<Wasn’t This a Strategy Game? Episode 9>

Given all that madness, Eden became the center of attention among the priests in the Great Temple for a while.

After hearing about what happened at the founding ceremony, she had to come up with a convincing excuse for Rita, who had stayed up late waiting for her.

The next day, she inevitably got summoned by Priest Mobrin to explain everything in detail.

Then, she had to endure a barrage of questions from fellow priests who wanted to know more specifics.

“So, you see, I was cleaning up broken glass and cut my hand, and the smell of blood seemed to excite the monster.”

“Oh my.”

“After that monster suddenly lunged at me, I instinctively bolted, but I don’t remember much after that. I was so freaked out that I fainted…”

Eden let out a deep sigh, still feeling shaken.

This trivial story was all she could offer, yet the excitement surrounding the Great Temple showed no signs of dissipating.

“A monster in the Imperial Palace!”

“The one hiding the monster mentioned the Demon King.”

“Are there still worshipers of the Demon King? It’s been 200 years since he disappeared!”

Sure, the whole Empire was probably buzzing, not just the Great Temple.

A monster ruckus in the heart of the capital? The citizens, who thought their city was safe, must be quaking in their boots. As a result, both the Imperial Palace and the Great Temple suffered setbacks.

“No way. The Chancellor’s barrier can’t be broken. It hasn’t been breached once in 20 years!”

Rita seemed equally shocked.

The Chancellor and high-ranking priests were all busy inspecting the barrier around the capital, clearly causing a commotion in the Great Temple as well.

“Well, it’s breached this time, huh?”

When Eden carelessly replied, Rita stared at her in disbelief.

“Eden!”

“Oh, I didn’t mean— I was just saying… after 20 years, it’s about time for maintenance, you know?”

“What? Maintenance…?”

“Haha. Rita, I have to go clean the Chancellor’s Office. See you at dinner!”

Leaving the still-flustered Rita behind, Eden hurried away. She really had promised to do that cleaning.

The Eastern Tower where the Chancellor’s Office was located was quite far, so Eden patted herself on the back for choosing physical strength as her reward. Even though her stat only went up by about 10, she could definitely feel her stamina increasing.

“If I get even stronger, how light would I feel?”

After experiencing the taste of boosting her stats, she couldn’t help but be a little greedy. Now she was actually looking forward to the next quest.

Speaking of which, when would the next quest pop up?

As Eden pondered the quest algorithms and headed toward the tower, she suddenly locked eyes with a blonde man walking diagonally toward the tower and came to a dead stop.

“…!”

It was Karon.

Gasp— her heart started racing at this unexpected encounter.

Of course, since he was the Commander of the Holy Knights, she figured she would run into him more often than other characters.

But this soon…?

Would he recognize me?

In that uncertain moment, while Eden was holding her breath, Karon casually changed his direction and walked right up to her.

“Priest Eden?”

When he called her name in a soft voice, Eden startled and looked at Karon.

Ding!

A profile window popped up beside Karon, reminiscent of the one she had seen beside Asmun earlier.

Wow. Those stats are insane.

While Eden was inwardly astonished, Karon stood before her, smiling.

“It’s really you.”

Karon’s gaze fell upon Eden’s left hand, which was still bandaged from this morning’s mishap.

Oh, Eden instinctively hid her hand behind her back and bowed her head.

“I was just about to come find you.”

“Me, really?”

The fact that Karon already knew her name surprised her. That was quite a significant achievement.

Karon, being the Commander of the Holy Knights, naturally had more interaction with Eden compared to other characters.

Still, meeting him felt as rare as reaching for the stars. Even though she’d been reincarnated here in the Great Temple for over a month, this was the first time she had actually seen him.

“Yes, Priest Eden. Are you feeling better?”

At his kind inquiry, Eden’s heart fluttered. Karon remembered her.

After all, it was quite a scene, so he’d have no reason to forget.

This was the perfect opportunity.

“Yes, thanks to you, Commander.”

Karon smiled at her reply, and his holy visage seemed to glow. He was truly dazzling enough that there were admirers even within the Great Temple. It was hard to believe this angelic face was cutting down half of the Empire’s monsters.

“I’m the Chancellor, after all.”

Eden swallowed her inner thoughts and smiled back.

“I should have come to see you sooner, but I got so busy that I didn’t get a chance to greet you. Thank you for saving me that day.”

As she bowed her head, Karon lightly nodded in return.

“I was just doing what I should. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”

Karon’s excessive kindness made Eden’s heart race unnaturally.

If only this were a dating sim.

But this was a strategy game. Regardless, she needed to win the affection of the man in front of her.

But for some reason, gaining the goodwill of this kind-hearted man had always been incredibly difficult.

Probably because he had strong religious convictions.

“Are you on your way somewhere?”

Eden tried to shake off her overwhelming feelings and casually changed the subject.

“Yes, I’m going to meet the Chancellor. How about you?”

“Ah, I’m also going to see the Chancellor…”

Karon looked at her with kind eyes, seemingly born with a gentle nature.

Eden swallowed dryly and awkwardly answered.

“…to clean his office.”

“Cleaning? Your hand isn’t healed yet.”

“Oh, I’m fine now. It doesn’t hurt anymore. I can’t put off my duties just because I got a little hurt.”

As Eden tried to impress Karon with her determined words, he smiled softly.

Oh, is this it?

His not-so-bad reaction made Eden’s eyes sparkle. Just then—

“Commander!”

A stiff voice came from behind. At that, both Eden and Karon turned their heads.

A high-ranking priest and two assistants approached them.

When Karon greeted them with a slight bow, Eden awkwardly followed suit.

However, the priests didn’t even glance at Eden, stopping in front of Karon instead.

“What brings you to the Eastern Tower?”

Huh?

That was a tone of voice completely unbefitting how one would address the Commander of the Holy Knights, and Eden couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

“I came to see the Chancellor.”

Karon replied unaffectedly in his usual gentle voice.

“The Chancellor isn’t here right now. I wish you’d contacted us before coming.”

“Oh dear. Every time I contact him, he’s out, so I thought he might be avoiding me. Guess I picked a bad time to drop by. I can’t believe he used his incredible divine power to predict my visit.”

Eden’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Karon. He was still wearing a friendly smile, leaving her doubtful about her ears.

But seeing the priests’ faces turn sour told her she wasn’t imagining things.

“Please, let’s keep the conversation civil. Surely, that can’t be the case? As you know, the Chancellor is quite busy with various matters…”

“Well, since the barrier was breached, he must have his hands full.”

“….”

What was this tension?

Holding her breath, Eden swapped glances between the two parties, pretending it was all nonexistent.

Why were the priests of the Great Temple and the Commander of the Holy Knights engaged in such a standoff?

“The breach of the barrier wasn’t the Chancellor’s fault. You’re aware of that, right?”

“Of course, the barrier was breached by someone acting intentionally.”

Karon replied, grinning.

“And if you turn that around, it implies that anyone can break the Chancellor’s barrier if they put their mind to it. Seems it’s rather flimsy.”

“Commander! Are you slandering the Chancellor right now?”

One of the frustrated priests couldn’t hold back any longer and snapped, but Karon didn’t even flinch.

“Oh. Well, it’s just a barrier protecting the capital, so it wouldn’t matter in the slightest to someone who isn’t concerned.”

The sarcasm in his overly polite tone left Eden momentarily disoriented.

“What a relief. It seems your great concern for the Chancellor’s barrier only matters to the citizens of the capital.”

Eden barely refrained from gaping, staring dumbfounded at Karon, who was still smiling with an angelic face.

“I’ll be sure to convey all of your comments to the Chancellor. You should note that any criticisms directed at him would be considered criticisms towards Hamun as well.”

The priest with the horned eyes glared at Karon, issuing a subtle threat, but it did nothing.

“Well, you truly are a remarkable priest who thinks of Hamun’s stature wherever and whenever.”

Karon beamed, not showing any signs of being fazed.

“Oh, if you have a moment before bedtime tonight, perhaps you should pray to Hamun and reflect on it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Whether that loyalty truly belongs to Hamun, or if it’s directed at someone else entirely. If it’s the latter, that would indeed be blasphemy.”