Chapter 79 – LV.Ten Paladin William – [Three]

As Seo Yun approached, the Frenchmen stopped beating the man and looked her way. Seo Yun confronted them.

“Why are you beating him so severely?”

One of the Frenchmen answered.

“It’s the village rule.”

“Rule?”

“If one speaks carelessly and the results are unfavorable, they must be punished. In times like these.”

It was a world where even using one’s native language could attract monster attacks. So, it seemed such a rule had been established.

“So, the punishment is just a beating and that’s it?”

“No.”

“Then banishment?”

The lack of a negative answer suggested she was correct. Perhaps reluctant to admit they imposed such harsh punishments before an Angel, the Frenchmen remained silent, only rolling their eyes.

“If you’re going to banish him anyway, stop beating him. Okay?”

After making that request, Seo Yun returned to Oh Haengun, explained the situation, and made a proposal.

“That man seems likely to be banished from here. Couldn’t we take him to Happy Village?”

“Even though he nearly got us killed?”

“Yes. If it really doesn’t work out, we could send him to a neighboring village.”

Oh Haengun shook his head.

“Well, if he’s facing death because of us, then we should take responsibility.”

It was ultimately decided. Seo Yun cast a Healing Spell on the beaten man and explained what had just been discussed. Then she asked.

“What about other family? We could take them too, are there any?”

The severely beaten man sobbed as he answered.

“There aren’t.”

The Frenchmen here did not oppose Happy Village’s people taking one banished villager, but they objected to taking the Paladin.

“Leave that Paladin here.”

At a Frenchman’s demand, Oh Haengun asked.

“Why? This bastard was saying this was his fief or something. Is this NPC really your lord or something?”

“It’s not that. If this bastard doesn’t return, the Crusaders will dispatch other Paladins here. To see what happened. Then what are we supposed to say?”

“Tell the truth. Say people from far away captured him. You can even tell them about the Dimensional Gate as is.”

“Still…”

“To begin with, if this bastard returns, he’ll likely claim this village cooperated with Vampires. Isn’t it better for us to take him and make him keep quiet?”

Meanwhile, perhaps feeling suddenly uneasy upon hearing that conversation? One Happy Village Player interjected.

“Come to think of it, this is an NPC belonging to an organization, right? The Crusaders… So, if they find out we captured him, won’t the Crusaders seek revenge on us or try to rescue the Paladin…?”

Oh Haengun scoffed.

“How? If they try to come through the Dimensional Gate, we can just close it. We’ve stationed guards around the gate, and we gave the Trolls a Dimensional Gate deactivation device so they can close it in an emergency, right?”

“Even if we close the gate, they might still invade. Setting-wise, don’t the Crusaders live on some Aerial Warship? They could fly here.”

“We live on the Korean Peninsula, a place they’ve probably never even heard of. How would they find our village to invade, whether by flying or running?”

“Still. Rather than risk a potential danger, wouldn’t it be safer to just kill him and bury him somewhere or persuade him well and let him go?”

Oh Haengun didn’t deny the possibility of the Crusaders seeking revenge itself. But knowing that, he still tried to push through with the abduction, overriding all opposition.

“Hey, does it make sense to give up increased farming production just because you’re a little uneasy? This bastard is Level 10, so he can probably make a bunch of Small Suns.”

That hardline attitude was unexpected to Seo Yun.

Having traveled together several times, she knew Oh Haengun’s way of handling things well. That Mage might have a sharp mind, but he was no leader material; he was what you’d call a ‘coward.’ He avoided overly dangerous matters, things for which he’d bear significant responsibility.

The fact that this Mage, being around the same Level as Oh Haengbok, was content being the village’s second-in-command was largely because making big decisions didn’t suit his temperament. For such a person to be willing to risk something that could potentially plunge the entire village into crisis?

‘He hasn’t specifically said anything, but is the village’s food situation that bad? Why to this extent…’

Did that crazy Orc bite this ahjussi too? So they’ve both gone crazy together and are doing things they shouldn’t?

Though such thoughts crossed her mind, Seo Yun didn’t actively oppose. After all, the leader here was that Mage, and Seo Yun had to respect his decision.

In the end, it went according to Oh Haengun’s will. Soon, Seo Yun returned to Happy Village. Along with the other Players, one Frenchman banished from the village, and the Paladin whose Armor had been forcibly removed, revealing a shabby body.

At Happy Village, Seo Yun began healing the wounded in earnest.

“Ugh, damn. Paladins are so damn overpowered, really…”

The Warriors groaned, their Armor dented from being beaten by the Paladin’s sword. The fact that several bones were broken for each of them showed the Paladin’s Strength was immense, likely a stat of 9 or above.

After tending to them, when she went to heal the Paladin who had been severely beaten and was covered in bruises all over, he seemed to have already regained consciousness.

Lying on the floor, the Paladin looked at Seo Yun, who approached and emanated light, and opened his mouth.

“Enough.”

“Are you going to heal yourself? You can’t do that with your hands tied.”

At Seo Yun’s words, the Paladin glanced at his limbs and frowned. Then he muttered, “Still, it’s unnecessary…” before trailing off.

“No, keep healing. I have something to say while you do.”

Seo Yun inwardly sneered at the Paladin’s bravado but continued casting Healing Spells on him.

Then, the Paladin spoke in a low voice.

“Watch for an opportunity and free me, Angel. I’ll take you with me.”

At the unexpected proposal, Seo Yun blinked.

“Me?”

“Yes. I’ll take you to the Sun Ship. I’ll arrange for you to be protected there.”

The Sun Ship is, setting-wise, the name of the Aerial Warship where the Crusaders reside. Fitting for a fantasy object, its scale is absurdly grand, a vessel with a length reaching 347 meters, serving as the Crusaders’ fortress and ultimate weapon. She remembered reading in the Rulebook that the ship flies using an Artificial Sun created by the Sun God himself as its power source.

Take me there? A thought suddenly occurred to Seo Yun, and she asked, just in case.”Sir William, was it?”

“Just call me William.”

“Alright, William. Earlier, when you charged in despite being clearly outnumbered, was that to save me?”

At Seo Yun’s question, William nodded.

“It was indeed to save you.”

“To save an angel living under a vampire’s control?”

“Yes.”

Seo Yun sighed. No wonder he seemed relatively manageable compared to the other warriors he effortlessly took down—apparently, he had been holding back quite a bit since he had no intention of killing her.

“I’m not being held captive. So, there was no need for you to try and save me.”

“No, you needed saving. It’s not right for an angel to live under a vampire.”

“I’m a priestess of the Hearth Goddess. Don’t you know the Hearth Goddess doesn’t care at all about Liches or vampires?”

“That Goddess is certainly neutral. She even opposed the Crusade declared to eradicate the Undead. But look. The world has ended up like this, and the vampires, the root of all this evil, aren’t being punished by the people of the world but are instead ruling over them.”

“And so?”

“It’s a terrible thing. An irrational thing. Yet, do you think it’s right for an angel to serve under a vampire leader? Do you think it’s right for an angel, who should guide humanity, to do such a thing?”

Seo Yun sighed once more.

William was speaking based on that game setting again. That’s why it seemed like they could communicate, yet fundamentally, they couldn’t.

“I think it’s right.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not serving the vampire ruling this place; I’m serving the people here. No matter who the leader is, people have to live, right?”

Fortunately, there was no need to continue the struggle.

A short while later, Oh Haengun returned, bringing the vampire who ruled this village.

The Orc Vampire, Oh Haengbok, looked at the Paladin and muttered.

“You caught a Paladin NPC? He won’t hit me with a Divine Spell and kill me if I get close, will he?”

Oh Haengun shook his head.

“The spells come from his palms, and his hands are tied now, so it should be fine.”

Meanwhile, William was staring intently at Oh Haengbok.

“An Orc?”

He couldn’t take his eyes off Oh Haengbok’s ferocious face for a while, then muttered.

“An Orc is a vampire?”

Oh Haengbok, who didn’t understand English, seemed to grasp that simple sentence. He retorted sharply.

“What, never seen an Orc Vampire before?”

Of course, William didn’t understand Korean. He just muttered, seemingly shocked.

“If an Orc becomes a vampire, they shouldn’t be able to retain their sanity? They were already a mentally weak race, so if they became vampires, they should turn into beasts right away…”

Meanwhile, hearing William’s words, Oh Haengun brightened up.

“You seem to know a lot about vampires. Right? Well, a hunter should know their prey. That’s good then. I have a lot to ask.”

“I don’t know what you want to ask, but do you think I’ll cooperate?”

“You should.”

“Why should I?”

“If you don’t cooperate willingly, since you belong to the group that ruined the world, I’ll treat you like a complete bastard.”

William raised an eyebrow.

“The group that ruined the world?”

“What, didn’t your Crusaders provoke the Undead for no reason and cause the meteorites to fall? So, you’re the ones who made the world like this, aren’t you?”

William’s face contorted. And Seo Yun understood why Oh Haengun had bothered to capture this Paladin.

‘Lately, Oh Haengbok has been frequently losing his temper, so he probably wants to properly restore his mental state? He must think a Paladin, a vampire hunter, would know helpful information.’

After finishing all the healing, Seo Yun headed toward the Party Members who had helped with the priest’s duties to thank them for their hard work today.

The two young boys and girls were resting in their tent. Gaeulbi saw Seo Yun and made a fuss.

“Seo Yun, you were so amazing today! Everyone else got knocked out by that one Paladin, but you alone…”

While Seo Yun quietly kept her mouth shut, not mentioning that the Paladin had gone easy on her, Gaeulbi continued praising the priest’s feat of facing the Paladin alone, then suddenly muttered in a sullen voice.

“Compared to that, I’ve been feeling invisible lately? Ever since I used up all my exploding arrows in the hunt two times ago…”

Seo Yun pointed to Han Siwoo, who was resting today due to injuries, and comforted the chimpanzee who was speaking the truth.

“This time, even Siwoo over there got knocked out without doing anything, so it’s okay.”

“No, I was trying to protect you…”

Just as Han Siwoo was about to say something, looking incredulous.

A voice Seo Yun had never heard before came from the tent entrance.

“What’s with your Ability Scores being so high?”

Seo Yun turned around to see a girl standing there, looking at them.

She was a fairly pretty girl. It was a face she had never seen before, which was strange. In a world like this, where travel between villages is almost nonexistent, a stranger?

“And who are you?”

Seo Yun asked, but the girl paid no attention. She scanned Seo Yun with strangely shining eyes and continued with what she was saying.

“I thought I had the highest Ability Scores among my peers, but looking at you now, that’s not it at all. Dexterity 7, Spirit 9, Health 8, Health 11… What is this? You’re a priest, not a warrior, so your Ability Scores shouldn’t increase just by leveling up. Why are your Ability Scores so high? Isn’t this playable character specs?”