5. Signora (1)
When we arrived at Mond, the castle was a little messy. This was especially true of the Knights of Pebonius. The knights were running around as if they were each busy preparing something, and just from that alone, you could tell that there was an unusual atmosphere in Mond Castle.
If I had someone close to me, I would have found out what was going on, but unfortunately, there were no acquaintances left in the Knights of Pevonius. Ember did not appear to have gone out on a mission again, and Director Jin did not show his face for a while after leaving a message that he would go with Lumine to resolve the Poongma Dragon incident.
From Noble mtl dot com
When I returned to the dorm, there was a note left by Lumine. The contents were roughly as follows.
‘I think I’ll have to leave for a few days to resolve the Wind Demon Dragon incident. Don’t worry too much, Siwoo. And take good care of yourself. You know I’m always worried, right? Luminega.’
I smiled and folded the note and put it in my pocket. Rumine was worried anyway, so she was in trouble. Is there any danger in Mond Castle?
“Pisle, are you planning to rest today?”
Fisl answered my question with his usual pretentious attitude.
“Heh, the fate of all things has sought a treasury of sleeping wisdom. “Today, we will get a glimpse of a sad prophecy buried in the abyss.”
“The lady said, ‘I’m going to spend today reading the novel I got from Liyue.'”
And as always, Oz interpreted ‘Pisel’. Actually, there was no need for Oz to interpret now, but Oz’s presence was in danger if she didn’t do that, so I nodded at her without saying a word.
Then I guess I’ll just have to go out today. It was still daytime, and the sun was high in the sky. I had a lot of work to do before I could rest like this.
But Fiseul still did not go up and seemed hesitant. At times like this, it was when I had something to say, so I just looked at Fissle quietly.
“What’s wrong, Fissle?”
Nevertheless, when Fissle seemed to hesitate and could not meet her gaze, Oz, who was worse than her, stepped forward. It was a polite voice.
“Siwoo, it seems that the young lady would like to repay you with something for your help.”
“Yes, yes! My servant, will you not enjoy a feast in the palace of the night sky tonight? “It is the duty of a noble man to repay the devotion of his servants!”
Aha, only then did I understand Fissle’s intention. If I were to interpret those words, it meant ‘I will treat you to dinner.’ It seemed like I received more help from Fisl, but it would have been uncomfortable for Fisl to only receive help from me.
I was so pleased with Fissul that she nodded. She had no reason to refuse.
“Yes, if you give it to me, I will be grateful. “So, Fissle cooks the food himself?”
Fisle looked slightly surprised by my mischievous question. Then she lowered her head and hesitated, then answered in a voice filled with shame.
“Well, if you really want… ….”
I let out a light laugh. I was grateful for Piseul’s heart, and the sight of her cute girl being shy was always a picture.
“Then I’ll be looking forward to it, Fissle. “See you later in the evening.”
“…… Huh.”
In response to Piseul’s timid response, I patted her head a few times and then started to go out. I was going to have dinner with Fissle, so I had to take care of her business until then.
Originally, he would have gone to the market and wondered at what price and where to supply daily necessities. But today I had something a little special to do.
My steps were heading towards the highest point of Mond Castle. After going over the hill and passing the square, a huge statue of God Barbatos appeared.
And behind the giant statue of the boy god, there was another staircase, and on top of it was a majestic building.
The people of Mond called the building ‘Cathedral.’ If the Knights of Pebonius were an organization that represented Mond’s military power, the cathedral was an organization that represented Mond’s religion.
On the Tivat continent, where the existence of God was not questioned, the power of ‘religion’ was beyond imagination. Of course, this was no different for Mond. Although it was true that Mond was free from the influence of God to the extent that it was called the ‘City of Freedom,’ the existence of God Barbatos had a huge influence on the lives and culture of the people of Mond, whether they knew it or not.
Right now, ‘freedom’, the most important value among the people of Mond, was influenced by the god Barbatos. In addition, the people of Mond believed that the souls of the dead were carried by the wind into the arms of the god Barbatos. So they were pathologically afraid of dying in a windless area. This was because they thought they could not find rest even after death.
Like this, the ‘cathedral’ is the place that hosts the faith that forms the spiritual foundation of the Mond people. Its influence could not have been less than that of the Knights of Pebonius. Rather, in some ways, it could be said that the cathedral had a greater influence on the people of Mond.
That was why I visited the cathedral. In fact, this was my first time visiting the cathedral while living in Mond. People in Mond embody their faith like they breathe from the moment they are born, but since I fell from another world, I had no particular faith.
But it was different from now on. Since I wanted to put down roots in Mond, I needed to show at least some sincerity to the cathedral.
My first impression of the interior of the cathedral was that it was spacious and cozy.
The vast size and height seemed to show how insignificant humans are compared to the existence of God. Warm sunlight was pouring in from the window, and several nuns and priests were walking around the chapel.
I also saw several people praying in silence. The cathedral in Mond seemed to be visited by quite a few people even when it was not in service.
I stood there wondering what to do. Since it was my first time at the cathedral, I had no idea who to say or what to say.
It was then. Someone came into my field of vision.
Silver-grey hair that was organized into pigtails, and blue eyes. And the pure white clothes gave a refreshing feeling that was not typical of a nun’s uniform.
The gestures were full of vitality. And clear skin and a smile that puts people’s minds at ease.
She was a beautiful girl. She was so charming that I thought that if I were to choose the face of the cathedral, this girl would probably be chosen. It wasn’t just a matter of beauty, it was a matter of atmosphere.
She greeted me with a refreshing voice that matched her attractive appearance.
“Hello, what brought you here?”
“Oh, I… “I came to make an offering.”
I answered in a dazed voice. If a girl with a bright appearance suddenly walked in front of me, anyone would be mesmerized.
But despite my mesmerized answer, the girl smiled. It was a friendly response.
“You came to make a donation. The cathedral always welcomes donations from believers. “What amount do you have in mind?”
“Well, the amount is a bit big…” ….”
“Oh, then would you please follow me?”
Before I could say anything, the girl took the lead. I started following the girl, still in a dazed mood.
“Unlike small donations, for irregular donations over a certain amount, a separate donation certificate must be issued. This is probably a tax-related issue. Oh. “My name is ‘Barbara.'”
Meanwhile, the girl who gave her name as ‘Barbara’ began to move without hesitation. The place we arrived after a while was a small living room.
A space with writing instruments, a storage cabinet, and a small round table. It seemed that people who donated more than a certain amount of money came here.
As soon as Barbara entered her room without being told to sit down, she started rummaging through a cabinet full of papers. She then took out a piece of paper and put it down on the table.
I finally realized what was going on and sat down in my seat. The document held out in front of me had the words ‘donation certificate’ written on it.
“Now, write down the amount you want to donate here and give it to me. Then, I will confirm the donation and give you a copy with the cathedral’s seal. “You can submit that document to the Knights of Pebonius the next time you pay taxes!”
I nodded, “Hmm.” There seemed to be some tax deduction benefits as well. Is it natural that this is a place where the influence of religion is this strong? It wasn’t a bad story for me.
My hand held the pen. Since all I had to do was write numbers and leave my signature anyway, it didn’t take long for me to finish filling out the document.
I handed the completed document to Barbara. Barbara accepted the document, and after a moment she tilted her head.
“I… ….”
“You can call me ‘Siwoo.'”
When I interrupted, Barbara muttered, ‘Oh, I see,’ and then continued.
“‘Siwoo’? I think you wrote the unit wrong. “The amount you have to donate varies by 10 times with just one 0, so if you’re not careful, you might end up wasting your money.”
With that said, without any doubts, Barbara smiled and handed the documents back to me. It seemed like they all believed that I had counted the wrong units.
I checked again. There was no mistake. No matter how interested you were, it was an issue worth this much money. There was no way I could have mistaken the number of units.
“That’s right.”
“…… Yes?”
I handed the document back to Barbara. There were numbers written on the document. There were exactly eight zeros, or ‘100 million mora’.
“That’s right. “100 Million won.”
Barbara’s hand, which had been handed the document, stiffened at those words. She looked at the numbers on the document and then at my face in disbelief.
After a while, Barbara let out an exclamation as if something occurred to her.
“Ah, ah! Could it be that Mond’s new magnate, who is said to have deposited 100 million mora to the Knights of Pebonius…… ?”
“…… “I don’t know if he is a ‘big man’, but he once donated 100 million mora to the Knights Templar.”
Barbara was so startled by my words confirming her words that she stood up. Then she adjusted her outfit as if embarrassed, and looked at me with her shaking eyes.
Then she urgently lowered her head.
“That, that, that…” Sorry for not knowing! Anything, nothing, anything, treat me…….”
Barbara’s hands were shaking. Then, as if something had occurred to her, she lifted the canteen she was carrying around on her belt. Then she poured the drink into the teacup that had been prepared on her table.
“Would you like to eat this?” … ? I will quickly bring someone higher…… !”
I sighed inwardly. How can 100 million mora make things difficult for people like this? Well, I’m just a businessman who got lucky and became a wealthy businessman.
But I also understood Barbara’s position. An offering of 100 million mora was not a problem that could be handled at the level of a single nun.
The last time I announced that I would donate 100 million mora to the Knights of Pebonius, the person I was talking to was Director Jin. Since he was the acting general manager, he was able to remain relatively calm even after receiving such a large sum of money. Even Director Jin was so shocked that he dropped his teacup immediately after hearing the words ‘100 million mora’.
Of course, there has to be a higher level than this. While thinking that, I drank the drink Barbara poured for me without thinking.
And the next moment
“…… Keck! Gag, gag!”
I coughed as if I had heard a case. Immediately after swallowing, this burning sensation fiercely heated her tongue, and the spicy scent that passed through her throat as it passed exploded through her mouth and nose.
It was spicy. It was too spicy to die for. Even when I tasted the powder made from ground pickled peppers, it wasn’t like this. What on earth is this drink that’s so spicy?
But it was Barbara who was more embarrassed than me. Barbara looked at me dumbfounded for a moment, then as if she realized something, she was startled and started to squirm around.
“Ah! Yes, that’s right! That’s a spicy drink I made to drink… Sorry! Sorry!”
At the same time, Barbara repeatedly lowered her head. It looked like he was going to hit his head on the table if I didn’t stop him.
I looked at Barbara with slightly resentful eyes, and eventually sighed.
I tolerate it because it seems nice. Thinking like that, I took out a canteen from my ‘backpack’ and drank some cold water. Only then did I feel like the spicy taste had gone away.
I opened my mouth in a calm voice.
“…… It’s okay. So don’t do that too much, it’s uncomfortable.”
Then Barbara flinched and her body stiffened. Then he tried to lower his head again, so I raised my hand to stop him.
“It’s really okay, so don’t do that. Could you please call the person in charge instead? I have to go home by evening…….”
“Ah! Yes yes! “I’ll go right away!”
Barbara seemed to have come to her senses only then and began to head somewhere. It seemed like the story was finally progressing.
I sighed deeply. They said I would have a hard time leaving the house, but I already missed Lumine and Fissle.
When I met with the high-ranking official of the cathedral and finished my conversation, it was much later, around the time the evening sun was beginning to set in.
A few hours later, when I left the cathedral, the sunset was already setting in the sky. It was a large amount of money, as much as 100 million mola. There were many things to discuss and, as usual, things to say. It would have been nice to say that it was the cathedral’s due respect for a ‘big man’.
Actually, that’s a good thing, but I ended up walking several times heavier in just a few hours. It was tiring, but I couldn’t help it. Because it was all a necessary process in order to take root in Mond.
But it wasn’t just my steps that changed from when I entered the cathedral. Mond Castle was in disarray. No, it wasn’t that it was cluttered, it just looked chaotic.
Such symptoms became more and more severe as we went down. When I came out to the market street where my accommodation was, shouting was echoing. Countless people were screaming and running here and there.
“It’s an attack! “It’s an attack by the Chuchu tribe!”
I stood blankly for a moment after seeing that. And then I looked towards the castle gate. As expected, the knights of the Knights of Pebonius were gathered together and shouting something. And the scattering elemental power poured out, aimed at the outside of the front door.
“They attacked while Director Jin was away. Hurry and stop him!”
At that moment, many thoughts swirled in my head. The Chuchu tribe did not have the intelligence or cohesion to carry out a large-scale raid. However, looking at the reaction of the Pebonius Knights now, it was clearly not a small-scale attack, and looking at the chaos at Mond Castle, it was highly likely that it was a large-scale attack.
But, how? Even such questions were meaningless in the face of the reality we were facing.
I just laughed. Heh heh, a hollow laugh burst out. The evening I dreamed of was talking with Fissle after a cozy, cozy meal, laughing.
“…… “This is sh*t.”
While mumbling that, I apologized in my heart.
I’m sorry, Fissle. I guess I won’t be able to go home today.