“As expected… a player must have that kind of confidence.”

Chasey nodded in admiration.

“You need to go through trial and error multiple times in Private battlefields to complete your deck quickly. For the time being, you’ll be participating in every Private battlefield held in Trivik. Can you do that?”

“If it’s for my deck, absolutely!”

Chasey steeled her resolve, and I was satisfied with her response.

‘I should look around some Private battlefields myself.’

While I was with Chasey, wouldn’t I be under the protection of the Adjudicator Ariel, who stood behind her?

With such a powerful backer, I could wander the Private battlefields without any issues.

Opportunities like this didn’t come easily, so I planned to move proactively.

“Private battlefields in Trivik… It definitely won’t be as easy as in Luteran. But I’m prepared!”

‘At least I’ve secured one person.’

Since I had someone to lay the groundwork during this process, I intended to spend the time building my strength.

Based on the rewards that came with Private battlefields, that is.

Hiding these intentions, I spoke calmly.

“First, we need to look into factions.”

In Trivik, whether it was the Colosseum or Private battlefields, one had to be part of a faction to take any battlefield-related action.

It was a scheme to bind outsiders to the city and prevent them from smuggling Trivik’s resources out, but since the rules couldn’t be broken, I had to follow them.

“I don’t really have any interest in factions… but it can’t be helped, right?”

Chasey made an uncomfortable expression.

If she joined a faction, a hierarchy would inevitably form.

If someone recognized her, troublesome matters would surely follow.

‘This is tricky.’

Come to think of it, the same applied to me. To keep my secrets safe, the fewer people who knew I was a player, the better.

Just then, Chasey cautiously opened her mouth.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you created your own faction, Mr. Lee Shin?”

“Create a faction…”

‘I had no intention of joining the same faction, though.’

Chasey was already treating our acting together as a fait accompli.

Well, I needed to use Chasey’s connections and influence to build my strength, and Chasey needed my help to complete her deck.

Since our interests aligned, acting together for the time being wasn’t a bad idea.

However, I opposed her suggestion.

“No. It would be better to just find a suitable faction.”

Accepting faction members was the faction leader’s prerogative, but creating a faction required Trivik’s notarization, meaning one’s identity had to be revealed.

We couldn’t afford to put my or Chasey’s name as the faction leader.

If we looked around, wouldn’t there be at least one or two factions where we could hide our identities?

A faction with a decent Faction Ranking, one that didn’t interfere much, and where we could conceal our identities.

‘Would such a place even exist?’

I didn’t think such a crazy faction would exist, but Chasey took the initiative first.

“Then I’ll try to look into it somehow! Could you give me a little time?”

“Yes, take your time.”

I was planning to rest well and shake off my travel fatigue for a few days anyway.

With a source of income secured, there was no need to rush to change lodgings. My still-aching body needed ample time to recover.

“I’m sure we’ll find one if we look!”

Chasey burned with determination to operate in the same place, no matter what.

***

“Here it is!”

The place we arrived at following Chasey’s guidance.

Swish-

Looking around, I glanced at Chasey and asked.

“Are you sure this is the right place?”

“I-I think so?”

Chasey’s voice trembled slightly.

“Hey, stop right there!”

“Hehehe- try and catch me!”

Two small children dashed past us.

Not just the two who had just passed by, but numerous other little kids were around, and some of them were staring at us.

“An Imperial Priest wouldn’t be one of these little kids, right?”

When I gave her a suspicious look, Chasey protested as if wronged.

“It’s that person right over there.”

Following the direction Chasey’s finger pointed, there stood a person who stood out as completely alien to the atmosphere.

“You came for a settlement? Could you wait a moment?”

Fortunately, the person Chasey pointed to was the one we were looking for.

However, I couldn’t help but be a bit flustered.

It was my first time seeing an Imperial Priest in person, so I had expected someone resembling a nun from novels or movies.

‘Is this… a priest…?’

A good-natured-looking bald man with a potbelly was greeting us.

It was actually a given.

The position of an Imperial Priest emphasized its status as an official or public office, so naturally, an older person would be appointed.

To find the person in my imagination, I should have looked to clerics, not priests.

Clerics only needed to be certified by their religious order, so age wasn’t a significant factor.

Still, they believed in the same god of the battlefield, and gaining experience as a cleric before going through the process to become a priest was the standard promotion path.

“It seems we found the right place.”

“Thank goodness.”

Chasey let out a sigh of relief.

The priest was sweating trying to manage the kids, so we waited while looking around.

Kkyareureuk-!

Young children were playing in a yard where weeds grew sparsely.

Given the large number of them, they couldn’t all be the priest’s children; I figured this was probably some sort of childcare facility.

Judging by the priest’s reaction and the location, this didn’t seem like a place where official business was conducted…

I glanced at Chasey, but she pretended not to notice and looked around.

That was when it happened.

Freeze.

“Uwa…”

The most energetic boy playing among the children stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Chasey’s face.

Then, he turned his eyes to me, who was standing next to Chasey.

“What’s with those tacky clothes! Uek!”

He was actually saying bad things to me. That kid was definitely the troublemaker of this place.

“Philip, you shouldn’t say mean things to our guests.”

“Beeeeh-“

When the priest firmly pointed it out, the boy named Philip pouted.

“Time’s up. Everyone, get inside!”

“Okay…”

When the priest shouted at the kids, the playing children trudged into the building with sullen expressions.

“You too, Philip.”

“Yes, Father…”

Even so, none of the kids disobeyed, so he must have been quite good at handling them usually.

“Now, please come this way.”

With the situation settled, the priest guided us with a warm smile.

I was curious about the children’s identities, but my business was the settlement, so I quietly followed his guidance.

However, the place the priest guided us to was in a different direction from the building the kids had entered.

The priest walking ahead glanced back and smiled.

“Haha- Could you please come to that building over there next time? This isn’t originally where we conduct business.”

“Yes. I apologize.”

I thought it didn’t seem like an ordinary place. It seemed there was a separate building for official business.

Did we walk for about five minutes?

“It’s here.”

“… …”

I saw a building with the word ‘Settlement’ plastered on it as large as a door.

It was a building situated right in the middle of a Yukantar street, easy enough to find even without Chasey’s guidance.

I looked at Chasey, and she turned her head slightly, making an excuse.

“I only asked the animals where the Imperial Priest was… They did guide me properly.”

A faint blush appeared on Chasey’s face.

Jingle- jingle-!

‘There are so many people.’

Inside the building the priest guided us to, a sea of people had gathered—staff processing business and champions looking to get their business done.

A busy settlement Office employee approached us, startled to see the guests who had just walked in.

“Father Veron, wasn’t today your day off? What brings you here…”

“Heoheo- It seems the god’s guidance has led me here.”

Did we really go to his house and make him come to work on his day off just to handle a simple settlement?

“I’m sorry.”

I had caused him trouble, so I couldn’t help but bow my head.

But the priest named Veron responded with a smile the entire time.

“Heoheo- Not at all. Now, I will personally assist you with the settlement. Please come this way.”

“Father Veron…?”

Leaving the bewildered employee behind, the space the priest guided us to was a VIP room inside the settlement Office building.

Creak-!

“Now, it’s this way.”

We entered through the door. The scent of nature emanated from the luxurious wooden furniture.

Rattle-!

“Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

Father Veron politely pulled out two chairs for us. It felt quite burdensome.

Thud-!

However, as soon as the VIP room door closed, the atmosphere Father Veron exuded changed.

Father Veron looked around and lowered his voice. His gaze was directed at Chasey.

“By any chance, are you Lady Chasey Einthoven?”

Freeze.

“Excuse me? Do you know me?”

Chasey had a flustered expression. She, who was about to sit on the chair, froze in place.

To think there would be someone in Yukantar who knew her identity.

Come to think of it, an Imperial Priest wouldn’t personally make his way here on his day off simply for a settlement.

“A magic field that blocks eavesdropping is installed in the VIP room. I apologize for bringing you here without any explanation.”

The series of actions that had felt burdensome were actually out of consideration for us.

Seeing Chasey Einthoven, the Flower of Luteran, alone with an unrelated man could spark all sorts of rumors, so he had refrained from acting like he recognized her as much as possible.

“What brings you to Yukantar?”

Father Veron’s question. Chasey came up with an excuse on the spot.

She couldn’t honestly state the reason, after all.

“Well, I’m an adult now, so I came out to gain some experience outside of Luteran. I’ve already been to Artemis a lot, so I came to Trivik.”

“I see.”

There was no reason to pry further, so Father Veron nodded. Then, his gaze shifted to me.

“And so, this person here is…”

Father Veron had seen how Chasey treated me, so he had to be cautious. I couldn’t easily open my mouth, not knowing how to explain.

I just came to get a settlement…

The atmosphere had gotten weird for no reason, so I couldn’t exactly tell the truth, could I?

Fortunately, Chasey salvaged the situation.

“He’s someone I know personally. He was trying to get his settlement done… and since our way here was similar, I was just guiding him a bit.”

“Heoheo- I see.”

Since the result was the disruption of Father Veron’s rest, Chasey bowed her head slightly.

“I apologize for interrupting your rest.”

“It’s a relief as long as nothing serious happened. Now, let me assist you.”

He laughed it off as if it were nothing and took out a settlement Machine from under the desk.

But I couldn’t help but harbor a slight doubt at the sight.

‘It’s a bit different from the one Hans used?’

The appearance of the settlement Machine Father Veron took out was very unfamiliar.

Perhaps noticing my doubt, Father Veron added an explanation.

“It only looks like this; it’s the exact same machine. Since it’s a VIP room, I had to be mindful of prying eyes.”

“I see.”

I wondered why a machine with the same performance needed a different design, but I obediently extended my arm.

“Now, I will assist you with the settlement.”

Ding-!

I placed the machine against my wrist, and it didn’t take long for a message to pop up.

[Current Assets: 50G]

I originally had 1 gold, meaning I had earned 49 gold from a single battlefield.

It was truly an astonishing profit, but I couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

That was because Father Veron must have also checked my settlement amount.

“Heoheo- You, you are quite an incredible person.”

Father Veron’s kindly smiling expression completely stiffened.

I had to get the settlement done at some point, so it was unavoidable.

“I just got lucky.”

“Yes, I suppose…”

What was that?

Father Veron’s reaction was more extreme than expected.

It was an amount of gold that a champion who succeeded in Albakgi could occasionally earn.

A reaction of that degree meant something was strange.

I couldn’t question him about it, so I had to keep my uneasy feelings to myself. Chasey was merely watching the priest’s reaction with gleaming eyes.