The Art of Saying No

"Move it, guys! Hurry!"

"Ugh... Phytos Church... thank you...! I'll never badmouth you again, I swear...!"

Cain was on the verge of tears as he scrambled after Kim Tae-hyun. Thanks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the timely arrival of the Phytos Church, their lives had been saved. Otherwise, at least one of them would have surely kicked the bucket!

"My word, what a magnificent castle. A Sky Castle... wasn't that something that only existed during the era of the Ancient Empire?"

"Hmph. Do you really think the Archisus Church is operating a castle like that through legitimate means? They must have used some underhanded trick."

"Now, now, Bishop. Watch your tongue. We are here to ask for a favor, are we not?"

"Did I say anything false? The Pope of the Archisus Church is the very man who pocketed the Crown of Atali Kingdom! Everyone praises him as a hero, but if you ask me, he's a cunning scoundrel! I'm sure there's some highly suspicious story behind that castle as well!"

"I heard he stole it from a Demon Duke in the Demon Realm."

"..."

"..."

The grumbling bishops were instantly struck dumb. It was a glorious achievement that no one could dispute!

"...Even if we overlook the castle! Isn't the Pope of the Archisus Church far too violent for a hero? He drove out every other order from his territory!"

"Our church building is still standing, though?"

The other bishops glared at the Demer Church bishop, who had spoken up without reading the room. Why, you...!

"Everyone? Why are you distancing yourselves from me?"

"Let's exclude the Demer Order from our discussion."

"Indeed. The Demer Order being so cozy with the Archisus Church is rather..."

Tae-hyun's relationship with the other major righteous churches on the continent was terrible. The only one he was on decent terms with was the Demer Order, and that was only because of a past quest. Of course, he wasn't on good terms with the evil god cults either. He had already destroyed several of them... Basically, the Archisus Church was on bad terms with everyone.

It made sense. The revival of a fallen church was already annoying to competitors, but instead of keeping a low profile, the Pope had aggressively expanded like crazy. The faith of Archisus had spread across the continent like mold!

In terms of scale and reach, the Archisus Church was now undeniably a major order. Even if its internal foundation was a bit lacking, its NPCs were growing rapidly.

The visiting bishops brought up its remaining weakness.

"Still, the Archisus Church lacks any renowned heroes, doesn't it?"

"Indeed. Their tradition is..."

"I heard a rumor that one of their high-ranking bishops used to be a gambler..."

While they gossiped, someone came down from the Valley to greet them. It wasn't Pelmas, but the newly arrived ghost bishop, Pelmarne!

His majestic appearance made the visiting bishops flinch. They could feel an extraordinary level radiating from him. Did the Archisus Church have someone like this?

"Welcome, everyone."

"Uh... H-hello. Excuse me, but who might you be?"

The bishops were so flustered they didn't even notice he was speaking casually. They needed information!

"I am Bishop Pelmarne of the Archisus Church."

"Excuse me, but is it acceptable for a bishop of the church to be so rude? Just how great of a figure are you! Which kingdom are you from?"

One offended bishop demanded, and Pelmarne calmly replied:

"I am from the Ancient Empire."

"What kind of place is that to act so proud... Wait. The Ancient Empire?"

"The Ancient Empire???"

"W-wait a minute. He's a ghost?!"

Only then did they realize Pelmarne was a ghost. They had been too distracted by his immense holy power and level to notice.

What on earth did this crazy church resurrect?! Did they raid an Ancient Empire tomb or something?!

"N-no... No way... No!"

"What do you mean, 'no way'?"

"No! This is... cheating..."

"What do you mean, 'cheating'?"

"...Lord Pelmarne. We look forward to working with you."

"It is an honor to meet you..."

The bishops gave up and bowed their heads. How underhanded of the Archisus Church! To bring out a ghost to greet guests!

Pelmarne, who had been around since the Ancient Empire, held a far higher seniority than any bishop present. Even if they felt wronged, they couldn't say a word.

"Huh?"

Tae-hyun and Carbanog were bewildered. What did Pelmarne just do?

"Welcome, Your Holiness! I was just greeting our guests."

In the reception room of the Archisus Grand Temple, the visiting bishop NPCs sat with awkward, resentful expressions.

Outside, players gathered to watch. The players' staring was a humiliation in itself.

The bishop NPCs hurriedly said:

"Your Holiness. Could we perhaps close the door...?"

"Why? We need to let some fresh air in."

"..."

"..."

Tae-hyun was extremely relaxed, seeing that the bishops' spirits were broken. Ah, how delightful!

'They didn't find out about the Sky Castle, right?'

No one would ever imagine that the heroes of the other churches were currently locked up inside that floating castle in the sky! Along with one more Dwarf Elder!

"Pelmarne. Did the bishops express any dissatisfaction?"

"Not at all. They are very polite juniors."

"..."

"..."

The bishops' faces soured at Pelmarne's words. Damn it...! Next time, should they dig up their own church tombs to bring a ghost along?

Tae-hyun sat down with a broad grin.

"So, what brings you all here?"

"Your Holiness. Surely you are aware of the current monster wave crisis."

"Very well."

Tae-hyun's party members behind him nodded like crazy. They knew it all too well—that was the problem!

'Do you guys have any idea how much we suffered?!'

"Unlike the other kingdoms, Your Holiness has defended against the monster wave near-flawlessly."

"Is that so?"

Tae-hyun was puzzled. What were the others doing to make them say that? Were they sleeping?

"Your Holiness is... *grit*, the continent's... *grind*, great... *sob*, hero."

"Ah, my apologies. Your voice was too quiet, so I couldn't hear you. Could you repeat that?"

"...Your Holiness is..."

Teasing other church NPCs was truly delightful. A perfect stress reliever!

"...Therefore, we require Your Holiness's assistance!"

Tae-hyun was shocked by the rewards. If he completed this quest, all the bad blood he had accumulated would be wiped clean?

A thought flashed through his mind.

'Wait, then shouldn't I make our relationship even worse first, and then complete this quest?'

'Just kidding, just kidding. It wouldn't be that easy.'

If he did that, the quest itself would probably be canceled. The churches weren't stupid.

'Hmm... it is tempting.'

The rewards were indeed generous. Considering all the wicked and atrocious things he had done, reconciling with them was a miracle in itself!

But at the same time, for them to beg like this...

'It must be an incredibly annoying and grueling quest.'

Defending Atali Kingdom was hard enough, but a quest to scour every corner of the continent to wipe out monsters? Not only would it take forever, but the difficulty would be several times higher.

'What's so good about having a good relationship with the churches anyway?'

He had never been on good terms with them, so he couldn't grasp the benefits.

'......'

Church conferences aside, the other two sounded completely useless!

"If I accept this quest, do I have to help places like the Erangs Kingdom, and even go to the Auston Kingdom?"

"Presumably, yes."

"Do I also have to go to the Uruk Region, the Southern Continent, and perhaps even the Zaion Mountains in the east?"

"Your Holiness is truly wise. You guessed correctly."

"...Declined!"

Tae-hyun decided instantly. Let's just live hating each other!

He might tolerate Erangs, but clearing out monsters in Auston, and then traveling all the way to the Zaion Mountains where giants roamed? That was absolute madness. How could he do that!

"N-no, Your Holiness! Your Holiness! This is a truly wonderful opportunity!"

"What wonderful opportunity... You're talking absolute nonsense. Hey, let's do this instead. I'll stop disliking you guys, so you go clean it all up yourselves. What kind of insane quest are you trying to dump on me?"

The party members behind him clapped. Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk clapped with their front paws too!

"Excellent decision, Kim Tae-hyun!"

"You must never fall for such an absurd proposal! Absolutely not!"

The party members screamed desperately to survive. They had to drive away these church bastards who brought such a wicked proposal!

"We got it... We got it!!!"

"!!!!!!"

"D-did we... did we really kill it?"

"Unbelievable...!"

The rankers gathered there muttered in shock.

Yes, Lee Se-yeon had finally defeated the Ancient Giant.

The rankers she had summoned had complained, saying, "This isn't a monster we can defeat yet," or "It's an unkillable monster like a dragon." But Se-yeon had shut them up with: "Do you want to die, or do you want to kill it?"

The rankers had grumbled, thinking, "Lee Se-yeon must have lost her mind because she's falling behind Kim Tae-hyun," but...

She proved it with results. They actually killed it!

"Lee Se-yeon! Lee Se-yeon! Lee Se-yeon!"

"Lee Se-yeon! Lee Se-yeon! Lee Se-yeon!"

The rankers chanted her name as if possessed. A captivating charisma that dominated the field!

"All you bastards who complained, step forward! What did I tell you? We got it!"

"We're sorry we complained!"

"Look at this, Kim Tae-hyun! We killed it! And you couldn't!"

"Uh, Se-yeon. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Player Kim Tae-hyun isn't here, though."

"Ah. Right."

Se-yeon regained her composure. The players next to her signaled each other.

-Hey! Cut that last part out of the video!

They couldn't let such a pathetic display ruin a thrilling, emotional video of defeating an Ancient Giant. Lee Se-yeon had to look cool no matter what!

The forums were completely flooded with posts about Lee Se-yeon. Even those who had been saying, "What is Lee Se-yeon doing?" or "Lee Se-yeon is washed up," were now chanting her name. It was that monumental of an achievement.