Chapter 025: The second negotiation with the Pope (Business Negotiation) (1/2)
Chapter 025: The second negotiation with the Pope (Business Negotiation)
Translator: Tseirp
As usual after exiting from the labyrinth I asked Katria-san to purchase my magic stones.
“I will leave the calculations to you.”
“Yes~. Lately thanks to Luciel-kun’s hard work our debt has decreased.”
“Debt?”
“Fufufu? Did you perhaps enter the 20th floor main room?”
“Yes. I went to the 20th floor boss room. I fought with a Wight and armoured Skeleton Knights.”
“Then firstly the points total is 215,342P. That’s quite some earnings.”
“Thank you. It looks like I would once again buy various items.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
“Well then it was tiring today so please excuse me.” (TL: Lol he tried … he really tried … haha now I feel sad for him)
“Fufufu, that’s a funny joke but I don’t particularly like such jokes.”
” … Ha, hahaha. Is that so.”
“Yes. Shall we go?”
And just like that I was dragged by Katria-san to the Pope’s room.
“Katria, and if I remember correctly, Luciel. Thank you for coming. So what is the urgent matter this time?”
“Yes! Exorcist-dono once again advanced his capture of the labyrinth and returned today after emerging victorious from the battle with a Wight and Skeleton Knights in the 20th floor main room.”
“Ho. Luciel, so the 20th floor was cleared smoothly?”
“Yes.”
“Luciel is unexpectedly strong.”
It sounded like she was saying (I am interested in you)?
“That is not the case. It was a tough battle and I appeared victorious just because my luck was good this time. If I didn’t have this magic bag you gave me the other time I would have definitely suffered heavy wounds or if I did poorly, I might even have died.”
“I see. I’m glad that I could be slightly of use to you.”
“Yes. There is no doubt that only with the assistance of your item did I turn the battle around.”
“Kukuku. Even though you achieved such a distinguished feat within such a short duration, you are an interesting guy to earnestly think and say that it was thanks to me.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Fumu. Well then please show me the items you retrieved this time.”
“Yes! This time the Wight used double elements, fire and holy. (TL: Wait Holy element? What? Typo?) Paired together with the Wight to defend it were 2 Skeleton Knights … that looked like they were possessed so I named them Specter Knights. And these are the dropped items.”
The Wight left behind it’s robe and 2 bracelets, the Specter Knights left behind their sword, shield and equipped armour. The attendants took the items but did I imagine the slightly upset look on Katria-san?
The Pope retrieved the items one by one, slowly examining them before finally speaking.
“As expected, these too … Luciel, thank you for the trouble you’ve taken. The items you retrieved previously and this time as well from the defeated Wights used to be in the possession of former bishops and cardinals. These 2 people have been missing for more than 10 years.”
“Does this mean they passed away in the labyrinth and after becoming undead they bore their fangs towards the Healer’s Guild headquarters?”
“Fumu. To be accurate, the Saint Schull Allied Nations and Holy city’s Saint Schull Church does not encompass the whole Healer’s Guild.” (TL: In other words the Healer’s Guild is not only made up of people from the Allied Nations and Holy City’s Saint Schull church.)
“You mean …”
“Ah, slightly more than 50 years has passed since the labyrinth-fication of the underground began. Nobody has any idea why the labyrinth appeared. In the past, this place was unimaginably lively. Numerous priest knights and paladins had friendly competitions here.”
Certainly, my room is meant for 2 but I am living there alone. I see. By interweaving both true and false information together and providing weapons, they raised the people’s motivation to capture the labyrinth. (TL: I think that the MC believes that the fact that more people used to live here is true but other points raised by the Pope is propaganda or he thinks that the Pope is lying to conceal the fact that the Wights originated from the Healer’s Guild.)
“However, as a response to the sudden labyrinth-fication, the church dispatched many individuals to seal the labyrinth and avoided the situation where the surface gets flooded with monsters.”
“The labyrinth can be sealed?”
“It can be done. If impurity-expelling magic is used. Large amounts of pure Holy attribute magical power is required. Well at that time a perfect seal was not achieved.”
“I see. Are there any other methods to seal the labyrinth?”
“Yes. If the miasma-releasing labyrinth core is destroyed, the labyrinth’s activity would cease and no longer expand in size. Sealing the labyrinth then would cause the impurities to dissipate and the labyrinth to disappear.”
“You wish to make the labyrinth disappear?”
“It is troublesome to have a labyrinth in the church. A labyrinth is said to be born at a place which accumulates magical power and merges miasma with people’s greed. Do you not understand the negative implications of having such a place within the church?”
“Yes. That is certainly true.”
“Returning to the topic, at that time the people who dove into the labyrinth were priest knights and paladins. They proceeded at a surprising pace. Somewhere along the lines of reaching the 7th floor from the 5th floor in 1 day. However, due to the foul odour and miasma, the advancing pace gradually dropped.”
But I could advance just fine? Doesn’t this mean she is indirectly stating that I am a weirdo?
“Even so as the elites of the church, the priest knights and paladins forged onwards for the church. However, they collapsed due to disease from the thickening miasma, from the stronger enemies … enemies that could use mental magic appeared and magic aimed at those enemies ended up hitting fellow teammates …”
An undead that can use such type of magic, isn’t that a Wraith? More pressingly, Wraiths can appear as well? That’s rough.
“The unreasonable labyrinth capture was cursed and many were sacrificed. As a result, the labyrinth was sealed to prevent monsters from escaping but one day zombies began crawling out so construction works to expand the building began.”
“So the reason why now healers with low physical capabilities are chosen as exorcists is …” (Luciel)
“These several decades it is hard to find people born with the JOB of priest knights and paladins, and even if they are born many do not affiliate themselves with the church. The numbers now are 20% compared to the past. To be frank we have no personnel that can repeatedly enter the labyrinth.”