Chapter 98: The Vilin is a Good Thing

  “As a loyal guardian knight of the sanctuary, you have fulfilled your mission admirably.”

  The thin man spoke slowly, while the other two still showed no iion of speaking.

  “The cil has already reviewed Archbishop Carl’s report. You performed excellently during the Dark Marsh i. Not only did you uhe cultists’ spiracy right away, but you also promptly notified the sanctuary and foiled their pn to reopees of Hell. A’s not fet, this also involved Bel…”

  At this point, the thin man’s tone softened, ever so slightly.

  “…Everything you did will be remembered by the Order.”

  “It’s my honor.”

  Hearing the thin man’s words, Alex couldn’t help but smile inwardly. This was exactly the oute he had hoped for. Reality isn’t like a game, where you simply plete a mission. In real life, you have to carefully manage your identity and political standing. Politics is an unavoidable aspect of human life, whether you’re in a b, an office, or a boardroom. Knowing how to navigate social dynamics is key to climbing the ranks. If you ck those skills, then you’d better have an exceptional talent to pensate for it.

  The reason Alex didn’t just activate his soulstone and charge into the battle artly out of caution, and partly because he had to sider the internal dynamics of the sanctuary. Even though he was teically a part of the sanctuary, he had been missing for so long. If he wao return without fag too much scrutiny or suppression, he o win over some allies. Stone was obviously his backer, but Alex k wouldn’t be wise to rely solely on one person.

  This was also why he chose to wait for reinforts. The more dangerous the mission, the greater the reward upon pletion. It’s just like tag a key teical proje a pany—while the task is difficult, once you succeed, any petent leader would reize the tribution and reward the department accly.

  And based oone of Fina and the other sanctuary warriors, Alex could tell that reopening the Gates of Hell was a major and terrifyi, oh far-reag sequences. Su event, by all logic, should be handled uhe sanctuary’s leadership. That’s another reason why Alex refrained from taking the situation into his own hands and waited for backup.

  After all, in situations like these, sharing both the glory and the risks is the most sensible approach.

  Had Alex gone ahead a with everything on his own, people would have still credited him due to his position as a guardian knight. But the reition would have been limited to him personally. To be ho, Alex wasn’t in a position to act alone just yet.

  It’s like trying to apprehend a criminal—if you’re just an ordinary civilian and you attempt to catch a fugitive, people might call it brave even if you fail. But if you’re a police officer, even a rookie, charging in recklessly without calling for backup would surely lead to criticism, regardless of whether you succeed or not. They’d ask why you didn’t tact your superiors, why you acted on your own, or why you didn’t sider the safety of your surroundings.

  Alex’s current role within the sanctuary was simir to that of a rookie cop. No matter how petent you are, you’re expected to tact the anization first ahem decide how to proceed.

  This way, if the mission succeeds, everyone bes, and no one sees you as someorying to hog the glory. If it fails, you won’t have to shoulder all the bme alone.

  Collective deaking is invaluable. If things g, you alass the responsibility up the . After all, what’s the point of having a board of directors if not for this?

  This is why the northern sanctuary had a favorable attitude toward Alex at the moment. Acc to Archbishop Carl’s report, Alex had indeed dohe bulk of the work, but the sanctuary had also tributed in the fierce battle. Even though there were only about twenty Pegasus knights, they had effectively ralized the enemy’s aerial forces. Based on their tributions, they could reasonably cim forty pert of the credit.

  As a result, their end-of-year performance evaluations would surely go up, and the northern sanctuary would earn snition among their peers.

  If Alex had handled everything on his own, the northern sanctuary might not have openly pined, but they would have definitely felt resentful deep down. They might think, “What, you handled everything by yourself? Are we just useless?” And the ime they stepped out, people might say, “I didn’t realize the northern sanctuary was full of inpetents, having to rely on a guardian knight—oh, an apprentio less—to save you all. How embarrassing.”

  In that case, Alex would not only miss out on any bes but also earn the enmity of the entire northern sanctuary—definitely a lose-lose situation.

  But now... his reputation in the northern sanctuary was likely, at the very least, friendly, if not respectful.

  “I assume you’re already aware that, due to your ret aplishments, the cil has awarded you the title of great padin. And this time, with your efforts in safeguarding the lory in the Dark Marsh, well…”

  The thin man paused, clearly struggling to find the right words. Alex uood why the ma flicted. Teically speaking, Alex’s promotion to great padin had already been his reward, but the problem was that the cil had treated him as a martyr. This made it tricky to reward him again. His current rank and abilities weren’t quite enough to warrant making him a padin ander, but the fact that Alex had defeated the six-armed demon lord Bel aroyed the Hell Gate formation was an undeniable achievement. With so many withe cil couldn’t ignore his tributions.

  If they didn’t offer him any additional rewards, it would surely raise s among the others.

  But the reward itself posed a challenge. If the reward was too small, people would think that after all Alex’s hard work, the sanctuary was merely throwing scraps at him, leaving him disheartened. If the reward was too generous, given Alex’s age and limited experie could stir rese among the veterans. So the best solution was…

  “After discussing it, the cil has decided that the sanctuary is willing to meet any of your requests. You may ask for whatever you desire. As the guardians and protectors of order, we are ingy with rewards.”

  See, they’ve passed the responsibility right bae.

  Upon hearing this, Alex raised an eyebrow. As expected, iating rewards is the same everywhere. Sure, the cil made it sound grand, g he could ask for anything. But if Alex made some unreasonable demands, it would create trouble. Even if the sanctuary agreed to his ditions, his reputation might suffer. Oher hand, if Alex requested something simple and manageable, the sanctuary wouldn’t be stingy. They might even publicly praise his modesty and sense of duty, subtly implying, “It’s not that we didn’t want to give him more, it’s just that he didn’t ask for anything grander.”

  That way, they’d ly absolve themselves of any responsibility.

  Damn, isn’t this just corporate p and bargaining? I might not be profit in magic or swordsmanship yet, but in this area... this is my field!

  Thinking this, Alex allowed a hint of hesitation and plexity to show on his face. After a moment of ption, he pced his right hand over his chest and bowed slightly to the three.

  “I am deeply grateful for the sanctuary’s kindness. In truth, I merely did a small part and feel unworthy of such praise. However, there is one small request I would like to make, if it’s not too much trouble…”

  “Please, go ahead.”

  “Well…”

  Alex hesitated briefly, adopting a slightly awkward expression.

  “If possible, I would like to request some spirit crystals…”

  “Spirit crystals?”

  The three archbishops were visibly taken aback by Alex’s request. They clearly hadn’t expected him to ask for something like that. Alex lowered his head, a faint smile creeping onto his lips.

  Perfect. I’ve made my demand. How much you give me now depends on your own sce.

  After all, “some” is a very ambiguous term. A pound is some, a kilogram is some, a ton is some… how much are you fortable giving?

  “This is certainly no problem.”

  At that moment, the round-faced bishop finally spoke. He was still smiling at Alex, though his tone carried a slightly odd uone.

  “But I’m curious, Knight Alex, what do you need spirit crystals for? Are you pnning to study magic?”

  Here we go.

  Hearing the subtle mockery in the man’s voice, Alex finally felt relieved.

  Indeed, a stage without a vilin to py the opposition isn’t much of a performa all...

  (End of the chapter)

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