Published: July 3, 2025
A week after returning to Run with a large amount of Kona Coffee and a French press as souvenirs,
Ryo and the members of Room 10, along with Guild Master Hugh, stood in front of the adventurers' guild.
Before them was the departing Hero Party.
“Thank you for everything,”
Hugh said as he shook hands with Hero Roman.
“No, thank you. I had many valuable experiences,”
Roman replied, bowing his head.
“When you come to the Western Nations, please do visit…”
“No, it’s too broad to just say Western Nations.”
Hugh interjected with a wry smile in response to Roman’s words.
“While the others may scatter after defeating the demon king, I will belong to the Western Church, so you should visit ‘Graham’ at the church.”
Receiving Hugh and Roman’s wry smiles, the negotiator and the oldest member of the party, Cleric Graham, made a suggestion.
“I understand. You are an ‘archbishop,’ after all. That’s quite a high rank.”
Hugh nodded in agreement, recalling Graham’s words to the vampire Kalinikos.
“Until I defeat the demon king, I am just a cleric,”
Graham replied with a slight smile.
Archbishop.
It is a rank that does not exist within the temple hierarchy of the Central Nations.
For example, in the case of Earth, within the Catholic Church, an archbishop would indeed be quite a high-ranking cleric.
At the top sits the Pope, below him are the cardinals, followed by archbishops, and further down the line are bishops and priests.
Historically, the position of archbishop is high and powerful.
Three of the seven electors who choose the Holy Roman Emperor are archbishops: the Archbishop of Mainz, the Archbishop of Trier, and the Archbishop of Cologne.
While not entirely accurate, it broadly implies that they held the authority to choose the emperor.
By the way, the other four are the King of Bohemia, the Earl of the Rhineland, the Duke of Saxony, and the Baron of Brandenburg.
Of course, at this point, Ryo was unaware of the exact status of archbishops in the Western Nations.
However, from Hugh's manner of speaking, it was clear that they held a significant rank.
After sending off the Hero Party, the four members of Room 10 were called into the Guild Master’s office and seated on the reception set.
Before them, of course, was freshly brewed Kona Coffee.
“Regarding this matter, a gag order has been issued by the royal family and the temple. It is prohibited to speak of anything related to it. If it is discovered that you have leaked information, you will end up in jail, so be careful,”
Hugh informed them, and the four members of Room 10 nodded.
“With ‘vampires’ and ‘demons’ involved, it’s easy to guess what might happen.”
“On the flip side, the reward has been significantly increased. Well, think of it as a hush money, and just accept it. It should already be in your accounts.”
“Whoa!”
The increase in rewards was delightful.
Even Ryo, who wasn’t particularly in need of money, found it pleasing.
The members of Room 10 left the Guild Master’s office.
“Demons… vampires… Somehow we managed to solve it… The dungeons after the great tsunami have finally returned to normal, so we should be able to live quietly for a while now.”
With that said, Hugh began his usual paperwork.
Tomorrow, I will post chapter two.