Chapter 92: Hot Off the Heels
I told Faye to not make this a big deal once we get back to the convent. If the nuns learn that we are planning to leave them as soon as possible, who knows what kind of trouble I will get myself into.
The rest of the day went by quickly. I informed Cisca of how the exploit went. I couldn't tell whether she was proud of me or disappointed in me. Either way, she agreed with me that money and status are the most important things as of right now.
She said that the current plan is to explore the high circles and form alliances within the upper echelon. When I have built a good follower base, I can begin establishing a new governing body separate from the Theocracy and use my superior technology to draw citizens of Terradivina over.
It's a rather sinister plan, but at least it's better than causing a bloodbath and overthrowing the Church through brute force, which I should be able to do with no problem.
The next day, we went to the shrine without Owen again. He said he had some stuff to take care of and might be busy for the whole week, which is fine with me since he is one of the few people that actually know my name within the shrine. It doesn't sound like a sensible reason, but things have changed.
Just like that strange woman behind the submission office said, my and Lohikaarmi's names are now on the leaderboard, with "D- TO A-" written beside them.
People are freaking out. They see that the yams mission disappeared the same day as that massive jump happened. They put two and two together and figured out that a rank D- crusader must have completed the task that rank A- crusaders deemed to be impossible.
Of course, we are new to the shrine, so nobody recognized those names. There are requests flying around to meet with these "mythical" D- crusaders.
As we are standing next to the mission board overhearing the crowd's chattering, I ask Faye, "Can you be the one to accept missions? I don't feel like saying our names out loud is a smart move anymore."
"Sure, do you already have a mission in mind?" She says.
"There was that lynx one that you really wanted to do, right?"
"Yeah, but now our party rank is A-, I think we can do missions with higher ranks."
"Right."
I scan the A- board, and most of the missions are killing ogre generals or retrieving materials that can only be found within the dangerous part of the Pitted Woods, which apparently also entail killing ogre generals. Their rewards are around a few silver slabs, and a couple of them go over a gold coin.
"Do you think we can actually complete these tasks?" Faye asks. "That general you fought before looked pretty tough."
Indeed it was. My pulse pistol couldn't even penetrate its skin, but now that I have the blessing of the Goddess's Apostle, the pistol is no longer my only weapon, but even then, it's not like I need to do anything myself.
"They shouldn't be that hard. Astra, how are we supposed to turn these missions in?" I ask.
"I think you have to bring in their heads as proof," she says.
Faye looks visibly uncomfortable at that statement. That reminds me, I have seen crusaders walking around the submission office with cloth bags. They must be the heads of the creatures they slew. There was also that one person who held a dragon head in the open, whose intention I can only assume to be showing off.
"Do we have to do things that violent to make money?" Faye asks.
"Yes, but we don't," I say.
"What do you mean?"
"Krissy is a lazy bastard. That's what he means," Astra says.
Faye smiles. "Oh, I don't think so. Your brother is amazing. He found us those yams, didn't he?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"You should be happier, Astra."
"Sorry, I just can't be happy for someone as big of a lazy bastard as Krissy."
"Watch your mouth," I say.
Astra sticks her tongue out at me.
I ignore the girl and turn behind me.
"Lohikaarmi. Are there any dragons around the Holy Capital?" I ask.
"Very few, Master, but I have seen dragons in the Cimavetta Highlands," she says.
"Can you give orders to those dragons?"
"Yes, Master."
"Can they kill ogre generals?"
"Easily."
"Great. Faye, accept the missions of the highest rewards, one for each of us. We will get Lohikaarmi's subordinates to complete them."
"Are we allowed to do that?" Faye asks.
"See, that's what I was talking about," Astra says.
"Who cares," I say, "Technically, we will still be completing these missions, since all that's really happening is just one of our party members using her resources to our advantage, right?"
"I guess…"
"Don't worry about it, Faye. It's not like our goal is trying to become crusaders anyway. We are only using this as a way to climb the social ladder so what can achieve our ultimate goal," I say.
She nods and joins the line in front of the reception desk to accept the missions.
"Hey, Kris. Don't get too cocky, okay?" Astra says with a smile, " You still have that date with Alice. You don't want to give off the wrong impression."
"Ah, crap, I forgot about that. When is it?" I ask.
"Tomorrow."
"So soon? You can't be serious."
"You said you wanted to get with the high circles, right? This your chance." She nudges me with her elbow.
"That's clearly not what I meant by getting with."
A few minutes later, Faye comes back to us with the mission to kill one ogre commander and two packs of ogre generals. They are A+ and A missions, which are still within the range of our abilities to accept. She said that the reception lady was very surprised when she told her she wanted those missions.
I can't lie, I would be very surprised, too. Faye looks like the kind of girl who wouldn't even hurt a mosquito, let alone obliterate packs of monsters.
We rode our carriage out far into the outskirts of the city to a point where the walls have disappeared under the horizon. Like always, it's a beautiful day. There is not a cloud within sight. The endless meadow dance to the motion of the gentle breeze.
In the distance, I can see the faint outlines of the Cimavetta Highlands against the blue haze of the atmosphere.
"Lohikaarmi, I leave the rest to you," I say as I help the girls get out of the cabin.
"Yes, Master."
She unties the string around her chest, and her tightly-packed… assets come spilling out.
Faye yelps.
"Ahem, give us a warning next time, will you?" I say while looking away.
"Yes, Master."
A white glow covers the land, and a second later, she is off.
"What do we do now?" Faye asks.
"We wait."
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone