Chapter 286
“It’s been a while… Alicia.”
Liam cautiously greeted Alicia, who was perched atop a building.
She responded, looking down at Liam and Emily.
“…Yes. It’s been a while for both of you.”
“……”
Alicia’s cold voice still felt unfamiliar.
Even during their time at the Academia, her warm and friendly tone had completely vanished.
Her white hair still gleamed, though.
But her usually bright and transparent blue eyes seemed faded, as if they had lost their color.
Her lips, which used to easily rise and fall with emotions, now sat stoically fixed in place.
This was the current Alicia.
The version of her that had spent four years apart from Vargan.
“Grrrghh…! Graaaaaah!”
As the paralysis Liam had cast wore off, Tigres attempted to flee.
However.
“Gahk—!”
He was easily subdued by a gust of wind magic unleashed by Alicia, and Tigres lost consciousness.
With elemental magic at her transcendent level, Alicia could kill her foes without lifting a finger.
“……”
Alicia soon recognized the downed Tigres.
However, whether it was indifference or something else, her gaze shifted back to Liam and Emily.
“Would you follow me for a report?”
Alicia was entirely focused on her mission, refusing to engage in any personal conversation.
Neither Liam nor Emily could muster the courage to speak warmly to her anymore and simply nodded.
It was impossible to remember the last time they had laughed and exchanged words with Alicia.
“Alright, let’s move.”
Liam and Emily followed Alicia.
Once friends who shared their hearts, their meaning had faded now.
*
“I’ll be back with the report shortly, so please wait just a moment.”
Team leader Liam entered the Church with Alicia.
Because of this, the four heroes—including the late-arriving Arha and company—had to wait in the hallway.
Having already encountered the Goddess Church, they were without their divine armor.
“Geez. We really struck out on that.”
Arha kicked a column in frustration.
After using a divine artifact to barely track down the Bishop, most of their accomplishments had ended up being Alicia’s.
Emily shrugged, dismissing the concern.
“Well, at least no one got hurt.”
“Hurt or not, our achievements were handed over to that white-haired woman.”
“Anyway… you weren’t even there, so you wouldn’t have gained anything from the hunt.”
“It would have been better if you guys had just monopolized it.”
“This is my progress.”
“You really hate Alicia, don’t you…?”
Emily could feel just how much Arha disliked Alicia.
Suddenly, some familiar faces approached her.
“Looks like you’ve turned into a complete grumpy old lady in the meantime?”
A voice dripping with mischief and a rough edge.
The man with a long scar on his face and those following him were familiar to Emily.
“Wow, you guys! It’s been ages!”
Emily’s eyes widened as she greeted them.
It felt like it had been almost a year since they last saw each other.
They were once part of the Arbol Frutal Heroes.
Her peers Kaiman and Finn, and her juniors Adalhyde and Machenia.
“Really, I’m so happy to see you!”
As nostalgia washed over her, Emily joyfully hugged them all at once.
For a moment, while bouncing around with them, she started checking on each one.
“How have you been? Wow, Finn, you’ve gotten even stronger! Adalhyde, still youthful as ever, and Machenia… you’re not still wetting yourself, right?”
“Oh, naturally, I’m graciously excluding myself from that.”
“Hey Kaiman, do we really need to ask each other how we’re doing?”
“Ahem. Well, we’ve had enough boring arguments over time, haven’t we?”
As Emily and Kaiman were bickering, Machenia raised a question.
“Wait a minute, it was supposed to be a nice conversation, but why am I still the one who wets himself…? When did that even happen?!”
Machenia, along with his younger sibling Adalhyde, had attended the public interview for Arbol Frutal.
During the interview, he had wet himself, and even after the Academia merged with Rikeion, he was still called a bedwetter.
Also, Machenia hadn’t been a part of the original Arbol Frutal crew as he had failed the interview.
However, he got to join the new Research Society created by Alicia after gathering members from Arbol Frutal.
Adalhyde, looking at Machenia with pity, muttered under her breath.
“…Idiot.”
“……”
Even when his younger sister openly dismissed him, Machenia couldn’t express any complaints.
He had committed an unforgivable sin against Adalhyde, after all.
He had apologized once, but it still seemed like she needed more time to forgive him.
While watching them, Emily suddenly asked Finn.
“Are Serena and the others here?”
“Not everyone, just some. Serena is laying low in another city with Bantlo.”
“I see… That’s a bit disappointing. I want to see the others too. Are they all doing well?”
“We’re doing fine. The ‘direct unit’ gets treated pretty well, you know.”
“Oh right. I’m not in a position to worry about you guys.”
Emily offered a wry smile.
The Holy Emperor Liovergo, the peak force within Yggdrasil.
The direct unit that follows his orders above all else.
Sylvester, ranked 1st among the Heroes.
Helion, ranked 2nd.
Alicia, ranked 9th.
Along with a few others, these Heroes were assigned special missions beyond typical Hero duties.
Their objective was to maintain and uphold the existing Church system.
They acted much like the heart of the old power.
Those who used to be part of Arbol Frutal had been absorbed into the direct unit under the leadership of the Research Society head, Alicia.
Thus, a situation arose where the former members of Arbol Frutal found themselves at odds with the new Heroes under Saint Diphelia.
Despite this new dynamic, Emily and Liam from the new force mingled well with the existing members.
“…Anyway, I’m glad to hear you all are doing well.”
Emily sincerely said that.
It was not uncommon for rookie Heroes to perish on missions; it had been happening for quite a while now.
It’s not unusual to die on this mission; it’s been happening for days, if not months.
There are countless things you won’t see even if you wait days or months.
Finn and the others understood that meaning and couldn’t just laugh it off.
Emily looked at her former comrades with somewhat pitying eyes and then noticed something wriggling in Finn’s pocket.
“…But, Finn. You’re still carrying that cloud around, huh?”
“Ah… well, it just kind of happened.”
“Weren’t you supposed to return it to its original owner?”
“I’m too busy with the mission to find the time.”
Finn shrugged as if there was nothing he could do about it.
…Just as their greetings were about to wrap up, Alicia and Liam came out, exchanging words.
“Liam, please move with your teammates from now on. Especially since you have Emily, the Saint, with you, be careful.”
“Got it. You guys need to stay here, right?”
“Yes, because there’s no way Altife wouldn’t target the Holy King. We need to continue searching for the bishops hidden in the city…”
Alicia started to say more but stopped when she spotted Arha approaching with a displeased look.
“What is it, Arha?”
“Don’t let that dog that only wags its tail at the Holy Emperor give orders. We’ll handle our own business.”
“….”
“Hey, Arha…!”
Liam, flustered by Arha’s statement, tried to stop her, but Arha insisted that her point wasn’t finished, getting even more annoyed.
Most of the heroes from Rikeion, including Arha, were part of the new forces.
“Arha, we’re in a situation where the bishops might conquer the city. This isn’t the time to divide between new and old forces.”
“Yeah, of course, you’d say that. The Holy King here in Rose is one of the key figures of that so-called old force. He probably wants to spread his hands as wide as he can. Wouldn’t it be even better if we ended up dead? Right?”
“…I can’t let that statement slide, Arha.”
“If you can’t let it slide… what are you going to do?”
The two exchanged sharp glances.
Arha’s body tensed as if she was about to use magic.
Liam forcibly pulled her away to calm the situation, awkwardly smiling toward Alicia.
“Ah, no! Don’t get me wrong! Arha didn’t mean it in a bad way or anything.”
“Hey! Liam! Who are you to say what I meant… Ugh!”
“Alright, we don’t have time to bicker like this. We need to go protect the city. See you all later.”
Liam left with his teammates, covering Arha’s mouth.
He wanted to spend some quality time with his long-missed comrades, but it didn’t seem possible.
“…….”
Alicia watched Liam and his group.
“Hey, Arha! Just stay still!”
“Ugh, ugh! Ugh! —Ugh!”
“Get your hands off me…!”
As Liam dragged Arha despite her biting him, she howled like a furious wild dog as they moved away.
“Alicia—! Listen well! You’re incredibly annoying! Do you know that?”
“…….”
“There used to be some sweetness about you, but now what the heck are you doing? You hypocritical b*tch! Have you become so greedy for power—!”
“…….”
“You think it’s good to climb up like that? Is that what you want, you b*tch?! Just fawning over the Holy Emperor and sucking the juice out of the Central Church—!”
“Is it good now—!”
As they disappeared behind the building, too far to be seen anymore.
No more shouts could be heard.
However, Alicia couldn’t take her eyes off them, as if she were still watching.
“…….”
Silently, without saying a word.
Gazing quietly into the darkness, she bit her lip and then averted her eyes.
*
“Are you okay, Liam? There’s… blood…!”
“I’m fine….”
The bite mark on Liam’s hand.
He must have been bitten hard for the skin to tear and bleed.
Emily, who had scolded Arha, hurriedly used healing magic. Liam spoke to Arha, who was walking a bit further away.
“Arha, seriously, be careful. Alicia is ranked 9th in the Hero Ranking. If she wanted, she could easily cut us off from being heroes.”
“Come on, if she’s going to do it, let her! Do you think I’m scared?”
“I’m really worried…. What are you going to do when you get your team members later…?”
“Mind your own business.”
“……”
Liam let out a long sigh.
He walked on with his mouth shut, then opened it again when Arha’s anger seemed to subside.
“By the way, why do you hate Alicia so much? The direct faction is an old power, but she’s a proper member of the church. Honestly, she’s not doing anything bad.”
“…….”
“I don’t think you have a reason to be that angry….”
“This is insane. You watched the Saint go through hell and you’re saying this?”
“The Saint? You mean Diphelia?”
“… Yeah.”
Arha responded bluntly.
She mentioned all the efforts Diphelia had made until now.
“How hard do you think she’s been trying to clear out the church’s filth? It was the same in Rikeion, but it’s even more so after becoming a hero.”
“…….”
“Even with that Divine Bug suppressor. She completed it alone with her blood and sweat, while the old power tried to gobble it up. Honestly, I can’t stand those guys.”
“That indeed happened… um.”
“Is that all? There are many other things.”
Arha’s point was this.
The old powers, having maintained their authority for so long, were busy satisfying their own desires, and the direct faction was just a mechanism to further fill their bellies.
However, since Alicia had walked into the direct faction leading Arbol Frutal, she could never view it positively.
“…So am I supposed to have a good impression of Alicia? Look, she used to wander around with the most innocent face, but as soon as she gained some power, she turned cold.”
“I don’t think that’s the reason, but… anyway, it’s surprising.”
“What’s surprising?”
“I didn’t know you had such affection for Diphelia and the new powers.”
As soon as Liam finished speaking, Arha let out a chuckle.
Then she retorted as if it were ridiculous.
“Why would I spit on someone who’s struggling to make the world a better place?”
“…That makes sense.”
“What are you laughing at? It’s annoying.”
Unknowingly, Liam chuckled.
No matter what, he felt that Arha was a hero.
“Ah, what are you laughing at? Stop it…. I said stop laughing!”
…
At a glance, it seemed like a peaceful time.
However, this peace did not last long.
Exactly one hour from now.
The Holy King of the City of Rhodes would be killed by the assassination of a Bishop.
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