Chapter 301

“You’re not wrong. Those things that look like dolls are actually living beings. And those miniaturized estates? They’re real estates too.”

The lazy youth picked up the bag of money that had fallen on the ground and tossed it to Leon before explaining:

“The True God of the Scale Gold Religion is a rather practical deity. Although He likes the faith humans offer, compared to the worshipers’ kneeling and bowing, He prefers them practicing His philosophy—basically ‘wealth,’ ‘exchange,’ ‘value,’ ‘commercial behavior,’ and such stuff.

So, gatherings of the Scale Gold Religion are less like religious meetings and more like unrestricted trade fairs.

Believers who follow this True God will come here to buy and sell whatever they can put up for trade. It’s a kind of unconventional prayer. Every person invited to the gathering receives a temporary money bag filled with conceptual currency meant for shopping.”

“Conceptual currency?”

“Yeah… umm… it’s kinda hard to explain, so why don’t you open your money bag, and I’ll just show you an example?”

“Ah, okay.”

Following Senior Tom’s instructions, Leon touched the cat-claw badge on his chest and then touched the same emblem at the seal of the money bag. The bag opened by itself, revealing a heap of colorful strange coins inside.

“Ho! You’ve got quite a bit of ‘property’!”

Leaning in to take a look at Leon’s bulging money bag, the lazy youth raised an eyebrow in surprise and then pointed at a golden coin on top:

“Look here. These conceptual currencies have patterns like hearts, swords, chalices, crosses, tarot cards, etc., representing valuable things like emotions, strength, health, faith, secrets, and so on.

For instance, this coin of yours has a staff pattern on its front, symbolizing tradable power. The lion on the back should represent the Lionheart crest of the Lane Family.

If I’m not mistaken, this coin represents your identity as Duke Lionheart. If you wish, you could use it to purchase items from the plaza.

And whoever gets this coin could replace you as the Lionheart Duke of the Kingdom… That’s what I mean by ‘conceptual currency.'”

What?!

After hearing the lazy youth’s words, Leon couldn’t help but be greatly surprised. With a face full of disbelief, he asked:

“Can the Scale Gold Religion really do something like this?”

“They certainly can.”

The lazy youth raised an eyebrow and said: “You shouldn’t underestimate the power of wealth. The concept of wealth isn’t limited to humans. From a nest of ants to demons in the Abyss, for all species with social structures, wealth is an important concept.

So, although the True God of the Scale Gold Religion isn’t good at fighting and would lose in a direct fight against our Bureau Director, His rank is high. He’s a very powerful True God, and doing something like this isn’t difficult for Him.”

“But… isn’t this interfering with the Kingdom using ‘abnormalities’? Shouldn’t our Clearing Bureau intervene?”

“We definitely need to manage it. Transactions at the level of dukes are definitely unacceptable, but if it’s low-level identity transactions with little impact, and the Royal Family hasn’t complained, most branches aren’t too eager to deal with these matters.”

After taking a glance at his own money bag, the lazy youth continued explaining while dragging Leon toward the Central Plaza:

“The Scale Gold Religion is a relatively mild sect. Even when they cause trouble, it’s rarely too extreme, and their abilities are very special. They can provide cleaning personnel with some useful things conveniently or repair the lifespan and limbs lost during missions.

For example, if someone foolishly takes your coin, doesn’t go to the Scale Gold Religion to exchange it, but instead tries to use it himself, pretending to be the Lionheart Duke, the Scale Gold Religion will suffer a big misfortune…

Oh, by the way, is there anything you want? As long as it’s not too expensive, I can buy it for you.”

Something I want… wait! Aren’t we here to save someone? How did you start shopping?

“Senior Tom!”

Faced with the sudden shopping suggestion from the lazy youth, Leon couldn’t help but softly remind him anxiously about Emma’s safety: “Senior Emma’s danger hasn’t been resolved yet, and I don’t know how long she can hold out under the Snake Spirit’s subordinates. Shouldn’t we look for her first?”

“Don’t worry, we’re looking for her right now.”

Pointing at a building resembling an arena in the Central Plaza, the lazy youth continued selecting items from the shelves while explaining without moving his lips: “See that hollowed-out circular building? Our current location is only the outer area of the Scale Gold Religion’s gathering place. That’s the core area where the gathering takes place, and that’s where Emma might be trapped.

The badges we two received are just basic believer badges. We need to complete enough ‘shopping’ in the outer area to upgrade these two badges before we can gain access to the core area. So buying things is equivalent to searching for her.”

With the merchant’s delighted expression, after buying away half of the cluttered goods from the roadside stall, the lazy youth turned back to Leon with a smile and consoled him gently:

“I know you’re worried about Emma because you two are close, but you’d better not rush.

Although I’m also a Level 2 Cleaner, I’m not the combat-oriented type like Emma. Most of the abnormal items I possess are functional types, with almost no offensive combat capabilities. I can’t handle slaying Holy Spirits under attack.

So right now, we’d better not act rashly. Instead, let’s keep this identity and infiltrate the core area of the gathering without alarming the upper echelons of the Scale Gold Religion… Come on, pick something, and I’ll pay for it.”

“Alright… but let me choose the items, and I’ll pay!”

After considering the significance of the currencies in the money bag, Leon suggested:

“To me, this duke identity has no value. If you need to buy something here that requires paying with health or strength-related currencies, it would be better if I paid for it. This way, it won’t affect your performance later.”

“No need! I’ve got plenty of money!”

Surprisingly glancing at Leon, the lazy youth shook his head and rejected his proposal before showing him his own money bag.

Holy crap, how much is there?!?!

“I was already prepared before we entered.”

In front of Leon’s astonished gaze, the lazy youth, whose money bag was piled high with coins of various colors, confidently stated: “Do you remember the ritual I performed before entering? The one that used copper weights, small silver mirrors, and two gold teeth as main materials? That’s a wealth secret art called ‘Balance Law.’

Ever since the Balance Law fully took effect, the next person to give me money will have their wealth completely split with mine. And the next person to give me money happened to be the cat spirit of the Scale Gold Religion who made the badge.

Therefore, during these three hours that the Balance Law lasts, I can freely use the wealth of the Scale Gold Religion’s cat spirit. If I wasn’t worried about being discovered by taking too much, we could even buy everything here!”

(End of Chapter)