Chapter 409 - 407: Hilia Quits!
"Listen up, we’re here to do a Holy Court commission, not to stir up trouble. Once we enter the Holy Court camp, don’t swear, don’t look at the female Knights with those sleazy eyes like you haven’t seen a woman in ten years, and don’t act like you’re blaspheming the Gods, got it?"
"Got it, got it, Captain, how many times have you said this already, you think we’re deaf?"
"Yeah, it’s not like we’re into those poems about goblins and Holy Court female Knights."
"You’re still talking!"
"Cough, cough, I’ll shut up, I’ll shut up."
Outside the Holy Court’s station, a group of Mercenaries was walking toward the camp.
The leading Mercenary dug at his ear and said, "If you lot didn’t like to ogle women so shamelessly all the time, like you haven’t seen one in a decade, I wouldn’t have to nag so much. The Holy Court’s Knight Orders aren’t just some stray cats and dogs you run into outside. If they decide to make a move, I won’t be able to stop them."
One of the Mercenaries said, "Captain Donier, I’ve got a bad feeling about this commission."
Donier nodded. "Of course it’s dangerous. The Holy Court’s paying that much; it’d be weird if it wasn’t. It’s exactly because it’s dangerous that we took it. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t even bother coming!"
As he spoke, he looked at the Knight guarding the camp entrance and handed over his Mercenary Corps badge.
The guarding Knight glanced at it. "Blade Mercenary Corps?"
Donier nodded.
"Alright, go on in."
The group walked into the camp. Seeing the stone-paved roads and the neatly lined houses, they couldn’t help showing envy.
One Mercenary muttered, "If only we could live this well whenever we take a commission."
Donier looked back at him. "If you’ve got the money, you can live like this too."
Just then, they suddenly heard a commotion up ahead.
Right after, they saw two elderly people following behind a beautiful young girl, speaking in soft, almost groveling tones.
Donier recognized the two elders. "That’s Ms Meilina the Archbishop and Mr. Blake the Archbishop, they..."
Donier stared at the two of them in shock at the way they were acting.
The other Mercenaries were just as stunned.
The Holy Court Archbishops were naturally very well-known.
But why would two such high-profile figures be trailing after a little girl’s rear, fawning over her like that?
Was she the Holy Master? Or the Holy Daughter?
The girl, whose looks could rival a goddess, puffed up her cheeks in anger. "Stop following me! Making me work so fast, do you think I’m some illegal under-the-table worker?!"
Meilina spoke meekly, "We’re about to attack the main base, the battle is intense... Hilia, please."
"It’s exhausting! I feel like throwing up whenever I see a Scroll now!"
Blake also spoke in a meek tone. "Hilia, you don’t have to go join the stronghold raids. Just stay here and focus on drawing Scrolls. Don’t worry, I’ll give you full marks for your internship trial."
"No, I’d honestly rather go raid strongholds right now."
"Without your Scrolls, we can’t fight at all. How about this, we’ll donate another 1 Gold Coin to you for every Scroll you make!"
Hilia stopped, pressed a hand to her forehead, and said, "Fine... but can you go find some Curse Masters to help? I don’t expect them to complete the Scrolls, but at least have them draw most of the simple patterns for me. I can’t do that many on my own."
"Alright, we’ll see to it right away!"
"..."
The Blade Mercenary Corps watched the three of them walk past and leave, exchanging looks with one another.
"What kind of Scroll is that strong?"
"They can’t win without those Scrolls?"
"And only that little girl can make them? That has to be a joke, right?"
Donier cleared his throat. "Enough, drop it. This stays between us, don’t tell anyone else, understood?"
All the Mercenaries nodded immediately.
They couldn’t afford to offend Archbishops.
If they drew that sort of displeasure, their Mercenary Corps careers would be over.
Donier led his teammates to the Mercenary reception area, where a Holy Court priest was currently distributing commissions to Mercenary Corps.
Donier stepped forward and handed over his Mercenary badge. "Hello, Reverend, we’d like to take on a stronghold raid commission."
The priest looked at Donier and nodded. "Blade Mercenary Corps, very good. Your courage is worthy of our praise and of the Gods’ favor."
As he spoke, the priest took the badge, operated on the Star Spirit Network for a moment, then handed back two Scrolls together with the badge.
"These two Scrolls are for dealing with Tier Four cultists."
Donier froze. "What? Tier Four?"
The priest said, "Although your commission target is low-risk, because of the cult’s particular methods, they’ll sacrifice Believers to temporarily boost one cultist to Tier Four strength. But don’t worry—if the stronghold doesn’t have a resident Tier Four cultist, even if they get boosted to Tier Four, they won’t be that strong. These two Scrolls will be enough."
Then the priest warned them solemnly, "Remember this: use the Scroll with the red mark first, then the unmarked one. If you use them in the wrong order, you’ll be in danger."
"What kind of danger?" a Mercenary asked.
"Instant death," the priest replied. "The unmarked one is a Purification Skill Scroll. If you use it first, it’ll trigger a pollution backlash, and even a Tier Four Mage won’t be able to withstand it."
Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.
Captain Donier nodded seriously. "Got it!"
After they left the camp, one Mercenary said, "These Scrolls... could they have been drawn by that girl?"
Donier examined them, noticed the markings on the Scrolls, and nodded. "Probably."
He carefully put the Scrolls away and sighed. "Never thought the first time I’d get my hands on high-level Scrolls would be when working a job for the Holy Court."
"As expected of the Holy Court, they’re loaded!"
...
Hilia was feeling a bit exasperated.
Ever since Meilina had gotten a taste of what Scrolls could do, she’d been shamelessly showing up every day to beg Hilia to draw more.
These Scrolls weren’t just for the Law Enforcement Knight Order and the academy; they were even being handed out to powerful Mercenary Corps, with commissions posted to have Mercenary Corps help take down cult strongholds.
Although Meilina hadn’t delayed her "wages," after doing this nonstop for half a month, Hilia didn’t want to keep going.
Opening her eyes every day only to keep drawing Scrolls felt like being forced to mine for someone else. Even with Gold Coins clinking steadily into her account, she was sick of it.
"I feel sick just looking at Scrolls!"
The girl shouted toward the cliffside.
Rose’s spectral figure appeared at her side, chuckling. "Weren’t you doing all this Scroll work to earn Gold Coins in the first place? Now that you’ve earned them, why don’t you feel like working anymore?"
During this period of making Scrolls for Meilina, Hilia only charged for materials and a bit of labor. Even after splitting profits with Benovia and the others, her savings still broke the 2,000 Gold Coins mark. Of course Meilina hadn’t carried that much on her; instead, she’d given Hilia two cards—bank cards issued by the Holy Court’s trading houses, each one redeemable for 1,000 Gold Coins.
Hilia pulled out two cards that looked like amethyst and examined them under the sun.
"I do like Gold Coins, but I can’t force myself to work just for money! As long as I’ve got enough, that’s fine."
The girl put the cards away and sat onto her Flying Broom.
"Anyway, I’m not working today! I’m going to Letes City and going on a spending spree!"
Rose watched her with amusement. "Go on then. As it happens, there’s something very interesting waiting for you in Letes City."
Hilia set the broom back down. "Then I’m not going."
Rose smiled at her. "Do you want to see Letes City blow up into the sky? If you do, then don’t go."
"What?!"
Hilia immediately hopped onto the Flying Broom and shot off at full speed.