After their heartfelt discussion, Amelia and Zero decided to go to the church’s dining hall for dinner. It was a big hall with high ceilings adorned with intricate murals depicting religious scenes, and long wooden tables with cushioned chairs neatly arranged for the church members to dine.
As Amelia and Zero entered the dining hall, they were surprised to see that the holy knights were already gathered at the tables, engaged in lively conversation and laughter. It seemed like they were eagerly waiting for Amelia’s arrival.
Gabriel, who was already seated at the table, spotted Amelia and Zero and stood up immediately, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
“Saintess Amelia! Sir Jester! Please join us.”
Zain exclaimed, gesturing towards the empty seats beside him.
Amelia and Zero exchanged surprised glances but were pleased by the warm welcome. They approached the table, and Amelia took her seat at the head, while Zero sat on her left.
The other holy knights greeted Amelia and Zero with nods and smiles, showing their respect and admiration for the Saintess and their savior. They were all the holy knights that served the Saintess.
Plates were quickly filled with delicious food, and the knights eagerly engaged Amelia and Zero in conversation.
“Sir Jester, if you don’t mind asking, for how long do you plan to stay here?”
Zain asked.
“I might stay here for a week or so. I don’t plan on staying here more than needed.”
“If Sir Jester doesn’t have anything to do, you can train with us in Holy Training ground. They have 30x the gravity.”
Zain said. Other members also excitedly nodded their heads. They wanted to know how Jester had become powerful. Many of them were Rank-A, same as Zero but they were unable to fight with S-Rank Devil Contractor. They wanted to know the secret to Zero’s strength.
“If I have time, I would be grateful if I could train with you all.”
Zero said. Although he said that, he knew that he would not have such luxury. He needed to find whether there are any traitors in the Church or any people that want to hurt Amelia and take them down.
After dinner, Amelia took Zero to his room.
“This is the guest room that you will be staying in. If you need something, you can ask the guards. I will stay in that room.”
Saintess Amelia said. She had arranged Zero’s room to be near her, just in case Zero needed something from her.
Zero nodded and entered the guest room. He took a moment to inspect the room, which was simple yet comfortable, with a large bed, a small seating area, and a window that overlooked the church’s courtyard.
He didn’t go to rest immediately and took out his phone. He wanted to go through some of the news and check about the situation with the Dark Guild.
‘Head of Dark Guild nowhere to be found!’
‘Dark Guild has been completely destroyed! Citizens can sleep in peace now!’
‘Ice Enchantress took down Dark Guild Executive and their minions without the help of reinforcement.’ …
There were many headlines covering the news regarding the destruction of Dark Guild. Many were happy as one of humanity’s biggest problems had been solved. Others were worried because the boss of Dark Guild was still free and could reestablish the Dark Guild.
Zero looked at some of them and then scrolled to find some information regarding Hiro and others.
‘Hiro once again shows his power!’
‘Graduated students fought with Rank-A and won?’
‘The Golden Generation is truly amazing!’ …
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There was even an interview with them. Zero clicked on the video.
As Zero watched the video, he saw Hiro, along with others, being interviewed about their involvement in the Dark Guild invasion. They were asked about their experiences, strategies, and how they managed to defeat powerful opponents.
“It was due to the teamwork that we managed to survive.”
Hiro answered. He doesn’t look nervous probably because he has gotten used to it.
“WOW! And you all are just 18 years old right? To be able to defeat so many Rank-A, you all are really talented.”
The interviewer said.
“Thanks for the praise! However, we didn’t do this alone. If not because of some help, we would have died.”
“Can you explain what happened? Did someone come to rescue you? Was it Ice Enchantress?”
“Yes, someone helped us. It was not our professor but someone we don’t recognize.” …
Hiro and the others continue to explain the situation. They didn’t hesitate to say that the accomplishments that they are given were not solely because of themselves. If it were some others, they might have hidden the fact and bragged about being powerful.
Anyway, he looked up at interesting news and then he came across something that caught his eyes.
‘Reason for Dark Guild’s Invasion?’
It seemed interesting, so he clicked on the news.
‘ This time the Dark Guild’s Invasion seemed arbitrary and useless. They accomplished nothing and got themselves destroyed. But is it? Let us delve into it. First, let’s see the location that they had attacked and see what their motives would have been.
At first, they seemed to have no motives and attacked and just left. However, behind that they had also kept some kind of core which contained explosives. While they did detonate them, they were not powerful enough.
So, was the bomb just a prank or was it the real objective of the Dark Guild. If so, was the bomb just a deficit? That can be one of the possible reasons. Their bombs might have malfunctioned or could someone have intentionally done so.’ …
The news talked about all the suspicious points about Dark Guild invading and having accomplished nothing.
Zero was impressed that they were able to think of such a conclusion, especially that someone had interfered with Dark Guild’s plan. But he knew that it was just speculation and they would never find out that he had interfered with the Dark Guild.
Anyway, after having read some more news articles, he fell asleep.
******
The next morning, he woke up and met with the Saintess Amelia. He went with her and ate breakfast which he found very delicious. It seemed that after having spent 2 years in Tower Of Obelisk, Zero likes every food that is cooked well.
Anyway, Zero followed Saintess after breakfast also. She also didn’t seem to have a problem with that.
Zero sat down with Saintess Amelia for breakfast, enjoying the delicious spread of food laid out before him. The aroma of freshly baked bread, the sizzle of eggs on the skillet, and the rich aroma of coffee filled the air. Zero couldn’t help but feel grateful for the simple pleasures in life, especially after spending two years in the Tower of Obelisk where food was basic.
“Did you sleep well?”
Saintess Amelia asked when he was eating.
“Yeah! I had a great sleep.”
Zero replied. Compared to sleeping in a tent, he found sleeping in church a much better choice.
“That’s great then. I was worried that you wouldn’t like it.”
Saintess Amelia said. In her eyes, Zero was some kind of young master or someone with a lot of money. Why she thinks so is because without money and resources, nobody can grow as strong as him.
Moreover, most people who can enroll in Ace ACademy are rich. So she drew the conclusion easily. And she thought that for such a young master, they wouldn’t like the cheap bed here which is contrary to what Zero thought.
However, the truth was very different from what Saintess Amelia thought. Zero was indeed rich now, but before that he was poor compared to others. Even if he was rich now, he didn’t delve into any luxury.
Anyway, Saintess Amelia was happy that Zero has no problem with sleeping and food here.
As he savored each bite, Amelia filled him in on the latest news and events happening outside the tower. She mentioned that the aftermath of the Dark Guild’s invasion was still being discussed in various news articles and that there were speculations about the motives behind the attack.
She also told him about the situation with the Devil who managed to enter the Human Domain. Zero listened while also thinking about the situation carefully. He tried to connect what was happening to the world with the chapters in the novel.
Even though certain things have changed, many events still remain the same. He needed to take advantage of those.