Chapter 83: The Slave’s Daughter. Kanora Guild.

Red Dragon Luxury Hotel.

The Hero’s Party was staying at the Red Dragon Luxury Hotel, but the atmosphere was tense.

A few days ago, everything had been cheerful, but because of one person named Erin, the situation within the Hero’s Party had taken a bad turn.

Erin’s mood was off.

-Innocent Elf: This crazy girl is just shooting arrows into the demon boss’s forehead. Can’t you hold him down with a bind arrow? Got no mother?

-Hero Elf: How did you know? Mom’s gone. LOL.

-Innocent Elf: Oh, sorry;; Anyway, be careful next time. I’m off to buy some melon ice cream.

Though it wasn’t visible to the Hero or Maria, Erin had just been insulted by a character calling themselves an elf, who had told her, “You have no mom.”

This is known as a “pad-lip” (a mom-related insult) in Korea.

“Shit! They insulted me and ran away because I don’t have a mom!”

Maria could tell that Erin was seething with anger, a smile twitching at her lips.

In the end, Maria asked the Hero to intervene, fearing Erin would become a game addict.

“No, you should really do something, Hero.”

“That’s something time will have to fix.”

Truthfully, the Hero was scared too.

Erin looked terrifying when she was playing games.

Any interference would cause her to start swearing.

The sight of a girl who had once said she liked him, now obsessed with gaming, made the Hero feel timid.

Maria, too, was growing increasingly frustrated.

“Erin’s mother didn’t pass away or anything, so why…”

“Shh, she’ll hear you.”

Maria furrowed her brow at the Hero’s words, then approached Erin.

“How long are you going to keep doing this?”

“Damn it, leave me alone! I just want to game!”

Something was clearly not right.

This once-noble elf of the Great Forest now had dry skin and refused to move from in front of the computer all day.

To make matters worse, she had spent all the funds that the Red Dragon Hotel had prepared for helping Britain—on games.

Even Maria, who didn’t understand games, found it utterly pathetic.

“Where’s the Erin who shot an arrow into the Demon King’s forehead? All that’s left is a game addict?”

Finally, Maria switched off the monitor in frustration.

Up until this point, she had tried to compromise, but…

“I’m literally shooting an arrow at the Demon King’s forehead right now in the game!”

Erin had crossed Maria’s last nerve.

“Oh, for crying out loud! Go outside and get some fresh air! Maybe it’ll clear your head!”

Fresh air?

Ugh, how annoying.

“Hey, why are you picking up your staff?”

“To use it, obviously. To knock some sense into this idiot elf!”

I’m going to bring justice down on her with this staff!

“You’re giving me stress! My hair is falling out! At this rate, I’m going to end up with the Mongol horde haircut I saw on the internet!”

Maria’s hair had indeed started falling out recently, and she was determined to get Erin out of the room.

“Fine, fine, I’m going, okay?”

Erin reluctantly put on a hoodie over her training clothes and stepped outside.

The cold city air made Erin, who had grown up in the Great Forest, feel nauseous.

But it also brought her back to her senses.

Right.

Honestly, it had been quite a shock.

Maybe that’s why she had wanted to escape for a while.

“I shouldn’t keep doing this. Yeah, that’s right.”

Erin had now come to her senses and confirmed that both the Saint and her mother were here.

It was fortunate, really.

How lucky she was to have found her blood relatives in this world she had fled to.

“Oh, can’t you do this properly?”

“L-like this?”

“If you’re going to be a slave, at least hold the chopsticks right! Ugh, this is so frustrating. Honestly, I should just get an android.”

“Hey, anything but that.”

“Huh?”

“M-master.”

She heard something strange.

Two familiar yet contrasting voices were having a conversation that Erin could distinctly hear with her sharp elf ears.

Following the direction of the voices, Erin moved toward them.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. This won’t do. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be doing the dishes yourself.”

“What? Why?”

“At least that way, your pathetic skills will improve a little.”

“What about the melon ice cream?”

“Really?”

Smack!

The voices Erin heard were coming from a direction where familiar people stood.

There was Saint Karina in plain clothes and, much to Erin’s shock, her mother, whom she had been separated from a long time ago.

Up to this point, everything seemed fine, but Erin’s mother was sitting in front of a convenience store, eating instant food, getting a flick on the forehead from the saint, and being called a slave.

“Sniff… M-mother…”

It was an unbelievable sight—her companion treating her mother like a slave.

Instead of feeling joy at meeting the two people she had longed for, Erin was filled with confusion.

Right.

Let’s stay calm and think logically.

The saint probably didn’t know that the elf in front of her was her companion’s mother.

If she knew, she wouldn’t have acted that way.

Maybe she had somehow bought Erin’s mother from a slave market by accident.

As Erin tried to stay optimistic and approach them, she overheard something even more shocking.

“With this, I won’t be able to properly see my sons’ faces, you know?”

“Well, at least they still treat me like a parent.”

What did she just hear?

Sons?

Not a daughter but sons?

Erin has brothers?

Since when did she have sons?

Wait, could it be that her mother came to this world, remarried, and had children?

“No way… Why would Mother…?”

Erin foamed at the mouth and fainted on the spot, not knowing that the person she had been arguing with in the game was, in fact, her own mother.

***

The parish was obtained.

The location was in the heart of Seoul.

It seemed like Park Yoo-jeong had spent quite a bit of money.

A parish literally means my territory!

—But that’s not really what “parish” means.

Whatever it means, it’s definitely our guild’s territory now.

I proudly stood in front of the church building located in that parish.

“This building is amazing! Who exactly is this acquaintance of yours?”

Battle Mage couldn’t help but admire it.

Yeah, it’s obviously a great building.

Honestly, I was expecting something tucked away in a corner of Seoul, but this kind of building must’ve caused some real headaches in the city center.

“You don’t know? She’s just some office worker in the Cheonghwa Guild who’s got it easy.”

Office jobs in the hunter world these days were considered pretty cushy.

“I’ve never heard of Park Yoo-jeong before, but being a hunter must mean she’s earned quite a bit of money. I mean, to secure a building like this in Seoul’s center, especially in Hunter Street, she must’ve spent a fortune.”

“How much?”

“Even with subsidies and everything, it probably cost more than 2 billion won.”

“Wow, that’s more expensive than the Innocent Elf!”

I glanced at the elf beside me, who was eating melon ice cream.

Suddenly, I became curious.

As far as I could remember, I had never seen this elf go back to her house.

So where was she staying?

“What is it?”

“Aren’t you going home, Elf?”

“Oh, I told you, I’m in a weekend relationship. I don’t need to go home on weekdays.”

I couldn’t tell if her family situation was okay or not.

Anyway, it didn’t seem bad.

“Aren’t you two pretty much living together at this point?”

“You don’t know, right? The saint’s house is huge and has full-length mirrors.”

Smack!

I immediately punched the elf in anger for her pointless comment.

“Honestly, it wasn’t that expensive. I bought it before Hunter Street was developed.”

Park Yoo-jeong appeared just in time.

“Still, it must be worth billions, right? Wouldn’t it be better to sell it now that the price has gone up? Why spend all that money for the saint?”

It’s not for me.

It’s for the Goddess, of course!

“If you’re a believer of the Church of Kanora, this is the least you should do.”

“What was that?”

Did she just imply something about a cult?

Maybe I misheard?

“No, nothing.”

“Besides, we have other reasons. Like stocks, for example. When you’re this high up, you can tell which guild stocks are going to hit big.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

Now that I think about it, guilds have stocks too.

If it’s a cushy office job, they should be able to tell which guild will do well.

It wouldn’t be hard to make a fortune by buying stocks.

“As a devotee of the Church of Kanora, offering at least this much is expected.”

“Haha, that’s wonderful. Very impressive, Yoo-jeong. What will you do about the guild?”

I see Si-yeon has left, but what are you going to do?

“I’ll stay with the Cheonghwa Guild for now since we’ll need an information network.”

“Good. Anyway, since we need to keep up the church cosplay, let’s set up a statue of the Goddess here.”

I took out the Goddess statue I had carved from stone earlier and placed it inside.

“When did you prepare this?”

“It’s always good to prepare in advance.”

Having an information network is crucial.

“So, what will Si-yeon do?”

“Since she left and helped establish the guild, we should bring her in.”

After all, she did listen to me well.

“Do you mean you’ll bring her in as a guild hunter?”

“If she wants to.”

She doesn’t seem to have anywhere else to go, so why not offer her that?

She’ll probably complete her guild registration soon and come here.

Then, we can move forward or not, depending on the situation.

“But before that, since this is a church, and the Goddess’s grace must be present, I’ll summon the Goddess once all the returnees gather.”

Since everyone seems to think it’s a cult, the Goddess should show herself at least once.

“Wait, are you serious?”

“It’s not a lie.”

Of course.

The elf looked shocked, but our Goddess can manifest in person.

That means she’s a true Goddess, one whom no one can challenge.

“An artifact of the Goddess statue?”

“No, this was purely made from Korean stone.”

Battle mage’s eyes widened at my words.

She must’ve checked it.

Before long, the returnees started gathering.

There was the dwarf who seemed to be involved in Cheonma’s equipment, the young pixie, and all the familiar faces from the gallery, including the toy rocking horse.

“How do you summon the Goddess?”

Cheonma asked curiously while glancing at the statue.

Well, the method is simple.

I knelt before the sky and shouted.

“Goddess, please descend to this land!”

“It’s like you’re calling someone from a reunion show.”

Goddess, please!

—Sigh. How did I end up with a follower like this?

Fwoosh…

A mass of light descended from the ceiling and then settled into the Goddess statue.

Whoa, that’s impressive.

[“Ah, my beloved and faithful saint. You’ve endured so much even in this world. The position of archangel is far too lacking for you. Do you wish for anything?”]

When the statue spoke, even Yoo-jeong, now a devotee, was shocked.

Well, the people here are all talented individuals with sharp minds.

They must have realized that this statue isn’t just an artifact.

“Goddess, please bestow your grace upon this guild that will serve you…!”

[“My saint, your dedication to serving me even in this land is truly admirable. I bestow the blessing of Kanora upon you and your companions. Your combat abilities will become even more powerful.”]

Honestly, this is all ad-lib.

What kind of blessing will the Goddess bestow upon them?

It’d better be something good so they’ll react with interest.

[The strength, magic, intelligence, stamina, and unique abilities of all devotees of the Church of Kanora have increased by 1.3 times.]

At that moment, a bright light filled the building.

The power of Kanora descended upon all the church’s devotees.

And, predictably, the returnees all had stunned expressions.

“What kind of Goddess gives specific stat boosts like in a video game when you believe in her?”