Chapter 11

“You’ve already finished today’s work.”

“Ah.”

Joo Yian pulled his eyes away from the hunter chat and turned to the holy knight.

“I know. Sir Perry, you should go rest too.”

His gentle voice echoed through the Papal Palace office.

The holy knight called Perry bowed deeply, as if deeply honored.

“Thank you.”

As Holy Knight Perry withdrew, Joo Yian slightly lifted his head.

He rose from his seat and approached the window.

—Swish.

As he moved, the long hem of his priestly robes dragged across the floor, making a sound.

Confirming that Perry had completely left, he peered out the window.

As Perry said, he did need some rest.

Even if solidifying his position as Pope was a subquest, he’d been working too hard.

“……”

He smiled faintly.

Handling the hunter team’s paperwork had always fallen to Joo Yian himself.

He had the most meticulous personality, but he liked this kind of work.

Or so he’d thought.

“Why does it feel so tedious now?”

He furrowed his brow slightly.

He definitely hadn’t hated paperwork. But the issues flooding into the Papal Palace were just boring.

The only things that occasionally caught his eye were monster sighting locations.

And even then, his interest faded quickly unless they were near areas he knew.

Mainly…… around Forlang territory.

“……”

He furrowed his brow again.

He was gradually noticing changes within himself.

Maybe he hadn’t even liked paperwork back in Korea.

Perhaps it was the name of someone written on those papers, or the satisfaction of handling things for that person, that had driven him.

It was at that moment.

Joo Yian’s eyes widened.

Just from the skill name, it was clear this was an active skill, not passive.

And with a name like that, it couldn’t be a heal or support skill.

An S-rank damage skill.

Joo Yian had firmly established himself as the world’s only S-rank healer, but he’d never been given so much as a B-rank damage skill.

Completing this quest meant he’d get a damage skill.

Quests like this usually meant something was definitely happening—nine times out of ten.

Without hesitation, Joo Yian turned and headed for the door.

In other words, no rest—he’d be diving back into work.

But if the RP Dungeon was guiding him with a quest, it might be related to the main quest: Prevent the Continent’s Fall.

—Knock knock.

Holy knights gathered in surprise at the door as he knocked, then cautiously opened it.

They kept their heads bowed in reverence, unable to look up.

“Your Holiness, why come out yourself like this?”

Joo Yian shook his head slightly. Now wasn’t the time for formalities.

“I have a bad feeling. Check the surroundings of the Papal Palace again for any dangers.”

“……!”

The Pope’s intuition was akin to divine will. The holy knights’ expressions turned serious.

“We’ll move immediately. Is there any particular place on your mind?”

Joo Yian paused.

It wasn’t the Pope’s intuition pointing there. But there was one place nagging at him.

“……Check Forlang Family lands and the surrounding areas carefully.”

It wouldn’t hurt to look. The holy knights knelt on one knee before him, faces grave.

“We shall carry out your command.”

—Clatter!

The knights scattered swiftly.

Watching them, Joo Yian thought.

In this RP Dungeon world, “danger” almost always meant monsters.

And strong monsters required holy knights bolstered by priests’ heals and buffs to handle.

But if it was stronger than that……

The holy knights’ levels topped out at A-rank, as far as he’d assessed.

If an SS-rank or higher monster appeared, aside from his hunter team, there’d be few in this RP Dungeon who could slay it.

Maybe none at all.

And not long after, reports came in just as Joo Yian had anticipated.

“Your Holiness, monster traces have been found across the continent.”

“Not just in the Carman Empire here, but unusually many in the Valtran Empire as well.”

Joo Yian furrowed his brow at the report and muttered.

“Monsters do surge around this time normally……”

That was from the memories of “Arienシア Sian de Mar,” whose body he’d possessed.

But peering out the window, Joo Yian asked,

“Doesn’t it seem especially frequent?”

The holy knight bowed his head.

“Yes. We’ll need a detailed investigation, but the numbers are definitely abnormal.”

Joo Yian narrowed his eyes.

“Assemble subjugation teams with priests and holy knights. This incident,”

Monsters surging across the continent meant problems in other empires’ lands too.

Including this empire…… Emperor Shin Jae-heon’s territory.

Which meant moving troops would require his permission.

The Church had its own forces, but they alone couldn’t contain the situation. Close cooperation with him would make handling the monsters easier.

“……”

It bothers me.

Yet he couldn’t fathom why Shin Jae-heon’s hunter chat popped into his mind at a time like this.

Joo Yian, lips pressed tight, finally spoke.

“Send an official letter to the Emperor. Say cooperation with the Church is needed regarding this monster surge.”

“But Your Holiness, the imperial family……”

Everyone knew the strained relations between the imperial family and the Church—even a four-year-old.

But Joo Yian didn’t entertain objections.

“People are suffering from these monsters. This isn’t the time to quibble over worldly interests.”

The holy knight bowed at his firm words.

“My apologies. We’ll proceed immediately.”

The holy knight hurried out of the office.

Joo Yian turned his gaze to the window. His schedule would soon be packed again.

“……”

He recalled the last hunter chat he’d seen.

Meeting with Hunter So Yeri, was it?

“Planning to hunt monsters and level up, but……”

He narrowed his eyes. Is her body okay?

The only one who could fully check if Shin Yuri was safe was himself—the world’s sole S-rank healer.

Shin Yuri had always been the one protecting him, but not now.

That fact brought a strange feeling.

“……”

He remembered Shin Yuri’s back from when he’d collapsed in a dungeon once.

Having brushed death countless times, there were too many incidents to count.

And after the four of them formed a hunter team, this was the first time they’d been apart so long.

“……”

Joo Yian looked at his reflection in the window.

He saw the monocle Shin Yuri had laughed about, saying it suited him.

He lightly pressed the back of his hand to the glass. It covered his face.

“Cold.”

Cold enough to snap him to his senses. He murmured.

Hunter So Yeri made several more slip-ups after that.

But the places she took me were undeniably interesting.

“Oh…… I really have no idea.”

I muttered.

With the reflexes of an ordinary person—not like before—it was hard to spot the secrets in magic tricks that were mostly sleight of hand.

But that made it all the more fun.

Cards vanishing between fingers, how the person trapped in the box escaped the sword without a scratch—the thrill came from not knowing.

“Right? Pretty amazing, huh?”

Hunter So Yeri smiled warmly. A gentle smile.

And the cute B-rank peeps trailing diligently behind us were warily eyeing her the whole time.

We played like that all day.

They must be tired of glaring by now, kids.

We roamed the market far and wide for quite a while.

Unlike Korea, where gates could open anywhere anytime, here monster zones were fixed, so safe zone folk seemed carefree.

Plenty of fun and sights, like Korea a dozen years back.

Thinking of those days, I smiled.

“This was really fun today.”

I said that as the sun began to set.

Hunter So Yeri looked at me regretfully.

That wasn’t her Clona Aisen face—it was genuine.

“Me too. I said I’d guide you confidently, but……”

She smiled awkwardly.

“Truth is, I’m not great at fun stuff.”

Sure enough, a hunter chat contradicting her words appeared in the corner of my eye.

Of course. Unlike the quietly smiling Joo Yian beside her, this was the woman who’d partied hard with Shin Jae-heon—drumming, dancing, even singing.

Tough break, possessing such a mismatched character.

I ended up chuckling.

“It was plenty fun. Could we meet again sometime?”

Her eyes widened at my words, a big grin blooming on her face.

“Really? But you’re like a noble lady……”

Her gaze flicked to the B-rank peeps, still in full alert mode, then back.

“That okay with them?”

They were too far to hear clearly, but the peeps could guess what we were talking about.

“Yes. My body’s better now, and it’s better than staying cooped up in the mansion.”

I smiled brightly, and she extended her hand for a shake.

I pretended surprise, widening my eyes, then took it.

“Then bring those cuties again.”

Changed again? I teased, and she snapped to. Good thing we’d whispered.

“Then tomorrow…… same time. Oh, my name’s Clona.”

She smiled brightly.

“Call me Senya.”

Announcing myself as Senia in the heart of Forlang territory wouldn’t help, so Senya it was.

I gripped and shook her hand firmly.

Getting closer like this(?) would naturally lead to an invite to Clona Aisen’s home.

“See you tomorrow, Senya!”

She waved as I boarded the carriage under the B-rank peeps’ escort.

Their heads’ [Alert Stance] persisted until she was out of sight.

“She seems like a good person. Ease up on the guarding.”

“……Understood.”

Even saying that, [Alert Stance] didn’t fade.

Their eyes burned with zeal to protect the naive lady following a stranger.

Couldn’t tell them it was pointless—just be grateful.

Yeah, consider it training, kids!