Chapter: 431
The apostle of the Art Guild, Frete, was having a rather busy time lately.
He used to spend most of the year wandering around the continent, but now, he found himself cooped up in the Art Guild, unable to go anywhere at all.
For those who had been frantically urging him to finally do his apostle duties, this was definitely a welcome change. Unfortunately, this time it was not.
Even the usual people pestering Frete were too busy trying to keep up with the skyrocketing demand for accessories to give him any grief.
When the guild initially planned to create accessories related to Lucy, they were certain these pieces would be popular. After all, how could anyone resist the combination of the guild’s artistic flair and the masterpiece that was Lucy Alrn?
Thus, from the start, they intended to produce them in bulk, hoping that more folks would get to know the goddess’s manifestation named Lucy Alrn.
However, nobody foresaw the exponential rise in demand for accessories like they were seeing now.
“…Who could have imagined the demand would get so crazy that there would be people reselling them at a high price?”
Frete, who hadn’t been able to sleep even once recently, looked absolutely haggard despite being a man who had stolen the hearts of many noble ladies. Yet, his eyes still sparkled with passion.
“The sheer beauty of the young lady must be overwhelming. It’s delightful. I must try even harder.”
Having been faced with this madness, Karia involuntarily grimaced. She had thought him crazy before, but it seemed even worse when it involved her employer.
If it weren’t for Frete’s position, she wouldn’t want to associate with this guy at all.
“How does the employer tolerate someone like this? If it were me, I would’ve told Benedict to half-kill him by now.”
“Karia? Are you listening to me?”
“Don’t worry. I’m letting your words flow in one ear and out the other.”
“So, you’re acknowledging you’re listening, huh?”
“That’s just saying I’m not. Don’t interpret it any way you like, you idiot.”
With a deep sigh, Karia leaned back on the sofa and continued.
“If what you’re saying is true, then the Art Guild will be focusing on making accessories for a while.”
“It seems so. With the dark god’s followers acting sluggishly, this works out perfectly.”
Indeed, Karia had not only been teaching Jackal during the break. Technically, teaching him had been just an additional task; the real effort had been to reduce the power of the dark god’s worshippers.
Since being rescued by Lucy last year, Karia had naturally come to realize that Lucy was destined to battle the dark god.
It was hard not to realize it, considering how obvious it was that Lucy Alrn was walking a path befitting a god’s apostle.
Having been saved from the clutches of the evil god, Karia was doing various things for Lucy Alrn to repay that debt.
One of those tasks was to weaken the dark god’s followers in advance. The fewer enemies there were, the less danger Lucy Alrn would have to face.
Using her past connections, Karia had worked alongside several guilds and now recognized that it was indeed time to prepare.
Due to the intense attacks against the dark god’s followers, they too were beginning to erase their tracks.
The void followers had become so elusive that Karia found it hard to track their movements at all.
It was now the right time to regroup and wait for the moment to strike.
“The Church of the Lord seems to be in quite a bit of confusion, so now’s a good time to take a break.”
“What’s the situation over at the Church?”
“Well, some pigs have gone missing over there. Rumor has it that the dark god’s followers have something to do with it, but a collaborator indicates it’s likely more of an internal conflict.”
Just as Karia was about to share her thoughts, recalling the stories Johan told about the Pope directly getting involved when Frete’s crystal suddenly glowed.
Upon seeing the light, Frete forgot Karia was even there and immediately took out the crystal for activation.
Who in the world could it be contacting him like that? Karia’s question was quickly answered as Lucy’s face appeared atop the glowing crystal.
Thinking about it now, it’s only natural. For this lunatic, that must be the only thing worth getting worked up about.
While Karia couldn’t hide her disdain, Frete was spellbound by Lucy’s words that he was needed.
Hearing Lucy say she needed him, he looked as if he would burst into tears right then and there.
After Lucy, who was shocked, ended the call, Frete immediately jumped to his feet.
“Excuse me, Karia! I must leave right away!”
“No, I just heard the same thing you did. We don’t need to rush straight there.”
“No! We must go! How can this foolish person keep the young lady waiting!”
Shouting that he had to finish all preparations and head to the location Lucy mentioned, Frete dashed out of the room without even a proper farewell.
Left alone, Karia pressed her temples, then let out another sigh.
If the young lady called that creep, she must have received another divine revelation. Something very dangerous, I bet.
The fact that a threat I hadn’t caught wind of still exists on this continent… It’s obvious that my information network needs some serious work.
I’ve got to tidy things up. With that thought, Karia decided to leave the external matters to Alsetin while she returned to Academy Street.
To organize her current shabby network of information. And to keep an eye on the growing interest the First Queen had in Lucy Alrn.
“But can that guy even go outside? The situation in the Art Guild doesn’t seem that relaxed.”
As Karia contemplated that, the question she raised turned out to be somewhat correct and somewhat incorrect.
While it was valid that she didn’t easily accept Frete’s words about going out, the following was different.
“This time, I’m going!”
“No! It’s me!”
“We can’t let the Apostle monopolize the young lady!”
“Stop spouting nonsense! It was me who the young lady called upon! The young lady summoned Frete herself, what gives you the right to go first?!”
As Frete and the members of the Art Guild engaged in a deadly argument while leaving the guild, Karia couldn’t help but wonder if there was anyone here who was normal.
*
From the moment he lost the bet, Arthur anticipated being mocked by Lucy Alrn.
No, to be precise, he had known this would happen since the bet was made. Lucy loved to tease those who lost bets, after all.
“Why are you rushing me? Don’t you know that losers should wallow in sorrow? It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve been humiliated by you. It’s quite pathetic, your intelligence is so miserable I can’t help but feel sorry for you. How sad~”
Of course, knowing it was one thing, but being angry was another thing entirely. Arthur clenched his fist so tightly it bled, suppressing his rage.
Currently, Lucy Alrn had won the bet and acquired the right to demand something from them.
Thus, being obstructive would only lead to them suffering a terrible fate.
Recently, when Arthur had almost had to wear a bunny girl outfit during a dungeon raid, he understood that provoking Lucy would get him nowhere.
So, he decided to swallow his pride and stay quiet.
The problem was that this reluctant demeanor only served to pique Lucy’s sadistic interest further.
“Is the prospect of what I’m about to make you do scaring you? You can’t even speak up? No matter how pitiful and miserable you are, you’re still a prince, right? You can’t look so pathetic!”
“Don’t worry. Is there anyone as sweet and adorable as me in this world? Just keep your expectations high because I’m going to ask you to do something that you’ll love!”
Feeling like he’d caught sight of the devil’s tail in Lucy’s giggles, Arthur found himself compelled to agree with whatever she said just to survive.
He felt a constant sense of danger that his dignity might crumble to dust at any moment.
“I should prepare myself to cultivate skills that allow me to survive alone in case something goes wrong while we raid the outer dungeon, right?”
With that as his justification, Arthur vigorously threw himself into the training of conquering dungeons solo.
Naturally, he wasn’t the only one facing this predicament.
To avoid a future without camaraderie by refusing to practice duels, Frey reluctantly started learning to raid dungeons alone.
Joy likewise surrendered to the threat that if he didn’t show a cute side, she wouldn’t allow him to join in the fun.
Even the seemingly unyielding Phoebe caved under Lucy’s taunts, her face turning red as she silently stepped into a dungeon.
Thus, the group, determined to come up with detailed maps of the academy’s dungeons, roamed around until the night before entering the outer dungeon.
To outsmart Lucy Alrn’s innocent mischief.
“Hmm. Honestly, this is not great, but considering they’re losers getting trampled by a girl, it might be acceptable?”
Having taken in the various layouts they had mapped of the academy dungeon, Lucy bobbed her head while collecting the maps.
“With this, I should be fine even if I fall into a dungeon alone and don’t end up sobbing like a lost child.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Tomorrow we’ll head to the outer dungeon. Get ready, you poor prince.”
*
Muir, the owner of the massive northern wilderness and often called the wolf with the sharpest fangs, was on the move toward a forest after receiving word from Lina.
While Muir was slightly peculiar, his abilities were among the best among the other powerful beings, so if Lina spoke with confidence, then surely something awaited him in that forest.
Recalling his past visit to Lina’s forest, Muir praised himself for his insight.
Had he not taken the chance to move back then, thinking Lina would be okay, he would have missed this opportunity.
Admittedly, after being thoroughly explored by Lina, he felt a tinge of regret, but at this point, it felt worthwhile.
“Oh, speaking of which, the one who asked for my help this time is the one depicted on that accessory.”
Seeing the design in the crystal made him gasp, and he wondered just how beautiful the real thing must be, especially since Lina, who usually had specific tastes, was so captivated.
It’s definitely something to look forward to.
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