Protagonist Knows Everything

Chapter 41: Join us

Jeriel hesitated at first but soon nodded in agreement.  Then carefully she approached Kasha.

Placing her hand on Kashas head she muttered, Goddess

Please tell me youre not sleeping Kasha.

At this point I was seriously worried that Kasha might be sleeping.

However, it seems that my worries were baseless.

The moment Jeriel finished her prayers.

Huh? Uh? Where is this?

Kasha slowly opened her eyes while showing off her superior acting skills.  And at the same time suddenly a dazzling golden light illuminated the whole temple.  This was the work of our goddess, Parmel.

Seems like our god likes a bit of drama.

That whole ordeal made me wear a gentle smile.

Parmel mustve been happy because, for the first time Jeriel believed that she could perform a miracle, she finally believed in herself and her goddess.

After that suddenly the hall became noisy.

Although the golden light was just the whim of the goddess, the effects it had were quite favourable for me.  The bright golden glow paired with Kashas acting made Jeriel the centerpiece of everyones focus.

Amidst all that, I whispered to Lorelie, Ill say it once more. Give it to me.

Please, give me another chance.

I just snatched the relics from Lorelies hands without much resistance.  She mustve known that resisting would be a waste.

This was being wasted on you.

Having said that, I turned to Jeriel, who was just staring at us with her mouth wide open.

Have it.

This?

Well, its its just a normal Bible.

She doesnt need to know that its a relic. Not yet.

But the moment I handed the bible to Jeriel, the golden glow grew even brighter than before.  It almost felt like someone had brought the sun into the temple.

Are you so happy? Goddess.

Jeriel gracefully held that bible amidst that light.

She began to cry as she muttered, Thank you. Parmel. Thank you. Really

She was finally recognized by her goddess after 20 years of her endeavours.

Will she realize that her goddess loved her ever since the beginning?  Well, not right now, but someday she will.  It doesnt have to be right now, she can take it easy.

Lets go Ms. Jeriel.

[Sniff]

yes?

Come to our guild.

What are you talking about?

I mean wellno.

I smiled and said, For the rest, just listen to what your goddess has to say.

Jeriel tilted her head in confusion.  I just waved my hand and grabbed Kasha.

Shall we go.

Where are we? What are you doing?

No. Youre done now.

Youve done enough, you can stop now.

For now, I was holding Kasha close to myself as she was supposed to be tired due to the curse.

.! Ack!

Shhh You have to pretend that youre a little tired, right?

As I whispered, Kasha muttered, hugged my arm.

Yes. I guess I cant help it then.

Right.

Hold me a little tighter. I think I will fall.

Is this good enough?

With that we made our way to the entrance.

[Bang]

Then I heard a rolling sound behind me.  To my surprise, Lorelie was lying on the floor behind me.  She probably tripped while she was trying to run after me.  Her robes were loose, and her lips were ruptured with blood trickling down them.

Please. Please give me one more chance!

Please Nortel. That Ill do better! You cant throw me away like this!

Wow.

This isnt humanly possible. How does he even get people to believe in him like this?

Even with Celia, Nortel somehow had the ability to make people obsessed with him. As the HR team leader, I wanted to learn that ability as well.

I calmly said, Just change your job.

Youre not suited to be a nun anyway.

I left the hall with those words.

Well, Parmel Jui would handle the rest.

***

We stayed at the inn for four days after, quite leisurely of course.

Kasha muttered while rolling on the bed with her pillow.

Boring. This is so boring.

For reference, this is my room.

Why are you here?

Well. This is Tays room isnt it?

I couldnt grasp the logic behind her answer.

Tay. Lets go back. It doesnt seem like that priest will make the cut.

No.

For four days, I kept checking Jeriels personnel records.

To be precise, Jeriel is already coming.

[Recent activity (20 minutes ago): Saying goodbye to the priests and nuns in the temple.]

[Health condition: Terribly sleep deprived.]

Lack of sleep.

Knowing the reason behind it, I smiled.

Then Kasha said, Youre smiling like that again.

I was quite shocked when Kasha noticed that.

***

Jeriel knocked on my door an hour or so later.

Come on in. Ms. Jeriel.

Yes?

Come in.

I opened the creaky old door.  Jeriel was standing there with her mouth wide open all while wearing a blank face.

How did you know it was me?

It was just a guess.

As I said, I saw a fairly heavy load on her back.

She put her luggage down and said, I havent slept in four days.

Yeah? why?

Jui! This girl! Because this talkative, noisy and foolish voice was talking to me day and night

Well, she was quite lucky to have the goddess talk with her day and night.

Jeriel hurriedly came to her senses and said, My, Im not freaking out. Ive already told you everything about Jui anyway.

I didnt say anything.

So what did your friend say?

Jeriel lent out a deep sigh.

Whew. She said to follow you, unconditionally.

Yeah? And?

Prying into things like these has always been fun.

Jeriel replied with an embarrassing expression, Well Mr. Tay is the receptionist of the Hagnut Guild, right?

Wow. How did you know that? I dont remember telling you my guilds name.

Jui told me. She has always been good with insight.

How long will it take for that extraordinary insight to turn into a goddess prophecy?

Follow Mr. Tay and register in the Hagnut guild as an adventurer.

Good.

Now, it seems that Parmel also believes in me.

Well, aside from the promise with the goddess, recruiting the next saint will be quite beneficial for the guild.

Jeriel followed up with another sigh.

She said, If you dont follow him then Ill make sure you dont get peaceful sleep ever again.

With the words, Jeriel stumbled a little.

Kasha quickly got up from her bed and said, Sit here.

Dont go around offering my bed to others just like that.

Thank you..

Jeriel sat down on the bed and continued.

Anyway, Kelk city has a Parmels temple too In fact, the place doesnt matter if she can hold the goddess. Of course, its sad to break up with the people she loved.

Her eyes were puffed up from exhaustion, but still she looked quite happy while talking about the people  Until recently she was being treated as a mad person. But now everything had changed.

Has she caught on?

Of course shes caught onto it. How long do you think she has been in that temple.

I know, but shes the next saint.  How did the priests just let her go.

Agitated, Jeriel said, The next Saint Please dont say that!

Of course the priests and nuns say that but its difficult for me to believe, I am just a nun who received a word from the oracle not too long ago.

She considered that golden glow to be a message from the oracle. Technically it was.  But rather than that

I understand their situation, after all they previous saint candidate turned out to be a fake.

No, you dont have to say that.

Jeriel said in a gloomy voice, Everyones faith is shaken right now.

Is that so?

Yes!

Then can I ask, where Lorelie is right now?

Of course I already knew where she was.

[Recent progress (current): Wandering around the estate, trying to find Taylor Mason.]

For the last four days she has been wandering around the estate in hopes of meeting me, more precisely, Nortel Rhimes messenger.

Jeriel replied in a small voice, I dont know. Lorelie didnt show up in the temple ever since that incident.

If shes really faithful then isnt she supposed to put up a prayer in the penance room?

Now, her faith isnt actually shaken, she wasnt religious to start with.

After hearing my remark Jeriels face sank as if she had just been scolded.

I said in a soft voice to console her, Unlike you. Ms. Jeriel.

I

Jeriel hesitated a little but soon she held up her head.

Im not good at anything. I am always clumsy, I cant even do laundry properly.

But Yes, now I can confidently say about my faith in my goddess. I believe in my goddess, more than anyone else.

That incident took place only a few days prior, but since then Jeriel has developed quite a lot.  I narrowed my eyes and checked her personnel log.

[Title: B-plus]

[Potential: Saint (Development 7%)]

When I first met Jeriel, she had a ranking of D minus with 0% development.

She grew this much in a matter of days.  She must be thinking about how much her goddess loved her.  However, that days events cleared all her doubts and anxieties.  And as a result her rank shot up.

Priests and nuns are pretty different from wizards.

Unlike a wizard who grows only through learning, research, and experience step by step. For a nun or a priest, their faith is the only factor affecting their rank.  Well, as a result, if their faith is shaken then their rank will also plummet.

Like Lorelie.

In a casual tone I changed the topic.

Dont be too sad about leaving this place.

The Kelk City and the Circle Estate are a bit far, but not too much. If you want then you can visit here anytime.

And.

If you sign an exclusive contract with our guild, we will provide you with a carriage whenever necessary.

Thank you. But that

She asked with a little anxiety on her face, I dont know much about the guild, but I have to do the quest, right? Like dealing with monsters

That is the main job.

I havent experienced a single battle in my life.

I will never go on a quest by myself. The guild wont send a healer alone on a quest. right?

Yes, dont worry about that.

With that Jeriels anxiety faded away and she asked, When are you going to depart?

Well. Im thinking about departing right after lunch.

Then, can I sleep a little here while youre eating? Because Jui barely stopped talking.

She asked that like it was her life long wish.  Kasha and I nodded at the same time.

Then Jeriel fell down.

Said Kasha, She fell asleep in one second.

Yeah.

Kasha looked at me and said, It sure is a blessing to be able to sleep whenever you want right?

If one is sure to wake up from that sleep that is.

After that we just looked at each other and smiled.  We added one more companion and returned to the Hagnut guild.

***

We saw the guild building for the first time in 7 days.

Kasha first jumped out of her carriage vigorously, then she told Jeriel, while wearing a brazen smile.

Welcome to the Hagnut Guild!

Jeriel was excited just as much as Kasha.

Jeriel grew up in an estate, a place without much to see. So now she got off the carriage like a kid on his first field trip.

Oh, thank you.

Hehe.

Kasha and Jeriel grew surprisingly close in the span of a single day.

Kasha seemed to be happy that Jeriel no longer thought of herself as a crazy person and now thought of her as a normal sane person like everyone else.

The moment we opened the door we found Sain standing there to welcome us.

You are back!

She had eyes similar to Kashas few days ago tired and with bags under them.  I knew she was sleep deprived without even looking at her records.

You didnt sleep?

Of course not. I was worried for Kasha, how could I sleep comfortably while she was succumbing to the curse.

Her poor Kasha was sleeping 8 hours daily after the curse was lifted.  Kasha thought the same and scratched her head in embarrassment.

Im completely fine now.

Ms. Kasha.

Tay said that the curse was completely lifted without any side-effects. Thanks to this person right here.

It seems Sain was completely oblivious of Jeriels existence until Kasha pointed her out.

Sain politely greeted her, As the Guild Master of the Hagnut Guild, I sincerely thank you.

Oh. Yes Yes. It wasnt much No, it was a bit of trouble, but not that much.

Both of them bowed to each other.  Amidst that I noticed one thing.

Sain. You are the Guild Master

Ah yes. I think you can say that now.

Sain asked with embarrassment all over her face.

Is it awkward?

It looks like you found your place.

thank you.

So youre the Guild Master now rather than him?

Kasha and Jeriel, who dont know what I meant, tilted their heads.

Sain replied with a serious expression, Yes. I was recognized by my father.

I won the bet.

Her voice was trembling slightly.  I wanted to ask more, but Sain continued first.

Ill talk about that later. The important thing right now is to celebrate Ms. Kashas safe return.

Yes. I also have a report to work on.

Report? You already told me that the curse was cleared.

A new adventurer will be joining us.

At my words, Jeriel stepped out in a stiff creaking motion.

Ah

A gift. I didnt have time to prepare oneaaah!

Sain opened her mouth with a slightly wry smile, WellWould you like to take a break first?

After a while, Jeriel was able to formally sign a contract with the Hagnut Guild.

Of course, she had nothing to prove that she is the next saint, so she was registered as a D-class adventurer.

Considering that adventurers sign exclusive contracts only after reaching B-class, Jeriels case was a bit unconventional

But considering the Hagnut guilds position, we could afford to do that.

And as she signed her contract, the voice of the system was heard.

[Received 1000 HR evaluation Points from Sain.]

[Received 3000 HR evaluation points from Kasha.]

[Received 300 HR evaluation points from Jeriel.]

[Level: 3rd year employee / Next level: 4th year employee.]

[Points required until the next promotion: 4380/5000]

[Newly available information: Mental state]

This made using all those points for that ability worthwhile.