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When Sophia heard the news and rushed to the guard station, Conra, who had personally subdued the human chains and handed them over to the Holy City guards, was giving his statement to the guards as a witness.

As Sophia appeared at the guard station, Conra, who had just finished his statement, jumped up and greeted his master.

“Master! How did you get here?”

“How do you think? I heard you got caught by the guards and rushed over thinking you must have caused some trouble. But it seems like you weren’t the one who caused the trouble after all?”

“Ah, what do you take me for, Master? I’m not some troublemaker, and I can take care of myself just fine.”

Sophia looked at the grumbling boy with a still-doubtful expression and said, “Alright, let’s say that’s true. But what exactly happened?”

In response to Sophia’s question, Conra explained the whole story, just as he had in his statement earlier. However, all the boy knew was that he had been attacked the moment he entered a deserted alley, so Sophia soon gave up on pressing for more details and shook her head.

“Enough, enough. Let’s drop it. More importantly, you didn’t get hurt anywhere, did you?”

With a question laced with determination to retrain Conra from head to toe if he had been injured, Conra flinched but soon flashed a confident smile.

“Haha, who do you think I’m the disciple of? Of course, I didn’t get so much as a scratch against those guys.”

Feeling a chill down his spine at the thought of what would’ve happened if he had been injured, Conra inwardly sighed in relief. Hearing that he wasn’t hurt, Sophia scanned her disciple up and down, then smirked and ruffled his hair.

“It’s a relief you weren’t hurt. After all, who do you think taught you? You wouldn’t have shed blood so easily.”

Deciding to be glad that her disciple was safe and sound, Sophia’s gaze soon turned to the guard who had been recording Conra’s statement.

“Is the statement finished?”

“Ah, yes. There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly noteworthy about the disciple, so you’re free to go.”

The guard, who had already guessed Sophia’s status from her attire, answered with a friendly smile. After all, no one in the Holy City’s streets didn’t respect and revere the clergy of the Church.

But Sophia had something else she was curious about.

“Excuse me, but do you know who the mastermind behind those guys is?”

At Sophia’s question, the guard looked a bit troubled and replied, “We’re still investigating, so it’s hard to say anything definitive.”

“What about after the investigation is over?”

“That would be fine. Where should we contact you when we find out?”

In response to the guard’s question, Sophia gave him the location of their dormitory and left the guard station with Conra. As they walked away from the station, Conra tilted his head.

“Master, why did you ask about the mastermind?”

“Those who dared to touch my disciple must be rooted out and dealt with. Don’t you think?”

“Uh, I’m fine though?”

“You might be fine, but my reputation as a master has been tarnished. Do you think it’s okay for others to look down on your master?”

At Sophia’s question, Conra bristled and said, “Of course not!”

Seeing Conra’s reaction, Sophia smiled broadly and patted her disciple’s shoulder. She was proud of her disciple, who had subdued the attackers without a single scratch.

If Conra had been foolishly kidnapped, Sophia would’ve been quite upset. Of course, with Conra’s skills, he could’ve escaped on his own, and even if he couldn’t, Sophia would’ve rescued him eventually.

‘Well, unless they were a true master, mediocre guys wouldn’t stand a chance against him.’

Though she wouldn’t say it out loud, Conra was a genius. He had innate talent and senses not only in Druid techniques, alchemy, and rune letters but also in martial arts in general. It wasn’t just about being agile or having good technique.

During the intense strength training Sophia had put him through, Conra’s muscle growth was nothing to scoff at. To Sophia, who could see ethereal muscles and brains, Conra’s muscle and nerve fibers were clearly and intricately organizing themselves.

The mastermind behind the attack on Conra was revealed the next late afternoon. Upon hearing the news from the guard station, Sophia and her group were left speechless by the follow-up to the previous day’s attack.

“What a bunch of lunatics. First, the supporters of the First Prince blocking the Cardinal’s path, and now the Seventh Prince’s supporters trying to kidnap a Church Order’s disciple.”

“They must’ve been desperate. With Count Alfonso di Este sending an invitation, it’s understandable, but still.”

It seemed that those who had attempted to kidnap Conra were from the Baking Guild, one of the city’s influential groups supporting the Seventh Prince. Rumor had it that the Sailors’ Guild and Adventurers’ Guild, both known for valuing martial power, had strongly opposed it, but the Master of the Baking Guild had pushed it through alone.

“Indeed, if they were truly wise about using force, they wouldn’t have recklessly targeted a Paladin Knight’s disciple. I thought something was off, and it turns out I was right.”

Hearing this, Sophia nodded as if she had expected it.

“I’ve been thinking, ignorant people being brave seems to be the same everywhere.”

As Hildegard muttered this while baking bread for the group in the oven, the situation had left them unable to casually buy bread anymore. Fortunately, Hildegard, who had worked in a bakery during her childhood after her family’s downfall, became the group’s savior in this predicament.

……Though the person in question was utterly annoyed by it.

“Haha, Sir Wolfstein, even a dignified knight like you must’ve had a cute little bakery girl phase, huh?”

“I really want to hit you right now, is that okay?”

“Of course not! Absolutely do not hit me.”

The muscular monk, Esiocles Emanuele, who was striking a bizarre pose, provocatively teased Hildegard in a lazy tone. When Hildegard showed signs of losing her temper, he quickly protested against violence.

“By the way, Master, how do you plan to carry out your revenge?”

“Hmph, well. What do you think I’ll do?”

In response to Conra’s curious question, Sophia smirked and asked him back. Though it was a bit unethical to not answer and instead ask a counter-question, Conra seriously pondered Sophia’s reverse question.

First, he decided to rule out the option of not taking revenge. At least, the Sophia he knew wouldn’t let something like this slide quietly.

That left two methods: violent revenge and political/economic revenge.

“But I’m not sure which of these two methods you’ll choose.”

As Conra trailed off, unsure, Sophia rubbed her thumb and middle finger together, making a clicking sound, and said, “Why trail off after saying it so well? Do you really need to choose just one? If you want proper revenge, you have to do both, don’t you?”

As the rich, sweet smell of freshly baked bread wafted from the oven, Sophia’s lips curled into a smile. Conra thought that smile looked like it was ready to kidnap and threaten the Master of the Baking Guild with full enthusiasm.

“Just wait and see. I’ll show you something interesting. Remember this, as you might need to use it someday.”

Since there was no way to stop her from speaking so confidently, Conra quietly kept his mouth shut.

“Let’s save the sinister plotting for later and grab some bread first.”

As the bread was now fully baked, Hildegard took the freshly baked loaves out of the oven. The group soon dove into the bread Hilde had baked. Conra tore off a piece, dipped it generously into the stew, and took a hearty bite.

The freshly baked bread soaked in stew was truly delicious.

 

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