Clatter clatter—
In the endless darkness, Lance and Astrid explored in silence, searching for the magic array that would teleport them back to the first floor of the Maze.
The two were currently separated by the distance of three people. Neither of them dared to look at the other, making the atmosphere strange and awkward.
The blush on Astrid’s face had gradually faded, and the ring on her ring finger had naturally been retracted into her magic storage space.
Her injuries had also been healed by Lance using Holy Power, and the bandages on her body had been removed.
However, a faint, circular teeth mark remained where she had been bitten.
‘It should be here, right?’
Lance turned his gaze toward a colossal pillar reaching into the ceiling not far away.
He sensed that the teleportation array within it pointed toward a connection with the first floor.
With that thought, Lance quickly took out his Adventurer’s Proof. As expected, the memory imprint for the teleportation array to the first floor lit up.
“We should have found it, Miss Astrid.”
“Ah? Right!”
Astrid’s body jolted as she immediately snapped out of her wandering thoughts.
She unconsciously stepped a bit further away, clearly still unsure of how to interact with Lance.
Thus, silence permeated the space between them once more.
Lance felt a bitterness in his heart. He could not understand his previous behavior at all.
It was as if his brain had been poisoned, failing to consider the consequences.
Because the Elf was acting so flustered and unwilling to communicate, Lance could not find an opportunity to explain things clearly.
‘How could I not control my own mouth! This cursed Ghoul body!’
He cursed himself inwardly, but Lance knew it was pointless.
The bite he had taken out of the Elf earlier had come entirely from the deepest cravings of this body.
Recalling it now, Lance could even clearly feel the pleasure that had followed the bite.
‘Miss Elf is just too fragrant…’
‘Wait! No! No!’
Lance shook his head violently, forcibly interrupting his own thoughts.
The force was so great that he nearly shook off his fully enclosed helmet.
Astrid was also feeling exceptionally lost.
She had accepted the ring in a daze and was somewhat confused about Lance’s intentions.
Wearing a ring on the ring finger symbolized an engagement or marriage!
This was common knowledge on the North Continent!
Astrid did not believe that Lance, a former noble, wouldn’t know this!
However, Lance had said nothing afterward, leaving Astrid’s heart in a state of flux, her anxiety finding no place to settle.
‘Since I accepted the ring, has the engagement been finalized?’
‘But isn’t this a bit hasty? Regardless, I am still a proper princess of the Elga Royal Family. At the very least, there should be a witness for an engagement, right?’
‘A private marriage contract like this between two people definitely won’t be recognized by Father or Mother!’
‘The status of the witness cannot be low either. It would be best if it were a high-ranking member of the Church…’
‘If I ask Mapele, would she agree?’
‘No, no. She would definitely report back to Mother.’
At this thought, Astrid fell back into distress.
The two stopped at the base of the massive pillar.
Lance pressed his Adventurer’s Proof against it, and a ring of magical light quickly rose from the base, lighting up the entire pillar in an instant.
Immediately afterward, the stone tiles beneath Lance and Astrid rose slightly, lifting them up.
With a few more rumbling sounds, the body of the pillar opened to reveal an interior space containing a glowing, massive teleportation array.
They were finally going back…
Lance, who had been wandering in the Maze for over one month, nearly burst into tears.
He would definitely never step foot into this peril-filled Maze again!
Regardless, he didn’t earn much from farming monster materials anyway.
In comparison, with his status as a High-Rank Swordsman, Lance could easily find a high-paying guard job within one of the city’s large merchant guilds.
With a bit of hard work, while he might not be able to afford the top Magic Academy for Noren, sending her to a second-rate academy in the City of Wisdom shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Having made up his mind, Lance turned his head to look at the Elf standing a short distance away and asked, “Miss Astrid, are you going back now?”
“Ah? Me? I… I’m going back.”
“I also need to head back to recuperate for a while…”
“That’s good. Let’s go then.”
With that, Lance and Astrid stepped into the magic array within the giant pillar, one after the other.
Once they were settled, the open walls of the pillar slowly returned to their original state, enclosing them inside.
The light from the magic array flared intensely, instantly blinding them.
A sensation of weightlessness followed.
The teleportation array had activated!
…
In Siofra, within the grounds of the Radiant Sanctuary cathedral in the western district.
A blonde youth wearing white-gold knight armor entered the main hall of the cathedral with an air of triumph, heading straight for the top floor.
Clergymen and attendants of various ranks along the way moved aside to give him space.
Seeing this, the blonde youth became even more arrogant.
Even when he encountered elderly, high-ranking priests who took the initiative to salute him, he merely gave a slight nod without even stopping his pace.
When looking at other low-order or middle-order priests, his eyes showed even more disdain, skipping the nod entirely.
This blonde youth who looked down upon everyone was none other than the youngest squad leader of the Order of the Temple’s Hammer and the young disciple of the Grand Master of the Knights—Joel Crais!
An outstanding knight who had reached the late stage of High-Rank at only 20 years old! Rumor had it that this youth was only one step away from knocking on the Gate of Elements!
As long as he performed more meritorious deeds, his master, a Saint Rank Grand Master, could apply for the use of a Holy Relic from the Church to help him knock on the Gate of Elements in one go, allowing him to become a true high-ranking official of the Church!
Consequently, when faced with such a potential powerhouse with a limitless future, the High-Rank priests found it difficult to show any dissatisfaction even if they were treated with slight. After all, no one wanted to provoke a future high-ranking official.
The sound of Joel’s heavy strides echoed through the corridor, his rhythmic footsteps seemingly announcing his arrival.
It was only when he reached the door of the main office on the top floor that he slightly restrained his arrogant expression and knocked.
But even before the person inside could respond, the blonde youth pushed open the door and entered of his own accord.
He looked unreservedly at the slender Saintess sitting behind the long office desk.
Hearing the noise, Cecilia, who was processing official documents, showed a flash of disgust in her eyes.
However, by the time she looked up at the youth, her gaze was clear, showing no sign of the displeasure of being disturbed. Instead, she wore a slight smile.
Seeing this, the youth felt a surge of joy, though he kept his expression neutral.
He strode forward, his feet coming together with a loud thud as he slammed his right hand against his left chest, shouting loudly, “Squad Leader Joel Crais of the Order of the Temple’s Hammer reporting to Her Highness, Radiant Saintess Cecilia Midgard!”
With that shout, the silence in the office was instantly shattered.
The little maid, Noren, who had been leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window dozing off, was startled awake, her eyes filled with fear.
Cecilia smiled and said, “Hehe, Joel, you’ve arrived.”
“What made you want to come to a difficult place like Siofra to be a squad leader? You should have had better places to go…”
Hearing this, Joel Crais only smiled and gave no answer. However, his eyes remained fixed on the Saintess in her pure white robes, having already provided his answer through his gaze.
If not for the Saintess, why would a future high-ranking official like him take the initiative to transfer to an unstable place like Siofra to be a knight squad leader?
Joel Crais believed the Saintess understood his intentions.
Seeing this, a flash of indiscernible disgust flickered in Cecilia’s eyes again, but it was quickly smoothed over.
She changed the subject, saying, “Siofra is nothing like the rear of the Sanctuary. After all, we have to face pressure from the Evernight Church and the Nature Church. It is quite dangerous.”
“Mr. Joel, you should have received the relevant orientation and training beforehand, right?”
Orientation?
Joel Crais felt disdain in his heart. What right did those priests—who had to hunch their backs just to speak with him—have to train him?
His master was the Grand Master of the Order of the Temple’s Hammer!
However, since he had just arrived, it wouldn’t be good to have a falling out with the Saintess over minor matters.
After thinking for a moment, Joel Crais replied, “Please forgive me, Saintess. After receiving my appointment, I departed immediately and haven’t had time to learn about the relevant affairs.”
After saying this, Joel Crais felt that his linguistic skills were exceptionally sophisticated.
He had expressed the importance he placed on taking the post while truthfully stating that he hadn’t received the training.
As expected, hearing Joel’s explanation, the Saintess only smiled and followed his lead.
“Then Mr. Joel should go find Bishop Mekla to learn the relevant details first. While you’re at it, go to the knight order to meet your colleagues and familiarize yourself with the environment.”
The blonde youth was slightly stunned. How had he been asked to leave after only a few words?
This was somewhat outside of Joel Crais’s expectations. He had originally wanted to interact more with the Saintess.
After all, for the next few years, he would be the fully authorized representative of the Radiant Sanctuary Knights.
Logically speaking, he would be the number two figure of the Church in Siofra and should have more communication with the Saintess.
However, what the Saintess said was also very sensible and logical. She was merely following up on what he had said. She probably didn’t mean to drive him away.
After a brief thought, he decided that since the days ahead were long, there would be plenty of opportunities to build a good relationship with the Saintess.
It was better to establish an image of being proactive for now.
“Very well, Saintess!”
This time, the blonde youth bowed to take his leave and turned to walk away with what he thought was a very sharp movements.
But after only two steps, the Saintess spoke again.
“Mr. Joel, make sure to get along well with your colleagues. Especially the members of the knight order’s strike team—they are the strength I rely on most in Siofra.”
Joel Crais stopped and lowered his head in thanks.
“Naturally. Thank you for the reminder, Saintess!”
“But Your Highness need not worry. Now that I am here, you can rely entirely on my strength.”
Having said that, the blonde youth gave a suave smile, radiating extraordinary confidence.
The corner of Cecilia’s smiling face twitched slightly, but she said nothing more.
After waiting a moment longer and seeing that the Saintess was only smiling without anything else to add, the youth turned and left again.
‘Colleagues?’
‘Hmph!’
Joel Crais was extremely disdainful toward the Saintess’s reminder.
In his view, the members of the knight order stationed in Siofra were all low-class people without status or resources who could only seek military merit on the front lines of the confrontation.
They were completely different from a favored son of heaven like himself, who had been an apprentice to the Grand Master since childhood.
Those fellows weren’t even qualified to be his subordinates!
With a thud, the office door closed once again.
The smiling expression Cecilia had maintained for so long instantly turned cold.
“They actually sent such a brainless thing here. Is someone in the Church trying to sabotage me?”
The Saintess in her pure white robes leaned back, feeling an immense headache.
“Sister Cecilia, who was that?”
Noren, the little maid who had been startled awake, had finally regained her senses and was very curious.
With the level of intimacy between Noren and Cecilia, how could she not see Cecilia’s true mood?
In the short one minute that the youth had appeared, Sister Cecilia’s negative emotions had been triggered at least three times.
That guy’s entire existence was rooted in Sister Cecilia’s minefield!
Hearing Noren’s question, Cecilia replied irritably, “A brainless fool with a mental problem, a self-righteous moron!”
“Ah?”
Noren was a bit startled. She really hadn’t expected Cecilia to be so blunt, actually resorting to insulting him.
Seeing Noren’s expression, Cecilia cleared her throat and composed herself before saying softly, “He has been training with top Saint Rank experts since he was a child, yet at 20 years old, he’s only in the late stage of High-Rank. It’s impossible for him to push open the Gate of Elements on his own.”
“And yet, he still thinks he’s exceptional. It’s simply a joke!”
Hearing this, Noren nodded.
From that perspective, he did seem a bit slow. Her brother Lance had managed to reach the mid-stage of High-Rank at the age of 16 just by figuring things out on his own.
Furthermore, her brother was extremely sensitive to [Wind].
If that incident hadn’t happened to her, he might be an Elemental Tier powerhouse by now, just like Sister Cecilia.
Sigh…
‘Brother, where are you?’
‘Noren misses you so much right now…’