The m was young and so was the bright blue sky. Clouds filled such vast blueness with life along with the birds flying freely in the air, free of restraints and s high and low as they should. It was the start of a new day.

  A few days have passed since Grey settled the deal with Gallen Vilge's Chief and as they have agreed on, they headed to the Merts' Guild to settle everything. It was just like Grey had expected. He was buried with work and was questioned by the Guildmaster for hours.

  It also didn't help when the Chief found out who Grey really was. Thankfully, he didn't ge his attitude and only asked for a simple autograph. Needless to say, it was a tiri productive day.

  The days after that, Grey and Yuna eheir usual lifestyles. They took quests, practiced bcksmithing and alchemy, eheir hobbies, and of course, spent time with one another, pying games, eating together, and cuddling. It eaceful series of days.

  Chatter Chatter Chatter

  Yet in such a peaceful m, the loud and noisy chattering of the crowd could be heard overpping everywhere. It was not even the market but in front of the church, yet suoise could still be observed.

  "There sure are a lot of people, huh..." ［Grey］

  "Un... Would everything be alright?" ［Yuna］

  The reason retty simple. It was because Grey and Yuna, who were not any less famous than celebrities, were in front of the said church. People who were excited to see them gathered around, hehe sudden noisiness.

  Grey wao have an audieh the priest to ask questiarding the essence of creatioher, and corruption that Leif couldn't answer. And si was an audiehat they needed, it was better to do it with the influence as heroes.

  The two had already expected that it would cause a little bit of otion nearby, but they didn't think it would be this much. The people were like fans who were waiting for their idols to arrive in a cert.

  "Then, shall we head inside? More and more people are gathering by the moment. I'm afraid of what bees of this crowd..." ［Grey］

  "Un. I think so too..." ［Yuna］

  Ign the crowd who stared at them, Grey and Yuna walked ihe church's premises beside one another. But their destination was not the same, they split up left and right as soon as they were in front of the main building.

  Yuna headed to the nearby building, the orphanage, whilst Grey tinued heading ihe main building, the massive doors weling him as soon as he arrived in front of it. It was not less than amazing.

  Creaaakkkk

  The doors opened and a heavy ahy creak resounded in the air. The inside of the church was even more amazing than what was outside. Even more amazing and awe-inspiring than those he had seen ba earth.

  Light passing through the rge side windows as lined up left, right, aer, creating a rge array of seats for devotees to pray and verse to God. And at the far ter, behind the altar was a rge statue of a man who held a scale on one hand and a sword oher.

  "So this is how you look, huh..." ［Grey］

  The statue was her than a recreation of the God Grey had met. He only heard his void hadn't seen his face so he didn't know how accurate the statue was. It was entirely possible that it wasn't even close to what God really looked like.

  Grey drew closer to the statue, and when he did, he noticed intricate details carved oatue's body. They were high-level runes which are of the highest difficulty in enting that even he has not fully grasped.

  "Light, darkness, life, death, and that one is... Chaos?" ［Grey］

  Mumbled Grey as he tio look at the runes carved oatue. There were some pertaining to the elements found in nature, the divis, and many natural aspects of the world. Most importantly, it entailed the creation of the world.

  Acc to the book of genesis, in the beginning, there was only chaos. Light, darkness, fire, water, and all other elements intermixed with one another creating a mixture of something totally strange and indescribable.

  Flick

  The sound of a flicked finger echoed in such chaos and suddenly, all elements arrahemselves accly, creating their own dense clumps. A certain figure walked along the os and observed the emptiness left behind.

  Like a chef cooking meals and craftsmeing furniture, that figure pulled those elements together to create harmony. First he used fire ah to create the nd and the magma running below it. He then flooded it with water to create the os and the tis.

  What followed after were wind to create what belongs in the sky, ice which frosted the poles, light and darko create day and night, creating a perfect looking p which is now the world of Merusia, but something still felt missing. There was nothing inhabiting it.

  First, he shattered the life attribute into pieces, creating the pnts and everything green, birthing a new element. He tio scatter it in the ground to create all nd animals, the sea to create fishes, to the sky to create birds.

  God pyed around and created more and more, until he created Salfers, mirrored from a certain race he had seen before iher God's dimensions. The species which split into the seven races whiow domihe world

  Lastly, he poured mana in the world to make it more iing, creatis, monsters, and magical pnts alike. It also gave power to the people whom he grew to love. And so, everything was finished.

  It is said that it has been more than 20 thousand years sihe world was created and ever sis creation, the one and only God, Namel, watched over the nds as it grew to how it is today, sending down salvation in times of need and sending down punishments to those who deserve it.

  "Namel, huh... That idiot God old me what his name was... Am I even in the right pce?" ［Grey］

  Grey asked himself as he tio look around the church, admiring the images dispyed over the painted windows and the paintings on the ceiling. He once again realized how impressive the church really was.

  It was then that a certain thought came to his mind. He closed his eyes and trated heavily, fog his thoughts oatue before him. But time passed, yet nothing ged. There was only silence.

  "It's a failure, huh..." ［Grey］

  Utilizing telepathy the way he usually does, Grey tried to ect to God to see if he could unicate with him, but all his efforts were in vain. Just like the case with Kris and Aira, he couldn't call out to him.

  Creak

  Time passed and another creak echoed in the air. It was not the main door, but rather, a door by the side which leads to the inner buildings of the church. A man wearing a priest's garb excited, his eyes fixated on Grey.

  The priest had a peaceful demeanor on his face, and as one would expect of a priest, he was judged "green" by Grey's eyes. One of the purest shades of green, in fact. It was then Grey khat he could be trusted.

  "Greetings to Yhness, Hero of Alfrione." ［Priest］

  Politely, the priest bowed his head trey to show his respect. It was already what Grey had expected, but it was still unpleasant being greeted like that. Especially by a priest who are sidered servants of God, even if that God was an idiotie.

  "Please raise your head." ［Grey］

  "As you and, Yhness." ［Priest］

  As politely as he bowed, the priest raised his head as calmly as he bowed his, showing a smile at the end to greet Grey once again. He was quite different from what Grey had previously imagined. Not stern, but calm and friendly.

  "Sorry for visiting so abruptly, I hope I didn't trouble you too much." ［Grey］

  "There's no such thing, Yhness. If anything, we feel hohat you visited us... Now, I heard His Highness has some questions to ask of me?" ［Priest］

  "That's right, but... I don't think this is the right pce to talk about it." ［Grey］

  Grey looked around the pd the priest's eyes followed. There may only be a few, but there were still a handful of devotees praying i would only disturb their prayers if they talked in such a pce.

  "Fufufu, Yhness is right. If that's the case, why don't we head to the tral chamber first? I believe it would be more fortable there." ［Priest］

  "Please and thank you." ［Grey］

  "It's my pleasure." ［Priest］

  Breaking the silehe sound of footsteps echoed throughout the halls as Grey and the priest walked side by side. Other than their steps, it was deadly silent to the point you could hear your owh, but it was rexing, strangely enough.

  After a couple minutes of walking, they finally arrived in what seems to be a mix of a library and a study room. There were a rge number of books by the side, all of which pertaio theology and the likes.

  Ranging from books whitailed the creation of the world, to records of saints and important figures of the church, and even theories about the foundation of the world. There were a lot of iing picks to see. It was a good colle.

  "Are you ied in them, Yhness?" ［Priest］

  "No, not really... I was just thinking that there sure are a lot of books here. There are even some I haven't seen iy library." ［Grey］

  "Fufufu. That is correct. Some of the books here are special properties of the Church that no anization could tain. But if you would like, I lend them to you, Yhness." ［Priest］

  "Huh? Is that alright? Won't the Church get enraged?" ［Grey］

  "No, no, that isn't the case at all. While other pces could not utilize them without permission, it is not forbidden to borrow them. As long as one does not destroy it, everyone could borrow it." ［Priest］

  ess, fidence, and siy. Such emotions could be seen in the priest's eyes as he answered Grey's query. He then started to pour tea over his desk and prepared some snacks to go along with it.

  Just like the priest has said, books pertaining to holy magid teiques utilized by the Church be learnt by everyone. While the Church is the one who holds the most knowledge about holy magid the likes, there are also other fas who use it as well as they do.

  The only problem was that uanding holy magic is quite an ordeal. Only the Church has the facilities and capabilities to teach it to the younger geions with great efficy. It was the reason why many people thought the Church had monopoly over holy magic.

  "Oh, how rude of me, I fot to introduce myself. I am Sephir, the priest and the one in charge of this church." ［Sephir］

  "Well, I'm sure you already know this, but I'm called Grey. It's a pleasure to meet you, Priest Sephir." ［Grey］

  "The pleasure is mine, Yhness." ［Sephir］

  Just as the introdus were over, Sephir handed a cup of tea to Grey and offered him a seat. He was very courteous and polite that one would easily get along with him. A true model for excellence.

  "Now, back to the topic... What were you going to ask me, Yhness? My knowledge may be g, but I hope I answer your questions." ［Sephir］

  "Well, this might be strao ask, but... Have you heard of 'aether'?" ［Grey］

  "Aether... If it's about pure mana, I know a little bit about it..." ［Sephir］

  Grey was initially worried that their time would be wasted, but thankfully, Sephir at least knew what aether was. It was a bit surprising si even the royal academy knew of it, but it was a wele surprise.

  "But where did Yhness hear about it? It has only been a couple of years sis discovery in the Holy Nation, and even amongst priests, only a small number of us have heard about it." ［Sephir］

  "A-Ah... I heard it from another priest when we were out in Ingrasia. It got me quite ied so I wao ask." ［Grey］

  "I see... That does make se's an iing topic, after all..." ［Sephir］

  It was a close call. Since God didn't specify how widely knowher was, Grey was having a bit of trouble how much he could talk about. Thankfully, Sephir wasn't a doubtful man and believed him easily. Though he does feel a little bit guilty.

  "From what I know, aether is the plete opposite of corruption. If corruption is called the source of evil, theher is the providence of God..." ［Sephir］

  Slowly but surely, Sephir expined all he knew about aether to Grey, and as a bonus, corruption was even included in his expnations. From its discovery, to its theoretical purpose, Sephir talked about it without end.

  Sadly, even with all the knowledge of the church, it didn't rival what Grey and Leif already knew of. In fact, some of the information was even wrong and tained missing parts. It was totally hopeless.

  Still, Grey couldn't just barge in and say about everything he knows about it. Other than fag criticism from the researchers, he would also sound crazy since he had no evidence. On top of that, he would love to avoid antagonizing the church.

  "That's all I know. I hope it was helpful." ［Sephir］

  "No, it's more than enough." ［Grey］

  Grey's chest pained as he lied to Sephir. He was expining it so enthusiastically and politely too that Grey felt bad already knowing what he was talking about. It ity, but there was nothing he could do about it.

  "Then, how about the 'Essence of Creation'? Have you also heard about it?" ［Grey］

  "The essence of creation... That's... Hmm... It's the first time I've heard of it. Did Yhness also hear it from the same priest?" ［Sephir］

  "No, I've read it somewhere, though I 't remember where. Sorry..." ［Grey］

  "There's o apologize, but si was a book... maybe there's some clues in here..." ［Sepir］

  Sephir slowly stood up and he books near him, he then sed through the titles to see aed tents, but his efforts were all for naught. There was not a single one which bore any resembnt meanings.

  Of course there wasn't. After all, even Grey only knew about it wheered the Labyrinth of Death. It would be stranger if people knew about it and he didn't. He has a God-gifted knowledge, after all... Literally.

  "I'm sorry, but I don't think I help you in regards to that topic, Yhness. I'm truly sorry." ［Sephir］

  "No, it's alright. You've helped me more than enough." ［Grey］

  "It was myー Ah! e to think of it, maybe they know something about it. If it's that pce, I'm sure you learn a lot of things there." ［Sephir］

  But just when all hope was lost, a sudden idea popped up inside Sephir's mind. It ce he had been to only a few times. The pce which has authority rivaling that of empires and major powers alike.

  "And that pce is...?" ［Grey］

  "It's the Holy Nation, Elvanel." ［Sephir］

  Holy Nation, Elvanel, a small city-state located in the tral ti, Noire of where Grey is currently in, the Eastern ti, Oiros. It is the home of the Pope and is also where the Church's headquarters are located. A pany could freely enter.

  Although small, its influeretches far and wide due to its believers and because of it, it gained an authority which would not lose out to any majlobal powers, such as the empires and the guilds. A major pyer in the world of politid eics.

  The only problem was that it was very far away, taking months to a whole year of travel for normal people. Even if Grey and Yuo fly using Sirius at high speeds, it would still take more than a week.

  "But, I don't advise Yhness on going there for now." ［Sephir］

  "Hm? Why? Is there a problem?" ［Grey］

  "No, rather than a problem... It is more appropriate to say that the Church is still adjusting to its newfound powers. You see, Heiren, the Chief Padin, had just broken through Camity-Css." ［Sephir］

  Grey's heart was shocked with surprise at Sephir's words. It was not just any trivial topic. It was something which could easily tip the power bance if not handled carefully and cause fri between tries.

  Camity-Css, the level above S-rank, is a level achieved only by a handful of people. Even in the world, there are only five Camity-Css Rankers, only seost powerful to the two Disaster-Css rankers.

  With their power to annihite cities with just a flick of a fihey are sidered National-Level threats which could destroy kingdoms if they so wahe appearance of a sixth one will wholly break the current bance.

  While it is beneficial for the Holy Nation, the same couldn't be said to other tries. Even if they have no ill iions, the others might perceive them as a threat. Chaos could desd at any moment during such a sensitive period.

  Grey wasn't fully i either. Since Poris, his and Yuna's familiar, had also just reached Camity-Css, they are only on the same level of a threat as the others. It was in their best io keep it a secret.

  "I see... I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Priest Sephir." ［Grey］

  "Fufufu, anytime, Yhness." ［Sephir］

  With that, Grey's business with the church was cluded. Since even the priest had no idea about the essence of creation, there was no point in wasting time. He was about to take his leave, when he remembered something important.

  "Ah, right... Priest Sephir, I would like to make a donation." ［Grey］

  "Fufufu, that would be more than welcoー" ［Sephir］

  Sephir who was just giggling to himself suddenly stopped, his expressions frozen and his eyes full of shock, disbelief, and fusion. Before him, there was a light blue crystal which had cloud-like mist melded inside of it.

  He has been w what Grey would like to donate when he reached to his ste ring, but he never expected it to be like that. At most, he was thinking of a silver which is 1 thousand kiels, but who would have thought Grey would take out a sky crystal which is a thousand times more valuable. He was shocked.

  "No, no, no, no! We 't accept such a rge amount, Yhness! Do you even know how valuable it is?!" ［Sephir］

  "I know how valuable it is, and that's why I'm giving it to you. I know there are a lot of children in the orphanage. Use it to give the children something o eat." ［Grey］

  "But Yhness, evehis is still too much..." ［Sephir］

  "Hmm... If that's the case... Then how about this? Think of it as payment for your help today and if ever I o ask something iure, you repay me by answering my questions. That's a fair trade isn't it?" ［Grey］

  It was in no way a fair trade. The information Grey obtaioday wasn't even as helpful. And it was not that Grey was generous, it was just a form of self-satisfa to repay everyone who supported him in his past life.

  He knew full well how hard it was to be an orphan. Thankfully, there were his retives to support him until he could stand for himself. He wahe children to feel that same support too. After all, it was better to spend money for the welfare of others rather tha gather dust in the er.

  "Thank you, Yhness..." ［Sephir］

  "Haha, anytime!" ［Grey］

  Leaving the still shocked Sephir to his own, Grey left the tral chamber and headed out of the main building. He then headed straight towards the orphanage which was located a few distance away.

  Wheered, what greeted him was a rge group of children crowding around a certain silver-haired elf. She was telling them stories and they listetentively. The nuns were watg warmly over them.

  "Oh, Grey! Are you doh your business?" ［Yuna］

  "Yeah, sorry for leaving you alone." ［Grey］

  Of course, Yuna immediately noticed his entrand was the first oo greet him. Following Yuna's eyes, the children and the nuns also looked at Grey. Bright faces of excitement painted on their faces as soon as they realized who Grey was.

  "It's Mister Hero!"

  "Mister Hero! Mister Hero! Have you seen a dragon?!"

  "Mister Hero! Do you have a sword?!"

  Excited questions came flying here and there as they ran trey with such vigor. Their eyes were shimmering brightly as if they had just seen their idols. Especially the boys, they were gung-ho about Grey's adventures.

  "I-I apologize, Yhness! Kids, please behave yourー" ［Nun］

  "No, it's alright. Children should ought to be eic, after all." ［Grey］

  Grey was not bothered a si. pared to when people stared at them oreets or snag praises of admiration towards them, the curious inquiries and i excitement of such children was much more fortable.

  He couldn't help but smile as he observed the childreed faces. It was then that he realized that he made the right decision. pared to the children's bright smiles, a measly one million kiels was nothing.

  "Then, how about we head back to where Miss Hero is. If you behave like good kids, I'll give you some sweets!" ［Grey］

  "Sweets?! Really?!"

  "Yaaay～!"

  Cheers of pure and i happiness filled the air as Grey headed to where Yuna was. He then gave a number of handmade sweets and snacks to the children, making their faces blohter.

  Even the older children didn't shy away from them. While they were much more reserved than the younger ones, excitement was still evident in their faces. It made Grey and Yuna feel a certain warmth surge iheir hearts. It was aful day.

  CHAPTER 160 END