NOVEL NEXT chapter 10
10. Did I win the lottery?
***
“Lord Vernon. Would… something like this be acceptable?”
To make her request, Azel formally handed over a piece of paper.
If it was a frivolous request, she could not avoid the divine punishment of Lord Vernon.
But this was about the sponsor.
Azel took a posture akin to praying on her knees.
Everyone held a reverence for Vernon, the One True God. It was only natural to tremble.
Azel and Jena shared the same wish.
─ We want to check if the sponsor is healthy. If he is not, we wish to cast a buff.
Even as they made their wish to Vernon, they thought it to be impossible.
Azel and Jena were close enough to Joa to ask him such a thing. But usually, a sponsor is a being worthy of reverence and awe.
Daring to look at such a being could be seen as sacrilegious.
It was presumptuous for mere mortals like them to inquire about the health and offer buffs.
Aware of this, Azel and Jena tightly closed their eyes and trembled.
Even if Lord Vernon were to rage at the question–
‘We really want to know if Joa is okay.’
‘We hope Joa is healthy.’
That was all they hoped.
Could they have sensed their sincerity?
Contrary to their expectation—
[Vernon’s proclamation]
─ Granted. Listen.
Vernon granted the wish.
[Vernon’s proclamation]
─ Express your divine power through prayer.
Both women kneeled on the podium and prayed, emitting a golden divine power.
Shortly after, a screen popped up in front of Azel and Jenna.
Only visible to the two of them.
“Wow…”
It was completely unexpected. Probably this is the ‘heavenly realm’ where the sponsors stay.
The whole world was dyed white.
The current camera had [Benefactor Filter Effect of Vernon Gat].
Therefore, the snow-covered mountain gave off a sublime and solemn atmosphere as if it was living above the clouds.
This spectacle evoked an overwhelming sense of awe in the two.
A small camera flew for a while at a very fast speed thanks to the divine power of Vernon Gat.
Soon, the camera began to slow down.
Similarly, the altitude also gradually decreased.
That’s where the camera was directed, the ‘land of the sacred’ (campground) where the sponsors were staying.
The temples( tents) of the celestial world were arranged on both sides.
At the end of the buildings lined up, a giant was sitting high in a place like a throne(mound of dirt).
[Vernon Gat’s oracle]
─ Pay reverence to the sponsor.
What was being captured on the camera screen was the top-tier sponsor, [Geourulori Joa].
Looking down at the world with a half-frozen gaze, he was more authoritative and dignified than anyone else.
‘Is this Mr. Joa…?’
‘Ah, Mr. Joa…!’
At the sight of his face for the first time, the two could only marvel. Sitting at the highest seat amidst countless temples, he was their sponsor ‘Joa’.
His dignity and composure were beyond words.
The admiration was only for a moment.
He, who seemed to be frozen and observing the world, slightly moved his head.
He opened his mouth.
[…what is this?] (…what’s that?)
[How could this be?] (Do fireflies even exist in winter?)
The expression on ‘Joa’ seemed to tint with irritation momentarily. The wrath of a sponsor. The two felt the fear towards that wrath.
At the same time, they felt a tremendous sense of guilt. How dare I worry about the health of the sponsor?
“”I’m, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!””
What she had been asking him such as ‘private’ or ‘corporal’ flashed before her eyes like a panorama.
‘I’ve made a huge mistake!’
The thought came naturally that Joa was caring for them by asking about their well-being and how they were –
Soon, Joa moved once more. Swish.
He struck down outright, as if the buff brought by Vernon Gat’s compact camera was unnecessary.
It was as if he was saying, ‘How dare you try to give me such a crude buff?’
At the same time, the screen went off.
Despite the screen being created by Vernon Gat’s divine power, it was so powerless in the face of a sponsor’s force.
Ah-
It was this very nature that made Vernon-god so respectful towards the sponsors.
The dignity of the sponsor that they’d only vaguely known about.
The two had experienced it directly for the first time.
The sponsor, [Geoyulorijoah], could he be angered?
Worried about this, the two couldn’t help but bow their heads to the ground repeatedly.
“We apologize! We apologize! We apologize!”
***
Only after the training did they finally get a chance to properly use their mobile phones.
The day after tomorrow is the release. All they have to do now is bide their time.
“Shall we see how the girls’ graduation went?”
They wanted to watch it, and were curious about what it would be like.
[Vernon Academy Middle School Graduation]
It seemed quite official. The atmosphere was similar to a real middle school graduation.
A placard saying ‘Middle School Graduation’ hung near the ceiling of the stage.
And there –
─ Valedictorians [Azel] /[Jena]
‘Wow!’ They almost screamed.
“…Did I win the lottery?’
This wasn’t just a game solely for me. It’s a game where there are tens of thousands of sponsors, hundreds of thousands of characters who live and breathe. Here, my two favorite characters graduated as joint-top from the middle school level.
It was a nurturing game, but from the start, my daughters are cheat characters.
“My daughters, you did so well.”
Now I don’t regret spending lavishly on buying them a mansion, clothes, and using hundreds of bars. The reason for big spending is clear. It’s to rank first in the server.
In this game that hasn’t even started yet, my daughters are already running in first place.
This gives one the urge to spend more. Having saved some money recently, I should ask if they want to buy something.
I must be generous.
I happily opened the Metreon Vernon Academy page on a second tab. While watching the video, I was deciding what to get for my daughters on Metreon –
As if there was some unique Vernon Academy tradition, my two daughters were seen kneeling at the graduation ceremony. And while I was wondering what kind of situation at a graduation would require kneeling. It could be dismissed as some tradition.
But.
After kneeling for a while in admiration, my two daughters suddenly began to bow their heads repeatedly.
[We’re sorry! We’re sorry! We’re sorry! We’re sorry! We’re sorry!]
They kept shouting ‘We’re sorry!’ What on earth is this?
What kind of graduation ceremony concept is this?
Why am I supposed to watch my daughters behaving like this?
At first, I was overjoyed to watch it, but I guess [Vernon-god] is true to his style. Regardless of whether he is a detail master or not, he always ends on a sour note.
The taste is not consistent.
“Vernon-god, I don’t know why, but I won’t let my daughters kneel.”
I need to send a 5700-character message right away. Since coming to the army, I enjoyed a bit of leisure and it seems like Vernon-god is starting to slack off.
[Explain why my daughters are kneeling. If you can’t, you are screwed. And why are they suddenly apologizing during the graduation? If you’re going to upload such videos, just stop…….]
After successfully checking Vernon-god, I checked the message from my daughters –
[Jena: Joah-nim, We’re sorry! We’re sorry! We’re sorry! If by any chance I did something rude………]
Jena, who always used to call ‘Joah oppa’, is now calling him ‘Lord Joah’….
[Azel: I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I’m just genuinely worried….]
Azel was in an apology spree.
“Ah, did a bug get into Vernon God’s head?”
Wait a second. This isn’t implying a delayed release, is it?
***
The middle school graduation ceremony is over. Azel and Jena, as usual, had gone home together.
There had been many events.
But now, what filled the minds of Azel and Jena was something different from before.
‘The two were watching the same screen’ – that was a fact.
So, both were looking at ‘Joah’-
They realized.
“… You know. Just maybe….”
Jena broke the silence first.
The two looked at each other.
They had thought each other’s patrons were likely different. They knew nothing of each other’s patrons.
There was no prohibition against mentioning the patron’s username. Even Azel often praised the username with the church people.
It’s just that the patron was regarded as a rather sacred entity, so there was no casual mention of the username.
Therefore, the two didn’t have any information about each other’s patrons. They only knew they had the ‘top-tier patrons’.
Jena proceeded to speak.
“Does the word ‘Joah’ appear in your patron’s username?”
They had known each other for nearly eight years. They were best friends.
But this was the first time Jena had indirectly revealed her patron’s username.
“Yeah. Maybe….”
“Yeah. My patron too.”
“Does your patron’s username start with ‘Geo’…?”
“… Yeah, that’s the same too.”
The two, who had been looking at each other, oppened their mouths at the same time.
“”Geoyouri…”
Starting with the same letters was too much of a coincidence. Neither knew what it meant, but they had never forgotten the word since they were chosen.
Soon, the remaining two letters were completed.
“”Joah.””
The surprise was momentary.
Jena and Azel felt joy, as if they had first met at the elementary academy.
That the patron whom they revered and worshipped was the same person.
They vaguely thought that they both had coincidentally met ‘top-tiered patrons’. They just hoped that each other’s patronage would not be cut off from each other.
But in fact, they were like ‘sisters’.
“Wow…!”
The two hugged each other in joy and surprise.
The two did not notice that there was another frustrating feeling besides joy.
Two years have passed since I was discharged from the military.
~1 year ago.