38 Preparing For Future

"I'm worried about him." A soft voice echoed inside a large and elegant room.

Cecilia's world was plunged into darkness again as her astral connection with Noah ended. Those six hours were the ones she looked forward to daily.

"A Demigod…"

Cecilia's brows creased and she clenched the bedsheets unconsciously. Unfortunately, the daily duration of the astral connection ended when the Kraken split into four Krakens. Cecilia's throat stung when she thought that Noah was facing a Demigod alone.

Knock! Knock!

"Saintess, it's the 5th apostle, Sara. May I enter the room?" a feminine voice asked from the other side of the door.

Cecilia turned her face in the direction of the door and answered, "Please do."

Cecilia's ears twitched as she heard the faint footsteps. She smiled, "Why are you calling me Saintess? Didn't I say that it was okay to be informal?"

"These are the times when the walls also have ears." Sara answered.

It would be troublesome if it was known that the 5th apostle was close to the Saintess.

The seven apostles were the strongest warriors of the Holy Kingdom. On the outside, it seemed that all seven were under the Saintess' command. However, in truth, every apostle belonged to a different faction.

Cecilia didn't belong to any factions.

The factions managed the Holy Kingdom together. They heavily scrutinized the Saintess and restricted her.

Cecilia didn't want to kick up another political storm by creating an image of befriending one of the factions.

"But it should be okay now you're inside the room. Stop talking formally!" Cecilia pouted, earning a sigh from Sara.

Sara answered, "Who is teaching you these weird gestures? I swear, the day I find him is the day he breathes his last."

Sara was the one who gave 'Better Half Potion' to Cecilia. She was the only one in the Holy Kingdom who knew about the astral connection that opened for six hours every day.

If this news was known to the public, Cecilia would've been labeled as a witch and hanged for heresy already.

"Why do you keep saying that you'll beat him? He is a kind person!" Cecilia protested.

"You're too easy to trick. I bet you don't even know his name yet."

"I do. It's No–!?" Cecilia closed her mouth.

Sara clicked her tongue, "I almost found it this time."

Cecilia sighed. She was never going to leak Noah's name. It would be a disaster if Sara went out to search for him.

The duo continued their conversation while the sun peeked through the horizon. Sara helped Cecilia dress up and prepare for a new hectic day.

***

"So why were you searching for me?" asked Cecilia.

"...There is someone I wanted you to meet." Sara answered while guiding Cecilia through the large corridors.

Cecilia was blind. She couldn't see the world like normal humans but always longed for it. Her disability gave the factions a reason to lock her up, calling it protection for the helpless Saintess.

The suffocating environment was slowly eating Cecilia from the inside.

It was only after Sara gave the Better Half Potion to Cecilia that Cecilia's complexion started to improve.

On one hand, Sara was happy to see Cecilia smile from the bottom of her heart. Cecilia rarely used to smile unless it was for work. But these days, she would often smile stupidly while daydreaming like a little girl. It was a heartwarming sight.

However, on the other hand, Sara wanted to catch the bastard who was exploiting Cecilia's kindness. Just the other day, he asked Cecilia for one of the treasures of the Holy Kingdom – 'Gravity Manipulation'.

Sara thought, 'Unless that bastard is a one in a millenia genius he won't be able to use those skills. He will definitely sell them in an underground market. I need to catch him before he gets Cecilia into trouble.'

It was frustrating that Cecilia wouldn't reveal anything about the 'bastard' to Sara.

The duo walked through the corridors and reached their destination. Sara guided Cecilia to the seat. Sara stood beside her.

The room was divided by a curtain. Cecilia sensed a presence on the other side.

"Good day to you, Saintess. I'm Cyrus Jamica, an immortal immigrant."

"...!" Cecilia trembled. She turned her head towards Sara.

Sara sighed and answered Cecilia's unspoken question, "The immortal immigrants returned a week ago."

"Why wasn't I informed about it?"

"...Because I made sure no one told it to you." Sara closed her eyes and bowed deeply.

Sara knew Cecilia was looking for immortal immigrants' return due to the bastard's request. She thus made sure to keep that information from Cecilia until today.

"We'll talk about this later." Cecilia spoke authoritatively. She had a disappointed expression upon noticing Sara's intentions.

In hindsight, Cecilia knew she was to blame for it. However, it was Noah's request to never reveal his information.

"Cough, can we start?" asked Cyrus from the other side of the curtain.

Sara nodded and added, "Saintess, I can vouch for him. He is the one who gathered the ingredients for the potion. Think of him as me and speak freely."

Cyrus, having received the permission, revealed his intentions, "I'm here to request Holy Kingdom's aid to combat the invasion of the forsaken realm."

[ Invasion Of The Forsaken Realm ]

The world announcement was also revealed to the dwellers of the Midgard after the players disappeared. However, they had no information other than its name.

Cyrus continued, "In a few weeks, the five continents will raid our continent, Midgard. They are filled with monsters and the raids will be commanded by World Bosses."

"...!"

Sara and Cecilia gasped. The information Cyrus revealed was too shocking. A single World Boss was strong enough to plunge Midgard into flames. And Cyrus was saying five World Bosses would raid them in the next months.

However, there was another piece of equally shocking information.

"There are more continents?" asked Cecilia.

"Yes, Midgard is the name of this continent not the world."

Sara interrupted, "You are saying that there are five continents across the oceans. They are inhabited by monsters and World Bosses and we never discovered them? That isn't possible."

Cyrus didn't refute her.

He thought, 'So even Sara isn't aware that Cecilia has the ability to detect lies. I guess it's understandable.'

Cecilia took a moment to digest everything. She opened her mouth, "What are your demands?"

Cyrus smiled. It was good that the other party was understanding. After all, a single World Boss was enough to endanger the continent. They needed the information desperately.

"Support of Holy Kingdom in creating a Player association with me as the leader, preferential treatment in the upcoming Apostle Selection tournament, and access to the treasury of Holy Kingdom." Cyrus laid his demands.

"I'll need to discuss it with the Church." Cecilia answered while drumming her fingers on the table. She realized she was copying Noah unconsciously and smiled slightly.

The discussions continued for a long time.

***

Later in the evening, Sara and Cyrus met in a pub after disguising themselves. Sara casted a noise cancellation, stealth, and disguise spell before sitting across the table.

"I'll say it first. If you are fancying the Saintess, give up."

"I don't have anything like that."

"You think I didn't notice your expression when you met her?"

Cyrus chugged the booze while laughing off the matter.

Sara had a suspicion that Cyrus wanted to become the 8th Apostle by winning the Apostle Selection tournament because the 8th Apostle was going to become Cecilia's personnel guard.

The two chatted for a few minutes while eating lunch.

Sara spoke when she thought that enough time had passed, "Why are you creating a Player association?"

"I need to create teams to clear the five Asura ranked Dungeons." Cyrus answered.

Five Asura ranked dungeons had appeared across the continent when the invasion of the forsaken realm was announced. However, until now no one had been able to enter them.

Cyrus added, "I know the conditions to enter them. First, only 50 people can enter them and the entry restriction is below Lv.100. We also need to clear several hidden quests and get some items."

Cyrus put down the mug and asked for a refill before continuing.

"I'm planning to create 5 teams of Lv.100 players for the dungeons."

"...!" Sara dropped the spoon.

Cyrus ignored her shock and spoke, "It will be tough to raise them in a few weeks. But I'll manage."

Sara took deep breaths to calm herself. It didn't help that the tavern was noisy.

"Are the Asura rank dungeons and the new continents connected?"

"..."

Cyrus didn't answer.

Sighing, Sara joked with an annoyed tone, "Why do you need a 50 player party of Lv.100's? It seems to me you know everything, can't you clear the dungeon yourself?"

"I can't." Cyrus answered seriously. "We might encounter a Demigod inside. Even a 100 player party will be defeated if that happens. There is no way I can clear it alone."

Sara gulped as she thought of facing a Demigod if she was Lvl.100. Cyrus was the same. Although he had returned from the future and had years of experience he couldn't guarantee that he would win the battle. It was too risky as Cyrus wanted the first clear at the first attempt.

In the end, Cyrus sighed.

Cyrus massaged his head, opened his mouth, closed it, opened his mouth and closed it again.

It took him a few minutes to get the words out, "I missed you."

Sara nodded with difficulty. A lot of years must've passed for Cyrus but it was longer for Sara who was living in this world.

Sara didn't even know how Cyrus found her on this side after she left years ago. It pained her to think how she and Cyrus had drifted apart.

"I als—"

Cyrus interrupted her, "Our parents are dead. They were murdered and the murderer died a few days ago. I cremated him."

Sara froze.

She slowly raised her head and met Cyrus' eyes.

"Th… don't joke… lik.."

Words weren't leaving her throat.

Why did she come to this world before her peers?

Why did she leave everything behind and live in this dog-eat-dog world?

…So that her family could be safe.

"What about Daniel and Terrisa?" Sara asked with a trembling tone. If Cyrus was here then…

"No." Cyrus shook his head.

Sarah felt her world shake.

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