131-125 Correspondence of church headquarters

Before arriving in the St. Schuler Cooperative Country and making the formalities of entering the Holy City of Schuler, the horses, except for Forenoir, were put away in the hermit stables, and the former slaves and Lionel and the others had to travel on foot.

I didn't mind at all, but I decided to do so at everyone's insistence.

''Holy Change-sama, welcome back.''

The gatekeeper called out to me, and I remembered that it was called the Holy Change, and I felt an indescribable mixture of bitterness and nostalgia.

I had a conversation with the gatekeeper with that feeling in mind.

Thanks for your help. What has changed in the past year?

'Not really. No demons that strong have shown up anymore, and nothing serious has happened or anything.

'Okay. Thank you.

Without dismounting, I decided to move to the Adventurer's Guild first.

As I strutted through the bustling city streets astride my Forenoir, eyes were drawn to me and I was called out.

''Holy Hen-sama, welcome back.''

A whimsical day soon, please.

You'll have to buy a lot of our food again.

I felt my face naturally break into a smile as such a voice was spoken to me.

'You seem to be in a good mood,'

'Is it any wonder that even Luciel-sama can grin at the mere mention of you?

'Well, I miss it, so it comes naturally. There were no death threats or tedious jobs here, it was a mirror image of life that returned the benefits of my efforts.

Yes. St. Schuler's Cooperative State was, so to speak, the city where I had moved up from my hometown of Meratoni.

I remembered now that my shoulders and elbows had been very tense at first.

''I wonder why Luciel-sama is a street name of St. Change?

"...Kefin, I don't think you need to worry about that, oh, and if you turn here, you're in the Adventurers Guild.

As we stopped in front of the Adventurer's Guild for casual conversation, I dismounted from my forenoir and patted it once before letting the healers watch the forenoir.

Well, I don't think anyone in this holy city would rob the horse I'm riding, but I was careful.

I walked into the adventurers' guild with my former slaves.

It's evening, and the adventurer's guild is quite crowded with people.

The adventurers seemed to be paying attention to me just by talking to me from a distance.

I smiled at that and headed to the counter and asked the former slaves to register as adventurers.

''They can use magic, so even if they don't have any martial arts skills, can you somehow make an exception and ask them to register as adventurers?''

After that, I'll let the guild master make the decision.

'It's certainly true what you say. Speaking of which, where is Mr. Glantz?

Other staff are on their way to call for you at the moment, but the cafeteria is busier at this time, so you may have to wait a bit.

Okay. Then you can take their measurements.

Yes, sir. Now, your companions will join me.

The receptionist began their adventurer registration and explanation of their adventurer status.

Suddenly, when I was just starting out as an adventurer, what might I have missed? And I was just about to listen to the receptionist when Mr. Gruntz came over.

'It's been a while,'

It's been a long time, Mr. Glantz.

'It's been a really long time, Luciel. Are you cooking?

'Not that much these days, but you've been getting the skills for some time now,'

Okay. So what's up with you today? I thought you represented us in Yenis, as I recall?

I've finished my term of office, so it's like coming home for a time. The year I finished my term of office was a bit of a homecoming for me, so I came back to retrain myself, little by little.

Are they your followers?

"These three are slaves, but they are my trusted squires.

The others were illegal and debt slaves, so I brought them here because they can use magic and I wanted to ask them to register as adventurers.

Okay. All right, I'll take care of it.

Are you sure?

'Yeah. There's been a lot of building up with the church lately, and this isn't bad if you consider it part of the business. Of course you're thinking of coming in to see how things are going, aren't you?

''Yes. I think I'll spend a few days in the Holy City of Shrul for a few days. After that, I'm sure I'll be going back and forth between Meratni and this Holy City for the time being, so I'll try to show my face as much as possible.

Good. Besides, it's solid that you got over here before the church.

Thank you. I'll indulge you. And that's for their food and lodging for the month.

"...and why would Luciel pay for that?

'I was treated well by everyone at Meratni, which is why I worked so hard at Holy City Shrul, and I believe I have the title I have now. I just want to pass that baton to the next person.

You're a good guy. But don't let that fool you, okay?

I'm pretty dry, except for the part where we exchange lives, so I'm fine.

Okay. I'll take care of these guys.

Please.

I was to leave the slaves here while I introduced the former slaves to Mr. Gruntz.

The slaves were very grateful to me, but I told them it was up to them to do their best from here on out and left the Adventurer's Guild.

''They seemed to be getting along quite well?''

'You're my culinary mentor. And it's helped and abetted me, and that's how we got into this relationship.

I replied with a smile and walked off with Esther and the others who were waiting for me towards the church headquarters.

Before coming here, I had told Kefin and Ketty about the location of our accommodations in case of an emergency, but I made my way to the entrance, anxious to see what kind of response I would get.

'I miss this place too,'

Lionel and the others were slaves to my muttered words, and Estia and the others looked nervous and none of them responded.

There were two receptionists, but they both knew each other, so I gave them a brief greeting before cutting to the chase.

''May I have Catherine and Granhardt-san over?''

Yes, sir. Please wait a moment.

They seemed to have started communicating with each other separately with their demonic balls, and they were meditating and concentrating on their eyes.

I waited for the receptionist's communication to end, surprised that there were two magic balls.

''We have received a message that Catherine-sama and Granharto-sama would like you to wait here.

'Okay. Thank you.

I felt weird about giving the two receptionists a souvenir, but I decided to give them a honey candy from my magic bag.

It's a shock to be hated by your own company's receptionist when the other receptionists don't hate you.

'Oh, yes. These are candies made with honey, and they're good, would you mind tasting them and letting me know what you think?

Are you sure?

'Yeah. I've been working on some new products with honey at Yenis and so on. 'Yes, please.'

"Thank you.

As soon as they put it in their mouths, their faces broke into a smile.

I don't know why the sweetness project has not progressed in this world. However, I was gutted in my mind that I hadn't made a mistake in building the honey factory.

As I was asking the receptionist what she thought of the honey candy, Catherine-san and Granhardt-san came over.

Then Catherine-san put her hand on the hilt of her sword.

''It's been a long time since both of you have been here. The three of us over here are slaves, but they are my followers who have already cleared the conditions of emancipation. The ones who aren't slaves on this side are those who belong to the Church that I told the Pope about.

When I said that, Catherine asked me without losing her posture.

It's a good thing that you're back, Luciel. But still, do you know who is next to you and have you brought him here?

Next to me? That'll be Lionel.

'Yes. He is a former warlord of the Illumassia Empire. I bought him in Yenis where he was sold as a slave.

''There are rumors that ... General War Demon has been rampaging on the battlefield lately as well?''

'That's not true. You've been guarding me for the past year without a break. By the way, Catherine, you knew Lionel, didn't you?

'I've seen him in battle a few times. Speaking of the Imperial General Lionel, the way he rode his horse through the battlefield and wielded his spear was truly demonic.

Yeah?

I ask Lionel about it, but it's not like this is going to ruin the year.

'It was my job, you know. I suppose it doesn't help that the rest of the world will think I'm a mass murderer in their eyes.

'Well, they're battle crazies. Catherine, is there something wrong with them being slaves and entering the church headquarters?

We finally got what we wanted to hear.

''I don't have a problem with that. Slaves are defined as personal property. Well, if there's a problem, no matter how much of an S-class healer you are, Luciel-kun, you won't escape punishment.

Who are these two beastmen?

There's a lot of humanism, but the church itself doesn't endorse it, so I guess that's not a problem.

'Good, then. Then Mr. Granhardt will hear them out. If there is no problem, Catherine, please take them to the Pope. I still can't get to the Pope's room by myself, so...

I laughed at that and the air in the place eased up a bit.

''You've become so great, Luciel-kun, giving me orders. That's good. Shall we show you the squire's room together?

Yes, please.

We were grateful that Catherine was worried about us, and we began to move to the Pope's room with Catherine, certifying that Mr. Granhardt, who never uttered a word, must be someone who couldn't speak in front of his boss.