Chapter 129
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I Will Purchase Divine Power with Money
Chapter 129
"Where on earth is he?"
"...In the Western Region."
Carmen answered quietly, her head bowed as if in prayer.
"The Western Region? Don't tell me he's at the Sun God's Temple?"
"No, somewhere about a day's journey from there."
It was a rather vague location.
If she'd said he was at the Sun God's Temple, I could have at least protested, but a day's journey away—not even an hour—left me with no grounds for complaint.
Why in the world was Jeremy there?
Come to think of it, I'd lost track of him somewhere in that vicinity too.
Was he perhaps wandering around that area?
"I'll go fetch him right away."
Dominic was patting Carmen's shoulder and turning to leave in haste when—
"No, don't go."
Carmen seized his sleeve with such force that Dominic was compelled to bow again.
And he was startled.
Between the long sky-blue hair that half-concealed her face, Carmen's eyes gleamed with an ominous light.
For a moment, they appeared red rather than blue.
"There's no need to go."
When Carmen murmured this, I found my reaction was delayed without realizing it.
"What do you mean by that?"
"There's no need to go—no, you mustn't go! It's the God's command!"
"The God's command?"
Dominic's eyes widened.
It was surprising enough that the God, who had said nothing until now, was finally answering—but He commanded us not to go?
"Are you saying He wants us to simply abandon Jeremy like this?"
"Yes! I don't know the reason. I couldn't even ask. He was angry."
Carmen's face contorted miserably.
Only then did Dominic realize his sister was in considerable fear.
She must have borne the voice of an enraged God alone.
Dominic sighed and immediately knelt beside his sister.
Reassured that she was no longer alone, Carmen's complexion improved noticeably.
"What exactly did the God say?"
[Do not seek my sword. That accursed light will only sharpen my sword further.]
"That accursed light would be..."
Likely the Sun God. The two deities were not on good terms, though the Sea God had never been so openly sarcastic before.
So the Sun God's Temple did have Jeremy after all.
"Those Sun God bastards deceived us."
"Yes. But now that the God has intervened, there's nothing we can dispute."
Carmen's face contorted again. She seemed furious at the fact that she had to endure this in silence.
"And there's one more thing the God said. I'm not sure what it means, though."
"What did He say?"
[Prepare the holy war. Forge a blade to strike down Evil. Follow the light.]
Dominic's expression hardened instantly.
A holy war? That meant war itself, didn't it?
Though I couldn't understand what Evil meant, the fact that the God Himself spoke of war made this no ordinary matter.
"...I need to visit the Sun God's Temple myself, or rather, I should go there personally."
"What? Personally?"
Carmen was taken aback by Dominic's words.
"The word 'holy war' has been mentioned. This is no trivial matter. I need to investigate Jeremy as well, so it's better if I go myself."
Above all, there was something that bothered me.
"The recent movements of the Sun God's Temple concern me. Sembus, who's grown accustomed to the potion business, came back stripped of everything, and I feel I need to see it with my own eyes."
Not content with expanding the potion business to the Southern Region, rumor had it that even the Eternal Death God Temple had begun to move.
And that was after the Sun God's High Priestess went south.
I needed to find out what was happening there.
* * *
"Ha, haha.... Hahaha...."
Airic had been bursting into hollow laughter from morning until now in the afternoon.
I understood his feelings perfectly and gazed at him with satisfaction.
"Holy stones, holy stones...."
The Lubar Plains.
Airic had completely lost his senses over the holy stones discovered not long after mining began.
The workers Lute brought were so skilled that they dug into the ground in no time and quickly uncovered the holy stones.
I was truly relieved. The existence of the holy stones hadn't diverged from the original story.
"So you're saying this is everything, and it's ours?"
"Yes! This land is mine now! And what's mine belongs to the Sun God's Temple!"
As I answered enthusiastically, Airic covered his face with both hands, letting out a sigh that was either lamentation or something else.
"How on earth did the High Priestess manage this, this...."
"It's all thanks to Jeremy. Jeremy has divine power, so he told me there was something on this land."
I stated the excuse I'd prepared beforehand confidently.
I'd already coordinated my story with Jeremy, and Lute, who believed I'd received a revelation, was on the same page.
"Ah, I see. Jeremy was there."
As expected, Airic nodded without suspicion.
"Those Sea God bastards must have run out of holy stones by now. If they find out about this, their eyes will pop right out of their heads! Hehehehe, how much should I ask for?"
I smiled contentedly as I watched the workers tirelessly mining the holy stones.
Just thinking of those Sea God bastards bowing their heads before me and begging soon made my hips squirm with anticipation.
I'd been waiting for this day, you unlucky bastards.
"Will you sell to the Eternal Death God Temple at the same price?"
At Airic's question, I shook my head.
When I learned that we'd partnered with the Eternal Death God Temple because of the holy stones, Airic Dert didn't seem particularly surprised.
"Of course not. Since we've received considerable assistance in various ways, I'll only accept a fair market price."
Of course, after I first repaid the money I'd secretly borrowed using holy stones.
Nashas would be absolutely delighted, wouldn't she? If I used them wisely, I could extract far more value than the money itself.
"But before selling the holy stones, there's something we need to do first. We haven't finished all the repairs to the Temple of the Sun God yet, have we?"
The damaged garden, corroded pillars, and worn furnishings had all been completely restored, but there was still much work remaining.
The broken divine statues needed repair, and...
"The Holy Knights' swords and armor. They're clearly ancient—let's replace them all with new ones while we have the chance."
We'd soon be facing battles against Evil, and I couldn't leave these chipped and rusted weapons as they were.
"Truly?"
The first person to react to my words was none other than Seth Noel.
He'd been staring blankly at the holy stones being actively mined when he suddenly spun around to face me.
I'd never seen those deep blue eyes sparkle so brilliantly before.
"Of course. I don't lie about things like this."
"Thank, thank you. I was actually hoping to ask about this..."
A delicate blush bloomed like flowers across his pale cheeks.
I thought I'd grown accustomed to beautiful men because of Lute Sheary, but clearly I hadn't.
Watching someone so pale flush crimson was quite another spectacle.
"Don't worry. I'll pay special attention to the Holy Knight Commander's sword and craft something truly magnificent!"
"Then I'll look forward to it."
Ah, so dazzling.
No, I need to personally craft a special weapon just for Seth Noel.
For someone of the Holy Knight Commander's rank, the weapon should be at least a sacred relic!
"There is one problem, however."
That's when Airic Dert quietly interjected.
"Holy stones contain divine power, making them difficult to work with—ordinary blacksmiths cannot handle them. We need a more specialized craftsman, but we don't have..."
Airic Dert trailed off and gave a bitter smile.
Typically, such specialized craftsmen are employed and stationed at temples, but our Temple of the Sun God obviously had no such exceptional talent.
But there was no need to worry.
"Let's request assistance from the Eternal Death God Temple. If holy stones are the payment, they'll send a blacksmith even if they have to create one."
This is why connections matter.
I was truly glad I'd made the trip to the Southern Region myself.
"I'll send a letter directly to High Priest Nashas, so don't worry."
"If it's them, we can trust it. Then I'll leave it to you, High Priestess."
"I'll write the letter right now, so High Priest, please cut the holy stones into appropriate sizes to send along."
After entrusting matters to Airic Dert, I headed toward Lute Sheary's carriage, which had become familiar by now. I'd come prepared to write letters for situations like this.
I quickly wrote the letter and sealed the envelope, then glanced outside. Everyone was focused on the holy stones and wasn't looking this way.
Still, just to be safe, I wrapped divine power around the area to prevent my voice from leaking out, then looked toward the empty air.
"Sun God. Is it possible to craft a weapon like this?"
I unfolded the drawing I'd carefully sketched over several days.
The first sacred artifact I wanted to create with my crafting skill was the weapon I would use going forward.
A sacred artifact customized for Lute Sheary was important, and Seth's sword was important too, but my weapon had to come first.
【The Sun Crawling from Death won't be too difficult to create if it doesn't require any special functions, according to them.】
"There's only one function I desire."
What would I know about wielding a sword or a spear?
The only weapon I truly excelled with was a baton.
But a baton was far too weak to use in this terrifying world where human lives vanished like dust.
So I chose a weapon with similar usage but far greater destructive power.
"It just needs to be ridiculously durable."
For a High Priestess, a mace was undoubtedly the finest choice.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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