A Golden Misunderstanding

For a moment, Woodstock thought he had misheard.

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"I said, now that we have captured the city, we will be clearing out all other church buildings. Is that not obvious, Adventurer?"

Galakpad's eyebrows shot up.

If Pelmas had been there, he would have shrieked, "Argh, the madman is running wild again!" and bolted. Unfortunately, Woodstock didn't know what kind of person Galakpad truly was.

"N-No, but then what about the players and NPCs who believe in other religions...?"

"They can simply convert to the Archisus faith!"

Thud!

Galakpad slammed his staff onto the ground and roared fiercely. The gentle, grandfatherly figure from moments ago vanished, replaced by an old man utterly crazed for Archisus.

"Eek!"

Woodstock flinched instinctively.

Seeing this, his guild members whispered to him.

"Guild Leader, that's just an NPC, not Kim Tae-hyun."

"Exactly! Why are you getting scared when Kim Tae-hyun isn't even here?"

"But what if he calls Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Do you know how many quests Kim Tae-hyun is doing right now? Plus, he's playing in the league. Why on earth would he come all the way here? Don't be a wimp!"

"R-Right?"

But they absolutely should have been scared of Galakpad. The guild members simply didn't know how unhinged the priest could be.

"Servants of Archisus!" Galakpad barked fiercely, turning around.

"Yes!"

At his call, a swarm of followers rushed forward—starting with the slave mages from the Magic Tower whom Galakpad dragged around, followed by the fanatical crusaders added during the Archisus Crusade.

They were zealots just as mad for Archisus as Galakpad himself!

And they were not a force to be taken lightly. The sheer power they had displayed during the siege was still vividly burned into everyone's minds.

They possessed a monstrous strength that could clash head-on with the Tillau Knights' charge, push them back through raw power, and breach the castle walls! It wasn't just a matter of high levels or high defense.

It was their fanatical morale!

No matter how many times the knights charged, the Archisus zealots never retreated. Instead, they lunged forward clutching bombs. Even when their allies fell, they stood their ground, terrifying the knights so badly that the cavalry ended up retreating on their own.

As a horde of these terrifying zealots swarmed over, the Woodstock Guild collectively shivered.

"W-Wait, Mr. Galakpad. Let's talk this out. Why are you doing this?"

Of course, Galakpad didn't listen to a single word.

"We did not spare our own blood to aid these people, yet they seek to betray us!"

"How dare they!"

"An insult to Archisus! An insult to Archisus!"

"Let us wash away this insult with their blood!"

"?!"

The zealots' conversation was growing increasingly violent.

Terrified out of his wits, Woodstock quickly shouted, "N-No! There's been a misunderstanding! We'll clear them out! We'll clear them all out!"

"Is that the truth?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"Lord Galakpad! We cannot trust these scoundrels!" the zealots roared bloodthirstily, surrounding Woodstock.

Panicking, Woodstock screamed, "Which church do you belong to?! Is it the Archisus Church or not?!"

"N-No, we won't worship any other gods! We swear!"

"I don't believe you! Are you going to follow other churches or not?!"

"We won't! We'll never do it again!"

The guild members could only nod in sheer terror, their souls practically leaving their bodies.

Only then did the zealots step back with satisfied expressions.

Once Woodstock finally regained his composure, Galakpad spoke again.

"Next."

"Yes?"

"...We did not spare our own blood to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠aid you, yet you betray—"

"N-No! No! I'm listening! I'm listening!"

"Our next condition is to construct a statue of Archisus in the central square."

"Ah. Yes... of course. We can do that."

They could easily manage that much.

"And the central square's name shall be changed to 'Archisus Square'."

"That's fine too..."

That wasn't particularly difficult either. It was just a name change, after all.

"We will also levy higher taxes on those who do not follow the Archisus faith."

"..."

This guy is a complete lunatic!

Oblivious to Woodstock's inner thoughts, Galakpad listed off a few more conditions.

Woodstock groaned inwardly. How on earth was he supposed to agree to all of this?

This won't do. Even if we have to give them a larger share of the spoils...

"Mr. Galakpad. We'll make sure to give you a larger share of the gold and loot we obtained from capturing the city, so..."

"We have no need for such things."

"Excuse ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me?"

"Why would we covet gold in a battle fought for Lord Archisus!"

"Wait, not even a single copper?"

"Indeed!"

Woodstock was stunned. Suddenly, Galakpad transformed from a crazy old man into Santa Claus in his eyes.

Seriously? They fought for us for free?! Well, not exactly free, but still...!

The surrounding guild members were also incredibly shocked and began to make a huge fuss.

"Guild Leader! Let's accept!"

"It's not like we're the ones paying the taxes anyway! If they don't like it, they can just convert!"

"And they're refusing all the loot!"

"Where else are we going to find a deal this generous?!"

Normally, when a siege succeeded, the participating players divided the rewards based on their contribution points. The force with the highest contribution points in this battle was none other than these crusaders!

Yet they were giving all of it up.

To the guild members, they looked like literal angels.

The Archisus Church...! How can they give away so much and still have anything left?

Are they doing this to win people over?!

Ugh... Archisus Church... I'm sorry for misunderstanding you! I thought you were all lunatics!

But aren't they still lunatics?

Shut up, man. Do you know how amazing this deal is?

Even if they demolished other church buildings, the only ones losing out were the players of those religions. Woodstock wouldn't suffer any losses. And while there might be some complaints about the higher taxes, what difference would a few complaints make? Running a guild in Pan-On always involved dealing with some level of dissatisfaction anyway.

As for the statue, they could just issue a quest to the players in their territory as lords, and it would be built in no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time...

"...We accept! Lord Galakpad!"

"Loyalty! Loyalty! Loyalty!"

"A very wise decision."

As Galakpad departed with a satisfied look, the guild members erupted into cheers. They had practically gotten a free ride!

"Guild Leader, how should we build the statue?"

"Hey, since we got such a great deal, let's build it really well. Let's set the quest to use expensive materials."

"Should we use gold?"

"Hmm. Not a bad idea."

"G-Gold? Isn't gold way too expensive?"

"No. The tax revenue from our new territory is more than enough. Look, guys! This territory is all ours now! Just look at this revenue window!"

Woodstock pulled up the territory management window to show them.

Since they had just gone through a fierce territory war, there were many damaged facilities that needed repairs, public discontent was high, and there were various penalties active...

But even so, the potential and revenue were astronomical.

With this territory, countless real-world investors would be clamoring to invest in the Woodstock Guild. If that happened...!

Thinking about that, erecting a golden statue was nothing.

If Lee Da-bi or Tae-hyun had been there, they would have gasped in horror.

—Tae-hyun! Those people have lost their minds! They're saying they'll build the statue out of gold!

—Are they insane?! Why would they waste gold on something like that?!

But the people here weren't as deep-thinking as Tae-hyun or Lee Da-bi.

We made a ton of money, so let's spend it!

"Alright! A golden statue it is!"

"But what does Archisus actually look like?"

Usually, other churches had statues of the gods they worshipped. Because they had long histories, there were traditional depictions of their gods' faces passed down through generations, which they would copy over and over...

But the Archisus Church was a religion that had collapsed and only recently been revived! There was no way they had an official face.

So, the Archisus Church had simply and coolly modeled the god's face directly after Tae-hyun.

Even now, in the Valley, a statue bearing Tae-hyun's face stood tall and noble, secretly concealing lethal engineering weapons!

"Isn't it modeled after Kim Tae-hyun's face?"

"Well, he is the Pope, after all."

"Wow, Guild Leader. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone? We build the statue, and we suck up to Kim Tae-hyun at the same time!"

"Will Kim Tae-hyun actually like this?"

"Come on, Guild Leader. Who would hate this? They're making a golden statue of his face!"

"True, true! I'd love it too."

"Besides, seeing how there's one in the Valley, Kim Tae-hyun definitely likes it."

"Man... what if Kim Tae-hyun is so touched he cries?"

"He might be so moved that he offers to help us with our next quest!"

Having just finished a successful siege, the guild members were too ecstatic to make rational judgments. Their optimism was running at 100% capacity!

"Since we're doing this, let's buff Kim Tae-hyun's looks a bit."

"His eyes are a bit sharp, so let's soften them slightly."

"Wait, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kim Tae-hyun's real face looks a bit different from how he appears on stream, right?"

"How so?"

"His real face is kind of scary, but on stream, maybe because his eyes look softer, he comes across as really handsome."

"Then we have to go with his stream look! And let's put wings on his back."

"Aren't wings a bit much?"

"Hey, if we're doing it, we go all out. Let's add a halo behind him too."

"A halo sounds great!"

"Just having Kim Tae-hyun standing there is a bit empty. Is there anything we can put under his feet?"

"How about carving the people he's defeated?"

"Are you a genius? Oh, wait. Let's put Su Ning in there too."

"Why? Wouldn't a black dragon or Nevuchadnezzar be better than Su Ning?"

"No. I just really hate Su Ning."

"..."

"..."

The Woodstock Guild had been kicked out of the Guild Alliance due to a misunderstanding! Their grudge had still not faded.

The guild members nodded in agreement.

"Great idea!"

"Let's put Su Ning in!"

"Su Ning kneeling and crying!"

"Su Ning prostrating and trembling!"

"To make him look even more pathetic, let's put goblins next to him. He can grovel right alongside them."

"It's well known that Kim Tae-hyun commands a goblin tribe, so that fits perfectly!"

"Why don't we just turn Su Ning into a goblin altogether?"

Team KL often gathered for dinners. Their lodging was unnecessarily spacious, and since Lee Da-bi lived in the apartment upstairs, it was very easy to organize.

"Oh, Da-bi, you got here fast."

"Wow, Tae-hyun. Where did you order this from? It's delicious!" Lee Da-bi asked in surprise.

At her question, the rest of the group stared blankly at Cain.

"?"

"Cain kept whining and begging for it, so I made it myself."

"..."

"..."

Da-bi also stared blankly at Cain.

Cain spoke up, on the verge of tears.

"I-I just said I wanted to eat it...! You guys said it was delicious too!"

"We said it was delicious, but we didn't ask Senior to cook for us when he asked what we wanted to eat."

"I've met countless people while playing Pan-On, but Cain is truly a unique breed of trash."

Choi Sang-yun nodded in deep admiration.

Even now, if you clicked on any news article about them, the top comments were always:

'So is Cain cooking the meals??'

'Is Cain still bossing his boss around?'

Tae-hyun smiled at Da-bi.

"Well, I didn't actually make it just because Cain asked. I heard you were coming, so I made it for both of us. It's always better to feed you something delicious when possible."

"...!"

Hearing this from the side, Cain chimed in.

"See? He said it wasn't because of m—"

"Shut up."

"Please shut your mouth."

"?!?!?"

The sharpness of their words was on a whole different level!

As they continued eating, Cain suddenly grew curious and asked, "Wait, Da-bi. Why are you on your phone so much?"

"...Cain... you might not know this, but in this world, there is a concept called 'friends'..." Choi Sang-yun said, looking at Cain as if he were pathetic.

Jeong Su-hyeok also chimed in.

"Cain, a friend is someone you exchange KakaoTalk messages with..."

"I know what a friend is, you jerks! I have friends too!"

"You mean the one who contacted you for the first time in five years to ask for a loan?"

"Or the one who reached out after ten years asking you to show your face on their stream because they just started broadcasting?"

Cain didn't cry. He had grown stronger.

The two of them watched his resilient display in awe.

His mental strength has grown!

Impressive!

"...I know that...! But Da-bi is different! She has as few friends as I do!"

"Wow, what a piece of trash. How dare you compare yourself to her."

"Cain... just when I think you've hit rock bottom, you somehow manage to dig even deeper..."

Da-bi waved her hands with an embarrassed smile.

"It's not like that. I was just talking to Evangeline."

At those words, Tae-hyun nodded in understanding.

Ah, she really doesn't have any friends!