GILF Hunter

Chapter 522 A Matter of Time

The gazes of the two crossed as if asking what on earth the other was talking about.

’Just once? What exactly did you do?’

’Ah, that... that’s not it. More importantly, what do you mean by the Saintess!’

Priscia’s eyes narrowed.

This face was exactly like the apprentice priests caught in an unwholesome romance.

If this were a ploy to change the subject, it would be quite the impressive acting performance.

However, to Priscia, who already knew Frenda, she looked truly flustered. It was clear she was hiding something bothersome that she didn’t want her supervisor to know.

Well, she hadn’t come all this way to nitpick over such trivial matters right now. Priscia brushed it off roughly.

’You felt it too, didn’t you, Priestess Frenda? The aura of the Saintess that appeared around here recently.’

’The aura of the Saintess? ...Ah! Are you talking about that thing back then?’

Frenda recalled something upon hearing Priscia’s words.

An unidentified wave that was suddenly felt one day.

It was something all the priests in the temple felt, but almost no one knew what it truly was.

The elderly priests, who seemed to know something, only let out hollow laughs, saying they would naturally find out if they just waited.

’That is a phenomenon that appears when the Saintess exerts great power. It’s a wave that accompanies her unique Holy Magic.’

’Then has the Saintess finally appeared!’

’Yes. I consider Labyrinth to be a very strong candidate.’

Priscia spoke thus and then stared intently at Frenda. As if waiting for some kind of answer.

’Do you happen to know anything, Priestess Frenda?’

’Pardon? Me?’

Frenda was naturally going to reply that she didn’t know, but she hesitated involuntarily due to a thought that occurred to her at the last moment.

Frenda’s mouth shut, her voice trailing off slightly.

To say she knew nothing at all... there was a place that came to mind. After all, that was the reason Frenda had decided to stay here.

Priscia did not miss that subtle silence and smiled.

’The knights as well, and even you transferring your affiliation here... Isn’t it all because you met someone here?’

’...I’m not sure.’

’Well, fine. I can just look for myself.’

Frenda didn’t answer, but in truth, that alone was as good as Priscia getting the answer she wanted.

Frenda was not good at lying. Whenever she hid something, it showed clearly.

The knights were those who could shamelessly say anything if necessary, making it hard to read their reactions, but seeing Frenda’s response, it was clear that something was here.

The Holy Knights and Frenda.

If they, who had visited this city, suddenly decided to stay, it must be because of something they experienced here.

Something so impressive and shocking that they wanted to stay close even at the cost of giving up their positions.

’Hehe. It seems we’ll be seeing each other’s faces often for a while.’

’...’

Priscia and her knightly entourage began staying at the temple from that day forward.

* * *

Frenda knocked on the door of the Ian Mercenary Group base with a quite anxious face.

’Oh, what brings you here so suddenly?’

’Ms. Tanya. That is....’

Fortunately, the one who greeted Frenda was a familiar face. Thanks to that, she could skip the time needed to introduce herself or explain her business in detail.

’The Captain? He’s probably on the 3rd floor. Usually, at this time, he’s in the records room if there’s nothing else.’

’Thank you!’

Tanya told her where Ian was. She had said it was urgent business, and they weren’t strangers to each other.

Frenda hurriedly moved toward the place Tanya mentioned.

’3rd floor... the last room?’

Arriving on the 3rd floor, Frenda reached the door at the very end.

Did she say it was the records room?

There probably wouldn’t be people, making it a perfect place to talk quietly.

Thinking Ian would surely be alone, Frenda immediately grabbed the doorknob.

It was something she normally wouldn’t do, but was it because her mind was too rushed? Frenda opened the door immediately without even knocking.

’Captain! It’s an emergency... Heh?’

Frenda, who had stepped inside with great momentum, came to a halt while letting out such a stupid sound.

It was because she faced an unexpected sight inside the room.

’Nng, uugh....’

A small moan leaked from Airi’s lips.

What Frenda discovered were Ian and Airi sitting together in a chair.

It was a scene of Airi, sitting on Ian’s lap, in the middle of a passionate kiss.

’Ah... oh?’

Airi, belatedly realizing someone had entered the room, flinched and hurriedly pulled away from Ian.

...It seemed she had interrupted the two in the middle of their time.

’Ms. Frenda?’

’Ah, that... s-sorry. For coming in without knocking.’

Frenda, also flustered, momentarily forgot the business she came for.

While an awkward silence settled over the place.

Airi, who had been sitting on Ian’s lap, looked between Frenda and Ian, then carefully climbed down and stepped aside.

And she began to glance at Frenda as if waiting for something.

It was as if she were giving up the spot for Frenda.

As if she naturally assumed Frenda was next in line.

- ...

’...’

Frenda involuntarily swallowed hard.

And it felt like the sound of swallowing echoed in her mind at the same time.

It was urgent business that needed to be conveyed quickly.

But then, it wasn’t so urgent that it couldn’t be delayed for a few minutes.

Such a thought slithered into Frenda’s mind.

* * *

’So... you mean someone came from the Grand Temple.’

’Yes. A supervisor named Priscia....

Frenda replied thus, wiping her sticky mouth with a handkerchief.

The one leading the [White Wings] order that entered the city was a priestess named Priscia. She was a bit of an uncomfortable person for Frenda.

She wasn’t a bad person, but due to her position, it was an inevitably uncomfortable relationship. She herself was the type to keep her distance to avoid becoming closer than necessary with other priests, so Frenda couldn’t help but feel that way.

’Does her coming have anything to do with us?’

’She came to find the Saintess, so technically it’s correct to say no.’

The goal of the [White Wings] order was to find the Saintess and return. That goal had nothing to do with the Ian Mercenary Group.

...Of course, that was the thought of Frenda, who knew nothing of the exact circumstances.

The Saintess they were looking for was in the same room as Frenda, hurriedly putting her underwear back on.

Other than Ian and Calliope, no one knew the exact nature of that power. Even Frey herself just thought it was a somewhat outstanding talent for Holy Magic.

Ian glanced at Airi. Airi looked at Ian with an ignorant expression and tilted her head.

He wondered if he should prepare some countermeasures... but he didn’t know how accurate the Saintess investigation at the temple would be, so he couldn’t get a sense of how to prepare.

Frenda spoke with a face that suggested she was worried about Ian.

’They will definitely investigate the Captain. They seem to misunderstand that the Saintess is close to us.’

’Doesn’t it matter? I don’t think I’ve committed any great wrong against the temple.’

’Perhaps ’that matter’ of the Captain could be found out....’

’That matter?’

Ian’s voice trailed off as he spoke. Ian’s gaze turned toward Frenda.

Actually, there was something... a bit of a wrong committed.

Frenda’s face suddenly turned red upon receiving such a gaze from Ian.

’Th-that’s not the kind of wrong I meant! I’m talking about that incident in the Labyrinth. You said you had to keep it a secret.’

’Ah... that.’

The incident during the deep floor expedition. She was talking about what had been slightly misunderstood by everyone.

A halo appearing briefly, light pouring out, and those incidents where he raised despairing knights with just his voice?

’That’s fine. I told you it was really nothing. Even if they investigate me, nothing will come out.’

’I-if you say so....’

Ian replied with a face that said it was okay.

It would have been a problem if that scene had been witnessed directly, but now that all that potential had returned to its original state, nothing would come out no matter how much they investigated.

Frenda nodded with a slightly dubious face after hearing Ian’s confident answer.

* * *

Around the same time.

Priscia was gathered in a room at the temple with her order members, discussing future plans.

The White Wings order had not yet begun a full-scale investigation.

Even if they found a clue about the Saintess, Labyrinth was a city far too vast to search aimlessly.

And the city authorities had only permitted entry on the condition that they did not cause a disturbance. If they began poking around the city in earnest, it was clear they would be stopped.

It wasn’t as if they could visit every suspicious mercenary group and investigate them one by one.

’The city map is here.’

’These are the newspapers from the last few weeks.’

’Thank you. I’ll look at them later.’

Priscia gathered the materials the members had collected to one side.

To begin with, these members were not like secret agents. Most were temporary order members formed by ordinary priests. They were not a group that would carry out a violent investigation as Frenda expected.

They were simply good-hearted priests who had stepped forward for the honor of finding and serving the Saintess.

Criminal acts like that were only committed very sparingly and only when absolutely necessary.

Priscia spoke to the priests gathered before her.

’The city is vast so it won’t be easy... but even so, everyone should be able to recognize the Saintess without difficulty if you encounter her.’

’Of course. She would surely have a more extraordinary and noble aura than any priest.’

Isn’t there a saying about a needle in a pocket?

No matter how much one tries to hide it, extraordinary talent eventually stands out wherever it is.

’Then for a while, let’s look mainly at shelters and treatment centers. Some of us should go around places where many people gather. If we narrow down the likely places, we’ll be able to find the Saintess soon.’

Everyone nodded.

If there was a person who went around helping people, rumors were bound to spread, even if only slightly.

The first plan Priscia devised with that in mind was to investigate places where many injured or people in need of help would gather.

It was a very exemplary and standard route, selecting places where a Saintess candidate might be interested in being active.