The hunters were happy to return to the guild; home was always a good place to come back to.
"There's nothing better than coming back."
Fay was cheerful to see himself returning to the hunters' guild, a place he greatly enjoyed being, even on his days off.
"I'll fill out the paperwork, the kids can go eat while the veteran takes care of everything."
Egil said responsibly, telling the boys to wait for their reward at one of the tables.
"That mission was quite intense."
Jon was feeling a bit sore even after being healed by the healing potion; the wounds on his body still seemed to be present.
"I didn't get to feel the same sensation. I only faced one strong enemy."
The spearman didn't share the same views as his friend; the mission's difficulty had been quite moderate for him.
"Infiltration's not my area. I'm out of that kind of stuff."
he complained with great indignation, remembering the arrows piercing his body, the spear nearly killing him with a throw, and the pressure of being surrounded.
"It would have been better to send me. I could have eliminated them more quickly with my spear and wouldn't have made so much noise,"
Fay said.
"Exactly!"
The conversation went back and forth until the veteran returned with the silver coins. The reward was 7 silver coins and 50 bronze coins for each of them.
"Your reward was quite hefty."
The veteran was laughing as he gave the rewards to the boys, who were happy to earn some considerable money.
"We'll come back even more prepared for the next mission."
The shooter's eyes were blazing as he thought about the next mission, the new and exciting adventure.
"Keep it up."
The bronze-rank hunter was excited to see the future of those two rookie hunters; they had shown a lot of potential in this mission.
A huge man used his hands to pull a certain someone to his side. His name was quite famous for his status in the hunters' guild and outside of it.
"How did the boys do on the mission?"
Beorn was excited to know about the talents of the new generation of hunters. The rest of the table also had their eyes on Egil.
"They are talented boys. Jon is an assassin described as frightening by those lucky enough to escape, but unlucky enough to be captured."
Hilda was curious upon hearing the description given by the black-haired swordsman; the young shooter seemed to be someone who fought from a distance or stealthily.
"Did you get any more information?"
"The captured bandits said they couldn't see where the shots were coming from. The only thing they saw were bodies falling after a strange sound of a small explosion."
The little thug trembled as he remembered his companions being killed.
Laughter erupted at that table as they heard about the bandit trembling. The even better reaction was when he saw Jon from a distance and peed himself out of fear before fainting.
"And Fay?"
The evaluation could be given more accurately this time because the evaluator was present at the time of the events; he didn't need to rely on third parties to give his assessment.
"Fay is a very talented boy. He's not a hardhead who fights with emotions; he knows how to get the best out of his emotions and mind. The way he killed one of the captains of that fort was spectacular. His combat intelligence is high."
Beorn was excited after hearing such praise. A talented spearman on the front line would be of great help to all groups.
"Are they as talented as Alice?"
The comment from one of the members at the table caught the attention of the rookie magic user; she hadn't thought there was anyone in the guild with the same level of talent as her.
"Yes, they are just as talented."
"So they can match someone admitted to a magic tower. They are good."
The woman in question was just looking with more interest at the two boys at the drinks table, who were talking with the silver-haired guild employee.
"Those guys were strong. Who knew nearly dying to goblins would help anything? Experience saved us."
Fay knew the difference between himself and the knights, which was the experience of life-and-death situations.
"The first time always helps you think better the second time,"
Jon didn't disagree with his friend, as he knew of mistakes he could have made if it had been his first time in a life-or-death battle.
"You two are reckless sometimes."
Luna observed this with a certain disbelief in her eyes, but she was already used to adventurers bragging about situations where they almost died.
"I thought you hated reckless rookies like us,"
the spearman was the one to fire this response at the employee, who returned it at the same moment with another answer.
"Yes, I hate reckless rookies. Reckless friends are another story."
It was the shooter's turn to smile as he saw her response, considering them her friends.
"You're pretty cute when you talk about friendship or your own feelings."
"And you're pretty stupid for walking around all in black, with torn clothes in this killing heat."
The silver-haired young woman was looking at both of them, who were somewhat worn out, with a worried thought.
"You should take a few days off. It's not good to do missions every day. You should train to improve your abilities."
Both reflected on these thoughts and agreed. They didn't want to be iron-rank adventurers for the rest of their lives.
"Let's do one mission and then take 3 days off."
"Two days for non-exhausting missions, 3 to 4 days for exhausting missions."
"What would be exhausting missions? Those where we spend a lot of energy or get hurt a lot?"
"Both. We should take more time for missions like that."
"We can't keep nearly dying every mission. We need to get stronger—both of us—or we'll never climb higher."
The conversation was started by Fay with the proposal to stop for 3 days, which was answered by Jon. The two continued to reach a consensus after some time.
Night had fallen when a certain someone was walking to his home. A brown-haired woman stopped him as she observed him returning intact after a mission.
"Very worried about my return?"
"Yes, I heard about the dangerous mission."
"It was dangerous indeed. The task given to me was incompatible with my abilities,"
Jon still continued to resent the fact that he was assigned to the infiltration squad. The revolver was too loud for infiltration; it would have been better to have been on an assault team.
"How was your day?"
"Someone started a huge mess. A rookie hunter, full of ego. The good part is the result after that: an unforgettable beating."
"Did you feel a little sorry for him?"
"No, my mercy is saved only for those who prove they deserve it."
"Do I deserve it?"
"Yes."
The conversation between the two flowed naturally while the moon in the sky continued to shine magically. Their smiles were contagious to each other, and the not-so-good day ended up becoming a good one.
"I wish moments like this would last forever."
Isabel was allowing herself to be emotional with this new friend. The friendship between the two didn't seem to have been established just a few days ago; it seemed to have been much longer, as the feelings between them demonstrated that fact.
"I would like that too."
Both were silent for a while to enjoy the moment in their thoughts. A wave was given to say goodbye, to make tomorrow an even more magical day.
"Going on adventures with Fay, talking with the people from the guild, teasing Luna to show her cute side, and ending the day with Isabel is my life plan."
Sleep made his eyes close slowly as he thought about the things he would do. His tasks for tomorrow made him eager for the next day.
His dreams also had things related to Earth; his family was always with him, and he promised to live a worthy life so as not to dishonor who he was.
"I pray every day for your happiness."
Another day arrived like any other day, the sun hitting his face and irritating him. Brushing his teeth and getting ready to do something of interest.
"Jon, want to go out?" Fay was waiting at the door of the Hotel Styx. Jon didn't understand the reason for wanting to go out together on his day off.
"I thought you were going to see your family."
"My family lives in the capital of Avalon. My father is a knight, and their headquarters is in Camelot."
"But aren't there knights in Caerleon?"
"This is just a subsidiary."
Jon didn't understand his friend's plans, but his gaze seemed to want to introduce him to something important. "My plans are to stop by the blacksmith, the alchemist, and also another place."
"What is this other place?"
"The stable. I'm going to buy a horse to help with our long-distance travels."
"Then I'll buy one too. It'll be cool to ride horses for our missions."
The two left after saying goodbye to Isabel for their first destination, which they approached at a slow pace so everything about the destination could be explained.
"Where are we going?"
"We are going to the Cathedral of the Celestial Father in Caerleon."
His first contact with the religion of this world had just arrived. His interest was piqued because of the real existence of gods.
"Could you tell me more about the Celestial Father? I know nothing about gods. The people of my village thanked the heavens and the earth in their prayers."
The chance appeared in Fay's eyes as he saw the moment to enlighten another person who was a non-believer in his God.
"The Celestial Father is the chief of the Gods of this world. He governs the entire pantheon with his power over light. There are several minor deities, the major deities are only a few, and those at the top are 7. The Celestial Father leads the minor and the major ones."
Jon was curious about the power of light, which his friend had shown he could use in their adventure in the goblin cave.
"And that power of light shown in the cave, is it related?"
His friend smiled when he saw another opportunity to show off in front of that cold shooter, who wasn't so cold in the presence of friends.
"Some believers receive a special power from the deity they believe in. This gift can only be received by talented and fervent people in the faith. The gift given by the Celestial Father to his devotees is the power of light. My martial art can only be trained after receiving approval from the great father."
Fay was excited as he remembered the moment he received the power to use light in his spear; his entire family was happy.
"And the others?"
"I don't know much about the others. What I know is that the Patron God of Gehenna, Hades, gives the power of necromancy to his believers."
Jon became curious about the powers of the other major deities. It wasn't a futile thought when he remembered his friend's powers over light, the powerful spear of light capable of destroying a powerful object at high speed.
"We've arrived!"
The spearman made a gesture of respect to the Celestial Father, which his friend also did out of respect, so as not to be seen as rude in someone else's church.
The cathedral was a mixture of white and golden yellow. The main parts of the walls and ceiling were made of a celestial white like the clouds; the details were made of a gold brighter than gold itself.
The enchantment came the moment he saw the paintings, just like those in Catholic churches on Earth. The most unbelievable thing was the magic used to make such paintings and the magical materials.
The scene was otherworldly, a scene full of magic upon entering that magical cathedral, capable of leaving a person like Jon full of surprise.
"There's no comparison to the hunters' guild. It's much more beautiful."
Magic was activated on the ground so they wouldn't see the concrete floor when they arrived, but only the clouds.
"This magic that makes the floor look like clouds is only done in cathedrals approved by the Father."
A person was looking at those who entered the cathedral of Caerleon. The gaze belonged to a very beautiful woman with hair as pink as sakura flowers.
"Hello, Priestess Claire."
"Hello, Spearman Fay."
Priestess Claire had a very gentle look. Her clothes were very similar to the nuns on Earth; the difference was the white coloring. Her body features were impressive, a large bust bursting out of her clothes, and impressive curves capable of making any man drool. Her age seemed to be around 25.
"May I know your name?"
"I'm Jon Walker. I'm a hunter and I'm at the one-star iron rank."
"What is the reason for your being in this cathedral? I'm curious about this new face in our environment."
"I'm accompanying my friend."
The priestess was excited to hear this and gave a thumbs up to Fay, who also responded in the same way. "
Let me present you with this."
Light materialized in her hand as a book of 200 to 300 pages, which contained the words and deeds of the great one above the heavens.
"It seems to be a bible of this world."
The young woman continued to say a few things about the Celestial Father. His friend was also complementing her points, and this made the shooter's head hurt a little.
Jon ended up converting to this new faith after much insistence from those two believers. One reason he converted was so they would stop talking in his ear and because of the friendship with his best friend from the other world.
"The Celestial Father seems more like the Christian God than the others."
Walker would never have converted to the faith of the Celestial Father if he had heard anything similar to Zeus; he had no capacity to believe in such a sentimental and human deity.