My Demons - Chapter 76
Only Krnovel
My Villains Episode 076
20. City of Chaos (5)
Ellen and I’s next destination was church. It was because of Ellen’s treatment and the report about the necromancer Luke.
I passed through the market littered with street tents and stalls and headed towards Sogeumseong Fortress. This is because the church was located behind the Salt Castle.
As we saw earlier, the salt castle looked like it was half destroyed.
Two of the four corner palace towers had collapsed, and the entire building looked a little slanted.
It’s not even the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but Seongju’s family is trapped in a place that looks dangerous like that, right? Prince Ulkar is also quite a harsh person.
Just as I was thinking that, what came into view was Seongju’s workshop.
Seongju’s workshop was originally shaped like three buildings surrounding a large yard. But now, perhaps because of the earthquake, one building had completely collapsed, and the other building was half-tilted, with its tiles scattered.
“Oh right.”
I submitted a request to the workshop. I paid two gold coins as a down payment.
I asked Ellen’s understanding and headed to the workshop.
Despite the tragedy that struck the workshop, craftsmen seemed busy inside and outside the building, forging dull spear blades or straightening dented helmets.
Ilton, an apprentice in charge of serving customers, was also limping and rolling a wooden barrel filled with sand.
“All right!”
“Uh, Mr. Poynix?”
The young-faced apprentice looked at me and opened his eyes wide.
After talking about how I thought he was dead because I hadn’t seen him for a few days, and how the earthquake wasn’t the cause of the chaos, I got to the point.
“Can you receive the item I requested?”
“Oh, that’s… . wait a minute.”
Ilton dragged his injured leg and disappeared into the building, which was still intact. Did about five minutes pass like that? The guy appeared whining, carrying heavy armor on his shoulders.
“Is this it?”
“yes. It’s a bit heavy… Mr. Poynix will be fine.”
I immediately tried on the armor with Ilton’s help.
The newly ordered armor was a combination of ‘Gambison’, ‘Ho Berk’, and ‘Coat of Plate’.
Let me explain… … .
You can think of wearing long chain armor that goes down to the thighs on top of quilted armor filled with several layers of linen, and a coat lined with iron plates.
“Oh, it’s really quite heavy.”
Of course, it was much heavier than the armor I wore before, but it felt that much more reliable.
All of the armor I have worn so far was plate armor that imitated relics from the ancient empire. The iron was not in excellent condition, so it was prone to cracking or tearing.
On the other hand, the armor I bought this time was of much better quality.
The iron plates fastened with rivets were forged and hardened steel, and the hooded chain armor had large and small rings tightly woven together, leaving no gaps.
On the inside of the quilted armor was a wide waist belt reminiscent of a belly band, and the loop mechanism attached to it distributed the load from the shoulders to the waist.
“Do you like it?”
“Uh, totally. i love it.”
It was an armor that clearly showed that it had been made with great care in terms of finish, color, and material. I pulled the money pouch from the belt I had taken off to put on my armor.
“How much can I give you?”
“Not including the down payment, four gold coins.”
“Four gold coins?”
Uh, I’m short on money.
I glanced back at Ellen and asked.
“Hey, Ellen. “Am I spending public money to buy armor?”
“Like that.”
“•••What, so willingly?” When I looked surprised, he snorted softly.
“A magician is safe only when the guard is strong. “I wonder what they’ll say about that?”
“Wow, it seems like just yesterday I was foaming at the mouth and throwing a fit when I heard that I was going to buy gloves with public money… .”
“•••what?”
“Oh, no.”
I took out a gold coin from my pocket and suddenly became curious, so I asked Ilton.
“But is this the end? What about the helmet and shield? “I ordered a lot of this and that?”
“Oh, that’s… .”
Ilton bit his lower lip and exhaled.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Poynix. “I couldn’t keep my things.”
“what?”
After hearing the circumstances, it is said that the prince who imprisoned Seongju a few days ago robbed the workshop. They took away all the equipment and armed the conscripted militia.
In the process, all the items I had ordered were confiscated. The effort put into the armor was so precious that it was secretly hidden.
“What about the shield? “It wouldn’t be something that ordinary people would use.”
In response to my question, Ilton pointed to the remains of the collapsed building.
“It’s buried over there. It was a drying room and warehouse, but it collapsed in the blink of an eye, killing several craftsmen… . “There was no bird to retrieve the items.” “this… .” I clicked my tongue slightly and nodded.
“Well, then there’s nothing we can do. Then just give it to me as a spare item.”
“There won’t be any good items, do you mind?”
“Thank you for at least protecting the armor, but asking for more would be greedy. Oh, give me a sheath too.”
Ilton went around the workshop and brought back dented helmets, worn boots, and old shields. He said he had no gloves or gaiters left, so he gave up.
Still, after changing out of my holey boots and putting on a helmet with a nose bridge over the chain hood, I felt an unprecedented sense of stability. It was the feeling of security he desperately wanted while showing off his bare skin.
When I handed him four gold coins and two silver coins, Ilton took only the gold coins and returned the silver coins.
“Everything except the armor is like junk, so just take it.”
“Is that okay?”
“yes. Mr. Poynix, you were also conscripted, right? “Please go and wipe out all the thieves.”
At first glance, life sparkled in the young apprentice’s eyes.
“•••okay.”
I smiled bitterly and patted the guy on the shoulder. Then something suddenly occurred to me, so I pointed to Ellen and asked a question.
“Oh, isn’t there any armor he can wear?” “Are you Ellen?”
When Ilton’s eyes turned towards her, Ellen frowned and said.
“Are you really telling me to wear armor?”
“uh. “Even if we’re not fully armed, it would be nice to have a few key areas in order.”
Ellen whined and spoke sternly.
“Never wear it. “How do you use magic while wearing a heavy and cumbersome piece of metal?”
“okay?”
I looked back at Ilton and shrugged my shoulders.
“Do you have any armor that is light and won’t get in the way? “In leather or cloth.”
“Uh, I don’t know. I wonder if there is anything suitable for Ellen… … . “There is some armor that the servants wear for training purposes.”
“I don’t even like sweating!”
“uh… . “What should I do?”
“Don’t worry, just show me.”
Although there was some noise, I ended up buying a set of Ellen’s armor.
It was a dark leather vest, but in reality it was closer to tough everyday clothes.
It was an item that could only be used on a hunting field, but if it was even a little bit heavy, Ellen would get angry and hate it, so there weren’t many options.
For reference, there was one gold coin per vest. Made from the skin of ‘Teneve Tarandus’, a rare monster from the North.
Same with the crossbow last time… . Ellen, I doubt if you are deliberately choosing expensive and luxurious items.
The remaining money is, um, four gold coins and two silver coins for public money, and three gold coins and five pennies for private money.
My pockets are very tight. In the meantime, Ellen loses her money bag and has no money in her hands.
If there is not enough money for treatment at church… Hey, I guess I’ll just sell the junk box then.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute. “How much?”
“You said 1,000 gold coins.”
Ellen and I gaped at the words of the impatient middle-aged priest.
“No, just to get one treatment, how about a thousand gold coins?”
“Just treatment? This is a prayer of recovery offered by the bishop himself. “He is literally worth a thousand gold.”
“But still… .”
I muttered as if I was dumbfounded, but the priest just kept his mouth shut with a stern look on his face.
Ellen and I stopped by the workshop and headed to Jang Church.
The church in South Harbor had a high ceiling and long, crisscrossing hallways.
The impressive interior, with its whitewashed walls and pillars, was filled with wounded soldiers groaning in pain and priests moving around busily.
Normally we would have had to wait a long time, but using the prince’s order as an excuse, we were able to face the priest in no time.
After offering him four silver coins, the priest immediately offered a prayer of purification and healing. As the white light flashed and my body felt refreshed, even my mind seemed to become reverential.
The problem was next. Even though the priest repeatedly prayed for healing, Ellen’s condition did not improve.
The priest tilted his head and called over an old nun wearing a white armband. The nun massaged Ellen’s body a few times here and there, and then the pulse in her waist broke. It is not just a wound, but a type of disability.
diagnosed.
The priest clicked his tongue and said that curing a disability was something that was only possible for a priest at the level of a bishop or higher.
Of course, I fully understand that curing a disability is something close to a miracle, but… .
“It doesn’t make sense for the bishop to receive a thousand gold coins for just one prayer. Other priests would do anything for two silver coins… .”
“The church reduced the price because the city was in a dangerous situation. “As for the bishop, there is nothing we can do because it is governed by church law.”
“Church law?”
After listening to the priest’s explanation, I realized that even in the entire Middle World, priests above the level of a bishop were very rare. As they were rare, their power was so great that high-ranking officials were truly miracle workers.
Of course, such a miracle could not be repeated over and over again. Therefore, high-ranking priests always had to reserve their sacred power in case something important happened to the kingdom or church.
It became impossible to even pray for simple healing unless there was an order from the king or the patriarch (the Pope seems to be an absurd figure).
There were exceptions to this solemn law, and it was said that special mercy could be shown when there was someone who truly ‘desperately’ needed God’s help.
And the evidence that had to be shown to prove that ‘earnestness’ was a thousand gold coins, no, a thousand gold coins.
… … X-Pal, what kind of bullshit laws are there?
I was pouring out insults to myself, but I didn’t dare to make a fuss at church. I can’t leave Ellen’s leg like that… .
I took the treasure box out of my pocket with trembling hands.
“I don’t have a thousand gold coins right now, can I use these instead?” “hmm? “What is that?” Instead of answering, I opened the ivory lid and the priest’s eyes opened wide.
right . n Perhaps because of the yellow lamp, the priest’s eyes turned a deep green color. It is a color of greed that does not suit a priest.
“This is… . “That’s amazing.”
“These are ancient artifacts.”
“indeed.”
The priest unconsciously reached out and took the box and looked at the items for a moment. Then he had a worker call someone.
How many minutes have passed? An older man appeared carrying a leather bag.
“Did you call me, Father?”
“Please come and take a look at this.”
At the priest’s words, the man took out a magnifying glass, a glass lamp, and an iron rod from his leather bag. Then he took out a pendant with a ruby in it from the treasure chest and held up a magnifying glass.
This guy, can he appraise jewelry?
Even as I was puzzled, the appraiser was carefully examining the items.
The method involved looking through a magnifying glass, changing colored glass into a glass lamp, and lightly scratching the surface with an iron bar. Even as a layperson, it looks like the work of an expert.
… what the. Is this a church or a pawn shop?