Inpula Church Territory (3)

“So that’s how it was. Indeed, even though it was an avatar, Berbaria is described in the scripture as a demon whose every head is extremely deadly. Such a demon… although you couldn’t destroy it, just forcing it to retreat is impressive enough.”

Yona’s explanation continued for quite a while.

She tried to explain coherently, but there was still some rambling and confusion, so Ceres had to intervene with additional explanations before the Pope fully understood.

“I see, and you wish to leave that child at the cathedral orphanage in this church territory?”

“Yes, if possible.”

“It is possible indeed. I will personally give instructions to ensure she is well cared for.”

“Th-thank you very much!”

Yona unknowingly stood up abruptly and bowed at a 90-degree angle.

Rubina, Rubina.

It was good that she had rescued her, and it was good that they had come together to Capatia Port.

But there, she had seen unbearable things and had difficult experiences.

If the Pope himself is going to give instructions for such a child, how much easier will her life become?

At least, she will grow up receiving a good education in a much more comfortable environment than following Yona around.

“There’s no need for thanks, shouldn’t we be more grateful? We would like to offer some compensation, albeit modest… Is there anything you need?”

“Um…”

She had thought that might be the case.

As adventurers who had made great contributions in repelling a demon’s avatar, financial compensation would naturally follow, but Yona had something else in mind.

“Perhaps, that…”

“That? Do you need gold coins?”

“Ah, no. That’s not it.”

Yona shook her head.

Of course, she needed gold coins too — not knowing how much the treatment at the mage community would cost, the more gold coins, the better. But Yona had something else in mind first.

“Would there be a shield… and a hammer?”

“A hammer?”

The Pope’s eyes widened.

During his time as a general, he had met many adventurers. He had met adventurers to entrust them with tasks ranging from trivial requests to quite important matters, and they were all greedy and often sought excessive rewards compared to their actual abilities.

So he was curious about how Yona, who had been an adventurer for several years, would respond, and now her answer exceeded his expectations.

“My companion uses a shield and a hammer…”

Alec’s hammer has been used for so long that the hammer head is about to fall off.

The shield was naturally his basic equipment, but it had been used for so long and repaired repeatedly whenever it broke that it wasn’t performing at its full capacity.

“Your companion, you say? Of course, all four of you will be given rewards, so he will receive compensation too, but in the case of weapons and armor instead of gold coins, we give one per person.”

Arkzel IV subtly hinted.

Basically, there were guidelines for how much compensation should be given for such items.

As a cathedral whose primary mission includes opposing demons, there must be guidelines for rewards.

And for repelling a demon’s avatar like this, it’s 100 gold coins, or one desired weapon or armor.

In other words, although Yona mentioned both a shield and a hammer, she has to give up one of them.

“Then…”

Yona fell into thought for a moment.

Adventurers lack camaraderie.

As always, she would end up choosing either the shield or the hammer.

“I’ll take the shield as my share, and the hammer as my companion’s share. Is that possible?”

“A shield. So be it. However, for someone who is not a cathedral knight to receive a shield. A clergy shield might be much less useful, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, that’s fine. I’ll take a knight’s shield.”

Yona smiled.

She wasn’t going to use the shield anyway.

“My companion will use both.”

“Oh my.”

It was unexpected.

*

“There won’t be anything better than the sacred robe I gave you, at least for now.”

Although Arkzel IV would greatly regret hearing this, as Ceres said, the sacred robe Yona was currently wearing was her best equipment.

Probably even if they searched the entire headquarters armory, there wouldn’t be a better sacred robe than this.

Sacred robes are exclusive to healers, and priests don’t use them at all, so there’s no need to keep good sacred robes in stock.

In a way, that’s why this sacred robe was in Ceres’s possession.

“That’s true. Hehe.”

Yona was in a good mood and kept smiling brightly.

She had been secretly anxious about both Alec’s shield and hammer being in terrible condition, wondering how long they would last even if repaired. Since Alec’s equipment was directly linked to her own life, it would be good to show off a bit at times like this.

“Mr. Alec will be very pleased.”

“He should be. No, he’d better be.”

“I think he will be. I’ll tell Mr. James and Mr. Kairoc separately. But…”

Ceres stopped while walking down the corridor.

As a result, Yona also stopped.

“Is it really okay that you refused the ceremony for the reward?”

Arkzel IV had wanted to hold a grand event to bless and award those who had repelled Berbaria’s avatar. But as soon as Yona heard this, she refused, wanting to just come quietly and get the desired weapons from the armory to conclude the matter.

“Adventurers hate that kind of thing. They’re probably going crazy just being inside the cathedral headquarters.”

“…Is that so?”

Are there really people who would refuse such honor?

Ceres couldn’t really understand.

But since that’s what Yona said, she decided to let it go.

*

It was that night.

Yona was standing in front of Ceres’s door.

Tomorrow is the day.

They had decided to leave Rubina at the orphanage tomorrow morning, and the procedures for that were already completed.

Moreover, the ordination ceremony for Hero Ludvik and Saint Bigrin is also tomorrow.

And tomorrow is also the day Yona’s group departs.

And tonight, at Ceres’s request to visit her room for a moment, Yona was inevitably standing in front of Ceres’s door.

Although she thought she had become quite close to Ceres during their journey together, standing in front of her door like this inevitably made her nervous.

It couldn’t be helped because Ceres would occasionally observe Yona subtly, and that gaze was not ordinary, so whenever Yona felt that gaze, she would get goosebumps on her arms.

Moreover, being asked to come to her room at night like this, it was inevitable to hesitate.

“…Phew.”

Taking a deep breath, Yona raised her hand to knock.

And as if waiting for that, the door slid open smoothly, revealing Ceres’s smiling face.

“…I’m not particularly surprised because I thought you might do that.”

“Is that so? How disappointing. Anyway, come in.”

Led by Ceres’s hand, Yona entered her room.

It was a neat room not much different from the rooms where Yona’s group was staying.

The size wasn’t much different either, and the furnishings inside were similarly modest.

“How do you find the Church Territory after coming here?”

As soon as Yona sat down, Ceres sat opposite her with an excited look and asked.

Her face looked quite excited, so Yona faced her with an awkward smile.

“It’s just a place where people live… What would be different?”

“Oh my. For a clergy member to have such a meager impression after coming to the Church Territory. If someone heard that, they’d think it’s terribly… well, a bit strange, don’t you think?”

“Well, I’m just a half-wit. Not even a proper clergy member. A proper clergy member would be like… Bigr, you know.”

“You’re not calling her Saint.”

At those words, Yona closed her mouth.

Bigrin’s profile suddenly came to mind. That arrogant little one who wasn’t sure if being a saint suited her.

She didn’t know that that damn little squirt, who always spewed out hateful words, had such worries.

She thought Bigrin would be boasting, “Now do you understand? You and I are in a complete superior-subordinate relationship—” after becoming a saint, but she didn’t.

But Yona didn’t want to call Bigrin a saint.

Somehow, Bigrin who had become a saint felt like a different being from the Bigrin who grew up together in the orphanage.

“Still, the ordination ceremony for the Hero and the Saint is in four days, wouldn’t it be better to see that before leaving?”

She had been thinking about that too.

But an ordination ceremony is usually quite a fuss, and watching it might make her feel strange somehow.

Just a feeling that Yona shouldn’t be there.

Just that kind of feeling.

So Yona decided to leave tomorrow without any lingering attachment.

Since Yona made that decision, everyone else agreed, so there’s no problem.

As Yona remained silent for a while without responding, Ceres lightly clicked her tongue.

“…Well, anyway, that’s fine. The reason I asked you to come like this today is because I want to make a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

Yona looked at Ceres, snapping out of her reminiscence about Bigrin.

Ceres was still looking at Yona with that smile, but her gaze was so strange that Yona found herself unconsciously lowering her gaze while looking at her.

“It’s not a proposal that would cause you any loss. Rather, it’s a good, tempting proposal.”

“What is it?”

Nothing is more expensive than free,

There’s no such thing as unconditional kindness,

And if someone says it’s not a losing proposal so listen to it, you should tell them to do it themselves—

These were Yona’s mottos, but right now, Ceres was blatantly violating that third motto.

But Yona isn’t bold enough to tell Ceres, “Why are you proposing to me instead of doing it yourself?”

“So, after the Hero and the Saint receive their ordination, they will immediately depart on their hero’s journey. Probably their first mission will be tracking Berbaria’s avatar and investigating the culprit behind the Semec incident.”

“I suppose so.”

But why should I care about that?

They’ll handle it themselves.

Either the Hero will do it, or that tin can will.

“So what I want to propose is for you to accompany them on the hero’s journey.”

“I refuse.”

Yona rejected it outright without even listening further.

Whether Ceres was surprised or not, Yona firmly closed her mouth.

Why should I care?

The gold coins in her bag are already close to a hundred, and no matter how expensive the procedure at the mage community is, it’s enough to cover it.

Originally, she started the journey with seven gold coins, and now it’s become a hundred, which is already more than enough.

There’s no need to accept any more requests, and above all, she has a grand goal, so even more so.

To go to the mage community and receive the procedure.

To return to being a man.

There’s nothing more urgent than that.