The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 354: Companion (2)

As Kai was exchanging messages with Yoo Ha-Rin, Kal Rashya circled around him like a puppy.

It was too distracting, so Kai finally gave in and asked, “Um... Rashya? Is there something you would like to say?”

Her expression lit up immediately as if she had been waiting for that.

Nodding, she said, “Yes. If it’s not too much trouble, would you be able to bring Ha-Rin here? I’d like to talk to her.”

“That’s no problem at all.”

He recalled that unlike Helik, Kal Rashya didn’t have much divine power left. Helik, being the most prominent god on the continent, had more than enough divine power. Thanks to that, she could casually give cheat-level skills like Shadow Shift.

But Rashya, forgotten by humans, can’t do that.

Even gods couldn’t escape the inequality of wealth. Thus, Kai had no choice but to work a little harder.

“Once Ha-Rin starts becoming more active, the Church of Kal Rashya is going to be revived like the Solarian Church in no time.”

“Just hearing that makes me happy,” Rashya smiled warmly, like a blossom in spring.

“Then I’ll be back shortly,” Kai replied.

When he asked Ha-Rin where she was, her response came within three seconds, and Kai used Shadow Shift to teleport to a nearby town.

“Summon Mimic.”

There was no need to walk all the way to where she was since Mimic in wyvern form was faster than any other transport method, except for Harley.

Mimic will draw less attention than Harley.

Soaring across the plains in an instant, Kai spotted Ha-Rin waving from below. She was playfully arranging stones into an S.O.S. signal.

“Over here! Here!”

“Heh,” Kai chuckled unconsciously and gently stroked Mimic’s neck. “Let’s head down.”

After landing on the ground and parking Mimic properly, he approached her and greeted, “It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Sorry, my volunteer hours got changed because of the quest.”

“Oh don't worry about that. Things happen.”

“But I’ll be able to show up from now on. No, I will show up.”

“That’s good to hear.”

After their light chat, Ha-Rin asked a little nervously, “So... why did you suddenly want to see me?”

Lowering her head slightly, she looked up at Kai like a cat, her eyes sparkling like stars. Her beauty made Kai stare for a moment before snapping back to his senses.

“Actually, it wasn’t me who needed to see you. Kal Rashya wanted to speak with you.”

“Oh... I see.” She seemed cheerful, but suddenly, her expression turned sullen. “So, you weren’t going to come otherwise, and you’re just here on an errand?”

“Hmm? I guess so.”

When Kai nodded without thinking, Ha-Rin brushed past him coldly.

“Let’s go, Han Jung-Woo.”

“Uh, okay...”

Kai tilted his head at her suddenly cold attitude and the formal way she addressed him.

That’s strange. We’ve been volunteering together and going out for meals. I thought we were pretty close.

But today, she felt oddly distant.

“Alright... here we go then.” After unsummoning Mimic, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “Shadow Shift.”

Upon returning to the Celestial Garden, they were greeted by the two girl gods.

“Ha-Rin!”

“Oh, Kal Rashya.” Ha-Rin bowed politely with a warm smile. “I heard you were looking for me from this gentleman here.”

“Yes, I did...”

Rashya looked back and forth between Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin, then suddenly let out an unknown gasp of realization. She then wore a mischievous smile, took Yoo Ha-Rin’s hand, and led her away toward a corner of the garden.

Now left awkwardly alone like an abandoned duck egg, Kai was soon approached by Helik.

“Tsk tsk tsk. Foolish.”

Clicking her tongue, Helik clasped her hands behind her back like a granny. Even her steps had a waddle.

“Kai, after today, I can say you still have a long way to go.”

“Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”

“You truly know nothing about women. That simply won’t do. You’d better learn.”

Leaving behind those incomprehensible words, she happily ran over to Rashya and Ha-Rin.

“When did you first meet?”

“Oh my, so they go on dates every week...?”

“Mmhmm. Kai can be surprisingly dense sometimes.”

The three of them chatted away happily.

Just as Kai tried to inch closer out of curiosity, three pairs of eyes shot sharp glances at him simultaneously.

“Han Jung-Woo, I’m sorry, but could you go wait over there for a bit?”

“We’re sorry but...”

“This is girl talk time, Kai.”

Rejected from the group, Kai crouched on the ground and waited for their conversation to end.

***

“Are you all finished?” Kai asked in a sulky tone.

Surprisingly, it was Yoo Ha-Rin who replied, “Sorry, we talked for too long, didn’t we?”

She spoke with a bright smile, as if she had never been grumpy at all.

Kai responded in a somewhat bitter voice, “Well... it’s fine... I understand.”

From below, Helik waved her hand to grab his attention. “More importantly, Kai. Listen up.”

“What is it?”

“You remember how Kal Rashya’s temple was taken over by the Church of Muldine?”

“Of course. But I thought Ha-Rin said they’re gone now?”

“Yes. But it seems she uncovered some pretty important information while fighting them.”

“Important information?”

When Kai’s eyes lit up, Yoo Ha-Rin nodded. “Have you ever heard of the Dark Zone?”

“The Dark Zone...”

That was the region north of the Ogon Empire and the Caldaren Empire; in other words, it was the northern zone of the continent. A mysterious land that had, so far, repelled the footsteps of both players and NPCs. Because of that, it had become the main stage for the highest-ranking players. Even just selling maps made during exploration there could earn a decent profit.

But it’s also that dangerous.

It was home to monsters with a minimum level of 400.

“I know it well. But what about that place?”

“The Church of Muldine was using the forgotten temple as a base, and the monsters they used as guardians... they were all chimeras. And the source of those chimeras were...”

“The Dark Zone. They came from that place?” Kai asked.

“Exactly. And according to my own investigation, the Church of Muldine was regularly importing them through a teleport gate.”

“Meaning, there’s at least one main branch or base of the Church of Muldine in the Dark Zone.” Having reached a clear conclusion, Kai looked at Yoo Ha-Rin. “It sounds like something you should report to the Darkness Hunters.”

“Yes, I was planning to do that. But actually... could I ask a favor?”

“A favor?”

Swallowing hard, Ha-Rin asked, “W-would you... come with me? To the Dark Zone...”

“Hmm.”

Kai fell into thought.

If the Church of Muldine really does have a base there, it makes sense to go. Sending Ha-Rin alone is risky, and more importantly...

If he was lucky, he might even find Atroc’s soul vessel there. Of course, Tardal, the leader of the Darkness Hunters, had probably already started researching that.

“Alright. But there are a few things I need to take care of first.”

“It’s not urgent, so that’s totally fine. Would about a week be enough time to prepare? I just finished my job class change, so I need to visit the temple to learn new skills and get new gear as well.”

Come to think of it, she could now equip paladin gear and learn specialized skills as well.

I should stop by the temple too after enrolling these two.

He intended to check whether there were any new skills the Solaric Cleric could learn. It was what one would call pre-departure preparation.

“Would it be possible for you to drop me off in the capital? It’s easier to find gear over there...”

“Of course.”

After taking Yoo Ha-Rin to Rayark, the capital of Rashion, Kai promised to meet again in a week.

“I’ll contact you then.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting!”

Wearing a smile that made people feel better just by looking at it, she disappeared into the crowd, her silver hair shimmering.

Things are about to get busy.

After returning to the Celestial Garden, Kai brought the two girls to Arkan Academy.

As Kai dropped by the principal’s office unannounced, High Priest Albert lowered his reading glasses and greeted him, “Oh. Kai. What brings you here at this time...?”

“Haha, how have you been?”

"I'm doing quite well. Though, somehow, it feels like teaching is even more exhausting than being the High Priest."

After making a joke, Albert gestured for them to sit and served tea. For Helik and Rashya, he effortlessly displayed his attentiveness by bringing out refreshing orange juice instead.

“You’ve brought two lovely young ladies with you today. May I ask for an introduction?”

“Girls, time to introduce yourselves.”

One nice thing about bringing the cute goddesses down to the human realm was that he could speak informally without issue. Interestingly, neither Helik nor Rashya seemed to mind at all.

“Hello, my name is Rashya.”

“Haha. It’s nice to meet you. I am Albert, Pilgrim of the Sun.”

“Please feel free to speak casually with me.”

“May I?” With the gentle smile of a kindly grandfather, he looked at the girls sipping their orange juice and beamed. “And this one is...?”

“M-my name is uh... H-Helit!”

Perhaps because she bit her tongue, Helik’s pronunciation came out all wrong.

“Hmm? Helik...?”

As Albert tilted his head and Helik looked at Kai with teary eyes, he jumped in, “Looks like she bit her tongue. Helizabeth. Her name is Helizabeth.” ƒreewebɳovel.com

“Ahh... her parents must be followers of the Solarian Church. That’s a common name for daughters. Hehe.”

“Right, exactly.”

As Kai wrapped up his smooth explanation, Albert quietly observed the two girls, then admired, “Oh, these two give off such pure energy. Especially Helizabeth...”

His gaze slightly wavered as he looked at her.

Then, furrowing his brows a bit, he cautiously said, “For some reason, I feel a strange sense of familiarity... Well, it must be my imagination.”

Startled, Helik let out a hiccup. Her face was full of fear, clearly nervous that her identity might be exposed.

Thus, Kai jumped into action. “Haha, I’m sure you haven’t met her before. She's had poor health and stayed home all her life.”

“Oh dear... I’ll personally pray that Helik’s blessing may heal her.”

And so, Albert closed his eyes, folded his hands, and began praying. What a bizarre scene of Albert praying to Helik, for Helik.

While he prayed, Kai signaled to Helik to quickly drink her juice as that was the best way to stop her hiccups.

Thankfully, after finishing the drink in one go, her hiccups stopped.

Then finishing the prayer, Albert brought out some snacks for the girls and asked Kai, “So then, what brings you here today?”

“I’d like to enroll these two in the academy.”

“These two...?” Looking at the girls’ clearly young appearances, Albert tilted his head. “Forgive me, but may I ask how old they are...?”

“Uh... well, Helik...zabeth and Rashya are both fourteen.”

“I see. They must just be a bit petite for their age,” Albert nodded understandingly. “However, we’re currently not accepting new students, so they’ll need to join existing classes. But that might create a gap in learning...”

“You don’t need to worry about that part.” Kai stroked the girls’ heads as if he were their enthusiastic parent. “They just haven’t tried yet, but once they do, they’re really good.”

“Oh... I-I see,” Albert smiled awkwardly and nodded.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺