Chapter 77
The Duhein Family’s Demonic Beast (1)
A day had passed since I submitted the bracelet to the Lofty Order. Fortunately, I received a reply from their side saying that I was allowed to participate in the auction.
“It must have been worth quite a bit.”
“It’s probably because it’s a desert religion they don’t get to see easily.”
Winter said that with a gentle smile. Certainly, compared to other religions, those of the desert had far fewer specins.
“I didn’t expect them to be this interested in other religions.”
Modern religions did not show much interest in the religions of others. But the religions here were a little different. Their nature was subtly different.
“If you think about it, they’re all connected.”
“All connected?”
Winter brought up sothing interesting.
“Religion refers to a culture that reveres and worships divine beings. And the ones who beco those divine beings were actually figures who existed in ancient tis.”
“Real figures?”
Winter continued, sounding excited.
“In the ancient era, powerful beings lived—giants, fairies, dragons, divine beasts, and so on. When their rank rose and they entered the realm of spirits, they beca immortal and thus gods.”
“So that’s the chanism.”
“cha… what?”
“No. Anyway.”
At the unfamiliar word, Winter asked back. I waved my hand vaguely.
She tilted her head, then continued.
“In the ancient era, the entire continent was united as one. Then a massive calamity called a teor fell and the continent split apart. Before that, everything was connected, so there are many links between each other.”
I already knew roughly about it from investigating Anaye. The ancient era had been a tribal society. There were many invasions, and just as many alliances.
“Sotis a history that doesn’t exist in one god’s records can be found in another god’s records. So it’s impossible not to take an interest in other religions.”
“I see. Anyway, I’m glad the bracelet got registered.”
Winter nodded briskly. After becoming an auction consignor, she had regained her composure and returned to her daily routine.
I intended to inform Worden as well, but for so reason, he was nowhere to be seen.
“Hey.”
“…….”
Suddenly, soone barged into the chapel.
The person who entered boldly, without even the courtesy of knocking, was definitely not from the Order.
“What is it?”
The one who ca in was none other than the infamous Bereninche. Davide greeted her with a displeased look.
“No, seriously, what is this?”
With a bright smile, she headed toward the sofa where Davide had been lying.
Davide stared in disbelief at Worden, who was slung over Bereninche’s shoulder like a sack of luggage.
“Move. I need to sit.”
“No, what happened to Worden?”
Bereninche shrugged. Worden dangled limply, as if unconscious. I even wondered if he might be dead.
“Is there a problem?”
“You think there isn’t?”
“There isn’t. Isn’t it a relief that he’s alive?”
When she put it that way, Davide found himself at a loss for words.
Co to think of it, if Worden had ssed with Bereninche, then the fact that he was still alive was indeed fortunate. That is, if Worden had been the one to start it.
“Why are you bullying him again?”
I couldn’t imagine Worden picking a fight with soone first.
He liked danger, sure—but he valued his own life just as much. He wasn’t an idiot who would jump into a natural disaster like Bereninche.
“I asked him to drink with , but he kept playing hard to get.”
“…….”
Davide hurriedly checked Worden’s condition. His forehead was grotesquely swollen, protruding like a dolphin’s snout.
“A flick to the forehead?”
Judging by it, it was likely an injury from a finger flick. With swelling like that, I wondered if his brain had taken a hit too.
“It’s not a concussion or sothing, is it?”
“He won’t die from that. If he does, it’ll be because he trained too weakly.”
That wasn’t sothing the person who had essentially struck his forehead with a sledgehamr should be saying.
“Move. Let sit.”
“Well, look at that.”
Though Davide spoke curtly, he made space for her. Winter secretly welcod Bereninche’s sudden appearance.
Worden, who had beco a cold piece of baggage, didn’t seem to be noticed.
“Winter. Sorry, but could you prepare so tea?”
Bereninche spoke to Winter in an exceptionally gentle tone. She even used the word “please.” It seed she quite liked Winter.
“The point.”
“You’re impatient. I heard you’re participating in the religious auction this ti?”
As Davide persistently demanded the main point, sothing that could only be called confidential slipped from Bereninche’s mouth.
Davide’s gaze turned to Winter. Her pale white skin flushed even paler as she shook her head.
The way she frantically waved both hands made her look faintly pitiful.
“That wolf girl told .”
The culprit was Canis. It was sothing I had overlooked out of familiarity—that Canis wasn’t particularly tight-lipped.
But the strange thing was that Canis avoided Bereninche to a chilling degree.
“You wouldn’t have even caught her in your sight.”
“You think I wouldn’t be able to detect soone like that?”
“Uh… wasn’t that the case?”
Bereninche’s eyes glead. I shrugged. It seed so unexpected incident had occurred.
Probably her fault.
“There’s sothing I absolutely have to buy at this auction.”
“……I heard the auction items are confidential.”
“It’s not easy to keep your mouth shut in front of money and power.”
She casually brought up sothing illegal. Davide glanced at Winter. The sa Winter who had insisted that illegal actions were unacceptable now fell silent.
“That’s fine.”
I could roughly guess. Bereninche was asking for help to secure that item completely.
“So you want help obtaining it?”
“There’s that, and also—if you find any decent items with that unknown knowledge of yours, let know.”
When we dealt with the Forest Guardian, Bereninche had taken note of my knowledge. She seed to believe I had the ability to uncover such information, and so she casually demanded intel again this ti.
“If I end up opposing you, it’ll definitely be a headache.”
After so thought, I gave a small nod. If bidding competition broke out at the auction, the expenses would soar.
If there happened to be overlap, reaching an agreent beforehand wasn’t a bad idea. More than anything, I had no desire to see Bereninche’s reaction if she lost sothing she wanted to .
“The catalog?”
“Here.”
As if she had been waiting for that, Bereninche pulled a sheet of paper from her chest. It was the list of items in this auction.
I read through the list one by one. Soon, a fierce smile ford on my lips.
“There’s sothing we want too. On the condition that you don’t touch that.”
“Fine. Of course, the information better be solid. If I can’t make a profit reselling it, you’ll have to be prepared.”
“That depends on your ability to sell it. The items I point out are guaranteed to be worthwhile.”
A naturally ford conspiracy. It felt sowhat uncomfortable, but refusing sothing that could be resolved this easily would be foolish.
If anything, Bereninche’s proposal was more beneficial than harmful. A few tempting items had already caught my eye.
“This was in here too.”
I found one particular item that stood out to .
“Then the winner of this auction will be the Duhein.”
Bereninche smiled attractively. If things went as I expected, it would be worthy of being called the Duhein Family’s Demonic Beast.
***
“Senior.”
“What.”
I headed toward the shopping district with Winter. At the very least, proper courtesy was required for a gathering of religious figures on the island.
“Where are we going right now?”
“To pick up your priest robes.”
I had requested Winter’s priest robes in advance for this very reason. No matter what happened, I had intended to take her along.
“Ah. So I’m finally receiving my priest ro—huh?”
“What now?”
“How am I supposed to receive them? They need to take my asurents and tailor it.”
“I asked Canis, and she told all of them.”
“……?”
I could understand Winter’s puzzled expression. I had casually ntioned that we should get her priest robes tailored, and suddenly Canis had written down all her asurents.
“How did she…?”
“How would I know? Maybe she snuck into your dorm room while you were sleeping.”
How she knew all that, I truly had no idea. To be honest, I had seriously considered reporting it to the Imperial Knight Order.
Winter’s expression grew even more serious.
“Want so?”
“No.”
I offered her what I was eating as her face darkened further, but she shook her head and refused.
Dried garlic I had asked the grocery store to prepare. It was a sha much of the garlic’s aroma had faded, but its distinctive spiciness remained, and I liked the fluffy texture, almost like stead potatoes.
“…How did she know my asurents?”
“Who knows. But if it’s that little devil, she probably knows Soloven’s asurents too.”
“How would she know about Senior Soloven?”
“I told you, I don’t know.”
As we chatted back and forth, we arrived at the workshop before we knew it. I stepped inside without hesitation, but Winter paused briefly.
“You’ve co….”
It was probably because of the ti I had smashed the shop apart with a Divine Axe. When Winter entered, the owner’s face darkened as well.
A strange relationship where we poked at each other’s trauma. I didn’t think it was so bad.
“The item?”
“Here it is.”
The owner tossed over a neatly folded set of clothes. I caught it stylishly and imdiately helped Winter put it on.
Unlike , who wore it like a coat, Winter fastened every single button. I thought it might look stifling, but it suited her better than expected.
“Maybe because she’s so pale, but it suits her better than I thought.”
“Right?”
Unlike my entirely black priest robes, Winter’s had much more white. It was her first ti receiving priest robes, and as she beca absorbed in them, the owner and I looked at her as if evaluating her.
Since she had a small and cute image, I had worried priest robes might not suit her. But the aura of a religious devotee showed well.
“Her pale skin helps.”
It suited her better than I expected. More than that, my eyes were drawn to Winter’s face as she looked delighted like a child.
“I’ll bring the others later.”
“……You know that child’s size but not the others’?”
“Sorry, but I received a tip as well.”
The owner gave a suspicious look, but I had nothing to hide. Judging by the sly expression spreading across his face, he seed ready to tease .
“And the weapon?”
“Do you think that thing is light work? It’s progressing smoothly.”
“I’ll leave it in your hands. Then we’ll be going.”
I decided to slip out before anything else. After a brief farewell, I led Winter out; she had been staring blankly into the mirror.
“What do you think? The priest robes.”
“They’re absolutely, absolutely amazing. Really.”
“Good.”
Winter smiled as if she couldn’t be happier. I patted her head a few tis. She nodded without a word.
“Hmm.”
Co to think of it, it was rare for Winter to be happy about receiving sothing. The only things I could recall were these priest robes and the Holy Brush.
“Other than religion.”
“Yes?”
“Is there anything you like?”
I grew curious. I wanted to know what Winter liked.
At my question, she seed slightly flustered, then fell into deep thought.
“I’m not… sure.”
“Is that so.”
I nodded calmly and shrugged at her awkward smile.
It was remarkable how few preferences Winter had. She had been the sa when she appeared as a religion-related NPC in the ga.
‘She’s peculiar.’
She wouldn’t speak about topics unrelated to religion, and unless soone shared the sa religion-based class, she wouldn’t even respond.
Yet the current Winter was, in many ways, like an ordinary girl.
“You can figure it out slowly.”
I gave her shoulder a light pat.
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