Chapter 29
Light novel: Episode 29
Manhwa: Chapter 13-14
* * *
“……”
What is this? Am I seeing things because I’m too tired?
“Lady Victoria, have I been working out too hard lately? I think I’m seeing things. Should I take a break and rest for a while?”
“You feel that way too, Saintess? I was just thinking the same. I think I need to request some time off.”
“That’s sounds like a good idea. I’m not going anywhere either, and I’ll just rest in my room so Lady Victoria, don’t worry about me and go and get some proper rest too.”
We stood side by side, casually chatting.
It was 7 a.m. The perfect time to cool down after morning training and enjoy a well-earned rest.
Just like any other day, I was dragging my sore, jellyfish-like body toward the bench, swaying like squid tentacles.
That bench, where Monica should be waiting with cold water and a clean towel for my sweat, was, surprisingly, already occupied.
By none other than Lute Sieri.
…Why on earth is that guy here?
“What’s wrong? Is it because a handsome guy showed up and you can’t believe it’s real?”
Lute grinned as he snatched the cup of water from Monica’s hand and approached.
Judging by the way Monica was glaring daggers at him from behind, he clearly wasn’t a hallucination.
“Judging by that nonsense, you must be real. So what brings the Duke here at this hour?”
“You sent me a heartfelt letter saying you desperately wanted to see me, so I dropped everything and rushed over. But I didn’t expect you to be so diligent, exercising this early in the morning.”
“Ah yes, I did miss you… though not you personally. More like, your money.”
Scoffing, I took the cup of water he handed me and chugged it down.
For some reason, Monica looked a little heartbroken. She always loved being the one to hand me water after training.
“I want to live a lazy life, but diligence has been forcibly ingrained into my body that it’s not something I can shake off.”
Ordell’s body was perfectly optimized for sloth, but my mindset, forged from years as a detective, refused to allow it.
My dream one day is to shake everything off and live a lazy life when all of this is over…
But will I really be able to do that? What if I’m still working myself into the ground then?
“You’re here about the potion business, right? I honestly didn’t expect you to come all the way here in person, Duke.”
“The grand temple of the Sun God, which once wielded tremendous influence, is restarting its potion business, so of course I had to come. And… I never really liked the Grand Temple of the Great Sea God anyway.”
Lute lifted the corner of his mouth in a crooked smile.
Because of his slanted glasses and loosely tied hair, his languid appearance suddenly turned insufferably smug.
“If the Saintess says she’s getting ready to screw them over, how could I not come see for myself?”
His hostility was burning brightly.
Seemed like there was some bad blood with the Great Sea God’s side.
“Considering the attitude of the Great Sea God’s Grand Temple, odds are high they’re the ones at fault.”
“Exactly. That’s it. The Saintess really gets it.”
Lute’s face brightened as I casually badmouthed the Great Sea God’s temple as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Whatever it was, those guys must’ve really messed up and done something really wrong.
“I fully intend to support this business with all I’ve got, if only to see the looks on the Saintess and Saint of the Great Sea God’s temple when things fall apart for them.”
The Saintess and Saint of the Great Sea God’s temple.
They were siblings, descended from one of the high-ranking noble families of the Carnus Empire.
They were born with silver spoons in their mouths, and when they were chosen by the gods on top of that, they walked around like the world belonged to them.
Even in the original work, their behavior was infuriating beyond words.
Just imagining seeing their smug faces in person one day made me feel sick already.
“On that note, I have found an alchemist who is perfect for you, Saintess.”
At Lute’s next words, I quickly shook off thoughts of those insufferable siblings.
“Already?”
“Impressed, right?”
“I am deeply grateful.”
Considering it was Lute, who ran a merchant group and had sharp intelligence, the person he found must be extremely capable and talented.
“But it’s just one person I found, will that be enough?”
“Oh, that’s fine. Since we’re short on priests, we only planned to bring on two alchemists. I think we can fill one of those spots ourselves.”
I looked at Monica who was standing behind Lute.
Just as not anyone could fill the role of the heroine’s best friend in the original story, the same applied to her.
Monica was the daughter of a prestigious noble family from the central region of the Carnus Empire.
The only problem was… she’d run away from home.
She said she still hadn’t informed her family of her whereabouts.
But the moment I said I needed an alchemist, she willingly borrowed the power of her family.
‘You said you ran away from home—are you sure this is okay? Your parents are bound to find out you’re here soon, you know?’
‘It’s fine! This is for the sake of the Grand Temple! I was planning to contact them soon anyway!’
Seeing Monica shout like that was honestly reassuring.
If she hadn’t been by my side, I would’ve been in serious trouble.
I’ll make a lot of money and feed her all the delicious food she wants. I’ll make sure she never goes hungry.
“Then shall we head out to draft the distribution contract?”
Lute fluttered a stack of papers he’d brought, saying he had prepared some sample contracts.
“Prepared, aren’t you? But let’s put that off for later.”
Just as Lute tilted his head as if to ask why—
Growwwl.
A loud rumble echoed from my stomach. Well, I had worked out on an empty stomach since morning so it was only natural that it was clamoring for food.
“I haven’t eaten yet. Let’s meet again after I’ve washed up, eaten, and had my fill.”
“……”
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s your fault for showing up so early in the morning, Duke.”
I would never forgive him if he asked me to work on an empty stomach.
Perhaps sensing my unshakable resolve in my clenched fist, Lute didn’t say a single word in protest and quietly followed behind me.
* * *
Still, he was a guest, it would’ve been rude to leave him standing, so I invited Lute and Yuri to eat with us.
They were wealthier than us, so I briefly considered charging them for the meal but ultimately decided against it.
I’ll just squeeze more out of them when we talk business.
“…Why are you making that face?”
The moment we sat down together in the reception room after the meal, Lute immediately asked.
“It’s a warm smile for my future business partner.”
“It’s better to call it a capitalist smile.”
Sharp bastard.
Pretending not to hear, I began skimming through the contract Lute had brought.
Strictly speaking, this kind of business contract should be handled by High Priest Airek, not me.
But there was a slight problem.
‘High Priest, have you ever reviewed a contract before?’
‘……’
‘Have you ever negotiated terms?’
‘……’
Well, of course not. He entered the temple as a child and spent the past sixteen years inside, there was no way he’d ever looked over a contract.
That said, it’s not like the grand temple of the Sun God has been running major businesses like the Great Sea God’s temple either.
So, I decided to take care of it myself.
I’ve got years of experience catching con artists under my belt—if I can’t even manage this, what kind of former detective would I be?
“This is just a sample. Once we finalized the terms, we’ll draw up a formal contract.”
A quick scan over the contract revealed no predatory clauses or needlessly convoluted phrasing.
Since the contents were clean, I nodded in approval.
“What about the alchemist’s salary? To be honest, looking at the state of the grand temple right now, I doubt you can afford one.”
He must have understood the situation at a glance, just by looking around the state of our grand temple.
The unkempt garden, the marble pillars that hadn’t been repaired, the worn-out priest robes—all of it.
We can’t even pay our current staff properly, so it’s only natural to worry how we’d afford hiring an alchemist.
“That’s why I was thinking, what if I handle the alchemist’s salary? In return, we’d have a larger cut on the distribution share.”
Distribution share? No way. I immediately shook my head.
“It’s fine. I plan to bring the alchemists in as believers of our temple.”
I could provide room and board in exchange for a slight reduction in their salaries, and add incentives based on increased sales.
More importantly, I’m desperate and need every follower I could get right now. There’s no way I’m giving that up.
“Will you be able to pay their salaries?”
“That’s not a problem. We have the Duke’s donations, don’t we?”
Business transactions and Lute’s donations were two different things.
When I pointed that out with a bright smile, Lute let out a dry laugh.
Even if he was the one providing the money, the donation counted as compensation for the sacred relic and for temple affairs, so it was only proper to keep the accounting separate.
“In return, we will be relying on the Duke’s help in purchasing the ingredients and materials needed for potion-making. We have no idea where to source good supplies.”
After we wrapped up negotiations over the finer terms—
All that remained was deciding how the profits would be split based on the agreed conditions.
“Let’s go with an 80:20 split. Of course, we take the 80.”
“What nonsense. It has to be at least 60:40. We’re covering both distribution and material procurement.”
Sparks flew between me and Lute.
The Sun God’s grand temple’s potion business was bound to be a hit, so even a 1% difference in the profit split would mean a massive difference in earnings.
But I had a cheat card to play.
“80%. But I’ll add one more condition. A condition that I think the Duke will find very enticing.”
With my chin resting on my interlaced fingers, I gave him a smile. Lute let out a low groan.
“Ah, this makes me nervous. It’s only our second meeting, but I know for a fact that the Saintess never makes a losing deal.”
“You’ve got me figured out already. But don’t worry. This will definitely benefit you.”
Sure, I may have wrung a lot out of him, but didn’t I always give back just as much?
Understanding my implication, Lute let out a hollow chuckle.
“…Alright, let’s hear it.”
And to the man who finally gave in, I whispered softly.
“I will find a way to permanently cure the Duke’s illness.”
Not just simple pain relief, but a complete cure.
At the conditions I presented, Lute’s black pupils contracted.
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!