Today wasn’t any different from any other day and it was the same for the others as well. Since a large guild in Celia disappeared instantaneously, I was sure everyone was talking about it. The Lindel Daily Report had even covered that story recently and no matter which pub I went over, Everyone would surely be talking about the Yamato Guild and Ito Sota. On the day that Ito Sota died, all the Yamato guild members were executed the same day. Yozora, Black Swan, Red Mercenary Guild, and the soldiers of the Vatican charged into the guild and the citizens of Celia had no choice but to watch the guild go down. Of course, not everyone died. The people they thought weren’t involved in all of this were excluded, but it was only a handful of people. The majority of the people who had power or were close to Ito Sota were executed, so they basically ended up dying pitifully only because they sided with the wrong person.

‘Tsk…’

Since I wasn’t there, I only managed to read a report about what happened to the Yamato Guild and even though I didn’t know the details, it still benefited me. Cha Hee-Ra regained the pride she lost during the Lindel terrorist attack and I was able to make a good impression on the Vatican. Officially forming an alliance with the Yozora Guild was also a huge benefit and the alliance between the Black Swan, Red Mercenary, Yozora, and the Blue Guild created a large sensation within the Holy Empire.

‘I think they said this was the first time...’

The free cities talked and traded from time to time, but this was the first time they created an alliance this close. This was only possible because they had set an example by sharing with one another and naturally, this wasn’t the only thing that caused the massive sensation.

“Th-Then does that mean you’re going to be a priest, oppa?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

“Probably,” I answered.

Out of the free citizens, I was the first to receive a position from the Vatican.

‘It’s beautiful...’

When considering Father Basel’s influence, I thought it was possible, but it was of a higher position than I thought. My position was honorary bishop, which was on the same level as an archbishop, and it was honestly too much for me. If I were to compare it to the castle’s position, I basically had the same influence as a count. I would be treated well no matter which shrine I go to and out of the few gods that existed here, I actually became Benigoa goddess’s honorary bishop. When I imagined being called by that title, I felt wonderful.

When I looked forward after having different thoughts, I noticed Jung Ha-Yan’s pale face as if she was feeling anxious. I had an idea as to what she was worried about, so it would be better to clarify before it became a bigger problem.

“You don’t have to worry. It’s just a title… I don’t have any responsibilities. I’ll just have the power. I don’t have to attend prayers and I don’t have to visit the Vatican either.”

“I see…” she mumbled

“Of course, I can marry and date, too” I specifically pointed out.

“Ooohhh!” she exclaimed.

I knew she was worried about that because that was the most important to her. Unlike the priests in the free cities, the priests serving the Benigoa goddess weren’t allowed to get married, but as an honorary bishop who was also a free city citizen, their rules didn’t exactly apply to me.

“There is a condition of distributing the Sacred Wine on a regular basis, but there are no restrictions on me personally. We’re also not distributing it for free and it’s also good for us since we can make money,” I explained.

“Y-You’re right.” Jung Ha-Yan nodded.

“Having a close relationship with the shrine is a good thing, especially in the Holy Empire…”

“What’s good about it?” she asked, interrupting me.

“There’s a lot of things. First of all, it’s the treatment you get,” I said.

“Oh.”

“The archbishop of the Vatican may only be a title, but it’s within the top four ranks. There’s the pope, cardinal, patriarch, and archbishop. You understand that much, right? Of course, there are roles like the heresy inquisitor and the holy knight, but the armed groups within the Vatican are always beneath them,” I told her.

“I see...”

“Yeah. The title I earned is basically on the same level as the archbishop,” I added.

“That’s pretty high, hehe,” she commented, smiling.

I was getting a lot of privileges, but what I liked most about the role was that I could control the heresy inquisitors as well as the holy knights. Basically, if I ran into a problem, I could use them whenever I wanted, and naturally, I couldn’t take them to dungeons or use them for personal conflicts, but that was better than nothing. Receiving help from the Vatican’s armed forces whenever I was in trouble would be very beneficial to me.

‘If I end up being a cardinal…’

The three templars within the Vatican would respond whenever I was in danger. Even though I had never seen them before, they were monsters that the Vatican was proud of and they were either as strong or stronger than Cha Hee-Ra and Victor Hart.

‘It may not be enough, though.’

Since I was still a citizen of the free city, it may be impossible for me to go up to the cardinal level, but life was full of unexpected things. I may even earn the same position as an archbishop. If I work hard for about five years, there could be a vacant spot and I may have a chance to take it. In the end, this was more beneficial than being a noble within the castle that only looked fancy on the outside. The real nobles were on the pope’s side, not the emperor’s side, but that didn’t mean I was going to reject the emperor’s side. I thought the person that could take care of both sides would be able to win the game.

‘Since I received a lot from them, too...’

Just as Victor Hart said, the castle gave me a griffon and unlike Cha Hee-Ra’s griffon, mine was white. It felt like they were being considerate of my position as the honorary bishop because white represented religion.

When I glanced to the side, the griffon’s size was so questionable that I didn’t think it could be considered an adult. It was smaller than Cha Hee-Ra’s griffon, but it had no problems with flying. I felt proud because the satisfaction I felt was the same as owning an expensive imported car.

‘Nice…’

Who knew I would get a griffon when I came here? And not only that…

‘I got two.’

It was more like I took the other one rather than getting it as a gift. It was Ito Sota’s griffon.

‘I worked hard on bringing it here.’

Ito Sota was wealthy, but the griffon was what I wanted the most. I didn’t just claim it as mine, but when I told people that I wanted it and acted cute around Cha Hee-Ra, the griffon naturally became mine. It was obvious why I brought it here.

‘I’m going to give it to Hyun-Sung.’

It was the best present for our regressor who was working hard on his own even now. The black, bulky griffon was definitely a male and since my griffon was a female, they could maybe create a family. In five years, we might be able to mass produce them. I heard that theoretically, it was impossible, but it was worth a try. Just the thought of it made me happy.

“Oh, oppa, Father Basel is here,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Okay, thanks.”

Seeing him visit me before I left showed that he really did like me. Despite us talking all night, I was thankful that he showed up here, and not only that, but the others were here as well. Lady Caitlyn, Lady Marilyn, Lady Elise, Sister Jessica, Sister Helena, and the others were here. Father Basel spoke up first and obviously, he looked disappointed.

“I see you haven’t left yet, Brother Lee Ki-Young.”

“Hahaha, it’s because the Mercenary Queen isn’t here yet,” I told him.

“I see…” he said.

“Honestly, I was waiting for you to see me off, Father Basel,” I said, shyly.

“Hahaha, you’re always so cheeky, Brother Lee Ki-Young, haha,” Father Basel said before letting out a boisterous laugh.

“I’m just thankful that you came here so early in the morning to see me off.”

“Of course, I should see you off since you’re leaving. I’m worried that you overstayed because of this old man,” he said, worried.

“No, I really enjoyed my time here. I’ll come to visit you soon, Father Basel.”

The way he held my hand tightly was a nice sight. If this old man became the pope, I may become the cardinal and that thought caused me to grab his hand tightly as well. Of course, Father Basel wasn’t the only person disappointed by my departure.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young.”

“Lady Caitlyn.”

“I feel bad that you came at the worst time and you couldn’t even enjoy the social gathering properly…” she mumbled.

“It’s fine. I was a bit busy before coming here, but I had fun in the past few days. I enjoyed talking to the people you introduced me to and it feels like I’ve met everyone that I had to meet in my lifetime. It’s all thanks to you, Lady Caitlyn,” I said, thanking her.

I noticed Lady Marilyn crying on the side for no reason.

‘What’s wrong with her?’

For some reason, she reminded me of Kasugano Yuno a few days ago. Before leaving for Celia first, she started crying a lot. I managed to calm her down by telling her that I would visit her every month, but it had been really difficult to calm her down. I understood how she felt because we were going to separate. In addition, I couldn’t take her with me to Lindel because she had work in Celia.

“Heuuuuk… heuk…”

“Lady Marilyn must be really sad, haha,” Lady Caitlyn chuckled, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

“M-Mr. Lee Ki-Young! Pl-Please visit us again. Heuk…” Lady Marilyn mumbled amidst her sobbing.

“I will, Lady Marilyn. I’ll definitely visit. I’ll come whenever I have time, so you don’t have to be so sad and I hope you see you again too, Lady Elise,” I said, turning to Lady Elise.

“Sure,” Lady Elise answered.

“I’ll visit you as well, Sister Jessica and Sister Helena,” I told them.

“It’s an honor.”

There were others besides them, so saying goodbye to all of them was a lot of work. Although I mainly focused on the high-ranked people, there were a lot of important people as well. There were nobles with good distribution networks and knights with good potential and promising futures. The problem was that each and every one of them was important and I had just realized how difficult it was to manage my own connections. I felt popular for a moment, but…

‘It’s kind of exhausting.’

Of course, I couldn’t show it.

“If this is your first time riding a griffon, I can call for a knight from the Vatican.”

“Hahaha, I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be fine, Father Basel. I flew on one a few times and it wasn’t that bad. I’m sure the goddess has been helping me with my journeys,” I told him.

“You’re worthy of the goddess’s help, Brother Lee Ki-Young,” Father Basel remarked.

“You’re embarrassing me, Father Basel,” I said, shyly.

When I was starting to get bored, Cha Hee-Ra and Victor Hart landed on the griffon landing area and they were also saying goodbye to the people around. After glancing at me, I raised the corner of my lips.

“Let’s go, darling,” Cha Hee-Ra said.

“Okay, noona. Thank you everyone for coming,” I nodded to Cha Hee-Ra before turning around to look at the others.

“You can visit the Vatican anytime, Brother Lee Ki-Young,” Father Basel told me.

“Hahaha, thank you for everything,” I told him.

When I got on the griffon’s back, Jung Ha-Yan sat behind me. Cha Hee-Ra got on her own griffon and one of the Red Mercenary Guild members rode on Ito Sota’s griffon. I guess they were going to be the chauffeur. When I nodded lightly, the griffon started to slowly flap its wings.

‘I’m going home.’

When my surroundings changed, the place I considered home changed as well. It was a bit unfortunate, but the change wasn’t that bad. For some reason, I missed my family back home. Actually, I was more curious about how our regressor was going to react once he saw the various rewards I received.

‘Hyun-Sung, your hyung is coming home!’