Chapter 53 – Talking with the Priest

Things went peacefully in the City of Tuhalaane in the morning, and after having lunch, they went to the City of Antsla right after. Surprisingly, they arrived at that City in the middle of the afternoon, even after riding the Unicorns for one hour at full speed, mostly because Koyaga kept on encountering people she knew, and she lost time remembering past adventures with them.
After five hours, they returned to Ourelona, just in time for dinner. Upon leaving the Unicorns inside the stable again, they went straight to the Guild. There were, as usual, several people at the tables having dinner, and they greeted the newcomers with a cheer and raised glasses.
On a table, the Guild Master, Taisetsuna, and the Priest were signalling for them to join.

Nozomu smiled at the Priest as he sat in front of him. “Long time no see, Priest! Is everything alright with you, or are you feeling lonely already?”

“Everything is fine with me. What about you, Sir Nozomu? I was talking with Dame Taisetsuna and she told me you both would even become Baronet and Baronetess after graduating. It seems to me a bit too much just for making two weird foods!”

So, she told you already… Well, we also saved two girls, prevented this City from being attacked by a huge horde of Monsters, and I also accidentally created a different kind of food that the Princess pretends to keep secret. She seems to consider that some sort of national treasure, or last resort in case of a war or an attack by a foreign army."

The Priest raised one eyebrow, visibly interested. “Really? Now you got me curious, but perhaps it would be best if you kept that secret to yourself and also if you didn’t mention it out loud. One never knows who could be listening.”

Nozomu took a sip of the cup in front of him and agreed. “You are absolutely right, but we are talking in a very low voice and I seriously doubt that anyone on the other tables can hear us over all this noise.”

“Beast-kind have better hearing than you and me, Sir Nozomu. So, I was also told that you are about to apply to the Academy. Are you ready for that?”

“Well, it seems we have money for the tuition, but it seems I still need money for school materials, clothes, armour, weapons… I am not sure what I need, but I need more than money for tuition.”

At his words, the Guild Master dropped over the table five big purses, almost bursting with coins, making Nozomu frown at them while Taisetsuna was grinning. He looked at the smiling Guild Master, and his words baffled him. “Your share from this Guild, and the Guilds of four Cities. The Guild Masters sent this by Messengers, and it arrived today. This is only your share for one day, or two days, depending on the City.”

Nozomu looked inside one purse and asked, “Isn’t this a bit too much? My share was supposed to be a small portion of the sales.”

“Considering that your food is a sensation in every City that is selling them, no wonder it’s this amount. As the days go by and people keep on buying, you will keep on getting money. In a few months, you will be filthy rich, Nozomu.”

Nozomu looked at the five purses and asked while looking at the coins inside of one. Is it the same amount in each purse? Because they seem to be the same size. Except for the one from the sales in this Guild, that one is a lot bigger."

“That is correct. We have been selling for longer, so it’s understandable.”

Without hesitating, Nozomu pushed two purses towards Taisetsuna, took two for him, and the bigger one he gave to the Priest with a big smile. “Your share, Priest. Try not to spend everything on wine, will you?”

“Nozo… I… I can’t accept all this! Are you nuts? This is yours! I didn’t do anything! This is all the fruit of your hard work! Besides, I only drink at meals; I don’t have the habit of spending money on drinking!”

Taisetsuna pushed the purses in front of her towards Nozomu while saying, “I think the same. You did all the work, Nozo, so this is all yours.”

Nozomu frowned and pushed the purses towards her again and explained. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be alive to get this. We both worked for this, so we both get a share of the money I get from the licence. As for you, Priest, or should I say, father, you raised us when you didn’t have to. When a child starts working, it is more than fair to give a share of his money to his parents. I won’t accept any excuse or any complaint. You will keep this money, even if I have to put the purse inside your robe by force.”

“But… Nozo, it’s too much! If it was half of this, it would be already too much, but this full purse… I can’t accept it!”

“Sure, you can. Use it to buy clothes for the poor or food if you want. Do some repairs in your house or the Church. This money is yours, as it will be the next purse I get. Don’t worry about me, because with the contract for the licence I made with the Princess, soon I will have way more money than what is inside this purse. She probably didn’t think it would be such a success, but considering how the people of Ourelona went crazy over the pizzas and the chocolates, I knew for sure it would also be a success in other Cities. That was why I asked for a licence. I knew what I was doing, despite everyone thinking that I was joking or being crazy. The new version of chewing gum that I created will grant me even more money. Not to mention the secret recipe that I sold to the Princess, and that alone will grant me a fortune.”

Taisetsuna was frowning at the purses in front of her and asked, “You mean, every time you get money from your creations, you are going to give me half? For real?”

“Yes. As long as you give me a share of the sales of the Healing Potions you make.”

She faced Nozomu, wondering what he meant by that, and saw him winking at her, and she understood. He wanted for her to get all the recognition of being the one making the Healing Potions they sold to the Guild Master, and at the same time, he was giving her a chance to receive money for her work if she made more Healing Potions, now that she knew the secret to make them.

Taisetsuna grabbed the two purses and squeezed them against her chest with the biggest smile. “I accept that deal, Sir Nozomu Shinchaku! I am going to make Healing Potions to sell, and I will give you half of the profit. In return, you will give me half of the sales of your weird food! Considering how pricey healing Potions can get, I think it is a fair deal.”

Nozomu offered her a handshake with a smile as big as hers. “I think the same. We have a deal, Dame Taisetsuna Kawa!”

They shook their hands while smiling at each other, and Taisetsuna then remembered something. “Oh! I could go with you tomorrow to buy new clothes and weapons in the Cities you still need to visit! I guess I can be excused for a day or two because we need to buy stuff for the Academy!”

The Guild Master took a huge gulp of his cup of ale and nodded. “I think the same. You need to be prepared because you will live in the Academy the moment you are accepted, and you will need clothes because some of the practical exercises there normally destroy clothes, weapons, and a few bodies. You also need lots of Healing Potions for Nozomu, because he for sure will need a lot!”

That remark and the laughter that followed puzzled Nozomu, who asked, “What do you mean by that? It’s because Healing Magic has no effect on me?”

“That, and because you are rather dumb, you definitely will annoy someone that you shouldn’t and will end up with one less arm or leg! Ahahah!”

While they were laughing, the new helpers brought the food, and as Nozomu began eating, he asked, “I read that when applying to the Academy, it’s never the same, because the try-outs change every year. Why is that?”

Koyaga shrugged and explained. “So no one knows for sure what to expect, of course. Like that, you can’t fail in one year and train the entire year to try again next year to pass that test, because it will be different. Not only that, but only the ones with top results get accepted. It’s difficult to enter the Academy, because they only want the best. That is why our Academy has such an excellent reputation and why people from other countries try to enter. I think you two won’t have any problems entering. Leaving there alive and with good grades, that’s a different subject. Few people know the Princess was rather dumb in her theoretical classes. She was good at practical subjects, but theories? She got distracted too easily. Lucky for her, I was good at everything and I was always tutoring her, or else, she would still be a student there.”

Taisetsuna got worried and said, “I always had problems with some subjects while the Priest was teaching us because I couldn’t concentrate thanks to Nozomu’s jokes. What kind of things do we learn there?”

“Oh, the usual. History of the World, History of this country, Potions, Magic Uses, Creation of Magical Items, dealing with Magical Beings, Merchants, and Nobles, Theology, Arithmetic and Monsters Biology. You need to know a Monster’s body to kill him, right? As for practical, Magic Attacks and Magic Defence, Unarmed Training, Weapons Training, and Strategy.”

Taisetsuna frowned and asked, “What about the try-outs? What did you have to do?”

“They had two Orcs, and we had to defeat at least one. I knocked down the two because I wanted to be sure I got accepted. One guy that tried lost one arm and almost died. I also had to shoot my Magic at an arrow that a teacher shot into the air, and I had to cut down a tree. I have no idea how Nozomu will do if he has to use Magic in one of the try-outs!”

Nozomu disguisedly raised the sleeve of his shirt and pointed at the bracelet. “Together with my contract, the Princess gave me this Magical Item. It shoots small Wind Balls. It might come in handy, I suppose. Her Royal Guards use this to distract opponents during a fight if needed.”

Koyaga smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I know that. We found one of those inside an abandoned cave during one of the practical tests we did at the Academy. Actually, the Princess fell into a hole and rolled down for several meters. When we finally got to her, she was bruised, scratched, and had one of those bracelets that she found inside a trunk that was in the room where she ended up. She refused to deliver it to the School, saying that one was hers, and she would only give it to the Royal Guards. I guess she kept her promise. I know the one she found was very powerful, but I guess the Royal Mages could only make a simpler version. The knowledge required to create some extremely powerful Magical Items was lost long ago.”

Nozomu hid the bracelet under his sleeve again, and asked as he did it, “Priest, during your studies, did you ever read something about why God Raluth cleanses the World when he awakens and thinks that the beings alive are not worthy? And did a culture ever survive the cleansing?”

“According to most theology books, the beings that are worthy go into God Raluth’s embrace, and the ones that are not worthy are eradicated from existence. As for if any society survived the cleansing, no one knows for sure, but we have remnants of long-lost societies, with some buildings, Magical Items and some caves with weird stuff that was found over time. Who knows? Maybe when God Raluth wakes up again, he will let our society continue, or he will eradicate it and create new beings to populate his World.”

“Why does he do that? Creates and then destroys? Is he seeking perfection in his creations?”

“That is the most common belief, yes. That is why we must all do our share to make this World a good place for future generations, so that when God Raluth wakes up, he may find our work worthy.”

Nozomu then saw they were all lowering their heads as if they were praying, and he immediately did the same. Even if he didn’t believe in any of that, he knew that at least he should respect their faith.
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