Chapter 72

"Who would have thought mice would get in..."

A low voice echoed through the prayer room, and at the same time, the lamp the man held illuminated the surroundings. The man, dressed in a white robe, was clearly a clergyman. He must have been in his forties. His protruding belly indicated that he did not usually engage in battles.

...Can Mimosa handle this?

As I was thinking this, the man glared at me and asked, "What is your purpose?" However, he soon smiled upon seeing the statue of Flodia and said, "Ah... So you came for the statue of Flodia."

Judging from his words, it seemed that many people, especially those who wished to become healers, often came to the cathedral to pray to the statue of the goddess Flodia.

...So, I'm being treated the same as those people?

I thought, but since I had come here to change my job, it was exactly the same.

"...I want to become a healer, so I came here to pray to Lady Flodia. Could you please open this room as before?"

As I pleaded, the man laughed mockingly.

"The goddess Flodia is of no use. We plan to remove this statue soon."

"What! That's outrageous! This statue is loved by the people of Tzile—no, by many people in this world!!"

The idea of removing it was unthinkable! As I raised my voice, Mimosa grabbed my shoulder and whispered, "Calm down!" I had almost lost my composure.

"Hmph, love is meaningless. The era of Lady Luluye is coming. The Pope is on his way to welcome her. ...Now, capture them!"

"---Holy Knights!"

While we were talking, three knights, who were on night duty, appeared. They held swords and shields and approached us.

"---Body Reinforcement, Regeneration, Mana Circulation, Goddess's Protection... Can we break through, Mimosa?"

"Of course. I'll charge through, so follow me."

Nodding at Mimosa's reassuring words, I kicked off the ground and ran with her cry of "Let's go!"

Mimosa moved at a speed several times faster than mine, leaping as if she were dancing in the air. Her clear, beautiful voice echoed through the prayer room.

"Judgment of the Cross!!"

The sword she wielded was a slender rapier, but its power was not to be underestimated. She easily defeated the Holy Knights. She truly was a Paladin.

The man took a step back when he saw the knights fall. Mimosa, who did not miss this opportunity, swung her sword from below and slashed him. A small splash of blood flew, but it seemed he was not mortally wounded.

"Let's go."

"Okay."

Mimosa and I ran with all our might and left the Cathedral of Flodia.

"Haa, haa, haa, haa..."

"Haa, haa..."

Mimosa and I managed to return to the inn. We were out of breath from the intense run.

At the inn, Tarte, Kent, Cocoa, Tidia, Roi, and Blitz were all present. Tidia and the others seemed to have successfully obtained the Adventurer's Bracelet.

Tarte, looking worried, prepared cold water for us.

"Master, Mimosa, are you okay?"

"Thank you."

"We're fine..."

I drank the water in one go and exhaled, "Phew." The tension from earlier seemed to have dissipated, and I felt all the strength leave my body. I wanted to collapse onto the bed and sleep...

"It's good that you're both safe. We finished registering the gate in the Ranch Village. Tidia and Roi have also registered the gate in Tzile."

"! Thank you, Kent. You did a lot for us."

"Yeah. I also learned from Tarte."

If we register the gates in other cities besides Tzile, it will be easier to escape in case of an emergency. Yes, everything is going smoothly.

"I'm glad Sharon and Mimosa are safe. How was the cathedral?"

"From the looks of it, something happened, didn't it?"

In response to Tidia and Roi's questions, Mimosa and I told them about what happened at the cathedral.

After we finished, Kent was the first to react. He scratched his head and sighed, "I'm glad you're safe, really." Tidia was nodding frantically beside him.

Roi, with his finger to his lips, seemed to be thinking about the man's words, "The era of Lady Luluye is coming. The Pope is on his way to welcome her."

"What does he mean by welcoming Lady Luluye? I don't understand."

"Does it mean they are going to worship the dark goddess Luluye?"

"Since he said they plan to remove the statue of Flodia, perhaps they are going to bring a new statue of Luluye?"

Blitz and Mimosa also shared their thoughts, pondering the situation. Indeed, the interpretation of placing a statue of Luluye was a possibility.

---But I took the man's words at face value.

The dark goddess Luluye is enshrined in the dungeon, the Eternal Monastery, which is located to the south of the Holy Erentz Empire. To reach it, one must travel further south from the Ranch Village and pass through either the Dark Cave or the Burned Plain. It is a high-difficulty field with strong monsters.

It would be challenging to reach the monastery with our current levels, but it might be possible after we become secondary classes. Even then, it would be a tough journey, requiring the use of many recovery potions.

Incidentally, Luluye is the boss of that dungeon.

...Is it even possible to bring the boss here?

This question crossed my mind, but it seemed like a quest-like scenario, and in the game, Luluye had appeared in the storyline.

"...Sharon seems to know something."

"Huh!?"

While I was deep in thought, Kent and the others had been discussing the situation. However, upon seeing my silence, they seemed to realize I knew something. Their gazes were fixed on me...

"Well, to put it simply, we need to become secondary classes and level up as soon as possible."

"!? !? !?"

Everyone looked at me with confusion. Perhaps they thought I was suggesting another round of wyvern grinding, as we had done recently.

Clearing my throat, I explained the reason. I described how difficult the monastery where Luluye resides is...

"A dungeon with a required level of 60 or higher!? That's impossible..."

"Even I, the highest level among us, am only at level 47..."

Everyone's spirits plummeted. The highest level among us was Roi at 47, followed by Mimosa at 42 and Blitz at 43. We were all close to the same level, which is why we had registered as a party at the guild.

"However, I don't think Rodney can easily reach Luluye. We still have some time."

I said this, and Roi nodded in agreement.

"Even the Holy Knights are not all high-level. Dungeon runs usually take several days. They are likely planning for a long-term battle."

"So, we need to become secondary classes and stop Rodney before he completes the dungeon."

"Exactly."

Ideally, I would have liked to go with everyone to complete the secondary class quests, but it would be better for each of us to go separately, complete the quests, and then regroup.

I looked at Kent and Cocoa and gave them advice on becoming secondary classes.

"Kent and Cocoa, it's best if you go together. First, go to the Royal Capital Bloom. Kent should become a Shield Knight. You can receive the quest at the knight's barracks near the castle."

"Got it. The knight's barracks near the castle."

Since it would be more difficult for Cocoa to reach the quest location, it would be easier for Kent, who would become a secondary class first, to lead the way.

"I want to become a Word Mage!"

"Cocoa chose the Word Mage. That's a good choice. The quest location is in the Forest Village Leaf, near Snowtia. The forest you'll pass through is also known as the Forest of Confusion, but I'll draw a map for you to follow."

"Thank you, Sharon."

I quickly drew a simple map of the forest and gave it to Cocoa. With this, she should be able to reach the village. Phew.

"Then, it's my problem..."

"Besides Rodney's subordinates, is there another issue?"

Roi tilted his head at my words. I had told them about praying to the statue of Flodia but not about the conversation with the bishop and the unfinished quest.

"Actually, I... couldn't talk to the bishop, so I don't know who I need to help to become a healer."

I explained my predicament with teary eyes, and Roi said, "Oh, that's all it is." Then, a quest window appeared before me.

---Quest to become a healer

The bishop has asked you to help people in need.

Use your power to help the people.

---Holy City Tzile: Pico

---Ranch Village: Mollie

---Snowfield: Maril

...Right, Roi is also a bishop.

I had written "Blaz" and "Blaz" but "Blitz" is correct. I noticed this while rereading Volume 2...!

I'm sorry, I'll try to correct it when I have the time.