Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Golden Incentives
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“Come on, sister—no, Hero! Just take a look, just once. Fifty gold coins gets you a top-tier blessing.”
Chloe clung to her like a leech, but the tighter she held on, the more fiercely Eris clutched the gold pouch to her chest, resisting with all her might.
“The blade's fully coated—no ordinary impact will leave a scratch!”
“No way, I'm not buying! I can just sharpen it on a whetstone. Why waste money?”
At that moment.
The holy sword in Eris's hand trembled violently, screaming bloody murder.
⚔ HOLY SWORD ⚔ Hey, kid! Spend some damn money. Can't you see the blade's all crumbly? I nearly shattered back there, Saintess. Hit me with the 100-gold full course. Lay it out right in front of the kid. “Shut up! B-be quiet!”
“Oh my, our holy sword has impeccable taste. 100 coins it is? The interest is a tad steep, Hero.”
The hero fled in a panic while the saintess stuck to her like glue.
And the holy sword shrieked nonstop.
One man watched this pandemonium unfold.
A man lounging crookedly on the training ground platform, chin propped on his hand.
The empire's most notorious tyrant.
Emperor Darcor.
Darcor rose slowly from his seat.
Thud. Thud.
“Enough.”
His low, gravelly voice cut through the air.
He strode right into the heart of the chaos.
“Playtime's over.”
His eyes gleamed coldly.
Darcor casually extended his hand toward empty air.
Hummm.
The bright light flooding the training ground vanished in an instant.
Pitch-black darkness swirled into a vortex around his palm.
A sticky, ominous aura that turned the stomach just looking at it.
A primal terror that clawed at the instincts.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Skill: Tyrant's Intimidation has been activated.] 'She's definitely grown stronger.'
Darcor compressed the black orb in his hand with an impassive expression.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “Hngh...”
Eris staggered and dropped to one knee.
Her breath caught in her throat.
It felt like an invisible hand was crushing her heart.
The emperor before her eyes looked like a demon straight out of hell.
Even the holy sword trembled, shrieking in terror.
⚔ HOLY SWORD ⚔ Ugh, hey! What the hell is this? The stench is killing me—just touching it would melt me! “Hnnngh... This feels awful. My stomach's churning.”
Eris's face drained of color.
Chloe's complexion turned ashen as she clutched her chest.
Darcor looked down at them with satisfaction and spoke.
“This is the black magic those Daroa bastards use.”
Fwoosh.
He clenched his fist, and the black orb burst like smoke, dissipating into the air.
Slither.
Shadows leaked from the orb, snaking across the ground like serpents.
“It plants fear and gnaws at the mind. Ordinary soldiers would lose their sanity just facing it.”
Silence fell.
The playful atmosphere had vanished without a trace.
Darcor scanned the frozen group and spoke dryly.
“Daroa's main force is their black mage battalion. Step inside the Veil of Corruption they deploy, and normal folk won't last—they'll vomit blood and drop dead.”
“Th-then how...”
Eris asked, her voice trembling with tears.
“Simple. There are two ways to counter it.”
Darcor smirked and held up two fingers.
“Purify it with holy power... or smash their skulls.”
His gaze shifted to Chloe.
“Saintess.”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty!”
Chloe snapped to attention in surprise.
“Your holy power is the perfect counter to black magic. You'll need to cast wide-area purification spells to tear down that veil before our forces can advance.”
Darcor narrowed his eyes.
“It'll be grueling work. Think you can handle it?”
Chloe scratched her head awkwardly.
“Ahaha, Your Majesty, what you're saying makes perfect sense, but... I've been a bit anemic lately. I'd love to throw myself into the fire for the empire, but my condition's just not...”
She tucked her tail and started edging backward.
'Not doing it for free, huh.'
Darcor snorted inwardly.
Classic materialistic saintess.
“Fifty gold per black mage you send to the goddess's side.”
“...F-fifty gold?”
“Plus a seasonal new bag for every battle we win.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth.
A holy halo seemed to shimmer behind Chloe's back.
Her eyes flashed with divine light.
“Oh, merciful goddess. The poor lambs ascend to your side.”
She clasped her hands in prayer.
“I'll put in a good word with the goddess for you.”
“Leave it to me. I'll separate their bones from flesh and offer them at your altar.”
The anemic saintess from moments ago was gone.
Darcor shook his head and turned to the pale-faced Eris.
“And you, Hero.”
“Y-y-yes?!”
Eris was still gripped by fear.
War was a terrifying tale for a young girl like her.
Darcor crouched down to meet her eyes.
“Don't overthink it. Scared?”
“B-but what if I get cursed? That thing earlier was so scary...”
“The saintess over there will heal you. She has to keep you alive to get paid.”
Darcor pointed at Chloe, who flashed a thumbs-up and a wink.
“Don't worry, Hero. Even if your head flies off, I'll stick it back on.”
“Huh? M-my head?!”
Eris's face twisted, but Darcor pressed on undeterred.
“Just remember one thing.”
He took Eris's tiny hand and wrapped it around the holy sword's hilt.
“One gold per enemy head.”
“Huuuh?!”
Eris's eyes went wide.
“T-ten gold?”
“Yeah. Slice one down, get one gold. Ten of 'em, that's ten gold.”
Gulp.
Eris swallowed hard.
Fear fled, replaced by Darcor's sweet whisper.
“Look at that black clump over there and think: that's a hundred-gold enemy. Go get it, Hero.”
Darcor gathered black mana once more, floating it in the air.
A far more vicious, sinister mass than before.
But to Eris's eyes, it was no longer a monster.
Just a glittering pile of gold.
“A hundred gold!”
Eris roared, kicking off the ground and launching forward.
Fwoooosh!
An explosive speed unbelievable from her small frame.
⚔ HOLY SWORD ⚔ Hey, kid! Don't swing so hard! It's making me dizzy—I'm gonna hurl! The holy sword wailed, but it fell on deaf ears—Eris's eyes were glazed with greed.
“Hand over the moneyyy!”
Boom!
Eris's holy sword slammed down on the black mana clump.
Czzzzt! Czzt!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the solid mana orb.
Then—
Poof.
It burst into black dust, scattering into the air.
The massive shockwave cracked the training ground floor.
“Pass.”
Darcor brushed off the dust and nodded.
This was more than enough.
'A hero is a hero, after all.'
That was when—
“Huh? Your Majesty, you're here? What's everyone gathered for?”
A cheerful voice rained down from the sky.
All eyes turned upward.
A woman descended leisurely on a broom, pointed wizard hat perched atop her head, mysterious purple hair cascading to her waist fluttering in the wind.
The empire's sole grand magus.
Tower Master Veronica.
Suspicious leather bags dangled from the back of her broom.
“Veronica.”
Darcor raised a welcoming hand.
Right on time—the final puzzle piece had arrived.
Veronica landed gracefully on the training ground and tossed over a bag.
“What you asked for last time, Your Majesty. I made it with killer destructive power. Behold: the holy water bomb.”
“Holy water bomb?”
“Yep. Nothing better against those black mage scum. One blast, and all impure energy in the area melts away.”
Veronica explained with a bright smile.
Chloe sidled closer, ears perking up.
“Holy water bomb, huh? Where'd you score that precious holy water? High-concentration stuff's hard to come by these days. Must've cost a fortune in materials, right? Your Majesty, you're not skimping on her bonus while giving me one?”
Chloe prodded the bag suspiciously.
Veronica replied innocently, without a care.
“Oh yeah, I meant to mention—I found this rummaging through your room, Saintess. Label said it was fifty-year vintage top-shelf. Great aroma, super potent concentration—made for some explosive firepower. Thanks a ton!”
In that instant.
Chloe's face froze solid.
“Hah?”
“Whew, that potency made the explosion reaction a work of art.”
“Y-you lunatic!”
An un-saintly bellow erupted from Chloe.
“You crazy witch, do you know what that was?! My retirement fund—you're blowing it up?!”
Chloe lunged at Veronica.
“Hey, you thief! Give me back my holy water!”
Whoosh.
Veronica annoyingly hopped onto her broom and floated up.
“Come on, sharing in times like this. It's for saving the empire. Don't be so stingy.”
“Get down here! Do you know how much that stuff costs per drop?! Pay up—pay for all of it!”
“Nyah nyah. If you're mad, come up and catch me.”
A game of tag erupted over the training ground.
The saintess leaped furiously, chanting what sounded like curses disguised as holy spells.
The tower master cackled, flipping through the air.
“Ten gold...”
In the corner, Eris muttered to herself, madly slashing at empty air.
Total chaos.
The party from hell was complete.
Darcor chuckled at the ridiculous sight.
'Way more of a mess than the original righteous hero party...'
Materialistic saintess. Pint-sized hero. Eccentric tower master.
Yet somehow, they felt reliable.
'Monsters aren't slain by justice.
But by something far more vicious.'
Darcor leaned back on the bench, contentedly watching Veronica take a rock to the head from Chloe.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Two weeks later.
The imperial training ground lay in ruins.
The floor was riddled with craters.
Training steel golems had melted into slag or charred husks, scattered about.
A chaotic mess of scorch marks and lingering holy power residue.
In the midst of it all.
“Hah... hah...”
Eris drove her holy sword into the ground, gasping raggedly.
The fear in her eyes was gone.
No trace of the timid girl from before.
Chloe wiped down her tattered holy tome, grumbling.
“Your Majesty, don't forget the overtime. I must've used blessings twenty times in this session alone.”
“Noted.”
“As expected of Your Majesty. I knew I could count on you.”
Veronica fiddled with a holy water bomb, smacking her lips regretfully.
“Ahh, wanna blow it up already. When's the war? I'm itching to go.”
That was when.
Urgent footsteps shattered the silence.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
It was Escort Knight Edel.
Her face was drenched in sweat.
“Report: word from the border guard. Daroa's vanguard is approaching the frontier.”
The air in the training ground grew heavy in an instant.
Preparations were complete.
'It's finally here.'
Darcor swirled his black cloak and took the lead.
“What good's barging into someone else's house without permission?”
His low, icy voice echoed across the grounds.
“Let's go teach them some manners.”