“Are you serious about……. having him joining temporarily, Commander?”

Ten traps were disarmed in total.

On the way returning to the temple after disarming all the traps in the area they were assigned to, Van asked sullenly with Cadel on his back. Cadel nodded his head roughly, with his limbs drooping on both sides.

“The biggest challenge now is to increase the size of the mercenary corps. There’s no harm in doing it.”

“However, that punk is…….”

“I know you don’t like Lumen. I’m sorry, but put up with it a little.”

If Cadel apologized like this, he couldn’t press further. Van pouted his lips and remained silent.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand why his smart commander gave a second chance to a fool like that.

‘If it’s strength, I can grow more.’

If the commander needed it, he was confident that he would be reborn as someone who could defeat a hundred people. But even if he appealed like that, Cadel would hear it in one ear and out the other. Van silently fixed his posture so that Cadel could be carried on his back more comfortably.

Lumen’s presence was tantalizing, but he had not yet expressed his intention to join. Looking at the sunset burning splendidly like Van’s hope, the two returned safely to the temple.

“Whoa, my limbs feel heavy.”

When Cadel got off Van’s back and stepped on the ground, his whole body vibrated. In addition to the mana he poured in to disarm the traps, he even used his head to think how to treat Lumen, so the fatigue of both his mind and body was at its peak.

However, it was impossible to appear in front of the bishop looking like a mushy squid. Cadel brushed up his sweaty hair and tidied up his messy robes.

‘I wonder if the knight order came first.’

It was clear that there would be a war of nerves whether they came first or later, but it would look better if they arrive first. As he entered the temple with that thought in mind, he saw the back of the bishop who was left alone in the empty chapel.

* * *

“We’re pulling out!”

Yohan began to return to the temple, leading the tired knights. Disarming traps that minimized physical exhaustion through quick exploration and efficient mana distribution using multiple Holy Knights. This neat work was extremely satisfactory.

In the first place, it was not something that the outcome could be swayed by the absence of a single magician. Of course, the speed would have slowed down as much as the power of that one person, but the damage would be much worse for the mercenary corps.

‘Heh, he left as if he was going to build up his pride. It’s obvious that he hasn’t even explored all the areas he’s been assigned to yet. I’ll have to report to His Grace the Bishop first and then take care of the rest. Tsk, I’m going to work twice for no reason.’

He didn’t know what kind of skill the two of them managed to subdue the demon. In life, sometimes there were battles that followed luck. Believing that luck was his skill and extending it was where the disaster began. Yohan kept a smile on his face as he recalled Cadel’s imposing gaze.

God is fair. To reach out a hand of luck and to reap it. It was difficult to mistakenly believe that sweet luck would stay by his side forever.

Yeah, so obviously.

Obviously, he must be in trouble…….

“Ah, you’re here. I’ve been waiting.”

Yohan unknowingly tightened his eyebrows. His gaze landed on an impudent face looking back at himself astride an empty seat in the chapel. Did he give up early and come back first?

He suppressed his nervousness for some reason and opened his mouth, but Cadel spoke first.

“I thought it was taken care of later than expected, but when I returned, the knight order hadn’t returned yet. I was waiting because I thought it would be better to know the progress of the knight order’s side.”

“……The traps on the mercenary corps’ side?”

“Haha, I took care of them all. If they remained, I wouldn’t come back.”

No way. Yohan found it increasingly difficult to control his facial expression. No, maybe there were fewer traps in the direction Cadel moved. He tried to think like that, but Cadel spoke first again this time.

“Aiya, what’s with 10 traps? It was harder than I expected…… Still, it’s less than the number the knight order dealt with, right?”

Grinding.

Suddenly, a strange sound came from the knuckles holding the scabbard. Yohan pretended to be calm, ignoring the members who were lined up behind him and looking at him.

“There were 6 traps on this side.”

“I see……. Haha, as expected of the Holy Knight Order. God’s blessings seem to follow you.”

Despite Cadel’s smiling face, Yohan was able to see what he was really thinking. Cadel’s eyes were like, ‘So what did I tell you?’. He was mocking the knight order to his heart’s content, saying, ‘If you had stopped pretending to be noble early on, you wouldn’t have to waste your time’.

Calm down. Let’s calm down.

He was a noble knight who follows God’s will. The provocations that fuel the anger of the heart were no different from the devil’s whispers. Yohan, who took a small breath, showed a crooked smile that he couldn’t hide.

“If my discernment had been a bit better, I would have been able to proceed with the work with ease. Unfortunately.”

“Well…… I can’t believe you’re saying that. I won’t deny it.”

Facing Cadel’s thin eye smile, the tantrum rose as if his heart had been cast into hellfire. But what could he do? Ignoring him and trying to exclude him from the work, and even then, he was not able to achieve that much. It was all his own fault.

In the end, Yohan had to admit his complete defeat and contain his anger.

“Anyway, we’ve lifted all the traps left by the witch. Let’s not hold grudges.”

Apparently, the hand of luck has not yet left that mercenary.

* * *

During the two days of waiting for Lumen’s answer, Cadel had quite a few harvests.

First, the first ‘artifact’ was given to Van as a reward from the bishop. It was a [Bracelet of Rest] that stabilized the wearer’s mental power.

As a berserker, Van’s destructive power increased as the battle lengthened, but his mental strength plummeted when the awakening state lasted for a long time. Simply put, he lost his reason. For that reason, it could be seen that an artifact to prevent his rampage was almost essential.

‘I’ll take this precious gift from Commander to the grave! Definitely!’

Well, it wasn’t bad to see him happy at all.

And second. It was the [Witch’s Bone Powder] obtained by completing the second quest. This item was one of the ‘Demon Bone Powder’ series, and it was also a kind of ‘exchange item’ that he collected when he died in the game.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t for nurturing knights, it was an item for Cadel’s own growth. If he could find a ‘specific person’ who needed this item, it was clear that Cadel’s magical achievement would greatly increase.

Finally third. While waiting for Lumen, Cadel received and processed various miscellaneous requests centered on the temple, and in return, he obtained an old magic book. It was given to him by a young man he met during the quest.

‘I don’t know if this is real or counterfeit, and since no one takes care of it, it just collects dust…… I hope Mr. Cadel will use it. Aren’t you the benefactor of our believers?’