Ch.271Chapter 271 – Meeting of the Church’s Highest Leaders

Oberon, a small but prosperous country in the southern region of the continent, was a nation that sustained itself by exporting various minerals mined from its endless tunnels.

Despite being located in the southern part of the continent, Oberon was situated in extremely rugged terrain.

For this reason, many countries in the southern continent chose to maintain friendly relations with Oberon rather than attempting to conquer it.

Deploying military forces would result in greater losses than gains, with the only prize being a small piece of land, albeit rugged.

Moreover, Oberon’s soldiers were exceptionally well-equipped thanks to the resources and wealth from their endless tunnels, and their level of training was top-tier.

As a result, no country was willing to invade Oberon anymore, allowing it to enjoy peace for a long time.

Of course, this was also because Oberon made efforts on multiple fronts to strengthen relationships, such as sending precious gems and minerals through diplomatic envoys.

Currently, the Kingdom of Oberon’s position in the Western Continent was that of a “supplier of rare minerals.”

Common minerals like iron, copper, coal, and flamestone were relatively abundant resources.

However, rare minerals needed for various alloys and gems used as catalysts in magic and alchemy were difficult to obtain.

Naturally, with high demand and low supply, these commanded premium prices.

Oberon essentially served as a buffer zone that met this demand and helped stabilize prices.

That was why the leaders of all religious orders serving the gods of the Pantheon had entered an emergency meeting.

Demons.

Beings whose existence was rarely mentioned even in ancient texts.

However, several documents commonly described them as “powerful, cunning, and cruel beings.”

Because of this, the orders of the Pantheon had established a treaty to prioritize the elimination of demons whenever they appeared.

This treaty was known as the “Great Goddess Treaty,” and the meeting place was the Great Temple of the Goddess Epitrina, where the leaders of each order were currently gathered.

All the highest leaders of every religious order in the Western Continent were present.

Naturally, they had gathered to address the question: “What should be done about the demon that has appeared in the Kingdom of Oberon?”

Even ancient texts provided little information beyond describing demons as strong, cunning, and cruel, with remarkably simple descriptions.

Usually, such sparse descriptions meant one of two things:

Either the subject was truly insignificant, or the writer was too terrified to provide more details.

The leaders of each order noticed that the handwriting in the texts was severely shaky.

This suggested that whoever wrote about demons was trembling with fear, yet still found the courage to warn people about these beings.

But perhaps unable to overcome their terror, the author had defined demons with just a simple list of words.

“Strong, cunning, and cruel…”

“Judging by the trembling handwriting, the person who wrote this must have been terribly afraid of demons.”

“Doesn’t that indicate just how frightening these demonic beings are?”

The religious leaders felt headaches coming on after confirming how little information existed about demons.

How terrifying must these beings be that even recalling memories of them was too frightening?

Truly, no matter how much they racked their brains, they couldn’t find a suitable answer.

Moreover, if one were to ask whether anyone present had actually faced demons and fought against them, it could be stated with certainty that not a single person had.

“None of us have even heard about demons until now.”

“This text was written at least a thousand years ago.”

“It’s a difficult situation. None of us has ever faced a demon, so we can’t instruct our paladins or priests on how to respond.”

“That’s precisely the biggest problem. Sigh…”

Unless someone had faced a demon before, their only knowledge came from ancient texts.

Even those in high positions didn’t know everything.

“What have the gods said?”

“They haven’t said anything yet, but they mentioned they would deliver an oracle soon.”

When the Pope of the Solar Order mentioned an oracle, everyone’s attention turned to him.

While the other gods had not yet responded to prayers, at least the Sun God had communicated something to the Pope.

Everyone present thought this was fitting for an order that had produced the most powerful saint.

“So you were all here.”

At that moment, the Archbishop of the Great Goddess Order, who had convened this meeting, opened the door and entered the conference room.

The Archbishop of the Great Goddess Order held a position equal to that of the Pope in other orders. In essence, he was equivalent to a Pope.

“The Great Goddess has delivered an oracle.”

“What?”

“Are you saying the Great Goddess herself has delivered an oracle?”

The leaders gathered there reacted as if they had misheard.

This was understandable, as it was extremely rare for the Great Goddess Epitrina to intervene directly in such situations.

Conversely, this meant that the current incident was significant enough to warrant the Great Goddess delivering an oracle herself.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the faces of the religious leaders gradually turned pale.

“The Great Goddess said, ‘Surround Oberon thoroughly with the elite forces of all orders, and seek help from the Repairman.'”

“The… Repairman?”

Everyone was puzzled when the Archbishop revealed the specific content of the oracle.

The Repairman? Why summon him? A person with almost no combat ability—why specifically seek his help?

“He has no combat ability whatsoever. If we ask for his help and he gets hurt…”

“We are not worthy vessels to bear the wrath of the Great Goddess.”

“This is an oracle from the Great Goddess. I believe there must be a reason behind it.”

When the Archbishop expressed strong confidence in the Great Goddess’s oracle, the other leaders could say nothing more.

In fact, it was strange to question it at all.

The fact that the Great Goddess specifically instructed them to seek help from the Repairman meant that he held the key to resolving this demon crisis, didn’t it?

“In that case, Archbishop, would you take responsibility for seeking help from the Repairman?”

“We will dispatch our finest paladins and battle priests, carefully selected from within our order, to completely surround Oberon.”

“Let’s do that. I will do the same.”

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“…That is how things stand, Repairman.”

The Archbishop of the Great Goddess Order related everything that had happened to me with an extremely humble and respectful attitude.

First, it was confirmed that a demon had appeared in the city of Oberon, and all the orders of the Pantheon were mobilizing to resolve this.

But one thing puzzled me: why had Epitrina specifically requested that they seek my help?

“I have no combat ability whatsoever. How could someone like me be of any help there?”

“Repairman, I have merely conveyed the Great Goddess’s will. Everything moves according to her thoughts and plans. And she would never do anything that would harm you.”

Hmm… seeing the Archbishop plead so earnestly makes me feel concerned.

Those Demon Cult bastards. They’re truly disgusting, persistent, and annoyingly resilient.

I thought they were all dead, but they’ve managed to devour an entire kingdom, turn it into their den, and even summon a demon.

In this situation, there’s only one thing I can do.

“I understand. I’ll do what little I can to help deal with the demon’s appearance.”

I had everything prepared for the year-end party, but it seems this year will end on a vague note again.

Regina was really looking forward to it this time, and Cheon Hyeryeong also seemed quietly excited about her first year-end party.

Fortunately, the Archbishop said he would contact me again once the exact departure date was set.

He mentioned that the departure would likely be after the new year begins, so at least the worst-case scenario of missing the year-end party was avoided.

“So you have to go?”

“My husband, must you be the one to go?”

Regina and Cheon Hyeryeong are looking at me with extremely worried expressions.

But I had to go.

“Since the Great Goddess said so, I suppose something will work out if I go.”

“Alright. But don’t go anywhere during the period between the end of the year and the beginning of the new year. Just stay here.”

“I will.”

Only after hearing my answer did Regina seem relieved, pulling me into an embrace.

The strangely comforting scent of Regina’s skin and perfume.

Whether I would be able to smell this scent again after returning from Oberon was something no one could know.