< Chapter 83 - The Guardians of the Holy Cross #3 >
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The Abbey of Saint-Croute, proud of its history and tradition, was home to about 300 members of the Order of the Holy Cross.
“I won’t be staying here forever. I’ll be dispatched to various parts of the continent, using the Monastery of Saint-Croute as my base.”
Manuel was so excited that he told stories about this and that, and thanks to him, Judas and Cordelia were busy until they arrived at the monastery.
“The branch manager is out of town right now, but he will be back tomorrow. So, I hope you can enjoy the welcoming party comfortably today.”
“Welcome party?”
“Yes, a welcome party. The heroes of the Guardians have come, so of course we should have a welcome party. Don’t you think so?”
As Manuel looked around for agreement, the members raised their voices as if they had made a promise.
“of course.”
“Of course.”
“It’s so obvious.”
Cordelia, startled by their gazes that seemed to even hint at a hint of madness, unconsciously grabbed Yuder’s sleeve, and Yuder covered her with his body as he answered Manuel.
“Okay, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hehehe, you can look forward to it.”
As Manuel laughed excitedly, the rest of the group started laughing along, and Cordelia held onto Uther’s sleeve a little tighter.
And about thirty minutes later.
Arriving at the Abbey of Saint-Croute, located in the suburbs after leaving the bustling trading city, Jude and Cordelia couldn’t help but feel bewildered.
At first glance, there were at least three hundred people lined up at the entrance to the stone-built Saint-Croute Abbey—that is, all of the resident Guardians of the monastery. Furthermore, there were also flag bearers carrying the large flags of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, reminiscent of a military parade.
“no way?”
“Yes, that’s for sure.”
At Cordelia’s question, Manuel laughed again, and his suspicions became reality.
“In the name of the Defenders of the Holy Cross, we welcome two heroes.”
When the woman at the front saluted, all the guards dressed in white and black uniforms saluted in return, and it was truly a magnificent sight.
But Cordelia found herself pulling on Uther’s sleeve without realizing it.
Aside from being happy, I didn’t quite understand the current situation.
[Hey, hey. What’s wrong with them?]
[Because we’ve done that much?]
[uh?]
[Think about it.]
What have we been doing?
What have you accomplished?
Although it was known to the world that they had only thwarted the plot of the Guardians of the Nation, from the perspective of the Holy Cross Guardians, the activities of Uder and Cordelia were not limited to that.
[How many mines do you think we caught? And the gates of hell we destroyed.]
[Huh? Aaaah?]
Whether they were the hands or eyes of the devil, in the eyes of the Holy Cross Guardians, they were all devil followers who had to be defeated.
However, the number of mines that Uther and Cordelia have defeated so far is by no means small.
The Northern Branch, led by Solusia, was in a situation where the seeds of mid- and low-level mines were dried up because of Yuder and Cordelia, and the Devil’s Eye also lost dozens of mid- and low-level mines due to the incident in the Wild Lands involving Yuder and Cordelia.
And the gates of hell.
Uder and Cordelia destroyed two gates to Hell and stopped the Guardian Lord, who was almost certain to awaken as a top-tier mine.
Moreover, thanks to the hard work of promoting the name of the Holy Cross Guardians in the process, the name of the Guardians was raised.
“The paragon of the Guardians.”
“Heroes of the Guardians.”
“The humble ones who gave glory to the Guardians.”
The final assessment was something only the Guardians could do, because in fact, only they knew that the Guardians had done nothing for Uther and Cordelia.
And here are some more elements added:
“Lord Landius’ disciple.”
“A person who will lead the Holy Cross Defenders in the future.”
“Talents that Kamael is keeping an eye on.”
Landius was not a member of the Holy Cross Guardians, but most of the Guardians did not think so.
A comrade of Kamael, the leader of the six commanders of the Guardians.
The hero of the Guardians who is still beating down the demon followers at this very moment.
Since Landius was Yuder’s teacher, Yuder’s position within the Natural Cross Guardians was bound to be great.
And here’s one more really crucial reason.
“You are an angel.”
“A real angel.”
“Lady Cordelia is such an angel!”
That’s right.
The Holy Cross Guardians were originally a group formed by the remnants of the religious orders that worshipped angels who descended from heaven.
For them, angels were not simply messengers of God, but objects of faith.
Because there were groups within the Order of the Holy Cross that worshipped the Archangel Lena, now they had one more object of worship.
Archangel Cordelia.
Our angel, who is beautiful in both face and heart.
One side was the disciple of the Guardians’ strongest hero, and the other side was an angel who was the object of worship.
But those two achieved great feats one after another.
At this point, it would have been strange not to have this kind of welcoming ceremony.
“I have prepared a banquet. Come this way.”
Following Manuel, a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties began to guide Uder and Cordelia.
In the Abbey of Saint-Croute, she was the second-highest ranking member, Carmen, and was a master of the divine powers who had been learning the art of divination for many years.
She was also a disciple of Pasagwon Tyburn, one of the six commanders of the Guardian Order, and had a daughter with her husband, who also studied at the same school.
Her hobby was knitting, and her specialty other than boxing was singing hymns. Her recent concern was that she had little time to spend with her daughter due to frequent business trips.
And the reason why Uther and Cordelia came to know all these trivial facts was simple.
“So that’s why······.”
Carmen, still drunk, continued speaking, and Cordelia, also still drunk, blushed and laughed.
“Hehehe, is that so?”
The Order of the Holy Cross.
One common misconception is that the Order of the Holy Cross is a group of ‘monks’, but the reality is quite different.
The Guardians of Reality were not a group of ascetic monks who had dedicated everything to God, but rather a group of ‘warriors’ who were prepared to fight against the devil’s followers for their entire lives.
Of course, since the foundation of the Guardians is made up of various religious groups that existed in the past, overall, they did show the appearance of a group that worships God.
This is generally speaking.
“Pour it!”
“Drink!”
The Guardians, who had been drinking strong fruit wines made directly at the monastery, rolled around on the cold stone floor, and Carmen, who had been exchanging blows with Cordelia, was now sharing a passionate kiss with the floor.
And in the midst of all this, Yuder, who alone remained sane – and who was not drunk at all thanks to the regenerative power of the Orb of Life and the powerful detoxification power of his transformed body – expressed the scene before his eyes in one word.
“This is a mess.”
Literally a mess.
At least a hundred Guardians who have become drunk and the monks who are training them.
At this point, I was starting to think that the welcome party was nothing more than an excuse.
‘Isn’t that what they just wanted to drink?’
It’s just that they needed an excuse to have a big party like this.
It was at that moment that a glimmer of doubt appeared in Yuder’s eyes.
“Heh, heh. Heh heh heh. I’m drunk. Heh heh.”
Yuder turned his head at the voice heard right next to him.
“Cordelia, are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s okay. It’s totally okay.”
Cordelia, with a red face and a laugh, looked at Uther with bright eyes and snorted.
“Yuder, Yuuder, am I drinking?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty strong.”
While Carmen, who was drinking with them, was seeking unity with the floor, Cordelia was still sitting and talking.
“Hehehe, I’m really strong in alcohol. Really strong.”
“Yeah, yeah. Our Cordelia drinks well.”
“Yeah yeah. I’ll drink three. The alcohol tastes good. Hmph.”
Cordelia covered her cheeks with both hands and seemed to close her eyes, but then opened them again and spoke.
“Oh, it’s Yuder. It’s our Yuder. Hehe, it’s our Yuder. Our Yuder, right?”
“hmm.”
This one tastes good too.
It’s okay though, since it’s cute.
After admiring Cordelia for a moment, Yuder stood up from his seat.
“Yuderya?”
“Let’s go in now.”
“Come in?”
“I have to go to my room.”
“Ah, room. Uh, room. Yeah, room. Tell me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I understand.”
Uther quickly hugged Cordelia and walked towards the lodging they had stopped by to unpack.
“Hehehe, erotic elves hehe. I won.”
What on earth did I win?
And what about Ero Elfran?
“I won. I won. I won?”
“Yes, you won. Our Cordelia is the strongest. She is invincible.”
“Yeah yeah, totally awesome!”
Uder, fearing that Cordelia, who was rambling on and on, might fall, hugged her a little tighter and hurried his steps a little more.
I thought I needed to lay down quickly.
And the room.
Arriving at the accommodation, which was far from extravagant as it was a monastery, but had a cozy feel thanks to the brazier in one corner and the thick carpets, Uder immediately laid Cordelia down on the bed.
‘I guess I’ll have to wash up tomorrow.’
For now, there’s no choice but to just let him sleep.
“Good night, Cordelia.”
Uther covered Cordelia with a blanket as she closed her eyes and started babbling, and then he was about to leave the room.
But it was at that very moment.
Cordelia grabbed Uther’s sleeve.
He stopped Uder and pulled him with all his might.
“Cordelia?”
Uther, who had sat down on the bed in a daze, looked back at Cordelia, and Cordelia looked at Uther with moist eyes before raising her upper body. Suddenly, she glared at Uther and said.
“hey.”
“uh?”
“You are bad.”
“huh?”
“You’re bad. You’re a total bad person.”
What is this all of a sudden?
Uder narrowed his eyebrows slightly and spoke.
“Because you always get first place?”
“Oh, sir, not that one! That was bad too. It was bad, but not that one.”
Then what on earth is it?
When Uther made a troubled face, Cordelia beat her chest as if she was frustrated, then grabbed Uther’s sleeve again.
“······volume.”
“uh?”
“Wish ticket! When are you going to use the wish ticket! When!”
It had already been more than ten days since Uther and Cordelia left the capital.
If you count the martial arts tournament where the story of the wish ticket was first brought up, it had already been almost a month.
But it wasn’t yet.
It was still there.
“When are you going to use it! When!”
No! Why on earth aren’t you using it!
If you got a wishing ticket, use it! Use it!
Just ask for this and that!
Cordelia, who had been shaking Uther by the collar, fell to her knees and hit Uther’s chest with her head as she spoke.
“Paris, Paris… Paris… Whatever it is, it’s okay.”
You like me.
huh?
Do you like it?
Cordelia swallowed her words and raised her head again to look at Uther.
With a hint of resentment in his moist eyes, Uder pursed his lips once and placed a hand on Cordelia’s shoulder as he spoke.
“That… Cordelia.”
“huh.”
“Since you’re drunk anyway, I’ll be honest with you.”
“Yeah.”
Cordelia, who had become nervous without realizing it, flinched and swallowed dry saliva, and Uder glanced away and continued speaking.
“So, that… how should I put it… asking for something like that with the right of wish is a bit… okay?”
“uh?”
“No, not that kind of thing.”
Uther blushed slightly and looked embarrassed, and Cordelia blushed in return. Even though she was drunk, she felt embarrassed all over again.
“So… I’ll use the wish ticket for something else. Is that okay?”
“Yeah… It’s okay.”
“okay.”
Okay, now let’s sleep.
After patting Cordelia’s head once, Uther tried to stand up naturally, but it was difficult.
Because Cordelia grabbed Uther’s hand again.
“Cordelia?”
“No··· That’s it······.”
“uh?”
“That’s it······.”
Cordelia, who had been slurring her words, looked at Uther with moist eyes again, and Uther ended up smiling slightly. He caressed Cordelia’s cheeks, which were reddening for various reasons.
Then Cordelia leaned her face against Uther’s large hand and spoke again in a small voice.
“Don’t kiss. Your first kiss… should be done while you’re sober.”
Because it was the first time in all my past and present lives combined.
I hated it now that I was drunk.
But I didn’t want to just send Uther away.
So Cordelia spoke in a very small whisper.
“Cancel it today only.”
Uder didn’t ask any more questions.
Starting with Cordelia’s forehead, he granted her wish.
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The next morning.
Cordelia woke up in bed, suffering from the first hangover of her life, and trying hard to suppress the urge to kick the covers.
‘Awwwww!’
I’m crazy. I’m crazy.
Unfortunately, I remembered quite a bit.
What was said, what happened.
He even asked me to kiss him everywhere except on the lips.
“How, how, how.”
Cordelia, who was struggling to calm down her reddened face again, closed her eyes tightly and thought.
‘Let’s pretend to be drunk.’
No, I was really drunk.
So let’s pretend we don’t remember.
Yeah, that’s it.
Yeah, that’s it. That’s it.
‘Still.’
Cordelia covered her face with both hands as she recalled the events of last night again. It was embarrassing to even think about it, but strangely enough, she couldn’t help but smile.
Forehead, cheeks, neck, collarbone, etc.
Cordelia, recalling the places where Uther’s lips had touched, took another deep breath and tried hard to calm her heart that was starting to pound wildly.
“How.”
Alcohol is the devil.
I’m grateful, though.
Cordelia muttered something she didn’t know, then put her hands away again and took a deep breath.
“Okay, now get up, wash your face, and pretend you don’t remember anything.”
Cordelia declared to herself, raised her upper body, and froze in place.
“Uh… hello.”
The chair over there against the wall.
Yuder sitting on top of it with an awkward expression on his face.
“Whoa… I just woke up too. Yeah, I just woke up. That’s why I couldn’t hear anything. Nothing. Yeah.”
Yuder, who had returned to his usual cheerful expression, stretched while diligently reading his Korean textbook, and Cordelia covered her face with both hands again.
I couldn’t move for a long time.
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“The branch manager is waiting for you two.”
< Chapter 83 - The Guardians of the Holy Cross #3 > End
