It felt as if I had been relieved from the indigestion I had for over 10 years. Seeing Ito Sota being surrounded by the heresy inquisitors made me happy because it was as if I was getting rewarded for my hard work. Obviously, the person that looked happier than me was Father Basel, the one who received the goddess’s revelation. There was a faint smile on his face and he probably thought that he had achieved his mission of changing the depressing future he had seen.

“Good job! Nice one!”

Of course, this wasn’t the end…

“No, it’s too early to celebrate! I need to deploy the holy knights and the heresy inquisitors to the Free City of Celia. Sister Jessica, lead the deployment of the holy knights,” Father Basel ordered.

“Yes, sir,” she answered.

“It’s a holy war,” he commented.

I had mentioned this before, but what Father Basel wanted wasn’t simply Ito Sota’s death. What he really wanted was to search for the demons in the free city and get rid of them all. Naturally, I thought it would be best to participate in this big event, so when I glanced at Kasugano Yuno, she nodded as if he knew what I wanted.

“Father Basel, if it’s alright with you, would it be okay if the Yozora Guild participated as well?” she asked.

“Oh!”

“We don’t know when the demon’s informants will escape from the Free City of Celia, so I’m sure the guild will be helpful at a time like this,” Yuno explained.

“Oh… thank you, Miss Kasugano Yuno. We appreciate your help. The goddess won’t forget your contribution to this,” Father Basel said.

If I was the guild master, I would have volunteered with the entire Blue Guild, but our Hyun-Sung and Deok-Gu had a lot of work to do. I had no idea about Kim Hyun-Sung, but the kind-hearted Park Deok-Gu might have a difficult time.

“The Black Swan Guild will also help,” Lee Ji-Hye said.

“The Red Mercenary Guild, too. Of course, we’ll need the Yozora Guild’s permission since it’s a free city, but if it’s alright with you, I’d like to send some of my men,” Cha Hee-Ra offered.

“Of course, I accept everyone’s wishes,” Yuno said, nodding.

‘Nice!’

It was only right for the Black Swan Guild and the Red Mercenary Guild to participate because it was getting to the point where a large guild was about to disappear. Considering the resources, items, and gold the Yamato Guild had saved up all this time, I was sure that they would have plenty to split between them. Naturally, I would get a portion since I had contributed the most in all of this and the majority of Kasugano Yuno’s portion would be handed over to me as well. Lee Ji-Hye owed me her potion as well as the Red Mercenary Guild. Many of the businesses that the Blue Guild was involved in had been put on hold due to financial reasons, but if I added the gold I got from the fantasy potion as well as the Yamato Guild, we would still have a lot of gold remaining even if a few of our businesses went bankrupt.

“The Holy Empire’s future is bright thanks to all of you,” Father Basel remarked.

“We’re only doing what’s right, Father Basel. This is the chance for us to get rid of all the cancerous heretics that are in the Holy Empire. We’re happy that we can offer our help.”

“Hahaha.”

“I’ll send a message to the Yozora Guild,” Yuno said.

“Thank you very much. Even though this isn’t the time to relax, I was able to calm down a bit thanks to all of you. Whew…” Father Basel sighed.

It was time for me to make a move. Ito Sota was no longer in my sight since he was being taken care of by the heresy inquisitors while yelling and screaming. I wanted to talk to him at least once, but this was more important.

‘I have to get my rewards.’

Calculating the rewards I was going to receive was more important than being happy about my achievements.

When I started walking quietly, people naturally turned their attention to me. Father Basel was especially happy to see me.

“Oh, Brother Lee Ki-Young!”

“You seem happy, Father Basel,” I commented.

“Ahem… ahem…”

“You didn’t look so good in the past few days, but seeing you happy like this makes me feel a bit relieved,” I told him.

“There’s still a lot that needs to be done, but we’ve taken care of the biggest problem and it’s all thanks to you, Brother Lee Ki-Young. Hahaha,” Father Basel said, complimenting me.

“Haha. All I did was move according to the goddess’s will because all of this is the Benigoa goddess’s will. It would’ve been nice if the Blue Guild could participate in the holy war, but we’re currently busy with other things, so I apologize for that,” I told him.

“It’s fine, no need to apologize. You’ve played a big part in this case, Brother Lee Ki-Young. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to track down those demons. Hahaha.” Father Basel pointed out.

I did contribute a lot to this because not only did I use the fantasy potion to cure the city that could have been tainted by the demons, but I also revealed Ito Sota’s true colors. I also gifted the goddess’s revelation to Father Basel using the Sacred Wine and provided solid evidence in this case. If I were to exaggerate a bit, I had designed every part of this situation.

“I’m embarrassed,” I said, shyly.

“Don’t be. You deserve the compliment. Also, didn’t the Blue Guild’s power decrease because of the Yamato Guild? We should take care of the internal affairs first because I know you better than anyone, Brother Lee Ki-Young.” Father Basel suggested.

Compliments weren't the only thing I wanted. I wanted to ask for a reward, but when I smiled brightly, I heard Father Basel talking. “The Vatican will give you a reward.”

“I see…”

“No, not just the Vatican. Since you’ve done great things for the Holy Empire, I’m sure you’ll receive a reward from the castle as well, so I think it’ll be best if you told everyone else. By the way, if there’s something you want, please let me know.” Father Basel added.

“I didn’t do this because I wanted to get a reward, Father Basel,” I told him.

“Hahaha. Do you really think I don’t know what you’re thinking, Brother Lee Ki-Young? But it’s best to receive a reward for what you had done. That will make me feel better as well.”

“I see…”

“Thank you for your help, Brother Lee Ki-Young,” he said, thanking me.

‘Great.’

The situation was beautiful and if a cardinal himself was complimenting me, I had an idea as to the kind of reward I was going to get. It was difficult to say exactly what it was but maybe…

‘A ministerial treatment?’

I was sure that was the kind of reward I was going to receive. I wouldn’t know for sure until I receive it, but I would at least receive the same treatment a guild master of a large guild would receive. I had no idea what kind of treatment the guild masters received, but I could receive a griffon and my own room within the castle. Of course, I also couldn’t deny the fact that I may receive other rewards along with it.

‘Sweet...’

It was worth putting my life on the line and despite just standing here, I couldn’t help but smile. When I glanced over at Ito Sota, I noticed Helena and the others tying him up. My surroundings became loud. I noticed people clearing out the court because a fight suddenly broke out and the holy knights were busy running around trying to capture the Yamato guild members that were within the castle. Even though I didn’t have anything to do, I thought it would be best to pretend to look busy.

“Let go of me! I’ve done nothing wrong! Let go! Cough, cough!” Ito Sota yelled.

“You dirty demon worshiper. I’ll muzzle you if you keep talking,” Helena warned.

“Shit… shit!” he cursed.

During all of this, I could still hear Ito Sota’s voice and he looked pitiful. He didn’t seem like the same powerful guild master who was omnipotent and loved by everyone. Not only was he covered in blood, but he was also coughing out blood because Cha Hee-Ra’s kick must have destroyed his organs. The reason why he was still alive was that the priests were using their holy magic on him to prevent him from dying. I was sure that he must have realized by now that he had fallen for my trap and I noticed how confused and angry he was. What was the problem? Where did it all start? I was certain that these were the types of questions he had in mind, but he couldn’t find the answer because he had been in a position where he looked down on everything. Basically, he and I had the same nature.

‘Cautious strategist.’

Even though Mind’s Eye didn’t explain the details about one’s nature, I had seen a lot of different people, so I somewhat understood their personalities and nature, or at least the things I couldn’t judge just simply by the name of their nature. Categorizing humans into one nature was dangerous, but for me, I was able to make assumptions based on the nature I could see through Mind’s Eye. For example, Lee Ji-Hye’s nature was selfish and ambitious, so her desire to have power was strong. She was greedy and would do anything to achieve her goal, but the nature displayed on her status window didn’t make her seem like such a conceited person. If she was perfectly hiding her true self, I could be wrong, but Lee Ji-Hye’s selfish and ambitious nature didn’t represent her.

‘It’s the same for Ito Sota and me.’

Our nature was cautious strategist. We enjoyed planning from behind and presented different variables before setting the plan in motion. For me, I always think of the worst situation first and I wasn’t sure whether Ito Sota did the same, but it was likely that he was doing the same. Of course, he and I were still different. Player Ito Sota didn’t like getting involved himself while I didn’t like gambling, but the difference between him and me was whether we were going to throw the dice or not. If I were him, I would have let myself get hurt during the Juliena case instead of that guild member who tried to kill me. I would have moved a bit more aggressively without caring about my reputation or the people around me. Ito Sota’s first mistake was not being able to give up all these because he wanted to maintain his image and he could also make the others clean up the mess for him. However, out of the many choices he had, he boldly ignored the choices he considered gambling because to him, safety and reputation were the most important. The difference between him and me was obvious.

‘I’m desperate.’

Compared to him who had a lot of things, I didn’t have any choice. I didn’t have a lot of people who pledged their loyalty to me and I wasn’t strong like him. Unlike me who had to take risks every time, Ito Sota never took any risks in this fight.

‘That’s the difference between you and me.’

That was why he was screaming while covered in blood and why I was able to look down at him. I didn’t have any other emotions. When I started walking with Father Basel, I noticed him struggling while being completely tied up.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll never forgive… cough, cough!” Ito Sota yelled.

I ignored his bullshit and when I spoke quietly, I heard an answer.

“I think his mind has been tainted by the demon as well, Father Basel.”

“Yes, I’m certain his entire body has been tainted,” Father Basel answered.

“What’s going to happen to him?” I asked.

“He’ll be executed immediately,” Father Basel answered.

“Right now?” I asked.

“Yes, right now. We’ll have to think of a proper way to execute him, but I’m sure there’s a punishment suitable for demon worshipers,” he explained.

I immediately came up with a punishment. I wasn’t sure whether it was suitable for Ito Sota, but it was a new type of punishment. When I spoke quietly, I noticed Father Basel’s happy face.

“How about drowning him in holy water?”

“Oh ho…”

“As the person who disrespectfully called the goddess’s holy water a drug, I think this punishment is the most suitable for him,” I explained.