Chapter 83: Your Generosity Is Too Great
Chapter 83: Your Generosity Is Too Great
My words and actions were often difficult for others to understand.
The reverse also happened frequently—and it was happening again now.
“Thank you so much, Lord Kar!”
Near the outer wall of Artea Monastery, where we had returned after roughly ten days if one accounted for the time difference between outside and inside [Sanctuary of Restful Purification].
The moment we exited the labyrinth, Valentin suddenly threw himself flat onto the ground and began shouting at the top of his lungs.
“A timeline where Saint Seraphina, renowned as the greatest priest in history, survived! If we continue interacting with that timeline, it will surely lead to tremendous advancements in our church’s doctrine, as well as in the creation and application of Mysteries!”
“…I understand, so please stand up now.”
His booming voice echoed loudly enough that residents of the nearby slums and Cultist Town began looking over and whispering among themselves.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, it’s Valentin again.”
“What is it this time…?”
At first, people’s attention gathered around Valentin, the owner of the loud voice. Soon, however, their gazes naturally shifted toward me—the one receiving the Holy Knight’s reverence.
“But who’s that blond guy?”
“Isn’t he that cultist Valentin keeps praising lately?”
“Oh, the rookie explorer who’s been rising at an incredible pace!”
Thanks to the many explorations I had carried out recently, people who recognized me began appearing one after another.
Thinking about it, even that bald expedition captain I had met in the Library of Sin had recognized me immediately.
I didn’t mind being the center of attention, but the situation of a huge Holy Knight prostrating himself in front of me with his forehead pressed against the ground was extremely awkward.
Glancing at the people watching us, I gently placed a hand on Valentin’s shoulder.
“If you wish to praise Kar, could you please stand up while doing so? Being in such a low posture makes me rather uncomfortable.”
— …Standing or sitting isn’t really the important issue here.
Astrimia spoke quietly from the artifact sheath while being held in her lover’s arms.
Beside her, Priest Lucius—his face flushed red—quickly added,
“Brother, please stand first. If too much attention gathers, it might cause troublesome situations.”
“…Understood.”
Valentin reluctantly rose to his feet, though his eyes were still sparkling.
“There is a rest area inside Artea Monastery where one can enjoy a breathtaking view. Simply being there refreshes both body and mind. May I escort you there?”
《The mere presence of Arteine’s mark already makes me nauseous. If we enter the monastery itself, I will melt inside your eye sockets….》
Twitch.
The Evil God terminals inside me—already exposed to the powerful aura of Arteine—panicked, so Valentin’s proposal had to be declined.
Besides, since it was merely a place where Mysteries created a scenic environment, it didn’t particularly interest me.
Being half an elf also made artificial natural scenery unappealing.
“Let us part ways here for today. I am too tired to visit the monastery as well.”
“Ah, is that so? That would indeed be better!”
Valentin accepted my words immediately without hesitation.
His trust in me had become far too deep….
At this rate, even if I said something absurd—like how someday Leria would conquer the world again—he might believe it firmly.
Soon the Holy Knight spoke again.
“What a shame! I truly wish to treat Lord Kar with the utmost respect! If I could, I would spread the tale of Lord Kar’s heroics in [Sanctuary of Restful Purification] to every follower of the Harmony Church in District Six right now!”
His voice rose again, prompting Lucius to urgently restrain him.
However, the residents of the slums and Cultist Town had already lost interest and dispersed.
Valentin was a Holy Knight known less for his skill and more for his booming voice and the recklessness that suited his massive build. This level of commotion was practically an everyday occurrence.
“White-teeth mister, isn’t that realistically difficult?”
Bartimir, who had been casually draping an arm over my right shoulder, suddenly asked.
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“A cultist receiving tremendous attention from the one who protects all people. I heard there are factions that wouldn’t be pleased with that.”
“…That is correct.”
The excitement and anticipation quickly faded from Valentin’s face.
He likely knew that the archbishop who governed the Pletika Archdiocese of District Six pursued a form of “harmony” that was not particularly favorable toward cultists.
“Senior mages at the Mage Tower talk about it every day. The Harmony Church frequently experiences conflict among its three sects over church law.”
“That is impossible to deny….”
Valentin gave a bitter smile while his broad shoulders slumped.
“Even Arteine cannot perfectly control every one of her many followers. Among them are those who interpret the will of the one who protects all people in extreme ways.”
Three sects born from different interpretations of harmony and unity.
Valentin and Lucius belonged to the same faction.
That was why they had participated in the volunteer service together.
I addressed the two Harmony Church members—excluding the youngest Holy Knight who had been indoctrinated with ‘order’ and thus had little personal will.
“It would be best to spread a somewhat reduced version of the events that occurred in [Sanctuary of Restful Purification].”
“…Yes. It could easily become a source of conflict.”
The Holy Knight with the bright teeth suddenly looked extremely dejected.
Seeing such a large man shrink his shoulders awakened a strange protective instinct, so I decided to reveal a small spoiler from the future.
“……”
“For now, you must wait. But that will not remain the case forever. Everything has its proper time, does it not?”
“What do you mean…?”
Meeting Valentin’s confused gaze, I continued quietly.
“I never said the truth must be hidden forever. Soon there will be a reason to invite me and my expedition as honored guests.”
“…Did you glimpse the future through a Mystery of Lidni?”
“Of course.”
《You know that prophetic Mysteries granted by the wise one can only reveal unfortunate and mistaken futures…!》
“To be precise, it is a conclusion drawn from combining information obtained through knowledge-type Mysteries and my own deductions.”
“I see!”
“It will be better to reveal everything that happened during the strategy process at that time.”
Confessions should occur at dramatic moments.
A useful piece of life wisdom if one wished to firmly imprint their presence into the mind of a crush.
I knew this well because I remembered the feeling of receiving a confession text from Manager Choi—the evil spirit—the very moment I had stepped out of my house to begin a vacation trip.
“Until then, please keep it secret.”
“Understood!”
Valentin shouted energetically before looking pitifully at my empty left arm.
“I cannot simply wait without doing anything. May I create a prosthetic arm for you?”
“I would gladly accept that.”
In truth, I had been shyly waiting for someone to offer.
If I brought it up first, wouldn’t it seem like I was overly sensitive about losing merely my left arm?
I quickly pulled [Spark of Glory] from my subspace. Pendrick took it and passed it to Lucius.
“If possible, please make the prosthetic arm customized for flame-type Mysteries based on the effect of that artifact.”
“A prosthetic arm specialized for flames… understood.”
Then Lucius fulfilled his duty as a labyrinth management priest.
“I will personally review the information regarding Arteine’s arrangement discovered in this labyrinth and ensure proper payment is issued. Would it be acceptable if the advance payment is given at that time?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Then we will see you again.”
“I hope we meet again soon, Lord Kar!”
Valentin and the Harmony Church members returned to Artea Monastery.
For a moment I looked at the pure white walls and the buildings beyond them before turning around.
“Let us go back and rest as well.”
After enduring such hardship, it was finally time to return to a comfortable home.
While walking toward Odilon Brites’s mansion, I took out the Twin Link Fragment and infused it with my will to report—but strangely, no response came.
When we arrived at the mansion, we encountered a somewhat shocking truth.
“Captain… it looks like no one’s inside.”
Where did everyone go?
We first headed to my residence in Cultist Town.
Soon we arrived at our cozy home, but Marlin and Abel—who normally welcomed me—were not there either.
“Did everyone go on a picnic together?”
Bartimir muttered absentmindedly while sprawled comfortably on the sofa as if it were his own house.
As I approached the refrigerator in the kitchen, Pendrick handed me Abel’s special tea—Flower Garden in the Lake.
“Come to think of it, even the Black Sword Guild thieves weren’t at the mansion. Maybe they all entered a labyrinth together for the final evaluation?”
“Yes, that is probably the case.”
The final test to become members of Faint Shadows, the intelligence agents under Odilon.
By now, Marlin and the thieves from the Black Sword Guild were likely struggling through some E-Rank labyrinth in District Six.
Abel was probably preparing food for them with his teacher Charlotte.
“Then where is the young master? Has he still not returned from District Three?”
— Surely he didn’t trip while walking and end up hospitalized?
“That possibility is not entirely unrealistic. Because of his many chronic illnesses, he rarely goes outside. If the air is even slightly polluted, he immediately coughs up blood.”
— …My goodness!
Astrimia actually jumped slightly, surpassing the physical limits of a sword.
— Then going to District Three must have taken tremendous courage for him…?
“What do you mean courage? He probably went with the resolve of someone facing death.”
— Since he keeps leaving exploration to Lord Kar and staying in the mansion, maybe he felt ashamed as the expedition founder and decided to at least negotiate with the Ashen Wolf Guild master?
“Probably not.”
Our frail young master did not care about appearances.
“He simply went there desperately to ensure he wouldn’t suffer losses when signing the contract that makes me a temporary guild member. If I end up in a difficult position, it will affect him as well.”
— …Let’s just frame it as warm camaraderie he secretly held in his heart.
“That sounds good. It is completely detached from reality, but I like it.”
After chatting a little longer, I went upstairs alone.
Just a short rest.
I also had something to think about.
I did not expect things to escalate this much.
Lifting my shirt slightly, I examined my chest again.
Two white shields resting side by side, each shining with subtly different hues.
Mysteries granted by Arteine of the past and present, manifested within the labyrinth.
And not ordinary Mysteries given to common believers.
They were the highest-grade Mysteries granted only to a Saint or Saint.
“Your generosity is truly too great, Arteine….”