Chapter 27
Light novel: Episode 27
Manhwa: Chapter 12
He could have just written that one sentence. Why did he bother scribbling ten useless ones?
“So this is his way of testing me, huh.”
That thing about me gaining Airek’s trust and bringing benefits to the Count’s house must’ve been passed along by that guy—Gale or whatever.
The Count will decide whether to believe me or not based on how I respond to this question.
Scoffing, I wrote my reply.
The Duke apparently came looking for something very important, but the High Priest didn’t tell me what exactly, so I’m not sure. That said, based on the circumstances, it seemed like it could be a sacred relic.
Also, he said he plans to visit the temple once a month moving forward.
I mixed the truth with some lies.
I had to reveal that it was a sacred relic to make it believable that I didn’t know more details.
And since I don’t actually know what Lute took, the Count won’t be able to learn more than that either.
“Monica. And Lady Victoria.”
After sealing the letter, I called the two of them over.
“Since the two of you are both now part of my inner circle, I’ll tell you the truth. Count Kiris is a piece of trash.”
“…What?”
“I knew it!”
Unlike the bewildered Victoria, Monica clenched both fists in triumph.
Well, that’s a refreshing reaction.
“It was only after I realized what a piece of trash the Count was that I began to reflect on my past. It’s difficult to completely turn my back on him right now, but one day, I’ll cut ties with the Kiris family for good. The grand temple will eventually break free from the Count’s support too.”
Monica nodded vigorously, while Victoria, though still looking puzzled, nodded as if to say she understood for now.
“But for now, we need money, so we’ll pretend to be subservient and squeeze money out of the Count’s family. So if I feed him a lie here or there, don’t be surprised and just roll with it. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“I will obey your orders.”
Even Victoria didn’t object to that part and agreed right away.
Even when I said I was going to squeeze money out of someone, she didn’t object. Come to think of it, she must’ve had quite a bit of resentment built up too.
“Alright then. Lady Victoria, could you go send the letter for me? Monica, stay, I’ve got something to ask you.”
“Yes, I’ll be back shortly.”
Once Victoria left with the letter, I turned to Monica.
“Monica, do you happen to know anything about the potion market in the Empire?”
“The potion market?”
“Yes. You said you lived outside the temple until six months ago, so I thought you might know something.”
Though puzzled, Monica answered readily.
“Right now, the potion market is split between potions from the Great Sea God’s temple and those made through alchemy. Well, I say divided, but the Great Sea God potions are overwhelmingly more popular.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The difference in divine power makes a huge impact. Thanks to that, they can act like thugs.”
Monica’s lips, which had been explaining calmly, suddenly twisted in a sneer.
Even with that lovely face, she was capable of such a sneer, huh.
“They don’t hesitate to do shady things just to monopolize the potion business. You don’t know how dirty they can get.”
That was a surprisingly blunt answer.
It’s true the Great Sea God faction was pretty nasty even in the original novel, but is it really okay to speak so directly like this…?
Well, why not. We’re in the Sun God’s temple. Let the Sun God deal with the Great Sea God.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean that alchemy potions don’t sell. They are less effective, but they are much cheaper, so commoners often buy them.”
Potions that heal wounds just by drinking them are not only sought after by nobles.
In fact, it’s the commoners, who do far more dangerous and grueling work, who need them more.
However, the Great Sea God’s temple prefers wealthy nobles over poor commoners, so they only produce high-quality, expensive potions tailored to the upper class.
As a result, alchemists naturally targeted the commoner market.
And they did so right around the time the grand temple of the Sun God, known for its unrivaled healing power, saw its potion supply completely dry up.
“The Great Sea God’s temple has no interest in the plight of commoners, so no matter what trashy things they pull, there’s no way alchemists’ potion businesses will completely collapse.”
Monica, I really like it when you speak so boldly like this.
“But why the sudden interest in the potion business? Wait, Saintess, don’t tell me…?”
Monica, who had just set down a teacup in front of me, widened her eyes in surprise.
I just smiled in response.
That’s right. Now that I’ve secured some funds, it’s time to start a business.
I can’t keep leeching off Lute and Count Kiris forever.
More than anything, the potion business is the first thing the Sun God’s grand temple should restart.
No one can compete with the Sun God when it comes to healing.
That’s why the potion business used to be the temple’s main source of income.
However, when the Sun God’s power began to wane and the quality of the potions declined, the Great Sea God’s grand temple swooped in and took over the market as if they had been waiting.
And since it wasn’t illegal and because grand temples are naturally in competition with each other, the Sun God’s grand temple couldn’t even formally object.
But the reverse holds true as well.
If we manage to reclaim the potion market and make a dent in the Great Sea God’s grand temple’s coffers, they won’t be able to say anything either.
“I plan to restart the potion business.”
After confirming with Monica, I summoned Airek and Seth to the reception room.
Without beating around the bush, I got straight to the point.
“Potions…?”
Airek’s eyes wavered. Clearly, the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind.
In those green eyes, I could see a flicker of excitement and ambition.
“…That would be difficult.”
But the moment he closed his eyes tight and opened them again, that ambition had vanished.
What remained wasn’t hope but a resignation he’d long grown used to.
“Thanks to Duke Sieri, we have a little more budget now, but it’s not enough to restart the potion business. More importantly, we severely lack high-ranking priests capable of producing strong healing potions.”
The second problem is definitely the bigger one.
Even in the original story, the potion business of the Sun God’s temple only regained success thanks to the overwhelming power of the heroine, Idella.
But now?
All I’ve got is one novice Saintess with a mere 10% divine power.
On top of that, Airek didn’t know that I had truly become the Saintess so he’s bound to oppose it even more.
“How many priests are actually capable of producing potions?”
“Probably fewer than ten. Among them, only three or four, including myself, can use significant power.”
If we were to start the business right away, it would be the perfect recipe for everyone to drop dead from overwork.
“Wouldn’t it be better to start after the grand temple stabilizes?”
“No. If we keep postponing it like that, we’ll never do it. And I’m not planning to pick a fight with the Great Sea God’s side from the start. We’re going to target the commoners first and build up step by step.”
“But that market’s already controlled by alchemists. What do you plan to do? With so many alchemists, it won’t be easy to break through.”
This time, Seth asked.
He, too, seemed excited by the thought of possibly reviving the temple’s long-held ambition as his voice trembled slightly.
It was time for me to throw out my trump card.
“How about we collaborate with the alchemists?”
The Great Sea God’s grand temple was aggressive and only satisfied when they stood on top, so there was no way they’d coexist with us.
But what about the alchemists? There’s no reason we can’t work with them, right?
“There’s no law saying alchemists can’t become followers, right? If our followers want to work with us to make potions, who’s going to complain?”
The potion market is currently dominated not by individual alchemists, but by a collective group.
But among those individuals, surely some had the ambition to break into the mainstream?
“We can recruit a small number of alchemists who haven’t been able to shine because they were overshadowed by the bigger group.”
We’d gain the manpower to supplement our lacking priests, and the alchemists can compensate for the limitations of alchemy compared to divine power.
“On top of that, if we can even research how to combine divine power with alchemy—wouldn’t that be the perfect scenario?”
It was the very definition of a win-win strategy.
“I think it’s a good idea.”
Seth expressed his opinion and glanced at Airek.
He still seemed to be mulling it over, so I decided to add further explanation.
“There are two major problems. First, we need to find alchemists who are skilled but not mainstream, and they must be willing to become followers of the Sun God. Second is about the distribution.”
“That’s right.”
Airek nodded right away. Clearly, that had been his concern as well.
Then I just need to get rid of that concern.
“That’s why I’m planning to involve Duke Sieri in this business.”
“What? You’re saying the Duke will join?”
“Did you talk to him about the potion business when he visited last time?”
Airek and Seth asked in turn, startled. They were asking weird things.
“No? The Duke doesn’t know anything about this.”
With all the chaos over the sacred and divine relics, when would we have had time to talk about business?
“But we’re offering to include him. There’s no way the Duke would refuse.”
I declared confidently.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!