Goongjeongwon agent, Ko Jeong-soo, Inha’s junior, was sweating bullets.
“Elder, you wanted to know the results of the investigation?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Archbishop Kelaout, polite yet exuding a peculiar intimidation, made the request respectfully.
“You mentioned you just finished looking around this place. I would like you to tell me all the peculiarities you found during that process. Is that possible?”
Was it just my imagination? To Jeong-soo, that sounded like, ‘You should be able to do this.’
Even when he appeared on the Pope’s broadcast, his impression of this old man was that, no matter how polite he spoke, he didn’t seem at all gentle.
In other words, it felt like he was hiding a fiery and rough temperament deep inside and suppressing it.
This was a conclusion drawn from Jeong-soo’s innate intuition and deduction, which had developed from interacting with many people as an agent.
Based on that freshly formed conclusion, Jeong-soo quickly racked his brain for an answer.
“Of course, I should tell you. I will inform you in detail without missing a thing!”
He must not offend Archbishop Kelaout.
This was the final judgment of a somewhat seasoned National Intelligence Service agent.
*
The battle between Yao and the Void Monster had reached its climax.
“Uaaah!”
With a fierce roar, a blue spear pierced the side of the White Tiger.
It was a direct hit. Whether in pain or not, the monster twisted its body, howling in agony.
– Kiieee….
Even with the spine-chilling screams echoing close by, Yao didn’t cover her ears but instead focused the strength in her arms.
With that, the spear penetrated the body and emerged from the other side.
The monster howled even louder, twisting its body as it suddenly moved all its tentacles toward Yao.
A surprise attack, aimed at a moment of vulnerability.
It was a commendable resistance for a mindless creature, but it returned to nothing.
That was because it couldn’t figure out what the enemy’s abilities were.
“Here it is.”
Pierced by the onslaught of tentacles, Yao disappeared like smoke into the air and reappeared directly in front of the White Tiger.
To be precise, she was there from the very beginning.
Utilizing all her stealth and concealment abilities, it was a level of skill that would have gone unnoticed if I hadn’t focused.
“Oooh, wow. Surprising. Was she there? Amazing, amazing. Clever trick!”
The frantic robot, perhaps actually believing it was stabbed by a tentacle, made an excited mechanical sound.
If it were a robot, wouldn’t its visual acuity be much better than a human’s? Shouldn’t it have been able to approximately grasp how Yao was moving?
Moreover, it had even received a blessing from me earlier, yet it was terribly useless.
“Pope, please understand.”
Wip, the Returnee’s specialized lawyer, once again chimed in to defend her comrade.
“Kim Ji-yeon’s world was one where all battles were decided through card games. The fundamental laws of this world are completely different, so she would struggle to perform properly.”
“But what about her physical abilities?”
Even if she couldn’t give her all coming from a card game world, it was still worthwhile to recruit Kim Ji-yeon as a robot.
Her mechanical body would likely have superior performance compared to an ordinary person, so she could still act as a Holy Knight. Any lacking abilities could be compensated with Sacred Power.
A devout Holy Knight, where the cold mechanical body harmonizes with the warm faith—now that paints a pretty picture.
So, I had expectations, but unfortunately, the story Wip relayed was slightly distant from what I had hoped.
“To my knowledge, her basic physical abilities aren’t that impressive. She only possesses judgment and calculation skills typical of a robot from a card-fighting world.”
“Is her strength and endurance at least decent?”
“Essentially, she’s at a child’s level…”
“……”
So, she couldn’t utilize her main abilities, and her body was weak?
All around, this Returnee had nothing but disappointing traits. When compared to Wip, who was superior in every way, those flaws became glaringly obvious.
But still, the invitation to join our organization was extended. The more followers, the better.
“Kim Ji-yeon, although it’s late, congratulations on your recovery.”
I stood beside the flustered robot, watching the rookie Holy Knight conclude her fight.
At that moment, the talisman’s design was completely reversed.
[(*´∪`)]
Thereafter, Kim Ji-yeon tightly grasped my two hands and bowed her head.
“Once again, thank you, thank you.”
At least she knew how to properly express her gratitude. That meant she hadn’t lost her reasoning and emotions as a person despite the long return.
A determined individual who, even after suddenly becoming a robot and enduring the passage of time, refused to give up her humanity.
Now that I see it, she wasn’t a bad Returnee at all.
What was once just a duty turned into a desire to extend an invitation to join.
“Would you be interested in joining our Order?”
Without hesitation, when I asked, an immediate response came. Not through words, but through the symbols on the talisman.
[!ㅁ!]
[>-<⋆]
What could this mean? Rather than a single emoticon, two appeared simultaneously.
Could it possibly indicate approval? Unsure, I stared at the talisman until Kim Ji-yeon suddenly extended her hand.
“Of course, joining. Totally welcome. I originally depended on religion.”
It was a refreshing acceptance without a hint of doubt.
“A splendid choice.”
I smiled as I held her outstretched hand.
Finally, we had added one more Returnee to our Order.
Securing talents is always a joy. Grinning, I started to explain the basic teachings.
“Bringing bright light to the weak and fierce flames to the wicked. That is our Order’s greeting. You can see clearly what we strive for, can’t you?”
“I understand, understand.”
“And our Goddess symbolizes the sun.”
“Aha, aha.”
Kim Ji-yeon, who repeated a simple exclamation twice when once would have sufficed, soon marked the talisman with another drawing.
No, this time it was words.
[Love for the Sun♥]
A straightforward and easily understandable testimony of faith.
“In any case, let’s get along well from now on.”
“That’s it, that’s what I wanted to say.”
Just as I successfully secured a new believer, the battle between Yao and the monster finally came to an end.
– Kkiiiiii….
With unpleasant noises until the very end, the monster lay helplessly on the ground. Surrounding it was a puddle of black blood.
“Phew. Impressive, you.”
Yao, slightly panting, made the blue spear vanish.
Her face was smeared with black blood, and her clothes were torn in places but she didn’t appear to have any injuries. Truly a sight fitting for a top-ranking Holy Knight.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
I hurriedly approached and infused Yao with Sacred Power. It was to recover her vitality.
Then I asked Wip.
“Now, could you modify this child’s appearance to what Yao desires?”
“Sure! I’ll take care of it!”
Yao excitedly listed various requests to Wip with a face full of anticipation.
“I want it to be more majestic than any beast on Earth, something that would make passing folks left in awe. At the same time, it should manage to maintain cuteness and lovability. Not easy, right?”
“…Yeah.”
The delicate Dark Elf smiled awkwardly and soon squatted beside the monster, placing her hands on it.
In that position, she unleashed her Void Power, completely enveloping the monster’s body that had been marred by Yao’s spear.
So this was how it was done. It was a surprisingly simpler method than expected.
Crack, smash, crunch!
For some reason, sounds of cracking and breaking echoed as the serious surgery on the monster’s appearance began.
“What, what was that just now?!”
Yao, startled, asked, while Wip casually replied, as if it was nothing.
“It’s just an unavoidable sound that occurs during the process of relocating the skeleton.”
“…Are you going to physically change it? I thought it would be a magical ‘poof’ transformation.”
“I can’t use magic. I have to break and crush the bones and flesh with Void Power, then reattach them properly.”
“……”
To casually state such a terrifying thing, Wip, a good-natured fellow, certainly seemed unable to fully escape the tendencies of the Dark Elf.
“B-Black Tiger, I’m so sorry!”
Realizing the gruesome truth, Yao knelt and cried out, but Wip’s surgery did not cease.
How long did we wait?
“It’s finished.”
After a while, Wip removed her hands from the monster’s body.
Having spent quite a bit of her Void Power and vitality, her already sickly complexion looked even darker than usual.
To go to such lengths over just changing a monster’s appearance. If someone is too nice, it can be a drawback.
“Black Tiger!”
Meanwhile, Yao, who insisted on bringing the monster home, was now cradling the shrunk Black Tiger in her arms.
The result of the appearance alteration was a massive success.
With sparkling eyes and a smaller frame.
Gone were the tentacles from its body, and it now had a normal-looking tail.
What used to be an ugly monster had turned into a baby tiger, perfect for keeping as a pet at home.
– Grrr….
Once a disturbing sound, now it felt more like adorable whining.
The surgery ended smoothly with no flaws. One could scarcely offer any praise but one drawback still lingered.
“Hehe, Black Tiger, I’m your master… Aah!”
As Yao tried to pat the head of the Black Tiger with a beaming expression, she ended up getting bitten hard.
Not just a quick nip, but the creature continued to shake its head violently, as if strangling its prey.
To this day, though it had become too small to be labeled a monster, its aggressiveness still seemed intense.
“Aren’t you a good Black Tiger?”
Even though her hand was bitten, her clothes were torn, she still seemed to find it cute. Yao was gently trying to soothe the Black Tiger.
Even in pain, she looked thoroughly distressed.
Yet, curiously, her temper didn’t flare up. Wouldn’t it be nice if she showed that kind of patience more often?
‘Still looks good.’
A stunningly beautiful woman struggling to tame a somewhat rough Black Tiger.
For a spectator, it was a delightful scene to behold.
With the Returnee in robust health, observing the whole thing, I felt no urge to intervene, merely watching.
“Haha, I must have been mistaken. Black Tiger, this is called a hand. It’s a crucial part of utilizing tools that prove the superiority of humans. It doesn’t mean it’s just a toy for you to bite and play with.”
Our top-ranking Holy Knight displayed a contradictory action by scolding while still laughing with her hand in the tiger’s mouth.
The newly welcomed robot, watching the display with interest, chuckled.
“Haha haha. Look at this! So funny! Total skit. Laughter explosion.”
Whatever was so amusing, Kim Ji-yeon was shaking her body with laughter.
Had her laughter code gone haywire from the lengthy return?
At that moment, an unsettling feeling flashed through my mind.
‘What if she was the most normal among the injured Returnees?’
I flinched at the thought, but it was nothing more than an unfounded delusion, so I quickly calmed my mind.
I shook my head, brushing aside the unnecessary thoughts and softly spoke.
“Then let’s head back to the Sun Cathedral soon.”
All business in the Void was complete.
Now, it was time to return.
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