Chapter 14: Setting demands

Savine didn't show it, but she was definitely mad inside. People like these were the reason why the people's trust in religion tended to fall so hard.

If she couldn't give him at least a piece of her mind, then it was better to just die. Besides, Savine knew the fat fuck was not the one of importance in this meeting. It was the woman, who was briefly stunned by Savine's sharp tongue.

Savine continued to observe her.

Eliseline was looking down, deep in thought. Perhaps she was wondering if the situation was still salvageable. She glanced at the bishop beside him, noticed the veins popping out on his veins, and sighed.

On the other hand, the bishop was near explosion. The fact that he hadn't yet jumped on Savine was a miracle in and of itself.

'Though… it's debatable if he'll be able to survive the jump. I'm sure his heart wouldn't be able to handle it.'

"Elise! Arrest this insolent cretin! A mere commoner… A mere commoner dares to think she can insult the blood of a Duke! Kill her! Kill her now!"

But of course, Eliseline couldn't do that. Not to mention that they were foreigners in the Magicracy, they also desperately needed Savine.

Knowing that Savine was a mage and calling herself God's Chosen, they could assume that she wanted to be part of the temple, where she could receive her own Vasa from them and survive.

Using this knowledge, they would come as the Bishop and High Priest duo, and berate Savine for using God's name without their permission. At the end of it, they'd graciously allow her to enter the Temple. But of course, since they're so merciful, they'll carefully hint at Savine that she needed to show some sincerity. Donations to the temple, basically.

As for why Savine knew all this, was due to baron Yeltsin's talks with his 'wife'.

It was definitely odd that a baron of the Sovereignty would move to a different country just so he could mingle with the lower class.

That could be explained by the conversation Savine heard when she was loitering around the baron's house one day. About how Yeltsin spoke with his wife with formal, business-like tones; describing Savine's situation in a quick but orderly manner.

'A mage, who managed to stay alive till her teenage years and still hadn't been sold to the Magi. That alone would be a good enough haul, but she has her hands in the businesses of all the craftsmen in the city. Marica, quickly send a letter to the homeland. We've been lacking funding since we've lost the civil war three years ago.'

'But will the homeland be able to respond properly? You know things aren't so peaceful there.'

'They must. If all else fails, they'll at least send people from the Temple. It's not the most optimal option, with how useless the Bishop is… but since they have the High Priest there, it shouldn't be too hopeless.'

Baron Yeltsin and his wife were spies from the Sovereignty. Perhaps 'spy' was a wrong term. They were more like recruiters. They searched for mages of outside blood in the Magicracy and poached them.

From the moment the baron appeared beside her, Savine was wondering who he really was. There were no free meals in the world. Especially one that sated all her needs.

Just as she was wondering how she could survive without turning into a slave, someone came to her and offered her a way out.

'If you don't want to be treated as a slave here, you can always go become a member of the Temple. You'll still do the same work as the slaves, but at least you'll be treated like a human and you'll have a future.'

Even him talking about how he cheated on his wife was a lie. The two weren't married in the first place. They only did that to further convince the people that they were real couples with real problems, and to steer the people's eyes away from their true objective.

Of course, they couldn't be too open. After all, the Magicracy needed the outside blood mages as well. The Magicracy was still clueless regarding their actions, but the limit was only one or maybe two mages every year.

But from Yeltsin's tone, Savine could tell they wanted her very much. Mostly because of her wealth.

The Sovereignty had just suffered through a civil war, and the Fest Duchy was one of the losing sides. Fortunately, Fest wasn't that big of a Duchy, so their ruling class was let off without getting executed. Of course, they still needed to prepare an unreasonable amount of resources and mages to the winning side as war reparations.

It wasn't wrong to say that they were hanging on by a thread.

Knowing that, Savine openly antagonized the bishop. But despite her words, which should've caused the negotiations to fail 9 out of 10 times, the other party decided to stay silent and ponder.

Why? It was because the benefits Savine brought were that important. And now, both sides had no doubt how much stronger Savine's side was.

With her action, Savine made sure to get the best possible outcome for her.

She was practically sitting atop the two negotiators in front of her, telling them what their place was before discussing the deal.

Savine gazed at the duo in front of her. One was about to explode and the other was making a difficult face. It wasn't hard to guess what Eliseline was thinking.

She would be weighing the option of giving the Bishop face and antagonizing Savine; or to pretend nothing had happened and continue trying to poach her.

To help her make the decision quicker, Savine decided to add some weight on her side.

She walked towards the podium she used to give her speeches from and slipped her hand beneath the platform. A long rod-shaped bag appeared on her palm and she threw it towards Eliseline. It took some effort due to how heavy the thing was.

The latter was surprised, but caught the stack without much effort. She opened the bag and her eyes went wide.

"Ten golden coins," Savine said. "Think of it as an introductory gift."

The two's eyes were clearly different when they looked at her.

An awkward pause lingered before someone broke the silence.

"Give it to me!" the bishop squealed. "Are these real?"

He scrutinized it in the air, and tried biting it as well. Eliseline was much calmer. She weighed one coin on her palm and nodded seriously.

"The weight and color are right," she murmured. "But this seems like too big of a gift for a mere introduction…?"

Savine only smiled.

"If you accept me as a member of your church, I'll give you a total of 790 golden coins over the course of a year. The first month only 10, the second 20, the third 30, and so on."

"What?" the Bishop was practically drooling. "Girl, you're lucky I'm feeling benevolent today!"

Holding the gold in his hands, he seemed to have forgotten how he threatened Savine's life a minute ago.

'Truly, a dog who can only see in one color.'

"But," Savine continued. "I have some conditions regarding my entry into the temple. And they need to be written on a magical contract."

Eliseline nodded. The Bishop didn't say anything unreasonable as well. Even he knew that 800 golden coins had a price.

"What conditions?"

"1st of all, I don't want to sign the duty-binding contract that other commoners sign. I'll perform the duties necessary for a priest of the Temple, but you cannot force me into jobs I don't agree to. I want a certain amount of freedom."

"That is acceptable," Eliseline said.

"2nd, I want you to help Merchant Vevian's daughter enter the Fest Duchy in a smooth and orderly way."

Savine needed to keep her connection to her money.

On this point, the two thought for a bit, but eventually answered positively. It was an odd request, but nothing impossible. The two even looked slightly pleased, thinking that Savine's requests were quite tame considering the 800 gold coins.

"And finally, I want to enter the Temple as nobility. The higher the title, the better."

That seemed to strike a nerve.

"What? You dare? Do you think a noble title is something that can be bought?!"