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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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≪ Displaying the location of the “Sun’s” representative. ≫
≪ Displaying enemy location information as well. ≫
The sudden appearance of the status window made me sigh, a wave of dizziness washing over me.
Things were progressing without my consent, the promised reward remained shrouded in mystery, and now, unknown enemies had entered the picture.
The sheer difficulty of this unsolicited quest was frustrating.
As if sensing my mood, the status window updated.
≪ The “Sun” is pleading earnestly. ≫
≪ The reward has been upgraded due to the “Sun’s” plea. ≫
≪ “Observation” has been added to ???. ≫
“…Observation?”
≪ The “Sun” states that you can now obtain any information you desire. ≫
“Isn’t that a basic function of status windows in webnovels?”
≪ The “Sun” states that this was the maximum She could provide without expending karmic energy. ≫
“…Fuck, is that karmic energy really that precious?”
≪ The “Sun” states that karmic energy constitutes Her very being… ≫
She cherished her own existence while carelessly manipulating mine. I cursed her under my breath and focused on the location displayed on the status window.
If the reward wasn’t satisfactory, I’d pay her another visit.
But something was strange.
Unless I was mistaken, the Saintess was still within the church grounds. How could no one have found her? The entire church was teeming with believers searching for her.
I decided to investigate, just in case, but as expected, she wasn’t where the status window indicated.
And now, another enemy marker had appeared near hers. Two blinking red dots.
“I need more information. Give me more.”
≪ The “Sun” states that further information requires karmic— ≫
“I don’t care. And the longer this takes, the more danger your precious Saintess is in.”
≪ The “Sun” hesitates, then finally agrees. ≫
≪ The representative’s location is now displayed in greater detail. ≫
The status window updated again, providing a much clearer picture. Instead of simple dots on a map, it now showed a three-dimensional layout of the area and the path leading to it.
Enemy markers dotted the map, revealing their locations and even the weapons they carried.
They weren’t concentrated around the Saintess, but spread throughout the church. This was a planned attack.
Fortunately, there weren’t many enemies near the Saintess. And one of the two markers near her seemed to be moving away.
That left two enemies with swords, and one practically on top of her.
I didn’t know what he was doing, but given the circumstances, it couldn’t be anything good.
Her beauty was undeniable; it wouldn’t be surprising if she’d attracted unwanted attention.
The thought spurred me into action. My steps quickened, my heart pounded, my breath grew ragged.
Before I knew it, I was running.
I didn’t know why. It wasn’t because I cared about the Saintess. If anything, I found her slightly annoying, constantly preaching her doctrines, judging my actions.
So why was I running?
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“Do you think She can hear you?! Hahaha!”
The Saintess’s muffled cries and a familiar voice echoed from behind the door. Bishop Rignil, the one who’d promised me a trip to “heaven.”
I kicked the door open, light spilling into the room, illuminating the scene within.
They both turned towards the sudden intrusion.
“W-Who are you?! What happened to the guards outside?!”
“Gasp…?”
The sight was… breathtaking, in the worst possible way.
The Saintess lay on the floor, half-naked, weeping, while Bishop Rignil loomed over her, clearly intending to rape her.
He was the traitor who’d helped kidnap her.
He looked flustered, clearly not expecting anyone to find them. The Saintess, on the other hand, looked relieved, surprised, and utterly terrified.
Suppressing my disgust, I approached, taking in the scene.
Her habit was torn, offering little coverage. The bishop, his trousers halfway down, looked annoyed at the interruption.
Her beautiful face was stained with tears and snot, her skin marred by dried saliva. Shame and relief warred in her eyes.
I couldn’t stand to look at her like that. I moved to cover her, but Rignil stepped in front of me, slamming his fist against the wall to get my attention.
“Hey! Are you ignoring me?”
“Ah, sorry. Did you say something?”
“What did you do to the guards outside?!”
His question remained unfinished.
I tossed the objects I held in my right hand towards him. Two severed heads rolled across the floor, stopping at his feet.
Even Rignil, clueless as he was about combat, recognized the smell. Fresh blood, pungent and metallic, filled the air.
“Ugh… what is this…?!”
“They were weaker than expected. Not fit to be guards.”
“You… you! Who sent you?! The Pope?!”
“The Pope did send me, yes.”
I pushed the babbling pile of lard aside and created a robe, draping it over the Saintess’s shoulders.
“Uh… ah…!”
“I didn’t see anything.”
She hastily pulled the robe tighter, her face flushing crimson. My attempt to reassure her seemed to have backfired.
Suddenly, a hammer-shaped object flew towards my head.
I dodged just in time, the hammer smashing into the wall behind me, leaving a large crater. A direct hit would have been fatal.
The attacker was Bishop Rignil, still muttering incoherently.
“Again… again… you’re better than me…!”
“…”
“Die!!!”
He launched another attack, and I maneuvered, keeping myself between him and the Saintess. He was only focused on me.
I deflected the attacks I couldn’t dodge, weaving through the barrage.
He was using holy power, but his lack of combat experience was obvious. He wouldn’t have closed the distance otherwise.
He seemed surprised by my speed, his confidence faltering.
As I closed in, he instinctively tried to retreat, but I created blades on the soles of my shoes and stomped on his foot.
I felt the crunch of bone, the resistance of muscle.
“Aaaaagh!!”
“Stop screaming. It’s annoying.”
“Mmph!!”
It was pathetic. This man, who’d intended to inflict such trauma on a young girl, was now squealing like a pig over a broken foot.
I clamped my hand over his mouth, not to silence him, but to shove my fingers down his throat.
“Mmmphh!!”
With my other hand, I began systematically dismantling him. Not killing him outright, but inflicting pain, disabling him.
A shallow cut near his liver. A nick across an artery. Severed tendons.
I wanted him to feel helpless, to experience a slow, agonizing death.
As I prepared to slice into his spleen, a hand grabbed my arm.
“Th-That’s… too much…”
“…”
It was the Saintess. She’d recovered.
What was she saying? Too much? She wanted me to spare him?
Naive. Far too naive. Her head was filled with flowers and sunshine. Or perhaps she simply lacked any sense of self-preservation.
Either way, I didn’t like it.
I roughly shook off her hand and pushed her against the wall.
“Ouch… why…?”
“…”
Fear flickered in her eyes. I tightened my grip on her arm. She winced, but my grip remained firm.
“Saintess, I don’t know what beliefs you hold.”
“…What?”
“I don’t understand why you’d tell me not to kill the pig who tried to rape you.”
“…”
“But don’t assume your beliefs apply to everyone else. Some people deserve to die.”
“…”
“Are you going to stop me every time? Tell me they can be redeemed?”
“…”
“If that’s what you want, fine. But get stronger first. Honestly… you’re just getting in the way.”
She lowered her head, unable to meet my gaze, biting her lip, refusing to acknowledge the truth in my words. But she didn’t argue.
I released her arm, leaving red marks on her pale skin.
She seemed to understand.
I turned back towards Rignil, who was trying to crawl away, when a loud explosion rocked the floor above us.
Dust and debris rained down, and a single drop of blood landed on my cheek.
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