Crackle, crackle.
The lively flames in the fireplace shot upward, faintly illuminating a confused face.
“Huff, that Sophie, she…”
Just waking from a simulated life, Green set down the Adventurer’s Journal in his hand with some awkwardness. “Could it be that she’s fallen for me?”
Green lingered over the memory, touching his lips and still tasting a hint of sweetness between his teeth.
“No, no, what am I even thinking? That was just, just a simulated life.”
Green felt his heart racing.
Clearly, counting his previous life and the years since his transmigration, he’d already lived for several decades. With the memories from the simulated lives added in, his life experience spanned more than a hundred years.
But still… but still…
That feeling of a quickened heartbeat, that sweet warmth.
It was the first time Green had experienced anything like it.
“Sophie.”
Looking at the empty room, Green could vaguely picture a graceful silhouette in his mind.
If she were here now too…
No, what am I thinking?
Green rolled his eyes. “Already this old, and I’m still so childish?”
“But compared to those spoiled young ladies in the Star Moon Adventurer Party, meeting someone normal like Alice or Sophie… tch, it’s really rare.”
With a flourish, Green stood up and stretched.
“But so far, my progress in completing the missions in the simulated lives isn’t bad.”
Before exiting the last simulation, Green, leveraging the reputation of defeating two Truth Knights and slaying a bishop, had unified the entire Wastelands in a short time.
“But the retaliation from the Church of Light came quickly.”
A complete lockdown.
Unlike last time, where the neighboring lords had resisted, the influence of the Church of Light in the Human Kingdom of that world was simply immeasurable.
“I have to think of a way to turn the tide of public opinion in our favor.”
Green stroked his chin, thoughts churning.
In a flash of inspiration, a stubborn face appeared in Green’s mind.
Jessica.
Once a Truth Knight who hated witches more than anyone, but after learning the truth, she stood by Green’s side once more.
“I’ve got it.”
A plan quickly formed in Green’s mind.
“Holy Light.” The more Green thought about it, the more his heart surged. “That world needs the Holy Light.”
“Come to think of it, isn’t it strange? They’re both called the Church of Light, but the one in the simulated world is so different from the real thing?”
Green couldn’t help but sigh.
It wasn’t that the real-world Church of Light was without a dark side—after all, during the last simulated life, as a veteran Paladin, Green had personally witnessed plenty of darkness.
But it couldn’t be denied: in the real world, the Church of Light was, overall, a respected organization.
Like every nation, they had both good and evil, but from their own standpoint, they worked to exert a positive influence on the whole.
But the Church of Light in that simulated world…
They distorted black and white, acted with impunity, held themselves above all, as if determined to control not only the Human Kingdom but all other races as well.
“Hmm… There could be other reasons, but the biggest difference is the presence—or absence—of the Holy Light.”
The Holy Light was something indescribable.
It was like air, like water: invisible and intangible to ordinary people, yet everywhere, constantly influencing people’s lives.
But the most crucial thing was…
“The Holy Light has no will of its own.”
Green spoke aloud what made that sacred energy so great—at its core, it was simply an objective phenomenon, a law of nature.
Anyone who walked the path of the Holy Light could receive its blessing.
“Although this sort of mechanical doctrine doesn’t always represent true justice, at least compared to the simulated world’s Church of Light, controlled from the top by the High Priest, it’s much closer to so-called truth.”
Green’s mind was made up.
“So, why not use the Commandments of Holy Light to reform the Church of Light in that simulated world? Let me think… That Jessica—wouldn’t she be a good candidate for a Paladin?”
Green paced back and forth in his suite.
“But then, why is it that in that simulated world, aside from me, everyone else seems to have so much trouble sensing the Holy Light?”
He recalled how excited the Elven Miss had been after witnessing him purify the potion—Green had assumed that Ambassador Linda was admiring Sophie’s alchemy.
Who could have guessed, to the elves, while Sophie’s skill was impressive, what truly moved them was the Holy Light itself?
“Clearly, in our reality, everyone can sense the Holy Light. But in that world, even the elves, with their long history and the aid of the World Tree, could barely sense a trace of it.”
Green turned it over in his mind, but couldn’t understand the difference.
“It just feels like there’s some law in that simulated world being hidden or even twisted.”
Green trusted his instincts.
So he walked to the bookshelf and began searching for information.
“I remember, although most of the records before the Adventurers’ Guild was founded are vague or even nonexistent, some scholars have started doing research in this area recently?”
Green rummaged through the shelves, “And as it happens, I heard Miss Betty say that the expert sent from the royal capital for the assessment is an authority in this field?”
“Guess I’ll treat this as a pre-exam review.”
Hugging documents that were priceless on the outside but could be casually read in his suite, Green once again felt a wave of emotion.
“This treatment is just absurd.”
After all, I’m just a mortal.
Pa.
Flipping open the book, Green brushed off the dust. “Let’s start with these ancient ruins. If I recall, during the era of turmoil a thousand years ago when the Demon King ruled the continent, a lot of data was lost…”
“They say the Demon King was always destroying historical records. I wonder what for?”
Yawning, Green pondered curiously.
“Forget it, I haven’t even dealt with my own soul curse yet. I’m not even an advanced professional—why should I care what the Demon King did?”
By the way, the Hero put the Selection Trial inside the exploration of ancient ruins. Was there a deeper meaning behind that?
Staring at the book in his hands, Green’s eyes flickered.
Raven Town, Life Tavern.
“So only this many people managed to break through to the eighth floor?”
Inside the tavern, Alice frowned deeply as she looked at the results displayed on the communication crystal.
“If you count the Star Moon Adventurer Party—stuck on the seventh floor due to various mistakes—this Selection Trial…”
Alice, busy analyzing the statistics, set down her quill in frustration, rubbed her brow, and muttered tiredly, “Godfather, if it were you… what would you do?”
Her troubled little face was full of longing, and Alice sat in a daze for quite some time.
“Defeat the Demon King,” Alice mumbled. “And I have to guard the borders to stop that Iron-Blooded Empress from invading. Why can’t anything be simple? Never mind, I’ll notify Mr. Lawrence first.”
Bzzt—
The crystal flickered, and an image appeared before Alice’s eyes.
“Alice.” His Holiness the Pope adjusted the triple crown on his head. “How did the Selection Trial go?”
“Not very well. Forget clearing the ruins—even the Star Moon Adventurer Party, um, your adopted daughter, the Saint Sophia’s party—that five-star team—couldn’t pass.”
Alice told it as it was.
“I see. I’m not surprised.” Lawrence nodded without changing expression. “It’s about time those pampered young ladies learned that the battlefield isn’t a game.”
“Oh?” Alice looked at Pope Lawrence in surprise. “It sounds like you’re not satisfied with their results these past years?”
Even by the Heroine’s picky standards, the Star Moon Adventurer Party’s record over the years was flawless.
Rising from obscurity to five-star rank in a matter of years—no matter how you looked at it, the Star Moon Party was widely admired.
“Alice,” Lawrence said with deep meaning, “a person’s wisdom doesn’t lie in what they can do, but in knowing what they cannot.”
“They really are excellent—for instance, Marshal’s daughter Freya, my adopted daughter Sophia, and that genius mage Lucy, who broke the Adventurers’ Guild record.”
Lawrence recited the Star Moon Party’s roster and backgrounds one by one.
“But do you know, what truly allowed them to rise so quickly wasn’t just themselves.”
Could it be?
Alice recalled the information she’d gathered from all sides, along with the recent complaints from a certain marshal’s daughter in the tavern…
“Green,” Alice spoke the name that held a special meaning for her, though it seemed so ordinary.
“Yes, according to the Adventurers’ Guild informant, Green is indeed unique.”
Lawrence replied softly, “Although he’s just a mortal, physically weak, he has extraordinary perseverance. Did you know, he even once defeated a professional as a mere mortal? To be honest, he reminds me of someone I once knew…”
“He’s not someone from the past!” Alice interrupted His Holiness the Pope. “Huff, I know. I’ll go meet this Mr. Green myself.”
“But there’s something I want to remind you of, Mr. Lawrence.” Alice declared firmly, “Godfather isn’t dead!”
Pa.
Alice turned off the communication crystal and stood up with a whoosh, striding out of the tavern.
“Raven Town Adventurers’ Guild Branch.”
Alice walked off into the distance.
“Hmph…”
In the corner of the tavern, a figure stood up as well.
“Really.”
A sickly beautiful face wore an annoyed expression. “Godfather? That idiot lord snuck off and did something behind my back again?”
“If I remember right, that girl is supposed to be a pretty famous Hero these days?”
Witch Sophie fiddled irritably with her fingers. “And then there’s that Empress in the Empire… Idiot Green, just how many troublesome women are you going to attract?”
“Even though, even though you already have me… why do you always lose your memories, always sacrifice yourself again and again!”
Sophie took a deep breath and took a long while to calm herself.
“What’s urgent now is to clear out those Pollution Sources from the ruins.”
The witch looked up towards the direction of the underground ruins.
“Why does it feel like the work I’m doing is just like those Truth Knights… those paladins who weren’t even baptized by the Holy Light?”
There was a hint of resignation in Sophie’s voice.
“But unlike witches, magic beasts… really are Pollution Sources that have to be cleared.”
A trace of feverish flush appeared on Sophie’s pale cheeks.
“Cough, cough, I feel terrible.”
Sophie patted her chest, her eyes filled with endless sorrow.
“I can barely suppress a few magic beasts and it already hurts so much. That idiot lord… how did he bear it all back then?”
Amidst the chatter in the tavern, no one answered Sophie’s question.