4. Church
4. Church
"Here is the magic stone package you requested, Noah-nim."
Guild receptionist Rin smiled slyly as she held out a leather pouch. I took the pouch and lightly shook it—clink—.
"...Rin. If my memory serves me correctly, it seems a bit lighter than when I purchased 1 gold's worth last time... Has there been an error with the weighing magic?"
"Aww, you know how it is, Noah-nim. With the number of monsters around Belua decreasing lately, magic stone prices have naturally gone up. But... I did try to give you a little extra?"
Rin shrugged with an awkward smile.
Though I felt like arguing that there's no way that's true... a noble elf doesn't raise their voice over such things. I simply adopted a detached attitude, muttered "Is that so..." and let it go.
"...I'll come again next time."
"Yes! Thank you for your patronage today! If any good requests come up, I'll let you know first, Noah-nim!"
I tucked the magic stone pouch into my sleeve and turned around to leave the guild.
...The sunlight is incredibly dazzling.
It's the kind of refreshing weather that makes you feel like you should work hard to earn money as a proper member of society.
'Now I have less than 1 gold left....'
Though I'm staying at the inn's lodging practically for free thanks to my connection with Kal's parents...
Even so, if you calculate 2 gold minus 1 gold minus 'food expenses up to now,' all that's left is about eight silver coins and a few dozen copper coins in change.
In that sense...
Being temporarily employed by the church is truly fortunate. Since I want to distance myself from 'that matter' for about a week, if I can cover my food expenses through the church like this, what couldn't I do?
'...Anyway, not now. This is all because that damn Hero splurged so much. What the hell did he do to my body....'
That feeling that if I have sex again without forgetting that previous sex, something inside me might change.
Hence my determination to stay away from 'that matter' for about a week.
And...
"Hmm. I didn't expect you to entrust me with money."
I rummaged through my other sleeve and pulled out another pouch. Unlike the light pouch containing just a few magic stones, this one had a quite substantial weight to it.
There's definitely a sense of security that comes from this weight.
This is exactly...!
The educational food expenses given to me by Irene.
It's not a corporate card, but in this world, you could say it's equivalent to a corporate pouch.
Since I even got permission to buy ingredients I want to eat...
Hehe...
The corners of my mouth naturally curl up.
No, composure. Composure. Such lighthearted behavior doesn't suit my image in the middle of the city.
"First, I should buy some eggs."
With that excited mindset, I headed toward the shopping district.
Hmm, I should probably buy some milk too...
Should I get some pork? If I only eat meat it might be a bit much, so I need vegetables too...
Do I have enough oil?
Some spices would be nice too. Ah, and since I'm thinking of feeding the children too, I should get some things that suit their tastes...
"Two bottles of red wine too?"
One bottle to remove the meat smell, and one bottle to drink secretly...
Indeed, spending other people's money is truly enjoyable...!
===
"Oh my, Noah-nim... Did you go shopping all by yourself and buy this much?"
"...I only bought what was necessary, so don't worry about it."
Since I discreetly hid the wine right before entering the kitchen at the back of the orphanage, there's no reason for me to feel guilty alone.
Strictly speaking, it's not church money but Irene's money.
Seeing that sincerely trusting look in her eyes makes me wonder if I'm trash for doing this. But well, when I used to go shopping for my parents, I'd always add one or two things I wanted to eat...
Irene looked over the ingredients I brought and spoke.
"Ah... But you did buy everything we originally needed to get too... Pork, vegetables... If you were planning to do such serious shopping, you should have told me. I would have gone with you and at least carried your bags."
...Then I wouldn't have been able to secretly buy wine.
When the employer is nearby, the employee is bound to feel uncomfortable. In that sense, my employer right now is Irene. She didn't seem like she planned to leave my side anytime soon.
"Planning to stay by my side? I'm about to start cooking."
"...Are you really planning to cook yourself? The children's meals were originally prepared by church staff taking turns like shifts. And today happens to be my turn too."
"Hmm. In that case, I'll show you."
Satisfying the employer is also part of the employee's role.
Ah, this is none other than modern living recipe number one: stir-fried pork.
I rolled up my sleeves and filled a large cast iron pot with rice. And beside me, Irene—wearing an apron with eyes sparkling saying "I'll help too!"—was watching intently.
Tap, tap, tap, tap—!
A cheerful sound echoed from the cutting board. Scallions and various vegetables were being chopped into uniform pieces with swift cuts.
"Your knife skills... are truly amazing, Noah-nim!"
"This is just basic."
"Are your eyes okay? My nose is already stinging..."
And then the highlight: sauce preparation time.
I combined the carefully selected chili powder from the market with various spices, then added sugar and garlic by feel. This should make it decent enough to eat.
"The sauce is so... red? Noah-nim, this is okay, right?"
"Since the children will be eating it too, it won't be that spicy. It just looks this red, so don't worry."
"If Noah-nim says so..."
This girl keeps making comments from the side.
She must have stayed nearby because she wanted to watch.
"Sniff, sob. Noah-nim, this Irene... I simply cannot hold back my tears...! The garlic and onion aroma is making my eyes sting so much, yet you haven't even blinked once while preparing such food for the children... As expected of Noah-nim...!"
"Priestess Irene. Stop talking and go check the rice over there."
"Yes, yes! Sob... Saintess... no, I shall obey Noah-nim's command!"
"......."
For some reason, Irene seems to see me as a saintess in her mind. Of course, I have no intention of playing along with that strange tune.
Anyway...
If you plate this nicely and take a bite with some rice, haa—
I wrapped a bite in lettuce-like greens and popped it right into Irene's mouth.
When you want to make a talkative person quiet, the method is to put something delicious in their mouth.
"Ha, ha...! H-hot!"
Though she was stomping her feet, she nodded her head up and down while giving a thumbs-up, so it seems the taste is definitely good.
"Ah, the children will probably like it too...! Ouch, hot..."
"Then that's fortunate."
Delicious food is always effective at winning children's favor.
In that sense, right now I am an elf stir-frying pork.
I stir-fried pork, stir-fried more pork, and stir-fried even more pork.
===
The small kitchen and storage room attached to the back of the orphanage.
And the figures of several children sneakily peeking into that kitchen. And watching them through his office window... Bishop Valerius.
A subtle spicy scent came through the window and tickled his nose.
"...You've done something unnecessary, Senior Priestess Irene."
He muttered lowly while watching through the curtain gap. He never expected that Irene would even use her own money to hire that elf mage.
To hire a senior adventurer, even a senior priestess would have limitations with just the church's stipend.
"Did that elf bitch take pity on her or something. Keuk, no matter how many good deeds she does, a fox remains a fox."
The bishop's displeased gaze then turned toward the orphanage children hanging by the kitchen window and giggling.
—Wow... It smells really good.
—Eek, spicy...
—But why are that unni's ears so long?
—An elf, an elf! I heard from unni Elize that she came to be our teacher for a while!
To Valerius, that orphanage was also a nuisance.
However, regardless of his personal feelings, the church's position meant he couldn't recklessly push the orphanage away.
But if it weren't for Senior Priestess Irene, he might have slowly reduced support and moved the orphanage outside the church through unspoken means.
But what?
Education for orphans?
"One nuisance is bringing in another nuisance."
In other words, Valerius's current stress level could be considered well beyond the danger threshold.
When stress builds up like this, people naturally turn to their own entertainment or hobbies to relieve it.
Valerius's entertainment was simple.
Going to a brothel that treated him as a VIP and fucking the whores' holes without any consideration.
Valerius opened a drawer and took out a pouch of gold coins. A tightly filled gold pouch that would have plenty of money left over even after covering everything Irene had requested.
From it, he discreetly took out three gold coins and gripped them firmly in his hand.
Jingle—,
"Why is she absent at a time like this! Graaah!"
Valerius let out a heavy sigh and plopped down into his chair. He could give as much money as needed. Three gold coins, no six, nine... as much as needed...!
If he gathered all the aces from every brothel in Belua and conducted a tightness test, 'that bitch' would probably take first place and then some.
Valerius at least thought so. Since he was a man who had been to every brothel in the city, his words had some persuasiveness.
"...Keuk!"
Even though the person he was looking for was right nearby, Valerius had no way of knowing.
There was no particular way to find her to begin with.
Disguised voice. A brothel of unknown identity where the bishop's authority didn't work. And he couldn't exactly check the tightness of women's pussies by looking at their faces one by one.
So Valerius...
Began to masturbate with his hand in his office, recalling the memory, no, the sensation from that time.