Erika: My Friend Is Obsessed with Me
Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Erica - When My Friend Obsesses Over Me
“……Hey, what are we going to say about this tomorrow?”
Erica’s voice shattered his train of thought.
“Do you think the Saintess is going to make us hold our arms up and take a switch to both of us?”
Looking around, the Holy Knights’ Training Ground had been thoroughly devastated.
From the stone floor to the pillars, everything was crushed and reduced to ragged ruins on all sides.
“Listen. Someone’s getting scolded anyway, and it’s a total loss if both of us get in trouble, so…….”
“……?”
“Let’s play rock-paper-scissors, and only the loser takes the fall. What do you think?”
Chaud burst into laughter at Erica’s shameless proposal.
Not that it mattered either way.
“No way. We’re getting scolded together.”
Whatever it was, going through it together was always better.
* * *
Noon the next day.
Erica received word that her master still hadn't woken up.
‘That old man……. Has being treated like royalty in the Temple made him this lazy?’
He was never one to oversleep like this.
She sauntered off to wake him, pondering what kind of prank to pull on him.
As she walked down the long corridor of the upper level—
“Erica-nim! What a pleasure to see you here.”
“We were just on our way to find you!”
A group wearing the Holy Knights’ uniform appeared all at once.
‘Damn it. Am I getting arrested?!’
Guilty of the serious crime of annihilating the Training Ground last night, Erica broke into a cold sweat.
I should’ve brought Chaud with me! Of all times to be alone, I’m the one taking the whole blame!
However, they offered Erica a respectful, courteous salute.
It was the Holy Knights 8th Squad.
“We heard that you gave your testimony directly to the Saintess.”
“Huh?”
“Regarding the slaying of the Basilisk and what transpired in the Illusionary Forest.”
“I did?”
Having never given any such grand testimony to the Saintess, question marks floated incessantly in Erica’s mind.
“The 4th High Priest, who had been interrogating us, even came in person to apologize.”
“It is all thanks to our benefactor that every misunderstanding has been cleared.”
“……?”
In truth, it was thanks to Pechenik.
He had vouched for Erica’s identity to Hielia, which had led to quite a few developments overnight.
From a few suspicious circumstances, Hielia had grasped the truth in an instant.
Before long, those who had unreasonably demanded proof of the Basilisk and driven the 8th Squad to their deaths were tracked down and rooted out.
The entire truth of how the 8th Squad had been ostracized within the Great Temple of Light simply because of their commoner origins was laid bare.
“We have just returned from an audience with the Saintess as well.”
“Shameful as it is to admit, despite being Holy Knights…… we cannot recall the last time we were granted an audience with her.”
Word had it that disciplinary actions against high-ranking priests, including the 4th High Priest, would be referred to the Sacred Council.
Furthermore, the 8th Squad was designated as the Saintess's direct knight order for the time being.
“We have now received an official commission to return to the Illusionary Forest and recover the Basilisk’s corpse.”
Moved with emotion, the Holy Knights 8th Squad continued politely.
“We have no words to properly express our gratitude to our benefactor.”
“Indeed. To save our lives right before the jaws of the Basilisk, and now to assist us like this…….”
“Ah, okay, okay!”
Fearing they might drop down to perform a full prostration right there, Erica raised her hands to stop them.
“Now, now, shall we talk about this later? I’m on my way to see my master right now.”
“…….”
The Vice Commander hesitated for a moment.
He assumed their benefactor found them troublesome.
“……We.”
In terms of raw combat ability, the 8th Squad was actually far superior to the other squads.
Though they lacked the healing abilities of priests, their power to purify monsters was overwhelming.
Nevertheless, they possessed nothing.
They had lived their lives brainwashed into believing that having no possessions was the highest virtue.
“If only we were the Saintess, we could repay this immense favor with a Life Stone…… or if we were High Priests, with an Elixir…….”
They had nothing to offer their benefactor.
Occupying the lowest rank, the 8th Squad had the least authority, unable to do a single thing without orders from the upper echelons.
“…….”
If they began building up their utterly feeble power, starting from now.
Then someday.
“Should you ever require our aid, no matter what it is, please call upon us at any time.”
“Right.”
“Any time is fine. We will rush to your side immediately.”
“…….”
Erica stared at them for a long while before replying.
“Got it!”
She had no clue what was going on, but what did it matter?!
Getting on good terms with the Holy Knights was great! Even better if they could take on SS-rank Temple commissions together!
“Let’s all grab a drink together sometime!”
“……D-Drinks, we…….”
The Holy Knights, who never touched a drop of alcohol, showed awkward, troubled expressions.
“I’ll drink every last drop myself, so don’t worry and just watch!”
Erica beamed brightly.
“I hold my liquor really well!”
* * *
Erica had to seriously ponder whether she was a bit of a snob.
Ever since she became an S-rank mercenary, she had become a renowned self-made icon even in Dangtus, but—
‘Money and power rule the world.’
No matter how she looked at it, the more money and power you had, the better.
Working hard to get them wasn’t a bad thing, was it?
For example, trying to get close to the Saintess to land SS-rank Temple requests.
And.
“Those little ones…….”
Giggle, hehe! Young High Priest candidates romping around right before her eyes.
“Are golden chicks, you could say…….”
Chicks destined to grow into hens that lay golden eggs.
Erica’s eyes sparkled with the greedy ambition of securing SS-rank commissions from the Temple decades from now as well.
Gleam.
She had spent the past few days touring and lounging around the Temple with her master, but this very moment felt the most full of life.
It was an effortless opportunity to build future connections.
She strode deep into the Sky Garden.
“Phew……. Babysitting brats is totally beneath my pride, but…….”
Despite those words, in no time at all—Giggle!—there was Erica, giving them piggyback rides and sprinting around together!
She was instantly rolling around in the grass with the children.
They played tag, followed by an absurd game of hide-and-seek.
Why did kids always think hiding just their heads under a tree meant nobody could see them?
They were so cute she almost wanted to rip out a Temple pillar, but she held back with all her might.
Whoosh!
Grabbing a child under the arms and tossing them high into the air before catching them was an especially massive hit.
Kyaaah!
She threw them so high that a priest watching from afar rushed over in tears, pleading for her to stop, but—
The little ones were laughing so hard they could barely breathe.
“What did I say my name was?”
“Emmy!”
“It’s Erica, I told you.”
“Emmica!”
“When you grow up and become High Priests, you can’t pretend not to know me, okay?!”
Giggle!
She coaxed them diligently, playing until her elbows were numb and sore.
After rolling around in the grass for quite a while, suddenly—
‘……?’
Erica realized her master was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where’d he go?’
Just a little while ago, he had been watching this way with a warm, gentle smile.
She realized quite a lot of time had slipped by in the meantime.
Erica set off to look for him.
The upper level was a convoluted maze, so she wandered alone for a good while, peeking here and there around the Temple.
‘That way leads to the Training Ground…….’
For a moment, she thought of Chaud, who had been dragged off to the Holy Knights’ Training Ground.
When she confessed to destroying the Training Ground out of a guilty conscience, this upright Temple had put even the Saintess’s guest to work on restoration labor.
Having lost the rock-paper-scissors match, Erica had shamelessly kicked Chaud’s butt and sent him off, claiming the winner was the one supposed to go.
‘I haven’t been this way yet…….’
Rolling her eyes thoughtfully, she walked in the direction opposite the Holy Knights’ Training Ground.
At some point, not even a single servant was left in the hallway. Nobody was passing by.
Erica walked down the long, silent corridor.
Just as she was growing accustomed to the subdued silence typical of a temple—
Patter-patter!
The sound of footsteps came from behind. Small, light feet, but frantic.
Turning around, she saw the Saintess sprinting forward, her white ceremonial robes fluttering wildly in the air.
“……?”
The Saintess is running? Inside the Temple?
She was even running straight toward her, so Erica stood dumbfounded, watching her approach.
Patter-patter!
And then, the Saintess blew right past Erica. Without so much as a greeting.
A fleeting glimpse showed her complexion drained to a sickly pale.
Curious about those frantic footsteps, Erica followed her with her gaze, only to see the Saintess violently throw open a door not far away and call out a familiar name.
“Pechenik!”
Master?
Erica strode over in that direction. It took only moments to reach it.
Her steps halted before the open door.
And what was visible through the gap of the doorway—
“Pechenik, it’s me!”
With a heave, a man collapsed on the floor, vomiting crimson blood.
