Chương 61: We meet again, Bill

Ten minutes later.

Richard straightened his clothes, went downstairs, and met up with the three members of the Forest Arrow Squad.

Levin greeted him with a "Good morning," and then said, "The Flying Axe Guild just sent word that they want us to go directly to the Temple of the Goddess of Wealth for a discussion."

They seem to value it quite a bit.

Very good, just what he wanted.

However, if we just go in like this...

Richard suddenly remembered that he was still under the effects of a disguise technique!

The Temple of Wealth in Phoenix is very large, and there might be some kind of detection magic inside. Wouldn't it be very embarrassing if he were exposed on the spot?

He quietly took half a step back, moved closer to Grace, and asked in a low voice.

Grace whispered in his ear as she answered:

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. My disguise skills are far superior to those of ordinary mages. Besides, I didn't completely transform you into someone of different heights and builds; I only slightly modified your facial features."

"This means that the traces of the spell are very small, and the magical fluctuations it emits are very weak. They can be completely concealed by the fluctuations of the magical items on your body, and cannot be detected by ordinary means."

"The real problem is me. After all, my true form is a red dragon, and the changes are too great..."

Grace nodded and stepped forward to speak with Levin and the others.

The gist of it was that she had drunk too much the night before, was dizzy and needed to rest, and that her faith was in a god who opposed materialism, so she didn't want to go to the Temple of Wealth to listen to sermons and just wanted Richard to handle everything for her.

The reasons were quite valid, and Levin expressed his understanding.

In the end, only Richard and the Forest Arrows team set off together.

Around noon, they arrived in downtown Phoenix and saw the temple of the goddess of wealth.

It was a magnificent building, with a marble base, adorned with gilded lintels and dazzling stained-glass windows, and countless exquisite statues, some of which were saints of the church, and others were the goddesses themselves with solemn expressions.

It looks like it cost a fortune.

It clearly belongs to the Church of Wealth.

Opposite the temple was a building that was slightly smaller in scale, but still high-end and grand. The entrance was bustling with people and the sounds of carriages and horses were so loud that they filled your ears.

They belong to various merchant guilds, some from Phoenix City, some from Winterfell and Turbulent City, and some even from the Empire. Their rooftops are adorned with banners embroidered with intricate patterns, proclaiming that they are backed by powerful nobles.

However, the most impressive and lively of them all is the chamber of commerce invested in by the Phoenix family.

While drinking last night, Richard heard that they had recently completed a monopoly on the city's medicine production, and coincidentally, the spread of stomach worms was more severe than in previous years, so they made a fortune by chance, making up for the losses from the lost gem mine.

Damn, bad guys get lucky, the goblin has a female knight...

After examining it, Li was very displeased and turned his head away.

Upon arriving at the temple entrance, the group announced their names and were quickly and warmly received. They were then led to a luxuriously decorated reception room on the side of the temple, where they waited for a short while.

Half a minute passed.

Just as Mendel was about to take the hybrid goldfish out of the fish tank on the table and play with it, two more people walked in.

The man in the lead, though well-dressed, was muscular and scarred, clearly a hardened individual who had fought his way up from the bottom.

Richard recalled for a moment that he was a mid-level officer in the Flying Axe Guild.

As for the second person...

Richard didn't need to recall at all; he recognized her the moment his eyes widened!

Because that was none other than his long-cherished former priest teammate, now a temple priest...

"... My name is Bill Benjamin, and as a representative of the church, I welcome you."

Bill smiled and introduced himself to the crowd.

Then, the scarred man took over the conversation, saying some procedural things, roughly praising the adventurers' achievements, saying that eliminating the cult was everyone's responsibility, and that the news had already been reported.

After saying that, he nodded to Bill and took the initiative to play the supporting role.

Bill thanked them politely and smiled at everyone again. His demeanor and manners were gentle and elegant, giving people a feeling of being caressed by a spring breeze.

"As you all probably know, this task was issued by our church."

He addressed the crowd:

"Our original intention was simply to maintain the smooth flow of trade routes, but we never expected that there was a conspiracy by cultists behind it. Fortunately, you fought bravely and prevented the evildoers from succeeding."

"In view of this, the originally set reward for the task is naturally inappropriate."

"After discussion, we have decided to double the reward from 100 gold coins to 200 gold coins, and each person will choose one item from the following as an extra reward."

As he spoke, he summoned his attendants and placed a square wooden box containing 20 stacks of gold coins, along with ten small items, on a round table in the room.

He then placed a thin booklet beside him and explained:

"These are overdue and unredeemed collateral from the church's pawnshops. They are all practical magical items. The relevant information is in this booklet, and you are welcome to browse through it."

Bill held out his hand, indicating that everyone could collect their payment.

To his slight surprise, the three members of the Forest Arrow Squad, despite their eyes being filled with the color of gold coins, remained completely still, waiting for Richard...

opposite.

Although Richard really wanted to punch Bill in the nose, he knew that now was far from the right time.

He quickly concealed all his emotions and put on a flawless expression of joy.

Without any hesitation, he started arranging the things on the table.

As expected of a temple of wealth, they are truly generous. However, compared to the spoils of war, this is nothing...

Well, there's not much to say about the gold coins; just divide them equally among the five of you...

As for these items, most are of good quality, nothing particularly outstanding...

Huh?

Richard's gaze fell on a necklace.

Name: The Old Beastmaster's Collar (Can be charmed) Grade: Excellent Note: This may slightly improve the obedience of the wearing animal. Although it is theoretically possible, it is not recommended for use on humans.

I never expected to encounter an item that could be alluring.

Received, received.

He picked up the collar and then chose a spellbook for Grace that contained several low-level spells—well, he chose it for himself, mainly because he felt his intelligence had improved considerably and he wanted to try learning some magic on his own.

After Richard finished making his selections, Levin and the others took their respective rewards.

"Everyone..."

Seeing that everyone had made their choices, Bill ordered his men to take back the remaining items and continued:

"What are your plans for the future? To be honest, our church has many tasks coming up and we need reliable people to carry them out. I wonder if you'd be interested..."

Richard smiled, his eyes narrowing.

I knew you guys wouldn't just bring people here for something more than just giving them money...