Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: 6. External Enemies and Allies
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Sophia returned to the church and was immediately given a harsh scolding by the high priest of the Preta branch.
"You possess such fine talent, and I even permitted you to become an adventurer. Yet you drive people to their deaths and end up facing disciplinary action?"
It was an act that had tarnished the church's name, so the higher-ups in the church were absolutely furious right now.
However, they couldn't just expel her or subject her to severe physical or mental punishment that would leave lasting scars.
She had risen to the rank of high priestess in her twenties, showcasing tremendous talent, and she was officially recognized as an A-Rank Adventurer with exceptional skills.
The punishment handed down to her was to remain in the church's prayer chamber for a full month, devoting herself to prayer.
With only minimal water and meals provided, no other priest would ever enter unless they had committed a grave sin or sought profound spiritual devotion.
"Ha, but I didn't do anything wrong! Claude was the one leading the party, and Mary was the one who provoked the wyvern and caused the whole incident."
Sophia shouted that she was innocent, but the high priest shook his head.
"In the end, wasn't it your choice to join them? Your choice to go hunt the wyvern? And weren't you right there but failed to stop it?"
"......"
She had nothing to say to that.
Becoming an adventurer had been her decision. Choosing Claude had been her decision.
And it was true that she lacked the skills and knowledge to handle emergencies.
One might ask what a mere priestess could do in that situation, but preventing variables and managing crises were essential parts of being an adventurer.
That's what potions and consumables were for.
In other words, they either hadn't prepared thoroughly enough...
Or if Edin had still been in the party, they could have handled it just fine.
He would have never allowed a plan that involved stealing wyvern eggs in the first place, knowing their habits.
And even if they had already stolen one egg, he would have ensured they never got the second.
Even if they had stolen the second egg and drawn the wrath of the entire wyvern flock...
He would have somehow used sticky potions, pheromone lures, poison potions, instant traps, and more to divert their attention, bog them down, and buy enough time for the party members to respond effectively.
Mary was the one most at fault, no doubt.
But when judging situational awareness, preparation, and knowledge...
Claude and Sophia were just as guilty.
Six days passed with her locked away in the prayer chamber.
"......"
Sophia stared blankly into space with hollow eyes.
In the prayer chamber, where even food and water were rationed to the bare minimum...
Combined with the curse of sleeplessness that kept her from sleeping, it was utter hell.
She wanted to leave, but she couldn't.
The high priest, who wielded far greater mana than her, had personally sealed the door.
'Damn bastards. Why, why do I have to be punished? I didn't do a single thing wrong.'
She had always been like this since childhood.
She always believed she had done nothing wrong.
She always saw herself as a good girl.
Whenever something went wrong, it was always someone else's fault.
She had just been standing by and got caught up in it.
She even considered herself the victim.
'I'm a good girl. I shouldn't be punished. My life should be going great and full of happiness!!'
There was only one reason she so desperately wanted to be a 'good girl'.
She wanted to be happy.
As a child, she had been abandoned by her parents.
She grew up in the church's orphanage.
An orphan abandoned by her parents.
So she was pitiful.
Everyone should feel sorry for her and adore her.
From a young age, her personality had already taken shape.
Then, she awakened to holy magic.
And it was remarkably powerful.
'Ah, as expected. Because I'm good and pitiful, even the gods pity me and help me!'
That's how she saw it.
That she was such a good girl that even the gods had granted her talent.
From that point on, her obsession with being a 'good girl' only grew stronger.
'With holy power from the gods, if I stay a good girl, I'll become happier and happier.'
She believed she could shed her trashy childhood past.
And live a life of immense wealth, power, and unparalleled happiness.
Because she was kinder than anyone else.
She had never committed a single wrong in her life!
She had accidentally pushed another orphanage kid and scraped their knee, but that was because the kid was stupidly standing there.
Among the aspiring priests she trained with, there was one who always took first place.
One day, that child fell gravely ill from severe poisoning and had to abandon their priestly training.
'No helping it. There's no way they'd outscore me. They must have cheated somehow. That's why they got punished.'
The evidence had been disposed of cleanly, and no one suspected her.
She remained the good girl.
When the rising hero Claude announced he was recruiting for his party...
She thought her moment of glory had finally arrived after living so virtuously.
A hero with an S-Rank guaranteed by his title, an outstanding adventurer.
Edin lingering by his side was a bit annoying.
A talentless nobody clinging to Claude for scraps.
He had some alchemy skill, sure, but with her around, healing potions were unnecessary.
And attack potions? Mary covered that.
Useless.
A nuisance.
'If they're useless and in the way, just remove them. How dare they stand there blocking my path to happiness. That's the bad thing to do.'
Remove those who do bad things.
That had to be the good deed, right? What else could be?
With that in mind, she took action.
"Honestly, Edin... doesn't he rub you the wrong way a bit?"
In the bedroom when they were alone, she whispered to egg Claude on.
As a priestess, sleeping with Claude was wrong, but she rationalized it as necessary for her happiness, so not a sin.
Anyway, she argued that Edin would eventually get them all killed taking A-Rank requests.
He barely did anything after she and Mary joined anyway.
This was for Edin's sake too... She nudged Claude along those lines.
In the end, Edin was ousted because of her prodding.
'Ah! Now nothing's in the way of my happiness.'
That's what she thought.
...Right up until she was locked in this prayer chamber.
"Why? Why? How did it come to this? Because of the wyvern request? Or meeting those bitches? Or even before that? What the hell..."
She was clearly the goodest girl of all.
She deserved to be surrounded by wealth and honor, happier than anyone.
Why had it turned out like this?
As she spiraled in confusion...
"Sophia. You have a visitor."
The prayer chamber door, which she thought would never open, swung wide, and the high priest called to her.
"...?"
This door wouldn't open unless the Pope himself ordered it.
A visitor?
Who could this visitor be to warrant opening the door?
As she turned her head, wondering...
"Hey, Sophia. I need to talk. Come out."
There stood Claude, the one who had arrogantly taken on an impossible request and dragged her into this mess.
Speaking to her in a commanding tone, bold as brass.
#
"...Why the hell isn't this bastard showing up?"
The day after stopping by the academy to deliver the note to Edin...
Claude waited at the time and place specified in the note.
The nerve of Edin making him wait—after thirty minutes, he started thinking the kid had grown some guts.
But Edin never appeared, no matter how much time passed.
"Did he get the time wrong?"
He hadn't even considered the possibility of no-show.
But after another hour...
"That fucking bastard!!"
Only then did Claude realize it.
Edin had dared to ignore and defy his words.
'The audacity, the sheer audacity to disobey me?'
The Adventurer Guild elders' orders? Not even on his mind.
His head was filled only with rage at Edin defying him.
He stormed straight to the academy to confront him.
But this time, the treatment was entirely different.
"You cannot enter."
"What? Hey! Do you know who I am? Even after seeing this order?"
The guard refused entry outright, without even checking inside first.
He wanted to make a scene right there, but he wasn't so lacking in common sense to cause a ruckus in the middle of the city.
He swallowed his anger and bellowed instead.
He was Hero Claude.
He had come bearing orders from the Adventurer Guild elders.
Yet this lowly guard dared block him?
It was outrageous.
The guard stared coldly and replied.
"I know who you are, Hero Claude. But the chairman has instructed that without a precise explanation of the order's contents and purpose, no entry is allowed. We need to verify if it's genuine or forged, so we require the exact details and reasoning behind the command."
The chairman's directive had already come down.
But how was he supposed to explain digging for Chairman Mureos's weaknesses or misdeeds—or fabricating some if none existed?
"Wh-what?! No such thing exists! It just says to bring Edin, that's all!"
"That won't do. Why do you want to meet Edin? State your purpose. Only then can we confirm."
"Just ask the elders directly."
"To inquire with the elders, we need the exact contents and purpose per procedure."
"No, come on..."
No matter how much he argued, the guard stood firm like a stone pillar, unyielding.
He could force his way in, but the fear hit him—Chairman Mureos might grab that handle and retaliate unpredictably.
Hadn't he already suffered a month of the sleeplessness curse just for messing with Edin once?
No matter how great Claude was, the stress and fatigue from six days without sleep were building up.
Any further punishment on top of that could be dangerous, he thought.
"Y-you fuckers... just you wait."
In the end, cowed by Chairman Mureos, Claude ground his teeth and stormed off.