Chapter 60: Dream

When I closed my eyes, a cold air suddenly enveloped me.

For some reason, this coldness felt familiar…

It was my master’s air.

“Rico…”

A familiar voice called my name.

When I opened my eyes, a silver-haired woman was standing in front of me.

It was my master whom I had longed to see.

“Jju, Jjuin-nim!”

At that moment, I realized that I was wearing a negligee.

Ah! It’s so sexy!

But my master was looking at me with curiosity.

“Hehe. Rico, you’ve done a polymorph. You’re really… lovely.”

‘Hehe!’

My face flushed at my master’s words.

My heart pounded.

My master looked at me carefully and slowly approached me.

My master’s graceful gait was truly beautiful.

Her silver hair, soft as moonlight, fluttered, and her pure white eyes, like snow, shone toward me.

“Rico, you are truly my greatest treasure.”

My master stood in front of me and smiled gently.

My heart began to beat faster at that smile.

“Master… I wanted to show you what it’s like to be human.”

“Really? You’ve already succeeded in polymorphing. Even Nice would be surprised.”

Master lightly stroked my hair.

His touch sent tingles through my entire body.

I unconsciously tilted my head toward Master’s touch.

It felt like a cat begging for more petting.

“You’ve taken good care of Burlesque, and you’ve been guarding our labyrinth well.”

Master’s voice was cold and soft, like water flowing over ice.

“I’ve waited… I’ve waited, Master.”

My voice trembled.

That longing was so vivid.

“Hehe. You’ve worked hard.”

Master put a hand on my shoulder.

When his hand touched my skin, a shiver ran down my spine.

“Eh… Master…?”

The hand that I thought would be cold felt hot.

Master slowly lifted my face and met my eyes.

“Riko, I…”

Master’s face gradually came closer.

Hehe…

Wait, this is…

…Is that what I think it is!?

Don’t let your heart burst!

Hold on a little longer!!!

Just as the soft lips of my master were about to touch mine—

thud!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, something fell on my face.

When I opened my eyes, Lotte was floating above me.

Lotte’s glass-bead-like eyes were staring at me.

“What, what is it!”

I jumped up without realizing it.

Lotte tilted her body slightly and looked out the window.

The sun had already set and the surroundings had become dark.

“Ah… evening…”

It was a dream…

It was such a vivid dream.

It felt like I was with my master just a moment ago…

What would his lips feel like?

If those icy lips touched my lips…

Just thinking about it made my whole body tremble.

“Ouch! Why did you have to wake me up then!”

I yelled at Lotte, who was so innocent.

I had ordered her to do it…

But at that moment!

I felt so bad.

“Tch!”

I got angry and slapped Lotte on the body.

“Ouch!”

Only my fingers hurt from Lotte’s hard metal surface.

A scream escaped my mouth without me knowing.

“Ahh… It hurts…”

How hard is it!

Proten must have been a truly super-strong metal.

It was so hard that it didn’t even seem like it could penetrate my strong roots.

“Eeeeeee…”

My face felt hot.

Miel, Cecilia, and Glessia were watching me.

Miel in particular flew up as if she found it amusing and sat on my lips, flapping her wings.

Flare, flutter!

“Huh…?”

What the?

Did I stick my lips out while I was sleeping!?

And you saw that!

“Whoa!”

My face turned red.

You didn’t mean I made a sound with my mouth, did you…?

Flare, flutter!!

Miel was fluttering her lips vigorously, as if she had read my thoughts.

Glesia was looking at me with eyes that seemed to know something, and Cecilia seemed to be smiling faintly, spreading her flame wings wide.

“Did you guys see that…?”

Glesia nodded.

What was she nodding for!

No, I did ask a question though!

“Whoa…! Don’t watch others sleep!”

I quickly changed my negligee into a black dress.

“Oh my! Let’s go!”

I hurriedly left the room.

The four of them followed me.

Miel was on my head, Cecilia was on my shoulders, Lotte was still hovering around me, and Glessia was slowly following me.

When I went down to the first floor of the inn, Ryandel and Ravie were waiting.

The two of them looked much better after their nap.

“Did you have a good rest, Lady Lycoris?”

Ryandel asked politely.

“Yeah, well… it was just like that.”

I looked away involuntarily as a dream came to mind.

“Let’s go to the guild quickly! We have to go see the master!”

We hurriedly crossed the village and headed to the adventurer’s guild.

It was evening, so the villagers were wandering around.

Everyone greeted me, but I just waved lightly because I wanted to get to the guild quickly.

‘Hurry up and get the token, and hurry up and go to the master!’

When I opened the guild door and went in, Evan was waiting for us in front of the counter.

“Licoris! As promised, I have prepared an S-class badge.”

Evan held out a small box.

When he opened the box, I saw a badge made of blue metal.

In the center was a crystal that shined like a diamond, and underneath it was the name ‘Licoris’ engraved.

“Wow…”

The badge with the jewel-like crystal was really pretty.

Seeing my name, given to me by my master, engraved on it made me feel proud for some reason.

“This is an S-class badge. If you show this, you will receive the best treatment from the adventurer’s guilds of all kingdoms and empires.”

Evan explained the meaning of the badge.

“I have also prepared a reward for dealing with the monsters.”

He held out a small bag of gold coins.

“Fifty hundred gold coins. Actually, I should give you more, but this is all the assets our guild currently has…”

Ryandel and Rebi’s mouths fell open at his words.

“Oh… Fifty hundred gold coins?”

Rebi asked with surprised eyes.

“Yes, in fact, the corpses of the guardians of Seolhanryeong alone are worth over fifty hundred gold coins. And…”

I didn’t listen to Evan’s explanation. I just wanted to get to my master quickly.

“Thank you! Then we’ll leave right now.”

“Right now? Already? If you leave tomorrow morning…”

“Yes, right now! I want to get to my master as soon as possible!”

I handed the bag of gold coins to Ryandel.

“You keep this.”

Ryandel took the bag with a puzzled expression.

“If you need anything, buy it quickly. And let’s leave right now!”

We hurriedly went around the town’s shops and bought the items we needed.

We bought potions, equipment, and food for the trip.

Ryandel and Ravie chose the items we needed, and I just hung around, waiting for it to end quickly.

“Are we done now?”

“Yes, the basic preparations are done.”

“Then let’s go right away!”

“Um… can we stop by the temple for the last time?”

Ravie asked hesitantly.

“The temple? Is it by any chance the temple of Michel?”

“Yes, that’s right! I stopped by before entering the Great Labyrinth.”

“Of course we had to stop by Michel’s temple!”

We climbed the quiet hillside on the outskirts of town.

A white building standing alone under the night sky caught our eye.

“It’s over there,” said Rebi, pointing to the building.

A temple of light shining softly in the moonlight.

It was small and simple, but it had a sacred atmosphere.

Above the temple gate was a pattern of light radiating out, and a small bell hung on the roof.

A small ‘tinkling’ sound could be heard whenever the wind blew.

When we carefully opened the door, we felt warm air.

The interior was much warmer than I had expected.

Golden candles were burning in a circle around the altar, and behind it stood a statue of the god of light, Michel.

Michel, depicted as an elegant woman, held both hands out in front of her as if giving a blessing.

On and around the altar were various offerings left by pilgrims.

A sparkling jewel necklace, a carefully woven bouquet of flowers, letters in small boxes, and several small statues…

Leivi knelt down in front of the altar and began to pray.

Ryandel also bowed his head politely and paid his respects.

The four of them each acted in their own way.

Miel flew quietly around, Cecilia tried to dim the flames so as not to spoil the atmosphere of the temple.

Lotte was suspended in midair, and Glessia stood quietly near the entrance.

I also knelt down in front of the altar naturally.

‘Mikel, thank you for giving me so many abilities. I have also offered a blood sacrifice, so please continue to protect me in the future. In particular, please bless my path to meet the master.’

Suddenly, the candles inside the temple trembled.

It seemed as if an invisible wind had swept through for a moment.

‘Huh? What is it?’

Leivi and Ryandel also looked up as if they sensed something strange.

In an instant, the inside of the temple became bright.

The candles turned golden one by one, and a soft light like pouring starlight enveloped the space.

“That, that…!”

Ryandel held his breath and looked at the statue of Michel.

The statue still had a calm expression, but a divine aura of gold and red flowed from its fingertips.

Rebi opened her eyes wide and looked around.

Her face was a mixture of surprise and excitement.

At that moment, a hot energy began to rise from within my body.

As if flames were flowing through my blood vessels, an intense heat spread from my heart.

『 [Apostle of Michel] acquired the trait. 』

『 [Apostle of Michel]
– You have been chosen as an apostle of Michel, the god of light and war. 』

“What, what!?”

I reflexively shouted in surprise at the sudden status window.

At the same time, the candles emitted intense light for a moment before returning to their original light.

When the dazzling phenomenon disappeared, the inside of the temple became quiet again.

Rebi and Ryandel were frozen in place.

Both of them had stiff expressions, as if they couldn’t even breathe properly.

“Lee, Lord Lycoris… Just now…”

Ryandel’s voice was slightly trembling.

Ravi’s face turned pale, and her eyes opened wide.

Her gaze moved between the statue and me.

“I… became Lord Mikel’s apostle!”

I answered with a voice trembling with excitement.

The two looked at each other and then back at me.

“… Yes?”