Chapter 114
Gorilla’s Grip Strength (2)
“What is all this…….”
Winter, who had woken up early in the morning, first thoroughly cleaned herself. After putting on her treasured priest robes, she headed straight toward the chapel.
The mont she saw the countless parcels piled up like a mountain in front of the chapel, she stared blankly in disbelief.
“Ugh.”
Quite a few of them were heavy as well, so even clearing the parcels away and opening the door was difficult work. After barely opening the door, Winter imdiately entered the chapel.
Approaching the silver plaque engraved with the Emblem of Anaye, Winter knelt down and quietly prayed.
“O great Mother Anaye. Today as well, I offer my greetings…….”
After finishing her prayer that lasted around five minutes, Winter rose from her spot and bowed deeply. Then she looked toward the door again with renewed determination.
“My stamina……”
Would not lose. Because she wanted to catch up to Davide, who charged forward looking only ahead, this was the one thing she had worked especially hard on.
“But there’s still so much…….”
With a small sigh, Winter began carrying the packages. She could not even begin to imagine what had happened in just a single day.
About thirty minutes after moving the parcels, only after carrying all of them inside did Winter collapse onto the floor.
“Ow.”
After catching her breath on the floor, Winter pushed herself back up. Gathering the letters wedged between the parcels, she stretched greatly.
“Hoo.”
While brewing the premium black tea Canis had brought, she sat down at the desk.
The only desk inside the chapel belonged exclusively to Winter. Sipping the brewed tea, Winter began organizing the docunts.
“……Sothing’s strange.”
The paperwork necessary for operating the Religious Order. Usually, most of it consisted of docunts requested by the Imperial House and the Lofty Order, but this ti was different.
They had completed a request under the Religious Order’s na. And not just any request, but one related to war. The problem, if there was one, was the Religious Order’s bank account.
“Why is there so much?”
Winter rubbed her eyes for a mont before checking again. There was far too much. Since Winter consistently managed the account, she knew perfectly well how money flowed in and out.
Davide’s accomplishnts in completing requests under the Religious Order’s na had been incredible, but the paynt from Candela that ca in this ti was also enormous.
“The items are…… ah. Taxes.”
In particular, most of the rewards received from the recent desert Fiendbeast request had been items.
There were stones imbued with the energy of the moon, Earth Dragon scales, flowers from desert cacti, and similar goods accompanied by certificates of authenticity.
“I don’t know anymore. Right?”
Before she knew it, Winter was speaking to the flag wandering around the chapel. The flag floated up into the air and drew a circle.
Laughing brightly at the flag’s antics, Winter turned her gaze toward the other docunts. She also had to prepare a report regarding the pilgrimage to the Sanctuary.
“Our~ baby Winter~ what are you doing?”
Winter, who had been diligently handling paperwork, jumped in shock. The sudden sound of Canis’s voice from behind nearly made her heart burst.
Even the flag seed unable to sense Canis beforehand, jerking in surprise and fluttering around noisily.
“Y-you scared ! Seriously!”
“I knocked~ but you didn’t hear ~”
Watching Canis shalessly say that, Winter widened her eyes. Seeing that expression, Canis made a subtle face.
“Your face~ is starting~ to resemble Dabi’s~”
At those words spoken almost like singing, Winter wore a dazed expression.
“I-is it really that fierce?”
“No~ not that much~ your face was cute to begin with, so even if it gets fierce~ how bad could it be~”
At Canis’s words, Winter let out a sigh of relief. Though she felt a little sorry, she did not want to resemble Davide’s impression.
She absolutely did not want to resemble that dangerously fierce face that competed with gorillas for brutality.
“You woke up early.”
“I always~ wake up early~”
Winter watched Canis pour and drink the tea she had brewed.
“Is this~ the reward you received this ti?”
“Yes.”
Canis’s attention quickly shifted elsewhere. As she examined the packages piled in one corner of the chapel, Winter answered her absentmindedly.
“Would it~ be okay~ if I looked at these?”
At Canis’s question, Winter tilted her head. Technically speaking, Canis was not a Believer of the Religious Order.
Winter wondered whether it was alright to show her these things. Still, since the items had to be included in the report anyway, there was nothing particularly worth hiding.
“Yes. You can look.”
“Then~ excuse ~”
With Winter’s permission, Canis began inspecting the packages one by one.
“What’s that?”
“Powder of Rakkula? Apparently~”
“How much is there?”
“2kg~”
anwhile, Winter had begun making use of Canis. Since Canis answered questions well, Winter decided to take advantage of that trait while preparing the report.
Following Winter’s requests, Canis read out the items inside the packages and their quantities, while Winter wrote them down one by one.
“Finished~?”
“Ah. Yes. Thanks to you…… quickly…….”
Winter answered absentmindedly at Canis’s words, then cautiously watched her reaction. Canis looked at Winter with a pleased expression.
“More importantly~ when is Dabi coming~”
“I wonder? The tis he cos to the chapel are always inconsistent.”
Winter could not give a clear answer. Davide sotis arrived earlier than anyone else, and other tis later than everyone else.
Yet despite that, it was still fascinating how he ca every single day and stayed for an incredibly long ti whenever he did.
“Why are you asking, sunbae-nim?”
“Ah~ there’s sothing I want to ask him~”
At Canis’s answer, Winter roughly nodded. She was curious, but she did not bother prying further.
It was obvious Canis would not tell her easily anyway. Rather than asking uselessly and getting treated like a toy, she decided it was better to stay quiet.
—Hello. Hello. Hello.
Just as she was about to continue her paperwork, a strange sound suddenly rang out. Startled, Winter hurriedly raised her head and discovered Anger appearing on Canis’s shoulder.
The monster created by suppressing Canis’s rage. A creature resembling black sli with sharp teeth suddenly greeted her.
“H-Hello? Uh, did it originally greet people……?”
“Mmm~ no~ Anger’s playing around again~”
—Playing. Denied. White. Greeting.
Winter made a strange face. Though Canis kept firmly pressing Anger down, it had little effect.
Winter could not understand why she was doing that instead of using magic.
“Uh, hello. Anger.”
—White. Hello.
“……Ah. I’m white. Haha.”
Only after Winter greeted it did Anger calm down. It snorted toward Canis before sinking back into her body.
Winter stared at Canis aningfully.
---
“What’s with you two?”
I tilted my head after arriving at the chapel around lunchti and seeing Winter and Canis together.
A subtle atmosphere flowed between them. Even Aro, whom I had happened to et and brought along, looked at Canis strangely.
“Anyway. So this is the chapel. You can definitely feel a spiritual aura here.”
Aro, visiting the chapel for the first ti, looked around in admiration. The faint scent of grass and the sunlit window seats.
The tranquil atmosphere and the solemn air as well.
“You’re here, sunbae-nim. Hello to you too, Aro sunbae-nim.”
“It’s been a while, Whitey.”
Aro jumped lightly off my shoulder and imdiately ran toward Winter.
Having received Aro without thinking, Winter felt the fluffy fur and instantly lted. I walked toward Canis, who was lying on the sofa.
—Sadist. Hello.
“Want to rip your mouth apart?”
The mont I got close, Anger appeared for the first ti in a while and greeted . The way it deliberately got on my nerves was exactly like its owner.
“What did you co here for?”
“To hang out…….”
Canis, who had been answering while lying down, suddenly sprang upright and sat politely. I stared at her with a strange expression.
I was not the type to care much about etiquette in the first place, and Canis was the sa.
“A sunbae is talking. Why are you lying down?”
“……Mmm.”
At Aro’s chilling words as she used a talisman to force Canis upright, Canis shut her mouth.
Maybe because she was from the Far East, she seed especially sensitive about things like this. Thinking back on it, it had not really stood out before, but considering the other party was the infamous Canis, it made sense.
—Sadist. Hello.
“……Did you sniff lacquer thinner?”
“Anger’s~ been causing trouble lately~ sorry~”
I stroked my chin. Anger’s behavior was strange today.
In [Difficult Dungeon], every character who could beco an ally had their own episode.
That applied equally to Canis, who could either beco a boss or an ally. Anger’s problem was ultimately Canis’s problem.
‘The Floating Island is still far away.’
There was still plenty of ti before the Floating Island, so it was fine for now. There was also a high chance Episode 4 would appear together with the Floating Island.
“Well, let’s talk about it later.”
“If Dabi~ says so~”
At my words, Canis readily nodded. If I failed to guide Canis’s episode properly, I would have to kill her.
With my current stats, I could easily manage that much. The thing I was actually 고민하는 wasn’t that.
It was whether I should make use of this girl in the war against the Duhein Family or not.
—Knock knock.
While I was thinking, soone suddenly knocked on the chapel door. Since there was practically no one here polite enough to knock, everyone’s attention turned toward it.
“Could it be the Vice-Commander?”
ntioning the most likely person, Winter headed toward the door. All of us quietly watched her.
“Who…….”
—Bang.
Winter opened the door and imdiately shut it again. We looked at her with puzzled expressions.
“Sunbae-nim.”
“What.”
“I think I’m seeing things.”
Leaving behind those words, Winter rubbed her eyes harshly. Slightly frowning, I rose from my seat.
I was curious what she had seen to react like that.
“Who……?”
What appeared after opening the door was an incredible mass of muscles. Muscles so stripped of fat that every fiber stood out vividly.
The visual impact was shocking enough to leave speechless for a mont.
“Who are you?”
A man with such a threatening build that he looked like a small gorilla stood there. Sohow, I found myself politely asking the question.
“Cult Leader-nim? Long ti no see.”
“?”
“?”
Winter and I both gaped after hearing that unexpected voice. The awkward way of speaking like a foreigner and the question marks inserted mid-sentence.
Those were unmistakably Worden’s speaking habits.
“No way……. Worden?”
“Cult Leader-nim? That’s right. Is sothing? Wrong?”
The problem was definitely your existence itself. I made a conflicted expression. Worden had originally looked fairly ordinary.
He had been shorter than and lacked much muscle, but he possessed a lean and sleek physique. Yet how had he turned into this in such a short amount of ti?
“Can we go inside already?”
Soone forcefully shoved the now-thickened Worden aside. Looking at her, I made a serious expression.
“It’s been a while.”
Bereninche and Worden had returned from the Demonic Realm. Bereninche greeted us as casually as ever.
“What happened in the Demonic Realm? Why did Worden’s body turn out like that?”
“Why? He beca more manly. Tougher and stronger.”
Of course, those were good things, but the issue was that it was impossible by common sense.
“Common sense aside, physically speaking, does it make any sense to build a body like that in barely a month?”
“Maybe he’s just the type to gain muscle easily?”
“You think that kind of excuse explains this?”
At her shrugging response, I let out a deep sigh. Then I glanced toward Worden.
“Are you okay?”
“Seriously? I almost died. For real.”
Just how much had he suffered for a guy who used to get excited from adrenaline even in life-threatening situations to speak so wistfully like this?
For so reason, my chest felt heavy.
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