Chapter 9 – Money and People (2)
4. Money and People (2)
She caught a glimpse of her figure as she followed her about half a step behind Kaya, lost in thought.
‘It has already completely deviated from the original trajectory of the game.’
I was able to say that even the relationship was like that by conceding a hundred times. Originally, if you live with people, you can get close to them, and you can get dirty. Even more so, they were fighting together in dungeons where they could search for days and days and seeing all the stars, but no matter how businesslike they started, the relationship couldn’t help but change.
A guy whose mentality was destroyed would throw a pad lip at his teammates and feed them with a knife from behind, or, on the contrary, a guy who succeeded in awakening with a low probability would become the savior of the warriors and successfully retreat.
As a gamer, I could only indirectly feel the emotions and mental state they felt through the numerical value of mentality, but it was nothing strange to think that they were also human beings.
So, it was an understandable category that I had to quantify after I came here.
By the way, instance dungeon?
Seeing that the message popped up when I was looking for other ways to make money besides part-time job, it seems that he had an intention to observe and tease me, but I didn’t like that kind of thing now.
The dungeon of 〈 The Long Terror 〉 originally consisted of 3 areas, each with 10 rooms, and I knew that a new area 4 would be opened in the DLC. So, at most, it meant that there were 4 bosses to attack and 40 rooms.
However, the existence of instance dungeons shook the foundation.
A dungeon other than ‘dungeon’.
I don’t know what level it was, but the very existence of it suggested the possibility that the original dungeon might have changed somehow.
Instability increased dramatically to the point where it was incomparable to when Kaya’s relationship chart was opened.
“… Leader.”
“…”
“Leader!”
“Uh, uh.”
“We arrived at the branch… The colon complexion doesn’t look that good. Are you okay?”
“Are you okay. Never mind.”
I brushed away my thoughts. We must not forget our first goal.
To survive.
No matter how the elements of this world changed, the fact that I had to conquer the dungeon remained the same.
“Welcome, sister.”
“Hello. I am Kaya Epenzel, who came to Salem after walking the path of loving-kindness in the homeland.”
“This is Sister Kaya. My name is Sestia, who is walking the path of tolerance.”
Did you say that the god Kaya believes in is Raella, the goddess of mercy and generosity? A nun named Sestia looked far from combat, so it was correct to say that she was healing rather than fighting.
‘Then putting a mace in the head is the way of benevolence? Contrary to what she looks like, she’s a terrifying goddess.’
I glanced at the statue of the goddess in the distance and thought for a while, then realized belatedly that the eyes of the two women were focused on me.
“Sister Cestia. This is Hendrick, the captain of the warrior squad I belong to. Although the relationship has not been established for a while, he is a strong-willed, trustworthy, and good-hearted person.”
“Hello. Kaya’s introduction sounds grandiose, but it’s called Hendrick. I am getting a lot of help from Kaya.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Hendrick. May warm kindness and cool tolerance be with you.”
Well, since I’m introducing it to someone I’m seeing for the first time, it must have been a bit of lip service, but I didn’t expect that Kaya would treat me this well.
‘A good thing is a good thing. There might be some kind of bonus if the relationship level increases.’
She nodded and realized that the nun named Setia was still staring at me.
“Kaya. I’ll be looking around the monastery in moderation, so come when you’re done.”
“I see, chief. I’ll see you a little later.”
Kaya also nodded her head and entered the monastery ‘inside’ with Sestia.
“Sister Kaya.”
“Yes, Sister Cestia.”
“How was the trip to the dungeon?”
“… It was darker and scarier than I had heard or imagined. Even though I was kicked out of the dungeon for some reason at the beginning.”
“Sister, that is nothing to be ashamed of. We are only mortals, and to mortals, fear is an inescapable instinct.”
Despite Sestia’s warm words, Kaya shook her head with her hard face.
“… Apart from the horror I felt, I couldn’t stand it because I was pathetic to myself. I thought that I had walked the path of loving-kindness in my own way, but in the dungeon, I behaved a lot. It was entirely thanks to the captain that I was able to come out alive.”
“You’re talking about Hendrick.”
“Yes. I feel a strong destiny for the captain.”
“Oh my gosh.”
She, who is walking on the ‘road of tolerance’ to study, spread, and practice the doctrine of the goddess of mercy and tolerance, feels sorry for everything in the world that is suffering from negative things, and longs for the combat nuns of the Order who are walking on the ‘road of charity’. Respected Even if the opponent was a fledgling nun who had just finished training.
Sestia, one of the two nuns in the Salem branch, a guide on the ‘Road of Tolerance’, smiled warmly at the blushing combat nun wearing a stiff uniform because of the order’s rule that she must stop by the Salem branch after going to the dungeon. Built
“Our Goddess actively supports love between a man and a woman.”
“… Yes?! Come on, sister. It’s not like that!”
Kaya jumped up belatedly, but Sestia’s smile did not disappear.
“I was dumbfounded, Sister Kaya.”
“Ah…”
“But at this point, can you tell us about the progress of going to the dungeon?”
Kaya gulped down her saliva as she began to talk about what she had been through.
“Especially in her second room, she had a bizarre dream…”
**
Kaya didn’t come out for over an hour. She was quite spacious except for the inside of the monastery, but there was not much to see except for the small flower garden and the pretty statue of the goddess.
As a joke, she pretended to pray in front of the goddess statue and asked why I became like this, but of course there was no answer.
‘But. That’s what God is all about.’
However, it could not be ignored at all, her divine power was a power that definitely existed. So she was even more annoyed. Even though it exists, it’s as if I don’t have it.
‘Do it. A guy who doesn’t follow or trust you will listen to what’s pretty. Even if it’s like me.’
As the time spent quietly bruising grew longer, naturally, I had a lot of random thoughts. She had waited expecting Kaya to come out within an hour, but she was wondering if she should leave a note and go out alone to find out about instance dungeons.
“Hello?”
“Ah yes. Hello.”
“You don’t seem to be a believer, are you a warrior?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. My career isn’t long, but…”
A new nun spoke to me. She didn’t seem to be a combat nun either here, she wasn’t short, but she was skinny and her build was small. She was decidedly quite dark in her complexion. To the extent that anyone could see that she had been through a series of funerals. Even so, her tone had a basic sweetness to it. So I just responded with basic courtesy.
“I, hero, do you accept any requests?”
“Yes?”
But this nun didn’t leave and she was talking about something strange.
“A request, what do you mean?”
“Ah… That is.”
I asked as if it was strange. This was a branch of a church. That’s also the dungeon city Salem branch. I thought that if the church had more armed forces than other branches, it would be more, but not less. Besides, Salem was bigger than I thought, so if you get out of the center close to the dungeon, it seemed that there were quite a few places where people who gave up their warrior positions and became ephemera lived together. Among them, there seemed to be a lot of people who handled all sorts of things.
In other words, she said that for a novice hero like herself, requesting a request was a very far-fetched thing. I know that, and the nuns of the Order must know it too.
“Mmm, that’s it.”
‘I’m going to die of boredom. Whether to speak Why did you take such a long time when you said it was possible to request it?’
I couldn’t bear to shout at the nun who seemed like she would collapse if I touched her. She just kept scratching her head, and the nun who rolled her eyes here and there finally opened her mouth.
“You can’t go anywhere and tell me. Ah. First of all, I am Libea, who is walking the path of tolerance.”
“This is Hendrick.”
“Yes. Hendrick. That’s what it means.”
The nun who introduced herself to her Riviera let out a sigh of relief.
“In fact, one of her sisters is gone.”
“Yes?”
Suddenly?
“No, the problem of the nun’s disappearance is to be resolved by the church.”
“In the church, it’s practically a hands-off situation for her.”
What.
Something didn’t feel right.
A nun from the Order has gone missing, and she let go of her hand in the Order? Besides that, an ordinary nun who doesn’t seem to be in a high position asks a hero she’s never seen before, and she entrusts the task?
“Ah. Hmm. I’m just a novice who has just experienced dungeons. I’m not good at looking for someone. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be of any help if the denomination can’t be resolved.”
“It doesn’t mean that I let go of her hand in her church! The church… !”
“Sister Libea. Hendrick.”
When I refused, she took a step closer and tried to say something, but Libea stiffened at the name she heard coming from the other side.
It was Kaya and Sestia who came out at the right time.
“Hey, guide.”
“Yes. Sister Libea. Were you talking to Hendrick? I’m sorry if I cut you off midway.”
“Oh, no. Then I will go back to pray.”
Libea bowed her head and disappeared into the monastery in an instant.
‘What is it really? Something’s not right.’
But Kaya’s face, to be exact, looked like she was relieved. Well, it wasn’t something to worry about, like the awkwardness felt by a nun seeing one for the first time.
“Leader. Sorry. It seems you’ve been waiting a long time…”
“No, not really. Are you done with your work?”
“Yes. Sister Cestia. I’ll stop by again next time.”
“Sister Kaya is always welcome. The same goes for Hendrick.”
After responding appropriately to Cestia’s smile, I left the monastery with Kaya.
**
[Exploring and eradicating the source of wild bugs in the suburbs of Salem]
[Cleansing and purifying the undead that appear in the suburbs of Salem]
[Vampire Investigation]
I had a light lunch with the remaining money on the first floor of the inn and went out again. Now there was little money on hand. Unfortunately, Kaya put on her arms again, and I headed to the place indicated by the message in the instance dungeon. Then there was a bulletin board with quite a few people gathered, and papers with various contents were hung on the bulletin board.
‘It looks just like the Salem version of a human resources agency.’
Putting aside how this led to the instance dungeon, after thinking for a while and looking around for ideas, Kaya pointed at a piece of paper with her index finger and said,
“Leader. How about that one?”
[Collecting Evidence of Heretical Worship and Forbidden Magic]
* High probability of battle with cultists and magicians who have broken taboos
‘Is it because she’s a nun? I don’t think it would look easy…’
I didn’t like it. Whether here or here, then and now, dealing with a madman was tiring. And besides, a magician who broke taboos, doesn’t it sound like something fucking stupid.
* Reward: 1 gold coin per (sure) evidence. (Definitely) 1 gold coin for each neck of a heretic worshiper or taboo-violating magician. (May be added or subtracted depending on rank)
However, the reward seemed more salty than I thought to cover it up.
