It took a while for Daniel to escape the horde hounding him with questions. He deflected all of the interrogation because he really didn’t have many answers. He directed their questions to the [Archbishops]— to the [Priests] from the Council of Cremont. Still, not all of the questions flung his way were related to him being anointed as the Cardinal of the Sanctum of Elements, the Den of Souls, and the Sanctuary of Fauna.
As expected, some people were still dubious of the fact that he was a [Hero]. To deal with those people, he simply grabbed the nearest Elite Ranked adventurer he could find and used them as a shield for those questions. Scarlet blinked, looking up from the buffet as Daniel patted her on the shoulder.
“She can answer all your questions— she was there when Helena Warshade questioned me two days ago! Thanks, Scarlet!”
“I… what?”
The Red Rose glanced between the [Hero] and the small crowd that broke off after the [Hero]. She opened her mouth to protest, but the young man was faster than the [Rogue]. He quickly circled around her as his distraction worked, much to the chagrin of the young Elite.
undefinedHe scurried away, pushing his way through the party heads turned and exclaimed. He only paused when he bumped into a pair of women he recognized. Amanda and Saffron. The former assassin and the young noble were standing next to each other. Daniel had no idea they were friends, but he didn’t question it.
“Daniel—”
Amanda started, but he quickly spoke over her and faced Saffron.
“Where’s Salvos?”
The pink-haired girl gestured towards the back of the room.
“I placed her all the way back there so she wouldn’t cause too much trouble. She’s busy trying to feed those baby Wyverns anyway…”
“Thanks.”
He smiled at Saffron before breaking off to get to his friend. A hand grabbed him from behind, stopping him. He blinked and looked at Amanda.
“Did you need something, Amanda?”
He raised a brow at her. She lowered her head, not meeting his gaze. She looked like she wanted to say something, but unsure of what she even wanted to say at the same time.
“Daniel… I—”
The former assassin opened her mouth. Then she paused. She saw the way Daniel was glancing over to the side— towards Salvos. Amanda slowly closed her mouth and let go of his arm.
“Amanda?”
Daniel turned back to her. She shook her head.
“It’s nothing…”
The [Hero] was pretty sure that was a lie. But he could see a few members of the crowd breaking off in pursuit of him, and he really didn’t want to stick around for them to catch him. Once he got to Salvos, she’d repel them by virtue of being Salvos.
So he just shrugged and hurried off. Eventually, he managed to escape to Salvos’ table.
“Daniel! You didn’t tell me you were giving a speech!”
The silver-haired girl waved at him as he made his approach. Her cheery and carefree attitude starkly juxtaposed with the tension in the room. Daniel welcomed it. He thoroughly relished in her conviviality after the last two days of constant interrogation. But on one hand, the young man couldn’t help but sigh as he slumped himself over a cushioned chair. After all, it was clear she didn’t understand the gravity of the situation… or at least, didn’t care for it.
“It was a good speech! I liked it when you said the thing which made everyone gasp!”
She gave him a thumbs-up. Daniel shook his head as he sat there.
“Thanks, but I hated giving it.”
“Why would you hate your speech?”
She cocked her head at him. He waved a hand off.
“Because it wasn’t really my decision. They kinda forced me to become their Cardinal.”
He shrugged as Salvos stared at him. Her confusion was evident. The [Hero] himself was more annoyed by it than anything. And even Salvos could see that.
“Why didn’t you just say no?”
The silver-haired girl suggested casually. Daniel massaged his temples.
“Well… I couldn’t really say no?”
“Why not?”
She pestered him. And a voice from the side replied before Daniel could.
“Because.”
Daniel looked up at the [Will O’ Wisp] floating off to the side, hovering over the three baby Wyverns as they scared down a whole roast pig from the buffet. Willy, the normally sarcastic Grand Spirit, was entirely serious with his single-word non-answer. But it was true— and Daniel just nodded.
“Willy’s right. It’s just… because.”
“What?”
Salvos blinked, utterly confused. Daniel smiled at her.
“It’s fine, Salvos, really. It’s a bit annoying, but otherwise it’s the right thing to do.”
He was grateful that she cared enough to worry over him. But he didn’t want to change anything, even if he was a little irate. She just stared at him for a moment.
“Huh.”
She studied his face as he reached for a glass of red wine. He didn’t know why there was even wine on the table since Salvos didn’t drink. Unless she was letting the baby Wyverns drink the alcohol— in which case, Daniel wouldn’t really be surprised. He glanced over at the three baby Wyverns as they whined and fought over the food.
Salvos clapped her hands together.
“Oh, have you met them yet?”
She proudly gestured at the baby Wyverns. Daniel nodded.
“I met them briefly, but they were a bit… antsy back then.”
“Well, they’re better with Humans now! Come here, guys!”
Salvos called over the three baby Wyverns. They looked up from their food and exchanged a glance. They hesitated when they saw Daniel sitting next to their mother. But they answered the call and scampered over to her.
“Say hi to them, Daniel.”
She beamed as the young man mumbled an awkward greeting.
“Uh… hey, Novis, Bellum, and…”
“Oriur.”
“Right, Oriur.”
He pursed his lips. The baby Wyverns made a sound. A soft growl. But not an aggressive one. It almost sounded like they were saying ‘hello’. Although, Daniel was probably imagining it. He cleared his throat and leaned forward to Salvos.
“So… how long are you going to keep mothering them?”
He asked in a whispered voice. Daniel was pretty sure they couldn’t understand him anyway, but this was just to be safe. Salvos crossed her arms.
“I am not their mother!”
She spoke emphatically, and Daniel shrank back.
“Alright— alright. Don’t need to yell.”
He rubbed his ears before sighing.
“But what I mean is are you really going to be looking after these baby Wyverns forever?”
“That’s…”
Salvos looked at Daniel for a moment, registering his words. Then she drew back, clearly offended.
“Of course not! I’m just going to be looking after them until they grow up!”
“You know that it’ll take them years to fully grow up, right?”
He gave her a flat stare. Salvos paused.
“Wait, really?”
She sounded genuinely surprised. The young man from Earth pinched the bridge of his nose, and Willy snorted.
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