"Are you alright now?" Nathan asked while taking her seat next to Selena.
"Thanks to you. Yeah. I feel much better." Selena nodded. "I should be fine once we go on a mission."
"That's good." Nathan let out a breath of relief.
Alavenya glanced at Selena's face. Although she looked a bit weak, the color on her face had returned. Since they had confirmed Selena's condition, Alavenya asked, "So, what's the mission you choose for us, Sera?"
"Before telling you the mission, there's something I'd like to express first." Sera raised her hand, stopping Alavenya. When she saw everyone looking at her, Sera immediately bowed. "First of all, I'd like to apologize to everyone."
"Huh? What's the meaning of this, Sera?" Flora frowned. "What apology? Did you do something wrong?"
"Yes." Sera nodded. "This mission is actually coming from my selfishness."
"I have decided on my fifth familiar. It will be an archangel called Raphael. He is known as a healer and guide. I hope I can become a bit more useful to the team.
"With me around, we can casually split our group into two while still having someone who can heal everyone in each group. However, there is one problem.
"One of the materials required to summon that archangel belongs to the church. When I asked my teacher about it, he told me I couldn't get it for free.
"In the end, I wasn't the sole student, so he couldn't show much favoritism. Hence, he suggested another way, which was a mission.
"If I could complete the mission, he would grant me the material.
"I know that a verbal apology is not enough. Hence, I have decided. I won't take a single core from the reward." She lowered her head, practically pleading for them to help.
"What are you saying? You should have just told us right away and we won't mind. Do you not trust us?" Flora frowned.
Nathan raised his hand, stopping Flora.
Sera looked guilty, especially to Nathan. "Sorry. I didn't consult you before this. You should have some suggestions, but…"
Nathan chuckled. "In the end, it's just a suggestion. I don't think you have made a mistake. It's not like you're planning to summon a low-level familiar, so why should I feel bothered? Even though you're gullible, you are not, by any means, a fool. You should be able to see your own path to become stronger, and I plan to respect that.
"Regarding the mission, I will also abstain from taking the reward."
Nathan's declaration surprised everyone. However, before they could say anything, Nathan had continued, "I've taken too much reward for the previous mission. Even if I don't take this mission's reward, I should be able to reach my original goal within the time limit without any problem.
"I know you're going to complain, so I will take my reward, but give it to Sera." Nathan smiled.
Nathan winked playfully. "You're going to need ena to summon that archangel, so take it.
"After all, while I got a lot of warrior class cores previously, you guys only received some mature class cores. A single warrior class core is equal to 10-12 mature class cores, so no need to reject me."
Nathan's previous reward was equal to a few hundred mature class cores, so even if he didn't have a high absorption rate, he still got too much ena.
Sera felt moved. Even though she selfishly picked this mission, Nathan was still thinking the best for her.
She swore in her heart that she couldn't disappoint him.
"Anyway, let's go back to the mission." Nathan shifted the topic back. In fact, he had been taking the lead of the discussion to the point where they couldn't even react to his declaration.
Nathan winked one more time, telling Sera to continue before they made a mess because of his declaration.
Sera understood the assignment. She could at least do this much for Nathan.
"Yes. The mission this time is extremely important. Basically, my teacher would like to take down one corrupt bishop.
"According to the information, this corrupt bishop is about to become an archbishop. However, he can't be taken down easily, even though there is already some proof of his misdeeds.
"If he is taken down, everything that belongs to him will go on a rampage, which will cause an even bigger loss to the entire kingdom.
"Hence, he wants us to eliminate them first. After that, my teacher will take down the bishop by using all the proof. This will be enough for the bishop to be stripped of his title and punished accordingly.
"In the current world's situation, it's bad to have a lot of corrupt officials. After all, they might be the main cause of the kingdom's downfall."
"I see." Nathan frowned. "Do we have enough manpower to deal with them?"
"From what I can see, yes. However, we will have to split up." Sera drew the structure on the board. "The bishop has three establishments under him. They are the Dark Arena, Black Market, and Brothel.
"The Dark Arena is a cursed place where people are fighting for enjoyment. The situation has become even more chaotic because we're in the situation. Instead of money, they're throwing food away, which is unacceptable. So, we have to deal with them, which will stop anyone from trying to throw away such a precious thing.
"The brothel is bad and illegal in the Holy Kingdom, even though it's not in other kingdoms. Either way, this brothel is somewhat special. According to the information, they're engaging in human trafficking and removing the familiars' basic rights.
"I'm sure that this is unacceptable, even for other kingdoms. That's why we'll have to destroy it.
"Last but not least, the Black Market. The black market is not really illegal, but the real target is actually a drug. It's said that this drug is linked to the brothel, which they used to drug these summoners from the brothel, including their familiars.
"This drug seems to be manufactured and distributed by a certain underground organization. They are called—"
Nathan opened his mouth, saying the same thing as Sera and at the same time. "Crimson Skeleton."