"...Check."

"...I'll raise to five coppers."

"Hah! This is the worst bluff I've ever witnessed! Let's up the bid to ten coppers!"

"This is stupid. I'm out."

"Chicken."

"Who said that?"

Inside the medical tent, patiently waiting for whoever the Head Priestess was, Glenn was playing cards with the Paladins. They initially weren't too enthusiastic at the idea, keeping on a stern expression and whatnot. Still, Glenn knew that since Paladins were essentially soldiers, just with the holy part—they had to carry some cards around. The time he spent back on Earth in his country's military service was certainly short, but it was still long enough for him to learn that there was one enemy everyone shared in a military camp.

Boredom. What can you do but become mad when you have nothing to do? It wasn't like there was a war to be fought at the time, and on a small base like the one he was on, they quickly ran short of menial tasks to accomplish.

And so, after annoying Frederik enough, he managed to make them pull out their deck of cards. It was the standard 52-card deck, with the now familiar Dragon, Phoenix, and Wyvern replacing the King, Queen, and Jack.

'All-in! All-in! All-in!' Diamanes chanted in Glenn's mind with an excited voice, making him struggle to keep his concentration. His hand was particularly good, but the other players didn't need to know that. After a few rounds, he had come to know a little more about the six Paladins. Frederik Lance, the one who presented himself first was the squad leader of this happy bunch and a stern man only in appearance. He was the one most invested in the game, and always tried not to give up a hand, going with risky bluffs and often winning. Wits and luck, that's what made the man.

'And a little bit of holiness, I suppose,' The young man thought, making a copper coin in front of him spin slightly.

"I'll raise the ante, but don't come crying later," Glenn pushed fifteen copper coins in front of him, smiling without an ounce of fear. Frederik rubbed his chin before checking his cards discreetly again. There were four cards on the table, a Wyvern of Hearts, Ten of Hearts, an Ace of Hearts, and an Eight of Clubs.

"...Shi—sheesh, I fold," Quint Apolic spat as he threw his cards next to the coins, revealing a Seven of Diamond and a Two of Hearts. He leaned back into his chair, crossing his arms with an annoyed expression. From what Glenn witnessed, Quint wasn't much of a player and was plagued with bad luck. Each time his hand was good, someone had something better, taking away every single hope the Paladin would harness each round.

Glenn rhythmically tapped his cards, his fingers moving with confidence. To tell the truth, he wasn't much better and was on his last leg. Much of his losses were from playing by following Diamanes' advice, a terrible mistake he wouldn't repeat, at least when gambling. The demon seemed to take pleasure in making him lose his money, something he couldn't help but dread. The loss wasn't that painful, though, since copper coins were barely like cents to him now.

But still, he didn't like losing. And he'd rather not have to take out his silver coins.

'If I lose this one, I'm out of the game. If I win, though... I mean, that Head Priestess has to arrive at some point, right?' Glenn's grin only grew as he kept on fiddling with his coins. Malory Kolishiv, the Paladin who first folded looked at his cards grumbling, deciding not to reveal them even though he was out of the game.

"...Why am I even gambling? I hate gambling..." Even after saying that, he leaned back and watched the game with glimmering eyes, the need to play almost apparent in them. From what Glenn gathered, he was a degenerated gambler who hated to lose money, and who was pretty bad at the game, but who was still playing because of how addicted to the feeling he was.

"I'll tell you why you're playing, Malory, and it's because, like you told us a hundred times after losing, you won one game a few years back that netted you quite the pretty bucks, and are still hanging on the hope of striking the jackpot again. Fool," Another Paladin mocked openly as he pushed fifteen coppers into the center of the table as well. Dristan Volargent was a bright young man, probably around the same age as Glenn who simply liked betting it all in weird situations, and not caring much for whether he lost or won. He was just very much focused on having fun and making fun of his sour senior.

"...I'm in," The last Paladin, Thomas di Morian, pushed his coins in as well, not participating in the friendly banter. His face was devoid of emotions as he was coldly calculating his odds to win the game, his cards turned face down in front of him.

'Wait, did he even check his cards? I don't think I saw him do so,' Glenn pondered, as the River card was finally revealed, a Queen of Clubs. The young man took a look at the pile of coins on the side and did his best to restrain himself from gulping heavily. He took another discreet peek at his cards, an Ace of Spades and a Dragon of Hearts. Understanding that a Dragon was a King, a Phoenix a Queen, and a Wyvern a Jack, he now had a pair of Aces and a Dragon-high flush draw. It wasn't the best hand ever, but it certainly was pretty strong.

'Maybe I stand a chance with that,' Glenn's fingers clenched the table slightly, and he waited for the other players to go on with their turns. Surprisingly, no one raised the stakes, and they all checked to reveal the cards, probably in fear of being found by the Head Priestess playing cards instead of doing their duty.

Ferdinand del Ora, the last Paladin who was playing it a little cool but didn't manage to increase or decrease the pot, first revealed his cards. Glenn didn't get to figure out the guy, since his actions seemed always veiled behind a fake mask of a chill person.

"Ten of Diamonds and Ten of Spades, anyone beat this?" He smiled, leaning back while crossing his arms. Glenn almost sneered at the weak hand and chose to reveal his.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Sorry, Ace of Spades and Dragon of Hearts. Pair of Aces and King-high flush draw. I guess I'll be winning all of you what you guys took, right?" The young man confidently reached for the coins, only to be stopped by Frederik steel-clad's hand.

"It'll be my apologies," He showed his hand, Glenn's face decomposing at the sight. Dragon of Clubs, Phoenix of Hearts (Straight - Dragon-high). That hand crushed him by far. Frederik smiled politely, before paling in turn when Thomas threw his cards on the table silently, the corner of his lips rising slightly.

"Straight with Phoenix-High, Phoenix of Diamonds, Wyvern of Spades."

Dristan suddenly laughed loudly, and threw his cards as well, showing an Ace of Clubs and an Ace of Diamonds. Everyone around the table but the winner grumbled unhappily.

"A Full-House? How blessed are you?!? Did you change your faith to Plutus at some point during the game?" Ferdinand complained, before shutting himself up and sweeping the cards and coins away from the table while hiding them in a spot of his armor, the gesture certainly well practiced. A second later, a heavily armored woman entered the tent, her gaze aimed directly at Glenn. She looked at the Paladins standing rigidly around the small table and opened her mouth to say something when a copper coin slipped out from Ferdinand's hiding place, clinking on the ground.

The Paladin paled, his lips stuck with glue. The Head Priestess, a woman well past her prime, rubbed her forehead with annoyance.

"...How many times did I ask you not to gamble—ah, whatever, it's not like this old woman's words are worth anything, are they?" She sighed, before gently placing her hand on the hilt of a terrifying morning star, her gaze turning predatory.

"Who initiated the game?" She asked sharply, staring dead-straight into the Paladin's eyes. Glenn hesitantly raised his hand.

"...I did?"

The Head Priestess's eyes froze, and the Paladins silently heaved breaths of relief. The old woman shook her head and pointed at the entry of the tent.

"Out, all of you," The Paladins obeyed without a word, their heads lowered and most of their wallets emptied. Glenn tried to sneak with them but was pulled back by the collarback right in front of the woman.

'Wow, she has a strong grip. Here goes nothing, I suppose,' The young man thought, smiling with all his teeth while clasping his hands behind his back.

"Well, uhm, nice to meet you. I'm Glenn," He held out his hand for her to shake it, and to his surprise, she held her own out.

"Tara Mi Lando, Head Priestess of the Onnea's Church, and the investigator for what happened here. We have a lot to talk about, Fixer," She stated coldly while crushing his hand in between her fingers. Glenn struggled to keep a smile, doing his best not to let out a yelp of pain.

'There's a lot of Divine energy and Aura in that one,' Diamanes noticed, making Glenn swear at him in the back of his mind.

'No shit, she's crushing my hand when I'm supposed to have the physique of a bear!'

Tara Mi Lando let his hand free and pulled a chair as she sat at the small table, inviting Glenn to sit back where he previously was. He silently obeyed, crossing his arms in front of him, hiding the redness on his fingers.

"So, how can I help you, M'am Mi Lando?" He asked, leaning back in his chair to stay as far away as possible from the brutal granny. Tara Mi Lando pulled out a white scroll and opened it on the table for Glenn to see. Drawn on it were Palancar's schematics, the very specific layout of the whole village.

"I've been investigating what happened here while listening to the victims' testimonials," She began, before drawing a deep breath. Suddenly, she stood up, startling Glenn, and bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle.

"What—?"

Glenn didn't have the time to be confused that the old woman interrupted him.

"On behalf of the Church of Onnea and Her, I thank thee deeply. Thanks to you, many lives were saved from a fate worse than death," She kept the posture for a few more seconds before sitting back down and looking at the schematics once again.

"I, huh, I just did my...job," Glenn stammered, surprised by the sudden gratefulness he received. Tara shrugged it off, before looking up at him with curious eyes.

"No, you didn't just do your job. I read your resume, Glenn. One of the fastest to reach the Dark-Gold rank, without the support of any noble family or religious power. You're barely affiliated with the Black Heirs, but even your friend over there didn't manage to climb the social ladders as fast as you did. Do you know why it happened so fast?" She asked, her fingers interlocked with each other. Glenn rubbed the back of his head, raising an eyebrow.

"...I'm just that good?"

Tara let out a small chuckle.

"That's a good part of it, I suppose. The truth is that your feats are known all across the Northern Town and are beginning to go farther than the limits of this backwater village. Igniting the spark of war between the Black Heirs and the Thorn's Church, finding a Seed of Darkness, and destroying a Tree of Chaos, while ignoring of course surviving against a Rank-4 manifestation. And now, you and your friends stopped the descent of a forgotten, evil god. Do you understand what's going on?" She pushed on, leaning forward.

Glenn raised his hands helplessly.

"I'm just unlucky falling on all of these horrors again and again. It's not like I'm seeking them," He corrected himself, making the Head Priestess laugh again.

"You know what are the usual reactions when someone meets the same things you met?"

The young man shook his head. Tara counted her fingers while staring at Glenn, a smirk hanging on her lips.

"Fleeing, despairing, giving up, madness, suicide...they all imply turning your back to the threat and hiding away. But that's the thing, Glenn. You always fought back," She stated, closing her arms on her chest. She nodded in the direction of the blueprint.

"Palancar was built in a way that if one specific building was destroyed, all of the village would crumble. Correct?"

Glenn moved his head up and down silently, unable to find a way to react to the indirect compliment the old woman gave him.

'I mean, it's true. As soon as you gained the power to defend yourself, you never fled nor used that power against someone who didn't deserve to get shit on. That's pretty admirable of you,' Diamanes added, making the young man's cheeks heat up.

'Shut up, I don't handle compliments well, and now is not the time to luster my ego, alright?' He snapped back at the entity, uncomfortable. Diamanes chuckled without another word.

"If the village was destroyed when every villager was sleeping in their homes, the energy from their death would have been gathered at the center of the town to fuel the Fallen Mother's descent, or at least the creation of one of her disgusting, filthy descendants," Tara Mi Lando, Head Priestess of the Onnea's Church, spat on the ground like a thug. Glenn gulped.

"Sigh, anyway, you put a stop to that too. Maybe it wasn't what you intended at first, but thanks to you, a lot more lives than just those of Palancar were saved. So you can be proud," She smiled, before picking up the scroll and rolling it back up. Her tone suddenly changed as the quick, hurried steps of someone arriving near the tent echoed outside of it.

"Sadly, I won't be able to help you with that. There is always a price to pay, even more for good actions," The Head Priestess politely nodded at Glenn, before exiting the tent. The young man blinked confusedly, scratching the top of his head.

"...So it was all just to thank me? Am I an asshole if I want to claim a reward?" He muttered silently, before turning his attention to the heaving man who just entered the tent. Glenn frowned.

"Monsieur Maron?"

The merchant's reddened face and his angry look didn't reassure him in the slightest.

In contrary.