Chapter: 478
“Sloppy Junior! How’s work going these days?”
“Oh, just the usual struggle.”
Luca wasn’t that surprised by Karl’s sudden visit.
He had been expecting it since Lucy left this morning, complaining about it being boring.
The Young Lady must have had an inkling about what he was planning.
So, when talking with Lucy, Luca seriously contemplated whether he needed to spring into action on the spot, even if it meant derailing his plans a bit.
If Lucy was here to declare war, Luca would have no choice but to play along.
However, contrary to Luca’s worries, Lucy just scratched his nerves and left without saying anything more.
Luca guessed that although she had some doubts, she wasn’t entirely certain.
If Lucy knew everything, she wouldn’t have let him be linked with the Evil God.
She, who receives the love of the Lord Jushin, wouldn’t let it slide.
Thus, Luca decided to postpone, as there was only a week left until the planned event.
Even the Allen Young Lady couldn’t perfectly manage everything in this one week.
So, he might as well give her time to prepare.
“The more effort the Young Lady puts in, the more beautiful the ending of this plan will be.”
“If a senior like you struggles, then what am I supposed to do?”
“Professor Karl has the Allen Family backing you, right? I, being a commoner, have nothing, so I have to do what I’m told.”
“Haha. I have ears too, Junior. You might not be so underwhelming with connections.”
“Oh no, have I been too dramatic?”
Anyway, the plan was now on track. Even with Professor Karl watching him from the side, it wasn’t going to cause problems.
The only thing bothering him was how to shake off Professor Karl on the day the plan was set to unfold.
“But I’m not lying big time.”
For the past year, having observed Karl, Luca knew he was no ordinary knight.
Among the shining talents in the Allen Knights, he was treated as an outstanding candidate, showing why he was seen that way with his whole body.
From Luca’s viewpoint, if Karl were to join another knightly order, he would’ve likely taken on a significant role already.
Using various means, he could take him down, but it would probably cost a lot in the process.
That would be troublesome.
He needed to devote every ounce of himself to leaving a mark among the stars.
He shouldn’t reach out for some mediocre shining stone.
“What’s a commoner like me gonna do about anything grand with the First Queen’s power behind?”
He needed to think this through.
He had to find a way to transfer his ambiguous talent to some other mediocre fool.
*
The Apostle of the Arts Church, Prete, sat in a chair, tapping his arm with his fingers.
He had no time for this.
He needed to prepare to bring the Young Lady over as soon as possible.
He had to set the perfect environment to paint the Young Lady’s portrait and create a masterpiece of his lifetime.
He had to create something that even the Goddess would commend.
“Prete! Aren’t you showing how annoyed you are? I don’t think I’m the kind of person who deserves this treatment.”
“Huh? Did I do something? I was just listening to the Sword Saint’s story.”
“You really think you can fool my senses with that comment?”
“…I’m sorry, Sword Saint. I’ve been absorbed in some recent tasks.”
The current Sword Saint and the first adventurer of the continent, Yuden, chuckled lightly and brushed aside his bangs.
“You’re talking about the accessories made by the Arts Church, right?”
“Did you know about that?”
“Of course. Those accessories are so famous. Any wealthy merchant would be desperate to get their hands on them.”
Despite being called the Sword Saint, Yuden chose to live as an adventurer rather than becoming a noble in a certain country, roaming around to broaden his horizons even recently.
His fame as a Sword Saint made it not strange for him to have numerous conversations with merchants about accessories.
“I heard the rumors, but is demand really that high?”
“You know well, Prete, that merchants are obsessed with anything related to fortune.”
“Yeah, there’s such a tendency.”
“Tendency? They’re the type who’d gladly eat orc dung if it brought them luck.”
Just possessing Arts Church artifacts brings good fortune and their beauty alone makes one smile just by looking at them—how could that not be popular?
“…Sword Saint, please.”
As Prete talked and laughed, he couldn’t help but let the words slip out.
This was why it was hard to write poems about the current Sword Saint. His usual behavior was so rough that he couldn’t convey the truth as it was.
“Ah, please don’t nag. What do you expect from someone who gave up nobility for that very reason?”
“Sigh.”
Sighing at the disgraceful demeanor, Prete brushed his face and thought to hastily send something off.
“So why did you come here knowing you’d get an earful?”
“Because of the accessory I just mentioned.”
“…You came here to get that accessory? Why?”
Upon hearing Yuden’s words, Prete involuntarily perked up.
The Yuden he knew was someone who wouldn’t bother with accessories like that.
A person who didn’t even feel the need to adorn himself.
A guy who wouldn’t care about beauty, even throwing decent accessories onto the ground as a nuisance.
You’re asking for accessories first!?
“The beauty that the Young Lady possesses seemed to have reached even your unfashionable eyes. Truly touching.”
“…What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“You don’t have to deny it. Admiring the beauty of the Allen Young Lady is completely normal. Even the Goddess I serve thinks so.”
“No, no. I’m really not interested in accessories or beauty at all, you know? If I had any interest, I would have just grabbed some random guy by the collar and taken it. Why would I come all the way here?”
“…So you really feel nothing seeing the Young Lady drawn in the accessory?”
“And?”
“How could someone like this even exist?”
“No, hey, Prete! Your true feelings have completely popped out, you know? You’re not even managing your expressions!”
Luca was taken aback to see Prete, who usually kept a smile, suddenly get serious.
Realizing his rudeness late, Prete cleared his throat, composed his emotions, and continued speaking.
“Then what’s the connection of your purpose for coming here to the accessory?”
“Because the person depicted in it is the Young Lady of the Allen Family, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“This means you and—”
“Prete!”
In the midst of their conversation, the door suddenly swung open, and a priest from the church appeared.
Gasping for breath as if he had rushed in, he immediately bowed his head upon seeing the Sword Saint.
“I’m sorry! Sword Saint! Excuse me!”
“It’s fine. I’m nothing special.”
“However…”
“More importantly, there’s something urgent. Say it.”
“…Thank you for your consideration; I’ll take the liberty. Prete! The Young Lady of the Allen Family has come to visit!”
“The Young Lady has come!?”
“The Young Lady of the Allen Family is here!?”
*
Thinking I would meet the Sword Saint, I immediately went to Karia to ask about her whereabouts.
Wandering around as he did as a Sword Saint, it was natural that some information about her would accumulate.
As I expected, Karia gave me an immediate answer about the Sword Saint’s location.
“He’s at the Arts Church right now.”
“…What?”
However, that answer was far off from what I expected. Why was a guy who lived wandering around in dangerous places at the Arts Church? That’s no place for a Sword Saint to step foot!
Even if I felt bewildered, reality wouldn’t change.
The Sword Saint was definitely at the Arts Church, and according to Karia, he was in the middle of a conversation with Prete.
What the hell? I have to go to the place full of those perverts again?
In a place where crazy folks kneel down and cry out prayers as I walk by!?
[Isn't this actually a good thing? If you’ve got a connection with the Apostle of the Arts Church, it would be easier to convince them.]
‘…I get that, but switch places with me. Grandpa. I have to go to where people are delighted just because they received blessings after getting an earful of criticism! Do you think you could stand that, Grandpa!?’
[What’s the big deal? We had similar situations back in my day.]
‘Similar, you say?’
[We were heroes in a gloomy world.]
Hearing my grandpa’s story about how they created festivals everywhere they went, I didn’t really empathize.
‘So those guys bowed down to you, desperately asking to be stepped on?’
<...Uh.>
‘Did they beg you to spit on them for inspiration?’
<...Mhm.>
‘No, right?’
<...>
‘Then don’t pretend to understand. I really don’t want to go there.’
[My bad.]
After squabbling with grandpa and preparing myself mentally, I used the Translocation Technique to head to the Arts Church.
As soon as I set foot in the church, what happened was not much different from what I had expected.
The people were lighting up, saying the Goddess had visited again, others were sprawled on the floor praying, and some were weeping just because they made eye contact with me.
Viewing that hellish scene, I showed genuine contempt as I spotted someone rushing towards me in the distance.
Worn-out robes, leather armor commonly worn by adventurers, and an eye-catching sword that seemed a bit excessive compared to other equipment.
The person with that appearance was definitely the Sword Saint, but why the hell was he running towards me?
…Could it be that he’s one of those perverts too?
Is he into sloppy foxes or perverted apostles!?
What if something happened and he became weird out of nowhere?
As I felt perplexed by the fierce gaze of the Sword Saint, he reached me.
With obsidian-like black eyes staring at me, he suddenly kneeled on the ground, straining his neck.
“Oh, Young Lady of the Allen Family! Please give me the chance to meet your father… No! Make me the opportunity to see Young Master Allen! Please!!!”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.