Return To Third Inner Stanza Border Checkpoint

Vivian was in her human form except for her eyes. She was fully dressed and running at only a quarter of her full speed as she made her way back to the Third Inner Stanza Border Checkpoint which was already a few miles away in from her.

It was already passed 2:00 a.m. and she had been out since 9:00 p.m.

She could see a few blue-colored nervous systems on top of the walls and didn't find anything out of the ordinary. In her mind, they were the Guards on duty tonight and she "received" permission earlier when she decided to go out.

Wooom!

When she arrived in front of the South Gate, she leaped over the two-story wall.

Thud!

Once she landed, she immediately cast a spell.

[Greater Origin Transformation].

Blaaak.

Her eyes reverted to their human form.

She ignored the Guards as she made her way to the Priests' Quarters Building.

To be bad I didn't encounter that little rich boy named Alejandro and his group…

But hey…

At least I was able to eat some blues and a lot of reddies…

"I don't eat~~…

"I don't sleep~~…"

She began singing to herself but it was only loud enough for her to hear.

"I do nothing but think of you~~…

"You keep me under your spell~~…"

Ka-cha!

She reached the Priests' Quarters Building and opened the front door of the building.

"You keep me under your--~~…"

As she stepped inside, she saw Lennon and Anthony dressed in casual attire sitting at the dining table and having a chat while drinking some hot drink which she presumed was either tea or coffee.

The Priests Quarters Building was a two-story building. The first floor had a lounging room, kitchen, dining room, storage room, two training rooms, a toilet, and a bathroom. Meanwhile, the second floor had the bedrooms for each Priest along with two spare rooms in case there was an official guest.

Lennon and Anthony turned to her.

"Sister Inquisitor Monad, good evening. How was your walk?" Lennon said and smiled.

Her eyes blinked a few times behind her mask before she made a salute.

"Brother High Lieutenant Lennon, Brother Lieutenant Anthony, good evening, too. It was fine."

"That's good to hear. Please come join us, Sister."

Anthony, on the other hand, got up from his seat and turned to Vivian.

"I'm going to get a drink for you. Tea or coffee?"

Vivian held out her hand.

"Thank you for the offer, brothers. But I'm a bit tired and I worked up a bit of a sweat, I'm also covered in dust. I just want to take a bath and go to bed right now for tomorrow's work. And plus," she said and then pointed at her Inquisitor Full Mask. "I can't exactly eat."

"Then I wish to talk to you for a moment, Sister Inquisitor, if you don't mind," Lennon said with a serious tone.

Vivian's eyes turned to slits behind her mask. As far as she can remember, this was the first time hearing him talk in such a tone ever since she arrived at this border checkpoint.

"Of course, Brother High Lieutenant," she said with a friendly tone and then walked over to them before grabbing a chair and sitting down. "So what is it that you wish to talk about at this hour?"

Lennon stared at her as gathered his thoughts for a moment before finally speaking.

"Sister, you're an Inquisitor so I don't think I need to explain any of the rules to you. In fact, I believe that you're more familiar with them than I ever will be. However, what I do know is that you are not allowed to physically assault your allies."

"What do you mean, brother?" she asked innocently.

"We've heard about the incident tonight between you and Knight Lieutenant Lamont." 

"Ah… That one. And?" she said with a calm and cool voice as if the topic had nothing to do with her. 

But given that Lennon and Anthony were aware that she could rip apart an Orichalcum-grade metal with her bare hands and could also jump over a two-story wall without even using [Power Leg] like it was nothing, while Lennon and Edgar from the Knights Squad who are the Commanding Officers and are also supposed to be the strongest in the Third Inner Stanza Border Checkpoint personnel could only reach on top of the wall and would struggle jumping over it even with the help of [Power Leg], it only heightened the sense of danger that they felt. Despite all that, they still didn't back down and remained calm. They were part of the Infantry Division and it wasn't like they hadn't met powerful people in the past.

Lennon cleared his throat.

"It's not uncommon for infighting to happen, especially in places like this where we're all gathered in a remote place out of nowhere and stuck together for months or until our contract ends. But as allies, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try our best to work with each other peacefully." 

Vivian didn't say anything and simply stared at him and Anthony.

"With that being said," he added. "Knight Lieutenant Lamont and his group have decided not to let this issue escalate any further and forget about it. In exchange, both of you must settle your differences and you have to pay for the damages you caused on his armor." 

There was a deafening silence in the air that lasted for almost a minute before Vivian finally decided to answer.

"And what about you, Brother High Lieutenant? What have YOU and the rest of the Priests except for me decided?"

"Naturally, we also want to forget about this issue and have everyone to continue living together in peace."

She let out a chuckle, causing both Lennon and Anthony to knit their brows.

"Did I say something amusing, Sister Inquisitor?" asked Lennon.

"Amusing? You're asking me if you said something amusing? Well, there are so many things that I find amusing."

Both men didn't say anything.

"Okay, let me humor you both for a minute.

"What's amusing is that although we're all part of the Temple of Priests, you would rather believe and take the side of an outsider.

"What's amusing is that the both of you are part of the Infantry Division which is known to be battle maniacs.

"And lastly, what amuses me the most is that you, MEN, are telling me, a WOMAN, what I should think, feel and do. Did you know that ever since I came here, that benevolent Knight you're defending and siding with has been trying to make inappropriate sexual advances toward me? Or is that something that all of you think how women should be treated?"

She placed a finger on the right cheek of her mask and tilted her head to the side.

"Hmm… My, my, I wonder what would happen if I go to the Holy Kingdom, the Inquisitory Division and the Orion Chapter Temple and report that my Brothers here would rather believe and side with their fellow males from another organization than believe and protect their own Sister who has been tortured with unwanted sexual advances?"

Both Lennon and Anthony's faces turned pale before her very eyes. However, Lennon continued staring at her while Anthony already was looking away as if he was trying to figure out a plan on how to distance himself from the issue.

Just with the Orion Chapter Temple alone, it was already a huge headache.

The Orion Kingdom was a subsidiary kingdom of the Holy Kingdom and was created as a safe haven for women and children.

In this world, a person's overall strength is based on the total number of their Magic Art Affinities. Because of that, many questionable practices arose when trying to pass down talents.

For men with multiple Magic Art Affinities, they could impregnate as many women as they possibly can to ensure that their talent will be passed down.

But for women, although they could also pass their talent down to their offspring, a woman could only produce a child every 8-9 months and it's not even a 100% guarantee if the child would inherit all of the talents of the parents. In addition to that, once a woman turns 30 years old, that's when the chances of her getting pregnant would decrease and her child developing complications would rise. And then by 40 years old, she could no longer produce babies.

Due to all these reasons, when it comes to women's rights, the Orion Kingdom was created as a safe haven for women who didn't want to just be a baby-maker for their family in order to protect and preserve the legacy of their family. It was also a place where women were free to do and choose how they wanted to live their lives. And naturally, this garnered the support of many women throughout the Northern Continent.

Vivian got up from her seat.

"Here's my decision, BROTHERS. 

"One - That creepy pervert of a Knight that you all support should never speak and bother me or any of the women in this border checkpoint ever again. If I get even just a whiff that he's SEXUALLY HARASSING women, even if it's an old and decrepit woman with one foot on the grave, I will personally make sure that he will be punished accordingly by the authorities.

"Two - I'm not paying anything. I am the victim here. He should be the one paying me 500 platinum coins for all the sexual harassment and trauma he has put me through and he has until my contract ends. Failure to do so, I will personally make sure that I, as a woman, will get the justice that I rightfully deserve.

"In return for that creepy pervert of a Knight and his companions to comply with these simple and fair requests of mine, I will forget about this incident and I won't mention any of this on the monthly report, especially this… betrayal from my own brothers and sisters," she said the last sentence with disgust.

Lennon was about to say something but Vivian cut him off.

"But of course, if it's a war you all want, then I'm ready right now," she said in a playful bone-chilling voice filled with so much killing intent that it was suffocating them.

Lennon's mouth was open but no words came out. As for Anthony, he continued looking away but now had a panicked expression on his face and beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead.

Call it intuition, sixth sense or whatever, but their survival instincts were screaming and telling them one thing -- the person standing in front of them was a bonafide bloodthirsty killer. And speaking of bloodthirsty, just now they finally noticed that there was a strong stench of blood coming off of Vivian. 

Ignoring the stench of blood, within the Temple of Priests, the members who usually emanate this kind of killing intent were Gray Cloaks. And as part of the Infantry Division, they have encountered a number of these people.

The suffocating killing intent vanished and Vivian returned to her usual demeanor.

"Please do pass my message to everyone, Brother High Lieutenant and Brother Lieutenant. It's already late and I still have work in the morning. Good night."

She turned away and then headed for the stairs.

***

When Vivian finally left, Anthony turned to Lennon.

"Brother, what's your decision…?" he specifically worded his question this way in order to subconsciously hint to Lennon that he had no part of this and was dumping everything on him and whoever wanted to join him.

Although they have never seen Vivian's face because she always wore a mask and they also don't know what her Officer Rank was because Inquisitors are not obligated to tell anyone unless the situation really calls for it, they at least could tell that she was still in her 20s. And now that they not only found out how powerful she was but also learned this other personality of hers, the situation just got more complicated. 

A thousand scenarios ran inside Lennon's head.

Truth be told, all he wanted was for both Vivian and Lamont to patch things up together and then have everyone continue living peacefully until their contract ends. 

In regards to Lamont's womanizing tendencies, everyone here was aware of that. In fact, he can be a bit flirty when talking to Juana, Arabella and the women Guards. However, he wasn't the only one doing that. Considering that all personnel here were stuck together in such a remote place until their contract ends, it was unavoidable that some flirtations could happen. There were even a few cases where it could lead to something physical.

Nevertheless, had Vivian been a normal Inquisitor, although it would have been a headache to deal with the Orion Chapter Temple, they'd still ultimately win in the end. But after knowing her strength and finding out that she had that kind of personality, the situation just got even more complicated.

Lennon shook his head.

"Lamont can either accept her demands or he can pursue this case. And if chooses to pursue, he can only depend on the Knights Chapter and his family, or perhaps even the kingdom he's from."

Pah!

Anthony face-palmed.

"God of Light, how did a person like that end up being an Inquisitor…?! What was the Temple and the Inquisitory Division thinking…?! Is that even allowed…?!"

When it came to members with at least 4 Magic Art Affinities who participates in the Holy Crusade, in order to let them grow safely without being assassinated or kidnapped, they would be assigned either to the Infantry or the Inquisitory Division.

If they joined the Infantry Division, although they would need to use another identity minus the mask and be sent out to battlefields, they would be surrounded by powerful bodyguards or be working with powerful people whom not only they could rely on but also form a friendship with.

On the other hand, if they joined the Inquisitory Division, this is where Lennon and Anthony weren't exactly sure because they've only been part of the Infantry Division since the beginning of their Holy Crusade career. All they know is that the Training Course is quite hard because it requires a high level of intellect and a lot of mental fortitude, there's a lot of cloak and dagger because Inquisitors and the Inquisitory Division are a secretive bunch who don't share anything unless necessary, and it involves a lot of political maneuvering because the main responsibility of an Inquisitor is to root out any form of corruption within the Temple of Priests that their authority is equal to that of a Red Cloak.

Lennon turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want her to set her sights on you?"

Anthony raised his hands.

"God of Light, of course not!"

Lennon reached out for his cup but didn't pick it up after noticing that it was no longer hot.

"But I get what you're trying to say. Whoever her true identity is, she must at least be from one of the Aristocratic Noble families or one of the powerful Priest families."

Anthony shook his head.

"I don't think so, brother."

Lennon raised his eyebrow once again but didn't say anything.

"I've spent some time with Aristocratic Nobles and also with Brothers and Sisters from powerful Priest families. They have a certain demeanor or the way they carry themselves that can't be faked."

"Regardless, with that kind of talent, there's no way she has a simple background. People like her just don't fall from the sky."

Anthony nodded vehemently.

"Even the God of Light and the Light Saints would agree with that statement," he said and then paused for a moment. "Brother, I believe the best course of action here is to continue interacting with her and make sure we don't get on her bad side."

Lennon didn't say anything.

"Considering Sister Inquisitor Monad's talents, I wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be one of those secret members destined to be one of the core leaders of the Temple in the future."

Lennon thought about it for a moment and then they both shuddered from the idea.

"Now that you've mentioned that, that's plausible."

"I know, right? Who do you think it is?"

Lennon shook his head.

"I have no idea. And to be honest, I'm not interested to learn such things. People like her already carry so many problems, especially when you consider that she's also an Inquisitor. So one can just imagine how many secrets are involved or are surrounding her. I just want to have a stress-free Holy Crusade as I collect Holy Crusade points for the job grades once I retire and finally be able to spend more time with my wife and children."

"I know a handful of talented people in their 20s but none of them fit her description. Unless of course, the Temple has figured out a new way to hide a member's identity. Do you think the Inquisitory Division is using another ancient or forbidden Rune Magic from the past?"

Lennon didn't say anything and simply stared at him with a deadpan expression.

"Anyhow, what if Lamont refuses? You know how some people, especially the Nobles, can be a little bit too sensitive about their honor and reputation."

"I'll talk to Edgar."

***

Vivian was walking along the second-floor hallway and on the way to her room.

She scoffed.

Those simpletons think they can outsmart me just because they decided to group together…?

I came from a world where it has an epidemic of professional victims…

I have seen every trick and excuse that professional victims have in their playbook…

And I haven't yet even used the most powerful weapon of all -- Beautiful Woman Tears…!

Ka-cha.

She opened the door of her room and entered.

Was 500 platinum coins too much…?

I think I should've just asked for 100 platinum coins…?

But I'm a Priestess and this powerful…

They might take me lightly if I only asked for 100 plats...

Or is 500 plats too small…?

Whatever…

She began undressing.

Let's just see what happens…

And plus, this would be a good lesson for me to measure the socio-economic power of Knights…

She grabbed some showering items.

But what should I do with those Guards…?

Did they talk…?

Or were they forced to talk…?

I need to find out what really happened… 

She let out a deep sigh.

I think I should've demanded 1,000 platinum coins…?

Or perhaps 10,000…?

Ugh…!

I really need to start thinking like a woman, not a man…

A beautiful woman to be exact…