Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Chapter 24 Achievement (7)
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“Huh?”
It was because he spotted a familiar carriage halted in front of the temple and Reitan’s back as he approached it.
Bello reflexively stepped aside from the window and clicked his tongue.
“Tch.”
What was this guy still doing here, lingering around when he wasn’t even part of the church?
‘Hurry up and get lost already, you annoying bastard.’
He was secretly watching Reitan, waiting to confirm with his own eyes that the man would leave.
Just then, a flustered novice priest came rushing over heedlessly and collided with Reitan without noticing him.
Reitan dropped something as a result.
It looked like a pocket watch—round in shape with a thin chain attached.
“…Huh?”
In that instant, Bello unwittingly pressed his nose and forehead right up against the window.
In the meantime, Reitan scooped up the pocket watch from the ground with a swiftness Bello had never seen before and bellowed,
“What do you think you’re doing!”
“S-Sorry! I’m sorry!”
Even from quite a distance, the roar reached Bello’s ears clearly.
Bello could swear he’d never heard Reitan shout that loudly before.
But it wasn’t surprising at all. What he’d just witnessed was far more shocking.
He wondered if he’d seen wrong, but no. It had been crystal clear.
Bello knew he hadn’t been mistaken, so he stood frozen by the window for a moment.
That was when Reitan started glancing around.
Not knowing the exact reason why, Bello ducked away from the window.
How many seconds passed like that?
A horse’s neigh—hiiing—followed by the clatter of hooves rang out in succession.
Bello, pressed flat against the wall, swallowed hard and cautiously peeked out the window.
The carriage emblazoned with the Protoram family crest was exiting through the temple’s main gate, gradually receding into the distance.
“Phew.”
Only then did Bello let out a sigh of relief as he looked down at the spot where Reitan had been standing moments ago.
It was already empty.
The novice priest had left as well, leaving no one behind.
Yet Bello could still vividly see the black smoke that had densely shrouded Reitan.
He touched the corners of his eyes, where the power of the divine authority still lingered, and clenched his fists tight.
‘I didn’t see wrong.’
The power of the gods was perfectly flawless. The black smoke that had enveloped Reitan like it was devouring him had undoubtedly existed.
Recalling that sight brought Agnotia’s doctrine to mind, the one that urged purity before the divine.
‘Falsehood and hypocrisy leave a stench, betrayal and deceit leave black soot.’
Gulp.
Bello swallowed repeatedly, his eyes gleaming.
But even as he snorted in agitation, he reined himself in.
‘Th-this needs to be handled carefully.’
No matter how obtuse he might be, he had at least that much sense.
Everyone knew he and Reitan didn’t get along.
In such a situation, who would take him seriously if he claimed to have seen black soot emanating from Reitan?
If anything, it might just invite more finger-pointing at himself.
The pathetic older brother jealous of the younger sibling who had pushed him aside and inherited the family.
‘I need to investigate quietly.’
Having made up his mind, Bello started walking again with heavy steps.
‘That watch…’
His expression grew grave as he recalled Reitan’s pocket watch.
The black soot had appeared clearly after he dropped it, then vanished once he picked it up.
There was definitely some secret to that watch.
‘If I get rid of that, won’t every Agnotia priest be able to see the black soot?’
It was time to probe discreetly and cautiously.
With a serious look on his face, Bello returned to his office.
The moment he opened the door, the sight before him turned him to stone.
“Hey, long time no see, young master?”
Right in the center of the office he had trashed earlier.
“What, no greeting?”
The shameless face of the man lounging back on the luxurious sofa filled his vision.
“By the way, what happened to this place? It’s a total mess.”
The first outsider, who had recently garnered immense attention from the Ain race.
“Filthy as hell. Let’s clean it up and live properly, yeah?”
It was Kay.
* * *
The reclamation of Kalom Castle ended successfully.
The players had even managed to get a piece of the action, however small.
After escorting the children—who were our protectees—to the rear, my party and I joined the siege of Kalom Castle with the 8th Battalion as planned.
Not just us—a fair number of players showed up on the battlefield.
They had leveraged their own connections and networks to participate.
Most were Silver Badge holders who had undergone their second awakening.
Silver Badge players meant those who could purchase mana control.
They were on the level of senior knights in Bihar.
‘Though about half of those powerhouses ended up dead.’
No matter how skilled you are, war means dying to stray arrows.
I had my share of spine-chilling moments too.
Of course, I’d navigated those dangers successfully, which was why I was still alive.
In the process, I took down three general-grade monsters and swept away thousands of field mobs.
Among the crabs were quite a few 3- and 4-star evolved types that gave substantial mana.
Thanks to that, my mana absorption wasn’t too shabby either.
Once I’d gotten everything I could from the siege, the first thing I did was seek out Bello.
“So you really became a priest, huh?”
“Y-You…”
“It’s been a while—shouldn’t you at least pretend to be happy to see me?”
“You bastard! Do you even know where you are, showing your cheeky face here!”
I scratched at his nerves just a bit, and Bello finally exploded.
Meanwhile, I smirked in satisfaction.
‘It’s great how you get instant feedback just by poking him lightly.’
To rile him up further, I propped both feet up on the table in front of the sofa with a thud, thud, and said,
“You’re way more shameless than me.”
“W-What?”
“A failed kidnapper and attempted human trafficker, now a priest.”
I asked what he thought would happen if I told the other priests about what went down between us.
With that opener to get to the main point of coming here, Bello flinched.
I tilted my head obnoxiously to the side as if to rub it in and continued.
“I heard the High Priest of Agnotia opposed your ordination right up to the end…”
Of course, they’d gone through with it in the end due to internal church politics.
But the outcome wasn’t what mattered now.
What mattered was that there were factions within Agnotia unhappy with Bello’s ordination by shady means.
What if I whispered to them about what happened between Bello and me?
‘I only said I wouldn’t hold him legally accountable.’
I never promised not to tell anyone else about that day.
Whatever reaction others had to the story, it had nothing to do with me.
I kindly explained that point, and Bello—his face redder than before—couldn’t even yell.
At that, I wagged my finger with a smiling face and said firmly,
“If you don’t want a big fuss, why not sit down?”
The fact that he sat on the sofa without protest showed he understood his position well.
‘This’ll make things easier.’
The reason I’d come all the way here to see Bello was simple.
I’d heard through Jordan that he’d become a priest.
I didn’t even need details to know there’d been corruption involved.
‘He bribed his way in.’
He definitely had more hidden assets.
From what I’d seen, Bello had a hefty greed for money.
As the saying goes, the more you know, the more you want—so with his wealth, he harbored even greater greed.
A guy like that wouldn’t have blown his entire fortune on bribes.
There had to be money tucked away in his back pocket. I planned to squeeze it out…
‘No, not squeeze—invest it.’
And use it to build an orphanage.
After looking into things, I realized there weren’t proper facilities to care for the survivors rescued from the farm.
Losing your livelihood is more serious than it seems.
It completely cuts off your previous economic activity.
In that case, even adults struggle to make ends meet right away.
‘Let alone orphans with zero economic means.’
The churches took some in, but that only applied to kids seven and under.
In wartime, food was scarce, and supplies prioritized the military.
No matter how influential a church spanning the continent, it couldn’t endlessly pour resources into an endless pit.
‘That’s just how charity works.’
That was reality. But knowing reality didn’t mean I could sit idle.
Was it a sense of responsibility for finding the kids?
Or had Baron Volvita’s words lodged deep in my mind?
Maybe it was just an adult’s conscience I couldn’t ignore.
Honestly, I couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason.
But I’d already decided to do this.
So why waste time looking back in ambiguity?
‘Better to take full responsibility to the end than half-ass it.’
Now that Bello was a priest, he couldn’t ignore public activities.
‘He’s got money and a weakness I hold—perfect partner for a charity project.’
It’d be easy to keep him from meddling in the orphanage operations.
Since I’d come prepared from the start, I persuaded Bello systematically.
After bringing up the orphanage, I didn’t forget to apply some pressure.
“Think carefully. You bought your priesthood with money.”
You know picking at that could go on forever, right?
“I’ve got a bit of a bitchy personality—if I say I’ll do it, I will.”
With my name constantly on people’s lips these days, what if I dragged the bribe-taking priests into the public eye one by one?
“Your standing in the church would get awkward, wouldn’t it?”
Most of it was closer to blackmail than persuasion.
‘For someone with a lot to lose, threats are more efficient than requests.’
Sure enough, Bello’s jowls quivered, but he didn’t resist.
“My proposal isn’t bad for you, you know? You get it.”
Right now, with disfavor from above, he needed to contribute to the church somehow and raise its name—turning outward was the way.
When I pointed that out, Bello’s expression shifted.
At first, when I’d said to cough up the cash, he’d been barely suppressing his rage.
Now, his eyes were darting around—he was clearly doing some calculations.
He seemed half-convinced, so I nudged him once more.
“I won’t interfere, but I won’t stop you from taking credit either.”
Go ahead and brag to the higher-ups later.
‘Bought priesthood with money? Then use money to rehab your image.’
Once I prodded that far, the result was obvious.
Bello reluctantly agreed and handed over what I wanted.
But his eyes sparkled greedily.
It was clear he planned to spread this everywhere for his own gain.
So predictable.
‘Whatever, do what you want.’
I genuinely didn’t care how he spun it.
And honestly, it wouldn’t hurt if he blabbed a lot.
‘It gives me excuses to keep extracting money.’
If he bragged all over and I asked for more later, backing out would be tough.
Even without that, I’d secured the check, so my goal was achieved.
Palao would handle managing the orphanage with this money.
‘Can’t leave kid care to a guy like Bello.’
That day, I handed the check to Jordan and hashed out specific plans for the orphanage operations.
Time flew as we discussed every detail.
Before long, the victory ceremony dawned.