TCOB: CHAPTER SIX

This Bastard!

Ashcol Duchy.

Eris - Ethania.

…

Clyde stared at the morning sky as he laid bound in a farm cart, reconsidering his life choices.

Where did I go wrong? he asked himself, staring at the crimson clouds lit by the rising sun above. Did he regret calling Woo Hee that fateful day for a cup of coffee? Or did he regret manipulating her into betraying her husband?

Clyde shook his head. No, he didn't. If anything, he felt it was somewhat unfortunate his tryst with the young wife was so short-lived. He did regret something though. And that was seducing his assistant, Ha Ji-won.

Clyde felt he should have been more wary of the numerous red flags that hung off the young inspector's buxom tits. There were signs. Everywhere. From her track record with the service to the tone with which she spoke of her previous exes. Even down to the sweet nothings she whispered into his ears after their first night together.

There is a popular saying amongst cultured men; Don't ever stick your rod in crazy. Sadly, Clyde was too blinded by the buxomity of her titties which never once quit. Too blinded by her grip, by those tiny lips that felt like they could vacuum the world.

The transmigrator had learned his lesson though and would never make a mistake like that again…

Hopefully.

Clyde rolled onto his side to see Lorin seated at the other end of the cart with his head hanging limply to the side. Maggie, the donkey responsible for this whole debacle, rode on silently without Lorin's input. It appeared pretty smart for an animal… until Clyde spotted the damned creature sampling a piece of dung by the roadside, only to spit it out again…

Multiple times in succession.

Clyde sighed as a depressing thought crossed his mind as he stared at Maggie's antics. My body's previous owner got knocked out in a single blow by that? Ah…

Clyde shook his head, returning his gaze back to who he would like to consider his uber driver―if only to preserve his sanity. Despite the words of dissuasion from the village Yeomen on the issue of travelling at night, Lorin had insisted on beginning their journey to a nearby town in order to see a priest for Clyde's 'condition'.

Assuming it was under a completely different scenario, Clyde might have felt somewhat grateful to the young man for his concern. But, accusing Clyde of memory loss, insanity, and a possibility of demonic possession, before binding him and shipping him off at the back of an uncomfortable, flea-infested farm cart, overnight on a treacherous, wildlife-infested road wasn't a great way of getting into the former inspector's whitelist.

The depressed transmigrator could have sworn he saw a wolf once… maybe it was just a wild dog? Either way, he wasn't happy. Not at all.

Ah… Clyde sighed sinisterly to himself, the people of Longboat village got it coming. He promised himself to never forget. To never let this slight go unpunished. And what better way of punishing them than turning every man in the forsaken village into a veritable cuckold…

On second thought, scratch that, Clyde thought with a shiver. Remembering the below-average looks of the majority of the women in the village made Clyde's little brother shrivel up in fear. Clyde was a perverted, obscene, and licentious man, but he still possessed some limit of standard.

Unless pushed to a corner, he would never consider bedding a slam donkey―much less a whole village of them.

Besides, he didn't have time for such a pointless endeavour. Clyde's priority now was to find a way of escaping his present circumstances. He had a nagging suspicion that staying as a peasant farmer for longer than necessary would be a definite route to receiving a bloody and gruesome death.

Don't ask how he knew. He just did.

Clyde glanced down at the ropes binding his body. Giving it a little tug, he confirmed that he wasn't going anywhere other than the priest's any time soon. So, with a sigh, he closed his eyes.

Better to conserve my energy, than struggle pointlessly. he thought.

…

An hour later they arrive at Neverna…

Lorin was finally awake, but uncharacteristically silent as steered the donkey. Glancing around as he was being ported towards the temple, Clyde realised the town was considerably smaller than what he expected with its limited population. The streets were not paved and covered in filth, decomposing matter, and mud.

Despite the small population though, there were many merchants and skilled craftsmen present in the town. Carpenters, blacksmiths, tailors, and the like were all present. Clyde wasn't surprised though. Even in modern times, trade was a key part of town life. But here, instead of groceries, condoms, and gaming consoles, goods such as iron, wool, and salt were exchanged for crude metal coins.

Some women worked as shopkeepers, cloth sellers, or ran pubs, but they were very few and far in between. Similar to the village, women were also expected to work in the home, cleaning and looking after their families.

Clyde pulled on the muscles in his torso as he forced himself into a seating position. Now that he could get a better view of the town, he glanced around. His eyes settled on two buildings in the distance. The largest he had ever seen since he awoke in this strange world; what appeared to be a lord's manor house and a temple.

The two (somewhat) grand buildings were of stone and aged timber construction. Even from a distance, Clyde could see a wall and moat surrounding the manor house. A small gatehouse―equipped with a drawbridge―was built into the structure's circuit walls. The fortified gateway, watchtowers and stone walls with arrow slits guarded the single bridge which granted access to the manor house across the moat.

The temple stood just over a hundred metres away from the imposing residence. Unlike the manor house though, it lacked fortifications. Only a simple wooden door engraved with esoteric runes guarded the entrance. It almost appeared as if no one was worried that the building could be attacked.

"Heel," the silent Lorin said as he pulled on the donkey's reins. Hopping down from the farm cart he quickly jogged into the building and appeared a few moments later with two other yeomen.

"I can walk," Clyde sighed exasperatedly as the armed men walked forward to hoist him out of the cart. From the uncomfortable angle he hung, as he was carried in like a sack of corn, Clyde could only see the worn leather boots of the yeomen carrying him. But as he entered the temple, he received a prompt in the corner of his vision.

[You have entered a temple | You are now on sacred soil]

[Demonism check… | Check failed]

[Fate check… | Check failed]

[Divinity check… | Check passed]

[You have received a temporary blessing | All stats +10%]

“Oh?” Clyde made a sound of surprise. But before he could fully make sense of the notification, he was dumped carelessly on the ground.

Wincing, Clyde glared at the Yeomen as they left. His irritation went unnoticed though. Ignoring the rude soldiers, Clyde glanced around to realise the temple reminded him of those catholic churches from Earth. He had never been to one such church before, but the former policeman had seen enough movies and pictures to make the connection.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim light filtered through the stained glass windows, Clyde finally noticed six gargantuan statues at the other end of the building. Three male and three female. The first was a male donning a regal robe with a slender sword strapped to his side. Beside him was a female dressed in a hooded cloak, holding what appeared to be a staff adorned with an orb at the tip. The two were centered amongst the remaining statues and stood about a few meters taller.

"What do you seek, children," a voice from the side said, jarring Clyde from his thoughts. He looked down to notice a slender man standing at the foot of one of the statues. Staring into the man's gaze, Clyde felt an unnatural compulsion to kneel.

[You are in the presence of a messenger of the gods | You have experienced a sliver of divinity]

[You have been inflicted with the worship status]

[Divinity check… | Check passed]

[You have resisted]

"Uhn?" Clyde was confused. But his confusion didn't last long as he heard a dull thud behind him. He glanced back to see Lorin kneeling, his posture… worshipping?

A thought immediately crossed Clyde's mind. He glanced back at the priest walking towards him before immediately imitating Lorin. He could infer something was odd and decided the best course of action was mimicry.

A small frown flashed on the priest's face as he stared at Clyde before the expression disappeared like smoke in the wind.

"F-father," Lorin stammered, replying to the priest's question without looking up, "my friend here needs your help."

The priest glanced back at Clyde with another frown. "What happened to him?"

"...H-he was kicked in the head by a donkey."

"..."

"...I was worried that he might have become somewhat brain-damaged as a result," Lorin added before continuing uneasily. "Some of the villagers mentioned he was behaving abnormally the other day … we were worried that he might have been possessed by a demon."

"Hmm…" the priest hummed contemplatively, "a minor ghoul you say?"

"P-possibly."

"That would explain it," the priest muttered as he stared at Clyde through squinted eyes. Raising a hand towards the bound Clyde, the priest muttered something under his breath. His palm began to glow as white mist extended to coil around Clyde.

[You have been struck by - lesser divine exorcism | Remnant soul of the previous host extracted]

[You have been struck by - lesser heal | Your health has been restored]

Clyde's eyes popped as he stared at the greyish orb of light floating in the priest's palm. With a wave of his hand, the priest dispersed what Clyde assumed to be his body's previous owner.

"Your friend has been healed," the priest said nonchalantly. He examined Clyde's expression with a pleased light in his eyes before extending an open palm. "Your offering?"

"Y-yes, father," Lorin said as he shuffled forward with a leather pouch in his hands. Glancing at the pouch, Clyde felt it looked somewhat familiar. Immediately, he felt his body for his money pouch and realised it was nowhere to be found.

This bastard! Clyde roared inwardly as Lorin counted out ten iron coins from his pouch before handing it to the priest.

The fellow appeared to be very pleased with himself.