Chapter 49: Grand Welcome

The next morning, I woke up before sunrise. The outside sky that could be seen from the window in the room was still dark.

Obviously, the room was also still dark as the light was off. I could feel something soft with my right hand, and when I looked at it, it turned out it was on top of Emilia's breast.

The sexy teacher's body was still covered in bodily fluid, a satisfied smile on her face. She hadn't seemed to wake up anytime soon, so I carefully raised my body, not to wake her up, and got off the bed.

I got dressed in the uniform I threw on the floor last night and used <Purification> to clean myself. This skill was really convenient. I was glad I leveled my <Holy Magic> up back in Horizon Online.

Using [Shadow Cape], I exited the teacher's dorm and reappeared from the shadow outside the Royal Academy. The street was empty; not even small animals could be seen, indicating how clean the area in Academic City was.

I proceeded to walk toward Castitas Church. At this time, they should be preparing for morning prayer or something. That was why I didn't go to church yesterday to talk about the new knight squad with Sana and chose to go today.

There were no days in this world, only months and years, which changed every 30 and 365 day and night cycle, respectively.

And today marked the month's change after I saw the Calendar in Emilia's room earlier, making today the 2nd month of the year 401 in Virtue Calendar.

What was unusual was that the Royal Academy started not on the first day of the month but at almost the end of the month. Probably a plot to make the protagonist able to attend.

The morning prayer to Goddess Teri would start before sunrise and end after the sun had fully risen. It didn't affect any Academy's schedules, so some devout students should also attend. Well, students from Castitas Academy would all attend it because it was mandatory.

And as I reached the center of the Academic City, where the five main streets were connected, I began to see some people dressed in clothes that fully covered their skin.

Only the nuns of Castitas Church were still wearing the seemingly erotic clothes, as they were their uniforms.

I couldn't help but wonder why normal worshipers would wear clothes that fully covered their skins when the nuns were dressed like that. But I guessed it was because they had common sense while the nun was forced to wear something like that because it was the Goddess' order.

"I guess I shouldn't think much about it. It's better if I just enjoy it." I muttered as I jumped on the roof of one of the buildings.

Unlike a normal fantasy world, the building in this world looked similar to a modern one mixed with a medieval one. The wall was made from brick, and the roof was tilted slightly to let the rainwater fall into the gutter.

Some of the buildings were straight from the fantasy, though.

After landing softly on the roof, I continued walking to the church.

Besides talking to Sana about my plan to create a knight squad, I also wanted to ask something after finding out about the effect of suddenly Leveling up at once.

This might greatly affect what I could do in the future, and probably only people with a high position in the church knew this answer.

If what I suspected turned out to be true, then...

'I will be able to cut the weed before it becomes a flower.'

The cold morning breeze brushed against my skin, giving me a bit of a chill. Spring could really be cold at a certain time.

In the darkness of the dawn, the light that came from the magic lamp around the street and the church's entrance looked beautiful.

Not many people recognized me as I walked, facing back on the light. They only saw the silhouette of a man walking on the roof calmly, jumping from one to another. It gave me a mysterious feeling, but nobody even questioned my identity as they saw me walking toward the church.

Probably they thought I was some sort of envoy or whatever. Especially when they saw the church knights and some nuns run out of the building, making two rows on the stairs, parting the crowd as if welcoming someone.

It was at the time they finished forming rows that I reached the last building and needed to come down. I jumped from the roof and landed right at the feet of the stairs.

At that moment, when they saw my figure, the knights saluted by raising their swords, and the nun bowed with their hands in front of them.

"Welcome, Paladin!"

"We greet you!"

They spoke alternatively. The nuns were first, and the knights were second. This was a grand welcome, even though I had never announced that I would visit.

Maybe they put up this show because today was a morning prayer that only happened once a month. I could appreciate their effort then.

"Thank you," I replied with a smile as I proceeded through the stairs.

Sana appeared from the entrance, followed by two nuns with black veils covering their faces. The clothes the Archbishop wore were the same as the ones when I visited her last time.

"I really am glad you visited the church before the morning prayer started, Paladin." She spoke with a soft smile resembling an angel as I reached the top.

Then she whispered in a soft voice, low enough so only the two of us could hear it.

"There are some unexpected guests, so I really am glad you showed up, Sir Arthur. Did you already hear the news from Garcia? After hearing knight Sophia's report, I sent her to your mansion to convey some news, but she returned and told me that you weren't home."

"Forgive me. I was out at that time. And what news?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

It seemed like the news was quite important that she sent Sophia, a Level 45 Knight, just to inform me. What could it be?

"Please don't be, Sir Arthur." Sana replied while waving her hand. "I understand you have your own agenda. Also, let's talk inside. Because talking here is a bit..." Her eyes wandered toward the cheering crowd at the feet of the stairs. The knights held them off from storming toward us.

"Hahaha..." I let out a bitter laugh as I turned to Sana. "That seems like a good idea."

We proceeded inside, and I walked beside Sana. The nuns with black veils covering their faces were following behind us, spreading black clothes to hide our figures.

The morning prayer would be held in the hall right after the entrance. It was filled with people as magic lamps shone on the chandelier that hung above the ceiling.

Thanks to the nuns that covered us with black clothes, we could pass through the hall and go to the room behind it. Though we were seen with curious eyes, it was better than listening to them screaming our titles.

Arriving at the small room that looked like an extravagant preparation room with a table standing between two couches, I sat on one of them facing Sana.

"Let me explain it in a simple manner, Sir Arthur." The Archbishop put on a serious face as she brought her legs together and her hands on top of her thighs. "Last night, the King's envoy informed us that His Majesty would be coming after our morning prayer today. And he's asking to have an audience with you."

'That's indeed urgent news. I felt bad for disappearing and having fun with Emilia when they were preparing to greet the King.' A bitter smile formed on my face.