Chapter 402: Welcome Back

"Let me start by saying, welcome back. Most people assumed you were dead, we’re glad to have you back.""Mhm, happy to be back," I nodded with a polite smile.

It’s been eight days since I got back, today’s the 30th of August, 2170. And this is also the first time I’ve left the house since coming back, I’ve been holed up at home with Aria until today.

I was currently at the Hunters Union, meeting with the new Chair of the Sanctuary Theta branch, Superbia’s replacement.

Aria’s still the only one who knows about that, and I’m not going to be able to keep it a secret forever, so I’ll try to bring it up today.

"May I ask why you took so long to respond to our request to meet? It’s been over a week since you got back."

"Well, sir, all due respect, but after spending nearly nine months in the middle of a forest, I wanted to spend some time relaxing and taking it easy. The physical fatigue aside, I was mentally beat by the time I got back," I stated bluntly.

"I see...yes, fair enough, I suppose," He nodded thoughtfully.

Lachlan Bollinger, the new Chairman of the Sanctuary Theta branch of the Hunters Union. He isn’t an Awakened, meaning he doesn’t have any powers.

He was in his early-seventies, with a bald head, dark blue eyes, and neatly trimmed mustache and pointy chin beard.

He had a fair complexion, and was about average height and build. He wore a gray suit, and had a silver cross earring on his left earlobe.

I’m somewhat acquainted with him, he was basically the second in command at the Union before, so I’d seen him around and spoken to him a few times in the past.

"If it’s alright, I’d rather not recap the entirety of my time in the Monster world, that’d take way too long. That said, I’ve typed it all out in a doc, I’ve covered everything in great detail, I’ll sent that to you. And if you’ve got any questions after you go through it, feel free to message me," I remarked with a smile.

"Yes, that works for me, I appreciate it. However, there is one thing I’d like to ask you about. The Chairwoman-...sorry, former Chairwoman...-she disappeared right along with you, and she was fatally wounded. May I ask about her final moments?" He inquired somberly.

"Yeah, about that...I’ll just come right out and say it. Before she died, she asked me to turn her into an Apostle of Sin, one of my undead forces. She said she wanted to fight again, that she wasn’t ready to go yet...so, I fulfilled her request. So, while she technically isn’t alive anymore, she is still around," I informed him, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Really? May...may I see her?"

"Yeah, of course. <Emerge, Apostle of Pride: Superbia>."

Lachlan stared in disbelief as she appeared beside me, opening her eyes as she manifested.

"<Hm? Oh, hey, it’s my office! Well, I guess it isn’t my office anymore, huh? Hey, Lachlan, it’s been a while...heard about your big promotion, congratulations>," She greeted him with a grin.

"I-...y-yes, thank you, ma’am. It’s...it’s good to see you again. I really thought that you...that you were gone for good," He replied quietly.

"<Nope, still around, and better than ever. I’m even stronger now than I was at my peak, and outside of fighting, I get to do whatever I want now. It’s a pretty great deal>," She laughed light-heartedly.

"You did often complain about not being able to fight anymore, and about the amount of administrative work on your plate. So, I’m glad you no longer have to complain about those anymore," He smiled in response.

Okay, looks like he’s taking this pretty well. I’d been prepared to get yelled at and admonished for turning her into an Apostle of Sin, which would’ve been fair, so I’m pleasantly surprised by his reaction.

Of course, it’s still very much possible that there might be some others who won’t take as kindly to this, but whatever.

What’s done is done, after all.

I stayed quiet for a while as Superbia and Lachlan chatted and caught up, letting them talk. Probably shouldn’t interrupt, all things considered.

"<I have to say, this is a bit surreal, being here without all the responsibilities I shouldered for so long.

Ooh, I’m gonna go greet everyone else, I want to see their reactions>," Declared Superbia with a gleam in her eyes, before heading for the door and leaving the office before either of us could say anything.

"Well...besides her form, she really hasn’t changed at all," He remarked in bemusement.

"If anything, she’s gotten more amped up than she was before," I replied with a wry smile.

"Yes, she certainly seems to have a lot more energy now. She’s going to cause quite a commotion, I don’t think we’re going to be able to get much work done today," He sighed wistfully, before adding, "By the way, about the Monster world, do you think we should make the information you compiled public?"

"I’ll leave that upto you. I think a lot of it should be pretty encouraging, so it should be fine to publicize it. That said, one thing you might want to consider keeping under wraps is how powerful the Demon Lord is.

I got a look at what he’s capable of, and it was pretty alarming. He had a bunch of abilities that sounded really OP, and a Power Level of almost twenty million."

"Wha-...twenty million?!"

"Yeah, I know. Probably not the best idea to announce that part to the public," I replied sheepishly.

"I agree...thanks to how the intensity of the Dungeons had declined over this last year or so, the number of Hunters is starting to get back to normal, a lot of those who retired have come out of retirement. And the number of applicants at the Academies have increased a bit too.

So, yeah, we’ll probably have to keep that from the public, at least for now. Oh, and speaking of the public...the media has been pestering us to set up a press conference for you. We can set it up for tomorrow, if that’s okay with you."

"Come on...do I have to?" I sighed in exasperation.

"Well, people are clamoring for answers, so if you don’t do it, you’re probably not going to be able to go outside for while.

I mean, that’d be the case either way, but it probably won’t be as bad if you give them some answers beforehand," He pointed out.

Yeah, I suppose...

"Fine. Might as well get it over with, I suppose."