Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 615: Can You Really Blame Me?
When Steven appeared once more, his feet landed upon the salty shores of Iberia.
As for Ebony, who had been left behind at the Emperor's Blade encampment, there was no need to worry about him.
Before leaving, Steven had already given the creature permission to act freely.
What happened afterward was entirely Ebony's business.
Now that everything on Ursus's side had been settled, it was about time to start gathering the heroines for the promised date.
Taking a deep breath, Steven inhaled the familiar sea-scented air.
For the first region he had ever arrived in after crossing into this world, Iberia naturally held a certain nostalgic significance.
Of course, neither the land nor the air was what truly stirred emotions.
In the end, the things people grew attached to were always the people living upon that land.
His teleportation point was, as usual, the cathedral where the Inquisitors gathered.
Unfortunately, it seemed he had chosen a rather inconvenient time to visit.
Not only was the familiar little bird nowhere to be seen, but even Carmen—who rarely left the cathedral under normal circumstances—was absent today.
With no intention of disturbing anyone, Steven casually walked out of the cathedral and followed the marker on his minimap toward Irene's location.
However, before he could even leave the building, a dark gun barrel blocked his path.
A moment later, a handsome middle-aged man stepped out from the shadows, his eyes filled with caution as he regarded the suddenly appearing young man.
Steven, meanwhile, immediately raised both hands in surrender.
A relaxed smile appeared on his face as he looked at the High Inquisitor standing before him.
In a sense, they were old acquaintances.
The previous few times Steven had visited Iberia, Dario had always been away on missions, so it had been quite some time since they had last met.
"Easy there, High Inquisitor Dario."
Steven gently pushed the firearm aside.
The moment he recognized Steven's voice, the vigilant middle-aged man visibly relaxed.
"So you're the mysterious guest Saint Carmen mentioned."
Dario lowered his firearm.
"I think I finally understand why he said there was no need to be overly alarmed if someone unusual appeared inside the cathedral."
Earlier, Carmen had merely told him not to panic if a mysterious visitor appeared.
He hadn't explained who the visitor would be.
At the time, Dario had wondered how he was supposed to identify such a person.
Now he understood.
The moment you saw Steven, you naturally knew.
Although Dario had rarely interacted with Steven personally, he had long since become familiar with the black-haired young man through another source.
His student.
Irene.
The girl mentioned Steven's name so often that it was nearly impossible not to know who he was.
Through her stories, Dario had learned of Steven's contributions to Iberia.
At the very least, being able to enjoy a proper serving of hash browns and actually eat his fill at lunch today was something Dario hadn't imagined possible for a very long time.
"You're giving me way too much credit."
Steven rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"By the way, where's Carmen? I was hoping to discuss some deeper cooperation with him."
Naturally, there was no way he could admit that he had actually come here to kidnap—I mean, invite—Irene on a date.
The man standing before him was practically her father figure.
If Dario found out he had not only stolen Irene away but had also successfully led the once-dedicated Inquisitor onto a completely different path...
Well.
Steven had a feeling Dario might join forces with Patriot and establish some sort of Concerned Fathers Alliance dedicated to hunting him across Terra.
"Teacher has gone to attend a meeting with the other Saints," Dario answered honestly.
"It seems to concern something important enough that all of them need to reach a decision together."
"As for the details, I'm not authorized to know."
"But he should return soon."
There was no need to hide something as simple as Carmen's whereabouts.
Given Steven's standing, he had every right to know that much.
"I see."
Steven nodded.
Whatever issue Carmen was dealing with wasn't particularly important right now.
His real objective had never been the Saint.
The priority was finding that little bird and luring her away.
That was the truly important mission.
"In that case, I'll wait."
Then he casually asked, "Have you seen Irene? I need to discuss something with her."
"Irene?"
Dario thought for a moment.
"She should still be in her room."
"This afternoon she's scheduled to inspect some of the nearby villages."
"So right now she's probably packing her equipment and checking her weapons before departure."
A faint smile crossed Steven's lips.
Perfect.
That saved him the trouble of searching for her.
There was, however, one detail Dario chose not to mention.
According to the original plan, he was supposed to accompany Irene on today's inspection mission himself.
But now that Steven was here—a man even Carmen couldn't fully understand, and one whom the Saint had openly admitted he wasn't certain he could defeat—there was obviously no need for him to tag along anymore.
As for the relationship between Steven and Irene...
Dario wasn't blind.
He could see enough.
His student might be a little stubborn and prideful at times, but whenever it came to something she liked, her feelings were painfully obvious.
She brought up Steven's name every other day.
She talked about his accomplishments constantly.
If someone tried to claim there was nothing between those two, who would believe it?
Besides, Dario was well aware of everything Steven had done to help Irene.
Although he was still curious about Steven's mysterious background, he had no objections to the two spending time together.
After all, setting everything else aside, Dario had never sensed any malice from Steven.
On the contrary, whenever the young man looked at Irene, there was an unmistakable desire to protect her.
Someone like that wasn't going to harm his student.
"Oh? Thanks."
Steven nodded.
"Then I'll go help her out."
A grin appeared on his face.
"As long as her mission gets finished, the rest of her time is hers to spend however she wants, right?"
Naturally, Steven had no idea that the High Inquisitor was already looking at him with the same expression a father might use when evaluating a prospective son-in-law.
At the moment, Steven's only concern was efficiency.
He needed to help Irene finish her work as quickly as possible.
There were still several other girls waiting in line.
Time was valuable.
"...Probably?"
Dario had barely begun answering when Steven suddenly vanished.
One moment he was standing there.
The next, he was gone as though he had never existed in the first place.
The High Inquisitor could only stand alone in the empty cathedral, staring at the spot where Steven had disappeared.
Meanwhile, Steven emerged from a spatial portal directly inside Irene's room.
He had visited the place before, so accurately teleporting there wasn't particularly difficult.
Of course, that didn't mean it was the perfect timing.
At least, the slender little bird currently changing clothes certainly wouldn't think so.
The moment Steven appeared, Irene froze.
The two stared at each other.
Her Inquisitor uniform was only halfway on, leaving her completely unable to react.
As a result, the cute bear-patterned underwear she was wearing was displayed openly before Steven's eyes.
To Steven's surprise, reality also differed slightly from his expectations.
For some reason, he had always assumed Irene possessed the standard flat-chested physique commonly associated with prideful heroines.
Yet now that he was seeing things firsthand...
That assumption was clearly incorrect.
Though still petite, she possessed enough presence to make it obvious she wasn't entirely lacking in that department.
Which only left Steven wondering how someone with such a slim frame managed to hide it so effectively beneath her uniform.
"Y-YOU'RE STILL LOOKING?!"
At last, Irene's brain restarted.
Her face instantly turned bright red, resembling a freshly boiled crab.
In a panic, she grabbed the nearest object she could find and hurled it at Steven while letting out the loudest scream of her life.
"Calm down."
Steven casually caught the projectile.
Which turned out to be a white thigh-high stocking.
Holding it in one hand, he spread his other hand helplessly.
"It's not like you're completely exposed."
Then he offered another reminder.
"And if you scream any louder, the entire camp is probably going to come running over."
"..."
Irene immediately froze.
The horrifying image of every Inquisitor in the cathedral charging into her room flashed through her mind.
Her face grew redder.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 689: Impossible to Refute[1]
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