Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Wintering (2)
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Galen's response came a beat late.
"...Sell it?"
He had simply been caught off guard by the unexpected word, but the family heads took it as him being offended and immediately waved their hands in denial.
"We're not pressuring you at all!"
"If you have a use for it, by all means keep it! As many as you want!"
"We just mean that if it's a hassle to deal with, we'll buy it from you at a fair price! Please don't misunderstand!"
Galen was starting to feel uncomfortable amid all the fuss.
But their reaction was understandable.
Even if Banan was the largest city in the Dawn Archipelago, it couldn't compare to the mainland's Belpas.
How could they not fear Galen, who had crushed pirates that had even devoured Belpas's superior fleet?
Galen knew this, so he didn't bother telling them to treat him casually. He knew they couldn't anyway.
Anyway, that was that.
"If the price is right, I suppose there's no reason not to sell."
Galen left some room instead of giving a firm yes, then added,
"But right now, I don't have the leisure for it. Since I came here on a church commission, I need to head back as soon as possible."
"Ah..."
"I-is that so."
The family heads looked disappointed, but the moment the church was mentioned, they clammed up like folding fans. Galen made a soothing proposal.
"Could you hold onto the ship for a while first? How about we discuss it after I return to Belpas, handle my business, and come back?"
"Of course that's fine!"
"We're grateful for that!"
What was a little delay? Just the promise of future talks had them deeply thankful.
Only after sending off the family heads could Galen finally reach Lilia.
The boss had woken up in the meantime.
He'd thought she looked quite pretty while passed out with her eyes closed, but now, with her eyes open and glaring at Galen, her expression was vicious beyond measure. It was enough to frost over even the midsummer moon.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Of course, he couldn't make out what she was saying. They had stuffed a rag in her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue and secured a gag over it.
Her body wasn't bound with mere rope but wrapped in iron chains, complete with shackles and manacles linked to heavy iron weights.
"This should hold her just fine!"
Lilia, who had directed the restraints, declared confidently. Galen nodded.
"Looks sturdy enough."
"And if anything's lacking, I'll keep watch over her!"
This was possible only because the boss, whose strength had reached gold rank thanks to the magic armament, surely wasn't gold rank at her core.
There was no convenient pressure-point strike like in wuxia tales. No way to selectively seal inner energy or mana.
For warriors, as long as you kept them alive, you could chop off limbs to restrain them if needed—but for mages, you couldn't even cut out their brains, making restraint nearly impossible.
Still, since Lilia could swiftly subdue up to silver rank, the plan was for her to endure the fatigue and capture her alive.
"Since she hasn't put up much resistance so far, she seems like just a regular person without the magic armament."
Lilia whispered softly into Galen's ear.
"But she might be hiding her power, waiting for a chance to escape. We can't let our guard down."
"I'll stay vigilant. With the magic armament issue, how about we head straight back to the archdiocese?"
"Like this?"
"It's only two days away, so we can go and come back quick. Easing Bishop Roald's worries takes priority right now."
"Sounds good to me."
Both wanted to wrap this up quickly. They agreed easily.
Galen gathered the crew after packing their belongings from the church and returning to the ship, then explained the situation simply.
The people were startled—a mage who had appeared like the wind, swept away the pirates like a storm, and now planned to vanish like the wind again.
But with the church's urgent business, they had no grounds to object.
The sailors from the warships, who had been helping move the pirate ships, hurriedly packed their personal belongings upon hearing Galen.
They were just as flustered by the sudden departure order, but orders were orders.
Having just patrolled the outer seas, no special preparations were needed.
"We'll never forget this favor!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Amid the people's farewells, the warships headed west.
*
The two-day voyage went smoothly.
No pirates to block their path, and the boss—under Lilia's fiery vigilance fueled by her sense of duty—caused no particular trouble.
She really did seem like an ordinary person. After two days without food, she hung limp and weak. If she'd planned an escape, wouldn't she have tried when her strength was better?
There had been one incident when giving her water—she tried to bite her tongue—but Lilia healed it instantly and knocked her out with a beating.
In the end, the warships docked safely, throwing the church into an uproar.
"Hah, ha ha, hahaha..."
Roald chuckled vacantly for a while, at a loss for words.
He'd only asked for scouting, but they'd smashed the pirates, captured the boss, and even brought back a real magic armament.
"I trust this qualifies us for a performance bonus."
"Who could argue otherwise? I'm evening how to put a price on it."
That very day, Roald secretly gathered Belpas's influential family heads.
When he informed them of the magic armament's existence and showed it off, chaos erupted. They, too, had viewed it as a legendary artifact.
But Roald kindly let them even touch it.
The magic armament was a demonic item that ceaselessly whispered temptations to its owner, corrupting them into using it.
After experiencing the eerie whispers in their minds firsthand, no one doubted anymore.
"Just a word of caution."
Standing before the family heads, Roald warned in a chilling tone.
"The magic armament is powerful but demands rivers of blood, and even the power gained has limits—as you can see from how it fell to Lord Galen here. If it had been Archbishop instead of a mere proxy like me, it would have ended in moments."
"Y-yes."
The family heads nodded vigorously. The archbishop was seen as gem rank equivalent, so naturally stronger than a gold-rank mage, right? Having not witnessed Galen's magic, they readily accepted Roald's words.
"I don't suspect any of you of corruption, but should wicked thoughts arise later, remember today. Entanglement with demons leads only to ruin."
"Understood!"
With the ideological education complete, the magic armament was destroyed immediately.
Normally not shown to outsiders, but considering Galen's contributions, he was allowed to observe.
Flash!
The destruction took place in the church's underground chapel. Observers were Galen, Lilia, and a few Belpas priests.
Roald, who had formed a spear of radiance with his miracle, precisely struck the blood-red gem on the necklace.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
The ghost's horrific scream didn't reach the surface.
With an impassive expression, Roald gripped the radiance spear and invoked the miracle fully.
Flash!
The seventh miracle, usable by only some bishops: the Miracle of Blessing descended.
An upgrade over the second miracle of purification—not just cleansing filth, but bestowing holy baptism.
The demonic power didn't merely weaken; it vanished in real time.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Naturally, the ghost's screams intensified, but no one cared.
Lilia, observing the Miracle of Blessing right beside Roald, had eyes blazing with excitement.
At some point, the ghost's screams faded, then stopped abruptly.
That was the moment.
"...".
Galen's eyebrow twitched. A simultaneous twisting sensation made him briefly dizzy.
He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them and summoned his status window.
Water Flow Manipulation rose 2 levels, Spirit Creation 4—all at once.
Similar to when they killed Moritz. The ghost was easier than Moritz, but three had handled that one, while Galen did this mostly solo, so more experience, perhaps.
'Looks like destroying the magic armament, not the boss herself, grants the experience. Makes sense—it was purely the tool's power.'
Considering it had jumped 5 levels during magic evolution too, Spirit Creation's growth was terrifying.
As Galen basked in satisfaction, thinking he'd been right to come to Belpas,
"All done safely."
Roald dispersed the radiance spear and picked up the necklace.
The grotesquely shattered gem had faded from blood-red to plain crimson, and the ominous energy swirling within was gone.
"If you're fine with it, may the church keep this necklace? I'd like to enclose it in my report to the archbishop. We'll pay for it, of course."
"What's a broken necklace worth? Take it."
"My thanks. Everyone, thanks for observing. Let's disband."
"Yes!"
Roald glanced at Lilia, lost in deep thought, and shot Galen a pleading look. Galen nodded silently.
After Roald and the priests left, only the two remained in the chapel.
As Galen passed time making a spirit dance on his palm and watching it,
"Huh? Where'd everyone go?"
Lilia snapped out of her reverie and looked around.
"They finished up and left a bit ago."
"Ah, sorry!"
"No worries. Did you sort out your thoughts?"
"Yeah! It was my first time seeing the Miracle of Blessing, so it was a bit shocking? Bishop Myra can't use it either!"
"...You didn't suddenly learn to use Blessing, did you?"
"Huh? No way, just seeing it once?"
"You suddenly used Radiance in the Devil's Cradle."
"I'd seen Radiance many times before! I just got that 'I can do it' feeling. But Blessing... not yet. Hmm, like I'm not ready?"
Lilia tilted her head, clenching and unclenching her fist. Faint light flickered around her hand but didn't hold.
Soon, she smiled brightly.
"Well, it'll happen someday!"
"I'll cheer you on."
Galen chuckled and headed out of the chapel. Lilia trotted after him.
"You've been watching the boss without sleep. Rest up."
"Yes! You too, brother!"
With that, the Belpas commission was complete.
Aside from the reward still pending settlement.
*
Galen and Lilia's tasks were done, but others' were just beginning.
The influential families launched their few remaining ships to the Dawn Archipelago.
'To accurately assess the reward, we want to confirm the situation firsthand.'
Galen could overlook that much. His feats were too outlandish, after all.
If they started making excuses later to dodge payment? Then he'd play hardball.
The church, by contrast, was straightforward.
Though not obligated to pay the commission fee, they gave a separate bonus for recovering the magic armament.
"Belpas is a bit wealthier than Abaca, but if we're talking church influence, Abaca edges out. Sorry we can't give more."
"This is plenty."
The amount from Belpas church: five hundred gold coins.
He'd grown used to grabbing a thousand at a time lately, but five hundred was no small sum.
When leaving the Oceanis family, Elisa had given him a hundred gold—enough to make him jump.
The church wasn't poor but not rich either, especially the Eastern Archdiocese in a less prosperous region.
Five hundred gold was their earnest effort. Since the real payout came from elsewhere, Galen accepted gratefully.
"That boss? Turns out she's from the Dawn Archipelago!"
Lilia, freely coming and going from the church, often brought news.
Surprisingly, the church avoided needless demon panic like with the Brutain family—they were quite rational.
But conversely, when demons were clearly involved, they handled it with merciless brutality.
Galen didn't observe the interrogation, but word was they'd nearly dismantled her.
"Remember? The pirates razed one family while plundering Banan."
"Yes. I do."
"She's the sole survivor of a minor family that grudge-held that house long ago. The other Seven were retainers!"
"Hm. So, a revenge drama of sorts?"
"That's her claim."
"Then why sink innocent Belpas's fleet instead of just hitting that family?"
"After twenty-plus years of hardship, she grew to hate the world?"
Neither speaker nor listener felt much. Whatever the backstory, choosing a magic armament for revenge marked her as unhinged from the start.
"The church doesn't care about sob stories—they're focusing on the armament's origin. She claims she found it by chance, but..."
"No way something that suspicious is just lying on the road."
"Maybe she truly believes it? Anyway, the interrogating brothers will handle it!"
Lilia summed it up neatly. True enough—not their concern.
"By the way, busy?"
"Not really?"
"Got a commission you'd like, Lilia. Want to take it?"
"What is it?"
"Help people, train up, and make good money."
"Something like that exists?! Who's offering?"
"Me."
Galen grinned.
"Let's go back. To the Dawn Archipelago."