I Will Buy Divine Power With Money! - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Do you think I would spend 3,000 gold on something with no effect? Even if money was rotting away in abundance, I wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Rute, who was leaning back deeply into a chair that was excessively plush compared to other carriages, curved his eyes to the fullest.

At the words that finally a single flower had bloomed in despair, Yuri covered his mouth with tears welling up in his eyes.

“The contents of the ancient text were real! *Sob*. It feels like all the hardships so far are being washed away. I was worried about what would happen if this turned out to be another wild goose chase too… Huh? But 3,000 gold? I only gave 1,000 gold though?”

“I gave 2,000 more.”

“When?!”

“To be precise, I was extorted.”

Rute burst into light laughter along with those words.

Holy Maiden Ordel, who looked straight at him and very boldly demanded he pay 2,000 more gold.

And that wasn’t even the end of it. He had to keep coming to this remote place every month to continue paying money.

Donation fees separately, charging fees separately.

When she said the charging fees would be less than the donation fees, he was so grateful he almost shed tears.

Had he ever been extorted of thousands of gold in his life?

Absolutely never, not even once. No family head in the long history of House Siery would have been extorted like this.

And by a Holy Maiden, no less.

“Puhup!”

Ah, just thinking about that moment keeps making me laugh.

“…For our lord, who has the worst temper in the Empire, to burst into laughter even after being extorted of 2,000 more gold. Could there be something wrong with the holy relic? Are you really alright? Show me. I need to check!”

Yuri was horrified at the sight of Rute bursting into giggles.

It was even more shocking because he wasn’t laughing at others as usual, but was laughing as if he was truly enjoying himself.

“No way. I won’t show it to anyone. The Holy Maiden said if something goes wrong with this holy relic, then I would really die.”

“What does that mean…?”

“She noticed that I was suffering from an illness, and that I was continuously feeling pain.”

“What?! How on earth… Even the Holy Maiden and Holy Son of the Sea God couldn’t notice it at all…”

The Sea God, one of the three main gods of the continent, was currently the most powerful deity.

Therefore, Rute had also visited the Holy Maiden and Holy Son of the Sea God’s Main Temple to treat his illness.

However, the results were very disappointing.

Far from recognizing his condition, they thought he had finally knelt before the Sea God’s authority and raised their noses high.

Even the Holy Maiden had examined his physical condition with divine power, yet didn’t notice anything strange at all.

What did she say? That he was very healthy and would live a long, long life?

That she had given him a blessing, so only good things would be abundant in his future?

Bullshit.

That day, as soon as Rute returned to the Duke’s mansion, he felt extreme pain for the first time in a very long while and even coughed up blood.

Since that day, he hadn’t even looked at the Sea God’s side.

Yuri also knew all of this.

“The Holy Maiden said that the Sun God’s divine power has strong healing properties, so it seems to be visible.”

Rute recalled the moment he first encountered Ordel at the entrance of the Grand Temple.

A woman with fluffy pink hair wearing calm Holy Maiden robes.

However, unlike her soft-colored hair, her golden eyes that shone like gold under the sunlight never looked easy to deal with.

She looked young enough to have just turned twenty, yet she felt much more profound than the Holy Maiden and Holy Son of the Sea God.

And he had definitely seen it.

Her golden eyes scanning around him where there was nothing.

Even when they met in the reception room, her gaze would often shift slightly, and he wondered why.

So there was a reason for that.

“If the holy relic had no effect, I would have doubted those words, but the effect is too good.”

The terrible pain that started suddenly one day.

No doctor could identify the illness, nor could they alleviate the pain even a little.

As nearly 20 years passed, he had become somewhat accustomed to minor pains, but the occasional agony like having a large nail driven into his heart or head was something he could never get used to.

But the moment he held the holy relic that Ordel brought in his hand, he felt a different kind of pain than usual.

It was intense pain as if hot flames were devouring his head, heart, and entire body.

If he hadn’t lived his whole life feeling pain, he would have screamed and clawed at his entire body.

After what felt like an eternity passed and the pain gradually disappeared, he felt it.

A light rain in drought, a single flower blooming in barren land, a single breeze blowing in scorching heat.

Small and seemingly insignificant, but it was the beginning of change.

Soon torrential rain soaked his entire body, thousands of soft flowers embraced him, and a gentle wind brought the coolest and clearest air in the world.

A body without pain, felt for the first time in 20 years, was so sweet and addictive.

“…To the extent that I could believe whatever that person said. No, to the extent that I would unconditionally believe.”

Ordel had definitely delivered on the money’s worth as she had said. She was a person who kept her word, quite a decent person.

However, separate from that, suspicion toward her still remained.

He had seen more than once or twice in his life those who showed sincerity only to suddenly turn around one day.

She too might make excessive demands of him using this as leverage someday.

Rute clenched his fist tightly to avoid losing his judgment by becoming addicted to the sensation of being pain-free.

“You said the Holy Maiden of the Sun God’s Grand Temple is Count Kiris’s daughter?”

“We need to investigate to be certain. I know all the faces of Count Kiris’s biological children, but that Holy Maiden is an adopted daughter and has never officially appeared in social circles, so nothing is known about her. Not just her appearance, but her name too.”

“That’s strange. Bragging that his daughter is a Holy Maiden, yet not showing that daughter to the outside world? Is it because the Grand Temple is poor?”

It wasn’t even a regular temple under the Grand Temple’s jurisdiction, but for a Grand Temple that serves a god most closely, its condition looked quite poor.

Maybe they’re hiding because it’s not a prestigious place.

“Well, that will come out if we investigate.”

“So you’re telling me to find out all of that?”

“Then who else besides you? Since my pain has disappeared too, don’t worry about this side and dig deep. Find out everything about the Holy Maiden.”

“Yes, understood.”

As Rute said, since his condition had improved, there was less to worry about, so Yuri readily agreed.

Wow, that holy relic is really miraculous. Thanks to it, my work has decreased too. Should I register as a believer out of gratitude?

“Oh, but to properly investigate the Holy Maiden, shouldn’t we also dig into the Grand Temple?”

“Skip that place.”

“Why?”

“You’re being quite talkative today. Have I been acting too generously?”

Rute looked straight at Yuri and smiled brightly.

It was a smile where only his mouth smiled but not his eyes—the smile Yuri feared most in the world.

“Ahem! I’ll focus diligently on digging into Kiris only!”

At Yuri’s resounding answer, Rute turned his gaze to the window.

The roof of the Grand Temple, now grown smaller, was glimpsed between the lush trees.

There was one reason he didn’t assign the investigation of the Grand Temple to Yuri.

‘Because I want to find out myself.’

If the High Priest and Order Commander are the people the Holy Maiden can trust most in the Grand Temple, why does she keep her dealings with him secret? What kind of relationship makes her do that?

Ah, he was already looking forward to a month from now.

* * *

“Count. This is William Gail.”

Gail, who knocked on the massive door in front of him, slowly took a deep breath.

Seeing the delicate two dahlia flowers carved on the door, his heart was already tightening.

Though it was a pure and beautiful flower loved by countless people, he only felt fear whenever he saw it.

“Come in.”

At the cold voice from inside, Gail swallowed his saliva and opened the door.

In front of a hard wooden desk sat his master and owner of the beautiful dahlias, Count Joseph Kiris.

His sharp green eyes and stern face made his already fearful heart even heavier.

Unable to bear that weight, Gail bent his waist in half and bowed his head.

“As a result of checking the Grand Temple, all eight spies including Chef Kento have been imprisoned.”

Count Kiris’s hand, which had been signing documents, stopped abruptly.

Even without raising his head, he could tell. The Count’s gaze was piercing the top of his head.

“…And so?”

“Ah, it seems it would be difficult to extract everything.”

“I didn’t send you all that way just to hear such talk.”

At the colder response than expected, Gail gulped down his saliva.

“However, th-there is good news as well!”

“Good news?”

“Yes! It was none other than Ortel Kiris who reported the spy. She said she did it to gain the High Priest’s trust and become your spy herself, my lord.”

“That thing said such a thing?”

The Count’s questioning voice was full of mockery.

It was clear he didn’t believe Ordel’s statement in the slightest.

Of course, Gail too would normally have laughed at Ordel to her face and thoroughly re-educated her on behalf of the Count.

However, Ordel at that time was somehow different. Strangely, he couldn’t bring himself to lay hands on her as usual.

There was a power in her words that made him believe them.

“That stupid thing could never do anything properly no matter how hard she tries to use her brain. And you bring those words straight to me?”

“I will tell you everything that happened at the Grand Temple. Please listen and make your judgment.”

Gail said urgently.

After a long silence, the Count clicked his tongue and gave permission.

Relieved, Gail began to explain in detail everything that had happened there from the beginning.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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