Chapter 69: Snow Ball (2)

Chapter 69: Snow Ball (2)

Carla, nestled within my embrace, was snoring gently in her sleep.

It would be alright to sleep a little more like this... but there was something I wanted to confirm before that.

‘Status Window.’

Ding.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.

[Archbishop Defeated!]

You have defeated the Church of Tainted Unity's Archbishop, Edmerek!

An incredible accomplishment to have succeeded during the first dungeon practice, it's unbelievable!

You are the pride of the academy, a noble of all the righteous religious orders!

But don’t get too excited.

Your fame will reach the ears of other sinister religious cults.

Also, the reward for altering your original fate, whether good or bad, will be substantial.

Ah, but the Church of Righteous Radiance is very pleased that you have once again slain the cultist with your own hands.

All statuses will grow.

Trait: Sun God's Blessing(C) grows by one rank. Your favorability with the Church of Righteous Radiance rises a level.

Increase in favorability with the academy and the righteous religious order.

The murky amalgamation curses you and raises your merit level.

Rise in vigilance against other evil religious cults.

“Huh.”

I didn’t realize defeating Edmerek at this point would be such a tremendous event.

I somewhat anticipated the growth of the Sun God’s Blessing, but the growth in all statuses was unexpected.

Since the maximum stat was 30, the system was quite stingy about stat growth.

Of course, growth did not necessarily imply an increase in the number... but the growth points accumulated in all stats.

Lastly, I saw contentment with Pietro.

The contents about me killing someone who wasn’t supposed to die here and the murky amalgamation of seeing me as an enemy seem to be intended to intimidate me.

But generally speaking, things were definitely moving in a good direction, and it wasn’t new that the murky amalgamation wanted me dead, so there was no need to worry much.

I just kept it in mind and moved to the next alert.

[You’ve taken down a high ranking cultist!]

Achievement: You have earned the new Talent "Aversion to Cultists"

Trait: Aversion to Cultists (D)

You have destroyed several of the cultists’ plans and even exterminated high-ranking officers.

To anyone, you’re an evident cultist hater!

Of course, the cultists will detest you too.

All damage inflicted on cultists increased by 5%.

All damage received from cultists increased by 3%.

※This trait can be deactivated.

Aversion to Cultists, huh?

It was a trait acquired with a certain probability when killing Archbishop-level cultists... and I was lucky to have gotten it in one go.

This trait would grow a bit whenever you kill more cultists or their officers and ultimately reach Grade A.

It had penalties and didn’t apply to monsters like the Shining Lion Dagger, so it wasn’t a trait to be used thoughtlessly...

But, having one wasn’t bad.

Activation or deactivation was also possible.

For now, I set it to deactivated and checked the last alert.

[Sun God’s Blessing (B)]

The brightest entity in the sky, the owner of the sun, shares its radiance with you.

While under sunlight, the speed of health and mana recovery increases by 250%

Light attribute damage increases by 15%

Increases favorability with the Church of Righteous Radiance.

Ah, this was the notification of the Sun God’s Blessing level up that I saw before.

It was surprising that it already reached rank B, but since I already knew its content and the effects only improved, I skimmed through it and moved on.

Now, closing this notification would bring up the status window.

This was the most nerve-wracking moment, actually.

Wasn’t a trait mentioned as a dungeon clear reward?

The practice dungeon was systemically impossible to clear in H&A.

Not many traits were this useful.

No, was such a sweet trait hidden in a practice dungeon?

Of course, considering how much the practice dungeon helped the academy students so far, I couldn’t just be happy...

But it was okay.

In the end, I just had to defeat all the evil Gods.

“......”

My thoughts drifted to that point, and my heart inadvertently became heavy.

I’ve distracted myself from this burden by reassuring myself with the endings I’ve seen in the game countless times.

In fact, the threats I faced during the three years before entering the academy could be overcome with my knowledge of strategy and the power of money.

But that was it.

Local thugs, Godless mercenaries, greedy nobles, and the cultists were qualitatively different opponents.

The resentment towards this world that I thought I had shaken off, the raw violence, and the fear it brought, the world was starting to deviate from the scenario I knew.

Anxiety swiftly corroded my heart.

This was me.

Me, without the shell called the player, without hiding behind the vanity of being a veteran.

This me who had to defeat not only the evil Gods who once destroyed the world but also their root cause.

It wouldn’t be easy.

But it wasn’t entirely impossible.

After all, it was a fact that I had the system and the knowledge of H&A strategies.

My resolve was reaffirmed for a moment.

Without realizing it, strength filled my arm. The presence of Carla in my arms became more distinct.

The soft yet warm sensation, the breath tickling my nape, and the refreshing body scent.

“Ah.”

The anxiety that had tensed my body seemed to wash away.

The only person in this world who I could completely trust, the woman I’d grown attached to.

Carla had grown so much within me, to the point where just holding her could dispel all kinds of anxieties.

In fact, didn’t I instinctively think of Carla the moment I defeated Edmerek and thought everything was over?

Realizing this, Carla started to appear even more adorable.

Unconsciously, I leaned in toward her slightly parted pink lips.

Our lips met, and our breaths mingled.

It was a deep kiss, not light, even without involving the tongue.

Naturally, Carla, who had just fallen asleep, opened her eyes.

“Um... Master? Did I fall asleep?”

“You did doze off for a bit. Are you very tired?”

“No. I just felt so comfortable being held by Master that I fell asleep without realizing it... Hehe.”

Carla smiled, a bit embarrassed.

At her appearance, something strongly stirred within me.

“Carla.”

“Yes?”

“Should we have a go here after all?”

“...You were the one who said we shouldn’t because we’d get caught.”

That was true.

Did I unwittingly make a sullen face? Carla contemplated for a moment, then blushed and pulled up the blanket.

Then, covering her mouth with the blanket, she whispered softly.

“But perhaps it would be alright... if it’s just touching under the blanket?”

“Oh.”

That was an extremely logical and enchanting compromise.

——————

The next morning.

When I came to my senses, Iona was in front of me.

“Hello! Hello! Did you have fun last night?”

“???”

Why was the Professor lying in the same bed as me?