Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: The Tithe Collector (1)
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The royal token.
It was an item bestowed upon the protagonists by Princess Ciris right as Act 5 began in earnest, when the stage expanded from the academy to the entire kingdom.
The protagonist's party roamed the kingdom, resolving incidents to thwart the black curtain's schemes, and this token was essential for that.
It had no special effects. What mattered was its name—the royal token. It served as a sort of license or pass, borrowed from Ciris's authority.
In practice, after obtaining it, players could rent carriages or access restricted zones, expanding the reachable areas.
However…
"Why the hell did she give this to me?"
Ciris had tossed the royal token to me—not to Sophia, Elise, or Isolde—and then left.
Unfortunately, I wasn't the protagonist or anything like that. I was just an orphan boy from the orphanage, supposed to have even less presence than an extra.
Yet in Ciris's eyes, I seemed to be stamped as more important than anyone else.
"This is awkward."
I couldn't just give it back.
Ciris had already ridden off to the royal castle ages ago.
"Well, Act 4 hasn't even ended yet…"
After some deliberation, I decided to tackle the problem at hand first.
I'd hold onto it for now and hand it over to Sophia or Elise depending on the situation.
Ciris wasn't likely to take any immediate action anyway.
About two weeks later.
———Dong, dong.
The bell announcing the start of the semester rang out.
The long summer break had finally ended.
As the new term began, all the cadets of Erebos Royal Academy returned from their family homes.
They had all heard the full story of Archbishop Balua's corruption and conspiracy during the break. The Divine Studies students returned to Erebos with faces like they had sinned themselves, while the other faculties faced the new semester amid a tense atmosphere.
Whatever the case, the cadets' worries were bound to multiply.
And my chapel was currently the only place holding proper mass.
The key point was…
"…There sure are a lot of people…"
Even Elise, who had come to slack off from class and hang out, was taken aback. My chapel was packed to the gills.
The donations flowing into the offering box had increased accordingly, but money wasn't a big issue anymore. Even Priest Lowen, the only one who coveted the offering box funds, was tied up at church headquarters due to the aftermath of the incident.
As a result, a busier daily routine than last semester awaited me, with no time to breathe.
"If there are no seats, please stand in the back."
Mornings, so many cadets showed up for mass that more than half had to stand at the rear of the chapel.
"I, uh, didn't do any of my summer assignments."
"Then you shouldn't be here—you should start doing them now."
"Eek."
I had to hear out the cadets' trivial woes under the guise of confession, dozens of times a day.
The silver lining was that Saintess Candidate Elise often dropped by the chapel to help lighten my load.
[Woof woof.]
Meanwhile, the cadets showed great interest in the gray puppy wandering the chapel.
"Whoa! This one's cute! Priest, is this your dog?"
"Oh my, it just licked my palm!"
"Hey, isn't that because of the sausage you were eating earlier?"
"Ah, should I give it some?"
[Whine.]
Fortunately, Void was very sociable. He had instinctively learned to mooch snacks from cadets weak to animals.
As a result, over the past month, Void's size had doubled. He was now about the size of a proper large dog rather than a small one.
The more Void grew, the more I worried he resembled the bipedal beast form from the original story.
While Elise handled some duties in my stead, I went to Isolde to request a regular check-up for Void.
"Hmm…"
Isolde tilted her head as she examined Void's condition.
"It's definitely growing at an unusual rate compared to a normal spirit. Even the fastest spirits take a year, but for one that hasn't consumed much mana to grow this much…"
Having doubled in size, Void rubbed his face against Isolde like a pup reuniting with its parent.
Especially against her ample chest, which her robe couldn't hide.
'This little punk doesn't seem like a dog.'
As I thought that, Isolde spoke up.
"I looked through various papers over break, but there's no info on this spirit anywhere. It might even be worth researching."
Isolde frowned as she petted Void's head.
"But, Priest. Doesn't its fur look a bit lighter?"
"Hmm."
She was right.
Unlike its previous dull gray, Void's fur had turned a dark brown with a reddish tint.
"It almost matches Miss Isolde's hair color."
"Oh, it does."
Dark brown hair.
Thanks to receiving Isolde's mana, Void seemed to be taking on her appearance.
Void was a null-attribute spirit. His growth varied based on whose mana he received.
In that sense, his fur color resembling the heroine Isolde's hair was good news.
"We'll need to monitor its condition. If it's not too much trouble, could you bring it periodically? I'm thinking of basing my graduation thesis on this spirit."
"Of course. Please do."
I picked up Void.
He whimpered reluctantly to leave, but quieted down the moment Isolde gave him a treat.
'Normal spirits weren't like pets, were they?'
Not in the game.
Who knows.
Good things are good.
When I returned to the chapel after talking with Isolde, there was an unwelcome guest.
"Are you the caretaker of this chapel?"
A man was pacing in front of the chapel. Spotting me, he strode over and spoke.
"Yes… but who might you be?"
His attire marked him as a priest. The church crest was on his right chest.
"Serge, inspector priest from church headquarters."
"Ah…"
Assuming he was here to investigate the cathedral incident, I set Void down and clasped my hands politely.
"So, what brings you here? If it's about the previous incident, I believe I've already given a full statement."
"I'm not here for that."
Serge shook his head at my words. His gaze then swept through the chapel door crack to the offering box before the altar.
"It's about money."
"Money?"
"As you know, all offerings from Erebos belong to the church. But upon checking the ledgers, no reports from this chapel have reached the upper echelons."
I quickly realized what he wanted.
"Which means you've been pocketing the offerings from here. Am I wrong?"
"…Hmm."
"Save your excuses. I've been in inspections for years. You think I haven't seen priests like you before?"
Of course I had pocketed them.
The reason it hadn't been caught was Priest Lowen's good graces fudging the books.
But Lowen was stuck at headquarters due to the cathedral fallout, and the new church personnel flooding Erebos lacked his flexibility.
"This is embezzlement, plain and simple. With the affiliated cathedral in ruins and finances tight, you dare steal offerings? Cough up what you've siphoned and report to the church tribunal at once."
I scowled.
I didn't choose to be here. The cathedral provided zero support. It was unfair enough to treat me like a criminal out of nowhere, and now they wanted the money too.
Was this a man of the cloth or a thug?
More importantly…
"You'd be better off just leaving…"
I advised cautiously.
"What?"
But Serge's face turned red with fury.
"You still don't grasp the situation? One order from me, and attendant priests will tear this place apart."
"No, I get that, but…"
Inspector, attendants—none of that mattered.
"I'm saying it'd be better for everyone if you head out now, for your sake."
"Shut up! Trying to buy time to destroy evidence? Think cheap tricks like that will work?"
"…No, really, you're in deep shit."
Too late to explain.
I carefully pointed behind Serge with one finger.
"Father? Could you… maybe look behind you?"
"Behind?"
Serge frowned. His expression suggested he thought I was pulling some stunt.
But curiosity won out, and he turned…
"What in the world is this farce?"
There stood one of the academy's top powerhouses, Saintess Candidate Elise Aurora de Lua, arms crossed, glaring our way.
Serge's eyes bulged.
For such a noble figure to be in this humble chapel, it was only natural.
"S-Saintess Candidate?"
"Yes, the Saintess Candidate. The very one you're trying so hard to impress."
"But surely you had class today…"
"Oh, class? I skipped it. Didn't seem worth attending anyway. It was just a half-forced lecturer position from the church—they looked unmotivated."
Elise boldly declared she'd ditched class.
Serge's confusion accelerated.
More than that, having seen Elise for months, I knew well.
"So, what exactly is this situation? Were you planning to harm Priest Leo, my lifesaver? Using the church's authority?"
Elise was pissed.
Very pissed.
Serge's body began to tremble.
"That's why I told you to just leave."
Of course, he had no leisure to react to my snark.