Chapter 19: Chapter 19 — Damn!
We were ushered into a private meeting room in the guild, dominated by an imposing central table. Two people were already seated there: the first was none other than the guild master himself, Ronald Pain; the second was a woman wrapped in a pristine white robe that covered her almost completely. On either side of the woman, two figures in imposing white armor stood firm as statues, gripping heavy lances.
Something that completely stunned me was the absurd speed of the Holy Church of the Eternal Goddess’s envoys. I’d expected them to take several days to arrive from the capital, but it had only taken them a few hours to show up in Prusna. I studied the symbol embroidered on their garments: the design of a lady tenderly holding a newborn child.
"These are the ones I told you about: Harold Pitt and Samira Skillar," Pain announced, gesturing toward us with a flat motion.
"And they are every bit as formidable as you claimed, Master Pain," the hooded lady remarked, her soft yet commanding voice carrying a note of approval.
Pain grunted, leaning back in his chair. "I don’t waste the Church’s time with amateurs. These two cleared that dungeon like a scythe through wheat. Whatever questions you have, you’ll get straight answers."
"Let’s hope so," one of the white-armored guards muttered under his breath, earning a sharp glance from Pain.
"Hmm... So you are the brave adventurers who defeated that Lich that had taken so much from us," the hooded lady pronounced, her voice soft yet commanding.
"That’s right," I replied, stepping forward while attempting a bow.
Or rather, I at least tried to make it look decent. Back on Earth, my father had taught me some basic office etiquette, but to be honest, corporate manners never really stuck with me. I ended up mimicking the exaggerated greetings of knights from the fantasy manhwa I used to read in my free time.
Beside me, Samira demonstrated how things were properly done. She took the two hems of her dress, crossed her legs with impeccable elegance, and inclined herself with flawless fluidity.
"It is a genuine pleasure to meet you," Samira said.
"Damn, she pulled off a bow a thousand times better than mine. I’m definitely going to have to ask her to teach me some noble etiquette later," I thought, marveling.
"The pleasure is mine," the lady in white responded. She placed her right hand over her chest and lifted the edge of her robe slightly, returning Samira’s respectful gesture.
After the initial greetings, we took our seats across from them. The white lady stared at us fixedly for a long while. Due to the depth of her hood, it was impossible to make out her features. She made a few pensive gestures before speaking again:
"Could you explain to me in detail how you managed to defeat the Lich?" she asked, pinning her invisible gaze on us.
I took the floor and narrated a completely improvised version of events. I mixed some real details with others that were heavily exaggerated to camouflage the existence of my more broken abilities. From the corner of my eye, I saw Samira staring at me, biting her lower lip to hold back laughter at my theatrical skills.
To lend more credibility to the matter, I shared part of the information I’d obtained from examining the Lich’s memories with her, omitting the compromising parts and inventing convenient connections.
"Hmm! I see..." the lady in white let out, releasing a deep sigh heavy with sorrow. "If only we had learned sooner that those monster attacks were, in reality, massacres orchestrated by that putrid being... Kidnapping innocents to use them in his horrible experiments... By the Goddess, how negligent we were."
Though I couldn’t see her face, from the tremor in her voice and the tension in her shoulders, I knew without a doubt that her expression was one of profound consternation and guilt.
The white lady joined her hands in a prayer position, bowing her head.
"You have no idea how many lives you have saved, Mister Pitt, and you as well, Miss Skillar. The Church’s purifiers will take charge of scouring the place to grant eternal rest to the souls of the people who suffered at the hands of that foul, impure, dark being."
With that, the lady brought her hands to her head and removed her hood. The air seemed to stop in the room. A spectacular cascade of golden hair fell over her shoulders, framing skin as white and perfect as fine porcelain. Her green eyes shone with an intensity so pure they looked like two freshly polished emeralds.
Beholding such a level of beauty, a "Damn!" nearly slipped out of my mouth.
The two spear knights immediately stirred, seeing their superior uncover her face before strangers.
"Saintess! Are you certain about this?" one of them asked, stepping forward.
"This goes completely against protocol rules..." the other added, his tone notably nervous.
"Relax. I don’t think Sister Gertrudis will do anything to me over this... as long as she doesn’t find out, of course," the Saintess replied, turning toward them with a sweet smile, but with eyes that promised a brutal beating if they opened their mouths.
She didn’t add anything else, but she fixed them with that typical serious face women put on when they mean: "There will be serious consequences if a single word slips out". The guards swallowed their complaints immediately.
Pain let out a dry chuckle from his seat. "You heard the Saintess, boys. What happens in Prusna stays in Prusna. I’ve got enough paperwork without adding a diplomatic incident."
"I apologize for not having introduced myself properly earlier, so I shall do so now as is due," she continued, turning toward us as she placed her right hand over her chest.
Specifically, over a gorgeous pair of "assets" that had to be, at minimum, a solid D-cup. By the Goddess, it’s truly difficult to keep the thread of a conversation when you have a Waifu of that caliber introducing herself right in front of you. Even with Samira seated at my side, my former-office-worker brain was fighting a losing battle to stay focused.
"My name is Karina Von Humboldt, Saintess of the Church of the Eternal Goddess."
The Saintess rose from her seat, approached us with graceful steps, and took our hands in hers. Her skin was incredibly soft, and the proximity only made her monumental "personalities" hover mere centimeters from my view.
"I would like to bestow upon you a gift from the Church," she declared solemnly.
All at once, a warm white light began to emanate from her hands, transmitting a comforting energy that filtered directly through our bodies.
Ting!
```
[You have received the Saintess’s Blessing!]
Description: This blessing will protect you and your companions from the effects of dark magic, mind-control spells, and any attack that seeks to inflict direct harm upon your body or soul.
```
I smiled inwardly as I read the specifications on the system’s blue screen. Not bad at all.
"Thank you very much, Saintess Karina," Samira and I said in unison, bowing our heads in gratitude.
"Tell me one thing... By any chance, would you be interested in joining the ranks of our Holy Paladins?" Karina asked, looking at me with eyes full of expectation.
Before I could answer, Pain cleared his throat and leaned forward. "Careful, Saintess. These two just got their Silver plates. If you poach them now, I’ll have to charge the Church a recruitment fee." He grinned, the cigar shifting in his teeth. "And my rates aren’t cheap."
"I thank you immensely for the offer, Saintess, but I’m afraid we’re just a happy adventuring couple," I explained in a calm tone. "If we were to accept a formal post, we’d lose the freedom to travel and explore the entire Kingdom of Mouka at our own pace."
"Insolent!" one of the rear knights bellowed, striking the butt of his lance against the floor.
Though they wore closed helmets and I couldn’t see their faces, it was evident from their tone that both had furrowed brows, offended by my rejection.
"It’s alright, boys. We cannot force good benefactors to join our Church through intimidation," the Saintess intervened, her tone soft but cutting like ice.
"Wow, she really is a sweetheart when she wants to be," I murmured inwardly, quite relieved.
"Forgive the impertinence, Saintess Karina," both knights responded, immediately apologizing in unison.
"If at any point in the future you change your minds, do not hesitate to visit me at the capital’s cathedral," she told us, offering one last warm smile.
"We won’t hesitate," I replied.
---
After the brief conversation, we bid a formal farewell to the Saintess and to Pain, leaving the meeting room. As soon as we closed the heavy oak door behind us and walked through the guild corridor, I let out a sigh.
"That magic..." I murmured under my breath.
"You felt it too, didn’t you, Hal?" Samira asked, walking beside me.
"Mm-hm. It was pure White Magic, wasn’t it?"
Samira nodded seriously. So that was the famous White Magic of this world. Interesting.
---
We returned to our room at the inn, where we spent the rest of the day chatting quietly. I took the opportunity to tell her more details about my past on Earth (obviously omitting my escapades as an internet troll), and as the night wore on, we fell deeply asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms beneath the blankets.
The following morning, I got up early and headed toward the dense forest surrounding the outskirts of Prusna. Once I reached a zone sufficiently isolated and hidden from prying eyes, I used the system to summon the boys and let them get some fresh air.
Domack, with his imposing tank presence, stepped forward and knelt before me.
"Master, if you allow it, I would like to rigorously train Dorko over the coming days to improve our coordination in battle."
"Alright, that sounds like an excellent idea," I nodded. "You may do so, but before you begin your routine, I need you and Dorko to help me with a small construction task."
"At your command, master."
System, open the menu!
With the brute strength of both tanks and the facilities of my interface, we got down to work raising a new cabin in the middle of the forest. Unlike the previous shelter, I decided to put a bit more effort into this one: it would have a reinforced basement, its own bathroom, and several rooms. Hours earlier, I had consulted with the system whether it was possible to summon modern construction materials from Earth, and to my absolute surprise, the answer was yes. As for the design and structure, I simply improvised based on those Korean architecture videos and survival tutorials on YouTube I used to watch during my late-night leisure hours.
Once the outer structure was finished, I descended the steps to the newly built basement. I lit a few intermittent magical lights that gave the place a rather eerie atmosphere and prepared the necessary tools on a table. I was ready for what was coming.
I reached into the system inventory and pulled out the sealed jar containing the Lich’s spiritual core and talking face.
"Hello, little friend. How’s it going? Everything good in here?" I spoke to him in a tone dripping with mockery, placing the jar on the table.
"Curse you... Curse you a thousand times, vile mortal!" Dollmun hissed through clenched teeth, his spectral eyes flashing with pure, putrid hatred.
"Good, it’s time to start the real show," I smiled with malice.
I summoned the other half of the dungeon reward.
A dense, dark mist materialized in the center of the basement, revealing the imposing figure of a beautiful woman with a stitched body, her hair symmetrically divided between jet black and snowy white. She had striking heterochromatic eyes and, much like Samira, possessed a monumental G-cup front that defied gravity.
The imposing creature fell to her knees before me.
"Hello, master..." she pronounced with a drawling, melodious voice.
"Lift your head," I ordered, forcing an imposing, authoritative tone. "From this very instant, your name will be Chimera Dolmon. You will serve me faithfully and obey every one of my directives without complaint. Understood?"
She lifted her gaze, fixing her heterochromatic eyes on me. A lascivious smile spread across her face, revealing a row of sharp teeth that, for some twisted reason, I found incredibly sexy. It seemed this new world was unlocking fetishes I didn’t even know I had.
"Yes, my master..." she replied, licking her lips.
"Then, come here."
I began undressing, tossing my clothes to the basement floor. Chimera Dolmon caught the order immediately. With a wild gleam in her eyes, she lunged at me. I caught her by the waist mid-air, and we tumbled roughly onto the makeshift bed I’d placed in the corner of the basement, melting into a burning, savage kiss loaded with lust.
"Curse you! Wretch! Stop! Don’t you dare use my own creation for that!" the trapped face of Dollmun began screaming desperately from the jar, forced to witness the entire scene front-row as his cries bounced uselessly off the basement walls.
You can well imagine how the night ended in that basement. Heh.
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