Chapter 136 – 14. People I Met in the Holy Empire
“Ah. Ariel-sama.”
“…?”
The warrior who looked back at the voice calling him was startled.
“… Sir Siu.”
When I called his name, the man, Siwoo, approached me with a warm smile.
“Where are you going?”
At Siwoo’s question, Ariel glanced at the people with her.
“I’m going to eat with my colleagues…”
“Hey, my saint. You only say hello to Ariel and don’t you see us?”
Hansol smirked when he heard that.
It’s a bit of a joke, but it’s a tone that’s teasing rather than sarcastic.
Ironically, it wasn’t Siwoo who answered her words.
“Stop it, Hansol. It’s probably because I’m at the forefront.”
“…?”
It wasn’t wrong, but when Ariel said it first, Siwoo was puzzled.
And it wasn’t the only thing that felt strange.
Several of Ariel’s companions, including Hansol, also lit up their eyes.
A reaction that would be noticed by those who regard Ariel not just as a hero and idol, but as a friend. Conversely, her colleagues, who regarded her as her superhuman or something unapproachable, did not notice Ariel’s alien character.
“Still, isn’t it a problem not to say hello to the senpai’s party properly?”
The person who intervened with a twisted attitude was Beltant, an S-class male hero of the Holy Empire.
Beltante is not a member of Ariel’s party, but it is a well-known fact that he is Ariel’s fixed, unrequited love. She doesn’t know that, but she just accepts the incomprehensible things with a good heart.
“Senior warriors’ party… Well, it’s definitely one of the few SS-level warriors’ parties on the continent, and I was so rude. I’m sorry if I offended you.”
Siwoo sincerely apologizes.
When she lowered her head slightly, everyone laughed and said it was okay.
The only one who couldn’t laugh was Beltande alone.
‘SS level? This child…’
Obviously, he is apologizing only to the rest except himself.
However, if he pointed out this part, he could only be a narrow-minded man, so Beltant put up with it.
‘Since Ariel is here, I’ll be patient.’
Beltante glared at Siu with ferocious eyes, but he ignored it lightly.
“Oh, my God. I’m on my way to dinner, but I’m holding on too much.”
Beltant, who had been suppressing his anger inside, brightened his face at Siu’s attitude as he quickly disappeared.
But that’s for a while.
“That’s Siu-sama?”
Ariel caught Siwoo trying to say goodbye to another party member.
“Yes?”
“Do you have time?”
“…!”
“Is it time to ask for a meal?”
“…That’s right.”
Beltante’s face crumpled mercilessly, but no one cared about him.
“That’s fine! I agree.”
One by one, starting with Hansol, who smiled and smiled, the others also agreed with Ariel’s opinion.
There is one more man at the table, but there is no woman to hate.
The only one is Han Sol, who is not interested in men, but she actively goes out of her way to help Ariel with her love business. She didn’t even get a chance to voice her opinion that she didn’t like Beltante, who wasn’t a member of the party. Even if it had been brought out, it would have been ignored.
“Then excuse me…”
“Ah, excuse me. We invited you. Right, Ariel?”
“Sure.”
Ariel answered with a soft smile.
Although the silver-haired SS-class hero laughed often, it was a smile that was different from his usual smile.
“What were you on your way to eat?”
“They say there’s a nice restaurant on the other side of the road.”
“Ah.”
Siwoo naturally went out on the road, mingling with them as if he had been with her from the beginning.
She was followed by Belle Tange with a distorted face.
She didn’t look very good, but she calmed her mind by making excuses to herself.
It’s normal for Ariel to be kind to everyone. She hates to admit it, but she is the beneficiary of that personality. It wasn’t that she hadn’t had this before, she was just impatiently jealous of her immense talent and her saintliness.
‘Anyway, I’m the closest man to Ariel-sama. That guy is also the one who will return to his country.’
When she thinks about this or that, she feels relieved.
While Belle Tange was calming her heart alone, Siu was happily chatting with the members of Ariel’s party.
“Wow, you found it by accident.”
“So you’re not carrying the sword of the saint?”
“I wonder if I have it… First of all, I still have it. Maybe because it’s a holy sword, it also has a subspace storage function.”
“A space? It’s great.”
“How great it will be. I wonder.”
“I’ll show you when I go to a dungeon or a battlefield later.”
Ariel’s party is five except for the leader herself and Saint Kim Han-sol.
It’s a party of 7 people. All but two of them are from the Holy Empire, and regardless of that, they are all devout priests. The balance is somewhat out of balance, but the proportion of priests is high.
Thanks to this, it is no exaggeration to say that their crush on Siwoo is the best. Even if the encounter with the goddess was not known, the status of a saint born in hundreds of years was a factor that was half eaten by the main priests.
Siwoo’s personality is good and her face is smooth, so even from their point of view, they coveted him a little.
‘Once you push Ariel…’
‘Will there be a chance for us too?’
The women who didn’t notice Ariel’s intentions aimed at Siwoo as they did.
Siwoo also noticed the inner thoughts of the girls in their blatant dash. The members of the SS class warrior’s party were undoubtedly attractive women, but for now, they had to take care of the people around them, so they turned away from those temptations.
‘I’m glad everyone likes it.’
Ariel, an outsider to her romance, knew nothing, and she looked on with delight.
Hehe. It’s fun.’
Kim Han-sol watched them from a third person’s point of view and laughed happily.
It’s been a long time since something interesting has been happening, so it was fun to watch.
In particular, the fact that Ariel is a man and woman issue that is intertwined made it even more fun.
“It doesn’t matter if you ignore the guy who frowns from behind.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Hehe, nothing.”
“…?”
The restaurant where Siwoo and Ariel’s party arrived was a restaurant with a comfortable atmosphere. Perhaps because it was a restaurant located close to the Holy See, the air inside the restaurant was quiet despite the appearance of celebrities.
Not only Ariel’s party but also quite a few warriors’ parties live in the Vatican grounds, and high-ranking priests appear nearby for meals, so the restaurants around them tend to be polite. Of course, on the first visit, there was a small tradition of signing autographs after a meal.
“Huh uh…! Standing at the sole hero’s party, even the saint…!”
In a confused combination, I saw the restaurant owner hurriedly organizing the signs on one side of the wall.
Judging by the space left in the middle, it seemed like they would hang their autographs there.
“Something is embarrassing.”
Seeing him making a fuss, Siwoo put on an awkward expression.
“It’s embarrassing. Rather, if you go somewhere else, this much would be medicinal fruit?”
Kim Han-sol looked over the menu and said.
“Haha…”
“Han-sol is right. Siwoo-sama is a saint who has appeared for the first time in hundreds of years. His name will be warmly welcomed not only in the Holy Empire but also in any country with a high percentage of Catholics.”
“Yes. Besides, Siwoo-nim was famous before then, right? In many ways. Hehe.”
“You’ll probably go through a lot. No, but I don’t think Siwoo-nim will be much different from before, right?”
Ariel and the other party members agree with Han Sol’s words.
Beltante, who was sitting in the corner away from Ariel, mumbled quietly at the sight of the women who were worried about Siwoo but secretly complimented him. In this atmosphere, he was not stupid enough to light a candle, so he kept his seat in silence.
And after thinking about it for a moment, he opened his mouth.
“It probably won’t be the same. But it won’t change much. After all, we have one goal.”
“…?”
“A goal? What a goal?”
Target. No one took the word seriously.
“Of course, ending the war and bringing peace to the continent.”
“…!!”
However, Siwoo’s reply made the whole restaurant, including their table, quiet for an instant.
“Peace, is it?”
Ariel questioned with her eyes wide open.
She felt sincerity in Siu’s words. More than any warriors I’ve ever met.
“Uh, that, seriously… Do you think the war with the demons can end…?”
One blonde party member asked, stuttering her.
She has been born and raised in this land, but she never thought that the war against demons and demons could end.
For decades, the frontlines were stuck, and even the most recent war ultimately yielded no meaningful results. In a situation where only damage is caused by war, there is no country that will actively claim it.
“Sure.”
“…”
“10 years. We will end the war in 10 years.”
“…”
“…”
Some considered it sincere, while others considered it an empty aspiration. But there wasn’t a woman whose heart didn’t pound at those words. At least, especially for those who have this world as their home.
Amidst the pounding silence, a man’s monologue broke the silence.
“…Gibberish.”
“Beltente?”
It was a very small voice, but since the entire restaurant was quiet, everyone at the table heard the male S-class hero of the Holy Empire.
Beltante was taken aback by the words he had unknowingly uttered. However, he couldn’t put back the words he had spit out, and the eyes of the table were already focused on him. Ariel, whom he loved, was the same.
“…Nonsense. The end of the war… The end…, Well, it will end. But 10 years? Absolutely impossible. Are all the warriors and parties that have been active so far stupid?
“Beltende.”
Startle.
“Ariel-sama…”
“I’ll go there.”
“Yes…”
Ariel’s expression wasn’t very good.
Everyone knows that she is trying with all her heart to end the war. Belle Tange, who had been watching her for several years, denied it. He blurted out and corrected it, but it was a mistake he had already made.
“The menu you ordered is here.”
“Ah.”
It was none other than the waiter at the restaurant who relieved the unusual air.
The dishes came out very quickly, perhaps because of their special treatment.
No customer complained about it.
“Wow, that sounds delicious.”
“Let’s eat quickly.”
As usual, in a noisy atmosphere, they started eating.
The story of war and peace seemed to be over, but Ariel was exactly stuck in Siu’s words.
“… Sir Siu.”
Siu, who was cutting her steak, raised her head at her warrior’s call and looked at her sitting across from her.
“Yes, Ariel-sama.”
“Everything you just said… You’re serious.”
“Sure.”
Ariel thought. She wants to talk to him some more.
Her rational feelings for him at first glance did not affect him in the slightest, and she was purely a warrior who was concerned about the future of the world. She said she felt no shame.
“I’d like to talk to you more.”
“Yes, hey, welcome…”
“Do you have time for dinner? He wants to talk in my room.”
“…Yes?”
Clink.
“…And.”
Ariel invites a man to her room for the first time in her life, 30 to 2 years short.
She was still serious about the reactions around her.
