Early morning.

Everyone gathered in the captain's cabin.

Looking at the pile of documents on the table, Ed, though he didn't know the exact reason, roughly guessed their purpose.

It must be about the mission the church had given the night before.

Sure enough, Andre said, "The church assigned us a mission yesterday. You all saw it, right? This time, our task is to retrieve a Holy Relic."

"A Holy Relic?!"

Everyone except Ed and Jason exclaimed in surprise.

Even Sankaka suddenly stood up, his head hitting the ceiling, almost making a hole in it.

Seeing the intense reaction, Ed and Jason glanced at each other.

Andre didn't pay the outburst much mind, instead explaining to the two puzzled men, "A Holy Relic… you can think of it as a special treasure. Or half a treasure."

In that instant, Ed understood the surprise.

The status of treasures in this world could be called the cornerstone of any power, the very essence and source of strength. As far as Ed had learned, one needed to come into contact with a true treasure to awaken the magic within their body and gain supernatural abilities. A person's core power most often came from that first related treasure, so one could imagine the weight a true magical artifact held.

But did they actually have the strength to obtain something like this? Ed couldn't help but wonder. Until now, their little group had only hunted small treasures. How could they suddenly jump from a novice village straight to what felt like a final boss's territory?

At that moment, Elena added, "It's only a special treasure, not a true treasure. Holy Relics are items left behind by gods. Unless a god inspires them with divine magic, their effectiveness is one level lower."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked, confused. Ed had some guesses based on references from his previous life, but he still perked up his ears and listened carefully.

Elena gathered her thoughts, calming her somewhat agitated emotions. "In other words, if anyone other than the god's devoted uses a Holy Relic, it will function at a lower tier. For example, to others it might just be a relatively powerful magical item, but if it's an item left behind by the Holy Mother and is recovered by the church, it can be upgraded through ritual to the level of a [Holy Grail]-grade treasure."

"And so on—what might be a [Holy Grail] to others could, for the church, be elevated through ritual to the level of a [Scepter]."

With that explanation, the two understood immediately.

So, regardless of a Holy Relic's current level, if it was left behind by the Holy Mother, finding it was essentially granting the church another full treasure.

After Elena finished, Andre spoke up. "Don't worry, it's not as exaggerated as you think. This time, the target is just a powerful magical item."

Hearing this, the others relaxed slightly.

"And it's not in anyone's possession. It's hidden away. We've just discovered some clues."

"I see. No wonder this mission fell to us," Vanessa remarked. It was a perfect match for their expertise.

"Alright. Since it's a mission, fill out your requests now."

Andre handed several sheets of paper to each person.

Ed, Jason, and Elena looked puzzled.

They picked up the papers and examined them.

Vanessa and Sankaka, however, immediately began writing furiously.

Resource Request…?

Looking at the title on the paper, Ed glanced up at Andre and saw his devilish smile. The gears in Ed's slow-to-react brain finally began turning.

So, it was a resource request. Or rather, they were going to use public funds to fill their own pockets.

Ed immediately understood the little scheme his cheap captain was running to profit from the church.

With a wide grin, Ed couldn't help but ask, "What's the maximum request per person…?" He looked at Andre, whose smile mirrored his own, and who gave an approving nod.

"This is the resource list. You can request anything here. You can also request more consumables, as long as they're not too… abstract."

He then pointed to another yellowed sheet of paper in front of them.

Ed leaned over to look.

It listed various enchanted ammunition, consumable spell scrolls, potions, and materials for inscribing or learning spells.

With this reference, Ed began writing ferociously on his application form. When it came to grabbing free supplies, no one except a shopping-hungry woman could beat him.

He didn't care whether what he wrote would be useful, he requested everything that came to mind.

Meanwhile, Andre took the application forms from Vanessa and Sankaka, densely filled with ink, glanced over them, and nodded in satisfaction. The forms were almost completely covered in writing. Vanessa, showing her feminine traits, had even written a lot on the back, the front alone wasn't enough.

Ed and the others finished after half an hour of thinking and handed theirs over.

Andre first looked at Ed's application.

He nodded, but after reading, he realized most of the requested items were cheap and easy to obtain. The quantity was huge, but the quality was obviously low. Still frowning, he said, "You can ask for more. Don't hold back. Use your brain and focus more on quality over quantity."

He winked and handed the form back.

Then, looking at Elena and Jason's requests, he couldn't help but scold them angrily, especially Elena, thinking she couldn't possibly be his daughter.

"What are you two applying for? Do you look down on the church and its wealth? Submitting these two sheets is more embarrassing than asking for a bigger annual budget. Rewrite them!"

He threw the papers back at them, leaving the two completely bewildered. They picked up their forms and stared, confused, clearly not knowing what to do.

Sighing helplessly, Andre rubbed his forehead, thinking he needed to train them properly, then leaned closer and whispered a few words in their ears.

The two looked utterly shocked, as if thinking, Is this even possible?

Then, unable to resist, they glanced at Ed's now densely filled request form, no less packed than Vanessa's, and then at what Vanessa had written.

"So ruthless!" Jason couldn't help but exclaim.

But as if a new world had opened up for him, he too began to scribble furiously.

Andre, seeing the trio's remarkable talent, nodded in satisfaction.

A moment later, after receiving their rewritten applications, he stood up with a smile and stacked them together.

"We'll be staying on a deserted island not far away for a while, waiting for the church's supplies to arrive before heading to our destination. In the meantime, you can learn the mission specifics. The information is on the table, look it over yourselves. I have other things to do."

With that, Andre took everyone's forms and was about to leave when Ed stopped him.

"Captain, how long are we going to stay here?"

Andre, already knowing what Ed was up to, ruthlessly crushed his dream of another vacation so soon. "Don't even think about it. It won't take long for the church to deliver the supplies. Instead of wasting time, you'd better focus on work."

Saying that, he stormed out of the cabin, fearing that if Ed begged for another vacation, he might not be able to hold back from beating the little bastard senseless.

Sankaka followed him like a bodyguard.

The remaining group sat back down and began flipping through the files.

"How did you understand this kind of thing so quickly?" Jason couldn't help but ask. He and Elena still hadn't quite grasped it, but Ed had figured it out on his own.

Hmph. Dad is dad, and son is son. How could you understand the depth of my greatness, you ungrateful brat? This time, even if you beg, I won't teach you anything. You're not worthy."

Because of Jason's previous betrayal, showing off in front of his own teacher, Ed had learned his lesson and refused to teach this ungrateful bastard anything. As for Elena, he could tell her about these things later. With the natural talent of a woman, she would definitely understand after a few pointers.

"Other key members should be boarding soon. Get ready," Vanessa, sitting nearby, reminded them after seeing the trio had finished their bickering.

"What's going on? Shouldn't my father decide the crew composition?" Elena asked.

Vanessa answered with a smile, "Given Andre's personality, he definitely applied. Before, he would've slowly searched for his preferred members, but with a mission now, we'll have to make do for the time being. More people mean more fighting power."

Hearing this, the others nodded involuntarily. After all, missions given by the church were never easy. More people would indeed make things easier.

They just didn't know what kind of person this new key member would be, or whether he'd be easy to get along with.

"Don't worry. The person boarding will probably be someone most of us know, so we can get acquainted quickly. Otherwise, the church wouldn't have entrusted us with this mission," Vanessa said with a smile, sensing Elena and Jason's worry.

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