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EPISODE 231 – GUARDIANS OF THE HOLY CROSS (3)
St. Crute Monastery boasted a long history and tradition, and was home to around 300 members of the Guardians of the Holy Cross.
“We don’t stay here all the time. We are dispatched all over the continent and just use St. Crute Monastery as our base.”
Manual excitedly talked about this and that, so Jude and Cordelia were not bored until they arrived at the monastery.
“Our branch leader is currently out of town, but he’ll be back tomorrow. So please relax for today and enjoy the welcome party.”
“Welcome party?”
“Yes, a welcome party. The heroes of the Guardians have arrived, so it’s proper that we hold a welcome party, right?”
Manuel looked around as if asking the others for their agreement, and the members raised their voices in response.
“That’s right.”
“It is as he said.”
“It’s only proper to do so.”
Cordelia flinched when she glimpsed a bit of madness in their eyes, and she unconsciously pulled Jude’s sleeve. Jude replied to Manuel as he slightly hid Cordelia with his body.
“I understand. We’ll look forward to it.”
“Hehe, please look forward to it.”
When Manuel laughed in excitement, the rest of the members began to laugh with him, and Cordelia held on to Jude’s sleeve a little tighter.
And around half an hour later.
After leaving the busy trading city, Jude and Cordelia were surprised when they arrived at St. Crute Monastery located in the suburbs.
There stood around 300 people lined up at the stone entrance of St. Crute Monastery, and it seemed like all the Guardians residing in the monastery were present. Moreover, there were even flag bearers holding large flags of the Guardians of the Holy Cross in between, similar to those in formal ceremonies.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, we’re not kidding.”
At Cordelia’s question, Manuel laughed again, and her suspicion became a reality.
“In the name of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, we welcome the two heroes.”
When the woman at the forefront courteously greeted and bowed to them, all the guardians dressed in black and white uniform also bowed to them, which was a truly spectacular sight.
But Cordelia unconsciously pulled on Jude’s sleeve.
Because aside from being happy, she did not understood the current situation well.
[Jude, Jude. Why are they doing that?]
[Because we’ve done a lot?]
[Huh?]
[Think about it.]
Think about what we have been doing.
The things that we had done.
The public had only known that they had stopped the Lord Protector’s plan, but from the perspective of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, Jude and Cordelia’s activities did not just stop at that.
[How many demonic humans have we caught so far? We’ve also destroyed Hell Gates.]
[Eh? 
Ah!]
In the eyes of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, all demon followers needed to be destroyed, regardless of whether they belonged to the Devil’s Hand or Devil’s Eye.
However, the number of demonic humans that Jude and Cordelia had killed so far was not a small number.
The number of low-ranking demonic humans under Saluzia’s northern branch had been seriously decreased because of Jude and Cordelia, and the Devil’s Eye also lost dozens of low-ranking and mid-ranking demonic humans in the wild lands because of the two.
Add to that were the Hell Gates.
Jude and Cordelia had destroyed a total of two Hell Gates so far, and they stopped the Lord Protector, who most certainly would have awakened as a high-ranking demonic human had he succeeded.
Moreover, the reputation of the Guardians of the Holy Cross was raised because they heavily used the name of the organization in the process.
“The ideal Guardians.”
“The heroes of the Guardians.”
“The humble ones who gave glory to the Guardians.”
The last evaluation was something that only Guardians could give, because only the Guardians knew of the fact that they did not do much for Jude and Cordelia.
And there were a few more things added to this.
“The esteemed Landius’ disciple.”
“Someone talented enough to lead the Guardians of the Holy Cross in the future.”
“Talented people who Master Kamael kept his eye on.”
Landius was not a member of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, but most of the Guardians did not think so.
He was the comrade of Kamael, one of the six heads of the Guardians of the Holy Cross.
A hero of the Guardians who continued to destroy demon followers even until now.
Since Landius was Jude’s master, the Guardians of the Holy Cross naturally held Jude in high regard.
And there was one more really important reason.
“An angel.”
“A real angel.”
“The angel Cordelia!”
It was to be expected.
The Guardians of the Holy Cross was originally an organization formed by the remaining members of the denominations that worshipped the angels who descended from heaven.
For them, the angels were not mere messengers of gods, but targets of faith.
Therefore, there was a group of people worshipping Holy Angel Lena among the Guardians of the Holy Cross, and now, they had one more being to worship.
Holy Angel Cordelia.
An angel with a beautiful face and heart.
One was a disciple of the Guardian’s strongest hero, and the other was an angel befitting worship.
And the two had made huge achievements in succession.
So at this point, it wasn’t strange for them to hold a welcome ceremony for the two.
“We’ve prepared a banquet. This way, please.”
After Manuel spoke, a woman in her early thirties began to guide Jude and Cordelia.
She was Carmen, the second highest-ranking member in the St. Crute Monastery, a master of God’s Fist, and someone who had mastered fist and foot martial arts for a long time.
She was also a disciple of Fast Fist Tyburn, one of the six heads of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, and had a daughter with her husband who was a fellow disciple as her.
Her hobby was knitting, and her specialty other than martial arts was singing hymns. Her recent concern was that she had been spending less time with her daughter due to frequent business trips.
And the reason why Jude and Cordelia found out all these trivial facts was simple.
“That’s why
”
The drunk Carmen spoke again, and the likewise drunk Cordelia blushed and laughed.
“Ehehe, is that so?”
The Guardians of the Holy Cross.
One of the common misconceptions about the Guardians of the Holy Cross was to regard them as an organization of ‘monks’ because the reality was completely different.
In reality, the Guardians weren’t ascetic monks who gave up everything for god, but rather, they were a group of ‘warriors’ who were willing to fight against the demon followers for the rest of their lives.
Of course, as the foundation of the Guardians itself were the various denominations that existed in the past, their organization had an appearance of worshipping gods in general.
All of these were true.
“Pour more!”
“Drink more!”
The Guardians drank the strong fruit liquor the monastery itself brewed as they rolled on the cold stone floor, and Carmen who had been talking with Cordelia before was now passionately kissing the floor.
And in the midst of this, Jude remained sober alone because of the regenerative power of the Sphere of Life and the powerful detoxification of his metamorphosized body, so he was not drunk at all. He described the sight before his eyes in a short sentence.
“What a mess.”
A literal mess.
At least a hundred members of the Guardians and trainee monks had lost their reason because of the liquor.
At this point, Jude thought that the welcome party was just an excuse.
‘Did they just want to drink?’
Because they needed a justification for drinking this much on a large scale.
At the moment when Jude’s eyes were filled with suspicion

“Heue, heee. Huuuuu. There’s still some alcohol. Hihi.”
Jude turned to the voice he heard right next to him.
“Cordelia, are you okay?”
“Huh? Uh, yes. I’m fine. I’m completely okay.”
Cordelia grinned with a flushed face as she looked at Jude with tipsy eyes, and snorted before saying.
“Jude, Jude. You want to drink more?”
“I’m fine. That’s quite strong.”
While Carmen who drank with her was trying to unite with the floor, Cordelia sat still and talked to Jude.
“Hehehe, I can drink well. This is f*cking strong.”
“That’s right, that’s right. My Cordelia can drink well.”
“Yes, yes. I can drink well. Drink well. Hihi.”
Cordelia covered her cheeks with her hands and closed her eyes, but she soon opened it and said.
“Uh, Jude. My Jude. Hehe, my Jude. My Juuuuuude?”
“Uh
”
She’s completely drunk.
But it’s fine since she’s cute.
Jude watched Cordelia for a while before he stood up.
“Jude?”
“Let’s stop. We should go now.”
“Go?”
“Let’s go to our room.”
“Ah, the room. Yes, the room. Yeah, the room. I know.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll carry you there.”
Jude carried Cordelia in his arms and headed to the room where they had stopped by earlier when they unpacked their luggage.
“Hehehe, those perverted elves, hehe. I won.”
What in the world did you win?
And perverted elves?
“I won. I. I won, right?”
“Yes, you won. My Cordelia is the strongest. She’s invincible.”
“Yes, yes, I’m awesome!”
Fearing that the Cordelia who was speaking gibberish would fall, Jude secured her tightly in his arms and walked a little faster.
Because he thought that he should lay her down quickly.
And in the room.
The room was far from splendid because this was a monastery, but it had a cozy feeling due to the thick carpet and fireplace in a corner. Jude immediately laid Cordelia on the bed after entering the room.
‘As for washing up
 I think it’s better for her to do that tomorrow.’
I should just let her sleep for now.
“Good night, Cordelia.”
Cordelia suddenly closed her eyes and began babbling, and Jude covered her with a blanket and tried to leave the room.
But it was at that moment.
Cordelia grabbed Jude’s sleeve.
She stopped Jude and strongly pulled his sleeve.
“Cordelia?”
Jude ended up sitting on the bed and turned to Cordelia who looked at him with tipsy eyes as she sat up. She suddenly glared at Jude and said.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“You’re bad.”
“Huh?”
“You’re bad. You’re such a bad guy.”
What is she suddenly talking about?
Jude slightly furrowed his brows and asked.
“Because I’m always first place?”
“Argh, not that! Although that was bad too. That was really, really bad, but not that.”
Then what is it?
When Jude became troubled, Cordelia hit her chest in her frustration before pulling Jude’s sleeve again.
“
sh.”
“Huh?”
“The wish! When are you going to make your wish? When!”
It had already been more than 10 days since Jude and Cordelia left the royal capital.
Though if they considered the fighting competition where the wish was awarded first, it was almost a month ago.
But he had yet to make a wish.
He had not made a wish.
“When will you say it! When!”
I mean! Why aren’t you making a wish!
If you got a wish coupon, you have to use it! Come on!
Just ask for something!
Cordelia grabbed Jude’s collar and shook him. Her shoulders drooped and she lightly hit Jude’s chest with her head and said.
“Come on
 hurry up
 quickly
 whatever it is.”
You like me, right?
Right?
You like me.
Cordelia held back those words before she looked up again to see Jude.
As her slightly moist eyes filled with resentment stared at him, Jude’s lips twitched once. He then put his on Cordelia’s shoulder and said.
“Uh
 Cordelia.”
“Yes.”
“Anyway, you’re drunk, so I’ll be honest with you.”
“Okay.”
Cordelia unconsciously became nervous and swallowed hard, while Jude averted his gaze as he continued.
“So uh
 what I want to say is
 it’s a bit too much to ask for something like that as a wish
 right?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, something like that
”
Jude’s face lightly turned red in his embarrassment, and Cordelia likewise turned red too. Because she was currently drunk and also feeling embarrassed.
“So
 I’ll make my wish sometime else. Is that fine with you?”
“Yeah
 it’s fine.”
“Okay.”
Let’s go to sleep now.
Jude stroked Cordelia’s head once and tried to stand up naturally, but it was still impossible.
Because Cordelia grabbed Jude’s hand this time.
“Cordelia?”
“No
 that is
”
“Yes?”
“That is
”
Cordelia’s words trailed off at the end, and she looked at Jude again with her moist eyes, making Jude smile a little. He caressed Cordelia’s cheek which was burning red for many reasons.
Cordelia then leaned her face against Jude’s big hands, and soon said again in a small voice.
“No lip kisses. The first kiss
 Let’s do that when I’m sober.”
It would be her first time to do that whether in her past life or present life.
She didn’t want to do it when she was drunk.
But still, she didn’t want to let him go.
So Cordelia whispered in a very small voice.
“Only for today.”
Jude didn’t ask her further.
She fulfilled his wish, and he began on her forehead.
***
The next morning.
Cordelia opened her eyes on the bed, and struggled with the first hangover of her life as she tried hard to suppress her desire to kick the blanket.
‘Aaaaaaaaaah!’
I must be crazy. I must be crazy.
Unfortunately, she remembered quite a bit.
What she had said and what had happened.
She even begged him to kiss her everywhere except for the lips.
“Aaaah, aaaah, aaaah
”
Cordelia struggled to stop herself from blushing, and she thought again after closing her eyes.
‘Let’s pretend to be drunk.’
No, I was really drunk then.
So let’s pretend that I don’t remember.
Yes, that’s it.
Yes, yes, that’s it. That’s it.
‘All right.’
Remembering last night’s events, Cordelia covered her face with both hands. Imagining it made her feel embarrassed, but she strangely kept smiling.
Forehead, cheeks, neck, collarbone, and so on.
Having recalled the places where Jude’s lips had touched, Cordelia took a deep breath and calmed her heart that had begun to pound loudly.
“Huuu.”
I won’t drink anymore.
I’ll just pass on it.
Cordelia unconsciously muttered those words and took a deep breath again after she put her hands away.
“All right, let’s get up now, wash my face, and pretend that I don’t remember anything.”
Cordelia declared to herself and sat up, but stiffened afterwards.
“Uh
 Hello.”
On a chair besides the wall.
Jude sat on top of it as he looked with an awkward face.
“Hwaaaa
 I just woke up too. Yes, I just woke up. So I didn’t hear anything. Nothing. Yes.”
After seriously trying to speak in monotone and stretching out his arms, Jude’s face returned to its usual sly expression, and Cordelia covered her face again with both hands.
She stayed like that for a long time.