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The Town of Parm—Temple of Viera [ Morning ].

Within the crowded halls of the temple that was filled with many players, two young girls steadily made their way through the crowd upon entering the building. Whilst they were doing so—Crowelin was busy looking around the area.

"Dang... This place sure is crowded, huh?" Crowelin muttered out whilst glancing over the heads of the players. "...this is way more people than even the central temple in Valk."

Among the masses, there were many players who had just spawned into the world for the first time, the newbies. Meanwhile, for others, players flocked in and out of the temple for quests and the like whilst some had just respawned from dying. It was a bustling scene—unlike the image of a quiet temple in other cities.

"Aha... This is, after all, a hot spot for newbies to come in and go," Hikari chuckled. "Though compared to back then... There sure is a large influx of players unlike when we first started out."

"Most definitely. Spiritual Warriors has grown over the years," Crowelin nodded her head. "Did this place expanded because of that? I remembered it was quite a small place, but eh... Who knows? I only got a glimpse of this place, unlike you guys who started here."

"Where did you start in again? The village of Tyrune?"

"Yeah... Tyrune," she coughed. "...I don't know why I chose to start out in a desert... My brother was way too dumbstruck when he found out the news..."

"Aha... But it's fine! You survived the harsh starting conditions and that is all that matters!" Hikari cheered. "But in any case, now that you've said that this place has expanded... It sure is a lot bigger than before. Twice its size perhaps?" thinking to herself, her eyes turned towards the grandeur of the temple.

Compared to before when Hikari and the rest of her friends had started out in Parm—the newly renovated Temple of Viera was far different than before. It wasn't noticeable at first glance due to the countless players spread across the room that had taken one's attention, but, at a closer look at its interior—the difference of the building was like night and day.

Newly painted walls, a much beautiful interior and many more other luxurious furniture were a part of the new building. Upon further inspection, even the priests and holy knights who stood by at certain sections of the temple wore costly gear, a luxury for even the ones who are stationed at the temples built in cities.

"This sure is quite a sight..." Hikari noted her surroundings. "No wonder it's a big newbie hot spot... Parm has all these luxuries and I'm sure it's not going to stop there."

"Well, I guess newbie life has gotten better. But for Shinto on the other hand... That just makes his appearance much more shameful," she jokingly said. "Anyway, for real though. The change in this place is really revolutionary in sense. I wonder what's the reason for that. How did they even get all these funds in the first place?"

With the sight of priests and holy knights alike within the temple donning gear of luxury that seemingly looked far better than the ones who are stationed in the cities, suspicion arose. With the renovations and the like, where did they get all the fundings from? Surely, just from the newbies themselves wasn't enough to make big changes.

"Hmm... For now, let's just do what we're here to do instead of questioning things," Hikari calmly said. "The pope should be within the altar room, so let's head there."

...

The Town of Parm—Temple of Viera, Altar Room [ Morning ].

Moving through the crowd of players, Hikari and Crowelin successfully made their way towards the entrance of the altar room, where the presumed pope should be within it.

Upon entering into the area—the bustle of the outside slowly turned into that of quiet whispers as they were greeted by the sight of a large room, where few players reside, seemingly making their prayers.

"...and here I thought the temples respawn area wasn't luxurious enough," Crowelin blinked in a dumbstruck manner as she took a glance at the room. Besides the usual sight of pews lined up in rows along the nave, radiant stained glass panes reflected into the room, bringing about an elegant atmosphere. "—but just look at this!"

Not only that, by the crossing of where the Altar lied—a statue of Viera stood behind it, gracing upon the room with her presence. Majestic and dignified, the goddess Viera, one who was said to bless peace and hope upon the land—was among the seven gods of the continent that the NPCs worship.

"Shh! We're in a place of worship, Crowelin!" quickly hearing Crowelin's loud roar, Hikari hurriedly hushed the woman beside her.

"A-Ah oops," Crowelin took a deep breath as she shook her head of her initial shock. "...I'm just a little bit dumbstruck with how big this temple actually is. Just where the heck did they get all these funds from? Surely... Not by extorting people...right?"

"Ohohoho. Who do I have the pleasure to meet with all of a sudden?" whilst the two were conversing with one another, an old man's voice resounded through their ears. Taking note of that—the two turned in the direction of where the voice came from, and soon saw that it was from the pope. "The white priest, Hikari and the paladin, Crowelin—what brings you here to this temple without notice? It is an honour."

"Ah, your holiness," in a dignified manner, Hikari and Crowelin gently bowed towards the pope who stood before them. In the next moment, the young blonde woman soon spoke out. "I apologize for the lack of notice for our arrival. There were certain circumstances that brought us here. However... We came here to let you know of our arrival as we might be staying in the area for a few days for a quest of ours given to us by the Holy Order."

"Hmm? I see I see. So you two are on a quest?" the pope nodded his head. "Please raise your heads, there is no need for that—In fact, I should be the one greeting you with honour. It's not every day two reputable people of the Holy Order come to visit!" in a delighted voice, he soon began gesturing the two girls over to a room by the end of the altar room. "Now then... You've come a long way, right? Would you like me to prepare some food for you? Perhaps I should prepare some accommodations for you two as well? You're in luck, as recently—there's been a striving business that has partnered with us, so I can easily get you two a room at one of the top hotels under the name of the Temple."

"Ah... It's fine," Hikari rejected the offer. "We came here to just pay our respects to the goddess and that's it. For accommodations... We can find some ourselves one on our own—so you do not need to burden yourselves with this."

"Hmm, is that so? Though... It is no burden on our side. We have a friendly relation with our partners, so it is an easy task to get you to a room," seemingly persistent, the pope continued on. "It is a five-star hotel with magnificent facilities and accommodations. Surely, do you truly wish to pass up on the offer? You're the esteemed people of the Holy Order! It would be a shame if we cannot help in any way."

"E-Err..." As Hikari was about to raise her concerns against the persistence of the pope—Crowelin hurriedly interjected.

"—your holiness, I'm actually curious! When you say, partners... Do you mean the ones that had funded this place for renovations? My, I am quite amazed at the extravagance greeting us today!"

"Huhu, so you've noticed!" the pope smiled. "Our partners—Lavida has aided us so much with helping the fellow adventurers and townsfolk alike, we are truly indebted to them. If not for them, our temple would just be but a shabby place compared to the ones in the cities. Surely, we want to bring about a good image for Viera, yes?"

"Lavida?" Crowelin tilted her head as she pondered on the name. "Hmm... I see! However, we must kindly reject as we have already had accommodations and the like, but I thank you for the kind offer."

"It is quite unfortunate," he shook his head helplessly. "But please, do enjoy your stay then. If there are any problems—do feel free to call upon me and I will see to it."

"Thank you, your holiness," Hikari once again bowed as she noted that the pope was now moving back into his station by the altar. Soon after, the auburn-haired woman turned towards Crowelin as she then whispered to her. "Hey, Crowelin... Was there any specific reason as to why you suddenly asked that? Interjecting me like that mid-way..."

"Ah well... I felt that it was needed," Crowelin stated. "I mean... With him being pushy on the matter for accommodations, I was just curious about the name of the company they're partnering with."

"Hmm, right..." she thought to herself. "They've partnered with Lavida, was it? I never heard of that name at all... Just who are they? For them to fund the temple with way too many luxuries... They sure have plenty to spend, huh?"

"It's suspicious," Crowelin murmured to herself. "But... Let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? We're only here for the quest after all and also to stick around with Shinto, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," she sighed. "Let's just say our prayers and be on our way to meet up with Shinto. There's quite a lot to be done and—" just as she was about to continue on with her sentence, a sudden notification soon suddenly appeared before her. "—huh...?"

[ Sunset of Justice and Redemption wishes to contact you. ]

Before her, was but a unique message in a tinge of white, filled with an aura of holiness. The notification—was but a rare kind. A message from the angels—specifically, Raphael.