Inside the Holy See's courtyard—
It was truly hard to imagine that the interior of this holy cathedral would actually be planted with flowers of all colors, forming a stark contrast with the dusty streets outside.
It was clear that the master of this place really knew how to enjoy himself.
“Wow, the flowers here are so beautiful! Priest Zakum, did you plant all of these yourself?”
Lin Ling looked at the flowers planted all around, her eyes practically sparkling.
Her question was highly gratifying to Zakum, who was leading the way.
“Naturally. A beautiful lady, of course, deserves to be paired with beautiful flowers.”
Seeing how Lin Ling looked at the flowerbeds with such admiration, Zakum could barely maintain the fake smile on his face.
Glancing sideways at Ichikawa standing next to Lin Ling, he found the yellow-haired guy to be an absolute eyesore.
Conveniently, the capital had just dispatched a few useless sisters down here.
Thinking of those sisters who had been escorted over, using them to distract this annoying yellow-haired punk would be perfect.
“The two of you have come from afar, so you must be quite tired. Why don't I lead you inside the Holy See to have a seat first?”
Once they were inside the Holy See, he had plenty of ways to separate the two of them. When that time came...
“Oh, that's so embarrassing. Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you, Lord Zakum?”
Lin Ling scratched her head, averting her gaze with an embarrassed look.
“What does it matter? You've come to seek the help of the Goddess, so of course I must show you proper hospitality.”
Looking at the already opened doors of the Holy See's main hall, and Zakum who had taken the lead to step inside.
Lin Ling and Ichikawa exchanged a look.
Indeed, they should give him a very proper “reception.”
This guy's hypocritical and disgusting desires were practically oozing from his body, yet he could still spout “Goddess” with every breath.
The moment the two of them stepped inside the Holy See, the doors slammed shut with a heavy thud.
Immediately after, sisters began walking toward them one by one from the depths of the cathedral.
When Ichikawa saw these sisters, a look of shock appeared on his face.
“You... Why are you all here?!”
Shouldn't these sisters be at the capital's Holy See? Why were they here on the border?
The sisters also clearly recognized this Hero from another world.
After all, anyone belonging to the Holy See could recognize the Hero equipment he wore, which was kept in their custody—except, perhaps, for those half-baked priests who had been forced into their positions.
But saying all this now was already meaningless.
“Lord Ichikawa, please come with me first. I will show you around the interior of the Holy See.”
The sisters bowed to Ichikawa in unison, speaking to him with a trace of weariness in their eyes.
As they spoke, Ichikawa noticed that the tightly clenched hands of these sisters were trembling slightly.
Were they afraid he would refuse?
He glanced at Lin Ling beside him, and she nodded back.
“Go ahead. It's a good chance to learn about this guy's crimes.”
Waving her hand at Ichikawa, Lin Ling walked toward the depths of the Holy See on her own.
Watching Lin Ling, who had already walked some distance away, Ichikawa placed his hand back on his waist and followed the sisters in the opposite direction.
Sensing Zakum's turbid mana, Lin Ling knocked on the room's door.
“Oh~ beautiful lady, what an honor. Next is our private time together.”
When Zakum opened the door, the clean priest robes he had been wearing were gone, replaced by an incredibly gorgeous formal suit.
He looked exactly like a VIP attending a luxurious banquet.
“Wow, Priest Zakum, you look really handsome right now.”
“Of course. You know, if it weren't for my father being here, I would never have returned to this wretched border.”
Dusting off his clothes, Zakum was like a peacock, constantly broadcasting the signal that he was a noble to Lin Ling.
Father?
“In that case, you must love your father very much.”
“Naturally. You should know Baron Will, right? He is my father.”
“That's truly hard to believe. Oh, by the way, was this cathedral renovated by your father?”
Seeing that this guy was completely lost in his own world, Lin Ling began her questioning.
“Of course not. Let me tell you, those fellows on the border have clearly made a fortune off those damn demons' magic crystal ores.”
“A month ago, some guy came by with a white-haired brat, saying they wanted a priest from the Holy See to treat her.”
“How could I possibly know those damn Holy Light spells? I just casually threw some mana at her to get rid of them, and that guy actually pulled out a mountain of gold coins.”
This guy was definitely talking about Charis.
“Do you know that you are destroying a family?”
Hearing Zakum's prideful tone, the smile on Lin Ling's face instantly vanished.
“Hey, hey, what's with that cold expression? They're just some commoners on the border.”
Seeing Lin Ling's expression turn cold, the smugness on Zakum's face gradually faded.
“So what you're saying is, commoners' lives don't matter?”
Behind Lin Ling, magic arms began to manifest, their golden glow illuminating the room.
“What are you doing? Hey, are you seriously going to attack me over a commoner girl?”
Seeing Lin Ling slowly extending her magic arms toward him, Zakum scrambled backward.
As a useless hack who had risen through connections, he knew his own limitations. At the very least, he couldn't materialize pure mana into a solid arm.
But as Zakum kept backing up, he suddenly felt himself bump into a hard block of iron.
At the same time, a pair of hands pressed down on his shoulders.
“Hello there, noble priest of the border.”
Ichikawa had appeared in the room at some point, even though the door hadn't been opened.
“How did you get in?!”
“It's our turn now.”
“Ugh—”
Before Zakum could reply, he felt a heavy blow slam into his abdomen, causing him to instantly curl up on the floor.
As for the culprit, Ichikawa flipped his hair. Punching a piece of trash was truly satisfying.
“My father is—”
“Even if your father is a beast, it won't save you!”
Before Zakum, who was kneeling on the ground, could finish his sentence, Lin Ling's magic arms swiftly bound him, propping him up in front of Ichikawa like a punching bag.
To prevent Zakum from crying out, Lin Ling also used a magic arm to gag his mouth.
“The sisters have already told me everything. It seems you've really pushed magic to its limits over the past month just to build this useless structure.”
To build this damn cathedral, this guy had already damaged the magic circuits of several sisters.
Looking at Zakum, who was desperately trying to speak, Ichikawa signaled Lin Ling to free his mouth.
“Mmph—!”
“You... you will regret this! My older brother is the captain of this city's cavalry! Just for a few commoners, you dare treat me like this?! You... mmph, mmph!”
“Forget it, I don't want to listen to this guy's nonsense.”
Dragging him directly in front of herself, Lin Ling whispered in Zakum's ear.
“Your older brother has already paved the way for you. He must be missing you dearly.”
Another magic arm appeared behind her, directly punching Zakum in the stomach.
“Why don't you experience that burning sensation of having mana injected into your body as well?”
Feeling a powerful surge of mana injected into his body, Zakum struggled wildly within the magic arms.
But Lin Ling's mana was like a violent torrent, rampaging through Zakum's body. His internal magic circuits swelled continuously, followed immediately by an intense burning sensation.
However, this priest was not as fortunate as Lina, who possessed the magic circuits of the demon race to resist the mana injection. After struggling for only a brief moment, he went limp and quiet within Lin Ling's magic arms.
Rate on N.U.
