The Dragon Hourglass stood at the very heart of the royal capital's town district, housed within a clock tower that seemed to grow even taller as you approached.
Kiriko's group, along with Naofumi Iwatani and his companions, headed toward the tower together.
Due to Gabriel's secret ability to transform into a human, Kiriko decided it would be safest to have her stay in Filolial form for now.
Some secrets were better kept hidden until they knew more.
Inside the tower, a receptionist dressed like a nun looked startled upon seeing Kiriko and the others.
Kiriko immediately noticed the nun's chest bore the familiar holy emblem depicting a sword, spear, and bow.
The Three Hero Church, huh?
Naofumi stepped forward to explain their purpose, and the nun guided the group toward the enormous hourglass.
It was nearly seven meters high, decorated with golden dragons and wings, radiating an aura of divine grandeur.
The sand inside was almost depleted—just one glance made it clear there wasn't much time left until it ran out.
At that moment, Naofumi's shield suddenly shot out a vibrant green beam of light, striking the jewel embedded in the center of the Dragon Hourglass.
The entire hourglass erupted with golden light, leaving Naofumi stunned in place.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Kiriko had naturally noticed this bizarre scene as well.
"Twenty hours," Naofumi murmured as he regained his senses. "The next Wave is in twenty hours."
"Oh, then just now, that ridiculously green beam you shot out was…"
"Apparently, it's something that happens when you register with the Dragon Hourglass for the first time," Naofumi answered, clearly confused himself. "Kiriko-san, isn't this your first time here too?"
Actually, Naofumi wanted to ask why Kiriko hadn't experienced the same phenomenon.
Kiriko understood his implication immediately.
"It is my first time here. Maybe it didn't happen for me because I'm not like you—I don't have a Legendary Weapon."
Naofumi froze for a moment, then lowered his head apologetically.
"I see. Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."
Kiriko waved him off casually to indicate it wasn't a big deal, then turned to the nun.
"We can perform Class Up here too, right? My companions have reached Level 40 and need to Class Up… Also, Naofumi, some of your companions probably need it too, right?"
If she remembered correctly, among the slaves Kiriko had originally purchased for Naofumi, only the werewolf had been Level 75, meaning only he had previously undergone a Class Up.
All the others hadn't yet advanced.
Given how much time had passed, they surely had hit Level 40 by now.
With the next Wave just around the corner, it was critical to perform Class Ups now—better safe than sorry when the time came.
The nun nodded.
"The Class Up fee is 15 gold coins."
Aside from Kiriko, Raphtalia, and Gabriel, everyone else—including Lute and Naofumi's companions—looked completely stunned.
"W-what did you say? Fifteen gold coins?"
The nun nodded again, emphasizing each word clearly.
"Fifteen gold coins per person."
Naofumi and the others turned pale.
What did 15 gold coins per person even mean?
The monthly allowance provided by the kingdom to the Heroes was a mere 500 silver coins—or exactly 5 gold coins.
That meant three months of their allowance was needed to Class Up just one companion.
Without Class Up, they'd be stuck at the Level 40 bottleneck indefinitely.
If the kingdom simply managed adventurers by charging exorbitant Class Up fees, Kiriko wouldn't have given a fuck about it.
But now they were even blocking the Heroes' companions from advancing?
Especially when the next Wave was merely twenty hours away?
Forget it…
Kiriko placed a hand firmly on Naofumi's shoulder, silently telling him not to argue further.
Money? That was the least of her worries.
Money was something she absolutely didn't lack.
Besides, it wasn't like she was handing over cash for free.
Back in her Skyrim days, whenever she paid NPCs to learn skills, she would inevitably reclaim every septim—and then some extra.
She'd done it countless times. She knew exactly how this worked.
"One, two, three… twelve people total, twelve times fifteen… so, 180 gold coins."
Kiriko casually pulled a gold brick from her Dimensional Bag, decided it wasn't enough, took out another one, and handed them both to the nun.
"Go weigh these and see if it's enough for 180 gold coins."
The nun was struck speechless.
So was Naofumi and everyone else present.
"You… Kiriko-san, how do you have this much money?"
"Don't worry about it, Naofumi. If you really feel guilty, just make sure you do your best during the next Wave."
"I will," Naofumi said earnestly.
Just then, a priest rushed in from outside, followed closely by several guards stationed at the tower.
Kiriko immediately noticed that each guard bore the emblem of the Three Hero Church.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Kiriko's expression turned cold.
Lute instinctively stepped forward, smoothly shielding Raphtalia and Gabriel behind him.
Naofumi's companions similarly split, forming a defensive perimeter around Raphtalia and the others.
The priest whispered something urgently into the nun's ear, and the nun theatrically showed surprise.
"I deeply apologize," she said, feigning regret. "We've just received a divine revelation: the companions of the Zero Hero and Shield Hero are forbidden from performing Class Ups."
Naofumi's expression darkened dangerously.
"You literally just said fifteen gold coins per person."
The nun gave him a smug smile.
"That was before we received this new divine revelation. It only arrived just now."
"So this is Motoyasu and his group's doing again, isn't it?"
"No," the nun shook her head solemnly. "This revelation comes not from the three current Heroes, but from the three ancient Heroes who saved the world and ascended into divinity."
Naofumi's werewolf companion spat contemptuously onto the floor.
"What bullshit gods? Only the Shield Hero-sama is truly divine!"
The nun's face twisted with disdain.
"You dare speak like that? A mere beast who spent only a few months in Siltvelt as nothing but a breeding tool for demons."
"You insolent female—who're you calling a demon?"
"You filthy demi-human. Your mouth is as foul as your disgusting body."
Seeing that Naofumi's companion was about to attack the nun, the guards swiftly lowered their halberds, aiming the cold steel at Kiriko's and Naofumi's group.
"If we obtain a royal decree from the king, can we perform Class Ups then?"
Kiriko wasn't sure whether a medieval king's order counted as a "royal decree," but she wasn't in the mood to quibble over semantics right now.
Her patience was limited, and nobody got to step on her boundaries again and again without consequence.
She believed strongly in treating others with respect, in never bullying the weak.
But if people insisted on abusing her goodwill, well…
Then don't blame her for being ruthless.
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T/N: heh she says all this in her mind but she's pretty nice, i bet if she sees someone suffering she'd help them but she doesn't go out of her way to save people just people in front of her heh