The Villain is Too Good at Sniping - Chapter 135



Only Noblemtl

Episode 135

Episode 135. Blue (4)

Saint Alveron, a Gothic-style city built on the western side of the continent.

A chilly air settled over the Vatican as catechumens and pilgrims aspiring to join the Holy See bustled about on the streets.

“Unidentified assailants attacked the believers, repelled the inquisitors, and freed the people?”

“… That’s what they say.”

“I don’t know if this makes sense.”

The report in Pope Benedict II’s hands was crumpled.

“Who on earth would do something like this?”

“… … .”

“Who on earth would interfere with the actions of God’s representative?”

As the Pope’s rage grew louder, the expressions of the elders gathered in the office darkened. They also had something to say, but no matter what they said, the Pope would not listen.

“We must capture the culprits alive. We will punish those who stand in the way of the Holy Order.”

But before the Pope could continue speaking, one of the elders raised his head.

“What is it?”

“… The article has been posted, Your Majesty.”

“What?”

The elder manipulates the watch. Among the dozens of articles floating on the wall, he clicks on one that stands out.

[The Holy Church, driving innocent people to the mines]

“her?”

The Pope’s brow furrowed as he read the article. The elder ended the projection with trembling hands.

“Where on earth did this article come from?”

“That’s a media outlet called Bloody Ark… … . Originally, it was a media outlet with a bad reputation, but after the doppelganger incident, its recognition has rapidly increased… … .”

“A mere media outlet dares to damage the honor of the church!”

bang……!

However, the Pope did not listen to the elder’s explanation until the end. After muttering for a long time, he finally managed to control his anger and belatedly gave the order.

“… We must catch him. We will catch him and hold him responsible for all this.”

You must catch them… It was just a simple order, but the elders of the Holy Order present here are veterans who have already experienced this situation countless times. There is no elder present who does not understand the Pope’s will.

If we interpret the Pope’s command, it was like this.

“Yes. I will ask Esperland to do so. Your Holiness… … .”

That day, a new request came to Esperland. It was an anonymous request to catch the culprit who had attacked the Holy Church.

***

Complete Side Quest: The Darkness of the Holy Order

It took a full two weeks to finish the entire series of stories related to the Holy Cult.

It may be a long time if it’s long and a short time if it’s short, but a lot has happened in that time.

The biggest thing was that a request came in from Esperland. Originally, it was supposed to go to another clan, but coincidentally, the request ended up coming back to me.

If I were to go into more detail, the reason was this.

The raid happened near Arsen. And I’m a student at Arsen. The request was passed around to many people and finally passed down to me. I was the only one who was best suited to it.

Of course, I was a student at Arsene, so I didn’t necessarily have to accept it. If I had declined, it would have been passed on to someone else, but I gladly accepted the request. It was to handle the work more perfectly.

Since he had no intention of revealing the truth about the raid and had destroyed all evidence, the request from the Holy Order was effectively put on hold. On paper, it was ‘in progress’, but there was no way the work would ever progress.

In any case, voices of condemnation against the Holy Church continue.

Anonymous testimonies against the Holy Church were constantly being leaked, and people began to protest against the Holy Church. No matter how much the Holy Church tried to leave, they could not openly oppress people.

“Do I have to go today too?”

“Do you remember, Zion, that you were a prospective believer who dreamed of joining the Holy Church?”

“Oh, yes yes.”

On the weekend, I went on an outing with Father Isabel under the pretense of devout religious activity.

In the secluded back mountain of Arsene, Priest Isabel, who was looking at flowers, suddenly asked me a question.

“… There is more interest from people than I thought. There have been several articles.”

“It must be thanks to the articles published by Bloody Ark. After the Doppelganger incident, they were able to transform into a proper media outlet.”

“Maybe I was lucky this time.”

I could only nod awkwardly at the words, “I was lucky.” Father Isabel opened her eyes squinting at my lukewarm response, but there were circumstances she couldn’t tell me either.

“I guess I was just lucky. Maybe.”

Because I was the one who sent the anonymous tip to Bloody Ark. In the end, it was just a game of Go-Stop from start to finish.

Trait – Acquired ‘Divine Spirit’.

To conclude, the divine spirit had no effect on the loneliness that had taken hold in my body.

… Still, it wasn’t a bad deal, as I was able to resist mental attacks and control divine powers despite not being a believer in the Holy Sect.

***

“As of today, you will be on a three-week vacation. Of course, even during the vacation, Arsene’s door will always be open. You can use the request board and other training facilities if you wish.”

Clap clap clap clap-

Arsene’s graduation ceremony, which the cadets had been waiting for, ended in a more modest manner than expected. Although it is an important event, there is no need to make a grand event, and Arsene is focusing his efforts on preparing for the upcoming academy exchange.

Therefore, the closing ceremony was announced directly by the professors in charge of each class. It was a moment of peace that came to Arsene, who had been tense every day.

Since it was the last day of school, all classes ended in the morning. I finished my last schedule for the first semester and walked home with Airi.

“What are you going to do now, Mr. Zion? Are you going to go home?”

“No, I think I’ll continue to stay at the guest house for now.”

When I answered like that, Airi tilted her head.

“It may not seem like it, but I’m Arsene’s staff member. I actually have more work to do during the holidays.”

The conditions that Isabella set for allowing me to go out still apply. The deadline is stated to be the completion of all first-year courses, and during that time I must participate in various events held by Arsene and help with the work.

If you only look at the conditions, it may seem like I’m a servant who Arsene uses without any reason, but surprisingly, Isabella rarely calls me. She only asks me to stay by her side for a little while.

I don’t know what the favor was, but I thought there was no need to say anything more, so I just accepted Isabella’s request.

Except for one thing.

-If you want to step forward and help, I won’t try to stop you.

-Thank you, Professor.

I willingly volunteered to prepare for the exchange.

Above all, the Academy Exchange Exhibition will be held right after this vacation ends. It is a key episode of Act 2, and since there are many characters appearing this time, there are many things I need to check as well.

For example, Lilia de Sugarmond who will come to Joachim, or Nam Ki-hyeok, the first swordsman of the Meteorite Army who we talked about before.

If there is anything else I can do in advance, it would be better to work on it before the exchange event opens.

“… There are a lot of people here too.”

Before we knew it, Airi and I had arrived in front of the request bulletin board. From what I heard, it seemed like they had set up the request bulletin board indoors last time, but moved it outdoors because too many people were flocking to it.

However, even if you move it outdoors, the request board is still full.

“There are always a lot of people here… … ?”

“It’s a request bulletin board.”

Among the students who were so crowded that it was almost disgusting, there were also second- and third-year students. That’s about the extent of the difference from when I visited last time with Airi.

“Each person has their own circumstances, whether they’re trying to make up for their lacking grades with practical skills or they’re desperate for money and trying to earn pocket money.”

“Mr. Zion, you don’t need money urgently, do you?”

“…I don’t have much pocket money.”

There was also the hundreds of millions of dollars in travel expenses from Esperland, and there was still a lot of money left over from the scholarship I received for coming in second place in the entrance exam. The guesthouse even provided me with most of the necessary items, so I really didn’t have to spend any money.

However, if you keep in mind a comfortable retirement after graduation, you should eventually save up some money. There is nothing wrong with having a lot of money.

“I caught this first, senior.”

“What? You, ah… that’s him? That first-year student who caught that mine.”

“You have other requests, so are you going to continue doing this here?”

Among the students who were arguing over the commission were Kyle and Esili. Of course, there was also Lara Stillheiden. Lara, who was short on money, visited the commission board this time to earn living expenses.

“That’s right. The dormitory construction is finished.”

“Is it over now?”

“I heard that it wasn’t just about renovating the building and putting it up, there were other things to do.”

Perhaps additional construction was necessary due to the barrier inside the dormitory.

I had a rough idea, because I remember seeing the cadets staying downstairs unpacking their luggage.

“The room Mr. Zion was in is now safe. You can return to the dormitory now.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Since I already have a place to stay, I don’t really need to go back to the dorm. It feels like I’ve suddenly got a villa, but I can just use it as a storage space…

***

The short, three-week vacation has begun.

As the holidays began, the once bustling Arsene became empty. The restaurants were still open, but the number of visitors had dwindled to the level of employees staying at Arsene.

“It’s quiet.”

“It can’t be helped since it’s vacation.”

I walked along the now deserted streets of Arsene with Rebecca.

Since we don’t have to wear cadet uniforms, both Rebecca and I are in civilian clothes now. This is the first time I’ve seen Rebecca in civilian clothes, and it feels rather unfamiliar.

“You look good together, Zion Illionheart.”

It seemed that Rebecca was also unfamiliar with plain clothes.

“Are you staying here too, Rebecca?”

“It’s not like I’m living in Arsene all the time like you, but I guess you could say I’m pretty close.”

Rebecca and I saw a guest house that was undergoing renovation.

“Did you do additional maintenance work like this during the exchange last year?”

“Last year… there was no need to do it.”

Bam! Bam!

Rebecca’s words were interrupted by the sound of hammering coming from here and there.

“This time, there will be an unprecedented number of cadets. Of course, the number of cadets that Arsene can accommodate is limited, but Arsene will do his best to provide convenience.”

I heard that Joachim and the Dongbang Flower Garden are sharpening their knives for this exchange. The Dongbang Flower Garden will be even more so. I gave Nam Ki-hyeok an additional word, so he must be preparing for the exchange without any gaps.

“Rebecca, what do you think will happen with this exchange?”

“Are you asking about the progress of the exchange battle? Or, are you asking about the ending of the exchange battle?”

“I ask both.”

The progress of the Academy Exchange Competition and who will be the final winner of this exchange competition.

Even though I already knew the ending, I was curious about Rebecca’s thoughts.

“… I don’t think it will go smoothly. I can’t even dare to predict the winner.”

Rebecca was pessimistic about this exchange.

“There are suddenly many things to prepare for, and above all, this exchange is on a larger scale than the previous ones. Arsene, Joachim, and Dongbang Hwawon will give it their all, so the staff will also have to prepare for the exchange day and night.”

This exchange is bigger than the previous one. There is a lot to prepare for, and the staff will be working day and night. It was a very realistic story.

“It would be great if Arsene wins, but it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to finish it safely. As the student council president, all I want is for the exchange to end safely.”

Rebecca said that she would be satisfied as long as she could finish the exchange battle safely, regardless of success or failure, but it probably won’t go as Rebecca wishes.

The Academy Exchange is the key episode of Act 2 and the event that leads to the final act. There was a lot to prepare for, as Professor Björn was about to take action.

Time left until event occurs – 567:27:40