chatty, to draw followers closer and pry information out of them that the "evil god" couldn't ask about personally.

Lyman recalled the cute mascot characters common in the magical girl anime from his past life on Earth...

"Yeah, great! That's the one!"

Lyman sketched out the mascot design, nodded in satisfaction, picked up the Apostle Card, and "descended" beside the dwarven girl.