Chapter 67

Temple Breeze Volume 13 - Chapter 14

In the VIP room of the castle.

Damien, facing the Temple Breeze members, began to speak.

He explained how he came to know Grid and the circumstances that led him to seek out the Raydan.

Damien described all the facts as they were, seeing no reason to hide anything and aiming to gain the trust of the Temple Breeze.

Vantner, who had been listening silently, finally burst into tears.

"To struggle so hard to save a beloved woman...! What a truly beautiful story!"

The sight of the bulky, bald uncle sobbing was not a pleasant one.

If Fon had been present, he would have surely scolded him.

However, Fon and Regas were still missing, having been out of contact for two days. It was assumed they were clearing an instant dungeon that cut off external communication.

Rauel, lightly ignoring Vantner's sniffles, asked Damien:

"I understand that you need to meet Lord Grid to save Rebecca's daughter. But why were you working in the fields? Someone of your standing could have gone directly to the administrator and received a warm welcome, and we could have made contact with you much faster."

In Satisfy, there are dozens of religions of various sizes, but the Rebecca Church stands out as the largest. It is estimated that the number of its followers exceeds 80 million.

Damien, who had established a position within the church to the point of being a candidate for the papacy, would have been treated as a VIP wherever he went.

So why was he working in the fields?

"That's..."

Damien wanted to vent his frustration to the Temple Breeze members, who were puzzled and skeptical.

He wanted to argue, "They wouldn't even let me into the city, so how could I meet the administrator?" and to tell them about the things that happened to him at the hands of Piaro.

But he was too embarrassed to tell the truth.

Moreover, after obtaining a hidden quest, his resentment towards Piaro had disappeared, and they were now friends.

So he concealed the truth.

"I originally enjoy working in the fields."

"Is that so."

People have as many different hobbies as there are people.

Since there seemed to be no reason to lie, the Temple Breeze members did not doubt Damien's words.

That's right.

The Temple Breeze had no idea what kind of atrocities Piaro was committing outside.

They couldn't even imagine that Piaro would grab passersby and force them to become farmers.

It was a pity for the future Damians and second and third Damians who would continue to appear.

"Who was the companion you were with?"

"He's not a companion. I don't really know him. He never revealed his true identity."

"I see..."

'Just in case, I should keep an eye on him.'

Rauel was not overly suspicious. If it were someone who could harm Raydan, Piaro would have already filtered them out.

Rauel trusted Piaro that much.

Rauel's focus was solely on Damien.

'If this man, who regards Lord Grid as his benefactor, becomes the pope...'

The relationship between Raydan and the Rebecca Church would become very close, and their interactions would become more active.

If a temple of the Goddess Rebecca could be built in Raydan, not only would all residents receive buffs, but they could also obtain the valuable priests. The number of citizens would naturally increase.

Rauel firmly held Damien's mud-stained hand.

"Mr. Damien, our Temple Breeze pledges to support you with all our might. We will persuade Lord Grid to save Rebecca's daughter and help you win the papal election with all our hearts. If you need anything, just let us know."

This is a windfall. I will not let it slip away.

Rauel smiled as kindly as possible. It was a smile that anyone could see was for customer service.

But Damien, who didn't know Rauel well, was genuinely moved.

"To be so kind...! Thank you! Thank you so much! I want to give you a pillow printed with the image of my beautiful Isabel!"

"Hehehe... I am also delighted to be able to help you. My second self, which I sealed in the past, is even dancing."

'What are they talking about?'

'I don't know either.'

The Temple Breeze members couldn't properly interpret the conversation between Rauel and Damien. It was a difficult situation.

***

From the time the Temple Breeze members didn't know Piaro's true identity, the administrator Rabbit had already gauged Piaro's abilities. With his insight far surpassing that of an ordinary person, it was not difficult to discern a person's true nature.

However, the reason Rabbit left Piaro as a mere farmer was for one reason only: the finances of Raydan.

If Rabbit had recognized Piaro's abilities and given him an appropriate position, he would have had to pay a high salary.

For Raydan, which was suffering from a lack of funds, this would have been a heavy burden.

So Rabbit pretended not to know Piaro's true abilities and let him live as a farmer.

As a result, he extracted the highest efficiency at the lowest wage.

The wheat fields outside the outer walls were the domain of the farmers.

The 73 silver farmer Piaro, by repelling the invaders who encroached on his territory, protected Raydan from harm.

The results exceeded expectations. It was truly a cause for celebration, but it also posed a dilemma.

'I need to reward him for his efforts...'

If Piaro's efforts were to be valued in terms of money, they would amount to at least several million gold.

Of course, Raydan did not have that much money.

'The only option is to grant him a title.'

Granting a title was not within the administrator's authority but the lord's.

With Grid absent, it was impossible to give Piaro an appropriate reward.

'So...'

Rabbit showed Piaro the maximum sincerity within the scope of his current authority.

<Administrator Rabbit hereby appoints farmer Piaro as the wheat field manager.>

At that moment, Piaro's salary increased to 2 gold and 30 silver, a raise of more than three times.

Even the blood-money administrator Rabbit had a sense of conscience.

***

<One of the 10 Greatest Mages in the Continent Fights for Duke Grid!>

The sensational headline was heating up the internet worldwide.

The real-time search rankings on various portal sites were dominated by terms like Grid, Duke Ashur, one of the 10 greatest mages, the 7 major guilds, the Raydan invasion, and so on. The news of the legendary farmer's appearance was almost buried.

The person responsible for spreading this news, BunnyBunny, had hit a home run.

'The 7 major guilds, excluding the Giant Guild, conspired to invade Raydan, and in the process, the Yak Guild and the Giraffe Guild were mercilessly trampled by Duke Ashur.'

BunnyBunny's internet broadcast, which contained the content and footage of this event, broke the 300,000 concurrent viewers mark and surpassed 600,000 cumulative views in less than a day.

BunnyBunny not only accumulated a huge fortune but also restored his reputation.

He had made a spectacular comeback as the world's top game broadcaster.

-Grid is on a roll. Having Duke Ashur as a subordinate, wow.

-Duke Ashur is the strongest in the Eternal Kingdom...? Wow, really. No wonder Grid is called GodGrid.

-I live in the US, and Grid has been on TV all day. I don't think there's a single American who doesn't know Grid.

-I go to school in Japan, and since the national competition, my Japanese friends keep asking me about Grid. Thanks to Grid, I'm proud to be Korean.

-But what happened to the other 4 guilds besides the Yak Guild and the Giraffe Guild?

-A friend of a friend of a friend of a friend is a member of the Golden Guild, and according to him, the 7 major guilds were wiped out by Raydan's farmers.

-Sigh... Seriously, there's a fantasy novelist everywhere. If you're going to write a novel, at least make it plausible. I hate clichés.

Korean netizens were particularly enthusiastic.

They were delighted and proud as if it were their own achievement, seeing Grid, a Korean, consistently receiving global attention and performing well.

However, Grid himself was unaware that Raydan had been invaded.

The Temple Breeze, fearing that it might interfere with his quest, had not reported anything to him.

Thanks to this, Grid could focus solely on his quest.

***

The capital of the Saharan Empire, Titan.

After a long journey of three weeks, Grid arrived at the front of Asmofel's mansion and opened his status window.

Name: Grid

Level: 291

Class: Pagma's Descendant

...

Strength: 2,770 (+140) Health: 1,246 (+120)

Agility: 1,626 (+110) Intelligence: 711 (+310)

Dexterity: 1,634 (+660) Stamina: 958 (+110)

Composure: 658 (+110) Indomitable: 913 (+220)

Majesty: 1,566 (+110) Insight: 1,406 (+110)

Courage: 602 (+110) Demon Power: 31

...

These were not just impressive but overwhelming stats.

Although the stat growth rate had slowed several times compared to the past due to the penalty from creating the fifth legendary item, there was no need to be disappointed.

His stats continued to grow with each item he crafted, and the titles he earned by overcoming all kinds of hardships significantly boosted his stats.

Combined with his item luck, skill luck, and now his control skills, Grid could confidently say:

'I am the best.'

This was the peak of his 28-year life. His confidence and enthusiasm were boiling over.

"Asmofel."

The enemy who had framed Piaro as a traitor and taken everything from him.

"Now it's your turn to lose."

As he put on a white hoodie, the red light from the blindfold over his slaughter demon eye seeped into the darkness.

***

Asmofel was a noble and diligent man.

Born as the eldest son of the Porto Duke family, one of the top three martial families in the empire, he suffered from severe pressure but remained faithful to his role.

He diligently trained in swordsmanship and military tactics for the sake of his family and the empire, and as a result, he joined the elite knight corps at a young age and gained fame.

His life was a smooth road.

He continuously achieved new accomplishments and expanded his network. He was praised as a pillar of the empire alongside his close friend Piaro.

But everything was lost the moment he