Chương 32: Chapter 31 - True Holy Paladin

Marine Fontaine walked through the fish markets at the port of Villipente, the main city of her baroness. It was the end of the day and fishmongers all rushed to close their stalls before nightfall and a storm grew in the distance. Recounting the events of that day in the war, she hadn't even closed her eyes, and in a blink, they were there, Aurora and her Lady Alex. The next time she met them, surely, she'd check their prowess.

Surely, Aurora was just an average girl in terms of strength, not even a Golden Generation, let alone a ranker. It must've been the woman beside her who had cast those druidic roots that killed the soldiers... even though it came from Aurora's mana? Her eyes must've played with her. She was sure of it. It was possible that woman was someone else rather than Aurora, but how could her rare beauty be so common!? In the recent days after, she gathered rumours about Aurora.

The fat king of Dragus had cast her away in exile, burning her face. Yet the woman had no scars on her face. Her skin was unmarred and confidence radiated throughout her posture as if she had never been exiled. Marine only saw Aurora from afar when she had visited Villipente once to study the local flora. At that time, even she did not possess that much confidence, let alone in front of knights and mages averaging around 250 prowess. It would only make sense her eyes played with her during her desperate stand.

She repeats to herself again that the druidic roots most definitely must've come from the woman Aurora called Lady Alex. The Lady could have manifested her mana to look like it came from Aurora instead to hide her abilities. Druids were extremely rare, after all. But as a ranker, she wouldn't easily be fooled. As she passed by the market, Marine smelled something different. The smell of rotting fish today wasn't as strong as last week's. Although she loved Villipente, the fish market was always the main attraction.

The war with the Count had killed dozens of mages. Water mages, for one, were always in demand in Villipente. They were hard to come by due to the lacklustre compensation the barony was able to offer. Marine then noticed all the containers and vendors were filled to the brim with ice. She hadn't heard of a new water mage in town. This much ice would need at least 2 or 3 water mages in total. In front of her, a man walked by with a bucket of ice. The man caught her eye.

He immediately walked faster to avoid her, but she easily caught up to him, catching him by the shoulder.

"I apologize for stopping you. Would you please point me to where you've obtained the ice?" Marine asked. The man tried to look away, even tried to continue walking, yet her grip stayed firm.

"For what reason do you wish ice, Madam Marine?" he asked.

"I'm sure you have a busy schedule. A bucket of ice is no harm, is it?"

"It is not the ice that is the harm. I wish to know who the new water mages are." Marine stared into his eyes even as he looked away. He was clearly hiding something from her, and it made him feel even more suspicious.

"I'm sorry, Madam Marine, I should head back to my stall."

"The stall can wait, unless you have no ice on your fish?"

"You're right. It can wait. But there could be buyers that I'm not serving."

"I shall recoup your losses later should there be buyers you've missed."

"I shouldn't impede on the Madam's pockets. You've protected us enough throughout the war."

"And I shall protect you again as the subject of the baroness. Must you make this difficult for me, please, Dion?" Dion sighed.

"Will you please not tell the others I have sent you?"

"I shall, and a paladin's promise cannot be broken, Dion. You know that."

"On Alba's stall, he will have a dungeon artifact that makes ice. One simply has to insert mana into it and it shall make cubes of ice when water is poured into its mouth." Relief washed over Marine. She had thought it was unaffiliated water mages in the territory, or it could've just been that the baroness hadn't informed her yet. But a dungeon artifact was even more odd.

"Have adventurers sold our territory an artifact?"

"You may ask Alba the question. I have no knowledge of the artifact's origin." Dion turned his eyes to Marine's hand on his shoulder.

"Madam, please?" Marine quickly took her hand off Dion.

"Right on then. Thank you for your information. I'll be at your stall later as promised!" Dion forced a smile.

"I shall see you then."

"See you then!" Marine smiled sincerely. She always loved talking to the subjects of the barony. By the time she became a full paladin, she basically knew almost everyone in Villipente by face. Time to go then. She hummed as she walked further into the fish market. She waved at passersbys while some vendors offered her a fish. Of course she couldn't take them for free nor could she even take them now. She was on her weekly routine patrol.

Arriving at Alba's stall that housed some of the bigger fishes just before the corner of the port, Marine saw a couple of men already filling their own buckets with ice. In Alba's hand was a cylindrical rock with hundreds of etchings that glowed as he poured water. Ice came out of the other end of the cylinder in perfect cubes. The man who held the bucket, Henri, began to crush the ice within the bucket with a wooden pole.

"Henri, might you need some help crushing the ice?" Marine asked. Alba and Henry both jumped. The dungeon artifact almost fell onto the ground before Alba caught it.

"Madam Marine," Alba said as he hid the artifact behind him.

"A pleasant surprise." Henry quickly picked up his bucket of ice and then left the stall. Marine waved at him with a bright smile on her face as he went.

"A pleasant surprise indeed, as I see you've gotten a valuable artifact."

"It was luck from a passing group of adventurers." Alba gave up on hiding it and presented the artifact forward.

"Its a very useful artifact, you see. No combat utility other than making ice in cubes, which is quite odd."

"Truly, it is odd to see perfect cubes." Marine stepped forward, crouching down to inspect the artifact. There wasn't anything wrong with possessing an artifact. It wasn't against the law. But most dungeon artifacts were combatitive rather than utility.

"Has it any utility other than making ice?"

"Not that I found. Unless you deem throwing ice cubes to be of danger to civilians." Marine laughed.

"It could pose a potential hazard for slipping on the floor." Alba laughed as well.

"That is true. I shall take note of that so it does not happen."

"May I ask what kind of adventurers you bought this from?" Marine asked.

"A part of 5 adventurers with the exact combat aspects needed for a dungeon. They looked... seasoned."

"What does seasoned mean?"

"They are not youngsters, but more my age at the late 20s."

"Interesting..." Marine muttered. Late 20s meant they would have a hefty amount of dungeon raiding experience and a respectable prowess average of 100-120. Though, she also was in her late 20s and a ranker, but that was beside the point.

"How much had they sold the artifact for, if I may ask, Alba?"

"It's fine Madam Marine," Alba said.

"Everyone in the market had pooled their silvers to be able to buy this artifact from the dungeons. They sold it at 1 gold."

"1 gold?!"

"Yes, but it was necessary...."

"I understand, Alba. Do not worry. However, we must still report this utility artifact to the baroness."

"Will she take it away?"

"Believe me, she will not. I promise you that. I would dare say she might even be ecstatic at the news of this kind of utility artifact."

"Is it really that important?"

"I do not know. I just have a hunch." Marine smiled.

"I shall take my leave and report to the baroness."

"Wait! Madam Marine. Do you mind having a spearfish? I'll give you an 80% discount!"

"80%?! You best keep that spearfish in ice. I shall be back later to purchase it."

"Yes!"

"I'll see you later, Alba. Let's talk about your newborn later."

"We shall, Madam Marine. Have a good meeting with the Baroness."

"Always," Marine said as she walked away from the stall. She exited the fish market and walked down the bricked path of the port city, noticing the foul stench of the gutters was stronger than usual. However, that would be fixed once they hired more mages to tend to the city's waste. Walking up the steps from the town square, the mansion of the baroness entered her view. It was ungated, unlike other nobles, and it seemed more like part of the city, with the buildings and houses of subjects cascading from its sides.

Only the bright white paint of the mansion and its larger size, about as long as 7-8 buildings length in total, made it stand out from the city. The steps she walked up ended at a large heavy brown door with four square sections and a brass knob. Marine pulled her necklace over her head and used the key it held to unlock the door. A single turn of the key, a twist of the knob, and she was in. Looking out the window as she walked across the hallway, lightning flashed and thunder roared.

This coming storm would clearly wash away the built-up waste in the city. Hopefully, Alba, Dion, and the others had carefully locked away their stalls and fishes into their ice boxes. Otherwise, their fish might go back swimming. Marine slightly laughed at the thought. After reaching the staircase in the middle of the hallway, Marine climbed up and turned left towards Andrea's study. Once she passed 4 doors, she turned left to the study and knocked twice before entering.

Inside the study sat Andrea Lois, a brown-haired woman wearing casual clothes that seemed more fitting for a peasant. A shirt that lacked any detail and was loose, not showing off any of her figure, and most likely a similar long skirt that was also loose, as Marine couldn't see clearly.

"Marine," Andrea said as she looked up.

"How was your walk?"

"It was great. I gave a couple of children syrup candy, talked with a few of the mothers. Though, it took too much time. I couldn't get to the fish market to talk to some of the fishermen about their day. I didn't even get to hear about Alba's newborn. It was-""Ok, ok, Marine." Andrea smiled.

"No need to brag."

"I'm not bragging," Marine muttered.

"I'm just... really happy everything turned out well." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Andrea sighed, dropping the scroll she held onto the desk.

"We still lost too many."

"How does the recruitment fare?" Marine asked. Too many knights and mages were lost during the sudden war with the Count. Had it not been for the legend that decimated the opposing armies, they would've lost a lot more.

"I'm focusing on mage recruitment. It's difficult... most want a higher annual compensation of over 3 gold even for a water mage."

"3 gold?! The price is too ridiculous!" Marine shouted. She turned her eyes out the window with the storm now fully upon the barony, watching the water wash away the waste from the streets. Winter was near which would allow them to breathe for a while. The issue was after winter, when the snow melted and all the waste had built up. All four elemental mages were needed for the perfectly cyclical work of city waste management. Earth to create pits, water to wash away, fire to burn, air to deodorise.

"There is nothing we can do. Pandor knights and mages have been spotted at the northern Lyra borders. The demand for able-bodied mages have increased to the skies."

"What if we increase our trade to Duke Tanison?" Marine asked as she sat down in the seat in front of Andrea's desk.

"That was my plan, and then hire mages at market price. However, winter comes. Fishermen cannot stay out in the ocean for too long to catch a surplus."

"We can ask for a loan from the capital to last the spring."

"I've already sent a courier to ask for such," Andrea smiled.

"We shall hope he returns in haste."

"Is there really nothing I can do?" Marine asked.

"You've done enough, Marine. Thank you for always being here," Andrea said.

"This reminds me. I've also sent a letter to the princess about the situation of recluse legends passing by our territory."

"I believe they are of no harm. They saved the people which speaks volumes of their intent."

"Yet the Lady Alex had asked for a discount. A strange time to ask for such a deal, is it not?"

"Then do we decline the deal?"

"Certainly not. The legends could simply wipe out our territory should they not receive their discount. Their percentage of the discount is also not set yet. Although winter is coming, fish transport to the legend's home would become an issue once the 3rd moon comes."

"I believe the issue has been fixed, Andrea," Marine said.

"How so?"

"The whole fish market has attained a dungeon artifact that makes ice from adventurers. They even pooled 1 gold to buy it."

"Was it registered in the registry of artifacts?" Andrea asked.

"I do not believe it has. That is one reason I'm here," Marine said.

"A utility artifact like that would cost tens of gold. A single gold for such would be an an oddity... had they talked of the appearance of the adventurers?"

"They said they were a group of 5 adventurers, one of each combat aspect, and were late 20s."

"Do utility artifacts come from smaller labyrinths?" Andrea asked.

"I believe it is rare, but possible. Usually, grand labyrinths would possess such."

"If it's rare, then why only 1 gold? Could they have stolen it from a dead body during the war?" Lightning flashed at the window as thunder roared, shaking the window slightly. Marine held herself back before replying. The thought never occurred to her. Since most dungeon artifacts were registered under specific territories, the ownership fell to the territory rather than the individual. Stealing it from a dead body did not cut away the ownership of the artifact from the owner.

"I apologize, Andrea. I should've asked more thoroughly."

"It's not your fault, Marine. I believe we can use this as trade leverage against the Count if it were his territory's for tools and ores. Though, that does not solve our current predicament."

"Status," Marine muttered. [Name: Marine Fontaine] [Class Type: Unique] [Class Name: True Holy Paladin] [Mana: 1250/1250] [Attribute Points: 0] [Tenacity: 162] [Perception: 120] [Dexterity: 80] [Aura: 100] [Mana Heart: 125] [Mana Brain: 50] [Total Prowess: 359. 9]"How is it?" Andrea asked.

"I've only gained 4 prowess since the war..." Marine said. Disease was just right around the corner after winter. Marine could only use [Grand Cure] for 12 people before her mana ran out. Her hands clenched as she thought of having to rely on the new greedy theocracy for cures. The corrupt priests would charge them exorbitantly until their territory ran out of gold.

"Do not worry, Marine. I'll find a way," Andrea said. Marine smiled. Right. She was the baroness after all. They've been through numerous struggles already. This was just one of many they would live through. Two knocks on the door came from behind and a guard opened the door.

"Apologies, baroness and madam Fontaine. A guest is by the staircase, demanding a meeting." Lightning lit up the inside of the study before Andrea could speak.

"A guest at this time? Who might it be?"

"The woman declines to identify herself. She simply calls herself 'your maker'," the guard said.

"I do not know what she means, hence..."

"It is all right, David," Andrea said.

"Guide her to my study." Footsteps could already be heard from the hallway before the guard could even close the door. Thunder shook the windows, making Marine feel the dread of what was about to come. If her guess was right, she already knew who the woman was. Before long, the woman pushed open the door as she casually pushed the guard out of the way. Her clothes were the same as before. A black dress that felt like it belonged to peasants, yet was paradoxically exquisitely designed to allure eyes to her figure.

The thread count and fabric were of the highest quality, with no wrinkles. She wore a red cloth elongated triangle necklace wrapped around her neck and collar. And then those eyes gave Marine chills. She looked as though she looked at ants, completely apathetic to their very well being.

"Have a seat, Lady Alex. It's nice to see you again." Andrea said.

"Marine, please." Marine got up, closed the door shut and stood by the door, guarding. She did her very best to suppress her urge of drawing her sword, knowing full well the woman in the room could kill them in the blink of an eye.

"Lady Alex, may I know what you've come for?" Andrea asked.

"Cool. Let's get down to business. I'm searching for something. Some little shit stole something from me, and I found it here," Lady Alex said.

"And what might that be?"

"An ice maker." Huh? That wasn't the Count's dungeon artifact? Marine gulped as her eyes caught Andrea's at the same time they looked at each other.

"You've come just in time, Lady Alex. We were just talking about an unknown artifact in our fishery."

"Is it unknown if you already know it?"

"Yes. I've just been made aware of it today."

"Even though it was stolen from my store last week?"

"I'm assuming that is the store near the recently built roads?"

"Mhmm."

"It does take a couple of days to reach Villipente from that store. Please understand."

"Fine. But you see, that ice maker is part of a sacred morning ritual. Should I just ignore this theft?" Lady Alex asked. Marine stepped up.

"I apologize Lady Alex. I should have been shrewder in my patrols to catch the smuggling of your holy dungeon artifacts."

"Huh?" Lady Alex cleared her throat.

"Yeah. That's right. My holy artifacts."

"I'll apologize on behalf of my subjects who bought the artifact from the thieves, Lady Alex. But please understand, my territory is currently in a state of decline."

"Go on."

"We can pay for the dungeon artifact in market price, however, it may take a long time to come up with the funds. I'm wondering if the Lady will allow us to pay it in increments?"

"Look, Andy Mandy, I'm not that cold hearted of a business woman," Lady Alex said.

"I could let you pay it in increments, but that would take too long."

"Then what does the Lady suggest?" Andrea asked.

"You have something I want, and I have something you want. I'm still owed a discount on fish, so let's talk business."

"If that is what the Lady wishes, I shall open the conversation. I will admit that this is not a negotiation as we have wronged the Lady."

"Good," Lady Alex slightly chuckled.

"First, the discount on the fish. Instead of just a discount, I want wholesale price as an apology for ruining the sacred morning ritual of my people."

"Apologies, Lady Alex. What is this term 'wholesale' that you speak of?"

"Since I saved your territory, I originally wanted a small discount. But now, wholesale means you sell me fish in bulk and sell it to me at 50% of the original price." Before Marine could even open her mouth, Andrea spoke up.

"It's ok, Marine." Marine nodded as she took out her status glass. Her eyes widened as she saw the woman's prowess of 20.

"We will not have a surplus before the 3rd moon. However, this deal can be set once the fishmongers catch more during the warmer seasons."

"Cool with me," Lady Alex said.

"So now about the ice maker. You can keep it on one condition. In fact, I'll give you two more as a signing bonus."

"What does the Lady suggest?"

"I'll handle your waste issue if you pay me 1 gold per month." Marine saw Andrea smile, the one she always used when she was thinking. That was always when she would lose the game of gambit to her.

"Does the Lady have mages at her disposal to handle such waste?" Andrea asked.

"Pfft, mages are so 10th century. Give me building permits and uninterrupted access, and I'll have that shit ready for you in a couple of weeks. Quite literally." Lady Alex laughed.

"I do not quite understand. Will your subjects build structures to rid the street of waste?"

"Exactly. And you pay only a measly 1 gold a month. How's that sound?"

"Does my territory have a choice?"

"No." Andrea sighed.

"Then I shall grant you the authority to build your structures."

"Cool. I'll send someone to sign papers for our wholesale pricing deal and the waste infrastructure, whatever. If you sign it, he'll give you two more ice makers."

"I shall await your diplomat, Lady Alex."

"Cool." Lady Alex stood up.

"Leaving now. Ciao."

"Does the Lady care for tea before leaving?"

"Nope. No tea for me. Wouldn't get caught drinkin' it." Lady Alex walked back to the door, opened it, and walked back through the halls. The sound of David, the guard, getting pushed again could be heard as he fell to the floor. Marine stepped forward to take the seat once again.

"Were all of those deals ok, Andrea?"

"Frankly, most of the deals were in our favour, even the 'wholesale' price. Since Count Mourier will no longer buy from us, her merchant guild will become our main local trade."

"That doesn't sound that bad, does it?"

"It does not, but I feel that Lady Alex has smiled upon us rather than punishing us for our lack of due diligence."

"She offered to clear our number 1 problem this coming 3rd moon... why?"

"We do not ask why, Marine. We simply let her do as she wishes and ride her coattails. It was too overwhelmingly positive for us. All we can do is thank the Lady's benevolence." Marine nodded slowly.

"I believe we are still in debt. She had saved our territory... yet she repays us by disguising her help through trade. I cannot understand her motives."

"The three dungeon artifacts alone would free up our capital, let alone our whole waste management system. 50% 'wholesale' price might not be enough to repay her." Marine sighed. Once again, they were saved by the Lady, just like in the war with Count Mourier.

"Did you have a chance to see her prowess?"

"The status glass said it was 20, but I cannot believe it, unless Aurora truly was the druid that saved us."

"Could it not be Aurora who had risen to the ranks of Golden Generation and Lady Alex was her follower?"

"Absolutely not. Aurora submitted to Lady Alex's commands. Unless the Lady was also a legend that could hide her prowess. It would be a possibility."

"Possible. Nonetheless, it changes nothing. We shall honour our end of the deal with the strength of adamantite." Marine nodded. ☕︎ ☼ ☕︎ ☽ ☕︎ Alex casually floated back to HQ as rain pattered against her telekinetic bubble. A wide smile grew on her face as she had just secured a mad bomb of a deal. Getting paid to take fertilizer? Check. Discount upgraded to wholesale price? Check. Pulling up her walkie-talkie, she dialed in Grey. After two rings, Grey picked up.

"This is Grey speaking, my Lady. How may I be of service?" he asked.

"Y-ello, Greygrey. I have a job for you. I'll send you deets at your desk by tomorrow morning. We just secured fertilizer and also the discount with the baroness has been changed to wholesale."

"Congratulations on the negotiations, my Lady. It is only expected they bow down to your terms."

"Yep. I'll also make 2 more ice makers. Hand them over to the baroness if she signs it. If she doesn't, take them back. And I'll make them pay some other way."

"Understood. I shall do as the Lady wishes."

"Cool. Hanging up now. Peace." Alex hung up without waiting for a reply. She started whistling. Soon, the waste facility would be teeming with waste to be converted to fertilizer and oil for her mack trucks. Looking down, she saw a man wandering around in the rain near the sanitation facility. He looked like a peasant with a brown tunic and leather pants. Poor guy was probably lost. Oh well. The toll guards would handle him later. A thought came to Alex's mind.

If they called a measly ice maker a dungeon artifact that was worth a couple of gold, she could technically just make more 'artifacts'. As fast as the thought appeared, she dismissed it immediately. Alex wasn't one to work in the fields. Even Elador was still only able to create rudimentary magitech devices. She wouldn't get caught being a factory worker, that was for sure. Besides, she was in the business of selling coffee. If she wanted to make a business out of selling devices, she would.

But, she still had to note to herself, these 'artifacts' could be used as leverage for trade. Now, the problem of the highest priority was tires. Without tires, she wouldn't be able to reliably cross the distance from HQ to Duke Tanison's territory. If she couldn't get to the Duke's territory in a satisfactory amount of time, she wouldn't be able to build Star Cubs' first franchised flagship location in the Duke's territory.

Without this first franchised location, she wouldn't be able to get the capital to buy materials to build ships. If she can't build ships, she wouldn't be able to make her conquest for the Tsuba Islands for mass-growing Hadstead Stalks for her eventual Caramel Crunch Frappucino. It was unacceptable. Tires were a must.