Chapter 39
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I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 39
* * *
The letter Jun sent after beginning potion sales arrived at Lute's desk promptly.
Lute smiled with satisfaction at the sales ledger, organized without a single flaw.
"A solid start."
Within ten days of launching sales, all five hundred sample bottles had sold out.
Cheaper than the Sea God Temple's potions yet more effective than alchemists' offerings at comparable prices, the enthusiastic reception was inevitable.
The timing was perfect as well.
Recently, the Alchemists Guild had raised prices frequently, and public discontent had accumulated considerably.
By seizing this gap skillfully, word of mouth would spread rapidly.
"Our saintess must be running the potion factory with great enthusiasm."
I could picture Ordel Kiris's face lighting up with a delighted shriek upon receiving Jun's sales report.
'But I'm curious—where is she spending all that money?'
Just the amount she'd poured into the Temple of the Sun God already totaled several thousand gold coins.
Yet Ordel Kiris hadn't indulged in luxury with those funds.
Normally, people would decorate the Reception Room first, where most visitors gathered, but nothing had changed there. Her own appearance remained as plain as the Reception Room itself—just her simple saintess robes.
There was no law saying a saintess must wear only saintess robes, yet she never adorned herself with even a single ornate dress, ring, or earring.
The saintess of the Sea God Temple, who had enjoyed elaborate attire, briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.
There was no need to recall useless comparisons.
'It doesn't seem like she's investing everything into rebuilding the Temple of the Sun God.'
If that were the case, she would have taken the money openly, yet she'd taken it without even the High Priest knowing.
Not interested in luxury, not spending it on reconstruction—where on earth could she be using so much money? Suddenly, I was intensely curious.
And well I should be, for this was Ordel Kiris, after all.
The probability of her doing something remarkably interesting was quite high.
"I've found another reason to keep visiting the saintess."
I smiled pleasantly while recalling Ordel Kiris, who worried about me even as I feigned irritation.
Unfortunately, the circumstances didn't allow me to visit her immediately.
"How will this play out?"
I looked at Jun's sales report again.
The potions had become so popular so quickly that reservation inquiries came in the moment stock ran out—the alchemists would learn of this fact just as rapidly.
I wondered what reaction they would show to this situation where the market had been split in two.
Without a doubt, a massive upheaval was about to occur.
* * *
My prediction proved accurate.
The alchemists, suddenly facing the loss of their business, were in an uproar.
"Damn it! This is insane! Why is the Sun God involved in this?!"
Louis Martin, representative of the Alchemy Potion Shop.
He was furious upon learning that the Sun God's Temple had entered the potion business.
What infuriated him even more was that they'd targeted commoners just like themselves, not nobility.
"I can't believe these wretches are still around!"
Unable to contain my fury, I slammed my fist against the desk with a resounding crack.
The Sun God—a deity whose very name had nearly vanished from memory.
I was one of the few who still remembered that god.
How could I forget? Once, with potions of remarkable efficacy, they held the entire continent in the palm of their hand. And it was we who seized the void they left behind.
Well, to be precise, the Sea God claimed the position first, and we merely filled the remaining gaps.
"I was certain they'd collapsed entirely, so I rested easy. But this damnable turn of events!"
It had been years since the Sun God's name began to fade from people's memories.
With no word from them anywhere, I'd naturally assumed they were finished—that there was no possibility they could reclaim our business. That reassurance was only recent.
Yet now, of all times, they resurface!
"And what's this about the Lumen Merchant Guild? Why would the Lumen Merchant Guild appear here?"
Yes, that's the real problem.
The Lumen Merchant Guild.
What is that place?
It's one of the three greatest merchant guilds in the Empire—directly operated by Duke Sheary, whom even the imperial court doesn't dare cross!
Had it been an ordinary guild, Sun God potions would never have sold, remaining obscure and swept aside.
After all, few people remember the Sun God's name anymore, even among the three great deities.
And we would have ensured their obscurity as well.
But what? The Lumen Merchant Guild? Lumen entering this game?
This is nothing short of ecological disruption!
"I was grateful the Sea God's faction showed no interest in commoner potion business..."
Just as we achieved complete monopoly and were about to raise prices, this accursed development...!
"...No, wait. Surely the Sea God's faction wouldn't welcome this either, would they?"
Sun God potions are currently targeting the common people.
But that won't last forever.
Those with healing power superior to the Sea God's wouldn't be satisfied there.
Eventually, they'll surely attempt to penetrate the nobility and even the imperial court.
With Duke Sheary's guild backing them, nothing would be impossible.
Would the Sea God's Grand Temple truly allow that?
And there's one more thing.
The Sea God's Grand Temple is greedy.
Whether that's the Sea God's nature or not, the temple that serves that deity is composed of those who are satisfied only when they themselves are supreme.
Would such people ever wish for the Sun God's resurgence?
At the very least, the current Saint and Saintess of the Sea God's Grand Temple certainly would not.
"Yes, I need not lift a finger. Simply set the two grand temples against each other."
They cannot fight the Lumen Merchant Guild with Sheary backing it.
But the Sea God's Grand Temple is different.
Even if not superior to Sheary, they won't be pushed back without a fight!
Pleased with what I considered a flawless plan, Louis Martin immediately began drafting a letter.
The recipients: the Saint and Saintess of the Sea God's Grand Temple.
Those two, whom one must bring gold merely to lay eyes upon, do not accept just any letter.
Yet he was none other than the representative of the Alchemy Potion Shop.
If he claimed the letter concerned the potion business, they would surely read it at least once.
And his prediction proved correct.
Grand Temple of Sea God.
The letter was delivered with perfect precision to the saint who had been resting leisurely in a bedroom adorned with lavish and exquisite decorations.
"Louis Martin sent a letter regarding the potion business?"
As the woman seated upon the plush, luxurious sofa spoke, her sky-blue hair—reminiscent of flowing water—swayed with each word.
Each flutter of her long lashes revealed eyes of brilliant sapphire between her sharply defined gaze, gleaming like precious gems.
A beauty who emanated such an oppressive aura that merely sitting still caused those who beheld her to instinctively shrink back.
She was Carmen Aria, the saint of the Grand Temple of Sea God, currently the most prestigious figure on the continent.
"You handle the potion business division—why must I personally discuss matters with the alchemists? Must I concern myself with every trivial detail?"
Carmen's beautiful features twisted as she regarded the priest who had brought the letter.
At her sharp intensity, the High Priest overseeing the potion business of the Grand Temple of Sea God hastily bowed.
"I had already reviewed the contents myself, but no matter how I examined it, this seemed to be information Your Holiness should also know, which is why I have come before you."
As the priest answered while perspiring profusely, Carmen's fierce demeanor softened slightly.
"...It better be important."
The fact that a High Priest, knowing her temperament well, had brought this letter meant it truly contained something of significance.
Carmen did not ask further and immediately read the letter.
"...What is this?"
Not long after, her hands began to tremble violently. Her blue eyes wavered turbulently.
Summarized, the lengthy letter contained one essential point.
"The Sun God? The Sun God Grand Temple has started a potion business?"
It sounded like absolute madness.
"Those wretches... they're still alive and clinging on without being destroyed...?"
Carmen rose abruptly from her seat without thinking.
The handmaidens attending to her hair hastily withdrew their hands and retreated.
"And what is this, besides?"
Carmen's blue eyes scanned the letter once more.
News equally shocking as the revelation that those Sun God wretches still clung to life like leeches.
"Why is the Lumen Merchant Guild helping those Sun God bastards!"
Unable to suppress her rising fury, Carmen hurled the letter away.
"When exactly did Duke Lute Sheary form a connection with those Sun God scoundrels!"
Lute Sheary.
That arrogant man whom she had welcomed and blessed, believing he would become a believer, only for him to sneer and turn away!
The news that such a man—whom she desired so intensely—had joined hands with those Sun God wretches sent her fury spiraling completely out of control.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org