I Will Buy Divine Power With Money! - Chapter 23

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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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“…Ordel said she would properly fulfill her role as the Holy Maiden from now on.”

At the Count’s first words after all the stories ended, Gail hurriedly nodded his head.

“Yes, yes! Actually, from what I saw, not only the High Priest but also the Order Commander’s attitude toward her has become much softer than before.”

High Priest Airic, who had reluctantly accepted her but subtly showed rejection toward her unbecoming words and actions for a Holy Maiden.

Order Commander Seth, who treated her respectfully knowing she was the real Holy Maiden, but showed no intention of becoming personally close to her.

Their attitudes had completely changed in just a few months.

It really seemed like Ordel had gained their trust.

This was exactly why Gail had come to believe Ordel’s words about becoming a spy.

“Since that woman did all sorts of things to catch my attention, it’s hard to trust her completely this time either.”

However, unlike him, the Count who hadn’t directly witnessed this situation didn’t believe Gail’s words at all.

Gail felt disappointed, but didn’t try to persuade him more strongly.

Since Ordel had even staged a fake suicide attempt in the past, it was natural for the Count not to trust her immediately.

“But the problem right now isn’t that woman. Is it true that Duke Sieri really visited the Grand Temple?”

At the Count’s following question, Gail’s face hardened.

Right, Ordel wasn’t the only problem now.

He too had been shocked to see Duke Sieri at the Grand Temple.

“Yes. He was with Yuri Polton.”

“Do you know why he visited?”

“I only heard it was urgent business. I hid outside the Grand Temple and waited for the Duke to come out, but I didn’t notice anything special.”

The Duke and Count Polton didn’t exchange a single word until they got into the carriage, so he couldn’t eavesdrop.

“Should I ask Ordel what the Duke’s business was? If she really intends to become a spy as she said, she’ll send an answer.”

“…Fine. I don’t know how much information the High Priest will allow a fake Holy Maiden to access, but there’s nothing to lose, so send a letter.”

“Understood. I’ll send it right away.”

“Oh, and. What expression did the Duke have when he left the Grand Temple?”

At the Count’s question, Gail tilted his head.

He didn’t know why he was asking this, but he answered obediently.

“He was smiling. It was his usual annoying smile. No, it seemed a bit brighter than usual…?”

Though there was a slight difference in warmth, anyway, the creepy and annoying smile that looked unpleasant every time he saw it was still there.

At Gail’s answer, the Count waved his hand as if he understood.

Gail immediately bowed his head and left the Count’s office.

Thinking he was fortunate that the Count didn’t scold him severely.

“Lute Sieri visited the Sun God’s Grand Temple.”

Count Kiris, left alone after Gail departed, tapped his desk.

To think that a big catch like Lute Sieri would be hooked in the place where he had pushed in a fake Holy Maiden for his family’s benefit.

It would be nice if Ordel could gain that man’s trust and bring back various information… but expecting that much would be too greedy.

For now, he should be satisfied that Lute Sieri had made contact with the Sun God’s Grand Temple.

Count Kiris put down his pen and stood up. Though there was still much work left, these document scraps weren’t what was important right now.

Reporting Lute Sieri’s movements came first.

To his master who was extremely interested in that man’s every move.

* * *

Airic, who belatedly learned that what went to Lute was not just a holy relic but a divine artifact, fainted.

Seth, startled, hurriedly transported him to his bedroom, and I followed behind the two of them.

“I knew you’d be surprised, but I never thought you’d actually faint. How will you lead the Grand Temple if you’re this weak-hearted?”

I placed a cold cloth soaked in water on Airic’s forehead.

Airic’s appearance, lying in bed and groaning, looked quite pitiful.

“Since it’s a divine artifact, the shock must have been great.”

Seth awkwardly smiled and took Airic’s side.

“Still, he seems too weak-hearted. When the meat arrives today, I’ll have to make sure the High Priest eats a lot.”

“That sounds good.”

“This is all because of protein deficiency. People need to eat protein to live.”

I quickly looked around Airic’s bedroom.

This was the first time I’d seen someone else’s bedroom in the Grand Temple. How should I put it, it was quite shocking.

Despite being the second highest position in the Grand Temple after the Holy Maiden, his bedroom was very small and old.

The furniture consisted of just one bed and one wardrobe.

Though his office was decent, the bedroom couldn’t hide its worn appearance no matter how cleanly it was cleaned.

“Oh my.”

Living in a place like this would make you sick even if you weren’t before.

So today was definitely going to be a meat party. I had to feed everyone until they were so full they couldn’t eat anymore.

“Mmm.”

Then Airic woke up. As soon as he made eye contact with me, he immediately let out a big sigh.

Sighing at the sight of someone’s face. How unlucky.

“Holy Maiden, why on earth did you give away the divine artifact…”

“Because it seemed more necessary for the Duke than something like the Light Relic.”

“But Holy Maiden. Divine artifacts are very important as they are items directly bestowed by the gods. Especially in difficult situations like ours…”

I cut off Airic’s words.

He knew one thing but not two.

“High Priest. If the divine artifact just sits quietly in the underground sanctuary, will the Grand Temple’s name become known by itself?”

“…”

“If we just keep it preciously stored, will gold bars rain from the sky?”

Far from it, the Sun God was taking the money I earned and converting it into power.

Though no one other than the Sun God would ever know this fact.

Somehow it’s a bit sad.

I definitely had 200 million in my hands, but all that’s left is divine power.

I’m a modern person, so cash is more important to me.

“Rather than that, it’s much better to lend it to someone who needs it and receive money that’s important to us right now. Besides, we even gained believers who were lacking.”

An SS-grade believer worth 300 million no less.

Even the cash he offered alone was 300 million, so combined it’s a precious customer worth a whopping 600 million!

I absolutely can’t let him go.

“If news spreads that the Duke became a believer of the Sun God’s Grand Temple, other people might come too. He promised to visit at least once a month.”

“Once a month?”

Airic, who had been unable to continue speaking, opened his eyes wide in surprise.

Seth, who hadn’t heard about this, was also surprised.

“Duke Sieri’s time is famously precious as gold, and such a person will visit the temple once a month?”

“Yes. He said he’d come to continuously check on the divine artifact’s condition.”

I couldn’t say he was coming to recharge his blessing, so I made up an appropriate excuse.

“By the way, the Duke doesn’t know it’s a divine artifact. Since he didn’t know what the Light Relic looked like, I just told him Aurora was the Light Relic.”

“That was well done. It’s better to hide the existence of divine artifacts. The Duke might harbor other intentions.”

Now somewhat calmed down, Airic grabbed the cloth covering his forehead and sat up.

“Then the real Light Relic will continue to stay in the sanctuary?”

“Oh, I was going to tell you about that.”

I took out the jewel box that had contained the Light Relic from my sleeve.

I used to find it amazing in novels and comics when everyone pulled things out from here, but after possessing this body, it really was conveniently designed for storage.

It felt a bit like becoming a martial arts master from a martial arts novel.

“No matter how I look at this, it seems fake.”

I put the box down on the bed and opened the lid. When the shattered necklace appeared, Airic was flustered.

“I just applied a little force and it broke. There’s no way a holy relic would break so easily. Someone must have switched it, or it wasn’t a holy relic from the beginning.”

I also added an explanation that this was why I had no choice but to give the divine artifact to the Duke.

“Honestly, I agree with the Holy Maiden’s words too. How should I put it, unlike when I saw divine artifacts or other holy relics, this one felt too creepy. I felt repulsed by it.”

Seth, who had been silently listening to our conversation, expressed agreement with me for the first time.

“…You both felt that way too?”

“Huh? Don’t tell me you felt it too, High Priest?”

Airic nodded with a strange expression on his face.

“I first saw this right after I inherited the position of High Priest. But it didn’t feel right somehow, so I never looked for it again after that. So honestly, when the Duke wanted this, I thought it was fortunate.”

“So you mean… you were planning to hand over something this ominous to the Duke. Wow…”

“No, that wasn’t my intention…!”

“If the Duke had taken this and something went wrong, our Grand Temple that was barely maintaining its existence would have been completely destroyed…”

Could it be that the reason the Duke was particularly hostile toward the Sun God’s Main Temple in the original story wasn’t because of the final mastermind who treated him like a slave, but because of this…?

No matter that he requested it first, to eagerly hand over a problematic sacred relic without a single word of warning…?

It’s possible, isn’t it?

“Ahem! So what should we do with this? It’s a bit awkward to put it back in the Sacred Grounds…”

“I have a method in mind. I’ll handle it properly.”

I glared at Airic, then closed the lid of the jewelry box and hugged it tightly.

How much I had wanted to smash this little gem fragment that kept causing frustration throughout the novel.

I had absolutely no intention of giving someone else the chance to completely destroy it.

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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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