I like crossing the most

Chapter 474: Farewell x Gift x Return to the Capital

Push open the door of the guild.

After regaining his identity and wearing the pure white priest uniform, Kobayashi immediately felt the respect and admiration of the adventurers.

He was used to this scene, but compared to a month ago, the gaze seemed to have become less intense, and more of a response to the dual identities of noble and leader.

There is nothing we can do about it.

I moved my eyes to the commission contents on the notice board, but unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any mithril-level tasks.

It is true that commissioned missions that can only be carried out by Mithril-level adventurers are not very common, but the reason this time is not that there are few commissions, but that there are adventurers who can quickly complete missions above Mithril level.

"How hard are you trying, Mr. Momo..." Xiaolin's helplessness expressed the thoughts of the other adventurers.

I don’t know if it’s because the heroic battle between the hero and the vampire was not broadcast widely, but Momo, who did not get the reputation he had imagined, retaliation increased his efforts to accept commissions after his return, and he could complete a difficult task with 100% completion rate in just two or three days.

While ensuring the completion of the tasks, it also improves efficiency, so that almost all Mithril-level adventurer teams have no tasks to do.

About a month ago, that man destroyed a very powerful vampire in a fierce battle that shook the world - no one saw it, but as long as you have seen the traces of the battle, you can roughly imagine what kind of battle it was.

Even if the members of [Klargora] who were traveling with him were affected and wiped out, it would not surprise everyone.

The magic-sealing crystal that sealed the eighth level exploded, turning a large area of ​​land into black earth, and some places even turned into desert areas.

Surprisingly, you can't beat the vampires without doing that.

and--

They survived!
On the other hand, those who won the victory and survived safely were naturally considered to be monsters stronger than vampires, which were monsters that the heroes of the Theocracy could not defeat at all.

Everyone who originally looked down on each other changed their attitude overnight and became humble.

This is the adventurer.

The bigger the fist, the more powerful it is. Only with great strength can one get the respect of others. Therefore, people like Kobayashi, who are admired and respected, feel much worse than before.

...even though he doesn't care.

At this moment, the sound of the door opening was heard, and there was a piercing noise like a gust of wind rushing into the guild. Kobayashi, who was touched, also turned his gaze to the direction of the people around him.

As expected, there were two huge swords on his back and a beautiful woman following behind him. The person who came into view was exactly what I expected, the talk of the town.

——【Dark Hero】Mr. Momo.

"The front part of the armor uses a lot of fine steel. How much is it worth?"

The adventurer's shouts came to my ears.

The super high-grade full-body armor that gave him the nickname "Black Hero" was severely damaged when he returned from the disaster. There were burnt, cracked and scratched marks everywhere, but now the black armor was not scratched at all and shone brightly under the reflection of sunlight.

This was the result of the Magicians Guild mobilizing all magic caster members to use magic to repair the situation.

The metal plate hanging on the chest is a symbol of a living legend, an object of admiration for adventurers, and a human trump card that protects fragile humans from being harmed by powerful races.

——Fine steel!
His achievements far surpassed those of Orichalcum, and he became a high-ranking rank that had never appeared in [E-Rantel] before! The arrival of the hero who appeared in the story made the atmosphere in the Adventurer's Guild rise rapidly.

"The kingdom's third steel-level adventurer..."

"Is he the [Dark Hero] Momo? And the one behind him is [Beautiful Girl] Nabe. Her beauty is indeed as good as her reputation."

A mighty warrior and a beautiful magician.

The two of them appeared in front of everyone one after the other and naturally received praise.

Not only that—

"You know that forest, right? A large part of it was burned down. I heard that it was his work! I heard that he used martial arts to burn it down."

"No way! How is it possible... If he could use martial arts to burn himself like that, he can no longer be called a human being!"

"He should be one of the few who can do it, right? The adamantium level is the pinnacle of adventurers. Even if he is said to be adamantium among adamantium levels, I would not be surprised at all."

Under the gazes of many admirers, Momo walked calmly to the counter.

The adventurers who were discussing commissioned tasks with the counter lady all made way for the highest-ranking adventurer, with respect and... fear on their faces.

This is the privilege that the strong automatically enjoy.

A large space opened up at the crowded counter, and Momo spoke to the counter lady as if nothing had happened.

"The work we were responsible for has been completed. Please help us see if there is any new work."

"...!"

The lady at the counter widened her eyes, but quickly recovered.

The adventurers around him understood why the steady counter lady was like that. After all, the commission that Momo and his team took on was difficult even for a Mithril-level adventurer team and would take a while to resolve. However, Momo and his team handled it in no time.

That's right, just give it to him.

Even the Mithril level is no problem.

This is only natural, because the highest-level adventurers have such abilities.

"There's no business to do."

Next to Xiaolin, an adventurer with a mithril badge on his chest couldn't help but complain.

But of course he wasn't serious.

After reaching the Mithril level, unless there are special circumstances, one should have saved enough wealth to live a worry-free life for half a lifetime even after retirement. Adventurers who reach this level will continue to take risks, mostly for reasons other than money.

The lady at the counter bowed deeply.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Momo. There is no more mission I can entrust you with now. Please forgive me."

"That's it..."

Momo had something to say, but suddenly stopped midway through, and spoke again after a few seconds:
"Really? That's great, because I suddenly remembered that I had something urgent to do, so I went back to the hotel first. If you have any urgent business, please come to the hotel to find me. Do you know which hotel I am staying in?"

"You know, Axis Hotel, right?"

Momo nodded, turned around handsomely, raised his red cloak, and walked out.

Then I saw Xiaolin in the corner.

Momo, who seemed to be in a hurry, changed his route abruptly after seeing him and came to the corner on his own initiative.

"Yeah, Mr. Momo who works hard."

"Mr. Kobayashi, what are you doing here?"

"I'm doing nothing. Thanks to someone working so hard, I have to go hungry now, but it's hard."

"……Eh?"

Ainz was dumbfounded. He had not expected that his actions of working so hard to improve his reputation would have consequences that would affect Krillin.

"Hahaha, this is just a joke."

Looking at the [Dark Hero] who was stunned by his joke, Kobayashi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He was short of money, but not the small amount of money from adventurer rewards. As for whether he should speak for other adventurers, he didn't have that idea.

The adventurer industry is very cruel, and survival of the fittest is the most fundamental principle. Everyone who enters the industry must have corresponding awareness. If they cannot complete the task outstandingly, it is better to quit the ranks of adventurers as soon as possible.

Besides, the mithril-level commissions that Momo did did not squeeze the living space of low-level adventurers, so it didn’t matter.

But what Kobayashi didn't expect was that after what he said, Ainz had decided to restrain himself for the time being.

It is true that completing the commission efficiently will gain enough reputation, but at the same time, it will also cause jealousy from others, and it would be bad if it caused any disputes.

The title of [Dark Hero] is still very useful, so you must protect your reputation no matter what.

"...Okay, I've been working too much lately and I'm a little tired, so I should take a proper rest."

Of course, this is an excuse.

As a great undead magician, he would not get tired at all. And he happened to be going to conquer the Lizardman Village next, so he just went with the flow.

"Eh, I obviously didn't mean that..."

Xiaolin scratched his head.

I feel a little embarrassed when I get such an answer to my unintentional joke.

Forget it, the other party must have his own plans.

"Oh, right." Xiao Lin clapped his hands, as if he remembered something, and said, "I will be returning to the capital tomorrow. Today I came to say goodbye to Mr. Momo. After all, Mr. Momo is the only one I can call my friend in the fortress city now."

"Return to the capital? Why?"

“What a strange question, Mr. Momo. Not to mention that I’m the second son of the Duke’s family, the Axis Church also cannot do without me as its leader. Staying in the fortress city for a month is already a stretch.”

"is that so……"

Ainz looked at Krillin's distressed face.

He was very familiar with that expression, just like the face of a corporate employee when he is about to face an incredibly exaggerated pile of documents after the holiday.

Sebastian once told him that Kobayashi was the leader of the Axis Church. Although the church had a bad reputation, as the leader of a church, he must have a lot of things waiting for him to solve.

Unfortunately, I didn’t ask more about Xiaolin.

Ainz was referring to his previous life.

Kobayashi also has the same idea.

In fact, the situation in the royal capital had already been urgent half a month ago, but he had been delaying his departure because he really wanted to know Momo's origins.

Unfortunately, even after staying for another half a month, he still couldn't find out anything about Momo's background. The princess in the royal capital urged him to go back, so he had to go back.

"To be honest, I really want to invite Mr. Momo to the capital, but it seems that you have more important things to do now."

Kobayashi was referring to the reputation issue.

The news that [Dark Hero] is a new Elite Steel-rank adventurer has not yet been reported back to the capital. It will take some time for him to become famous. Now is not the best time for him to go to the capital, so he can only regretfully give up the idea of ​​inviting him.

And Ainz thought about his plan to conquer the Lizardman Village, so he nodded subconsciously, indicating that what Krillin said was right.

"May I ask you something?"

"Please, Mr. Momo."

"Mr. Kobayashi, is there anything important that needs to be done when you return to the capital?"

Ainz has decided to protect Krillin, so in order to prevent him from being killed for no reason, he needs Sebastian and Soluluka to help each other secretly.

He shouldn't have asked so bluntly, but apart from Sebastian and Soluluo, there were no other subordinates of the Great Tomb in the capital - at least in his opinion, there were no other subordinates of the Great Tomb.

"Important matters... well, not really."

Xiao Lin thought for a moment and said, "Because the Axis Church is a bit of an eyesore, and the Golden Princess is behind it, the nobles thought that the church and the royal family had joined forces and secretly put pressure on them. It was originally just a trivial matter, but the nobles actually colluded with the underground forces of the Eight Fingers to make trouble in the capital..."

The corners of his mouth were raised as if he was smiling, but there was no smile at all, only endless indifference and hatred.

Eight fingers?

Ainz silently memorized the name of this organization, and subconsciously considered it a hostile force.

When we get back, let Sebastian and Suoluoxiang investigate that organization.

While Ainz was thinking, he heard Xiaolin say, "Mr. Momo, can I ask you for a favor?"

"What's the commission? Feel free to tell me."

"No, it's not a request. Actually, I have a good friend in the capital who particularly likes adventurers... or to be more precise, stories like Heroes' Tales. If you don't mind, Mr. Momo, would you allow me to tell him your story?"

The person who said this was, of course, Climb.

The princess's guard, although apparently lacking in strength and talent, inexplicably likes heroic stories and even collects them.

"No problem, I don't mind."

"Thank you."

Of course Kobayashi knew that the other party didn't mind. After all, how could he refuse something that could spread his reputation? However, it would be better to ask first about things that could easily cause disgust.

"Then... here, please accept it, Mr. Momo."

"this is?"

When Ainz saw the bracelet-like thing handed to him, he felt that it looked familiar.

"This is my personal symbol. If you come to the capital and encounter difficulties one day, please use it."

"Thank you, I'll keep it safe."

Although he said that, it was Nabe who took the bracelet. Ainz would not touch such an unknown tool whose effect he did not know, and of course Nabelar would not let Ainz touch it easily.

Ainz looked at Krillin and said solemnly as if making a declaration: "I will definitely go to the capital."

"...Okay, I will definitely entertain Mr. Momo well when the time comes." As if infected by his seriousness, Xiaolin smiled and stretched out his hand.

The two held hands in mid-air.

After a long time, we left.

"By the way, Mr. Momo, do you want to join the Axis Cult?"

"Sorry, I refuse."

No hesitation in rejecting.

Xiao Lin scratched his head and sighed helplessly: "So you really rejected me..."

There was no other way. The reputation of the Axis Church was too bad. Momo, who valued his reputation, would not join the church. However, what he didn't know was that this was not the fundamental reason.

What on earth are you thinking of letting the undead join the church! Do you want me to be purified by the goddess? !
A certain skeleton complained loudly from within.

----

The carriage heading to the royal capital was swaying along the road. Kobayashi and Monica were sitting in this plain carriage.

Although he is the second son of the Duke, he does not have the aura of a nobleman at all.

But the two didn't care.

Sometimes, the emblem of the Axis Church on the carriage is much more useful than the Duke's family emblem.

Gradually moving away from the adventure city.

Monica asked, "Master Lin, are you really not going to invite that dark hero?"

"Didn't I invite you? But you refused." Lin asked curiously: "That's strange. Weren't you very opposed to Mr. Momo joining the Axis Church before?"

"That's... I didn't know he was that strong."

After seeing the huge damage caused to the forest by the other party, everyone would be extremely envious.

"But you also said that Mr. Momo has great power. No matter what, people like that cannot be invited to join the club."

Xiaolin spread his hands.

Especially since the other party was eager for fame and the Axis Church had a bad reputation, it was very considerate of Momo to not stay away from it.

"So don't expect so much."

"But……!"

"Besides, isn't it good now? We have successfully established a relationship with the other party. As long as we offer a suitable reward, the other party will not refuse our request."

"Yes, you are right."

Seeing that the leader was so contented, Monica didn't know what to say.

Xiaolin smiled.

Monica is purely a silent cost. She has put in so much effort and energy, so naturally she wants to accept Momo into her church, otherwise she will always feel unwilling.

But Xiao Lin knew that he had to make a decisive decision. He had a feeling that continuing the investigation might bring disaster, so he did not force it.

Besides, the most important thing now is not Momo, but the evil spirits lurking in the deep shadows of the royal capital.

and so--

Wait for me, insects of the royal capital!

(End of this chapter)