Chapter 272: What I can give (4)

Chapter 272: What I can
give (4)

Mother
Earth Goddess Order, Eden Branch.

In
the basement of the sacred temple building that gave off an
impression of serenity and holiness, there was a place with a
completely different atmosphere—gloomy and damp.

“Grr.
It’s a sacred place that corrects the twisted mentality and ideology
of infamous villains, including outlaws and criminals who have hidden
in the labyrinth, even in Eden where lawbreakers are abundant.”

Jellicy
looked at those behind the iron bars with a satisfied smile.

“You
crazy bastards who believe in fairy tale gods, you virgin freaks! Get
me out of here right now! Otherwise, our outlaw clan will come to
crush you!”

“Stop…please,
enough…”

“Great
warrior and Mother Earth Goddess who sacrificed herself to confine
great evil in the labyrinth. On the soil where your sacrifice took
root, we have continued our evil deeds that should not have been
done. Please forgive the foolish mistakes of the young lambs and
please give us a chance to live a new life—”

Various
types of people were present among them.

Vicious
prisoners who still showed hostility and growled because they hadn’t
been fully corrected.

Outlaws
who had collapsed from exhaustion, bearing traces of “reformation.”

And
those who recited prayers while reading scriptures as if in a trance.

There
were many other types, but those three were the most memorable.

“Not
much has changed from the past till now.”

Balkan
looked at Idelbert who was still nestled in his arms.

She
looked at the outlaws behind the iron bars with an expressionless
face.

“Come
to think of it, Master. I heard you used to belong to the temple in
the past.”

“Did
I tell you that?”

“I
didn’t hear it directly from you, Master, but from people around.”

Idelbert,
who had been looking at Balkan for a moment, nodded as if it wasn’t a
big deal.

“That
was the case in the past.”

“If
you’re not affiliated with the temple now, is it okay for us to just
enter like this?”

“Who
could stop me?”

“…That’s
true.”

It
was correct without having to think deeply about it.

The
leader of the Adventurers’ Union, where two-thirds of those who
explore the labyrinth are affiliated.

At
the same time, the former Paladin of the Order and the sister of
Serif, the current Saint.

Who
in the Order could stop someone with these credentials?

Even
Jellicy, a mid-rank priest, was following her orders.

Idelbert,
who turned her head toward the prisoners again, clicked her tongue.

“It’s
a bad practice. A remnant of the past.”

“…That’s
unexpected. I didn’t think you would sympathize with villains,
Master.”

“Disciple.
It’s not sympathy; I mean they should all be killed. People can’t be
fixed. Especially those who have committed many sins and have already
fallen.”

“Ah.”

Just
as I was about to say, “As expected, our Master has a fiery and
nasty personality”—

“Your
nasty personality hasn’t changed a bit.”

A
voice that sounded disgusted came from ahead.

A
middle-aged woman with one eyebrow deeply furrowed and the other eye
slightly widened in surprise.

It
was an expression that could only be described as disgust.

[Coolid
LV.55]

She
was the high-rank priest who, according to Hope, oversaw the Eden
branch of the Mother Earth Goddess Order.

“…Grr.
It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Coolid—”

“Skip
the greetings. Jellicy, go back and work on your mental discipline. I
don’t need someone weak who gets defeated by demon worshippers.”

“…I
understand.”

Jellicy,
who became dejected at Coolid’s reprimand, glanced at Balkan and
Idelbert, then bowed her head.

Balkan
nodded slightly to send her off and then looked back at Coolid, and
their eyes met.

It
was proof that Coolid had also been looking at him.

Coolid,
after confirming that Jellicy had left, opened her lips.

“Seeing
that arrogant beast showing respect, you must be Balkan, the one who
caught this guy.”

When
Balkan turned his head to where she gestured, he saw Cleassia, who
was subdued by various restraints and anti-magi devices, sprawled on
the floor with her obese body.

She
didn’t seem to have regained consciousness yet.

Well,
come to think of it, it had only been a few hours since the incident.

“Pleased
to meet you, Lady Coolid. I’m Balkan, an adventurer.”

“Hmph.
While those slow and heavy-assed guys were dawdling, my disciple
pulled off another feat.”

Coolid’s
brow furrowed slightly as her sarcastic voice turned toward Idelbert.

“You
should be lying exhausted somewhere, so why are you here? This is an
area restricted to unauthorized personnel.”

“When
my one and only precious disciple is involved, how could the master
not be relevant? Old lady.”

Coolid,
who was rubbing her deeply furrowed brow, clicked her tongue and
sighed.

“The
reason I was away from the temple in the first place was because of
the fight between you and Diana. Do you not know that it was all
thanks to me that there were no casualties when you monstrous women
fought so earnestly?”

“I
controlled my power that much.”

“Right.
And by controlling your power, you blew away the outskirts of the
only safe zone in the labyrinth.”

“It
was an abandoned place without proper infrastructure anyway. Hmm?
Then it’s actually a good thing; now they don’t need to do the hard
work of groundwork, they just need to fill the land and build
structures.”

“You
shameless— Sigh. Inner peace. Inner peace…”

Coolid,
who was about to raise her voice in anger at Idelbert’s nonchalant
response, took a deep breath and began to recite prayers for mental
discipline.

‘Somehow,
this is different from the impression I had in mind.’

Balkan
had thought that a high-rank priest would either be graceful and
elegant, caring for people like Serif, or using their power to exert
influence and pursue their own interests.

However,
the high-rank priest Coolid before his eyes seemed far from such
imagination.

‘She
feels more like a neighborhood older brother who’s stuck in a middle
management position, swamped with work, and has troublemaker
siblings…’

The
evidence was that Idelbert wasn’t being disrespectful.

Idelbert
usually takes good care of her own people but treats others
mercilessly.

For
her to respond so playfully means they must be quite familiar.

‘She
even mediated the battle with Diana…’

Balkan’s
wariness toward Coolid decreased slightly.

“First,
I should express my gratitude for covering up the unfortunate
incident that occurred at the temple while I was away.”

“Not
at all. It’s only natural for an adventurer who receives help from
and coexists with the temple.”

“You’re
humble. Your reaction is quite different from your master’s. I hope
you maintain that mindset.”

Coolid
approached and naturally extended her hand.

As
Balkan grasped her hand with appropriate courtesy, he felt a
sensation like a static electricity shock.

And
then, he felt a sensation of divine power and magic flowing from
their clasped hands examining his entire body.

At
the same time, he intuited that the priest before him was sizing him
up.

That
intuition was not wrong.

‘…This
is insane.’

Coolid
held her breath as she felt the quality of the divine power pooled in
Balkan’s lower abdomen.

‘To
think that such divine power would exist twice in this world…’

Coolid
had heard about the series of disturbances immediately upon her
return to the temple.

What
reached her ears was not just the commotion surrounding Jellicy.

—A
saint has appeared and punished the servants of demon worshippers!

Such
arrogant stories had spread widely among the mid- and low-rank
paladins and priests.

Until
just a moment ago, she had thought it was a foolish and ignorant
rumor.

‘With
this much divine power, it’s not unreasonable to make such a
mistake…!’

-GRAAAAASP!!!

Coolid’s
eyes widened at the sudden tremendous grip she felt.

Balkan.

That
man wearing the dark gray helmet was gripping Coolid’s hand with
tremendous strength and muscle.

But
it wasn’t just the grip strength that surprised her.

There
were several upper-rank adventurers with this level of strength.

She
couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact that he was comparable to an
upper-rank adventurer, but that wasn’t what surprised Coolid the
most.

‘He’s
mimicking it.’

The
applied technique of flowing divine power and magic into the opponent
to discern their condition.

That
technique, an application of the priest’s basic ability used to heal
oneself or others or to instill miracles.

That
technique, which had taken Coolid, who was called a prodigy, at least
half a year to master, the man before her was copying it straight
away!

‘…Truly,
a talent bestowed by the divine.’

‘Dumping
all points into Finesse stat feels awesome.’

While
Coolid was marveling at Balkan’s genius, and Balkan was expressing
surprise at the stat that allowed him to clumsily copy her technique,
they were each amazed at different aspects.

“Stop
drooling over my disciple.”

Idelbert
intervened between them again.

“…Ahem.
Excuse me. I held a man’s hand for too long.”

“Not
at all. I gained something good from it.”

“Gained
something good…Haha! Like master, like disciple I see.”

Coolid
chuckled and looked at Idelbert.

“I
hope your personality doesn’t rub off on that child.”

“Well.
They say that you become like the one you love.”

“…What?
You. How old are you to be with that young and fresh-bodied child—
mmph!”

Idelbert,
who had risen with her injured body, covered the mouth of Coolid, who
had referred to Balkan as “that child” in a rather
affectionate tone.

“What,
what’s this…”

After
watching Idelbert and Coolid squabble for a while, Balkan turned to
look at Cleassia, who had belatedly regained consciousness.

Her
eyes widened as she faced the situation where a high-ranking priest
of the temple and the leader of the Adventurers’ Union were arguing
in front of her behind iron bars.

“What
else could it be, you bitch.”

Cleassia’s
eyes bulged at Balkan’s sneer.

Her
mouth let out a fierce roar as she belatedly grasped the situation.

“You
damn bastard! You! Someone who should serve the demon with us betrays
us?!”

“What
are you talking about? How can I betray you when we were never
together in the first place?”

Cleassia’s
fat neck turned red and blue at Balkan’s response, which was mixed
with laughter and mockery.

“Don’t
lie! I saw it! With these two eyes, I clearly saw you causing the
magi explosion!”

“You’re
the one talking nonsense, you vicious demon worshipper. This child
handling magi? I just confirmed this child’s divine power. As
expected of a servant of the Demon of Envy, who has been instigating
and brainwashing to cause rifts in the temple and various groups for
a long time, you’re really good at running your mouth even in this
situation.”

Coolid,
who had felt the divine power residing in Balkan’s body earlier,
dismissed Cleassia’s words as nonsense and sneered.

“No,
that’s not it… Aaargh! Aaaaargh!!!!”

Cleassia
felt an unbearable frustration.

That
damn man had somehow bewitched the high-ranking priest before her,
and there was no sign they would even listen to what she had to say.

Moreover,
beside him was…

“Hey.”

CRASH!!!

“Kuheock!!”

Idelbert,
who had smashed through the iron bars and grabbed Cleassia’s thick
neck, glared at her with fierce eyes.

“That
bastard, the demon worshipper of envy…”

Eyes
filled with fierce anger and hostility squeezed Cleassia’s neck and
asked.

“Where
is that bitch who tried to brainwash my younger sister hiding?”