Thump.
With a dull impact, a gold coin and a few bronze poets were placed directly onto the kitchen table.
"Here, your payment for yesterday's mission. And Malivor also asked me to deliver you 'his part,' he said you'd know what it is."
Laylla was referring to the bronze coins.
"Ah, yeah, I know. Thank you very much, captain!"
Tom thanked her first before returning to devour his food.
My "dear" Malivor… Your mistake was underestimating me… He thought mockingly.
But what can I do, right? Thanks a lot for the money, my wallet appreciates it.
Without ceremony, Tom snatched the coins with one hand and stuffed them into his pants pocket.
"And Tom, as promised, I'm going to personally teach you magic."
"Huh?!" He raised a hand in front of his mouth to finish chewing.
"I remember that you — I mean, ma'am — were going to train me if I beat Malivor, but I didn't even win."
"First of all. How old are you?"
Excuse me?! What? Tom ended up raising an eyebrow in confusion.
Seeing he didn't answer, she wrinkled her glabella, hardening her expression to emphasize the seriousness of her question.
"Uh, well, 26 years old, why?"
"You're almost my age. I don't want you calling me ma'am!" She crossed her arms.
"Alright, yes ma— Errr… I mean, yes captain!"
Trying to sound more polite and respectful, he almost let another "yes ma'am" slip out.
Still serious yet graceful, Laylla pinched her own lip before breathing a little and returning to what she actually wanted to address.
"Okay, you really didn't beat Malivor in a fight, but I'm going to train you anyway. Do you have any plans for today? If not, we'll start in a bit."
Tom clicked his tongue for a second before thinking.
If I have anything planned for today.
"Look captain, actually I wanted to do my divine channeling ritual today. If that's not a problem? If it is, then I can do it another day."
He was honest about what he thought.
Laylla's face lost all expression, her reaction completely deflating. She absolutely had not expected that.
"Ascendant stuff… Wonderful."
She clenched her fist tightly before releasing it and turning her face away.
"But since Mr. Yuki informed me that your growth as an ascendant is the priority, go do that ritual already and tomorrow we'll start training."
"Right, captain!"
So Mr. Yuki then… okay. I guess I can confirm that the "Moonlight squad" as a whole supports me becoming a better ascendant, stronger, more powerful. Or all of them together. Alright.
With Captain Laylla leaving the HQ kitchen, another figure who had only been attentively observing from farther back grabbed a plate of food before removing his white apron and chef hat. His skin was tanned, with burn marks on his hands.
"May I sit down?"
He politely asked as he approached the table Tom was sitting at.
"Relax Snow, no need to be so formal man, we're already friends."
Tom grinned from ear to ear before pointing at the chair on the opposite side of the table with one hand.
The middle-aged man closed his eyes before pointing upward three times in gratitude to the Violet Maiden.
"Hm. So you're going to do the divine channeling ritual to try speaking with your Superior?"
"Mhm."
Still eating, Tom answered with a nasal sound.
At that instant he froze for a second when he thought a little deeper about the subject, though he quickly returned to eating and brushed the thought aside.
"Are you doing the ritual alone or will someone help you?"
The cook asked while scooping up another bite of food with his spoon.
"I'll have help. A priest is going to help me. At least he offered to help."
"Oh really? I actually thought you weren't religious. But tell me, who's the priest?"
"I'm not religious. It was just coincidence. It's a priest named Abel."
Snow immediately covered his mouth with his forearm, holding back his reaction so he wouldn't spit out his food.
"That crazy priest?"
Huh dude, what do you mean?
Tom scratched the back of his neck while continuing to stare at the cook's doubtful reaction.
"Look, I can't stop you. But here's a friend's warning: be careful, that priest is completely unhinged."
"Alright then. I'll keep that in mind."
He was already close to finishing his plate when something suddenly came to mind, and he thought it appropriate to ask Snow about it.
"Snow, has Malivor ever done a divine channeling ritual? Or did you guys try doing one for him?"
Letting out a deep sigh, the cook seemed to relive a memory.
"We already tried. First, none of the churches agreed to perform the ritual for him. Nobody clearly explained why, but our biggest suspicion is that Malivor's Superior must be some god that has hostility toward the deities of the main churches. After that he also did one on his own through the black market and got no response. So he completely lost interest in that stuff and just moved on with life. We haven't tried again since then either."
Snow paused, and just as Tom was about to speak, he continued.
"I hope you understand. Malivor is a pretty competitive guy, so I don't want a heavy rivalry starting between you two if he finds out or realizes you're progressing while for more than two years he's felt 'stuck' as an ascendant. And also don't feel bad if your Superior doesn't answer. I don't know many ascendants, but I think it's common for gods not to respond to their 'chosen.'"
"Okay. Got it."
From the continuation of the conversation, there were several different gods, some considered false or evil, while a certain number were the orthodox gods, namely: The Son of Time, The Spokesman, Amnon, The Violet Maiden, The Shadow of Life, and The Blind One.
There were also some angels who received worship and praise on the same level as the orthodox gods and possessed their own titles, including The Writer, The Falling Star, and The Supreme Archangel. Worship of angels was much more common in the territories of the Kingdom of Darcus and the Elsenbein Empire.
Even without Snow explaining too much, it became very clear that there was obvious worship of evil gods, chaotic entities, demons, and sometimes even monsters. But in a general context, these became cults or sects and were frequently hunted by the civil and religious authorities of the kingdoms.
Both of then returned to focusing on their meal and dropped the conversation.
The successfully completed mission from the previous day rewarded Tom with a good night's sleep, and after finishing breakfast and getting ready for the day's activities, he walked toward the iron door of the HQ.
I could just teleport straight to the cathedral.
Two days earlier he had left a teleportation mark on the door of the Cathedral of the Blind One, however, he didn't want to risk suddenly appearing there and startling someone, or unintentionally revealing his powers.
With that in mind, he folded the middle and index fingers of his left hand twice, creating a glowing mark of an eye with a luminescent pupil on the inner side of the HQ, allowing him to immediately return there if necessary.
Turning the doorknob, the metal door opened with a metallic clang.
His destination was to meet with Priest Abel and finally perform the divine channeling ritual.