Forced Entry

"Eh? But didn’t we come here to investigate? Are we really going back without finding anything?" Mo Lini asked, confused.

"What else do you plan to do? Sneak in? Even if I had the skills for it, what about you?" Liyana retorted.

The guards here clearly weren’t easy to fool, and the consequences of getting caught would be severe—they might even end up in prison. This wasn’t a situation where Liyana could just push Mo Lini forward and say, "This is Mo Lini, she’s adorable," and expect to charm their way in.

"Mr. Musen, do you know if there’s any secret passage here that could bypass the guards?" Mo Lini shook the storybook in her hand.

"I’m just a book, Miss Mo Lini… I’m not exactly mobile," Musen replied helplessly. "Even if such a passage existed, only someone like the bishop would know about it… Besides, the Grand Cathedral is filled with powerful restrictions. It’d be dangerous for outsiders like us to sneak in."

"Ah, then let’s just go back," Mo Lini sighed, finally giving up on the idea of infiltrating the Grand Cathedral.

She wanted to be useful.

Even though Mo Lini knew she was more of a mascot… she still wanted to defy fate and make some contribution to the team, to impress Xia Lun and the others.

Liyana saw right through Mo Lini’s thoughts and patted her shoulder. "Don’t overthink it. Not causing trouble is the best way to repay Xia Lun… Haven’t you noticed even I’ve been lying low?"

Mo Lini felt a little better.

Back at the Adventurers’ Guild, Liyana glanced up and saw that the curtains in Xia Lun’s room were still drawn.

"Good grief… Are those two even human?" Liyana muttered.

"Liyana, what did you say?" Mo Lini blinked.

"Never mind, you wouldn’t get it," Liyana brushed her off.

Suddenly, Xia Lun pulled the curtains open, spotted Liyana below, and smiled at her.

Liyana grinned back—perfect timing.

Upon entering the guild, Liyana immediately noticed several priests surrounding Maya.

"I’ve already said it—we’re not moving out!" Maya shouted at the priests. "This is the Adventurers’ Guild’s property, and we’re not handing it over to you!"

"Miss Maya, you know full well the state of your guild in this city… When people run into trouble, they go to the church to pray to the Goddess, not to your Adventurers’ Guild."

The lead priest spoke calmly, his tone laced with subtle mockery.

"Besides… your guild only has one official employee left, and the number of visiting adventurers is dwindling. Keeping such a large space is nothing but a waste… We’re doing this for your own good. Maintaining this place must be difficult, no? If you surrender the property to be converted into a church, we’ll even offer you a generous compensation…"

Maya pressed her lips together. Deep down, she knew the guild headquarters had been cutting funding for this branch, and the pressure was mounting—she’d even been using her own salary to keep things running.

But she couldn’t bring herself to give up. Her father had once been the guildmaster here, and she’d grown up in this place. This guild was her father’s legacy.

"Hey, hey, hey! What’s going on here?" Liyana loudly interrupted as she strode over. "We’re planning to stay here for a long time! And we’ll keep coming back—I won’t let you take over adventurers’ territory!"

"Adventurers, huh?"

The lead priest glanced at Liyana, seemingly unwilling to escalate the conflict, and led the others away.

"Are you okay?" Mo Lini asked Maya with concern.

"Ah… I’m fine. Thank you." But Maya’s mood still seemed down.

This was, after all, the domain of the Goddess’ Church. For other factions to survive here was no easy task.

A century ago, when the Goddess’ Church declared Abandes a holy city, the priests began oppressing and driving out other organizations within its walls.

The Adventurers’ Guild was a renowned force across the continent, so the Goddess’ Church wouldn’t openly antagonize them or resort to underhanded tactics to force them out.

But Abandes had no nearby dungeons or special mineral resources, so adventurers rarely came here in the first place. And with priests constantly around, most adventurers avoided the place to steer clear of trouble.

These were the reasons the Adventurers’ Guild struggled to maintain its foothold in Abandes.

Most adventurers who came to Abandes now were only here for escort missions, leaving as soon as their deliveries were complete… Just as the priest had said, when the city’s residents faced problems, their first instinct was to donate to the nearest church and seek help there. As a result, Maya’s guild barely had any commissions to offer.

Holding on like this wasn’t easy… and it wasn’t something Maya could manage alone.

Liyana headed upstairs, with Mo Lini following behind.

There wasn’t much she could do to help Miss Maya.

Though Liyana knew plenty of adventurers and had considered asking her friends to spread the word… without any tangible benefits, no adventurer would come here.

Even if they did out of respect for Liyana, they wouldn’t stay long in a guild with no work.

The only way to solve Maya’s problem was if a dungeon suddenly appeared nearby… Yeah, right. That was pure fantasy.

Upstairs, Liyana didn’t return to her own room but instead stopped at Xia Lun’s door.

Before she could knock, Xia Lun opened it.

Once inside, Liyana sniffed the air—no strange smells—and relaxed slightly.

On the bed, the blanket was wrapped around a figure—Aina, who hadn’t even peeked out, likely not in a state to be seen.

"You went to the Grand Cathedral?" Xia Lun guessed immediately.

Liyana nodded, forcing her gaze away from Aina and back to Xia Lun.

"How was it?"

"Heavily guarded. Patrols everywhere, all equipped with advanced magitech gear—probably on par with high-tier warriors or stronger. And according to Musen, the cathedral is layered with powerful restrictions. Breaking in by force is practically impossible." Liyana reported in detail.

Xia Lun nodded thoughtfully.

"So… what do we do now?" Mo Lini asked timidly.

Xia Lun shrugged. "Isn’t it obvious? We break in by force."