Arcane Sniper

Chapter 980

After Shin Nara had established a connection, Leeha, accompanied by Kijung and Raphaela, met with Cheka. Cheka had merely stepped out for about ten minutes before returning.

Upon his return, Cheka opened a small booklet, verifying the names of the bishops from the 49 dioceses on the Lope Continent, along with their residences and main areas of activity.

“Can we trust this information?”

Leeha listened as Cheka recited the information, tilting his head in skepticism. Could it even be possible to gather such detailed information in just ten minutes?

Cheka calmly responded to his doubts.

“This was copied from the list at Minis’s central monastery. There’s no reason to doubt it.”

Upon hearing the answer that even NPCs within the country were monitored, and their information taken and used without permission, Leeha and Kijung shook their heads.

‘What a madman. Even if he’s acting for Minis’s interest… Well, secret police often do such things.’

It was reminiscent of Nazi Germany during World War II. However, Raphaela’s eyes sparkled as she observed Cheka. Seeing her reaction, Leeha shook his head slightly.

With all the necessary addresses confirmed by Cheka, convincing the bishops was no longer a significant hurdle for Leeha, Raphaela, and Kijung.

They only had to show the bishops the sight of illustrations moving on tapestries made with the technology from Saur Land.

Leeha, and even Kijung, were unaware, but Raphaela intuited the drawings as soon as she saw them for a specific reason.

“This is the very thing described in the Bible…”

“Yes. They are entities that served God. Bishop, wouldn’t you know best…? The Key of Jannate was truly based on the physical doctrine and was created so that our lambs could find their way when they strayed.”

Each drawing depicted core content found in the early scriptures of Middle Earth, including the creation narrative.

When Fernand re-created the Key of Jannate and showed its perfect fit at the entrance to the ‘Stairway to Heaven’, even Leeha felt a poignant sensation, so much that it was no surprise the devout NPCs would immediately start praying.

The repeated ‘convincing efforts’ posed no particular challenge, but Cheka stayed with them till the end.

Leeha expressed his gratitude for Cheka’s dedication, even though Cheka interpreted Leeha’s gratitude differently.

Cheka wasn’t just confirming locations but had taken the lead in shouldering the workload for a reason.

“No need for thanks. I did it solely for the benefits of our nation. Once Master Kay is safely inducted as one of the nine cardinal members and receives the Key of Jannate…, you must pay special attention to bringing Lark to Laputa.”

It was always a ‘transaction’ and thus only natural to fulfill his duty.

Leeha nodded at the secret police officer’s cold and rational demeanor.

“He’s quite cunning, isn’t he?”

“… Lark is one of our nation’s key human assets. Naturally.”

“Indeed.”

One reason Leeha marveled at Lark again the previous evening was when Shin Nara logged out and entrusted something to Lark. Lark had roughly grasped the particulars by that point.

Thus, Lark, who predicted the prospective ‘flow’, conveyed one message to Leeha through Shin Nara.

He would persuade Cheka in exchange for ensuring that Lark and Shin Nara would accompany them to ‘Laputa’.

Lark believed that once Cheka started assisting Leeha, the sequence of events leading to Kijung’s selection as C9 would unfold smoothly.

Leeha, too, had little to worry about.

‘The journey to Laputa won’t be easy this time around.’

Having established a third power and with Chiyou reviving Kaztor as an undead, she would be lying low somewhere in the eastern part of the New Continent.

Even if Brown or Elizabeth didn’t pose a threat, there existed the top-grade sniper in the Middle Earth system, ‘Kyle’.

If he targeted Leeha and the Laputa-bound users, breaking through alone wouldn’t be an easy task.

And what about the ‘exposed enemy’, the Demon King’s army?

Though Bluebeard and Ghibrid suffered damage in the recent Tiamat battle, hasn’t reinforcements strong enough to more than compensate for that damage been added?

‘Pyrot-Cocri had said it. When three Demon King’s Fragment gather… a power different from before will manifest.’

How this power would present itself was unknown.

However, considering only the Demon King’s Fragment, the situation now mirrored the ‘2nd Human-Demon War’.

‘Thus, we too need power.’

Would the previous numbers suffice? Or a change in members?

Bringing Blaugrunn should suffice. It was something Leeha earnestly desired, with Shin Nara and Lark joining their ranks.

“Over there…”

Leeha suddenly glanced at the now noisy plaza of the Vatican. The murmurs of players and NPCs rekindled the spirit in the eyes of Raphaela, who had been lost in fatigue. As expected, unexpected results did not cause a commotion.

“Yes! Cheka! Let’s do a high-five!”

The moment Raphaela raised her hand, proposing a high-five to Cheka, the Pope’s words faintly reached Leeha.

『―Thus, with the increasing likelihood of the “Physical Substantialism”, it cannot simply be overlooked. Furthermore, due to the arduous journey needed to confirm it, unlike previous cardinals, this time, the unanimous opinion of the diocesan leaders is that a person proficient in exorcism and suitable for adventures is required. I also believe that a significant reform of the “Council of Nine Cardinals” is needed, so I announce the dismissal of Cardinal Pell―』

“Cough, ahem.”

Cheka quietly showed his palm, prompting a smile from Raphaela. She stood up and offered her hand to him. No longer able to hesitate, Cheka joined in the high-five.

Clap―!

『―and declare the appointment of Master Kay, the Exorcism Cardinal, as a new member of the “Council of Nine Cardinals”.』

The first-ever player C9 member was born. As Kijung stood at the Pope’s call, his body emitted a bright white light. It was the unanimous agreement of 50 dioceses, including the Pope! Normally, Sergio would have immediately stood up to rebut. But now?

As Kijung ascended the podium, he seemed enveloped in divine radiance as if receiving a holy calling. Before the unexpected twist and the palpable holiness that surpassed the comprehension of NPCs, they were left agape and speechless.

“Congratulations, Kijung.”

Leeha raised his glass from afar, celebrating Kijung. Finally, all the pieces to obtain the “Key of Jannate” were in place.

“Great! Ha Leeha, Cheka! Let’s go too!”

Raphaela cheerfully patted her hair. With everything settled, a celebration was due, wasn’t it? Bobae’s cheers, echoing through the plaza, reached Leeha’s ears.

“Cheka― Huh? What, what? Ha Leeha! Where’s Cheka?”

“Huh? What?”

When the two turned toward the plaza, Cheka had already vanished. It was the perfect term for a user who appeared as if by magic—gone the moment his purpose was fulfilled, leaving no words to be shared.

“… Honestly, both Alexander and Minis are full of drama.”

“I don’t really want to deny it. Ugh, that Cheka, did he just run off?”

While Leeha sighed with a wry smile, Raphaela was genuinely angry. Just as she was about to raise her crystal ball, she calmed her breathing, looking at the Papal plaza. Finding Cheka could wait until later.

“Ha Leeha, aren’t you going? You should show your face to Kijung.”

Right now, wasn’t making a good impression on Kijung more important?

“Pfft. What’s with making an impression on a cousin? Raphaela, you’ve worked hard all night, so go ahead and come back quickly. I’ve got somewhere else to go.”

“Hmm, alright. I won’t insist twice. See you next time then!”

“He he, yes. See you next time.”

Leeha took out a crystal ball and teleported to Gaza City. His destination was the Bottleneck’s blacksmith shop.

***

Bang, bang, bang, bang―!

The sound of the blacksmiths’ hammers rang faster than ever. Only then did Leeha realize he had overlooked something.

“Ha Leeha is here!”

“I knew it! I had a feeling he’d come if we waited here!”

“Ha Leeha! Ha Leeha!”

The floating populace of Gaza City was still on the brink of exploding. When Leeha didn’t return with any information about the ‘Tiamat Reward’, they had been lurking in various parts of Gaza City.

“Wait, wait! Stop, everyone!”

Leeha stepped back urgently, shaking his head, but the users showed no sign of stopping.

Beyond their gazes, Leeha saw Bottleneck’s annoyed expression.

“What did Ewin say?”

“When are they giving out the Tiamat rewards? There’s a rumor that even users who just participated in the battle or caught more than one Chimera are getting rewards—is that true?”

“Where did you get that blacksmith? I entrusted my 〈Hero-grade〉 item for repair, and somehow its overall durability increased! Is that blacksmith 〈Legendary-grade〉 or higher?”

The barrage of questions was overwhelming, and Leeha couldn’t answer them all.

Pushing them aside to deliver Bottleneck the crucial information would also be challenging.

Most importantly, the situation got more chaotic as the surrounding shops’ users also began to gather, leaving Leeha with no options.

“Jellypong! Three-dimensional maneuver—inside!”

『Myong myong!』

“Ha Leeha, where are you going—?”

“〈Melding Breath〉.”

The only feasible action was to secretly pass on his opinion to Bottleneck and slip away!

Utilizing Jellypong’s tentacles to leap over the users and employing 〈Melding Breath〉, one of the skills of the 〈White Reaper〉, Leeha finally found some leeway.

“What, what was that?”

“It seemed like he used a skill, maybe invisibility?”

“Find him! Everyone, detect Ha Leeha! 〈Detect〉!”

“〈Transparent Detection〉!”

“〈Hawk Eye〉!”

Users frantically used all sorts of skills to track Leeha’s trace, but once he’d used 〈Melding Breath〉, it was impossible.

Despite the occasional weight felt on the shoulders of the users, who were intensely focusing on finding him, nobody suspected a thing.

Thus, Jellypong quietly pushed through the bustling crowd and slipped into Bottleneck’s smithy.

‘Damn, what is all this? Sure, the income must have skyrocketed, but—phew! Bottleneck must be losing it.’

Bottleneck and the Beard Brothers watched the commotion of the users outside with dazed expressions.

Seeing them, Leeha chuckled to himself.

He would’ve liked to mingle immediately, but revealing one of his secrets in front of so many users was impossible.

‘In future battles, this could become the biggest card…’

Leeha tapped Bottleneck on the shoulder.

“Hm? What, uh― huh?”

As Bottleneck stood there bewildered, Leeha started writing letters on the dirt floor of the smithy.

Scratch… scrape…

“Gasp!?”

『In two days, at 11 PM, close the place. ―The Magnificent Lord』

“… You crazy guy! You need to clean up these people!”

The moment Bottleneck raised his head, the letters vanished.

Leeha chuckled quietly, then moved away. It was a place worth visiting at least once to prepare for future events.