"Put your clothes on—now!"
Lucia's sharp warning cut through the air. She was acutely aware that, at this moment, she stood before him in the identity of the Holy Light's Pope.
If she kept fooling around with him like this and someone from the Church happened to see… the consequences would be troublesome.
After all, they were still aboard the Sun Chariot, and outside, it was surrounded by ranks of the Church's sacred guards.
"Alright, alright~"
Kurose Akira chuckled as he slipped his clothes back on. He understood the timing as well—this wasn't the moment for indulgence. That would have to wait until the Pope reverted to being Lucia again.
As for the exchange between the two, the Elf Queen merely watched from the side with a gentle smile, offering no comment.
Once Akira had dressed, the three of them stepped out of the Sun Chariot.
The battlefield was already nearing its end. Akira strode forward, his gaze turning toward his guild members.
Furi and Flora had been waiting anxiously. The moment they saw him emerge unharmed, they let out a breath of relief, their faces lighting up with smiles.
"Guild Master! You're okay—thank goodness!!"
The two little elves rushed into his arms, their eyes red and glistening as they clung to him.
"Sorry for making you worry."
Akira smiled, gently patting their heads before shifting his gaze to the right.
Ivsha and Loserine had returned—but there was no sign of Canlutia.
"Where's Canlutia?"
He frowned slightly and turned to Ivsha.
"The vampire lady…"
Ivsha hesitated for a moment, then produced a small box from seemingly nowhere.
"She and the other vampire lady are… inside this box."
Akira's expression darkened the moment he saw it—especially the playful illustration on the lid: Canlutia flashing a V-sign with her tongue sticking out.
To be fair, it was a mischievous tongue-out, not… anything else.
"…Why is she in a box?"
Akira pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to comprehend what that idiot vampire progenitor had been doing while he was dealing with the divine blood.
"Um…"
Ivsha hesitated again before answering slowly,
"We're not entirely sure either. But when she got inside, she said, 'Feels just like home.' So… maybe the box is her home?"
"?"
Akira froze.
For some reason, that sentence carried an unsettling level of… abstract nonsense.
After giving the box one more look, he quietly stowed it away in his inventory.
Whatever Canlutia was thinking, she was still a member of his guild. As the Guild Master, he had a responsibility to deal with her.
With that settled, Akira turned his attention back to Lucia and the Elf Queen.
By now, the battle was effectively over. The undead that had surged from beneath the earth had been almost entirely eradicated. Only a handful remained, desperately resisting under the relentless pursuit of the elves.
Elena approached the Elf Queen and reported the situation, confirming the conclusion of the war.
But Akira noticed something—Elena leaned in and whispered something into the Queen's ear. At the same time, one of Lucia's subordinates delivered a confidential report.
That was enough for him to understand.
Something was hidden beneath the Undead Mountain Range.
Still, there was no need for him to dig into it right now. Once they returned, he could just ask Lucia directly.
After exchanging a few words with the Elf Queen, Lucia relayed the victory to her forces and prepared to lead them back to the Holy Light Church.
Before she left, the Elf Queen stepped closer and softly said,
"Tonight, a grand victory banquet will be held in the Elven Kingdom. Lady Lucia… I hope you will attend."
"…"
Lucia fell silent for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
She stepped into the Sun Chariot and, before closing the door, issued her command:
"Return."
"As you command!"
Escorted by the Church's army, the Sun Chariot departed the battlefield in a grand procession.
After watching Lucia leave, the Elf Queen turned to Akira with a warm smile.
"Shall we return as well?"
"Sure."
Akira nodded and led his guild members back.
However, Elena was left behind, assigned to lead a unit in cleaning up the battlefield.
"Wait—Your Majesty! Shouldn't this be Yulusi's job?" Elena protested. "Isn't my duty to attend to you?"
The Elf Queen merely glanced at her coldly and replied in an even tone,
"Mistakes deserve punishment. Wouldn't you agree, Elena?"
"I…"
Elena had no rebuttal. She could only accept it in silence and hurry off to carry out her task.
That exchange left Akira puzzled.
Could it be… the Elf Queen knew about what had happened between him and Elena in Medusa Queen's domain?
No way… right?
He tentatively tried to speak up for Elena.
"Did Elena really do anything wrong? Why punish her?"
The Elf Queen simply smiled.
"I know Guild Master Akira has a… compassionate nature. But this is a punishment she must accept. I'd prefer if you didn't interfere."
"Compassionate…"
Akira blinked. That was a strange way to describe him.
Clearly, he wasn't going to change her mind.
Well—Elena would just have to endure it. Fortunately, it didn't seem like the punishment was related to that incident…
"Let's go."
The Elf Queen boarded a leaf vessel, leading the elven forces back to the kingdom.
Akira and the members of Puff Fantasy naturally followed—after all, a grand celebration awaited them that evening.
During the return journey, Akira glanced at the players lingering at the edge of the battlefield.
Their gazes… seemed fixed on him.
He ignored them.
Instead, he looked at the Elf Queen seated beside him and allowed himself a satisfied smile.
With this, he had successfully completed the C+ Guild Promotion Quest.
It was time to level up his guild.
—
Soon, the leaf vessel carried them back to the Elven Kingdom.
"Guild Master Akira, please wait here for a while. The banquet preparations will take a few hours."
"Understood, Your Majesty."
After escorting him to a palace, the Elf Queen departed.
With the war over, she had countless matters to handle personally. As for the banquet, it had been entrusted entirely to Beialela.
Furi and Flora also left with the Queen to help their mother prepare.
"See you tonight, Guild Master~"
"Mm."
Before long, only Ivsha, Loserine, the Dark Elf Queen, and Mare Rhein remained at Akira's side.
"This war turned out much easier than expected. The Elven Kingdom really is one of the strongest powers in the world."
Akira glanced at the Dark Elf Queen and smiled.
"That's because she called Paslo to assist," the Dark Elf Queen replied coolly, seated elegantly on a jade chair. "If she had relied on her own strength alone, dealing with the Undead Lord would have been far more troublesome."
"And besides…"
Her gaze shifted to Akira.
"You resolved the most dangerous problem for her. You nearly paid with your life."
"It wasn't that serious."
Akira shook his head. The divine blood hadn't gone that far.
More importantly, he trusted Lucia. He believed she wouldn't let anything happen to him.
"But if you had suffered irreversible damage… would it still have been worth it?"
The Dark Elf Queen's voice suddenly turned serious.
She knew full well—without Akira's intervention, the Elven Kingdom would have suffered massive casualties.
Victory, perhaps.
But tens of thousands of elves would have died.
Instead, losses had been reduced to mere thousands—and most of those were injuries.
"Of course it was worth it."
Akira answered without hesitation.
The Dark Elf Queen's gaze flickered, as if she had no words to counter him.
As the embodiment of the Elf Queen's darker will, she had always devoted herself to the kingdom in her own way—simply opposing the Queen by nature.
And Akira… had somehow become the perfect mediator between them.
"…Sigh."
She let out a soft breath.
"This war might not truly be over. The Undead Lord was only a pawn. She's likely already realized that."
"I know."
Akira nodded. He was well aware there was a master behind the Undead Lord.
The problem was—they had almost no information about that master.
"As long as you understand."
The Dark Elf Queen rose slowly.
"I have something to take care of. I'll return by tonight."
"Where are you going?" Akira raised a brow. "If you're acting alone, shouldn't you report it to me?"
"…"
After a brief hesitation, she answered softly,
"I'm going to see Paslo. She must have overexerted herself helping the Elf Queen."
"I'll come with you."
"No need."
She shook her head.
"I want to see her alone. You know I can't appear before the elves in my current state…"
"Alright, alright—no need to explain."
Akira cut her off with a wave.
"Go. Just be back before the banquet starts."
"…Understood."
She nodded slightly, her body dissolving into black mist before vanishing.
Akira rubbed the tip of his nose and shifted his focus.
There was no need to keep the Dark Elf Queen tethered like a pet.
As her master, he could already sense her location and condition at any time—a connection even more intimate than the guild interface.
Something akin to a soul-bound master-servant contract.
Probably.
—
He opened the World Channel.
Players everywhere were discussing the war in the Elven Kingdom. Some were even speculating about the identity of the player who participated—guessing it was an A-rank guild, or one on the verge of reaching it.
After a brief glance, Akira lost interest.
He submitted his promotion quest.
[Special Quest: Undead Calamity! (Completed!)][Rewards: +50 Gold, +500,000 EXP][Congratulations! Your guild has been promoted to C+ rank. You have obtained a Purple Adventurer Recruitment Scroll.][You have gained one Ultra-Rare Additional Trait!]
"An ultra-rare trait…"
Akira recalled the one he obtained after defeating Rodra: [Super Crystal Turtle].
He hadn't decided who to assign it to yet.
Maybe… Loserine?
Enhancing her crystal construct body even further?
With that thought, he opened the new trait selection.
[Please choose one of the following ultra-rare additional traits! (Cannot refresh!)][Unreliable Prophet][Lewd-Minded Degenerate][Sanctified Judgment Pact]
"…?"
Akira stared at the options, immediately struck by decision paralysis.
None of them seemed particularly suitable for his current guild members.
He glanced at his existing trait pool—[Emptiness] and [Widow]…
"…Yeah, no idea how to combine these."
A "Lewd-Minded Empty Widow" didn't exactly sound like a normal adventurer.
Even among gacha chaos, that felt like pushing it.
"Eliminate that one first…"
That left two.
The Prophet trait sounded useful—but Unreliable?
Did that really qualify as ultra-rare?
Which left the completely ambiguous [Sanctified Judgment Pact].
"Sanctified Judgment…"
For some reason, it made him think of the Church's Inquisitors.
Then it hit him—he was technically still avoiding them.
He had planned to stay away from regions dominated by the Holy Light.
But so much time had passed without incident… maybe it wasn't as serious as he thought.
"…Fine. Let's go with this."
He selected [Sanctified Judgment Pact].
Even if he didn't know who to assign it to yet, he could always use it on a new recruit.
Preferably someone… normal.
And ideally aligned with the Light faction.
"Next…"
Akira turned his attention to Loserine.
From a compatibility standpoint, [Super Crystal Turtle] suited her best.
[Do you wish to assign 'Super Crystal Turtle' to your adventurer Loserine?]
"Yes."
[Your adventurer Loserine has obtained the ultra-rare trait: Super Crystal Turtle!][Super Crystal Turtle: A radiant crystalline armor envelops her body, rendering it indestructible! It also emits dazzling, multicolored brilliance!]
"…Wait."
Akira blinked.
"…Isn't that just… invincibility?"