The Priest of Corruption

“It'll be okay... if we don't help him, right...?" “He said he's okay, so I guess it's better to wait. Besides, the capital guards took Carmen." [It's going to be fine.] As Dachia and I were chatting, Aurelius, glistening in gold, slipped into our conversation. [It's not uncommon for Carmen Baltas, the ‘’Black Dog', to be in the capital prison. He gets in trouble so often.] Was he that famous? This was the first time I had visited the capital, as I had been mainly roaming in the northeastern part of the kingdom. “What kind of troubles had Carmen been getting into?" Aurelius, who tapped his metal jaw a few times, replied with a smirk. [What about hearing from the guy himself and not me? If you go to the security base later and tell them you went to visit Carmen, the guards will let you meet him. Well, if you're really curious, I'll tell you. It's not really a secret.] “I'll just hear from him." [Well thought.] Dachia shook her head and smiled again.

“First, let's secure a dormitory and then visit Carmen. I know of some excellent restaurants in the capital, so we can enjoy a delicious meal afterward!" Sajita, who had been motionless, slowly nodded in agreement. “I believe that's a better plan." So, was it settled? “Excellent. And what about you, Aurelius?" [There's a place I'm familiar with. Why don't you guys stay there as well? After all, I owe you the reward I promised.] We exchanged looks and consented to Aurelius's suggestion. “We'll do that." The golden jaw cackled joyfully.

[Great. Then we'll be seeing a lot of each other for a while.] ***

The blue-haired woman strolled along the road as spring began to bloom. She lifted her gaze to the distance, where the pristine white walls of the Algor Kingdom's capital, Pruina, came into view.

“The capital..." The Blue Flame Priest halted for a moment. Then, with a determined stride, she continued her journey towards the capital. ***

Bright yellow scales shone beautifully in the light, adorning a body that curved gracefully. A dragon, seemingly plucked from the pages of a myth, descended slowly towards the ground.

Boom.

The dragon, with its massive cloaked wings, landed on the floor. Batis Draco, the third prince of the Dragon Kingdom, spread one of his wings to create a path for the man on his back to disembark with ease.

-Get off. “Yes, yes!" Hilden, the head of Ilech's eastern branch, clad in layers of fur, quickly stepped onto the dragon's wing and descended to the floor. As he dismounted, the dragon's enormous body began to shrink, transforming into a man with long, bright yellow hair. The prince, now in human form and naked, extended his hand towards Hilden. “Give me my clothes." “Yes, sir!" Hilden hastily retrieved Batis' clothes from his bag and handed them over. As he watched Batis dress, he couldn't help but wonder if the prince had brought him along merely as a mobile wardrobe.

Once fully dressed, Batis gathered his long yellow hair into a ponytail and gestured impatiently. “The capital is right there. Why aren't you guiding me?" His tone was arrogant, but Hilden, accustomed to Batis' manner, responded nonchalantly. “Okay. I'll show you the fastest way!" His heart pounded with anticipation. The prospect of dropping the bombshell that was the Third Prince of the Dragon Kingdom on the arrogant headquarters thrilled him. 'I can't wait to see the shock on the faces of those snobs at headquarters when they're caught off guard! Huhuhu.' A broad smile spread across Hilden's face as he declared energetically. “Let's get going!" “What? Are you rushing me now? Huh? Getting a bit too confident, aren't we?" Ct )) 'Fuck...' *** [Now, here's the remuneration I've promised.] As agreed, Aurelius had fifteen gold coins for each person. He handed me a bag containing a total of sixty gold coins. It was a fortune, the most money I'd ever held since falling into this world. I quickly steadied my trembling hands and took the bag of gold coins. 'K-Kill...!' Even Mother was taken aback by the largest sum of money I'd ever held. Despite needing to divide it into quarters, fifteen gold coins could accomplish so much, especially in bustling cities like the capital. “Priest Marnak...?" “Yes." Dachia tilted her head and asked, “Why are you staring so intently at the bag of gold coins?" “There are sixty gold coins here...!" She looked at me and smiled.

“Priest Marnak, is this your first time holding sixty gold coins?" I remained silent, and that silence was answer enough for Dachia. “You have a very cute side."

As expected of the Great Lord's daughter, her attitude towards money was different from mine, who hadn't often handled gold coins. Moreover, as a wizard, she would never run out of money for the rest of her life. If I had chosen to be a wizard, I could have freely used magic without any worries.

Archmage Marnak. It was a really cool name, but I would never be called that. I answered bluntly, holding the bag of gold coins. “I'm actually quite cute." 'Kill!' I tried to remain as calm as possible, suppressing Mother, who responded with 'Marnak is cute!'. Dachia looked at me with a slightly puzzled expression. “Are you joking?" “I'm completely serious."

I turned to Aurelius, leaving behind Dachia, who was chuckling, saying that I could also joke. “By the way, other than this, what additional compensation did you say you would give us?" Since he said he would give us more, I wanted to ensure I received it. [Oh, you mean the extra reward? I'll give it to you tomorrow. I need to go through a process to get what I want to give to you guys.] Tomorrow. There was no need to rush. He had already paid the promised compensation. “Okay. Then we have to visit Carmen, so we'll get going." [Yeah, see you tomorrow.] Returning to our room, we unpacked and headed for the security base, following Dachia's guide since she was the most familiar with the capital. She smiled and spoke to me. “Cute Priest Marnak. That building you see over there is used by the guards." Dachia had been trying to provoke a reaction from me by calling me cute, but I wasn't the type to fall for such a shallow tactic. I answered casually, “So that's where Carmen was imprisoned. It looks very strict." Guards deployed at key points and regular patrols. High wall. The guard's building resembled a small fortress, not allowing a single fugitive.

Dachia, standing next to me, said with a very serious face, “Certainly, the buildings don't look 'cute'. “I didn't know my lady was this persistent." She blushed slightly, glanced at me and replied. “...Did you get mad at me for teasing you this much?" “No. It's true that I'm cute, so there's nothing to be angry about." "...!" “Sajita. Let's get going. Carmen will be waiting for us in solitude, sitting on the cold stone floor." As I walked with Sajita, who nodded, Dachia barely composed herself and quickly caught up. “Do you really think you're cute?" “When I was a kid, people in my neighborhood said I was cute. All the adults passing by also said that I looked cute." “But you're all grown up now!" “It's a minor difference. It's just a small change in size." “It's not a minor difference at all!" I replied with a smile.

“It's not cute to be obsessed with small things. My lady." Dachia squinted her eyes and stared at me.

“You're not upset about me making fun of you for never having touched 60 gold coins, right?" “No way." She was sharp. It seemed like it was best to stop with the jokes now.

“Let's go meet Carmen. Before the food we bought gets cold." Dachia, who was staring into my eyes, grinned.

“Next time, I won't make fun of you about money." “...I'm not upset." She snatched the food in my hand and walked away lightly, “Okay, so let's go quickly. Before the meal cools down." I followed her and answered, “I'm really not upset!" “I said okay!" ***

“Say 'ah'." “Ah." The assumption that Carmen would be sitting in sorrow on the cold stone floor was entirely incorrect. Led by the guards to the detention center, we found a woman feeding Carmen through the grate. He was eating heartily. We had prioritized buying his meal before ours. Had I known the situation, would we have eaten first?

“I recognize that woman. She must be Miss Arras of the Grata family." Arras Grata? I had an inkling of who she might be. “So, that's Carmen's fiance you mentioned earlier." “Correct." She had dark brown hair and eyes, a slightly small stature, and a cute face. And to describe it in Carmen's words, a heart incomparable in size to others. I quickly understood why Carmen had fallen for her. He indeed had a firm taste.

Arras, watching Carmen chew the food she had fed him with a content gaze, noticed us. She tilted her head and inquired. “Who are you•••?" Carmen, following Arras's gaze to us, grinned broadly and waved. “Oh, Marnak is here!" Seeing him act as if we were guests in his bedroom, I glanced around, wondering if this was Baltas' mansion rather than a prison. But no, this was indeed the prison. We exchanged awkward greetings with Arras before addressing Carmen. “You seem quite comfortable here." Several blankets and pillows were strewn on the hard prison floor, all appearing incredibly soft. Carmen scratched the back of his head and responded. “Do I?" “Yes." “Actually, I've been here quite a bit." Beside him, Arras nodded and added. “Not just a bit, but very often." Dachia questioned Carmen, who offered an awkward smile.

“I know you've been here often, but why are you here this time?" “Well-••." The answer came from an unexpected source.

“The 'key' stored in Sir Ensis Baltas' warehouse was taken without permission. Sir Ensis Baltas himself declared him a wanted man this time."

The man who appeared was clad in white armor, his pure white hair and cold demeanor making him resemble a beast with hidden claws. He regarded Carmen with an indifferent gaze. “What did you do with the stolen 'key', Carmen?" Carmen swallowed hard, an unusually nervous expression on his face.

“Brother•••." I didn't know Carmen's name, but I knew this man's. The son of the Black Wolf, Ensis Baltas, and the vice-captain of the Queen's Guard, the Knights of Frost. The White Wolf Setian Baltas. That was his name.

Setian, with his pure white eyes, looked at Carmen.

“Don't evade the question. What did you do with the 'key' you stole from our father's warehouse, Carmen?"