Chapter 27: The Loyalty Point
Xianli still in his smile that gave a bad vibe turned his head to the blue-robed mage.
"Reyhan, how good are you with trade and money?"
"Hmmm ..., I left all of my financial issues to my secretary. In fact, I have never bought or sell something directly." Reyhan shook his head.
As an heir of a prestigious mind mage family, he was someone who never lives a normal one. Since childhood, there was always been a servant and assistant that aide him with his trivial duty.
If he wanted something, he just directly ask a servant to bought it for him. Albeit there was a time when he was away from the servants. He could just easily manipulate someone else mind to be his temporary servant to do his bidding.
Yes, that was the scary thing about [Mind Mage(B)]. He could easily manipulate a person's mind and when he finished, he could just wipe that person's memories.
While, yes if it was only that, it wasn't awful enough. But what if a Mind Mage controls a body, did something vile, and then left without wiping the memories about what just happened?
A Mind Mage who played a human mind like a puppeteer was the most dreadful opponent someone might meet in the Myscreat.
"Umu ..., then you ..., I guess you're proficient with this, Nicholas?"
"Ee ..., I've involved in the mineral and fossil energy market for about ten years." the butler-like Nicholas nodded in affirmation.
"Perfect ..., here, take a look ..." Xianli operated his system and materialize three things.
The first was [Moonstone(W)], a precious mineral in pure white color that exuded holy aura. Its size of a small cut about a quarter of clay brick.
The second was [Dwarven Metal(Y)], a special alloy cast from the mineral that only known by the Dwarf race. The surface was reddish copper with a dull luster. As for the dimension, it was an ingot 3 x 9 x 3 cm. Not that big, but it was very dense and heavy.
Lastly, there was a [Blue Heart Lotus Flower(B)]. A lotus plant with heart-shaped leaf. It was a beautiful flower with a white-blue tip on its crown.
It consumes all the remaining 6 VC left from the summoning.
"Isn't this Moonstone that used as a catalyst for holy ceremony ...?" Therese who was the most experienced with White-related stuff commented.
"And this thing ..., dwarven metal ingot?" Nicholas examined the reddish copper ingot.
"Hmmm ..., Blue Heart Lotus Flower ..., it's surprising that Lord has this rare article." Reyhan widened his eyes when he saw the flower.
The only one who didn't react after seeing all of this was the elf Rebecca. She was sitting beside Xianli this whole time but just staring emptily at the wall in front of her.
Even ignoring Therese and other girls who tried to talk with her. The only one who she wouldn't ignore was only Xianli who calmly introduce local cuisine to her. But he didn't talk to her since the lunch has ended.
Back to the main topic at hand, Xianli nodded his head confirming everyone thought and then said.
"Correct, Nicholas and Reyhan, you two will go to the Dongpu city on the east coast and Auction this three things. Find out how much it worth in this world. Nicholas, you are more experienced with this stuff, I let you handle all the procedure and do as you deem necessary. Reyhan, you will follow what Nicholas has to say. I hope you two will cooperate and bring back money as much as you can, this is-"
"Please wait a moment Lord Xianli!" Therese shouted stopping him in the midst of giving the order. She looked at him and then said, "forgive me for shouting all of sudden, but are you really want to sell this ceremonial item? It's a moonstone you know? And Lord wants to sell that?"
[Moonstone(W)] was a scarce resource that used as a prerequisite item to summon [Moonshrine Guard(W)]. A conditional Creature Card from the White color. It was an Uncommon Card and has an effect that buff allies health at first time it summoned.
To summon the [Moonshrine Guard(W)], Duelist must have a [Moonstone(W)] available on his hand. That was the condition to summon it.
As for the [Moonstone(W)] as a resource, it was a one time object that could raise the potency of a Magic, Effect, or Enchantment Card only worked on White Card.
Because right now Xianli didn't have the Creature available, and as a resource itself it had no immediate use, he prepared to sell it. Besides, he had x9 of this stone, so selling one really wasn't a big deal.
"Hmmm ..., as you see, I didn't have [Moonshrine Guard(W)] card yet, so I'm trying to take one of the resource cards that unusable for the near future and sell it. And don't worry, I have eight more of this card, so selling one will not bring much trouble."
"But that's not the problem!" Therese shouted.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath for a moment. She was agitated a moment ago, and this was like a thing she did to calm herself.
"This is a Moonstone, a rare and ceremonial item used on our Temple of Light's ritual. Auctioning this item will incur Light God wrath, it's blasphemy! Is Lord ready to bear the consequences of that?"
Xianli then thought about this matter. It was the first time for him to see the calm Priestess be this agitated.
'Is selling a holy ceremonial item or whatever this is prohibited? But I'm not a believer of your fantasy religion right? Your belief is some random bullshit that comes out from my then-scriptwriter. I can't say it to you directly, but that's the truth in my eyes. So why I should follow those unreal religion laws and rule?'
"Therese, let's say ..., there is a miner who found this precious stone on the cave he worked. And he shows it to the temple, your temple ..., will the temple buy it or snatch it from him?" Xianli made a comparison of this to reasoning with her.
"Of course, those who bring benefits to the Temple of Light will be rewarded handsomely."
"So, you say I can sell this to your temple but cannot sell this elsewhere?"
"That ..., " she went silent.
It was true when she thought about it, the miner who found a [Moonstone(W)] would sell it to the Temple of Light. So basically, it was fine to sell the mineral to the Temple of Light but no to anyone else. But why was that? Why could the temple buy it but not anyone else?
Those reasoning and question appeared on her mind. However, another second wiped out all those thoughts and deemed it useless. Her belief that rooted down on her mind wiped out all of that, almost a blind faith in her religion.
"Still, Lord Xianli ..., I am a Priestess of the Temple of Light. I won't let you sell this Moonstone, moreover, auction it," she said with unusual conviction.
Seeing Therese adamantly about this, Xianli smiled wryly. "You have no say in this matter. First, there is no Temple of Light, Temple of Darkness, or whatever temple you have in Myscreat. This is a whole new world, we are in the Lastarte Continent. And I summon you to aid me in whatever I'll do, not to preach whatever Gods you believe in!"
Therese stared at Xianli with widened eyes. A peculiar sensation gripped her heart, she looked down and growled.
"Lord Xianli, that is too much. I will help you with everything within your cause. But don't you ever, ever belittle our Light God! I will not forgive you, even if you are my Lord I suppose to serve, but if you did that, I will turn away from you and will no longer follow whatever crap you said."
Xianli stared back at her, a little taken aback with what she just said. Never he thought about his summoned to oppose him and even curse him straight in the face. But maybe he was too much of a jerk. Although he resisted saying that her religion and belief was just a piece of man-made crap, he couldn't rid of the thought that everything in Myscreat was just a compilation of scripts and settings.
[Host, this is quite bad. [Priestess(W)] - Therese's loyalty point is dropped by 20 points. Now her loyalty point is around 40, and she has a slight chance to rebel.]
At this time, Catherine's chirpy voice sounded, uneven with her announcement that was totally bad news. But Xianli didn't think too much about her tone, he just curious about this thing.
'So there is something like that? Can you show me the loyalty point of every summoned creature?'
[Certainly ..., please wait for a sec ...]
----
Creature Card Loyalty Point
[Allescar - War Veteran(B)]
Allescar Arkwright 50 P
[Priestess(W)]
Therese Leclair 40 P
[Messenger of Peace(W)]
Purewhite 60 P
[Arianne Auburn(R)]
Arianne Auburn 100 P
[Hell Horse(R)]
Helli 60 P
[Dragonhorse(Y)]
N/A 60 P
[Khabid - Spineless Shadow(P)]
Khabid Al-Khurd 55 P
[Rebecca - Tainted Arrow(G)]
Rebecca Traeringst 30 P
[Magnet Hand(Y)]
Mitra Indrasura 60 P
[Beast Tamer(G)]
Zhu Rong 70 P
[Umiko(B)]
Mitarai Kanata 60 P
[Steam Merchant(R)]
Nicholas Troislev 60 P
[Mind Mage(B)]
Reyhan Ibn Beirunni 60 P
[Viperion(G)]
Lingling 60 P
----
'Uhh ..., let me guess, if loyalty dropped bellow 50, then there is a chance for the summoned creature to rebel? Is this correct?'
[Correct.]
'Then why is Rebecca has the lowest points? I can't understand this.'
[Instead of thinking about the mute elf archer, please pay attention to the priestess girl, Host!]
Xianli then turned his attention back to the priestess girl. Therese stared at him with eyes that spelled detestation. And with a single clicking sound, there was a change in the loyalty point windows.
[It dropped by ten points. Host, please say something before she exploded with anger.]
"Ahh umm ..., okay, I get it ..., sorry for saying that. But please listen to my explanation, Therese!" Xianli stared at her with his pure eyes.
Therese reluctantly nodded her head to make him continue the explanation.
"I am planning to sell the stone because I have no use in it now. And like I said, your temple does not exist here in this world. The other resource card was too catchy or too crappy to sell. I have no choice to put this stone into an auction. So ..., please let me sell it just this time, okay?""
"...," Therese put her hand on her chin and silently thinking.
'Is this gonna work? I think It's the same explanation as a moment ago, but she seriously considering it! hey Catherine, is there any change on the loyalty point?'
[Ah, it went up by one point just now! Host, congratulation, you're on the way to success in gaining the Priestess' heart back. Keep the spirit, Host! You can do it!]
'Cut the nonsense!' Xianli thought that perhaps her annoying personality might have come back, so he stopped her for saying another word.
"Before I answer, let me ask you, what is Lord gonna do with the profit from the auction?" Therese asked with narrowed eyes.
"Of course, I will use it to buy more of the Card Packs. What else I need that much gold if not for the sake of gaining more cards?"
Therese put her hand on the chin once again and nodded, "alright, I will give in just this time. Instead, I will put up several conditions before you sell it."
"I'm all ears." Xianli smiled seeing a slight affirmation from her. If the condition she proposed wasn't that hard, then it would be O.K. sign for both of them.
"I will put up three conditions, if Lord Xianli accepts all three condition then I will let you sell it." Xianli nodded his head, Therese proceeds "The first condition is, I want Lord to not sell anything related to the ceremonial item before asking the person who knowledgeable regarding this matter. It's not limited for White items, but from all colors."
That meant he needs to consult before selling a conditional creatures related item next time. It was not hard to be a condition.
"Okay, but that's for the next time."
Therese nodded and continued, "the second is, I want four of the ten-part the profit from the Moonstone auction to be spent to buy the white card."
"..., acceptable."
Xianli nodded because he thought it wouldn't be that much. And he had other two resources to sell. 4/10 profit from one of three items he would sell probably wasn't that much.
He didn't know about the exact prices, but at least he knew what rank these three items were. It was at least Rank 6 to 7 Item. Although not that expensive, still there would be a hot competition to getting this item if he was lucky.
"As for the third condition ...," she stared Xianli with narrowed eyes, "I want Lord to let me revive the Temple of Light teaching in this world. What about this condition? Does Lord Xianli approve it?"
Then it became a bit problematic. It was not that Xianli wouldn't approve it, but his mind was in constant opposition.
One side thought that it was probably not that bad to let the people in the Lastarte to learn about culture and religion from another world. But on one side, he thought it would bring more harm than good.
After all, a Temple in the Myscreat World was akin to a Sect. It influenced the people around them and changed their way of life. Could he bear this much of a change?
Xianli took a long look at the blonde Priestess once more time. Looking at her once again, it probably wouldn't be that easy to share her teaching in this world. A polytheistic and godhood Idol culture had already deep-rooted in Lastarte inhabitant's mind.
The mortals in Lastarte Continent only believed in the real-life godly being. And that is the Demi-god that lives and well. In this continent, the strong would be revered, while the weak had no say.
Even if she preached her belief, while she had no hard strength to speak of, there was no way she would succeed. And there was the problem with her not being a Jiang.
With those two things in mind, perhaps it would take a long time before she realized that it was easier to give up.
However, what if she succeeds? What if she conveyed the message and then made a new religious group? And what if she used that new faction to fight against him?
Perhaps, it was he who was being unrealistic and paranoia, but he had seen her loyalty point dropped by several points just because of a single statement. It was not his fault to be this cautious about it.
"Okay, but everything that you and your revived Temple of Light do, it has to be aiding my cause. Can you swear in the name of your God?"
"That is ..." Therese couldn't answer his question. She knitted her brows and then stared him with that complex look on her face. "Then, Lord Xianli must donate and sponsor this new movement ..., if Lord can agree to that, I will aide you. Be it you may wish to be a King, an Emperor, or anything that came in your mind, I will be by your side."
"Okay, let's add this. You can accept a donation from other parties, but I will be your new temple one and only sponsor."
"Sure thing ..., then, it's a deal."
Therese and Xianli shook hands in agreement. At this time, Xianli glanced a rather peculiar smile formed on the Priestess. It was not the kind and calming smile she usually showed, but something like a victorious smirk.
'Is she led me to this since the start of our useless argument?' He had his doubt, but couldn't prove it.
"Hmph, you got a rotten mind inside you after all." Xianli sneered at her who made a nasty smile.
"Uhuhu ..., what are you saying, Lord Xianli? I'm a proud virtuous Priestess that serves Light God. How can I have a rotten mind?" she lightly chuckled with narrowed eyes.
"True virtuous woman will never say they are virtuous," Xianli said that with his shoulder shrugged.
He just let her be what she was. If she could respect this deal, then he would let this new temple prosper. And he thought this thing would be useful later on. But if she had the thought of gaining allies and rebelling, then he would show her a taste of despair.
***
"Mr. Allescar, everyone ..., have a safe journey. And please save our City Lord." Dian Juewang bowed 90 degrees to the group of five.
"Please don't be like that, young girl. I have received the order from Lord Xianli, and of course, I will try my best to fulfill it. You don't have to worry about it." Allescar waved his hand to tell her to not thinking about it.
"Thank you for the supply miss maid, I thought I have to steal gold from the street to fill my bellies. Kyahaha ..., it seems I'll leave the thieving business for the next time." Khabid stated with hearty laughter.
Dian Juewang followed them out because she wanted to hand them a ration and supply. She was a clever girl who always thought far ahead. Unlike Dian Xianli who just gave them a vague direction and told them to go, she thought about the trivial thing that usually ignored by the other people but turns out to be very important. And thus, she prepared a dried supply and some silver coins for their journey.
"Hey, you so you still did that? Hey ..., I thought you already quit the dark and shifty business?" Allescar commented.
"Huh, old man, don't talk to me as if you know me! It's creepy!?"
"Oho, but I know you inside out, buddy. I know you're actually a good seed. Don't be shy about that!" Allescar stated with a smirk on his old face.
"Creep! Oh please, you're not the Allescar that I know, who are you really! Hey, don't put your hand on my shoulder, hey!"
It was too much of a generation gap. Although the old man in blue scale armor stated that he was Allescar, for the 20-something-years-old Khabid he just an old man that looked like Allescar but aged, like a lot.
"Alright, come on ..., we have our mission to finish and someone to save. Let's go everyone!" shouted Allescar with his hand on Khabid's shoulder.
Zhu Rong followed them with the Viperion, while Kanata and Mitra bowed back to the maid girl before catching up with them. Dian Juewang bowed her head until they completely left the courtyard gate.
'Strange peoples ..., but still, they can be trusted. The problem is ..., where are they come from?'
Dian Juewang looked at their departing shadow while thinking about many things. She doubted their origin, and yesterday Xianli dodged her question by asking another question. It was such a clever move from him that even she didn't realize the topic was being diverted.
She thought that Allescar and Therese was someone that Young Master Xianli met on the way back to Dali City. But when she heard about the ambushes from the Young Miss, she then began curious about how this useless Young Master Xianli overnight become the hero with amazing power.
She then dug more information from her fellow maids. Don't ever underestimate her socializing skills. Although she was cold and hard to approach, she would show different faces to different people easily like changing clothes.
From the rumor and girl(maids) talk, she found out about Young Master's new extraordinary power. He could condense lightning and zap it to the enemy, he could call a peerless warrior to fight for him, and an angelic woman who mend soldier's injuries.
Almost all of the stories uttered by the soldiers and servants was just exaggeration of what happened. And as a skeptical girl who constantly questioning things that unreasonable and strange, she couldn't believe them.
But when she found about it herself, she couldn't help but believe everything about it.
That her Young Master Xianli awakened a unique power that made him could call a brave warrior to help his cause.
Thus, another question arose in her mind. 'Why him? Why is the useless Young Master is the chosen one? Why not her?'
It was an illogical question out of jealousy and envy. Unlike the usual her who was cold and logical. But, in the end, she was a young girl who often fantasized herself surged with power to defy her fate and destiny. It was humane to envy with what others have but not hers.
She cooled down her mind and took a deep breath. She walked back inside Dian Xianli's courtyard with composed steps.
The unproductive thought and question before were long gone from her mind. She was just a little maid to him. She must serve him obediently, and not envying for his fortune. Thus the day of Dian Juewang continued.
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