Book 4: Chapter 13


    Thirty-thousand gold coins, right? Mom ced a piece of bread into her mouth and looked at me.


    I nodded and tried to fight the headache from my hangover. In the end, I made the request of mom.


    After listening to my reason, mom thought about it. She chewed on her bread as she looked at me. A momentter, she picked up her tea cup, took a sip and said: No.


    I looked at mom and asked her in a slightly disappointed tone: Why mom.? Is thirty-thousand a bit too much? While I never expected her to consent, getting rejected was still somewhat saddening.


    Its not an issue of money, son. Thirty-thousand gold coins isnt a big sum for mommy. Its just that mommy doesnt want you to get involved with the church in any shape or form. The royal family and church do not cross paths. But its not good for you to contest the church on theirnds. Mom looked at me with concern and continued, Son, mommy will definitely sort out your matter. However, dont get involved with anything the rted to the church. The church does not belong to mommy and they are the backbone of the peoples spirit. Its best to avoid getting involved with them.


    But mom


    You heard me, son.


    I wanted to make a case for it but mom cut me off resolutely. She frowned slightly and said: Mommy is doing this for your sake, son. Mommy will help you find out who exactly made an attempt at your life. Its just that you shouldnt go and get involved with the church during this time.


    So mom, does that mean the church was involved with the attempt on my life?


    I didnt say that because mommy isnt sure. Its great that youre so kind, son, its just that kindness is sometimes utterly useless. While you feel hurt that something is happening to an orphanage in front of your eyes, the truth is, sadness happens every moment in life. It is impossible for humans to not experience sadness.


    Mom stroked my head tofort me. She then continued, Of course, if you have another way of obtaining thirty-thousand gold coins, then thats another topic. Its not that mommy forbids you from saving the orphanage. Mommy just doesnt want to let the royal family and the churche into conflict.


    Mom I havente up with any ideas to obtain thirty-thousand gold coins.


    I smiled helplessly as I looked at mom and added: I I dont think there is a way


    Thats not something for mommy to help you think up now, is it, son? Mom winked at me, chuckled and continued, This is a good opportunity to train you, son. Ill leave it in your hands. Since saving the orphanage is your wish, it would be meaningless to rely on someone elses strength to realise it, right?


    I nodded and replied; Yes.


    I had no rebuttal for what mom said. Mom didnt stop me. She just refused to use her money as the empress to help me. It appears Ill have to rely on my ownpetence to save the orphanage then.


    Plus, since the empress wasnt willing to let me get involved with the church, it looks like the church really does manage the spirit and psychology of the denizens. From the standpoint of the denizens, the empress is far away in the imperial capital while the church is right by their side. If the church were to get angry and protest, I imagine the empress would probably retreat too.


    It looks like the enemy Im facing this time is inexplicably powerful.


    But I dont intend to take a single step back. If the church is involved with this, then Im not backing down. Its just a church, Im not scared. I dont believe in any gods. I dont believe that the denizens cant live without religion. If I must spend my entire lifetime to get people to drop religions, I would.


    Ill do anything for revenge. This is my wish.


    But right now, I need to think of a way to obtain thirty-thousand empire gold coins. These are the ces I can think of where I could get that amount: mom, Castell and the bank. I dont know if the bank offers payment for goods though. And even if they did, I dont have anything I could trade.


    What other ways are there?


    I dont have anything I could sell, and I imagine thirty-thousand gold coins is arge sum for a business. If I were to write a letter to my elf-mom to ask for money Maybe she really would give me the amount. But I imagine the empress would explode with jealousy if I did that.


    Alright, so what other ways do I have?


    I thought so.


    I told Nier about it. Nier, who was by my side, sighed and then followed me to the markets. The atmosphere between us was somewhat saddening since we were both hopeless in this regard.


    Your majesty. here.


    Nier suddenly pulled me to stop me and handed me a small pouch. I hesitated for a moment before epting it. Inside it was a gold coin and a few bronze coins. I looked at Nier. She looked back at me and said: These are all of my savings. Valkyries do not have a sry. Everything that her majesty gifts us cannot be sold. This is the money I obtained by selling my belongings. If this can help, that would be fantastic.


    I looked at the small pouch in front of me nkly. The small pouch was virtually empty. It swayed with the breeze of the wind as if to tell of its own despair. The coins inside lied in peace. Some of them started turning somewhat ck. There were so few coins it was pitiful. Amon worker would be able to save this much with two months of work.


    But this was Niers everything.


    Nier didnt give me much, but it was her everything. Her entire fortune was right here. She sincerely wanted to protect the orphanage even if it meant sacrificing everything she had. Unfortunately, the young girls everything was painfully hopeless before therge number. This small resolve would be crushed to pieces by the heavy gold coins.


    But Nier wore a determined look as always. However, I believe that her determination will soon be pain, disappointment and helplessness. She couldnt help the children. Her efforts were futile. Her determination made my heart ache.


    I gripped the small pouch tightly, clenched my teeth and asked: Nier, what did you sell?


    My clothes. All of them.


    Nier looked at me and continued, Alice and I went shopping during my time off. She bought me clothes but I rarely wear them so I sold them


    Lets go buy clothes then. Lets buy back some of the clothes you sold off.


    I dont know where I got the courage from, I just grabbed Niers hand. Niers hand and Lucias are pretty much the same in size. However, her firm muscles and the calluses from wielding her sword tormented my heart. Nier quickly pulled on me to stop me. I turned my head around and looked at Niers lifeless gaze.


    That wont be necessary, your majesty. I dont need all that excess clothing. I am a Valkyrie. What the empress bestows me with is sufficient.


    Nier threw my hand away, looked at me and continued, If you wish to reward me, I am very thankful. However, I cannot ept presents from anyone else. Please forgive me for rejecting your offer.


    Why?


    Nier looked at me nonchntly and proudly as she replied: Because I am her majestys Valkyrie.


    I looked at her nkly. I dont know where the anger came from, but I wanted to scold Nier. However, I didnt know why I was angry at her and why I wanted to scold her.


    Perhaps it was because she was too correct that I got angry at her?


    A momentter, I smiled helplessly and suppressed my anger. I looked at Nier and asked:  Youll ept me buying candy for you though, wont you?


    Yes.


    This time, Nier nodded and followed behind me.


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *When Troy refers to gods he doesnt believe in here, hes referring to gods specifically for humanity, not some sort of never-before-mentioned god that rules over all gods or something. He has already acknowledged that elves have a god and goddess whom give them their bodies which can contain mana, not to mention acknowledging Vyvyan is a demi-god. For some reason, it was a thing for a good number of people to take the entire statement out of context and twist it to mean he was referring to some grand god figure thats never been mentioned or no gods at all.