Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Sylvia immediately recognized the real situation of the combat association. Simply put, it had a harmful effect on public institutions. Since it was an association forcibly created by the emperor, it was a situation where the contaminated monsters were only eliminated to meet the minimum quota, and they did not go around searching for dungeons in a remote mountain to eliminate them.

‘This empire is really great.’

Sylvia clicked her tongue inwardly, but nodded with a serious expression on her face.

“I see.”

“The President of the association will have a lot of experience, so I think we can ask for advice.”

“That’s right. Will you send a carrier pigeon?”

“It takes a long time for a bird to fly to the capital. Isabel, can you bring me the crystal ball?”

Noel had received priestly education for a long time, so he spoke respectfully to all the servants. At his words, a maid named Isabel brought a crystal ball wrapped in a velvet cloth. The game world had a good mix of real and fantasy elements that protected the player’s illusion of fantasy, and the means of communication were also among them.

If the elements that gave the illusion of fantasy were filled with contact through carrier pigeons, the crystal ball was like a smartphone in real life. In the library, it was used as a book search, and in the secret shop, it could be used as a computer for various things, but it was also possible to make video calls.

Of course, Sylvia’s poor household didn’t have something like a crystal ball. They only used the birds Sevis had caught in the wild and had forcefully domesticated through appeasement and intimidation as carrier pigeons.

‘Look at that crystal ball. It looks very expensive.’

The maid, who had put the plate with cookies in the corner, placed the flashing crystal ball in the middle of the table. As Noel said softly, “Combat Priesthood Association,” the inside of the crystal ball blurred like it was full of smoke, and then a man who looked like a nasty bandit appeared.

– Yes. This is the Combat Priesthood Association.

“Sir, I am Noel. The High Priest of the Temple of Elbeus. Do you remember?”

– Ah! Of course, I remember. How could I forget your face! If you have time, please come to the capital. You have no idea how impatient the ladies are, asking every single prayer time when you will come back.

Noel smiled softly as the president of the association laughed beyond the crystal ball.

“Haha… I’ll stop by when I have time. I contacted you today to ask for some advice on a dungeon that has been contaminated for a long time. Although I’m studying, I haven’t put it to practice in an actual fight yet, so I just wanted to check in with you to see if there’s anything I should be careful about.”

– What? Why are you raiding a dungeon that I wasn’t even asked to?

The president of the association asked with a puzzled face. Then, Noel swept his bangs, embarrassed, and answered.

“Ah, there’s a situation. The place I’m going to is a temple in the valley, but it’s been contaminated for a long time…”

Noel explained to the president of the association the situation in the area, which he had heard from the butler and the maid. After listening to his explanation, the president of the association touched his chin with his hand for a moment, stared at the void, and then opened his mouth as if recalling something with his eyes wide open.

– Hm, I’ve been to a place like that once. It was a small village near the border, which is gone now. In the end, the purification failed, causing several casualties, and all the remaining priests and warriors fled. As we went inside, there was another world that we had never seen before. There are basically lower-level monsters and higher-level monsters that can communicate with each other…

According to him, the village that they failed to purify disappeared one day, leaving only an empty space in the spot where it was located. It was a scary thing.

– Since then, we’ve only received orders to subdue monsters that appear almost at the border or in villages. It would be troublesome if the precious manpower disappeared with the villages. We also don’t want to expose ourselves to danger by raiding dungeons that we didn’t even have to raid. Sometimes, some monsters become gentle when they are purified, but it’s a waste of divine power, so usually… we just beat them. I’m sorry if I couldn’t be of help.

“Not at all. You helped a lot.”

– Ah! Now that I think of it, apparently, the villagers who lived there and escaped said that the villagers had turned into zombies, but when we went inside, there was no one. I’m just guessing that those bad monsters killed everyone and took over the village. In the end, we couldn’t rescue anyone and the village itself disappeared… It’s a memory that the association wants to erase.

The president of the association said many other things, but there was not much that could be known from just one case. They just knew that they had to be extremely careful.

‘The village disappeared… It’s a little scary.’

Sylvia shuddered for a moment as she listened to the president with a dark expression, but soon clenched her fists resolutely. The association failed, but Sylvia had something she believed in. The fact that she was none other but the player that was possessed in this game.

‘If the association succeeded in raiding dungeons easily, there was no reason for a player to exist in this game. Even if they failed, I will probably succeed…’

After the conversation about the dungeon was over, Noel, who had been talking with the president of the association, ended the crystal ball video call. Sevis, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, opened his mouth.

“Hmm, maybe the people in that village became monsters with the contaminated energy. When the Wolf Kingdom was contaminated, my whole family was transformed into something I had never seen before. Their appearance…”

Sevis couldn’t speak and covered his eyes with his hands. As Sylvia patted his back and comforted him, Sevis barely opened his mouth again.

“I had no choice but to save my life by imitating their appearance, which had changed, before I escaped. Maybe it was because they lost their intellect, but they didn’t attack me as long as I behaved like them.”

“You imitated them?”

Sylvia touched her lips and pondered, then looked at the butler and opened her mouth.

“The people who came to the market… Did you hear what color their skin had?”

“Hm… I think it was green.”

Hearing that, Sylvia turned to Sevis and Noel and opened her mouth.

“Is there any race with green skin?”

“I’m not sure. I studied all the races of the continent while I was receiving priestly education, and there was a race with red skin and one with black skin too, but green skin… I don’t think so. Maybe they’re not human.”

After Noel had spoken, Sevis added,

“You’re right. Even among the shapeshifters, there are none with green skin. If it’s green… Are they orcs?”

“Then there’s a good chance that the group that appeared in the market are monsters.”

Sylvia nodded at their words and looked back at the butler.

“I see… Mr. Butler, can I ask you a favor?”

“What can I do for you?”

When he asked, Sylvia opened her mouth.

“Well…”

Unable to predict how many days it would take to raid the dungeon, they finished their discussion and quickly exited the villa with their luggage. The middle-aged butler wiped away his tears, grabbed Noel’s leg, and stopped him, asking if he couldn’t just not go because he thought it would be dangerous. Noel patted him on the back and comforted him, and then climbed onto the foreign horse with a determined look on his face. Limbo and Noel’s horse exchanged neighs with each other, as if they had gotten close.

Noel, who was looking stiffly at Sevis as he was trying to get on behind Sylvia, smiled brightly and called out to him.

“Mr. Sevis, you can ride with me.”

“What? I can ride with Miss Sylvia.”

Noel’s mouth was smiling, but his eyes were as cold as a mid-winter northern wind. Sylvia looked at them blankly, not noticing at all, but a man knows another man. Sevis noticed his cold eyes.

“Come with me.”

Sevis hesitated for a moment at Noel’s decisive words, then inevitably climbed up behind him.

‘He must know my intention behind suggesting riding the horse together, but I can’t help it. It’s weird that he keeps insisting on riding behind Sylvia.’

Sylvia, who didn’t notice their war of nerves, grumbled to herself as she saw two on the same horse.

‘One of them should ride behind me. Really, why are they on the same horse?’

The three people riding the foreign horses set out for their destination. Since there was no exact location for the mountain hill, Noel drove the horse himself. Sylvia, who didn’t know the way, asked Limbo to autonomously drive behind Noel. At the speed of the two lightning bolts, the group quickly climbed the mountain hill and approached the valley where the temple was located.

Noel stopped his horse near the valley, then got down and took a closer look at the floor.

——