Chapter 161
Chapter 161
Companion (3)
As soon as we left the Palace of Dreams, Canis disappeared, saying she had something she needed to think about.
I simply nodded. Even when Berrot looked at me curiously, I didn't stop her. It wasn't until Canis' presence had completely vanished that Berrot finally spoke.
"It seems something serious happened."
"Does it look that way?"
"Judging by the expression on your companion's face just now, it certainly does."
I shrugged. It didn't seem like Canis' expression had been that bad. In any case, I'd already opened the path, so it wouldn't be long before she returned with news.
I only needed to act accordingly, so I figured it was about time I started preparing for the next episode.
"More importantly, Student Davide."
"Yes?"
"Have you ever considered becoming the Administrator of the Floating Island?"
Berrot's question wasn't exactly unexpected. He'd been dropping subtle hints, so I wasn't particularly surprised.
I fell into thought. Honestly, being a Cult Leader alone already seemed busy enough, but the Floating Island itself was rather tempting.
"I'll give it some serious thought. I still have matters concerning the Religious Order, and I also need to graduate from the Academy."
"That's true."
I quietly watched Berrot accept my answer so readily. Come to think of it, I'd already brought the Dream Bird into the Religious Order, so there wasn't much reason to keep delaying this.
"Mr. Berrot."
"Go ahead."
"Do you happen to believe in the Dao?"
"The dao? You mean a single-edged sword?"
"No, no. That just slipped out. Would you have any interest in joining a religion?"
Apparently caught completely off guard, Berrot looked genuinely surprised. He soon erased the expression and sank into contemplation.
He was carefully considering it.
I recalled the information I'd seen about Berrot in the game. He preferred things that were straightforward and practical.
"As you know, I'm the Cult Leader, so religion occupies most of my life. If I accept your proposal, the Floating Island will most likely become the headquarters of the Anaye Order. If you're uncomfortable with that, then please withdraw your offer."
I met Berrot's calm, settled gaze.
"Even so, if you still wish to pass your legacy on to me, then would you be willing to join the Religious Order I'm part of and lend us your strength?"
I simply voiced what had been on my mind.
Whether it worked out or not didn't really matter. I'd already promised to build the temple, so either way was fine.
"I'll need to give that some thought. Still, I'll consider it positively."
"Thank you. That's more than enough."
"I'll contact you through the Dream Bird once I've reached a decision."
I answered with a nod.
With our business concluded, I stood up.
After exchanging brief farewells, I left the room. The Dream Bird watched me with wistful eyes, while Berrot remained silent until I finally stepped outside.
***
We decided to remain on the Floating Island for another week.
From that point onward, students were free to travel between the Academy and the Floating Island.
I led the members of the Anaye Order back down to the Academy. Worden, the alchemist, and Aro, the shaman of the Far East, both regretted having to leave behind the Floating Island's unique materials.
"How much funding can we secure?"
Most of it had already been discussed beforehand.
What we were doing now was planning the temple's construction.
Aro handled checking whether there were any legal or administrative issues, while Winter took charge of everything related to finances.
Worden and I were responsible for the architectural style and design.
"Umm... how much do you estimate the construction will cost?"
"Around 200,000 Nuckles."
Hearing my completely casual answer, Winter dug at her ear.
Apparently, the number was so absurd that she couldn't even imagine it. Her expression immediately soured.
Since one Nuckle was worth 10,000 won, 200,000 Nuckles amounted to roughly 2 billion won.
"...You're joking, right?"
She finally resorted to denying reality.
I shrugged at Winter's stiff voice.
"I wish I were."
"U-Um, Senior. We've actually managed to save quite a lot of money. It's all thanks to you, of course. But even then, we only have about 50,000 Nuckles. Honestly, I already think that's incredible."
"Thank you."
As I thanked her, Aro looked at me with an expression full of pride.
I had no idea what exactly she was so proud of.
"We could borrow money from the Lofty Order, but even then, the limit is only about 10,000 Nuckles. We could probably borrow from the Imperial House or another noble family, but then the Religious Order itself would effectively become collateral."
Winter's advice was perfectly reasonable.
If I asked the Imperial House, borrowing 200,000 Nuckles wouldn't actually be difficult. My relationship with Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess, and the Vice-Commander was currently quite good.
However, knowing the Imperial Princess' cold personality, she'd undoubtedly work me like a slave afterward.
I had no interest in that.
"Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess is out of the question. I can't keep relying on her."
Becoming hostile to the Imperial Princess meant becoming hostile to the entire Empire.
Unless you belonged to a powerful noble house or had spent years building influence through public office, surviving after making an enemy of the Imperial Princess was nearly impossible.
There was a reason I always tried to stay on her good side.
By flattering her a little and helping her out from time to time, I gained quite a lot in return.
Most importantly, if she ever decided to go completely insane while we were enemies, I simply wouldn't be able to withstand it.
In any case, I had no intention of borrowing that vicious Imperial Princess' strength again.
"I can put in 30,000 Nuckles."
"...At that amount, we'd only be able to buy part of the building materials."
"The Ulbushis Family will provide the money."
"Huh?"
Winter looked completely bewildered when the name Ulbushis suddenly came up.
"Not immediately, but that's how things turned out. For now, just spend the money on securing the materials. Construction on the Floating Island is going to take a long time anyway, so there's no helping it."
"Ah, okay. Then do I just hand over the money?"
"Yeah. They'll take care of the rest."
I nodded at Winter's response.
After that, I finished the work I'd been doing with Worden.
Back when Canis and I had gone to the Poison Swamp, I'd had her draw the architectural style.
Using those drawings, all we had to do was roughly reinforce the building's structure.
It was a fairly simple task.
"Then that's everything regarding the budget. I'll go help Senior Aro now."
"Y-Yeah. Thanks."
I stood up and stretched.
Even though it was a simple task, my craftsmanship was terrible, and everyone had different opinions, so it still took us about an hour.
I looked proudly at Winter as she immediately went over to help Aro.
Seeing someone so diligent was a rare sight within the Anaye Order.
"Senior Aro."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Could I have one Blood Mist?"
After loosening up my stiff body, I called out to Aro.
She tilted her head at my request, but still tossed me a Blood Mist.
"What do you need that for?"
"I'm going to make a delivery."
"Ahh. Got it."
I immediately left the chapel.
Personally, I would have preferred lying down on a sofa, but this had to be done anyway.
I headed straight out of the Academic Department and made my way toward the Imperial Knight Order's garrison.
The familiar, magnificent building came into view.
By now, quite a few people there recognized my face.
"Good work."
"Yes. Student Davide, isn't it? Are you here to see the Vice-Commander?"
"Yes. That's right."
"I'll let her know. Please wait a moment."
As I exchanged the usual greetings, one of the guards at the garrison greeted me familiarly.
Another guard, who appeared to be a junior, hurried into the building.
"How was the Floating Island?"
"The Floating Island? Honestly, there wasn't anything particularly special."
The guard standing at attention started the conversation first.
When he asked about the Floating Island, I honestly didn't have much to say.
The scenery had certainly been beautiful.
But you could enjoy that kind of natural beauty on Museion Island as well.
As for whether there was anything especially unique...
Well, there was the unusual vegetation, but I wasn't particularly interested in that.
To me, it had simply felt like another regular event.
"I see. Still, I'd heard it was a famous place, so I was looking forward to it."
"It's not that there's nothing there. Mages and alchemists were practically fighting over the chance to settle there."
"Haha. Is that so?"
I had no idea why I was having such a smooth conversation with an Imperial Knight Order guard, but it wasn't unpleasant.
I had been bored anyway, so chatting with him made the time pass quickly.
Soon, the junior guard who had run into the building returned.
"They're ready to see you."
"Ah, thank you. I'll be going, then."
"Take care."
I walked past the guards and entered the building.
"Hello. You're back again."
"Yes. Hello. I'm here to see the Vice-Commander."
"We've been informed. You can head straight in. Would you like someone to guide you?"
"No, thank you. I know where it is."
I exchanged brief greetings with the receptionist, whom I'd come to recognize.
For some reason, the members of the Imperial Knight Order stationed at the Academy were all exceptionally kind to me.
I walked past the reception desk and climbed the long flight of stairs.
Knock, knock.
"Yes, come in."
Hearing the gentle voice from the other side of the door, I grasped the handle and pushed it open.
Nothing had changed in the Vice-Commander's office.
It looked neat, yet somehow packed with countless things, and as always, the pleasant scent of freshly baked cookies greeted me.
"I'm sorry for dropping by like this."
"Oh, not at all. Student Davide is always welcome."
The Vice-Commander answered my apology with a bright smile.
Her face smiled, but everything below it told a different story.
Unlike her gentle expression, her furious hands never stopped processing paperwork.
"Hehe. Don't ever become a civil servant. There really is far too much paperwork."
"Ah... yes."
"Actually... would you like to work under me? I noticed before that you're quite good at writing reports."
I immediately shook my head at the Vice-Commander's playful suggestion.
There was no way I was willingly stepping into that hell.
"Winter wrote that report for me."
"Haha. You're quite the joker. Would you mind waiting a moment? I'm almost done."
I sat where the Vice-Commander indicated.
It took another five minutes before she was finally able to leave her work desk.
"Would you like some tea? I have coffee as well."
"Coffee, please."
The Vice-Commander immediately brewed me a cup of coffee.
She also didn't forget to place some cookies she'd baked herself onto a pretty plate and set them in front of me.
I stared at the cookies with the expression of someone who had accepted his fate.
"I baked them this morning."
"...Thank you. I'll enjoy them."
Unable to resist the Vice-Commander's sparkling eyes and subtle encouragement, I had no choice but to pick up a cookie.
Without much sweetness, it was actually fairly easy to eat, though I still wasn't used to the buttery flavor.
For some reason, I suddenly had an overwhelming craving for roasted garlic.
I considered taking some out, but decided against it.
"You like getting straight to the point, don't you? We saw each other not long ago, so there's no need for small talk."
"That's fine with me."
"So then, what brings you here this time?"
As I looked at the Vice-Commander, whose face was full of curiosity, I took the Blood Mist out from my pocket.
She examined the bottle-shaped Blood Mist with obvious interest.
I carefully continued with the explanation I'd prepared in advance.
"Since you're a mage, Vice-Commander, you'll understand this better than anyone."
"Yes?"
"What kind of existence is a mage on the battlefield?"
The Vice-Commander looked completely lost, unable to follow where I was going.
Ignoring her confusion, I continued.
"A being that projects overwhelming firepower from a distance. As magic continues to evolve, mages have become increasingly versatile. Thinking you can simply deal with them in close combat? That's an outdated idea."
"Umm... yes. And?"
"They have sturdy defensive spells like shields, and they can detect enemies as well, making surprise attacks extremely difficult. That's why mages are treated so well everywhere. However, with this, mages are no longer a problem."
I proudly slid the Blood Mist toward the Vice-Commander.
Almost as though enchanted, she picked it up.
"If you press the button on top, the gas stored inside will be released. That gas nullifies any magic it comes into contact with. Defensive shields will disappear completely, and if used properly, it's versatile enough to interrupt even large-scale spells before they're completed."
"...Something like that is actually possible?"
"Yes. It's a prototype. You're welcome to test it. I'll let you have it for the bargain price of just 100 gold."
I looked at the Vice-Commander with a predatory smile.
Judging by her expression, my sales pitch had been a success.