Chapter 221

“Aaah… just brute strength.”

“Thinking a mage can withstand a berserker’s damage is just ridiculous, isn’t it?”

As Sandalphon rubbed his grayish hair after getting hit by two hammers as soon as he woke up, Uriel shrugged his shoulders.

Uriel was the guild member with the highest strength among the Seven Archangels.

No matter how much they were all part of the Seven Archangels, unless you had something extraordinary like Michael, it was hard to withstand a single blow from Uriel.

Sandalphon wrapped himself in a gray cloud and clicked his tongue.

“I’m not just any mage, you know.”

“A regular mage or a hidden mage, what’s the difference?”

“So, what’s your evaluation of Lady Lily?”

Michael asked.

“First of all, the Seven Archangels themselves are a marvel. They match well with me, and their skills are naturally exceptional.”

But that alone wasn’t enough.

After all, the Seven Archangels were not appointed just because they had a military advantage.

Guild members could join without special restrictions as long as they reached a certain level, but the ‘Archangels’ were different.

“There has to be trust between us. Even though the Angel Guild is Deoen’s strongest guild, the family-like atmosphere is all thanks to that.”

“I can acknowledge that.”

“That’s true. It’s a problem that Mom and Dad fight and use separate rooms, though.”

“……Uriel.”

Uriel chuckled and twirled the hammer once more.

“Just kidding. Just kidding. I don’t plan on pushing too hard.”

Strong people are everywhere.

In Deoen, there are numerous rankers, and among them, quite a few rankers could fit right into the top 100 if they had the blessing of the Angel Guild.

Originally, you wouldn’t even need to mention the top 100.

Still, the reason the Angel Guild maintains its seven elite members is that they look at things beyond the person’s stats.

Will this person really not harm the guild?

Will they fit in well with the existing Seven Archangels?

Whether their character and personality are good, and so on.

Just a few months ago, Laguiel, who joined, was ranked around 500 and had no special merit compared to other rankers.

Just one of the ordinary rankers within the top 1000.

Nevertheless, Michael and the Archangels had no objections and accepted Laguiel into the Seven Archangels.

With the guild’s blessing and support, Laguiel shot up from 500th place to 37th and has now become an up-and-coming high ranker that can’t be ignored.

“Laguiel is a given.”

“The youngest is cute. She’s sharp and funny. And above all, she’s quite pretty, right?”

Sandalphon and Uriel laughed.

After laughing for a while, Sandalphon finally stood up completely and said.

“But isn’t someone like Lady Lily okay?”

“That’s true. I’ve been watching her for a while, and her personality is good, and she’s sharp as a blade too.”

“Hey, I’ve seen you before. Your personality is nice, and you’re sharp like a sword.”

The Seven Archangels don’t just pick kind people.

To maintain their affiliation, they need to know how to coldly eliminate their opponents.

And all Seven Archangels were capable of such.

“Alright. Then let’s go for recruitment… Uriel, where’s Lady Lily right now? I heard she’s being guided by Laguiel.”

While being guided by Laguiel, Lily briefly met Uriel for a conversation, and afterward, she continued to tour the kingdoms with Laguiel.

Uriel, who had briefly accompanied them, returned just before reaching the last kingdom.

He smirked.

As Uriel wore a mischievous smile, Michael was engulfed in anxiety.

Somehow he felt he knew the answer without being told.

Michael rubbed his forehead with one hand and shook his head.

“…Don’t say it.”

“You’re probably meeting up with your ex-girlfriend.”

“Hey!”

“You’re amazing, Michael! Claiming it’s a family atmosphere while thinking of dating the only ‘Saintess’ of the Angel Guild. Can the boss date within the company?”

“It was a family-like atmosphere, right, Uriel? We must have thought of actually becoming a family. They wouldn’t be the guild’s mom and dad for no reason…”

Boom!

Light erupted from the round table.

“Ugh.”

“Michael Season 5117 is angry. Let’s bounce.”

“Metatron would probably burst out laughing if he knew about this.”

“He’s likely to flip out. And then he’ll totally roast you.”

The two Archangels bounced away from the round table, chuckling.

Left alone, Michael withdrew the light and slumped into his chair.

“This damn guild…”

■

Following Laguiel’s guidance, I arrived at the capital of the last kingdom, the Shabes Kingdom.

Welcoming me was a woman with waist-length, snow-white hair and matching eyes.

Her gentle smile provided quite a sense of stability, and her calm demeanor indicated that she was quite strong.

Above all, her familiar attire caught my eye.

‘Saintess?’

“It’s you, Lady Lily. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The Seven Archangels dressed similarly to me bowed their heads.

This woman was probably that ‘Saintess.’

In the early days of starting Deoen, I had often heard comparisons to the Saintess of the Angel Guild.

Of course, they meant the resemblance was more in the ambiance and the white attire than in facial features.

“I am Gabriel, one of the Seven Archangels of the Angel Guild. My job, though it’s embarrassing, is being a Saintess.”

“Saintess…”

She is the second Saintess I’ve met in Deoen, following the Empire’s Glasses Saintess, Nea.

‘…After all, this is not Revelatio.’

Unlike the past when I received powers from a mutated celestial being, I possess my own special abilities and strengths.

However, there is one difference compared to the Glasses Saintess…

I reached out my hand, and Gabriel smiled as she clasped mine.

‘There is holy power after all. Did they weaken it so that a human could handle it?’

Unlike the Glasses Saintess, who used raw heritage, Gabriel was drawing on a holy power modified by the System.

It may be significantly weaker than true holy power, but it doesn’t come with severe penalties.

In a way, this might have a direct connection to the celestial race, but…

Dismissing the System as a celestial being seems a bit problematic.

Looking at the case of Sugarado, the System already had an exceptional command over magic as well.

So it seems either one of them belongs to a rather high-ranking tier.

“Oh, um…”

“I held on for too long, didn’t I?”

I withdrew my hand.

Gabriel, staring at our still clasped hands with something mysterious, quickly turned her gaze aside.

“Laguiel. You’ve done well. It must have been tough helping all seven kingdoms.”

“Ah, no. You’re the one who worked the hardest, treating all those people.”

“Ha ha. This isn’t much trouble at all.”

Laguiel, who had been glaring at Uriel with annoyance, showed a slightly tougher expression in front of Gabriel.

‘Is it… not a penalty?’

It’s a bit over the top for her original personality.

But compared to the completely insane Leona and Devil, this seems like nothing.

Gabriel, with a gentle smile, asked,

“After seeing everything, where’s the next destination? I’ll join since there’s still some time left.”

“You don’t need to.”

“It’s okay. I was getting a bit bored anyway.”

Laguiel hesitated to speak up.

What could be the reason for that?

“Why? Is there a problem somewhere?”

“Um, it’s not a problem for Lady Lily…”

Laguiel denied my words but then sighed and looked at Gabriel.

“The last stop is to go back to the Kingdom of Miridas to the round table where Michael oppa is…”

“Oh. That guy.”

“?”

Huh?

“Let’s go.”

I could feel something ominous behind the leading Gabriel.

It was the exact opposite of earlier, and as I vaguely picked up on their relationship, I nodded with a disappointed face.

‘…I wonder how many views this would get if I recorded it.’

I truly regretted not being able to turn on the broadcast.

“…Why didn’t you three come together?”

Michael was flustered.

Why was someone who should be diligently helping with healing in the Shabes Kingdom here instead?

When Michael asked with a puzzled expression, Gabriel made a face like an evil spirit but quickly changed to a gentle expression and pulled out a chair for me, looking my way.

“You can sit there, Lady Lily.”

“Thank you.”

As I sat in the chair courtesy of Gabriel, she gracefully took her own seat.

Then she requested me to wait a moment longer and glared at Michael.

“Shouldn’t the Archangel attend the Archangel Round Table meeting?”

“No. That’s not what I…”

“Where are Uriel and Sandalphon? They said they would definitely come.”

“…That.”

Michael couldn’t bring himself to say he kicked them out in a fit of rage and shook his head.

“They’re not the most diligent attendees, after all. It’s just a normal occurrence.”

“A normal occurrence?”

“It’s a normal occurrence…”

This is amusing.

‘What are you doing, Lady Lily?’

Laguiel, who had quietly sat next to me, asked.

At first glance, I seemed to be sitting still, but from Laguiel’s perspective right next to me, my actions looked a bit unnatural.

‘Popcorn.’

‘What?’

‘I’m eating popcorn.’

I’m eating popcorn.

Of course, I made it invisible due to recognition degradation.

“…?”

Laguiel’s expression twisted oddly.

“Weren’t you supposed to be focused on healing?”

“Do it properly if you’re going to.”

“…Did you not?”

“I did. But it’s not like anything’s wrong with me coming.”

“……”

“You just mentally roasted me.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“I really didn’t.”

“You did.”

“I really didn’t!”

“Stop it. I know you inside out. Do you want me to rattle off everything you’ve done?”

“Oh, sister!”

Nom.

This is getting exciting.

“……”

Having naturally become an audience member in this drama, Laguiel glanced at Lily and then squeezed his eyes shut.

‘…This is crazy.’

Now there’s one more weirdo added to the mix.

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