Meeting a friend

"Well, do you mind explaining yourself? How did you get corrupted so fast? It feels like you just broke the record for the fastest corrupted knight." Fera closely observed Bob's body constitution.

Bob could only scratch the back of his head. He never expected a heavy penalty from doing a quest. Bob could only think of this as bad luck. Truth be told, this wasn't supposed to be a big problem.

The corruption was only temporary if the player did not accept the blessing. Plus, the fact that the curse gets lifted when resurrecting made the curse negligible.

However, Bob is immortal. He just can't die. The corruption could only be lifted by a greater power and even Meteder himself could remove it, he just didn't.

"I'm sorry. I would like to apologize. Does this mean that I can no longer stay here?" Bob was more worried about not having a home instead of a curse.

"Not necessarily. Well. We have to discuss this with everyone in this room. I can't make these decisions by myself." Fera looked towards the people in the conference room.

Everyone in this room had clout within this particular church, and they have to decide Bob's fate as a knight.

Without further ado, they initiated the meeting with Bob as the agenda. Meeting after meeting, it was only obvious that some people would not view this lightly.

"Kick him out and get this over with." A person with visible nose hair said. He was fed up with the situation and there's a reason for that.

This person is the guy that had to handle all of the paperwork for Bob's inauguration. Seeing all of his hard work go down the drain was soul breaking and made him angry at Bob.

"We understand your frustration, Father Nick. But that your anger and tone won't help in this situation." Another person replied. This time, it was a man with twin tails and a bald top for hair.

"But he can no longer be a knight of this order! He's corrupted for Meteder's sake." Father Nick argued. His frustration was visible as his face became as red as tomatoes.

"Silence!" Another person exclaimed. He demanded silence.

This person was wearing a tall chef's hat and he was sitting at the best seat of the long table.

"Knight Bob, please explain yourself." The hat-wearing person calmly requested an explanation.

Without delay, Bob told the people in the room the events that led to his blood's corruption.

"The bitch mixed my blood with hers and then the next thing I knew was that my body burned inside out." Bob said promptly.

"Cluck." Lavanuk stared at Bob as she knew that Bob hid a certain detail.

Bob tried his best to reiterate the event without telling them that he got seduced into losing his freedom.

The council of priests once again whispered to each other. After a while, they finally had something in mind.

"How did you regain your freedom? A royal vampire's grip should have broken your will." The chef hat-wearing man asked.

Fera nodded her head as she was also curious.

Without hiding anything, Bob told the truth regarding that part.

"Our god, Meteder, helped me to break free from the bindings."

"Oh my." The chef hat man interjected.

"Folks. It looks like Meteder himself decided that this child is worth the trouble. I shall make it official." He continued. He stood from his seat and breathed deeply.

"As Bishop of Donut City's Church of Gourmet, I, Nark of Donut, declare that the inauguration of the newly appointed knight, Bob, is canceled." Nark the chef hat-wearing bishop declared.

"He will still be an unofficial Knight of this Church as he still believes in our faith. However, he would no longer stay within the church premises, at least in the residences." He continued.

'Ah, there it is. This is the third time now, isn't it?' Bob thought.

He shed a tear silently but not one person in the room realized as he held his head down. The first time, he lost his barn to another Bob. The second time, his mother's house got wrecked by werewolves.

And now, the place where he almost felt that he could return to anytime he comes back from a tiring adventure could no longer welcome him. All in all, Bob lost his place once again.

The meeting continued but Bob couldn't care for anything else anymore. The words and topics discussed went in one ear and out the other. Bob could only hold Lavanuk in his arms as he waited for the conference to end.

-

"I guess this is farewell." Bob held the tears back as he said goodbye to Fera.

"Bob, you're only not allowed to live in the church. You can still live in the city." Fera didn't want Bob to leave. She wanted to watch as Bob grows as a person.

"I can't. It's because I am an adventurer." He explained.

Bob didn't say anything more. Adventurers are homeless people, and Bob realized that they always lose their home according to his experience. It was the essence of adventurers to roam the lands.

Once they settle down, they could no longer be considered as adventurers but as mercenaries.

"Is that all you're going to say?" Fera's eyebrows perked and Bob's explanation struck a nerve.

Bob did not reply but only nodded his head in affirmation.

"Sigh." Fera heaved heavily. Bob was determined and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Well then. Take care, Bob. And do occasionally keep in touch, please." She said as she turned around and walked away.

"Cluck." Lavanuk clucked a low one and squirmed in Bob's arms.

Bob turned around and walked towards the church entrance. He didn't have to get anything from his room as he didn't leave anything there at all.

-

Now, there wasn't much for Bob to do other than connect with his party. So he opened up his party chat and sent a message to everyone.

[Hey guys. Where are you right now?] He asked.

[We're in Corn Pub. Do you know where it is?] E replied promptly. What an attentive party leader.

[No worries. I'll just ask around.] Bob was confident that the system could help him.

"System. Where is Corn Pub in Donut City?"

Bob asked the system and the familiar guide light showed itself to Bob once more. All Bob had to do was follow and he would arrive at the pub.

-

Squeaaaaaak~

The pub door slowly opened and everyone in the pub looked at the person that arrived. This was why it was adventurer etiquette to slam the door instead.

The tension rose as the dimly lit door's shadow hid the man's identity. The figure was lanky but it had an ominous light as eyes.

"Hey, guys!" Bob's voice resonated.

Once again, Lavanuk—who had flaming eyes—was on top of his head.

"Oh hey, Bob. You should meet these guys. They're a strong bunch and they're willing to help us." E said as he walked to the door and grabbed Bob.

Bob looked at the table where E came from and he saw a familiar face. He forgot about this guy, the only friend he made before meeting E's party.

"It's been quite a while, Bob." Chikinsupu greeted Bob while sipping on root beer.

"Root beer? Are you some kind of milk drinker?" Bob had a crooked smile on his face as he looked at the beverage in Chikinsupu's hands.

"Bahahaha. I have a sweet tooth. Plus, I'm not into drinking alcoholic beverages." Chikinsupu explained.

"Nah man, you're just a wimp." A man who carried a long sword on his back interjected. Presumably, a party-mate of Chikinsupu.

"Bahaha. Stop making excuses, Kazuma. Anyway, Bob, we heard a lot about you, especially from Chikinsupu here." The man continued speaking.

Over his head was the name 'Gideon'. He had an enormous presence and Bob felt that this man was strong. After feeling weak, Bob looked around at the rest of Chikinsupu's party and saw that they all have the same aura.

"Hello, Bob. My name is Gideon, the party leader of my party." Gideon continued speaking.

"I'm a tank. And this guy over here is your friend, Chikinsupu, I assume you know him already."

"Yes, I know him. He's a good friend." Bob could confirm.

"Right, this guy over here is xXHunterxX69, we just call him Hunter." Gideon pointed at a guy that wore light armor and had a short bow on his back.

"Hola!" Hunter stood up from his seat and hit his knee on the table.

"Oh no." Gideon exclaimed

"Anyway. This guy over here is Dreads. He's our main DPS mage." Gideon introduced a man who was wearing a robe that had an ominous duck symbol.

"Greetings! It is I, Dreads! The mighty archmage of the west!" Dreads introduced himself.

"Hello, Dreads. I am Bob." Bob liked to be formal.

After getting the introductions over with. Gideon then informed Bob of what they were discussing.

"Basically, Bob. Our party is going to power level yours. Hahaha, be glad!"