Chapter 30

Chapter 4 Reward

“However, before that, you need to have an appropriate identity. Black hair and black eyes are symbols of the royal bloodline of the Valen Empire, which is quite a headache… Can you change your appearance? For example, can you change the color of your hair?”

Upon hearing this, I shook my head. If I could change my appearance, I would have transformed myself into a dashing young man long ago, instead of this current girl-like appearance.

Angel placed his right hand on his nose bridge, looking rather distressed.

“Carlos, do you have any good suggestions?”

“…Perhaps a prince’s illegitimate daughter?” Carlos shrugged indifferently.

“You’re really good at giving advice.”

“Who asked you? Come on, I’m just a small-time wandering swordsman. I don’t naturally get along with those power-hungry nobles. Such matters should be left to His Holiness to think about more.”

After saying this, Carlos fell silent. Pope Angel frowned deeply, turning his neck incessantly as if deep in thought. As for me, I knew very little about this world, so I couldn’t interject and didn’t know what to say.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became silent.

After a moment, Angel suddenly seemed to recall something interesting, his eyes flashing with a strange light. A dark smile appeared on his face, but he quickly suppressed it, looking at me seriously.

Seeing this, I immediately assumed a defensive stance. Although we had only briefly interacted, I already understood that this Pope was even more mischievous than Carlos, completely out of line.

As expected, this guy blurted out astonishing words.

“Little Charcoal, let me ask, can you be considered female? What I mean is, can you give birth?”

“Pfft—”

Angel blinked his large, emerald green eyes curiously, while Carlos almost choked on his words.

I felt a bad premonition, so without hesitation, I shook my head vigorously, waving my hands frantically.

“No! Impossible! You can forget it!”

“Why not? Your vital signs look human, there’s no reason why you couldn’t… Don’t worry, you haven’t tried it yet, but it won’t hurt, and later it will feel very comfortable~”

The wicked Pope looked lecherous, appearing as if he was using sweet talk to seduce an innocent girl, trying to deceive her chastity. This immediately frightened me, making my face pale as I took two steps back, trembling as I held my arms tightly.

This guy… Even though he’s a Pope, wouldn’t he have some weird ideas about me?!!

“What do you, you, you want?” My tongue was tied from fear.

“I was thinking, if I marry you off to the royal family of the Valen Empire and give you the surname ‘Winter Moon,’ wouldn’t the identity issue be solved?”

“…”

“You just want to see if humans and the Abyss can be united, right?”

Carlos bluntly revealed Angel’s true intention, but he was completely ignored.

His Holiness, the Pope, stared at me with a kind gaze, trying hard to move his facial muscles to make his smile appear more approachable.

“How does that sound? Doesn’t it sound great? The royal family of the Valen Empire has excellent bloodlines. Their beauty is renowned worldwide, and the men excessively dote on their wives. Many girls are eager to marry in. If you agree, I guarantee you can choose among the princes. They will surely make you…”

“Aiyah—!!”

I couldn’t bear to hear him finish, so I screamed loudly, like the chirping of swallows. However, the volume was too high. Both Angel and Carlos covered their ears, looking shocked at me.

“Cough, cough.” I cleared my slightly sore throat, my gaze sweeping over Carlos’ face and stopping on Angel. Taking a deep breath, “If you say another word, I’ll hit you.”

Damn!

I was really suppressing my anger, speaking to him in a calm manner. If it weren’t for the fact that this person was the Pope of the Holy Church, I would have already pinned him down and rubbed his face in the dirt. Marry someone? Give birth to children for a man? What a joke. Doing such repulsive things is better than killing me outright.

“Haha, you’re angry!” Angel did not get angry at my words but instead looked even more interested, as if he saw something amusing. The frivolous expression between his eyebrows made me very uncomfortable, “Alright, alright. Since you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. Let’s consider the identity issue for now. Let’s talk about the reward. Little Charcoal…”

“It’s Sylvie.”

I corrected him again without emotion.

“It’s smoother to call you Little Charcoal, don’t mind it. Names are just titles; they don’t matter. You can also call me Angel directly like Carlos. When dealing with friends, I prefer to be casual.”

“…”

What could I say?

Who are you calling a friend? Or are we close?

Such an arbitrary person happens to be the ruler of humanity… Forget it, ignore him. Let him do as he pleases. After all, I won’t lose anything.

“Not friends.”

Ah, Carlos said it.

“Carlos, even if you don’t consider me a friend, I still regard you as a good brother, the kind who wets the bed together.”

Unconcerned, he shamelessly turned his gaze toward Carlos. This time, however, Carlos actually avoided his gaze.

“…… Tsk.”

There’s a story!

My jet-black eyes darted around wildly, glancing back and forth between Carlos and Angel, a sly smile creeping onto my lips.

Could it be that they…

“What are you thinking about, little Shirley?”

Carlos cast a doubtful glance at me.

“Nothing~”

“Speaking of rewards. Little Charcoal, do you want anything?”

Hearing Angel’s question, I only considered for half a second before resolutely deciding to follow my inner desires.

“Gold coins.”

“…”

I pretended not to notice Carlos covering his face, and stared intently at Angel with a slightly blushing face.

In my previous life, I had fought tooth and nail for this thing. My greatest dream was to achieve financial freedom, but I still couldn’t cross that huge threshold. Since I had another chance after being reborn, why should I let myself fall here again?

With enough money, one would have ample time and energy to do what they truly want. I understood this better than anyone else.

“Hahaha, Little Charcoal, you’re really interesting. I find myself liking you more and more.”

“But I like gold coins,” I said indifferently. Anyone can say they like something.

“Don’t worry, there won’t be any shortage of gold coins. As a Papal Knight, I receive thirty gold coins every month from the Holy Church.”

“T…Thirty!”

My eyes immediately sparkled with countless stars.

Thirty gold coins! Every month! You know, the annual living expenses of Grandma Claire’s family wouldn’t even use up one gold coin!

So the salary of a Papal Knight is so high!

Too happy~

“… In addition, I will give you an extra reward of one million gold coins as gratitude for saving countless Silgaya citizens.”

Still immersed in the thirty gold coins salary, I was stunned by his words and thought I was hallucinating.

“How much?”

“One million, which is roughly equivalent to the annual income of a main city.”

After saying this, Angel waited with great interest for my reaction.

One million… One million!!!

Excitedly, my face flushed red, I was so happy I didn’t know what to say, clenching my small fists and jumping up on the spot.

At this moment, the blond man who originally seemed repulsive to me seemed to be bathed in a dazzling golden light, becoming like a god.

“Angel! Don’t trick me!”

“Hey, don’t look at me like this. After all, I’m the Pope of the Holy Church. How could I lie about something so trivial? Little Charcoal, are you looking down on me?”

“Mmm!”

I gazed at him with admiration, nodding foolishly, too excited to speak.

“Pathetic…”

Seeing me easily bought over by Angel, Carlos sighed helplessly.

“If all the Abyss were as naive as you, everything could be solved with money.”

“Alright, alright, gold coins are just a minor matter.” Angel gently patted my shoulder, trying to calm me down, “Aside from this, Little Charcoal, is there anything else you want?”

“Huh? What?”

My mind was filled with the words “I, Shirley, have money,” and I hadn’t yet recovered from the immense joy.

“I said, I’ll give you gold coins. Also, I’ve arranged a property for you in the Order City, making it convenient for you to live there. Aside from these, you can make one request, as an additional reward beyond the awarding of honors.”

“Oh, let me think about it.”

This time, I finally heard what Angel said clearly and fell into deep thought.

There’s still one more reward. What should I ask for?

I have money, I have a house, my life is perfect. Now, I just want to find a beautiful place to bring Grandma and Barry, and enjoy the ultimate happiness of life.

But what about Aelia…

Wait a moment.

I suddenly calmed down.

I… came out to kill monsters.

Blinded by money, I had forgotten such an important thing… This way, they would surely be disappointed in me, right?

“Weapons.”

Calmly, I said.

“Weapons? With so many gold coins, what weapon can’t you buy? Why waste this opportunity?”

Angel was puzzled, unable to understand why I made such a request.

I shook my head at him.

“A powerful weapon. Not a sword, but a scythe.”

“… A scythe?”

“Yes.”

“She used a sickle when she fought the endless Abyss in the village. This kind of weapon is considered a trick weapon, and it’s hard to find a suitable one with gold coins.” Carlos timely interjected.

“Hmm… Trick weapon. Little Charcoal, are you sure you want this as a reward?”

I looked seriously at Angel and nodded emphatically.

“Then make her the best one. Angel, you know who to find.”

“The trick weapon master of Shantelle Castle? Duke Skalej?”

Angel stroked his chin.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Will that old, temperamental man readily agree… Wait.” Angel had an epiphany, revealing a strange smile, “Ha! I have a brilliant idea… Alright, let’s do it. Little Charcoal, it seems you need to go to the Winter City of the Valen Empire before going to the Order City.”

…