Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: The Church (1)
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The Church, the ultimate king of extravagance and vanity.
We didn't head straight inside. Instead, we held a brief discussion in front of the building.
Opinions were split right down the middle.
The moderate faction, led by Laura, argued for entering through the main gate fair and square, following proper procedures to receive hero certification.
The radical faction, led by Rainy, insisted that since the Church folks couldn't be trusted anyway, we shouldn't give them any information or time to prepare—hide our identities, infiltrate, turn the place upside down, and snag the hero certification in the process.
I pondered both sides carefully.
Both arguments had objective merit, making it hard to decide easily.
When information is scarce, observation is the best strategy.
"Hmm... How about a compromise? We hide our identities and sneak into the Church secretly, but we don't immediately try to flip the place—just watch and see how things play out."
I'd heard all sorts of stories about the Church from Rainy, but this was my first time actually visiting.
So, Rainy's views might be distorted or biased in places.
I figured I'd need to see the Church's reality with my own eyes to be sure.
"Hmm... Fine..."
Rainy puffed out her cheeks, clearly unhappy that her opinion wasn't adopted right away, but she didn't openly rebel.
Laura nodded too, as long as we weren't jumping straight into causing a ruckus.
Having synthesized the two major factions' views into a middle-ground policy, we began our disguises to enter the Church without drawing attention.
An elf popping up out of nowhere would attract aggro, so we hid Vine's pointed ears.
Rainy wrapped bandages around her face to look like she'd suffered severe burns.
I was still a nobody with zero recognition, so no one would care about me.
The same went for Daisy and Marley, who were just ordinary academy students.
The one who worried me most was Nania—pure-blooded demonkin with overflowing demonic energy, unlike Yumi the infamous assassin or the half-demon Daisy.
But Yumi could infiltrate even the heavily guarded Church entrance without issue, and Daisy confidently said she'd handle Nania's demonic energy problem.
Apparently, linking with Marley would let her overwhelming holy power suppress and conceal the demonic energy.
I seriously wanted to learn that trick too.
"Clear!"
"You there, to inspection post 1."
Our plan was flawless, but the world was full of variables, so I stayed vigilant to the end.
I swallowed hard, watching Laura undergo inspection ahead of me. The moment the inspector saw her face, his eyes went wide.
He made her wait, hurriedly grabbed a massive ledger, and alternated between staring at the book and her face.
'What the hell?'
Feeling an ominous premonition, I prepared a contingency plan to rescue Laura if needed.
With our group's strength, handling the entrance guards would be a breeze.
As I tensed and swallowed again, his words exceeded all my expectations.
"Could you... could you be Lady Laura of the Mastain Ducal Family?"
Chills ran down my spine.
How did he recognize Laura's face when she wasn't even the duke herself?
"...Yes, that's me..."
"Haha! The Church sincerely welcomes Lady Laura's visit!"
The inspector, who had been haughty while checking others, tucked tail and showered her with utmost courtesy.
In an instant, he summoned a carriage plated entirely in gold and whisked her away inside.
"..."
A flash of bewilderment crossed Laura's eyes as I snuck a peek at the book he'd been looking at to uncover how he'd recognized her.
Then it all made sense.
《List of High-Value Donors and High Nobility Within Eight Degrees of Kinship》 (Compiled by: Church Donations Management Division)
These money-grubbing Church bastards were blatantly ignoring their principle that all are equal before the goddess.
At this level, it wouldn't be surprising if their true faith was capitalism.
Luckily, there was no info on me, the baron worth dog shit, so I passed the perfunctory questions from the bored inspector.
The Church interior was like a massive territory in its own right.
Aside from the golden goddess statues everywhere, it looked like any ordinary city.
With Laura half-forcibly whisked away, the rest of us gathered at the rendezvous point to discuss our next moves.
Yumi and I would track down Laura and serve as her escorts.
Rainy, Daisy, and Marley would handle basic reconnaissance on the Church.
Rainy declared with supreme confidence.
"Just wait! I'll find proof that I was right about razing the place!"
She insisted we should wipe them all out since demons were mixed into the leadership, but I thought differently deep down.
My ultimate goal was capturing the Demon King.
Hunting the Four Heavenly Kings was crucial for that, so I'd gone all-in, but I was skeptical about rooting out every demon hiding in the Church.
Sure, we'd win any fight, but clashing head-on with the continent's largest armed force was unappealing, first off.
Second, according to Rainy, those demons were behaving so well on the surface that even she called them the Church's "hope."
If I exterminated them only for the leadership to fill up with humans who hypocritically preached without practicing, the Church's people would suffer.
"Yeah, yeah."
I brushed off the enthusiastic Rainy without dampening her spirits and whispered into Daisy's ear on the sly.
"Watch the Church objectively and give me your assessment."
"Huh?"
"You're the only one I trust."
Daisy perked up at my words and thumped her chest proudly.
"Trust only me!"
That the most level-headed one here was half-demon Daisy...
I felt a bitter taste in my mouth but patted her shoulder encouragingly.
***
With Rainy's group off on recon, Yumi and I immediately set out to retrieve Laura.
It might've been tricky, but tracking her turned out easier than I'd imagined.
Yumi's top-notch tracking skills helped, but the Church's over-the-top welcome had drawn so much attention that it made finding her a cinch.
A gold-plated carriage escorted by dozens of holy knights? Impossible not to attract aggro.
We tailed the carriage easily, then timed our approach and slipped close.
Shing.
The holy knights instantly drew swords and went on alert.
I spoke calmly to avoid provoking them.
"We're escorts for Lady Laura."
The apparent leader of the escort furrowed his brow.
"The lady said she was alone."
Looks like Laura had claimed no companions out of consideration, not to drag us in.
This put us in a slight bind...
Then Yumi stepped forward, pulling out the Mastain Ducal Family crest from her bosom.
"She must not have known, since we've been providing covert support."
Ooh... As expected of our party's all-purpose rice, Yumi handled it perfectly.
I nodded along in agreement.
"Hmm..."
The leader still seemed suspicious but decided checking was best and called to Laura inside the carriage.
The door slid open smoothly.
Laura, munching on gold-foiled chocolates, widened her eyes.
"Huh? Why are you here?"
I'd been slightly worried about her well-being, but my concerns were unfounded—she looked fine.
***
The once-suspicious escort leader flipped like a ghost once he confirmed we knew her, treating us with utmost deference.
A holy knight high enough to lead an escort was bowing at 120 degrees without resistance—what a weird feeling.
We rode in the carriage, bumpy compared to the plant one, and arrived at yet another gold-plated luxury hotel.
I couldn't fathom why the Church, with its motto of frugality and simplicity, loved gold so much.
I clicked my tongue as I stepped down, and a priest who screamed high-ranking approached with a beaming smile.
He looked kindly on the surface, but the moment I saw him, I reflexively freaked out and raised my guard.
This priest... had sleepy eyes.