Chapter 54

Marcus, upon hearing what Glenda said, quickly handed over the manticore parts to Sophia, and both of them proceeded to the back of the guild. Glenda then led Astaroth and Lalitha to the second floor of the building, where her office was located. The letter from Magnus was disregarded and placed aside on her table. Glenda sat behind the table, opened her drawers, and retrieved two silver cards from a deck of cards.

"I will now issue both of you the adventure card, as you have proven that you killed the manticore by yourselves, which is roughly equivalent to the strength of a silver-grade adventurer," Glenda explained. "There are a total of seven tiers in the grading system, just like there are seven tiers in magic. The lowest tier is stone, followed by bronze, iron, silver, gold, platinum, and finally adamantium." Silver falls in the middle of the seven tiers.

"Now, both of you place your thumbs on the card, and it will register your names and your main jobs. Once that is done, you can use this as an identification card when passing through any borders. This card will also be recognized by anyone from the guild, no matter which country you are in," Glenda explained, placing the two cards in front of Astaroth and Lalitha. Astaroth and Lalitha then pressed their thumbs on the cards, activating the magic within. Their names and job types appeared on the surface of the cards.

"All done. Now, it's my turn," Glenda said, pressing her thumbs on both cards. The magic activated once again, and Glenda's signature appeared at the bottom of the cards, authenticating them as genuine.

"Take the cards and keep them safe. If you lose them, you will need to come back here to register again," Glenda instructed as she handed the cards to Astaroth and Lalitha. Both of them promptly stashed the cards in their inner pockets.

"With that, I think we should be on our way. I've given you the letter and fulfilled the request to subdue the manticore," Astaroth brought up the topic of the letter again.

"Fine, go ahead. The rewards will be credited to your card. Go find Sophia; she will process it," Glenda waved her hand, indicating the conclusion of the meeting. Once they had left her office, Glenda picked up the letter written by Magnus. She contemplated whether to open it or not, already having an inkling about its contents. Finally, she gave in and open the letter, the contents written by Magus was his declaration of love for her.

Annoyed, Glenda crushed the letter in her hand and then set it on fire. The despicable man, who had engaged in multiple love affairs, persisted in sending her letters declaring his love for her sporadically. He had become infatuated with Glenda ever since laying eyes on her at one of the events in Sanctavia, and since that day, he had employed every possible method to capture her attention.

"Damn it! If I ever see him again, I will crush his testicles," Glenda vented her frustration in her office, speaking to no one but the solitude that surrounded her. "That foolish, lustful guild master. How on earth did he even attain the position of guild master in the first place?"

On the first floor, Sophia finished processing the rewards onto the new cards. "There you go. The credits are now loaded, and you can use them at any shop in town. Just present the cards to the shop owners, and they will deduct the credits for you."

"Thank you, Sophia. We're leaving now," Lalitha expressed her gratitude and swiftly exited the building with Astaroth. She didn't want to linger any longer. The guild masters from Yosnad and Sanctavia had left a strange impression on her. Even their hired receptionist felt peculiar.

The Festival of Thanks was a day when all residents of Sanctavia gathered at the temple in the morning to express gratitude to the goddess. Adorned in white robes, the residents carried bouquets and proceeded toward the temple at a leisurely pace. Along the way, priests awaited them, ready to receive the flowers and bestow blessings upon the attendees. Bells would chime every hour, symbolizing the end of the war between the goddess and the demon king.

From his window at the inn, Astaroth observed a sea of white slowly advancing through the streets. The sight bestowed a sense of tranquility and sanctity upon the atmosphere. However, he had no intention of joining the crowd. He had informed the sorceress the previous night that she was welcome to go, while he preferred to stay behind at the inn. Giving thanks to the goddess as the demon king felt peculiar to him.

Astaroth had planned to spend the day resting and meditating. As he prepared to settle down on his bed, a knock on his door interrupted his peace. Startled, Astaroth stood up and approached the door. When he opened it, he was taken aback to find Glenda standing there, her pink ponytail swaying as she smiled at him.

"Hey, Astaroth! I knew you'd be here. I guess this kind of festival isn't your thing," Glenda stated, her true intention being to alleviate her boredom and see if Astaroth was in or had gone out to join the festivities.

"What do you want?" Astaroth spoke, his tone unchanged.

"I'd like to invite you for a stroll. I know of a secluded spot where there aren't many people, and you can also take a break there," Glenda offered.

"I can rest right here in my room," Astaroth replied monotonously. He had no desire to go out.

"Come on, it's boring. Keep me company. I hate this time of year when everyone is out, praising the priest and emptying their wallets," Glenda grumbled. Every year, she would receive some tasks and escape from Sanctavia, avoiding the festive season. This year, unfortunately, due to the circumstances, she had to come back to Sanctavia during the festival of thanks.

"Come with me," Glenda ignored the fact that Astaroth had rejected her, grabbed his arm, and pulled him out of his room. Both of them exited the inn and went in the opposite direction of the temple. Glenda led Astaroth to a quiet street, and soon the noise from the festival faded away. Astaroth noticed that the street was now empty of people, and at the next turn, they found themselves in a dark alley. This was in stark contrast to the bright and well-lit street they had come from.

"Here, come on in," Glenda grinned and led Astaroth through a door into one of the houses in the dark alley. When Astaroth's eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room, he saw that he had entered a bar. There was a bartender at the counter who looked at them suspiciously, but the moment he saw Glenda, he smiled and greeted her. "Well, look who has dropped in… isn't this our guild master of Sanctavia."

"Hello, Don. The usual, please. I've brought a friend here to experience the finest bar in town," Glenda said, hopping onto a bar stool in front of Don, the bartender.

"Hello, a friend of the guild master. I am Don, the bartender. What can I get you to drink?" Don looked at the man standing beside Glenda. He hadn't seen him before, but the aura emanating from the man suggested that he was a skilled adventurer. Those allowed to be in Glenda's company were far from shabby.

"I'll have whatever she's having," Astaroth replied.

"Sure, two fruity glasses of wine coming right up," Don grinned at Astaroth. The strange man was unaware that the guild master didn't consume strong alcohol and had ordered the same drink as her. Astaroth frowned upon hearing the name of the drink but didn't intervene with the bartender.

"Hey, Astaroth, what is your purpose for coming to Sanctavia? Please don't tell me it's because you're helping that creepy old man deliver a letter," Glenda asked curiously. She found Astaroth intriguing since he didn't appear to be a man of religious inclination.

"Well, I'm here to delve deeper into the history of the goddess who vanquished the demon king and founded Sanctavia. The story intrigues me," Astaroth explained his reason for visiting Sanctavia. Don handed both Astaroth and Glenda their drinks and said, "Here are your drinks. If you want to learn more about Sanctavia, there's a public library inside the temple that you can freely access."

"I've already been to the library, but I didn't find anything useful regarding what I'm searching for. I'm eager to catch a glimpse of the actual goddess herself. The carvings in Sanctavia depict her, but I've been told they are merely products of artistic imagination," Astaroth expressed his disappointment.

"I happen to have a carving of the real goddess," Glenda interjected abruptly. "She does look different from the carving in this city. The carving that I have is not recognized by the temple as the real depiction of the goddess. But… I am sure it is the real goddess."