Rosella hugged me so tightly that I thought she would break bones that even Blackpearl hadn't broken.
However, while she was hugging me, Sun interrupted us with a question.
"Hey, kid, is it really true that you killed Blackpearl?"
I raised my head and looked at Sun, who was frowning and staring at me with intense eyes.
I didn't look away from her. "Yes, I did."
"LIE!" Sun exclaimed suddenly. "He would never have been killed by an inexperienced brat like you! His blessing wasn't favorable for combat, but Black always trained and improved his physique because of that! He fought against people much stronger than a mere Rank-D like you!"
In fact, even I couldn't believe I got out of that situation alive. It still felt like a dream, to be honest. Luck helped me a lot, and I didn't fight Blackpearl alone either. If I had chosen any other Class instead of Summoner, I probably would have lost.
But my pride would never allow me to say that out loud.
So I scratched the back of my neck and muttered,
"I also thought he was stronger."
A subtle silence spread through the small cave, but it didn't last long. Kyle and Rosella began to laugh loudly at Sun's expression of surprise and indignation.
A vein popped out of Sun's forehead, and just as she was about to yell again, the Paladin took a deep breath.
"Why are you all so loud when you let your guard down? Have you forgotten where you are?" the Paladin asked, giving me and the others a cold look.
Everyone fell silent, and the Paladin sat down at the edge of the fire as well.
"You're only on the first floor, but that shouldn't be underestimated. Between us, the first floors are the most dangerous."
She said and put her hand in an inside pocket of her long gray overcoat and took out a cigarette case.
Tapping the cigarette pack in the air a little, a cigarette fell into her left palm. She held it while putting the cigarettes back in her inside pocket.
Instead of lighting it with the fire in the hearth, she tapped the other pockets of her overcoat until she found a lighter.
The lighter was metal, the kind that made a clicking sound whenever the lid opened or closed. The lighter didn't work on the first few tries. It was an old lighter, but well cared for.
"Oh, what a pain." The Paladin complained with the cigarette between her lips, and coincidentally, the lighter worked the next time.
When she brought the lighter's flame close to the cigarette, she only burned the tip. She took a long first drag that consumed half of the straw cigarette, but she was clearly relieved.
"You said the first few floors are the most dangerous. Why?"
Rosella asked, still holding my hand and sitting next to me.
The Paladin blew the cigarette smoke out through the tip of her nose and finally opened her eyes.
"The Tower of Babel doesn't seem to follow a pattern of size for each floor. All the floors are not the same size, but that doesn't mean they get bigger or smaller the higher we go. Even so, the largest floors so far are definitely the first five."
"Thanks to that, there's no way the Church or the Guilds can have a wide hold, which is why crime is so high. The biggest and worst criminals are gathered on those floors, and they're very slippery."
"I didn't find you by coincidence," declared the Paladin. "I was following a lead to finally capture Blackpearl."
"My brother?" Sun asked, surprised.
I couldn't say if I was more surprised by the revelation that Sun and Blackpearl were siblings, since they didn't look anything alike physically, or by the information that this Paladin was looking for Blackpearl. It made me feel like an idiot for coming back and putting my life at risk against Blackpearl, now that there was a Paladin on the way.
Sun put her hands over her mouth right after she asked the question, but the Paladin didn't mind.
"You didn't have to tell me that," said the Paladin after another drag on her cigarette. "I know very well that you and Blackpearl were raised in the same orphanage, Joanna."
"Was the orphanage called Joanna, or is that Sun's real name?" I wondered.
"It's a shame that you and Hudson grew up in a Church orphanage and became criminals. Really disappointing. I have several colleagues who grew up in the same situation and now use their Blessings to help others. Not to kill or steal."
Sun lowered her head and gritted her teeth. "When we received our Blessings, our hands were no longer clean, and you Church people never forgive sins."
"That's true. You two were truly hopeless," the Paladin said and threw the cigarette butt into the fire, whose flames flared up for a few seconds before returning to their normal volume.
It was a long, cold night at the foot of the mountain where the portal back to Lovikalen was located. I couldn't get back to sleep, but Rosella, probably exhausted, finally managed to fall asleep with her head resting on my shoulder.
I would venture to say that our sudden closeness was mainly due to the situations we had been through together. I saved her life, and she saved mine.
Everyone eventually fell asleep, leaving only me and the Paladin awake. She often looked at me, but she didn't ask or say anything. This slowly began to irritate me, until I couldn't hold back any longer.
"Are you going to watch me all night, or are you going to ask me what's on your mind?" I said to her in a serious tone.
"Huh?" She looked back at me directly. "You're very rude, young man. Don't forget that you are speaking to a high-ranking officer of the Church of the Golden Halo, and as the Church is officially recognized by the Kingdom of Durtch, you must address me as 'Ma'am' at the very least."
I took a deep breath. "Yes, ma'am."
She smiled slightly. "I believe we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I am a Paladin of the First Battalion of the Pride, Lerah Carter."
I had heard a lot about the Paladins, including that they were divided into "Schools". There were seven Schools of Paladins, each with a different focus within the Church, and each bearing the name of one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
"It is a great pleasure to meet you, Ms. Lerah Carter," I said, bowing my head slightly to show respect. "This is the first time I have seen and spoken to a Paladin, so please forgive my lack of cordiality in not introducing myself as well. I am Brandon Oneal."
"I know. Your colleagues told me your names and the situation you are in... That is why I am keeping an eye on you. It is very strange that a Blessed One who has just received his powers has managed to defeat someone as dangerous as Blackpearl."
"I say this because there are those who wish to restart their lives, so they change countries, create false documents, and try to register again as Climbers. There's no specific name for it yet, but if that's what you're doing, I have—"
Lerah's explanation was suddenly interrupted by a low laugh muffled by one of my hands.
"What? Are you laughing?"
I wiped a tear from the corners of my eyes and tried to keep a smile on my face.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you can rest assured that there is no possibility of that happening. I am a citizen of Lovikalen, I know every street and district. My parents also live and work here, I have had a fixed address for over ten years, and all my documents are registered at the registry office. I am really just a beginner Climber."
Lerah raised her eyebrows and smiled as she crossed her arms. "If you say so, I believe you. Even so, I'll make sure the information checks out when I write my report to my commander."
"A rookie who killed a famous assassin... I bet even the boss won't believe me when I tell him."
"I can testify if necessary."
"And it will be necessary, both for my report and for the situation I will report to the Church. You are newbies who were on an initiation mission; you should have been assigned an instructor."
"Ah, it seems the others didn't have time to tell you about that."
"About what?"
"Our instructor was killed by Sun. I can't prove it right now, but if you send a team to the Sun Temple Dungeon, you'll probably find Mr. Hawklight's corpse in one of the rooms on the second floor. The wound in his stomach was definitely not made by a monster."
Lerah put a hand on her chin. "That explains a few things. Well, I'll send a team as soon as I report the situation to my commander. Thanks for the information."
That was the end of the matter between me and the Paladin. After two hours, the sun finally came out, prompting everyone to get up and climb the mountain to return to Lovikalen.