"Your Grace, here it is."
Alfredo, the head butler, carefully placed what he carried on a silver tray down onto Caelus’s desk. Even at a glance, the material carried a soft, pearlescent sheen that marked it as extraordinary, top-grade parchment.
"It is a treasure so rare that you couldn't find its equal even in the capital. It was meticulously crafted by melting materials found only here in the North. Not even those in the Order could ever dream of touching it in their entire lives. The saintess will surely be astonished."
As Caelus listened to Alfredo’s confident explanation, a satisfied curve formed on his lips. His long, firm fingers slowly traced the smooth surface of the top-grade parchment.
Now, all that remained was for the saintess to arrive.
* * *
Walking close to the wall of a secluded corridor, Ariel slowed her steps and surveyed her surroundings.
"Are you heading straight to the Magic Tower again today?"
Ian, walking beside her, asked in a low voice.
"Of course," Ariel replied immediately. "We decided to keep a low profile. What if we get caught wandering around the grand duke's castle? We need to go quietly and come back quietly."
It had already been a month since they discussed the purification service contract.
The grand duke's side had yet to reach out with any word or request for negotiations.
Though she had felt slightly anxious at first, Ariel’s mind was now as peaceful as a calm lake.
Or, to be precise, it felt like going on a pleasant yacht ride across that lake.
A semi-transparent status window, visible only to her, floated before Ariel’s eyes.
[Goal: Collect 1,000G.]
[Progress: 409G / 1,000G]
[Mission Reward: C-Rank Promotion · Unlock Special Skill · Special Item Reward]
To break four hundred gold in just a single month!
If things kept going like this, reaching one thousand gold within a few months was entirely doable.
To earn such a high income so comfortably… This is an absolute windfall.
Laughter threatened to spill out. Ariel bit her twitching lip tightly, trying to feign a serious expression. Completely misinterpreting her expression, Ian voiced his concern.
"It has already been a month. Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?"
From what Ariel had observed over the past month, Ian was the tiresomely innocent type.
He was literally the rigid, devout sort who was hard to find even in the central temple.
That was likely why he was serving as the holy knight commander here in the desolate northern temple, despite being the only holy knight around.
"That is not something for me to decide."
Ariel placed both hands demurely over her chest and offered a gentle smile.
In truth, she did it to calm her pounding heart, worried that Ian might say something out of line at the Magic Tower. But in Ian’s eyes, she looked every bit like a sincere saintess.
"Watching the research at the Magic Tower from up close, I've come to feel it isn't so different from the will of God after all."
Ian remained silent.
"While some conduct research out of personal curiosity, most of them stay up all night researching to save those suffering from demonic energy."
Ariel took a brief breath before continuing.
"Even if our beliefs differ, if it ultimately saves lives, wouldn't that be what God truly desires?"
Ian stared at Ariel for a moment before nodding slowly, as if he now understood her heart.
Phew. That should keep him from raising any more objections.
Relieved, Ariel hurried her steps. Ian followed behind her, maintaining a steady distance.
When Ariel arrived at the Magic Tower in the inner court of the grand duke's castle, a crowd of people wearing white lab coats rushed out. They were the Magic Tower researchers she had seen every day for a month, including Alvin.
Someone squeezed through the clustered researchers and emerged.
"Saintess! You've arrived!"
It was Erno, the Tower Master.
Erno's eyes glinted with a crazed intensity today as well, with dark circles sunken beneath them.
His hair glistened slickly, split down the middle in a center part. When she first saw him, his hair was a frizzy mess, but since it looked slick every day after, Ariel thought he had been styling it for her visits. As it turned out, it was just greasy from not washing it.
She didn't know why he never fixed his crooked glasses either, but he didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"Today, let's wrap up measuring the divine power concentration in your bloodstream."
"Hmm."
When Erno grabbed Ariel’s hand without warning, Ian's brows furrowed fiercely.
He exuded a murderous aura as if he were ready to draw his sword at any moment, but the clueless researchers were too busy babbling away to notice.
"Honestly, saintess, you aren't like those narrow-minded people from the Order at all."
"That's right! The Order always rejects our research on magic tools and the pursuit of truth, calling it heresy… If we could just keep things like this, how wonderful would that be?"
"This is a true saintess…! If it's someone like Saintess Ariel, I think I could even join the faith."
The people of the Magic Tower held genuine respect for Ariel.
Even the high-ranking figures of the Empire who funded the Magic Tower viewed the researchers as replaceable parts. The Order even went so far as to brand them as heretics.
Ariel, however, was different.
Even when they thrust strange, newly invented mana meters at her, she didn't bat an eye. She agonized over problems alongside them and offered directions they had never considered.
When they asked for various things for their experiments, she didn't frown either. She simply said, "This incurs an extra fee of 2 gold, and that one is 5 gold."
Accepting their thirst for knowledge without prejudice, and willing to offer herself as long as they paid the exact price—what transcendent mercy!
It was only natural that the slightly unhinged researchers of the Magic Tower were captivated by this progressive and open-minded saintess.
While waiting briefly, the researchers quickly brought out tea. Naturally, it was a single portion just for Ariel. Standing behind her, Ian watched the scene unfold without moving a muscle.
Taking a sip of the tea as if accustomed to it, Ariel spoke casually.
"Ah, by the way, I don't think I can come for a week starting tomorrow."
It was as if time had stopped; the entire Magic Tower fell dead silent.
"ARGH! NOOO!"
Erno, who was preparing an experiment, collapsed on the spot.
"No! Tomorrow we have to do the wavelength overlap experiment!"
"Saintess! Are you abandoning us like this?!"
Simultaneously, lamentations erupted from all around as if the world had just shattered.
* * *
Ariel slipped out of the Magic Tower cautiously alongside Ian.
Only after repeatedly promising that she would only miss a single week was she barely able to soothe Erno. Because of that, finishing up her business and leaving had taken much longer than usual.
She meticulously buttoned her coat up to her neck, checked twice to make sure the hem of her saintess robe wasn't poking out, and pulled her hood deep over her face.
Watching her back as she tiptoed softly, deadening even the sound of her footsteps, Ian involuntarily cleared his throat.
Unlike her usual bold self, the sight of her walking on tiptoes pressed against the wall was, honestly speaking, quite cute.
"Saintess. You don't need to be quite so careful…"
Just as Ian was about to speak in a quiet voice, Ariel whipped her head around and stepped right up to his face.
"Shhh."
The tip of her index finger came so close it nearly touched Ian's lips.
"What if someone hears?"
"…Everyone already knows…"
"Shhh!! Be quiet!"
Ariel stepped even closer, giving him a stern look that told him to hold his tongue.
With her closing the distance so unexpectedly fast, Ian froze, forgetting to even breathe.
At that moment, a chilly breeze blew past, knocking Ariel's hood back. As her hair fluttered, a faint, clear fragrance brushed against the tip of Ian's nose.
The side of Ian's neck went rigid.
"Let's hurry."
Ariel pulled her hood deep over her head once more and picked up her pace.
Ian, who had been holding his breath, stepped forward to follow her.
The tips of his neat ears flushed bright red.
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