Chapter 282
Liam and his team returned to the city.
He wanted to dive straight into bed, but the mission came first—reporting back.
“You all worked hard. I’m glad to see you’ve successfully subdued the Bishop,” said the Goddess Priestess with a smile.
With everyone returning intact, she assumed the mission had gone off without a hitch.
“Now, could you please hand over the Bishop’s core?”
“Um… about that,” Liam said while slyly glancing at Arha.
Arha shot him a look that screamed, “What? Why are you looking at me?”
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Liam replied, “During the hunt, I kind of accidentally broke it…”
“Oh… so you didn’t collect the core?”
“Yeah… I’m really sorry.”
Liam lowered his head in apology.
But instead of a core, he brought back a large bundle as proof of having taken down the creature, jokingly saying it wasn’t exactly loot.
The head was so big it blocked the view between Liam and the Goddess Priestess.
She discreetly pushed the bundle aside and remarked, “This Bishop was notoriously infamous, so there might be some changes in your rankings, including yours, Liam. The updates should be ready by tomorrow, so check then.”
“Understood.”
“Yes, may the glory of Yggdrasil always be with you.”
Surprisingly (or maybe not), even though they hadn’t completed the mission fully, Liam and his team escaped without any reprimands.
Even though they didn’t get the core, the city’s safety was guaranteed.
Meanwhile, the real troublemaker, Arha, showed no signs of remorse, dragging her teammate and Spirit Summoner, Erlich, along.
“Hey, come with me somewhere.”
“Uh, where…? I just want to shower and rest…”
“Don’t be like that! Am I going with you or them? You or them?”
Arha pointed at Liam and Gaba.
Generally not one for socializing, Arha rarely wanted to take anyone but Erlich with her.
Understanding this, Erlich reluctantly agreed to tag along.
Though Erlich was famous for her good luck, she never seemed to escape Arha’s grip.
“Fine…”
“Great! Let’s go. Hey, Liam. Gaba. We’re heading out first. Don’t sleep in tomorrow!”
And just like that, Arha and Erlich left.
Rih.
It was a rather suspicious line about who was worried for whom, but Liam just waved his hand, saying he would be careful.
“Liam, do you have time later?”
The martial artist Gaba asked if he wanted to join him for training, but Liam declined.
“I was thinking of waiting for Emily before heading out. Let’s do it another time.”
“Got it. I can’t interfere with the happy time of two people.”
Liam smiled, looking a bit shy.
Not denying it outright, Gaba lightly patted Liam’s shoulder before stepping back.
Liam watched him leave.
“……”
The bonds formed after the students of the Academia transferred to Rikeion had really started.
Originally, after becoming a hero, he was assigned to a different team apart from Emily, but as conflicts with Altife increased, their respective teams were disbanded and reformed anew.
It was rare for a team to be composed solely of newbie heroes.
Should he call it luck? They had reunited as one team.
Not being the charismatic leader type, they sometimes stumbled along, but somehow, they managed to get through.
Weirdly balanced, he would say.
He had already grown quite attached to his teammates.
‘…Speaking of which, Emily is late. Is the swordsman taking longer today?’
As the waiting time stretched out longer than expected, Liam leaned against a suitable wall.
Naturally, the interior scenery of the church came into view, and he could hear various conversations.
Most of it was small talk or work-related chatter, but among them, there was one conversation that stood out like a misfit nail.
“Hey, have you heard that Vargan recently wiped out the settlement located in the western port?”
“That guy again…? No way, he just devoured a city a month ago, and he did it again?”
“Well, it seems that everyone knows but you. Apparently, this time he absorbed every single one of them into his force… Truly horrific.”
“Is he still pulling that kind of stunt? I mean, doesn’t he have any emotions as a person? He might as well just kill them!”
“I think the same. There can’t be anyone who wants to kill people like Altife does, who just follows orders.”
Archbishop Vargan.
Ever since he joined the Goddess Church, he has been so active that he has never been out of people’s mouths.
He committed all sorts of atrocities.
Among them, his main act was to raid cities or villages to expand his own power.
Gathering everyone and forcibly turning them into Altife, using them as his subordinates.
The estimated force he amassed was around 700,000.
This was comparable to the 850,000 strength of Cardinal Gamigin.
“That pathetic bastard… He’s quick to read the church’s moves, so how can we catch him before they can even react?”
“Those bat-like guys are incredibly good at reading the situation. We really shouldn’t let the damage increase any further; it’s a huge worry.”
“……”
Listening to the conversation, Liam felt a crushing tightness in his chest.
Whenever Vargan’s story came up, this indescribable frustration always took over his body.
As he was furrowing his brows in distress, Emily approached.
Liam approached.
“Did you wait long, Liam? Let’s go now.”
“…Emily.”
“Come on, hurry up!”
Emily crossed her arms and led Liam.
They were heading to the guest room arranged within the church. It was a room for the summoned heroes.
Before Liam could say anything, Emily spoke first.
“I’m told I’m perfectly fine. Still healthy.”
“…That’s a relief.”
“Yep. So, lighten up, Liam. Don’t think too deeply.”
“……”
“Ha… Right, I guess it’s not easy to switch moods just because I say so?”
Emily slowed her pace.
Still with her arms crossed, she mentioned something she had tried to ignore with a somewhat drained voice.
“It’s already been four years since that guy left. Time really flies.”
“…It really does.”
“A lot has happened in these four years. Especially for me, right?”
Emily touched her hair, which had lost its color.
It had a noticeable ash gray, reminiscent of Saint Diphelia.
“Who would’ve thought I’d become a saint? I kept losing hair color and thought maybe, but I never imagined it could really happen.”
“…I was surprised too.”
“Right? I’m not as composed as Diphelia, nor do I have any grand rituals for humanity. Can you believe I’m a saint? I still can’t make sense of it.”
Emily, whose powers as a saint hadn’t fully awakened yet, periodically visited the church for health check-ups.
The existence of a saint capable of performing miracles from the past had a significant meaning, and the church began to treat Emily as special.
As she played with her hair, Emily glanced at Liam.
“Liam, a lot has happened to you too during that time.”
“…You mean the Soul Forge Hall visit?”
“Yeah. That! Do you know how much I worried about that? I spent the entire first semester of my fourth year crying through the nights.”
“I’m sorry. But there was something I absolutely had to do.”
“Well, I reluctantly let you go like that… but I was really scared you might not come back.”
Remembering that time sent a wave of fear back through Emily.
Arriving in front of Liam’s room, she suddenly stopped, wrapping her arms around herself and trembling.
Caught off guard and unsure of what to do, Liam was at a loss.
—peck.
“…Huh?”
“Hehe. Just kidding. After coming back like this, there’s no way I’d still be scared. You should’ve figured that out easily.”
Emily pecked Liam on the cheek and stepped back with a grin.
“Good night, Liam. You have to dream about me!”
And just like that, she scurried into her room like a mouse hiding away.
For a while, Liam stood there dazed, scratching the cheek that still felt her touch.
“…I got played.”
He chuckled softly.
*
The next morning.
Early at dawn, Liam, who had been practicing swordsmanship in bed, quickly washed up and came out.
When he first entered this world, handling the sword had felt so awkward.
Now, it felt almost like a part of him. It even felt unnatural to be in the shower without holding a sword.
“Everyone’s here early?”
In the church’s assembly area, prepared for the heroes.
A place where they report missions and receive briefings, it was crowded with the summoned heroes both morning and night.
The place where the heroes of this branch church gather every morning and evening is packed.
Liam looked at the teammates who had arrived early.
But one person was missing.
“Where’s Arha? Is she off somewhere else?”
Given Arha’s spontaneous nature, it wouldn’t be surprising… In fact, it had happened quite frequently so far.
However, perhaps this time was different, as Erlich shook her head and pointed to one side.
“Over there….”
Sure enough, there was Arha.
She was staring at the large ranking board mounted on the wall.
It seemed she was waiting for the rankings to update.
“Looks like it will refresh in 20 seconds. Let’s check it out.”
Liam led the team to Arha’s side.
Arha didn’t even glance at her approaching teammates and focused intently on the ranking board.
Finally, as the clock struck and the new rankings were displayed…
“Ah! Finally made it to double digits!”
[Rank 98. Arha]
Having clawed her way into the top 100, Arha clenched her fist.
For someone as competitive as her, the ranking numbers held quite a significant meaning.
Arha subtly shifted her gaze to check her teammates’ ranks.
[Rank 152. Emily]
[Rank 219. Erlich]
[Rank 220. Gaba]
While it couldn’t compare to her double-digit achievement, the others still ranked quite high for second-year heroes.
Especially Emily, as the Saint, had many opportunities to shine.
Overall, the team’s rankings had improved by 1 to 3 spots.
“Congratulations, Arha.”
When Liam congratulated her on her ranking up, Arha clicked her tongue in displeasure.
“Don’t fake it, you jerk.”
“Fake it? I’m genuinely congratulating you….”
“Ugh, whatever. If I were team leader, I’d be even higher than this. It’s annoying that you became team leader instead.”
As Liam was checking the ranks of his teammates rather than his own, he finally noticed his rank.
Liam’s name was positioned higher than the others.
[Rank 77. Liam]
“Oh… I moved up a spot.”
“Hey, didn’t I tell you not to fake it? Just wait. I’ll catch up to you, and you’ll be left in the dust.”
“There’s not much of a difference. You could easily pass me.”
“That tone of yours is really irritating. But you know what’s genuinely pissing me off?”
Fuming, Arha pointed her finger at the top of the ranking board.
There, among the hundreds of active heroes, were the names of the nine who had achieved the most.
[Rank 1. Sylvester]
[Rank 2. Helion]
[Rank 3. Ferangis]
[Rank 4. Grayden]
[Rank 5. Trisena]
[Rank 6. Tauro]
-…….
[Rank 9. Alicia]
Arha pointed indignantly at the last name, Alicia.
“That girl is already in the single digits! The fact that there’s such a huge gap between us! It’s infuriating!”
