"If you're feeling scared, I can hold you tightly. That's a special service our church provides just for Mr. Kurose Akira~"
Ivsha's seductive voice curled around Akira's ear, sending a faint shiver through his body.
To his surprise—and mild frustration—he realized that even after experiencing this countless times, he still hadn't developed full resistance to Ivsha's temptation.
What a terrifying succubus…
"Ahem. I'll… think about it. For now, let's get ready. We're heading to the church," Akira said, clearing his throat.
"Mm-hm~"
"Loserine, it's time to go."
Akira immediately called out to Loserine, who was busy working on a jigsaw puzzle, telling her to prepare to leave and accompany him to the church.
"…Mm."
Loserine nodded. She set the puzzle piece down, rose to her feet, and followed closely behind Akira.
"Please trust me, Mr. Kurose Akira~ The baptism of holy light can truly cleanse your impure thoughts!"
"Ivsha, if my impure thoughts are cleansed, then I won't be able to grant you rewards anymore."
"Ah~ then let's forget it~ Mr. Kurose Akira doesn't need the baptism of holy light at all!"
…
In the blink of an eye, the three of them arrived at Ivsha's church.
Located at the very center of Silvermoon Town, the church wasn't particularly large—but at the moment, it was packed with townspeople.
Akira carefully observed the crowd and noticed that many of the residents looked abnormally pale, as though the color had been drained from their faces.
"What's going on?" he asked Ivsha in a low voice.
"Recently, Silvermoon Town has been plagued by demonic activity," Ivsha explained. "The law-enforcement knights still haven't managed to capture the demon. Townsfolk affected by it have been coming to the church for help, which is also one of the reasons we're facing a financial deficit."
"If that's the case, shouldn't the town mayor be providing financial support to the church?" Akira asked.
"Silvermoon Town was never wealthy to begin with," Ivsha replied softly. "And with the recent chaos caused by the demon, even the mayor can barely protect himself. On top of that, our church has far more nuns than most—our expenses are enormous. We've been operating at a loss for a long time."
Hearing this, Akira swept his gaze across the interior of the church.
Indeed, Ivsha's church housed at least sixty or seventy nuns. Most of them, like Ivsha herself, were orphans taken in and raised by the church.
After observing for a while, Akira gradually understood why the church was on the brink of bankruptcy.
The only sources of income were exorcisms, prayers, and the sale of holy relics—and the profits from all three were painfully slim. Even though many townspeople had been affected by demonic forces recently, their own financial situations were so dire that the church still couldn't earn enough to stay afloat.
Bound by the doctrine of the Holy Light, the church often had to treat believers free of charge, further increasing its financial burden.
And then there were the sixty to seventy nuns living here. Even if they ate very little, daily expenses were unavoidable—not to mention the massive reconstruction costs whenever natural disasters struck and damaged the church or dormitories.
All of these factors combined had steadily dragged the church into financial ruin, leaving it on the verge of collapse.
Still, something felt off.
Silvermoon Town wasn't located in some remote backwater. Why, then, were the townspeople so poor?
"Ivsha," Akira asked quietly, "who exactly makes up the church's upper leadership?"
"They're two priests sent from the Grand Cathedral in Blue Moon City," Ivsha replied. "But most of the time, they don't actually stay here. They live in Blue Moon City instead."
"Parachuted-in management?" Akira frowned, momentarily speechless.
So even churches pull this kind of nonsense…
"Ivsha, the baptism of holy light is about to begin!" a young novice nun suddenly ran over.
She was only about 1.4 meters tall, petite and delicate, brimming with youthful energy and liveliness. Judging by her appearance, she couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve.
"Alright, Emily. I'll be there right away," Ivsha said gently, nodding as she stood up to join the other nuns for the baptism.
"Oh, right—Mr. Kurose Akira, this is for you!"
Ivsha suddenly handed him an amulet carved with the image of a nun.
"This is…?" Akira asked.
"One of the holy relics sold by our church. It's called a Nun's Amulet," Ivsha explained. "Of course, this one was handmade by me personally. Please wait for me—I'll come back as soon as the baptism is over."
"Alright."
Akira nodded and lowered his gaze to the amulet in his hand.
"Nun's Amulet…?"
[Nun's Amulet (Rare): Luck +5(Triggers the "Unwavering Devotion" tag—effect increased by 100%)]
"An item that increases Luck?!"
A faint glimmer flashed in Akira's eyes.
Five points of Luck might not mean much to the natives of this world—but to a player, it was an extremely precious stat bonus.
Of course, identical items couldn't be stacked.
Akira slipped Ivsha's love-filled amulet into his pocket and looked forward once more.
The nuns had gathered in the center of the church, standing in neat rows as they awaited the baptism of holy light.
At the front stood a plump elderly nun holding a book—presumably the holy scripture of the Church of Light.
As she began to chant from the scripture, golden light flickered softly above the heads of all the nuns.
Dozens of them clasped their hands together, singing hymns in unison.
The radiant scene was mesmerizing.
And yet—
What kind of church is this?Why is every single one of them so ridiculously good-looking?
Just as Akira was immersed in the baptismal ceremony, a figure caught his attention.
A tall, slender knight with short, bright blond hair and refined features. Judging by his appearance, he looked to be only around twenty-four or twenty-five.
"Who is he…?"
Akira's gaze sharpened as he pulled up the man's information.
[Norda (Elite)]Level: 20 (500/6000)Race: HumanStrength: 350 / Agility: 360 / Mana: 300 / Constitution: 380Growth: 8 (+8 to all attributes per level)Skills: (Expand)
"A level 20 knight? His overall stats are even higher than Loserine's… This won't be easy."
Akira narrowed his eyes. There was no doubt—this was the young baron Ivsha had mentioned.
Based on the man's attributes alone, defeating him head-on would be extremely difficult.
Not impossible—but only if Akira used every card he had.
"Hm?"
Akira suddenly noticed a tall, thin elderly nun walking toward Baron Norda.
They seemed to be discussing something.
Although Akira was some distance away, a player's senses in this other world far exceeded those of ordinary people—likely because players' hearing, vision, and touch were all transmitted through neural signals from the game console.
As a result, he could barely make out their conversation.
"It seems the target you're searching for isn't in our church," the thin nun said.
"This is only a baptism of holy light. It doesn't guarantee definitive results," Norda replied calmly. "I will find the demon hiding within the church and bring it back to the royal capital to report. I believe the recent disasters in Silvermoon Town are also connected to it."
"In that case, we naturally won't interfere with Baron Norda's investigation," the nun said expressionlessly. "However, please remember what you promised us."
"I always keep my word," Norda said flatly. "But if I discover that the church has been harboring a demon… don't blame me for turning hostile."
"Of course."
After the exchange, Baron Norda turned and left the church.
"His target is Ivsha."
Akira's eyes narrowed.
He was certain now—the baron's presence in Silvermoon Town was directly related to Ivsha.
The so-called demonic disturbances plaguing the town had likely been mistakenly attributed to her.
Akira knew Ivsha would never harm the townspeople. The real demon had to be someone else.
And judging from the baron's words—he had been sent to capture Ivsha?
Which meant the real culprit was someone far away in the royal capital.
This was probably the hidden objective mentioned in Ivsha's character quest—
Save Ivsha.
A cold glint flashed through Akira's eyes.
He would never allow that to happen.
Ivsha was an adventurer of his guild.
No one—absolutely no one—was allowed to hurt her.
"Sir, are you here to pray at the church?"
Suddenly, a voice spoke from directly in front of him.
It was the tall, thin nun.
She stared at Akira coldly, strange dark-red light flickering ominously in her eyes…