SFRW-Chapter 212

Ch. 212 Sword God From The Ruined World

The existence of an inn called ‘The Day the Star Fell’ brought cheers from Seo Do-jun’s group.

“A warm bath!”

“A soft bed!”

“Cold beer!”

…Or so they thought?

When Kusak shouted about beer, the others tilted their heads in confusion and stared at him.

“The beer from Kassal’s dimensional storage is fine, sure. But in a place like this, local beer is all about the atmosphere!”

At Kusak’s words, Veronica, looking excited for no particular reason, pushed open the inn door and stepped inside.

And then—

“We only have simple showers available. The beds are just hard wooden ones, and while we do have beer, most outsiders find it doesn’t suit their tastes.”

A man in his early twenties, with unfriendliness practically baked into his expression, didn’t seem particularly pleased to have guests.

It was as if a bunch of annoying creatures had swarmed in to disturb his peaceful rest.

No warm baths!

No soft beds!

And the beer might not even taste good!

Who knew there could be an inn this unfriendly, with zero consideration for its guests?

What kind of jerk was so bothered by customers that he acted like this?

Was he the owner?

While everyone was baffled—

“Three rooms, including dinner and breakfast, will be 300 sellins.”

The man—whether he was an employee or the owner was unclear—held out his hand, insisting on payment upfront.

The entire group had the same thought:

We don’t have any money!

Seeing their flustered expressions, the man’s face broke into a pleased smile.

“Everyone, please leave.”

Looking delighted to have regained his peaceful rest, he practically shoved them all back outside.

“Does anyone have any money?”

Of course, none of them had local currency—they’d just arrived on this planet.

“We’ll have to trade goods instead.”

Seo Do-jun pulled a small golden turtle from his dimensional storage.

He’d prepared gold for situations like this.

After telling the others to wait, Seo Do-jun went back inside alone. About three minutes later, he called them in.

“Come in.”

When the group re-entered, they saw the man’s attitude had completely changed. Gone was the ‘guests are flies’ demeanor.

“You mentioned needing bathwater? Don’t worry! I’ll prepare the finest bathing experience for you!”

“We don’t have soft beds, but layering high-quality leather several times will ensure a comfortable sleep!”

“Beer! Actually, our wine is far better than our beer! Please, give it a try!”

With a flourish, the man lined up glasses on the table and began pouring a deep red wine.

“Try it!”

Everyone looked at Seo Do-jun.

“Gold is extremely valuable here.”

“Aah…”

They understood.

Once again, they were reminded: Goods—and gold above all—are king.

“Aahhh! I feel alive again!”

After soaking in warm baths, Veronica, Hyun Joo-yeon, and Gloria emerged looking like they’d conquered the world.

“The food is amazing!”

Choi Kang-soo shoveled food into his mouth like the table might collapse at any moment.

Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside bread.

A creamy, savory soup with just a hint of milk and no fishy aftertaste.

Spaghetti with a tomato sauce so rich and aromatic it was hard to believe it was just tomatoes.

And various meat dishes and stir-fried vegetables they’d never tasted before.

Even the pickiest eater would have no choice but to groan in delight.

Koroka, his hood pulled low, was practically inhaling his food with his face buried in the plate.

Even the wine the man had confidently recommended was a hit.

“Who’d have thought a tiny inn in a tiny village could serve food like this…?”

Veronica tilted her head, completely baffled.

“With skills like this, he could easily be the head chef at the imperial capital’s finest restaurant!”

“He could be the royal head chef, no problem.”

Even Kusak and Rakun couldn’t hold back their praise.

“How is the food? Satisfied?”

The man reappeared with another steaming dish.

A whole roasted duck sat on the plate, its sauce alone enough to make mouths water.

“The chef here is incredible. How is every single thing so delicious? This meal is beyond satisfying.”

At Hyun Joo-yeon’s words, the man puffed up with pride.

“My father was once the personal chef to a king.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Rakun’s words had come true.

“But why is he in a place like this…?”

Gloria bit back the rest of her question—running a shabby inn?—but the man understood anyway and gave a bitter smile.

“My father served King Lomeunu.”

“……”

“……”

The group’s blank stares made the man’s brow twitch.

“He was the exclusive chef of the Lomeunu Kingdom.”

Still met with confusion, the man’s face turned red.

“Come on! The Lomeunu Kingdom fell just ten years ago! How can you not know? Wait—where are you all even from?”

The Lomeunu Kingdom had once been one of the three great powers of the continent. The man couldn’t fathom how anyone could be ignorant of it.

“We’re…”

Kusak tried to explain, but the man’s suspicious expression didn’t ease.

Clink.

Seo Do-jun placed another golden turtle on the table.

“Ah, well! Who remembers a fallen kingdom anyway? It’s been a whole ten years! Ten years is enough for even an elf to grow wrinkles, hahahaha!”

The man snatched up the gold turtle with lightning speed.

His instant attitude shift made everyone stifle laughs, but the man was too busy biting the gold to check its authenticity.

Once satisfied, Seo Do-jun asked:

“Why did the Lomeunu Kingdom fall?”

“You don’t even—well, I suppose it’s possible! It was all because of that damned Papacy! One day, the Pope went mad, declared he was switching gods, and launched holy wars that destroyed not just Lomeunu but the Alita Kingdom, Sopheuna Kingdom, and even the Griton Empire! Y-You’re not… from the Papacy, are you?”

His face pale, the man took a step back. If they were from the Papacy, his insults about the Pope would mean trouble.

Veronica quickly assured him they had no ties to the Papacy, and he sighed in relief.

“The Pope switched gods?”

Was that even possible?

No religion would casually abandon their deity.

That was the greatest blasphemy—an unthinkable act.

『This Papacy is a complete cult! Changing gods? How could they commit such heresy? This is unforgivable sacrilege!』

Even Mute’s Divine Sword was furious, demanding divine punishment.

The man clicked his tongue.

“The Pope said it himself: ‘The god Desion no longer protects us. He abandoned his duty to safeguard humanity. Thus, the Papacy is no longer bound to serve him.'”

“Duty to safeguard humanity?”

“The Great Monster War. It started in the northern continent and spread everywhere… though I guess you wouldn’t know.”

His expression clearly said, What kind of weirdos are you people?

“What’s the name of the new god the Papacy worships?”

Seo Do-jun’s question made the man sigh.

“God Bahat.”

“Bahat?”

Seo Do-jun and the others exchanged glances, stifling disbelieving laughs.

Bahat.

Just two letters short of Barhaut.

Now it was clear.

This world’s Administrator was the Pope.

“The Lily War?”

Somehow, the man had ended up sitting with them, sipping wine as they talked.

“Ah… you really don’t know anything. What backwater did you crawl out of to be this clueless?”

Clicking his tongue, the man was clearly getting drunk.

“Even if it was the Pope, declaring a god-swap caused massive backlash. Chaos erupted, of course!”

He launched into a colorful rant about the insanity of it all.

“The Great Monster War in the north was originally seen as Desion’s trial. So when the Pope suddenly denounced him, many in the Papacy couldn’t accept it.”

A schism formed.

Those loyal to Desion versus those who followed the Pope’s new god, Bahat.

“Call it a schism, but really, it was a purge. The Pope controlled four of the Seven Apostles and the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Paladin Orders—the strongest forces in the Papacy.”

Historically unprecedented control.

So how did the Pope deal with dissenters?

Officially, they were exiled. Unofficially, assassinated. Wiped clean from the world.

“Mad as he was, the Pope was brilliant. He even preempted trouble by launching holy wars against kingdoms under the guise of crusades.”

“The Papacy was that powerful?”

Choi Kang-soo’s question got a nod.

“They were already strong, but the Great Monster War made them even stronger.”

“The war helped the Papacy?”

“Of course! The northern kingdoms and empires, where the war began, kept losing and weakening. Meanwhile, the Papacy’s paladins scored victory after victory, all credited to Bahat’s divine power.”

People flocked to the Papacy, eager to serve as its sword and shield. Their influence exploded.

Declaring the old kingdoms blasphemers, the Papacy waged holy war and swallowed them whole.

And strangely, monsters avoided Papacy territory like fire.

The Pope called it Bahat’s divine protection, drawing even more followers.

“After conquering the north, the Papacy declared the holy wars over, sparing the southern regions from the madness.”

“What about the Great Monster War?”

“Effectively over. The Papacy sealed the northern breaches where monsters poured out. Southern monsters are still a nuisance, but it’s not a ‘Great War’ anymore.”

“So what’s the Lily War?”

Finally, back to the original question.

“A religious war. A holy war. The exiled Three Apostles and their paladins formed the Desion Faction, fighting the Bahat Papacy.”

Desion’s symbol was a white lily. The Pope replaced it with a red lily for Bahat.

Thus, people called it the Lily War—white versus red.

“Can they even compete?”

“The southern kingdoms and empire still worship Desion.”

“So it’s a north-south war too?”

Veronica’s question got a headshake.

“No. The southern powers never openly supported the Desion Faction. Recovering from the monster war and dealing with remnants is hard enough. They can’t afford to pick a fight they’d lose.”

“Because of the Papacy?”

“Exactly. If the mad Pope launched another crusade, the south would burn.”

The man rambled on, sharing more information.

“You damn fool, spouting nonsense again! How many times must I warn you? If you value your life, shut your mouth! My apologies—please forget everything he said.”

The inn’s owner—the man’s father and former royal chef—dragged his drunk son away, ending the conversation.

And Seo Do-jun’s group realized what they had to do.

“The Lily War, huh? Feels like we’re stepping into a historic battle!”

Choi Kang-soo grinned, and Kusak laughed, always eager to stir the pot in other people’s fights.