The Price of Gratitude
The citizens finally understood why this year's Offering Festival had ended in such an unprecedented disaster, why the priests—who ought to have been the most devout and reverent of all—had been reduced to such a wretched state, and why only outsiders, an imperial princess and High Priest Ilian, were left standing unharmed to clean up the mess.
And so, they were furious.
"Good heavens! And to think they put on such an act of righteousness!"
"Self-sufficient? Growing their own vegetables to eat? Bah! Looking at what they skimmed off the top, they could've eaten three square meals of pure gold and still had room to spare!"
"No wonder the barrier collapsed and the Offering Festival went to hell! Even if the granddaddy of all demonic beasts had marched right in, they wouldn't have had a leg to stand on! And what was that nonsense about 'just trust in us'? I want every last copper I ever donated back, every single bit of it!"
"And I had no idea! I was so terrified when the demonic beasts swarmed in that I fell to my knees trembling, crying, 'Priest, oh priest!' and praying like a fool! They practically rolled out the red carpet for those monsters themselves!"
"And the other priests too! They all bought their positions with bribes, didn't they? They're all in on it together!"
It was true.
If the priests of the Southern Temple had been thrown out into the streets barehanded, the enraged mob would have strung their severed heads over the marketplace within the hour—and that was despite Phlux having revealed only a fraction of what was written in the ledgers.
Phlux had worn an immensely satisfied grin as he noted that keeping a ledger of illegal dealings partially under wraps was far more threatening than laying every page bare under the sun.
"This is all thanks to you, Your Imperial Highness," he had gushed, taking my hands in his with profound sincerity, while I could only offer an awkward, stammering nod. Just as I was recalling that moment, a gentle nudge prodded my side.
"Pardon?"
High Priest Ilian looked at me with a benevolent smile. "We've completed the circuit around the city, Your Imperial Highness."
Oops. My noise-canceling barrier was cranked up a little too high. Flustered, I dispelled the wind barrier I had woven around my ears and glanced toward him. Evening had settled in before I realized it, the sky bruised with twilight. The carriage had pulled to a stop at our rendezvous point.
We were in the middle of the city, an area still raw from destruction—specifically, the very district where the black market had been operating right up until the demonic beasts launched their attack.
It had been a bustling street packed tightly with storefronts back then, but now it stood bleak and quiet. We made our way toward one of the few brick houses left reasonably intact. The moment I knocked, the door swung open as if someone had been waiting with their hand on the latch.
"You're late."
It was Navira, looking thoroughly unimpressed. Her tousled rose-red hair and alluring, wine-purple eyes were as captivating as ever. I merely gave her a cheerful grin and slipped inside.
Phlux, Debbie, and a scowling Lisianthus were already waiting in the room. As I pulled up an empty chair and sat down, Navira launched straight into her report.
"Most of your predictions hit the mark. Not that it makes for pleasant news on our end, of course." She eyed me with a calculating gaze. "It's obvious that whoever we're dealing with is far beyond what our guild can handle alone. One way or another, it seems our partnership is here to stay—though willingly throwing yourself against lunatics who unleash swarms of demonic beasts onto an unsuspecting city isn't exactly the work of a sound mind."
"And yet, thanks to Princess Titania, the aftermath was resolved with astonishing grace," Phlux interjected, flashing me a look of unreserved faith. Ever since our recent ordeal, his eyes seemed to glitter with an almost blinding intensity whenever he looked in my direction.
"Priest Cronen and the rest of the clergy will be sent to recuperate in a secluded country monastery," Phlux continued. "They're hardly in any condition to carry out their duties at the temple. Considering the sheer volume of funds that used to circulate through the Southern Temple, this will hit High Priest Marzid like a bolt from the blue. Wouldn't you agree, High Priest Ilian?"
"Hahaha! Why direct such questions to me, young master? The Noble Faction receives so many generous donations from their lordly patrons that having a single southern temple pillaged won't bring down their pillars, ahahaha!" Ilian sounded thoroughly invigorated, like a man watching his bitterest enemy of a thousand years faceplant into the mud. I doubted a man cured of week-long constipation could look any happier. Phlux let out a dry chuckle.
"The ledgers were truly… breathtaking," Phlux said. "The southern nobles who lacked direct ties to the capital lords were funneling exorbitant bribes through the temple just to curry favor with the court."
"Hahaha! Well, High Priest Marzid's belly didn't get that plump on divine grace alone, did it? He's gorged himself on grease from every corner."
"Enough idle chatter." Navira cut the two men off with an exasperated sigh, passing a thick sheaf of parchment across the table to me. I took the documents and began skimming through them carefully.
"Prince Brian visited this city last year," Navira said. "Consort Cleo accompanied him, coddling her precious son every step of the way. And during that visit, there are records showing she made use of the black market."
The ones who had poured Chernobog's corrupt energy into the Offering Festival a year ago were almost certainly Cleo and Brian.
The fact that the Holy Relic stolen by the Count of Cortez had shattered so easily, barely managing to hold back the corruption in his son, was likely tied to that foul taint as well.
In other words, the Imperial Consort had established ties with Chernobog's contractor through some channel or another. Having deduced this, I had to grasp at every thread I could find.
"The black market itself was shut down afterward, and we assumed it had nothing to do with the ambush on Young Count Phlux," Navira explained. "Even so, we managed to catch hold of a trailing thread. Among the goods the consort purchased was fabric woven from the byproducts of demonic beasts. There's a modest merchant troupe that disguises and distributes this cloth as ordinary luxury textiles. They make a pilgrimage to the capital once a year… and they've even delivered their wares directly into the imperial palace. Consort Cleo was reportedly so delighted with the fabric that she ordered them to present a tribute every year."
The Empress was the Emperor's lawful wife in name, but true power within the palace walls lay in Cleo's clutches.
Considering how the Empress had to walk on eggshells just to hide me inside her own quarters, it was safe to assume nothing entered or left the palace without Cleo's blessing.
And she certainly wouldn't be using fabric spun from monster carcasses to tailor her own dresses.
"Frankly speaking, looking at how easily she was played by you this time, I doubt she understands the full picture," Navira remarked. "It's far more likely that someone with truly rotten intentions is pulling her strings from behind the curtain. Are you certain you want to handle this?"
"Even if I don't, what choice do I have? A lunatic who unleashes demonic beasts on a city the moment things don't go their way needs to be put down."
Navira's expression turned complicated.
"Good grief… First that little girl, and now you. What did I do to get tangled up with girls who have guts the size of boulders?"
"That was a compliment, right?"
Seeing my breezy grin, Navira rubbed her temples as if fighting off a migraine. Phlux cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Ahem."
"Hm?"
"Princess Titania… I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving this city."
"It wasn't just me. High Priest Ilian helped, the Castreins lent their aid, and—"
"I know our first encounter was utterly wretched," Phlux cut in, his face tight with regret. "It's far too late for excuses. If you think to yourself, 'Why did I even bother saving a scoundrel like this?' you have every right to feel that way. I swore I would assist you, yet in the end, it was your hand that preserved my life, this city, and my family's estate. And so…"
Phlux extended a small, velvet-lined box toward me.
When I lifted the lid, I found a bracelet set with a brilliant gemstone that radiated an ethereal, silvery-white glow like a halo around the moon. Despite its size, the gem felt astonishingly light. My eyes widened.
"What is this?"
"It's a token of my heart. That is…" Phlux averted his eyes, his cheeks flushing as he fidgeted nervously. "A small token of my gratitude and deepest respect. Whatever you endeavor to do, whatever you may require—even after you return to the imperial capital, please do not forget me. If you would only order me about as you see fit, I would be profoundly grateful."
I snapped the bracelet onto my wrist without a second thought. Whoa! This looks insanely expensive!
"The crest of House Cortez is engraved discreetly behind the setting," Phlux added eagerly. "Present that seal anywhere to purchase goods or demand information, and our house will cover all expenses without question."
Whoa! That's practically a Cortez-backed black card! This is amazing! Back at House Castrein, they always offered to procure anything I needed and constantly asked what more they could do for me, but… that always felt a bit heavy on my conscience. It was so overwhelmingly generous that it bordered on suffocating.
But this? This guy literally kidnapped me on our first meeting and spouted nonsense! After I cured his corruption and saved his whole city, accepting a little company card—or rather, a magic bracelet—was practically doing him a favor! Thrilled, I seized Phlux's hand in both of mine.
"Really?! Wow! Thank you so much! I'll put it to wonderful use!"
"Y-Yes… Well… If you could use it well… and, ah, if you would also… use me…"
Phlux stammered incoherently, his brain short-circuiting like a malfunctioning automaton. Just then, Lisianthus, who had been sitting in sullen silence the entire time, suddenly spoke up.
"It's time."
"Huh? Time for what?"
"Time to set off the fireworks."
Fireworks? Out of nowhere?