"Thank you very much, my Goddess." I conveyed my gratitude by kissing the back of her hand, making the Goddess giggle.
[If you are really thankful, then I hope you will hurry. Child, tell my beloved Paladin of your request. I shall free you from blindfold and allow you to see the world if you do.]
After answering me, I knew she was talking to Ertha, so I didn't say anything and only backed away. The large-breasted Bishop's eyes slowly turned blue, and her face flushed bright red.
"Wawa… Uhh… Y-Your Holiness Sir Arthur! I-I have a request." She called out to me out of the blue, stuttering in her sentence.
I smiled softly at her and answered, "Yes?"
"Umm…" Hesitated, Ertha's eyes darted around. They landed at Sana, who offered a warm but jealous gaze at her.
I never knew that her eyes moved that fast, as she always wore that blindfold. But I guessed she was just nervous and happy at the same time that her sin was forgiven, and the Goddess even personally told her to put her blindfold down.
Still…
"Go ahead and tell him." She said, glancing at me with her eyes.
Just as Sana had said, Ertha didn't really need to be shy and hesitant like that.
"You can just tell Master that you're horny and want him to take your virginity, you know? I believe you will be taken to heaven on the bed!"
Ertha's face turned deep red, and her jaw dropped when Beatrice vulgarly encouraged her. The shy Bishop didn't even register that she didn't register or care that she didn't wear any blindfold anymore. Her eyes darted around before she bowed deeply at me.
"Please take my virginity!"
"…"
I was speechless and looked at the girls standing behind Ertha.
Sana smiled and nodded, giving me her consent as she mouthed, "Isn't that great, Sir Arthur?"
Meanwhile, Beatrice made a gesture with her hand, moving it up and down while grabbing her index finger.
"She has bigger breasts than me!" The primordial Succubus whispered quietly.
Well… I achieved what I wanted, but why would it be in this kind of situation?
Sighing, I patted Ertha's head softly.
"Raise your head," I said, and she slowly looked up at me.
She was still shy, and her face was still red. However, there was determination and… some kind of strange obsession in her eyes.
Still, this was a bad time.
"For now, return to the church with Sana and Beatrice. I will give you the answer after I finish the problem in this place. I believe you don't want to meet Queen Eve or any Nobles, no?"
Ertha's eyes widened in realization as she nodded repeatedly. It seemed like she forgot that we were in a Royal Castle.
How cute and innocent.
I gave the three of them the [Teleportation Gems] to the church in Royal Capital and bid them goodbye. Of course, I warned Beatrice not to influence Ertha with anything strange. I, however, couldn't stop Sana from doing so. I could only trust her.
After I saw them left, I used <Purification> on my body to clean any kind of trace and turned around.
"Well then… Time to meet the Queen."
***
Leaving the destroyed party hall, I went to the safe room where the VIPs were gathered. Knights looked at me with respect as I walked down the hallway with a confident smile, showing that I had already defeated the enemies and solved the problem.
"Sir Paladin!"
"Has he defeated the enemy? I can't even get close due to the strong pressure."
"He's indeed different. As expected from the Goddess' apostle."
Some whispered praises. They weren't brave enough to say it directly to my face, but I wasn't offended or had any problem with it.
When I came close to the room, Garland and two Royal Guards turned to me and saluted. I stopped in front of them and nodded.
"Your Holiness… I, Garland, am really thankful for your help. I am ashamed that I and the other Royal Guards were too late to stop the intruders and let such a tragedy happen. Please forgive us."
Garland bowed his head deeply, ignoring his status as the Grand Marshal of the Virtue Kingdom. The sound of him gritting his teeth in frustration rang loudly.
"Please forgive us."
The other Royal Guards and knights stationed in the hallway bowed deeply. I could understand their feeling of failing to stop a tragedy.
'It sucks.'
Not being able to do anything and only watching and praying sucks. I knew those feelings more than anyone, as I was also powerless in the first year of Horizon Online and could only watch my comrades raiding dungeons without me.
Nothing could cure that feeling. One could only forget it and work harder than before so they could finally stand in the front when something like this happened once again.
"Raise your head, Grand Marshal. While it's a shame that such a tragedy happened, everything turned out to be alright. Even though I had already guessed someone would try to stop the party, the intruders were sneaky and more cunning than I thought.
"What we can do is to prevent something like this from happening in the future. We must not repeat this mistake." I exclaimed loudly so everyone in the hallway could hear.
And, I added in my mind, 'Though I won't let something like this happen again. Just once is enough to make Queen Eve rely on me more.'
Besides, taking good care of the knights would only benefit me in the future.
Garland and the other knights raised their heads at once.
"Certainly. We will not disappoint Her Majesty in the future." He put his hand on his chest, "I swear on my honor."
"We swear!"
I nodded at them and patted Garland's shoulders.
"Don't think too much about it. Also, send some knights to check on the guests. Please make sure that no one is missing."
"Very well, Your Holiness."
I walked past him and entered the room. The hallway became busy as soon as I did that, but that wasn't my problem anymore.
Inside the room, everyone's gazes landed on me immediately. Queen Eve stood up in worry, surprising the Princes on her sides, while Duke Blacktomb smiled when he saw my appearance. Naya didn't seem to be bothered too much, sitting on a sofa beside her father while smiling softly.
"Is it done?" Tris approached and asked curiously. Her [Yggdrasil Bow] was still slung behind her back.
"I have taken care of the intruders and that monster. The gate also disappeared after I defeated it, so everything should be over now." I exclaimed in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Thank Goddess."
Queen Eve sighed in relief as she sat back down between her sons. She looked at me and smiled beautifully.
"Thank you very much, Your Holiness. Without you, I don't know how our fate will be. Even if I am not as strong as Headmistress Alesia, at least I can feel the ominous Mana that was being exuded. And I know that no one but you was strong enough to defeat that monster."
Duke Blacktomb stepped forward and chirped in, "I agree." He bowed at me and continued, "I must offer my deepest gratitude to Your Holiness. Thanks to you, we survived the disaster from Hell."
"Defending civilians and dealing with monsters is part of my duty as a Paladin. No need to thank me for that." I raised my hand and smiled humbly.
I didn't miss the fact that Duke Blacktomb mentioned Hell in his sentence, and neither did Queen Eve. She looked at Duke Blacktomb with a questioning and suspicious gaze, but it changed almost immediately as she hid them behind a poker face.
As for me, Duke Blacktomb knowing about Hell wasn't that surprising. It was once first witnessed in the Sin Kingdom; that's why my quest was to visit that country.
Duke Blacktomb was an Archbishop trusted by the Luxuria Church and the kingdom to be an ambassador. Knowing some secrets of the world was perfectly natural.
Both Duke Blacktomb and Queen Eve weren't satisfied with my answer, but they also couldn't say anything more as they were still wary of each other. As high-ranking people, they couldn't say something carelessly.
I turned to Tris and leaned closer, "How is the situation here when I am taking care of Cerberus?"
"Queen Eve isn't that worried because she said she trusts your ability." Tris answered in a low voice, "Duke Blacktomb is also strangely calm. He even offered sweets to his daughter, which she refused flatly. Overall, only the Princes couldn't be calm enough and asked me questions every now and then."
"I see," I nodded at her and looked at the people in the room. They were looking at me back as if expecting something.
Clearing my throat, I spoke as calmly as possible.
"Let me explain what happened at the party earlier."
With that, I started explaining to both of them while calling Hell's Cult disciples terrorists. I didn't hide the real name of the gate, as Duke Blacktomb was already aware of Hell.
After finishing my explanation, their expressions became worries, while Naya looked interested in my story. I ignored her and turned to Queen Eve.
"Your Majesty, we need to end the party here and show that you're safe to the Nobles. We also probably need to hold this off for another day too."
Queen Eve nodded at my words, "I am also thinking so as well."
