Chapter 86
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I'll purchase divine power with money.
Chapter 86
Such noble thinking. He's like a prince straight out of a fairy tale.
In the original work, Felix was indeed a wise and just prince who could not tolerate injustice.
It was precisely this quality that made Idella fall in love with him, and no one else.
"You are truly admirable."
"It is only natural. One who cannot do this has no right to be a ruler."
That's exactly what makes him admirable.
There are far too many leaders in this world who cannot do the same.
"Ah, we've arrived."
As we exchanged various pleasantries, the carriage came to a halt.
Without thinking, I glanced out the window and gasped in surprise.
"Is this the Kali Duchy Mansion?"
"Indeed it is. Magnificent, is it not?"
Magnificent hardly does it justice.
As I stepped down from the carriage, I caught sight of the estate in full clarity and let out a low whistle.
The building stood in grand splendor, adorned in white, sand, and brown tones—so ornate that one might believe it to be the royal palace of a desert kingdom.
"Welcome, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
As I stood transfixed, gazing at the mansion, someone approached and bowed to Felix.
I turned my gaze toward them, only to be startled once more.
Standing beside the Crown Prince with a similar height, her sleeveless attire revealed taut, sculpted muscles, and crimson hair cascaded around her neck, framing fierce, piercing scarlet eyes.
With a distinctive mole adorning the corner of her mouth, she exuded the aura of a seasoned warrior from every fiber of her being.
"It seems you have achieved your objective."
After exchanging light greetings with Felix, her gaze turned toward me.
Had the system not shielded me with its mental barrier, I might have been so intimidated that I would have struggled to breathe.
Her gaze was that sharp and blade-like.
With the bearing of a general commanding on the battlefield, I could tell at once.
"Indeed. Fortunately so. Ah, Saint. Allow me to introduce you. This is Eslanda Kali, Duke Kali."
So this is the Duke Kali I've heard so much about.
"May the radiance of the sun be with you. I am Ordel Kiris, Saint of the Sun God."
As I offered a respectful greeting, Duke Kali, who had been staring intently at me, stepped forward.
How long had those flame-like scarlet eyes been regarding me so quietly?
Then something remarkable happened.
"I heard that you healed the wounded of the Flu Barony. I too would like to ask for your aid."
Duke Kali bowed deeply to me.
"Please save my knights as well."
A person who had never bowed to anyone save the direct imperial family, yet now bowed without hesitation for the sake of her knights.
It was precisely because she was such a person, so utterly noble, that I had loved this character so dearly when reading the novel.
Here too, she remained unchanged.
"Do not worry. That is precisely why I have come all this way."
I grasped Duke Kali's hand and pulled her upright. As our eyes met when she naturally raised her upper body, I smiled warmly.
Yes, I truly loved this woman.
She who had fought fiercely at the forefront against the monsters surging from the Desert, only to fall as a warrior in the end.
That is why I wanted to protect her so that she would never die in this world.
* * *
The Kali Duchy had fewer wounded than the Flu Family.
Though they fought on the front lines, it was thanks to the overwhelming strength of their knights.
Of course, that did not mean we could let our guard down.
"Wounds inflicted by monsters."
There was one wounded here as well, injured by a high-tier monster.
I examined the wounded person who had been isolated as a precaution.
Like the Flu Family Knight Commander, this person's body was covered in black stains, concentrated especially around the wound inflicted by the monster.
It's different from Lute Sheary, whose contamination spread evenly across her entire body. I needed to remember this distinction well.
"The wound itself is not particularly deep. It is not critical at the moment, but as time passes, it will deteriorate just like that person yesterday."
The priestess examining the wounded spoke.
"What shall we do? Should we proceed with treatment first?"
At the priestess's question about whether I would heal directly, I gestured to her.
The priestess immediately stepped back, and I took her place, retrieving a potion from my pocket.
"High Priestess, that is...."
The priestess's expression became peculiar upon seeing the potion.
And with good reason—unlike the sunset-hued potions I had been selling until now, this one bore a much more vivid golden hue.
Like molten gold cradling flame.
This was a new version potion infused with a blessing of 25% divine power.
I carefully poured the potion into the wounded person's mouth.
Several minutes passed as the golden radiance concentrated on the wound and the black stains.
A golden aura began to spread slowly throughout the patient's entire body.
Whether this was visible only to my eyes, the others showed no reaction.
And the moment the golden light touched the wound.
"Ugh!"
The wounded person, who had been breathing with difficulty, let out a short groan.
Sizzle, sizzle.
A sound like searing flesh echoed from the wound. Yet no one panicked.
"The wound is healing."
The priestess examining the wounded let out an overwhelmed cry.
The wound on the thigh, which had looked serious to anyone's eye, began healing at a visibly rapid pace.
And I was witnessing what others could not see.
From the moment the golden aura touched it, the black stains lost their momentum and gathered toward the center.
I watched them struggle and persist, then retrieved another potion and uncorked it.
If they were going to hold on like that, I would simply overwhelm them with quantity.
I smiled and poured the potion into the wounded person's mouth once more.
The black blemishes that trembled like insects before a predator could not withstand another wave of colossal golden radiance and soon began to crumble like dust.
Two potions were sufficient to eliminate the corrosive poison that devoured flesh entirely.
* * *
After the treatment concluded, the priestesses and I received extraordinarily lavish hospitality from Duke Kali.
The priestesses were bewildered by the mountain of food piled before their eyes, uncertain how to proceed.
We had received quite excellent treatment at the Flu Barony as well, but truly, a duchy operates on an entirely different scale.
I patted the priestesses' shoulders and told them to eat slowly before heading to an adjacent room that had been prepared separately.
Crown Prince Felix, Duke Kali, and myself.
There were only three of us.
Perhaps it was because they held such elevated positions—even without deliberately emanating authority, I sensed a peculiar pressure emanating from both of them.
Fortunately, I possessed a mental barrier, so I walked forward with composure and took my seat across from them.
The table was laden with delicacies far more exquisite and magnificent than what I had seen in the Dining Hall moments before.
"Thank you for saving our knights and soldiers. I do not know how to repay such a debt."
Duke Kali spoke the moment she sat down.
I shrugged while placing food onto my plate.
"No need to overthink it. It can actually be resolved quite simply."
"Resolved simply, you say?"
"Yes."
I looked directly at Felix and Kali, forming a circle with my index and thumb.
"Money."
It was a remarkably straightforward gesture that transcended worlds—universally understood everywhere.
"You need not repay any debt of gratitude. We merely provided our healing abilities to those who desired them. Therefore, Duke, you need only pay the price for borrowing our abilities."
"...."
"In money."
How elegantly this resolves matters.
Rather than some nebulous debt of gratitude, receiving the most practical currency and concluding the matter cleanly was far superior.
Besides, money was precisely what I needed most at present.
"How is that? Quite clean, is it not?"
I smiled brightly and popped a beautifully roasted chicken leg steak into my mouth.
The herbal aroma was truly delicious.
"...Money, you say?"
At Duke Kali's quiet question, I nodded emphatically.
Then I turned my head toward Felix seated beside me.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince shall be no exception."
"...."
"You asked me to heal the wounded in the Southern Region in exchange for compensation, did you not? Similarly, I desire money. However, Your Highness will need to provide considerably more."
Since he had proposed the condition of healing everyone in the Southern Region, naturally the compensation should be doubled accordingly.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org