Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods-Chapter 41: Saint (3)

Late at night.

At the Russian Orthodox Church Seoul Branch.

Bishop Nikolai was listening to the progress report on the mission to bring the saint.

“Failed to secure the saint?”

“Yes, all the execution priests, except for me, were killed.”

“...What do you mean? All of them are dead?”

“W-well, there was a monstrous woman...”

Kiril, barely alive, stuttered as he explained what he had experienced under Nikolai's sharp questioning.

After hearing the entire story, Nikolai’s expression darkened.

‘Was it one person who did this?’

When he first heard about the failure to secure the saint, he assumed external groups must have been involved.

That was understandable, as the execution priests of the church were carefully selected professionals.

They were killers, specialized in murder and kidnapping, having undergone numerous training and real-life missions.

But for all of them to be taken down by a single person? A woman, no less?

This was no ordinary matter.

“Could it be the Korean government?”

“No, it was a German woman.”

“What a pathetic fool.”

Nikolai’s mind worked quickly.

To take on eight execution priests simultaneously, one would need to be an elite transcendent, specialized in combat.

They would need to be at least A-rank or higher.

And an awakened foreigner at that.

The first thought that came to Nikolai was the Catholic Church.

The Russian Orthodox Church wasn’t the only one making a move to secure the saint.

‘A paladin?’

Paladins. The Vatican’s guardians, made up of the highest-ranking awakened individuals.

If it was a woman, then it could be the Holy Knight, Luebenca.

‘I’ll have to inform Moscow.’

If Luebenca had come to Korea, this matter was beyond Nikolai’s jurisdiction.

She was an S-rank ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) transcendent, something the Western Church was proud of.

“First, get rid of the bodies. Before the Korean government notices.”

“Would it be problematic if the Korean government finds out?”

“Of course! How could you not know—”

Nikolai, who had been angry, suddenly froze, closing his mouth.

His expression hardened as he looked at Kiril.

Confused, Kiril turned around, and his heart sank.

“!”

The nightmare-like woman from the previous day was standing in front of the open door.

“A, a monster...!”

Seeing Kiril’s terrified reaction, Nikolai immediately realized that the woman was the one who had killed the execution priests.

He quietly pressed the bell beneath his desk.

It was a signal to summon the elite priests positioned in the lobby.

However, despite pressing the bell and waiting, it remained eerily quiet. Not a single priest showed up.

‘Wait a minute.’

Now that he thought about it, how did this woman get in here?

A chilling thought crossed Nikolai’s mind just as he felt a cold chill run down his spine.

“If it’s the people outside, I’ve put them to sleep for now.”

“......!”

The woman casually spoke while sitting on the couch.

It was then that Nikolai realized just how calm she appeared.

There were no signs of any battle.

Her demeanor was completely serene, as if she were just another ordinary person.

The feeling that this might be his last moment slowly seeped into Nikolai’s mind, turning it grim.

When it came to the most famous serial killer in history, most people would think of “Jack the Ripper.”

The ghost of death that shook the Victorian era.

People referred to Jack the Ripper as “The Unsolved Mystery,” evoking a vague and fearful image.

This trend was especially strong in England, where the events occurred, and in Japan, which sensationalized the media coverage.

The fear of the unknown.

This mysterious fear from the world had turned Jack the Ripper into both a symbol and a ‘legend.’

As a result, Vanesha’s abilities had grown even stronger.

This world was one where even the relics of the dead great figures held power.

Of course, like Jeanne, Vanesha’s mana had significantly decreased compared to her peak.

Her mana was proportional to the mana of her summoner, Choi Seo-jun.

However, as an assassin, Vanesha wasn’t particularly bound by her mana capacity.

Her specialty was using minimal mana in the most effective way to maximize her efficiency.

She had been summoned, but despite her reduced mana, she was an ‘Irregular’ who was stronger than ever. In combat, she was even more deadly.

However, despite growing stronger, Vanesha didn’t blindly trust her own power.

If she wanted to, she could have wiped out Nikolai and the entire Russian Orthodox Church in Seoul, but she didn’t.

She knew that killing wasn’t always the solution.

Murder was a ‘last resort.’

Vanesha’s understanding of the Russian Orthodox Church’s organizational structure was much more expansive than expected.

Even if she killed them, there was a high chance that new individuals would be sent to target Jeanne.

Therefore, Vanesha didn’t kill Nikolai.

Instead, she decided to ‘negotiate.’

In her own way.

“...What do you want?”

“Can you give me the information on those involved in this matter?”

“If you promise not to kill me, I’ll give it to you.”

“I won’t kill you.”

“Hah, then do as you wish. Honestly, I didn’t want to do this either.”

Nikolai, emphasizing that he had no choice, handed the list over to Vanesha.

Since these people had already cleaned their identities, even if they gave it to her, she wouldn’t be able to uncover any direct connection to the church.

However, Vanesha didn’t take the list from Nikolai.

“Not for me.”

“?”

“Who should I give it to, if not you?”

Nikolai, puzzled, looked at her, and Vanesha smiled brightly.

“To the Korean government.”

“!!”

“Of course, it needs to be verified who they belong to.”

Nikolai’s complexion turned pale at the absurd request.

If the Russian Orthodox Church’s list was handed over to the Korean government, all Orthodox Church activities in Korea would be crippled.

The government would discover that all the bodies found in Yeoksam-dong belonged to the Orthodox Church.

This would mean that any future opportunities to target the saint would be gone.

Moreover, Vanesha went even further and suggested that they should not clean up the bodies in Yeoksam-dong.

Nikolai shook his head at the nonsensical proposal.

“...Miss, I think you’re mistaken. I don’t have that kind of authority.”

“You will have to do it.”

“Hah, that’s impossible...”

Scratch!

In that moment, Kiril’s ‘head,’ which had been standing behind Vanesha, rolled off.

Thunk, thud.

The head rolled across the floor, stopping at Nikolai’s feet.

Kuuung—

Kiril’s body collapsed.

With a smile, Vanesha, who had drawn scissors from her side, turned to face the rigid Nikolai.

“There are many people with whom I can negotiate.”

“.......”

Nikolai’s mouth shut tightly.

Those words meant that she would kill him and negotiate with the next person to take over his role.

If negotiations failed, she would just move on to the next person... and the next, and so on.

Swish, swish.

The eerie sound of the scissors shaking forced Nikolai to make a decision.

The next day, we moved into the new house.

It was a property managed by the Constellation Guild, so we could move in right away.

It was fully equipped with all the necessary appliances: TV, washing machine, refrigerator, air conditioning, and more—everything we needed was ready.

“Wow, a nice house really is the best.”

I couldn’t help but marvel at the wide park view through the large windows.

I could see why people would want to live in a good house.

With five rooms and a living room the size of a gym, my heart swelled with contentment.

“Congratulations, Seo-jun.”

“Congratulations, Silver Grace.”

“What are you talking about? We’ll all share the house. The congratulations should be for all of us.”

At my words, both Jeanne and Vanesha smiled.

“It’s great that it’s so spacious.”

“This is the first time I’ve had my own room.”

Both of them seemed satisfied.

That’s why people need to earn money.

In that sense, I decided to start a new ‘side job.’

[Holmes & Watson]

While I was working on my laptop, Jeanne asked curiously.

“A detective agency?”

“Exactly.”

I decided to move Sherlock Holmes’s detective agency, which once existed at 221B Baker Street in London, online,

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

‘Conan’s fountain pen’ was the all-purpose tool that made it possible.

The target clientele, of course, would be ‘Hunters.’

In modern times, incidents and accidents caused by awakened individuals were endless.

‘I should register it on the black market.’

The black market was a membership-based open market where vast transactions were made between hunters.

The membership fee was a whopping 3 million won, but it was popular because it allowed for anonymous activities.

I created an account and immediately set up the [Holmes & Watson] office.

With the special concept of solving any case.

“I hope it works out well.”

“Of course, it’ll work out. It’s Conan’s deduction, after all.”

As Jeanne and I talked, an alarm went off.

Ding-ding!

Not once, but twice.

“Seo-jun, you’re quite popular.”

“Seems like it.”

Was it because there were so many incidents?

I clicked the notification with expectation.

[My dog disappeared while walking, please help find it.ㅠㅠ]

[Someone has been leaving food for stray cats in front of my house every night, can you please find the culprit? Here’s the address...]

“......”

“It’s just the beginning, right?”

“Yeah?”

“...Yeah.”

With Jeanne’s comforting words, I resisted the urge to shut the door on the first request.

‘You can’t expect to be full on the first try.’

Start small, and the big cases will come eventually.

—Possible places where the dog might be...

Conan’s fountain pen moved swiftly.

Having quickly handled the requests, I looked for the next gate to tackle.

To increase my slots, I had to take on higher-level gates.

But not all higher-level gates were the same.

The status window said that the higher the difficulty of the gate, the higher the probability of getting a slot as a reward.

So, I looked for a gate with a higher difficulty than B-rank, but with lower risk.

‘This special gate is perfect.’

Special gates could only be entered under certain conditions.

Naturally, the conditions made them difficult to clear, but their risk level was relatively low.

Such special gates were quite common in Korea.

I found a special ‘Darkness’ attribute gate that would be easy for us to clear.

With Jeanne, clearing a Darkness attribute gate would be a piece of cake.

Of course, since the Church managed the Darkness attribute gates, not just anyone could enter.

The church didn’t want people dying inside without reason.

But that was none of my concern.

“Archbishop Ambrosio, may I enter the Gonjiam Gate?”

—We’d welcome you anytime if Jeanne is with you.

The head of the Yeoksam Diocese was on our side.

But Archbishop Ambrosio suddenly said something strange.

—Has there been any contact from the Russian Orthodox Church? Any threats to your safety...?

“Russian Orthodox Church? No, there hasn’t been anything like that. Is something wrong?”

—I’ve heard that the Orthodox Church is in turmoil. I’m concerned they might target the saint, so I wanted to ask.

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

—Is that so? I’m glad to hear that.

I ended the conversation with the Archbishop, promising to visit him the next day. But the Russian Orthodox Church...

‘It seems like things are getting

more dangerous these days.’

There were even police cars gathering near our shop.

In Yeoksam-dong, the police had blocked the streets.

Eight unidentified bodies had been found in the basement of a house.

The bodies, presumed to have died three days ago, were discovered after a resident of the house reported a suspicious smell.

“The cuts are sharp. What did they use to cut them?”

“A knife, probably. A professional killer. This is no ordinary skill.”

The bodies had been neatly sliced through the heart or decapitated.

The investigation team, tasked with handling crimes involving awakened individuals, was horrified by the perpetrator’s skill.

This was a level of precision that would be hard to replicate even if someone tried.

At that moment, a team member who had been outside came down to the basement.

“Captain!”

“What is it? Did you find out their identities?”

“Yes, they had cleverly concealed their identities, but they’re affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.”

“Are you sure?”

“The communication records with the church were left intact. It seems this was a crime targeting awakened individuals.”

“What? These bastards.”

The enraged captain ordered.

“Block all the Russian Orthodox Church routes to Korea. If they try to enter, report immediately!”

“Yes.”

“These bastards dare target Korean awakened people?”

The head of the investigation team glared at the bodies.

By the way, who killed them?