The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 416: Know Your Enemy and Know Yourself (2)

Beep beep, beep beep.

Kai slowly opened his eyes from his light sleep mode at the loud notification sound. The light sleep mode supported by MID Online was useful for times like this. He could rest without logging out of the game, and the system would send a brainwave signal as soon as a notification came in.

“It’s a message from the Information Guild.”

When he checked the message window, he saw a notice saying a new parcel had arrived in his inbox.

Realizing it was about time to leave the library, Kai looked around. It had already been two weeks since he settled in the deepest part of the grand library that stored all of the Solarian Church’s history. When he first arrived, the space had been clean and orderly, but now it was a complete mess. Books and scrolls were scattered chaotically across the table. On the floor, there were piles of food containers from meals he had eaten to fill his stomach.

“Ugh.”

Scratching his head, Kai cleaned the area and smiled at the library that was tidy once again.

“Thanks for everything over the past two weeks.”

They had been horrid days he didn’t want to remember. Except for when he slept, he constantly read even while eating for the past two weeks. When he thought about how he had never even studied that hard for the college entrance exam, he felt that he had become very extreme.

Still, it’s not like I walked away with nothing.

If anything, he had found more than enough. The ancient papyrus scrolls had much more useful information than he had expected.

For a game, this is absurdly deep.

MID Online was clearly on another level compared to other games. It wasn’t a game where one simply followed a set story and reached an ending. There were worlds, stories, and settings that were normally impossible to understand. And if those settings weren’t discovered, there were quests or achievements that simply could not be completed.

Raising a rank... It might be easier than I thought.

Kai left the library with a smile and headed for his mailbox. Clerics and paladins walking through the streets of the Holy Kingdom Lapis drew crosses and greeted him when they saw him.

There it is.

When he opened the mailbox, inside were documents the size of five encyclopedias. In addition, there was a small booklet enclosed, with the word "Guide" written on the cover.

This explains how they organized the data.

It was essentially a manual that taught him how to read through the information they had compiled. Using a gravity field, Kai floated the materials into the air and walked back to his room inside the temple. As the reputation of the Holy Blood Order grew, the commander’s room, where Kai stayed, was spacious and clean.

“Let’s see...” Kai began by lightly reading the guide. “Volume one is about Helik, volume two is about Muldine, information about the gods’ characteristics starts from volume three... ah, and the section on demon horns is in the latter part of volume five."

His neck began to ache as he read, so he closed his eyes and slowly stretched his neck.

“Oof.”

After spending two weeks reading to the point of exhaustion, just thinking about reading more of the stacked material made him sigh.

"I still have to read it. I really do..."

He seemed to need a bit of motivation. Having made up his mind, Kai snapped and teleported to Arkan Academy. The blazing sun and clear sky welcomed him.

“Mmmm, this is nice!”

Having arrived somewhere other than Lapis for the first time in two weeks, Kai stretched and did some light warmups. A refreshed expression finally appeared on his face as he loosened his stiff body.

“Alright, now that I’ve stretched... time to tackle that terrifying homework.”

Kai’s bright expression immediately darkened again. Even though he braced himself like a warrior before a battle, the tips of his fingers still trembled.

What is this?

Kai had turned off his phone linked to Helik and Rashya during the two weeks he had been buried in the library. He needed to focus on reading, and even though he was there alone, silence was expected in the library. So only after finishing cleaning the library today did he turn on his phone, and saw that he had received messages from them.

[My dear one, when are you coming? (๑′ᴗ‵๑)]

[What could possibly be keeping you so busyyy? ´A`]

[Hmm. I’ll give you two candies if you come. I’ll even give you one of the strawberry ones I’ve been saving.]

That was from Helik.

[Kai, are you busy these days? Helik says she hasn’t been able to reach you and is worried.]

[Kai, is your phone broken? You still haven’t read the message. Why not?]

[Kai. I asked Principal Albert and he said you’re at the Solarian Church’s main temple... Hmm.]

[Kai, you liar. You promised you wouldn’t leave us again without saying anything, (。·ˇ_ˇ·。)]

That was from Rashya.

At first, Kai read the messages with a fatherly smile, but there were over fifty of those texts piled up. They had sent multiple messages per day.

I definitely can’t show up empty-handed.

To calm their anger, he needed sweet things drenched in sugar. Kai hurried to the market and bought a mountain of cakes, snacks, and chocolates, then returned to the academy.

Knock, knock, knock.

He knocked on the door of their dorm, but no response came from inside.

A professor of water-attribute magic passing through the hallway recognized Kai. “Hm? Is that you, Director?”

“Hello, Professor Shuron.”

“Hello. You must be here to see your daughter.”

“Uh... yes, something like that.”

At the time of enrollment, Kai had told High Priest Albert that Helik was a distant relative, but he hadn’t bothered to explain anything to others. He just vaguely said she was family. Because of that, many people assumed Helik was either his younger sister or his daughter.

“If it’s Helizabeth you’re looking for, she’s probably at the field with Rashya.”

“Where...?”

“The field. As you know, His Holiness the High Priest enjoys tending crops as a hobby.”

“Right.”

It was something Kai was well aware of. In fact, there was even a private field dedicated to the high priest at the main church in Lapis.

“Helizabeth and Rashya asked His Holiness for permission to use part of the field.”

“What are they planning to plant all of a sudden...?”

“That, I don’t really know either. I pass by now and then, but I haven’t seen anything growing yet.”

“Thanks for letting me know."

After parting ways with Shuron, Kai tilted his head as he headed toward the academy’s field. In fact, the field hadn’t been part of the original city plan, but had been hastily created to win over High Priest Albert. Naturally, it was larger than the field at the main temple of the Solarian Church, and the soil was more even.

“Helik, Rashya!”

When Kai arrived at the field, he spotted them crouched down in farming clothes in the distance.

The two of them turned to look at him but quickly turned their heads away again, pretending not to notice.

Both of them are definitely upset at me.

Kai shrugged and approached them. “What are you two looking at so intently...”

“Stop! You must not step there!”

“Kai, what are you doing!”

The two goddesses suddenly shrieked and scolded Kai.

“S-sorry. Did I step on something?”

Kai quickly backed away and apologized while looking at the ground. However, there was nothing but flat dirt, and it didn’t seem like he had stepped on anything.

“There are seeds beneath the soil.”

“You have to treat plants gently. The principal said those little ones have feelings too.”

The two goddesses made remarks like professional farmers.

“Ah, so you just planted them. Both of you must be hungry. Eat these while you work.” Kai offered them the chocolates he had brought. “But what exactly are you trying to grow?”

As soon as the question was asked, Helik and Rashya’s shoulders lifted in excitement as if they had been waiting for it. Helik hummed with a proud look, then brushed her hair back.

She unwrapped one of the chocolates Kai had given her, popped it into her mouth, and asked, “Kai, do you know what this is?” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

“Chocolate.”

“Do you happen to know how chocolate is made?”

“Well... when cacao fruit grows on a cacao tree, it's extracted and then processed to make chocolate.”

“Oh... Y-you know quite a bit,” Helik muttered with a slightly surprised expression.

Unable to watch any longer, Rashya stepped in to explain, “With the allowance you gave us, we tried all kinds of snacks from the snack store and lived heavenly days.”

Hearing such words from celestial beings created an odd sense of dissonance.

“Right, and then?”

“And then, imagine! The store was selling cacao tree seeds.”

“Why would the academy’s snack store even have that...? Wait, don’t tell me you actually bought it.”

“Hehe, there’s no point in hiding it now. We’re going to grow our own chocolate ourselves and eat it.” Helik crossed her arms and proudly declared their goal. “Apparently it’s a trend these days. Eco... eco-something...”

“You mean eco-friendly?”

“Yes, that!”

If it was about being eco-friendly, the intention wasn’t bad. The problem was...

Do they even actually know what they’re doing?

Cacao trees grew well only in tropical regions and needed at least five years before they could bear fruit. To produce chocolate in large quantities, the tree would naturally have to be loaded with fruit, which would take at least twenty years.

“But you see, it’s been two weeks since we planted the seeds and there’s still no fruit.”

“Helik and I even blessed the soil with holy power, but nothing has sprouted. We even watered it.”

As the two goddesses whined, Kai carefully explained to them that cacao trees only grew in tropical regions, and that it took at least five years before one could harvest anything.

When he finished, the two goddesses looked as if they had been hit over the head with a hammer. Helik especially looked devastated, like her whole world had collapsed.

“Of course, if you continue to bless it with your holy power it probably won’t completely fail to grow.”

After all, it was the holy power of the Solarian God. In fact, there were many farmers who were followers of the Solarian Church, as she was also the goddess of abundance.

“It will still take at least several years for the fruit to grow. Will you still keep going?”

Helik finally came back to her senses and nodded at Kai’s question. “I still want to...”

“Me too...”

Helik and Rashya squatted down and gently patted the bare soil.

“Cao, grow up quickly. I’ll give you holy power every day.”

“I’ll wait for you too.”

The two goddesses had already named the cacao tree Cao.

Kai, who had been watching them fondly, waved his hand. “So, are you not going to eat the snacks I brought? I even bought cake.”

“Cake! I want some!”

“Do you have chocolate cake too?”

“Of course. I even brought strawberry cake.”

“G-gasp. Strawberry cake!”

The two goddesses immediately jumped to their feet and followed after Kai as he left the field. Kai sat in the flower garden and found peace of mind as he watched them happily eat their snacks.