I am the heroine's godfather!

Loran shook her head, inwardly mocking herself. She had spent too much time hanging out with those kids and assumed everyone was like them, indifferent to their own status.

Of course, it's also possible that they don't yet understand the true value of Morgan Freeman's credentials, or more likely, that they are currently incredibly confident in their future selves.

If the person sitting opposite Loran now were eighteen-year-old Ouli, he would definitely say with confidence that he would become a saint like Loran in the future.

But sitting in front of Loran now is Oli, who is nearly forty years old.

That's only human nature.

Loran sighed, not intending to look down on Olli. After all, everyone was an adult and should be used to these things.

However, Loran still fantasized about what Rand would do if he were sitting in front of him right now.

If Rand hadn't retired back then, what would things be like now? He might have married Peach, become a legion commander, had Charlotte, and visited a few times a year to have a drink with him. Rand, knowing his achievements, would shamelessly offer to help his brother out, giving him a few thousand or a few hundred gold coins. But if Loran actually offered, he'd get a scolding from the guy.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in life.

Loran had already grasped this in the ten years since he became a demigod from Messiah.

After a few rounds of drinks, Loran prepared to take her leave. Oli hurriedly got up and saw Loran out, being extremely attentive.

Loran glanced at Olli, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Regarding the succession struggle in Isnar."

Ollie looked at Loran, who continued, "I tend to support Victoria."

Oli was stunned, and Loran said no more.

The struggle for the crown prince position in Isnar will be an event that affects the lives of many nobles and those in power, and may even change the fate of their families. But for Loran, it is just a game.

When this game ends depends on when he decides to enter.

Although Oli wasn't a close friend, they had known each other for a while and could be considered friends. That's why Loran mentioned it.

As for how to do it, that's up to Olli.

Loran didn't give Pinkie Pie any gifts, because Pinkie Pie was now content with her current life. He didn't intend to bother her anymore, nor did he plan to bring Charlotte to see her.

Although no money or valuables were given, the two had known each other for a while, so Loran couldn't just ignore it. Instead, he notified the Antoya branch in Petri City and asked them to look after the Bitch family.

There's no need to interfere, but you can lend a hand when they encounter a misfortune that they can't overcome on their own.

As for Oli, he still harbors this ambition, and Loran simply told him about it.

Although it was just a simple sentence, it was actually very valuable intelligence for a border legion commander like Olli, whose information network was not very good.

After all, Morgan Fowler's decision to support Victoria was not widely known. To prevent internal turmoil within the factions, the crown princes chose to suppress the news.

Victoria didn't spread the news, knowing that Loran wasn't planning to get involved personally and that if she angered the other factions, she would suffer a heavy blow.

However, although this information cannot be used, it still has a deterrent effect.

After all, no one knows when Loran will decide to personally intervene and end this game.

Chapter 240 Laura: You're the one who won by lying down!

Charlotte and the others reported the information to the Adventurers' Guild. She had initially thought the guild wouldn't take it seriously, since they looked like children and it was normal for them not to be trusted. Furthermore, during the battle, they hadn't considered the subsequent report, so they hadn't collected any evidence from the rats to support their claims.

Strangely enough, the guild took this matter very seriously and immediately dispatched a B-rank adventurer and a guild affairs officer to investigate.

"The Adventurers' Guild trusts us way too much."

Laura whispered, "If everyone just reports problems with the difficulty of a mission without any evidence, and the Adventurers' Guild sends people to investigate every time, wouldn't that be a waste of a lot of manpower?"

"You need not worry."

The guild's receptionist heard Anna's words and explained, "Actually, someone else had reported this before you did, which is why we took it seriously."

"I understand. It must be some important person who reported this, which has attracted the attention of the Adventurers' Guild."

Laura sighed, "It's the same everywhere, sigh, the big shots' big hands."

You've said everything, good and bad.

Charlotte shook her head and looked at the guild's receptionist: "Sister, if we confirm that those rats are the problem, shouldn't we upgrade this quest level?"

"That's natural."

The receptionist nodded: "If it's confirmed, we will give you the reward you deserve."

"That's good."

Perhaps because of the important figures involved, the guild's efficiency was unusually high. Charlotte and the others were enjoying their dinner as the copper bells in the Petrie Adventurers' Guild hall jingled.

An administrator and a B-rank adventurer walked in from outside. The administrator was a bespectacled woman who looked somewhat serious, while the adventurer wore a mask and looked rather intimidating.

However, Anna and the others weren't intimidated. After all, a B-rank adventurer was only at the second tier, and Charlotte and the others were about to reach the second tier themselves.

The receptionist approached and asked the officer, who then produced an investigation report: "An ice elemental magic fluctuation was detected in the warehouse. Upon investigation, it was found to have the ability to enhance monsters, confirming it as a C-level mission."

Charlotte listened to the investigator's report without raising any objections, because the mission was indeed not difficult. Although it was not something that ordinary adventurers could handle, it was not difficult for several first-tier superhumans to work together.

For them, the only challenge was to restrain Laura; as long as the others were careful, it wouldn't be difficult for one of them to complete the task alone.

Afterwards, the reward for the mission was raised to the level that a C-rank mission should have—ten silver coins.

Wow, so little.

Wow, so many!

Anna and Laura both sighed at the same time, then looked at each other and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

After all, the two had quite different views on money. Laura's family could only be described as an ordinary family. Although her grandfather had been a prosecutor, he was honest and had never embezzled, so the family was just an average household. For them, ten silver coins were almost a month's living expenses.

But for Anna, ten silver coins might not be enough for a meal.

However, the group had become familiar with each other, and Laura wasn't one to care about such things—after all, Anna and Charlotte were now quite wealthy, and Daisy, though staying at Morganflore's, also had her own fiefdom and was quite rich.

Only Laura is an ordinary person.

However, Laura has a good attitude. Money is just an external thing. Once she improves her strength, she can also become very rich.

Besides, if she really hits a bottleneck in the future and can't make a living anymore, then she'll just go and eat Charlotte and Lorraine's rice! Of course, she won't let Daisy and Anna's rice go either!

Because they completed the C-rank mission, Charlotte and the others' individual adventurer ranks were raised to D-rank, while the adventure team's rank was raised to C-rank.

Adventurers' guilds are ranked into individual and team levels. Individual level members can complete tasks of the same level solo, while team level members are capable of handling the task as a team. While this makes promotion somewhat cumbersome, it generally ensures the safety of adventurers, preventing anyone from having to complete tasks beyond their capabilities.

The Adventurers' Guild's initial ranking system ranged from E to S. However, ten years ago, a few adventurers who exceeded the required level arrived. To show respect for those individuals, the Adventurers' Guild established a new ranking system—the Crown Rank.

It doesn't sound very natural, and it's not very convenient to write. It doesn't really fit the usual practices of the Adventurers' Guild. But those few people are just too outrageous. There have never been any adventurers like them before, and there probably won't be any more in the future. So the Adventurers' Guild still set up this level.

Besides, those people have long since stopped being adventurers, so this title is more of a commemorative one.

"Sigh, I wish I could become a Crown-level adventurer too."

Laura lay on the table, reached out, took the personal D-rank badge, and sighed.

"Crown-level adventurer is the title used by the adventurers in the Saintess Squad."

Daisy said, "To become a Crown-level, you need at least seventh-tier strength, right?"

"Sigh, seventh tier..."

After finishing their report and having dinner, the group returned to the inn. The money Loran left them wasn't a lot, but it wasn't a small amount either. They didn't necessarily have to stay in a very bad inn—of course, they could stay in a very nice inn, but with the cost of food, they could only stay for three days.

Charlotte and her companions wouldn't force themselves to endure hardship, nor would they squander money for momentary pleasure. They chose a very ordinary inn where most of the guests were adventurers.

One silver coin a night is a bit of a burden for an E-rank adventurer, but not so much for a C-rank adventurer.

Most of the adventurers staying here are either individual C-rank or C-rank teams like Charlotte's group, so the inn's tavern is inevitably a bit noisy at night.

However, the tavern was on the basement level, while Charlotte and the others stayed on the third floor, so it wasn't too noisy.

After resting for a night, Charlotte and the others went to the Adventurers' Guild again—although they had earned enough money to not work for several days, Charlotte and the others were there to train, and yesterday's mission was too easy to serve as training.

Of course, there was also Laura's strong request, since she hadn't been able to contribute anything in yesterday's mission because she was being restrained.

Charlotte won MVP! Laura just got carried to victory!

Laura naturally couldn't accept this, so she strongly desired to avenge herself!

"Level C Investigation Mission. Investigate the vegetation withering incident in the grey oak forest in the southern suburbs. Reward will be determined based on the intelligence gathered. Note: It is recommended to bring fire-resistant equipment."

"Fireproof?" Anna picked up her newly bought leather wristband and shook it. "We just dealt with the Frost Rot Rats last month!"

“According to ‘Advanced Monster Ecology,’ cold waves may cause fire-attribute monsters to become agitated and migrate.” Daisy flipped through her reading notes: “But large-scale conflicts between ice and fire elements shouldn’t be occurring in the southern forests…”

Chapter 241 Loran's reputation is harmed

An unusual cold permeated the grey oak forest in the southern suburbs. The tree canopies, which should have been lush and green, were covered with a layer of greyish-white ice, while the streams in the forest were still flowing slowly under the ice.

Charlotte crouched beside the withered ferns, a faint light emanating from her fingertips: "The plants here all carry a chilling aura, as if... their life force has been robbed."

Is it corruption?

Anna recalled the books about the Church of the Evil God that she had read like storybooks at Morganflore's mansion. They mentioned that the apostles of the Church of the Death had the ability to corrupt plants and were the mortal enemies of the elves.

To have one's life force taken away... that does sound a lot like corruption.

"No, probably not."

Charlotte shook her head, and Daisy added, "Lorraine mentioned in class that plants manipulated by corruption exhibit a bizarre, rotting appearance, accompanied by an unpleasant odor. These plants don't exhibit that."

"Hehe, I didn't hear it."

Although Loran teaches practical combat classes, he also teaches some basic knowledge in each class. However, Anna, who only thinks about fighting and prays that she won't be matched with Charlotte as her opponent, hardly hears any of that.

Even Laura sighed, "I memorized all of this."

"Well……"

Anna had nothing to say.

Although Laura is a martial arts enthusiast, her grades are actually not bad either. While she can't compare to Charlotte, she is still among the top students in the Sage's Academy's academic classes.

Seeing Anna's expression, the other three couldn't help but laugh. Then, the next moment, Daisy suddenly frowned, and a strange movement came from the star compass in her hand.

"Seven o'clock!"

Daisy's voice rang out. Anna and Charlotte's longswords were instantly drawn, and a ball of eerie blue flame shot out from behind the bushes, only to smash into the ice wall that Laura had suddenly raised.

Laura's ice shield collided with the fireball, and the attacker's true form was revealed in the shattered ice mist—a fire-tailed fox half the height of a person.

"Flame-tailed Fox, a first-tier magical beast, whose main habitat is volcanoes... Why is it here?"

Daisy frowned; Charlotte and Anna's swords had already pierced the monster's body.

“Normally, this kind of monster should never appear in the forest.”

Charlotte sheathed her sword and pondered as well. Daisy crouched down and dipped her finger in the monster's blood, startling Anna and Laura who screamed, "Daisy, what are you doing?!" "What if that thing's blood is poisonous!"

Daisy smiled and said, "Generally speaking, the blood of the Flametail Fox is not poisonous."

"That can't be done like that. What if something unexpected happens?"

Charlotte also tried to persuade her, and faced with the concern of her three friends, Daisy had no choice but to surrender: "Okay, I promise I won't do it again next time... and I did a divination."

"Daisy, you rely too much on divination."

"Okay, I'll definitely take better precautions next time and never put myself in danger... Alright, alright, since I've already got blood on my hands, let's do a divination."

Daisy quickly spoke up, and Charlotte and the others exchanged glances before finally resigning themselves to their fate.

As the star compass turned, a hazy illusion appeared before Daisy's eyes.

An owl with its eyes closed, covered in snow; the bell tolls twelve times; a bright red moon hangs from the branches.

Daisy's eyes snapped open, her back soaked with sweat. Only then did she realize that it had gotten dark. She was somewhat confused; she remembered that when she began her divination, the sun had just begun to set.

"Daisy?"

Charlotte and the other two surrounded her with concern. Daisy was panting heavily, and it took her a long time to calm down.

"What's going on? Why is it so dark?"

"You slept for more than an hour."

Anna sniffled: "If the healing magic hadn't shown that you were alright, we would have been worried sick."

“Yes, we were thinking that if you still didn’t wake up in another half hour, we would call Loran.”

Laura crossed her arms and said, "That was really scary."

"What exactly did you divine?"

Charlotte frowned: "How come you fainted after just one divination?"

Upon hearing Charlotte's question, Daisy stopped dwelling on her unconsciousness and instead recounted everything she had divined, concluding, "Although I don't know the meaning of a bell ringing twelve times, the owl and the red moon..."