Chapter 329

The director called for Jin-Seo. It wasn't unusual, but it wasn't a common occurrence either.

The head of the Northern Crusader Order struggled to deal with Jin-Seo. The Northern Crusader Order had many unpleasant incidents, which led to frequent changes in directors. A past director had died during the battle with Satanist Executive Lust at the Central Priesthood's cathedral, which led to a change in leadership. The subsequent director was then arrested on charges of collusion with the aristocracy, resulting in another change.

Jin-Seo witnessed all these events when she was a member of the Northern Crusader Order. As a result, the total time the current director had spent at the Northern Crusader Order was shorter than Jin-Seo's.

Furthermore, Jin-Seo played a significant role in elevating the Northern Crusader Order to its current status. Rumors circulated among the members that she was the real force behind the scenes, prompting the director to pay special attention to her.

Initially, the director had thoughts of restraining Jin-Seo. However, the more he tried to control her, the narrower his position became. Jin-Seo's influence within the Northern Crusader Order was just that strong.

"Deputy Director, thank you for coming," the director said.

Although Jin-Seo stood with her hands behind her back while the director was seated, the director was the one who seemed uncomfortable. Jin-Seo glanced at the uneasy director, aware that he found her presence discomforting, which also made her uncomfortable. Jin-Seo couldn't figure out how to deal with her awkward boss.

An awkward atmosphere lingered in the air. The director cleared his throat and coughed.

"Um, are you okay? I see you have a patch on your neck."

"I'm fine. The patch is for my neck cramps."

"It must be uncomfortable. I hate it when my neck cramps up."

The director blurted out some words to break the tension. Jin-Seo didn't react because she didn't know how to respond.

The director started to break out in a cold sweat. He decided it would be better to get to the point quickly and end the awkward encounter.

"I called you here because... You know about the event that’s going to take place, right? You know, from the Holy See."

Jin-Seo nodded. "I am aware.”

Amidst the looming threat of a Holy War, the Holy See decided to host an event called the Festival of Light. The event had been scheduled to pray for the victory of the Romanican Church before the Holy War against the Voodoo Cult, and to appoint an inquisitor.

Due to the nature of the event, many prelates were required to participate, making it even harder for the Holy See to cancel the event. Canceling such an important event at a time like this would imply that the Romanican Church was wary of the Voodoo Cult, and the public might think that the Romanican Church was afraid of the Voodoo Cult.

"The times are as such, so it seems like they are deploying a lot of manpower for security as the Voodoo Cult could target this event and launch an attack. So, we’re also considering selecting a few people from our side to send for event security...”

The director paused and glanced at Jin-Seo, but she remained expressionless as usual. She didn't say anything and simply stood there quietly.

“So, what do you think, Deputy Director? I called you here to ask about your opinion.”

“Are you asking about my participation to secure the event?”

The director rambled on. “Yes. Actually, you don’t need to go. But since you are quite famous, they made it sound like it would be... nice if you were there. Yes, that’s how they worded it.”

Jin-Seo nodded. She roughly understood what was being said. Considering Jin-Seo's competence within the Northern Crusader Order and rating as the most outstanding among active crusaders, the Holy See hoped she would participate in event security.

“...”

Jin-Seo fell into deep thought. She recalled what Sun-Woo had said. He had mentioned that there would be a battle soon, one that would herald the beginning of the Holy War. Jin-Seo believed, no, she was certain that this battle would occur during the Festival of Light.

Many prelates would attend the Festival of Light, and skilled combatants would be heavily deployed as security personnel, even if they weren’t prelates. This would be a rare opportunity for the Voodoo Cult. If the Voodoo Cult had planned to attack the Romanican Church, there would not be a better time than to do so during the Festival of Light.

In that case, Jin-Seo had to reject the director's proposal. Sun-Woo had told Jin-Seo not to participate in the upcoming battle. If Jin-Seo accepted the director's proposal, she would inevitably have to participate in the battle.

"I will consider it. Who else besides me is going from the Northern Crusader Order?" Jin-Seo asked.

After thinking for a moment, the director said, "This time, two apprentice crusaders have been assigned for dispatch training in the Northern Crusader Order... Oh, Crusader Simon will be there as well. I understand that you are acquainted with him. Is that right?"

"We are acquaintances, yes."

"Yes, they will be the ones we will likely deploy. I haven't asked everyone yet, so I need to inquire further. Anyway, I hope you consider the offer."

Jin-Seo stood in silence. She suddenly stopped as she was quietly leaving the director's office.

"Deputy Director? What’s wrong?"

"..."

Jin-Seo did not respond. She was contemplating whether to talk about Sun-Woo.

Sun-Woo had said that there would be a battle soon. In Jin-Seo's opinion, that battle would occur at the Festival of Light. If she had told the Northern Crusader Order director about this fact, the damage caused by the fight, or, more precisely, to the Romanican Church, would have been minimized.

However, how should she phrase herself if she were to talk about it? Would the director believe her if she said Sun-Woo had come to her house and said it himself? Just the fact Jin-Seo met Sun-Woo could lead to disciplinary action or even punishment.

Above all, there was no guarantee that the 'upcoming battle' Sun-Woo mentioned would occur during the Festival of Light. If she reported this fact to the director and the battle did not happen during the event, Jin-Seo's situation would have become difficult in many ways, and her work would become complicated.

"No, I’ll see myself out."

"Uh, uh. Okay."

Jin-Seo decided not to say anything. At first, she couldn't understand why Sun-Woo had vaguely mentioned the 'upcoming battle,' but now she understood.

Sun-Woo had set up a trap to prevent Jin-Seo from reporting this fact to others. Suddenly, Jin-Seo became angry that Sun-Woo had calculated her actions amidst all this.

Jin-Seo stopped in her tracks, suppressed her anger for a while, and turned her head toward the director. Her face was still stiff with rage.

"Director, I’ll participate in the mission," Jin-Seo said with a stern face.

Jin-Seo's decision was sudden.

The director had a slightly puzzled expression. "Ah, that... You mean participating in the event security mission?"

"Yes." Jin-Seo nodded enthusiastically.

A smile finally appeared on the awkwardly stiff face of the director.

"Oh, right! Got it. I will write your name down. We will announce the detailed schedule later... Anyway, thank you, Deputy Director."

"Yes, I will be making my leave," Jin-Seo said as she left the director's office.

"What did the director say?" Simon asked Jin-Seo the moment she left the director’s office.

However, Jin-Seo was not very enthusiastic about seeing him.

"We were talking about the security mission for this event."

"Ah, they asked me about that too. Are you participating, Deputy Director?"

Jin-Seo nodded. "Yes."

Simon's expression brightened a bit. "They said that the two apprentice crusaders here for dispatch training will also participate in the mission. Would you like to meet them?"

"Not really," Jin-Seo replied indifferently.

The apprentice crusaders participating in dispatch training at the Northern Crusader Order from Florence Academy were known to be outstanding students. The crusaders of the Northern Crusader Order showed great interest in these highly praised apprentices, but not Jin-Seo.

Her experience at Florence Academy was slightly different from that of the current students. During Jin-Seo’s time, there were many incidents at the academy. Some students had been involved in incidents and even died. Many students dropped out, and as a result, her generation of students had been fruitful, releasing many talented individuals.

However, in Jin-Seo's opinion, the current Florence Academy had lowered its standards too much. With the frequency of demons and demonic beast appearances noticeably decreasing, people no longer wanted clergymen to be as strong as before. It didn’t help that the clergymen could not find a reason to become stronger either. In Jin-Seo's view, that might be why the students currently enrolled at F.A. were too weak and complacent. Therefore, she did not show much interest in the apprentice crusaders.

"Come on. We’re going to end up on a mission together later anyway. Wouldn't it be better to see each other's faces once?"

"Just because we see each other..." Jin-Seo swallowed her remaining words.

The phrase 'end up on a mission together' bothered her. This mission would involve Jin-Seo, Simon, and two apprentice crusaders. Sun-Woo had warned that there would be a battle, and it could take place during this mission. Therefore, there was a possibility that the clueless apprentice crusaders would be dragged into the battle.

"You’re right. It’d be better to meet them prior to the mission," Jin-Seo said.

In that case, seeing each other's faces seemed better after all.

"Right. I will bring them here now. One said they applied here because they are your fan, Deputy Director."

"No, bring them... bring them to the training ground instead. That sounds like a better idea."

"Ah, okay. Understood," Simon said as he went to bring the two apprentice crusaders.

Jin-Seo headed to the training ground.

***

Jin-Seo met the two apprentice crusaders at the training ground, one boy and one girl.

The boy was quite tall. His considerable physique suggested that he had spent numerous hours at the gym. Although it was not as impressive as Dae-Man, Dae-Man would have approved of the boy’s physique. His main weapon was a sword. He was the one who had applied to the Northern Crusader Order because he was a fan of Jin-Seo.

The girl was short and petite. She mainly handled ranged weapons like guns or bows. Perhaps that was why her eyes were lively.

"...”

Jin-Seo stared intently at the two apprentices. They stood with their arms behind their backs, expressions and postures taught and tense. The training grounds were dead silent—neither Jin-Seo nor the two apprentice crusaders said a word.

“Ah, I should have introduced myself first. I, this is―”

“It's fine.” Jin-Seo interrupted Simon as he was about to introduce the two people.

She climbed the training ground's sparring cage with a sword in her hand. The two apprentice crusaders looked puzzled as they watched Jin-Seo climb into the cage without saying a word to them. Simon had a foreboding feeling for some reason.

Jin-Seo pointed to the two apprentice crusaders. “Come up, both of you.”

Simon's gut feeling had been right. He clenched his eyes shut.