Chapter 28
Light novel: Episode 28
Manhwa: Chapter 12-13
“This is a business that can’t fail. The healing power of the Sun God is unmatched, so even if it takes time, it will definitely succeed. And the Duke surely knows this well.”
Lute was a duke who personally runs his merchant group instead of entrusting it to others.
He’s a sharp man, so he would no doubt invest without hesitation.
“…If the Duke does join as the Saintess said, then I believe it’s feasible.”
In the end, Airek nodded as well.
The eyes that had once brimmed only with resignation now began to fill again with hope.
It was a beautiful shade, like green leaves drenched in sunlight after a rain.
It suited Airek better than the dark, dull colors tinged with despair.
“Then if the Duke agrees, let’s start right away. I will write the letter to the Duke, so please select the priests who will be in charge of making the potions, High Priest.”
“What should I do?”
Now that tasks had been assigned, Seth quietly asked. His sparkling blue eyes were just as beautiful as Airek’s.
“Captain of the Holy Order…”
“Yes, me!”
I beamed at Seth as I spoke.
“Protect the grand temple with all your might.”
At my firm command, Seth pouted with a crestfallen expression.
But with his combat ability being much stronger than his healing power, he couldn’t help with potion making at all.
Leaving behind the sulking Seth and Airek who patted his shoulder, I got up to write the letter.
Just thinking about how to word and write the letter was already making my heart race.
* * *
Clang.
Having finished his sword training, Lute put his sword back in its sheath with a crisp, precise motion.
Simon Traver, the captain of the duke’s knights who had been sparring with him, collapsed to the ground, panting.
“You’ve improved again recently, Your Grace.”
Indeed, Simon’s legs were trembling so badly he couldn’t stand, while Lute merely glistened with sweat, not the slightest hint of fatigue in his movements.
The Duke had always been stronger, but the gap hadn’t been this overwhelming. What on earth had happened in the past few days?
“I have been training a bit more often lately.”
Wiping his forehead with a cloth brought by an attendant, Lute glanced at the still-seated Simon and gave a bright smile.
“Or could it be you’re the one slacking off, Captain?”
“…I’ll increase my training starting today.”
Grinding his teeth, Simon vowed with fierce determination. He was never one to back down from a challenge.
“Not that it’ll help you beat me. But go ahead and try your best.”
Good grief. Was he training his terrifying wit alongside his swordsmanship?
Simon felt the urge to punch that smug mouth but instead could only marvel at his master.
“Your Grace!”
Just then, Lute’s aide, Yuri Poulton, came running over. Lute immediately frowned at the unseemly display.
“What’s so urgent that you come running over here like a madman?”
Smacked with that dreaded sharp tongue the moment he arrived, Yuri made a sour face.
“Madman? I came running over because I was surprised to see a letter from the Sun God’s grand temple!”
“From the grand temple?”
Lute gave Yuri a look full of distrust and snatched the letter from his hands.
Then tossed the scabbard he had been holding toward him.
“Whoa—ack!”
Yuri flailed as he caught the thrown sword in a panic, but Lute ignored his fuss entirely and turned his eyes to the name written at corner of the letter.
Ordell.
Just that. The sender’s name, written plainly and without flourish.
Could it be that she sent the amount needed for his next blessing recharge?
Knowing how fixated that Saintess was, absurdly and precisely, on money and money alone, it wouldn’t have surprised him one bit.
Thanks to the pain disappearing, his body had become lighter and easier to train than ever before, and he had grown even stronger as a result. So even if the number she wrote down was outrageous, he would’ve gladly paid it.
But now Lute realized, he still had no clear understanding of who this Ordell person really was.
“……?”
He blinked, stunned, at the first line that dove straight into the subject without so much as a greeting.
We’re starting a potion business, and we’ve decided to include the Duke’s merchant group.
He hadn’t said yes to anything, and yet here she was, confidently announcing it like a done deal.
“My lord? What’s the matter? What did the letter say—?”
“Come with me.”
Lute grabbed the back of Yuri’s neck as he asked in confusion and dragged him into the office.
This wasn’t something they could talk about out here.
“Here. Read it.”
As soon as they arrived at the office, Lute shoved the letter into Yuri’s hands and gulped down some cold water to cool down from his training.
Even as he drank, he let out a snort of disbelief.
We’re starting a potion business, and we’ve decided to include your merchant group, Duke.
To explain the business plan, the current situation at the grand temple isn’t that great.
Since it’s difficult to run the business with only priests, we’ve decided to bring in and recruit alchemists.
A collaboration between divine power and alchemy. Sounds promising, right? So I look forward to working with you.
“…Is the Saintess of the Sun God’s Grand Temple always like this?”
Dragged in and handed a letter out of the blue, Yuri looked even more dumbfounded after reading it and stared at Lute.
When he visited the Grand Temple last time, Lute was the only one who spoke to the Saintess, so he had no idea what kind of person she was.
That was why he’d found it odd when Lute ordered an investigation into the Kiris family right after leaving the temple.
Now, having read the letter, it made sense. She really was an extraordinary person.
He had never seen anyone so brazenly inform someone like Lute that they’d be using his merchant group for their own purposes.
“Well, to be honest, it’s not a bad offer.”
Awkward or not, a good business deal was a good business deal.
The exceptional healing powers of the Sun God’s divine energy had already proven their worth. Just look at how it had eased Lute’s pain.
On top of that, they were even planning to incorporate alchemy?
If that happened, even those unfamiliar with the Sun God would accept it without much resistance.
Typically, people from the temple disliked working with other professions but to come up with a plan like this?
While it might be difficult to immediately outmatch the grand temple of the Great Sea God, which has a tight grip on the nobility, with the investment of the Sieri Dukedom, they could certainly surpass it within ten years.
More importantly—
“Looks like the grand temple of the Great Sea God is going to get royally screwed.”
The very same temple Lute had once gone to for help with his illness.
But not only had they failed to heal him, they hadn’t even been able to ease the pain yet they still had the gall to demand outrageous sums of money with their noses in the air.
The way the Saintess and Saint had so obviously lusted after the ducal family’s wealth had left a bitter taste in his mouth.
But what if the Sun God’s Grand Temple were to start a potion business? Who do you think would suffer the most?
To be honest, he was tempted.
“Personally, I think accepting it would be fine… Ahem, but only if you approve, my lord.”
It wasn’t even a proposal as the Saintess had informed them of her decision. Would someone like that appeal to Lute?
With the Relic of Light in their possession, they couldn’t completely turn their backs on the Sun God’s temple, but business was another matter.
Yuri glanced at him nervously, trying to read his mood.
“…How did the investigation into the Kiris family go?”
Lute, who had been staring out the window in silence for a while, asked.
His face, still flushed from training, looked unusually cold and grim so Yuri quickly gave his report.
“Yes, sir. According to the maid we bribed, Miss Ordell Kiris is a daughter from a collateral branch of the Count’s family. When the Count realized she had the qualities of a Saintess, he immediately took her in as his adopted daughter. Just the fact that a Saintess chosen by the gods came from their family raised the Kiris family’s status a little.”
In fact, the Count Kiris family was originally a family that quietly ruled over their territory in the border region.
But ever since Joseph Kiris became the current head of the house, they had slowly begun expanding their influence, and around two years ago, they had even made their way into the central aristocracy.
That was right around the time Ordell became the Saintess.
“However, it seems that Miss Ordell was not treated well within the family. The Count’s family despised her and looked down on her heavily, and the servants, influenced by the atmosphere, also openly disrespected her. The Count’s family even subtly encouraged their behavior.”
And that wasn’t all.
“Every time Lady Ordell returned to the household, the Count would fly into a rage and either lock her in a room, starve her, or throw her out. It was almost to the level of abuse.”
“They crushed her spirit.”
Lute let out a snort of laughter as he listened to Yuri’s report. Yuri understood immediately.
“Ah, so the Count wanted to keep the Saintess from getting any funny ideas by crushing her spirit and making sure she’d stay groveling under the Kiris family forever? Damn, that’s downright nasty.”
Yuri scoffed hard, but then suddenly glanced over at the letter he had just read.
“…But it doesn’t seem like her spirit has been broken at all, though?”
If anything, far from being defeated, her energy felt like someone who would wade into a battlefield and come back with the enemy commander’s head.
“Exactly. She’s overflowing with spirit. Enough to trample over me, even.”
Lute, who had been standing by the window, walked over with a cheerful smile.
Huh. He hadn’t looked too pleased earlier, but now he seemed in high spirits.
Even though Yuri had known Lute since the day he was born, he still finds it a challenge to read his mood.
“So, get ready.”
“…Sir? Ready for what?”
“To go to the grand temple, of course.She went through all the trouble of sending such an eager letter saying she wants to meet me. It would be rude to ignore it, don’t you think?”
Rude, he says. Who was the one who used to mercilessly turn away anyone begging for even a moment of his time…?
And where in that letter was there any sign of eagerness?
If anything, the Saintess didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in Lute’s opinion.
“Not to mention, if the Sun God’s Grand Temple goes under, that would be a problem for me. I needed to find a way to keep them afloat anyway. Good thing she’s taking the initiative to launch a business.”
Regardless of what Yuri might be thinking, Lute held the letter written in the Saintess’s hands.
The bold and distinctive handwriting in the letter suited her personality very well.
Lute fondly touched the sacred relic hidden beneath his clothes and smiled in satisfaction.
He was already looking forward to what kind of surprise Ordell would show him next.
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!