Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 68
Translated by Elphie
She tried not to let the delight show on her face—she didn’t want to seem overly eager from the very beginning.
Then her eyes met Michael’s.
‘I must seem so materialistic.’
After all, wasn’t he the man who gave his share to god? So she thought it might not be appropriate to openly show her excitement in front of him—even if this was him doing a favor for her.
Michael stared at her intently and said, “I know the purpose of this dungeon. I assume it’s to make sure they’re well rewarded.”
“…Yes.”
“In that case, how about we deduct our share in this raid? That way, they will receive more.”
“Would that be alright?”
Ironically, Irene wanted to make that request herself. Right now, it was crucial to somehow provide the others with as much reward as possible.
‘I can always take the rewards from other dungeons.’
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
She was genuinely grateful for Michael’s consideration. Giving up his share like this to help the gathering was beyond what she expected.
“You’re welcome. Well then, I’ll go and prepare for tomorrow.”
After a bow and a farewell, Michael turned away. A vaguely amused smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
After he was gone, Irene looked at the excited crowd. The gloom that had settled over them was gone in an instant. They were all overjoyed at the prospect of going to an advanced dungeon with Michael. Everyone, even the seasoned knights, seemed excited, like boys going on their first hunt.
Irene had a strange feeling. For the first time, she had tried something here, to confront the woman she had once feared and avoided, Princess Cecilia.
And though she failed at the beginning…
‘It worked.’
Irene clasped her trembling hands. She was filled with a sense of pride that she couldn’t explain.
She had never experienced anything like this in her life. At first, she was just trying to make life a bit more comfortable for the people whose futures she had changed.
‘I want to do better.’
Irene realized that she wanted to grow this circle into something bigger and stronger.
* * *
The next day, all of the people who were in the banquet hall yesterday were standing in front of the ’02’ advanced dungeon, fully armed. As they were about to report the raid members to the Alliance’s staff, they noticed people urgently running towards them from a distance.
“Oh my, that’s a pair who didn’t come to the banquet yesterday.”
Reyna’s eyes widened as she recognized them.
They hastily got off their horses and bowed low, greeting with an apologetic tone.
“Greetings, we didn’t make it to the banquet yesterday because we weren’t feeling well, so we’re here to make up for it.”
It was clear that they rushed out in a hurry when they heard that they were going to tackle an advanced dungeon with a small number of people.
They weren’t the only ones.
Irene glanced behind them and saw several other pairs.
‘It’s understandable.’
There would be at least thirty pairs whenever the Princess’s circle would raid an advanced dungeon. Today, there were just over ten pairs.
‘The rewards from advanced dungeons are very predictable, so even if artifacts don’t drop, everyone should receive a decent amount.’
With fewer people, the rewards will be more than double what they would have gotten if they had gone with the Princess. Additionally, there was no separate share taken as part of the group’s dues, so they could gain even more.
And it’s not just the rewards that matter.
The knights valued the opportunity to learn a lot by participating with someone they had always admired.Those who joined today’s raid would be able to learn from Michael the skills they need to survive against stronger enemies in the future.
It was an experience that money couldn’t buy.
‘If you think about it, you would be a fool not to participate.’
That’s probably why those who had hesitated or avoided coming until yesterday had now shamelessly shown up. She didn’t particularly like it, but she couldn’t turn them away. Now was the time to accept as many people as possible to grow their circle.
‘Surely, at least one of them was sent by the Princess, but in a way, it’s a good thing.’
After conquering the dungeon, they would report back to the Princess’s circle.
‘With such a great reward, I’m sure they’ll brag about it to others, not just the Princess.’
Then word of their new circle would naturally spread without the need for them to host another event like a banquet.
The Alliance staff took a head count, and the entry began immediately.
Irene took Michael’s hand and led the way inside. It wasn’t an unstable dungeon, so there was no need for them to hold on to each other, but she needed to appear close to Michael. So for the sake of appearance, Irene took the hand he offered her.
Before entering, Michael leaned down slightly and brought his face close to hers, whispering, “Always stay at my side. There are a lot of people we have to look out for today, so I might lose sight of you.”
“…Alright.”
Since the last dungeon adventure with him, Irene had somewhat overcome her past trauma. But that didn’t mean she’d completely forgotten the horror of dying.
“Let’s go in then.”
With that, Michael and Irene entered the dungeon together.
A few hours later…
‘How could this be?’
Irene couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
