Chapter 206

At any rate, unless one intended to fight against the entire Empire’s Thieves’ Guild, unleashing one’s energy during the visit was strictly forbidden.

This was both respect for Yorus and a tacit order among those of the underworld.

Following this order guaranteed safety for the most part, but.

‘If someone tries to play tricks like using stealth, they’ll pay dearly.’

However, the surveillance attached to him since the hotel seemed to be a low-ranking member of the Thieves’ Guild, as their stealth holy art was extremely clumsy.

The fact that Roan noticed even without using dark mana said it all.

Or maybe they wanted to intentionally let him know that the Thieves’ Guild was watching.

What if it was someone unrelated to the Thieves’ Guild?

Leaving aside whether there was anyone bold enough to follow him here with that level of skill, if that were the case, the Thieves’ Guild members would have subdued them on their own.

At any rate, it was none of Roan’s business now.

*Step— step—*

Roan approached an old man lying down, leaning against a half-collapsed wall next to the shack.

He smelled of alcohol as if heavily drunk, and wore a brimmed hat pulled all the way down so his face was not properly visible.

*Clink—*

Roan handed him a silver coin.

It was practically an entrance fee for the Thieves’ Guild.

*Slide—*

The old man peered up at Roan with sharp eyes hidden beneath his felt hat.

Roan spoke.

“They say the whisper of the night spreads faster than the shout of the day, so why are you keeping silent, elder?”

“I’m tired of whispering too. What hour are you heading toward?”

“I head toward the darkest dawn, just before the sun rises.”

“……Indeed, you’re a fellow from another night. Those fools, they didn’t even recognize you. The entrance fee is unnecessary.”

The old man pushed back Roan’s hand holding the silver coin.

As expected, Gilsburg’s Thieves’ Guild seemed to have judged Roan to be a guild member from another city’s branch.

‘Indeed, unless one was a guild member, it would be difficult to draw Yorus’s pattern accurately and even memorize the password.’

Roan bowed his head to the old man and prepared to enter Yorus’s temple.

But then.

*Hesitate—*

He paused at the threshold and glanced back at the old man.

“What is it?”

The old man asked with a slightly irritated expression, as if wondering why he kept bothering him.

‘……Didn’t you fail to recognize me too?’

Roan found it somewhat absurd that the old man scolded the other junior guild members for no reason.

Since he was not a guild member in the first place, it was only natural that no one recognized him.

“It is nothing. Farewell.”

Roan moved his steps through the door that looked ready to collapse at any moment.

Inside Yorus’s temple was pitch-black darkness where one could not see even an inch ahead.

It was not merely metaphorical.

No matter how deep the night, there was usually at least some light from the moon and stars.

However, the interior of Yorus’s temple, which was only night, felt similar to walking through the fog at the Watchman’s Hill in the past.

This was also one of the defensive measures to block intruders.

If an unauthorized person entered, they had to endure attacks in the darkness where even their own body was invisible.

Of course, this did not apply to Roan, who had already gone through all the procedures perfectly.

Roan’s eyes quickly adjusted to the dark.

*Swoosh—*

The darkness slowly receded, and what appeared before Roan was a fairly wide corridor.

Dozens of pillars were erected along the long-stretching corridor, and several Thieves’ Guild members were going about their business as usual.

— Is that the guy who supposedly came from another branch?

— Yeah. It’s a face I’ve never seen before.

— Even the old man at the entrance said he’d never seen him.

However, if one listened closely to their conversation, it was entirely about Roan.

Since they were all followers of the Order of Yorus, who were experts in information gathering, they were covertly monitoring Roan.

‘Hesitating here will only make me look weak.’

Although Roan had absolutely nothing to do with the Order of Yorus, he crossed the corridor with dignity as if he were a real priest.

As he reached the end of the corridor, a heavy iron door stood before him.

Beyond this door was practically the heart of the Thieves’ Guild.

In other words, once he crossed this point, there was truly nothing that could stop Roan.

Two hulking gatekeepers guarding the iron door tried to block Roan’s path.

— Hey. Even if you are from another branch, you can’t just cross here as you please.

— Yeah. Shall you show us the token of the Order?

*Shring—*

The wide scimitars held by the gatekeepers pressed tightly against both sides of Roan’s neck.

— *Gasp!*

— For the gatekeeper brothers’ swords to go that far…….

— Isn’t that guy going to piss his pants?

It was an immense pressure that made even their fellow guild members hold their breath.

“…….”

However, Roan did not even make eye contact with the gatekeepers; he merely pulled his robe’s hood lower and mumbled something.

— What?

— What is this bastard saying?

The gatekeepers looked at him as if he were completely crazy, but.

For now, they listened to Roan’s mumbling.

“Yorus spoke: ‘O Wind, you blow landward by day and head toward the sea by night, so let us go together. I shall cross that sea and spread the night to all the world…….’”

— ??!?!?!?!?!?

— W-What?

The gatekeepers listened to those words and were astonished.

Hearing this, wasn’t it too much!

— Isn’t this the story with the wind spirit Wilphy from Chapter 5, Volume 3 of the Scriptures of Yorus!

— Good heavens, how devout must he be to memorize and recite Lord Yorus’s scriptures even at a moment like this?

The gatekeepers had no choice but to completely discard their suspicions about this suspicious man wearing a robe.

Because no intruder would memorize the scriptures of the group they intended to attack so fluently!

Furthermore, wasn’t this a situation where a blade was literally pressed against his throat right now!

It was hard to find anyone quite as devout as this.

— W-What?

— He is reciting Volume 3 of the scriptures?

— Volume 3 is a rare edition that cannot even be possessed unless one is a branch manager-level priest of the temple!

— They said he was from another branch, so was he… a-a branch manager-level!

The Thieves’ Guild members, hearing the gatekeepers’ words, stopped trying to act natural and were now utterly shocked.

*Clang—! Bow—*

The gatekeepers put away the swords that had targeted Roan’s neck, almost throwing them down.

— We failed to recognize you!

— We do not know who you are, but you must have come because of an important matter, right?

Forgetting their duty as gatekeepers, they were completely intoxicated by this holy and glorious moment.

As followers who served Yorus from the depths of their hearts, they dared not block the path of someone reciting his scriptures.

*Creak—*

— Please, enter!

— May the grace of the night be with you!

The gatekeepers politely bowed, even opening the heavy iron door on Roan’s behalf.

“Yorus, having crossed the sea, spoke to the people before him: ‘I am the most brilliant night, and the deepest light. If you serve me, you shall be safe even after the sun sets and remain in peace until dawn, but if you do not, you must live half of your day in fear…….’”

Roan mumbled the most moving and dignified portion of the Scriptures of Yorus even as he passed through the door.

The gatekeepers, who listened closely without missing a single word or syllable, hugged each other and wept.

— Brother! I feel as if my eyes have been opened anew!

— Me too, little brother! I feel I can serve Lord Yorus with a deeper and more truthful heart!

Roan, who had thus turned the entrance corridor of the temple into a sea of tears, let out a sigh of relief.

‘I haven’t done this in a long time, but I’m glad the words still came naturally.’

During his player days, the time when Roan utilized the Thieves’ Guild had long since passed.

Since he already knew or could obtain most items and information on his own, he did not need to bother doing things like this.

Thus, he had been a bit unsure about the most effective passages, but once he tried, didn’t they flow smoothly as if he had memorized them just yesterday?

Muscle memory rather than brain memory!

Roan felt a sense of pride for no reason.

‘You’ve still got it, Roan!’

*Hummmm—*

*Are you…… a priest of the Order of Yorus or something?*

Meanwhile, the false divinity who had watched Roan’s entire journey to this point was utterly dumbfounded.

‘How could that be? I’m only sixteen.’

Roan dismissed the false divinity’s question, telling it not to talk nonsense.

*The one who makes no sense is you!*

The false divinity seemed somewhat aggrieved.

In truth, Roan also agreed that it made no sense.

But from experience, if he just insisted, it usually worked out well.

Anyway.

Beyond the iron door, although narrow and dark, a street lined with shabby stalls along the walls unfolded like a black market.

*Step, step—*

Having passed the biggest hurdle, Roan’s steps became even more confident.

By now, even the eyes that had been covertly monitoring him had long vanished.

Instead.

— They say that gentleman is a branch manager from another branch.

— I heard he memorizes Volume 3 of the Scriptures of Yorus fluently?

— Goodness, he looks young…… but then again, that must be why he rose to branch manager.

Every single Thieves’ Guild member Roan passed by cast looks of respect and emotion.

Although their lifestyle was completely different from other orders, they were still clergymen who served a god.

Those who were closer to the god could not help but be objects of awe.

Roan, feeling their passionate gazes, finished reciting the scriptures in a slightly elevated tone.

“Yorus did not stop there but went further. Even the highest mountains and the deepest valleys could not hold his feet back. No one could stop him, and not even the most hideous magical beast could touch a single fold of his robe; this was called the Days of Leap…….”

It was truly fan service!

— *Gasp!* It really is Volume 3 of the scriptures!

— To actually hear the part about the Days of Leap, I think I’m going to cry……!

Roan had instantly become an unidentified idol of the Order of Yorus.

‘This is how the world should be!’

While the Yorus followers wept tears of emotion, Roan almost shed tears of happiness.

As expected, surviving in Acherandir is the hardest!

When even the Order of Yorus, famous for hunting down black mages, is this peaceful!

Now, the Yorus followers clutched their hands together like people embarking on a pilgrimage and followed behind Roan.

— Branch Manager! Branch Manager! Branch Manager!

— Make way for the Apostle of Yorus!

By that point, Roan also felt that things had gotten slightly out of hand.

‘I didn’t expect them to like it this much……’

At this rate, rather than someone who came to gather information, didn’t he look like someone who came to take over an entire branch!

Roan quietly closed his mouth, hoping that everyone would go back to their own business.

— Huh? Is he not reciting anymore?

— Why……?

— Don’t tell me he’s an outsider who happened to sneak a peek at the scriptures?!

At that, the Yorus followers began to suspect Roan as if they had never cheered for him in the first place!

‘These crazy bastards……!’

Roan could not help but be dumbfounded.

No matter how high the degree of freedom in “God & Devil” was, it could not compare to reality.

Knowing Volume 3 of the Scriptures of Yorus to easily pass the gatekeeper brothers was the limit of the in-game element.

Granted, he had never recited more as a service out of excitement back then…….

In any case, if he left things as they were, he would end up being attacked by these mobs after having successfully entered.

Of course, he could protect himself under normal circumstances.

‘But using black magic in someone else’s temple is an entirely different matter!’

Doing that would undoubtedly incur Yorus’s true ‘divine wrath.’