Lord of Glory

Paladin stood in Nari's backyard, admiring the waning yellow sky. With hands clasped behind his back, he said, "Let’s get to the point. There are no outsiders here. Sir Harvey, what kind of armor do you need?"

In this situation, Harvey answered bluntly and impolitely, just like Paladin. "Twenty pairs of chain armor and half-body plate armor. Plus twenty pieces of standard cross swords, hammers, and spears!"

Unexpectedly, Paladin waved his hand and refused. "Impossible! Sir Harvey, you must know that considering my and Kaleqi’s connection, the armor is no problem. The most we can do is make some deals under the table with our connections and then pay a little fine. Weapons, on the other hand, are absolutely not allowed! If word gets out, all three of us will be sent to the gallows! Even the Holy See will ignore me."

Harvey noticed Paladin's firm resolution and also knew that pushing to get what he wanted was unnecessary. Only then did Harvey say his original request. "Forty sets of armor, no weapons are needed. For each pair, I will give you one hundred and fifty gold coins! How about it?"

Paladin and Kaleqi were startled. After glancing briefly at each other, Paladin was still a little taken aback when he said, "I can't believe it, Sir Harvey. For a group consisting of a hundred soldiers, you can earn at least 6,000 gold coins. You are really rich!"

Who knew that Harvey would wave his hand and say, "I didn't buy it for my group. I bought it for my backings. There are too many who are involved, so you better not ask. Yet, when it comes to pricing, we are really generous .In the future, I might buy from you again, after all.”

Paladin and Kaleqi immediately nodded knowingly. Inside Paladin’s head, a picture of the situation became gradually clearer.

‘This Harvey is hired by the Duchy. Plus, the person who hired him must be a powerful nobleman. He spent so much money to make armor discreetly. Moreover, he doesn't want others to know it. Is what I think true? Is there going to be a war?’
This thought only briefly passed his mind, but it was temporarily suppressed by Paladin. What they had to think about now was not whether there would be a war or not, but their own income. After all, in the absence of money, many avenues cannot be opened.

Paladin nodded thoughtfully and suddenly asked, "When do you want the goods?"

"The sooner the better. It can’t be longer than two months."

Paladin considered it and decided it was fine. Finding an unknown blacksmith to hurry work so it could be done in two months wouldn’t be an issue. Paladin looked at Kaleqi, who also nodded in agreement. Then, he opened his mouth and said, "Okay, I'll give it to you in two months."

Harvey nodded in satisfaction. However, Paladin then continued, "I'm afraid you will turn to the other side, so you will have to pay me a thousand gold coins first."

Kaleqi's expression became a little ugly. In any case, Harvey was also his friend. So, it was a bit embarrassing to ask for money in person like that. But, Harvey only boldly nodded in response.

"Alright, I will. However, one thousand gold coins is too many. I didn’t have all of them in my body right now. Tomorrow. I’ll have someone bring it to you tomorrow."

At present, they discussed it carefully until they had to part ways before the sky became completely bright. Paladin suddenly halted, looked at Harvey who was about to leave, and asked, "Captain, if you can tell me, I would like to ask you something." The priest then bluntly asked, "You brought a hundred people, not simply just for the armor, right?”

When Kaleqi saw the hesitation on Harvey’s face, he immediately interjected, “Harvey, say it, we are all in the same boat.”

They saw Harvey nod and then whisper viciously, "Father, I only come out to do errands for others. I gain nothing from this. The Magical Beast Forest is located in between three kingdoms, which are only ten days away from here. Furthermore, the Duchy limits the number of imports and exports. The avaricious profits on the route to and from the road are enormous. If I don't make a single fortune from the nearby caravan, I’ll feel sorry for the minions who follow me.”

Paladin gave a knowing nod. Mercenaries were notoriously unruly and dishonorable troops. They may switch jobs from mercenary to robber at any time as long as it was profitable. Just like the armies of many kingdoms. In times of peace, when the country didn’t do anything special, most soldiers would go to war-torn countries to become mercenaries for one of the sides. Because they weren’t from the country in question, there’d be no psychological burden if they set it on fire, killed, and or looted there. As a result, many soldiers, including civilian mercenaries, liked to fight for other countries.

Paladin suddenly remembered about the Philosopher's Stone. So, he immediately requested something from Harvey.

"Please send over any prisoners you catch to me. I'll pay you five gold coins every person, which is twice as much than Airdrie's slaves! I'll take as many as there are available."

Harvey wasn’t the only one who was taken a little aback. Kaleqi also looked at Paladin in confusion. He couldn't figure out why Paladin wanted so many slaves, regardless of gender or age. But it wasn’t easy to ask about other people's affairs, so he had to keep it to himself. Nevertheless, another layer of fog obscured his understanding of Paladin, making it even more difficult to see clearly.

Harvey also didn't understand Paladin’s intention. He'd only known this priest for about an hour, so it was only reasonable. The other party desired to spend money, whereas he desired to make money. Why not give it a shot?

Harvey slapped the breastplate on his chest, nodded happily, and said, "Don't worry, Father, I will try my best to bring back beautiful women for you."

Without refuting anything, Paladin smiled, and left with a flick of his sleeves.

That was how things ended. Paladin and Kaleqi joined forces to announce that Nari, Chira, and Dorren were the ones behind the scenes. Dorren was disheartened, so he wrapped up his family’s properties and escaped from Nurba overnight. There was no further news from him after that. Some folks who went out of town claimed that Dorren was robbed on the way and had his head decapitated by the robbers.

In any case, Paladin was overjoyed now that all the ironworks under Dorren, Nari, Chira and Grundy’s names had all become his and Kaleqi's properties. Through Kaleqi's decades of contacts, he discreetly recruited some blacksmiths who specialized in black market transactions to help make the armor.

Paladin had a premonition that the Duchy was about to go to war. By then, a large amount of Nurba's iron ore would flow into the Duchy. With this, he could make a lot of money. Roughly speaking, Paladin could get sixty gold coins every month. This was much more than just relying on donations from the believers.

In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed. Paladin was in the church at the moment, holding gauze and hemostatic medicine to bandage the wounded arm of a young man who was lying in the bed.

"Hurts, hurts, it hurts!"

The young man didn’t really have a name. Thus, everyone called him Uka. In the Duchy’s local language, it meant reckless. He was wounded this time because when he went hunting in the morning, he ran into a wild boar. He was so lucky that only his arm was cut open. With a wonderful smile on his face, Paladin applied the hemostatic medicine and gently tied the gauze.

Paladin breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled brightly and said to Uka, who had been treated, "Okay, the wound has been bandaged. However, you have to remember that you can't go hunting for a few days. Otherwise, the wound will open again. It could also get infected. If that is the case, it will be very difficult to deal with."

Uka stood up. His arm really felt much better. Looking at Paladin with a grateful expression, he said, "Oh, Father, thank you very much! However, my family doesn't have any money, so I really don't know how to repay you."

Paladin shook his head casually. He carefully helped Uka walk to the door and said, "There is no need for a thank you gift. I am already overjoyed at the prospect of you being able to attend tomorrow's mass as a believer."

"Don't worry, Father. I will definitely come." Uka looked gratefully at this priest who was no older than him, but was completely admirable.

"Yo! Father!"

Just as Paladin was about to go back inside the church, a middle-aged woman came with a bag of fruits and vegetables. She handed it to Paladin and said, "Thank you for officiating at my daughter's wedding. Since you don't usually eat very well, these home-grown fruits and potatoes are for you. I'll let you have a taste."

Paladin looked a little embarrassed at that, but he still took the basket. However, at this moment, a familiar figure walked over.