🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 10
“Oh my god. What on earth is that?”
Her opponent was a middle-aged man.
Dressed entirely in white from head to toe, he looked to be around sixty.
Despite the deep wrinkles etched across his face, his gait was surprisingly steady—and the reason for that was none other than…
“Heavens… that’s a walking pile of gold.”
It was because of the jewelry covering his entire body.
The man wore a thick gold necklace and oversized gold earrings, and multiple heavy gold rings on both hands.
It was hard to tell whether a person was wearing gold—or gold was wearing a person.
“Just by the color… that must be at least 18K gold. If you sold all that, it’d cover a commoner family’s food expenses for half a year.”
While Rosetta was clicking her tongue, Juan Machi quickly stood up and rushed over to the man.
“Elder Gerach, what brings you here?”
Elder?
Dressed like that?
“I came to show Rike something,” Elder Gerach said.
Juan Machi looked troubled.
“As you can see, Lord Rike is currently away.”
“Where did he go?”
“Well…”
When Juan hesitated, Elder Gerach nodded knowingly.
“Ah. That room again?”
“Yes…”
“Hmph! I even had a new ring made for Rike… hmm?”
As he clicked his tongue, he finally noticed Rosetta.
Squinting at her face, he clapped his hands.
“Red hair, yellow eyes, unnecessarily tall…!”
What?
Unnecessarily?
“You must be the current Valerie!”
“And you are?”
Rosetta replied bluntly. The elder’s mouth twitched, then he burst into laughter.
“Ah, my mistake! I am Adolf Gerach of the Council.”
“‘Of the Council’?”
“…Ahem. Adolf Gerach.”
At his correction, Rosetta finally extended her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Elder Gerach. I am Rosetta…”
She instinctively began to reveal her Pavinu identity, then paused and smiled instead.
“Rosetta Valerie Iglesia.”
* * *
In the reception room, Rosetta sipped her tea while observing the scene across from her.
From the beginning, Elder Gerach had been speaking only to Juan Machi.
“So, what do you think?”
“Y-yes?”
“…Are you even listening to me?”
“S-sorry. I haven’t been sleeping well lately…”
Juan was completely worn out after thirty minutes of nonstop monologuing.
Elder Gerach slapped his shoulder.
“Young people shouldn’t be like this!”
“Ugh…!”
“Come, let us go pray together!”
Watching Juan stagger, Rosetta inwardly clicked her tongue.
“No wonder people can’t stand him just by hearing his voice.”
He only spoke about himself and demanded agreement from others—exhausting to deal with.
“Now, look at this.”
Gerach proudly extended his fingers.
“I had this gold ring made for Rike’s return. What do you think? Isn’t it splendid?”
“Yes… yes…”
“Gold is truly Rike’s symbol. Nothing compares to the brilliance of his hair except gold itself! Surely this will show him my devotion! Hahaha!”
“Ha… ha…”
“If we pray while wearing this sacred symbol, surely blessings will reach the children of Aterashi! Young people these days lack discipline—”
“—Pffft!”
Gerach’s head snapped toward Rosetta.
She was trembling as she tried to hold in her laughter.
“What… exactly…”
“Ah, pardon me,” Rosetta said, covering her mouth.
“I just… didn’t expect prayer to require gold rings.”
Gerach’s face darkened.
“Even as a Valerie, you cannot mock an elder like this!”
“I wasn’t mocking you.”
Rosetta suppressed her laughter.
“Do blessings really come just from prayer? Selling the ring and donating the money might be more effective.”
“This is about faith!”
“Faith, you say…”
Rosetta tilted her head.
“Then have you also done cold-water rituals in the northern Ice Falls?”
“Cold-water… rituals?”
Gerach looked confused.
Rosetta exaggerated her tone.
“Oh my, don’t tell me you’re talking about devotion without even completing such famous pilgrimages?”
Juan Machi immediately chimed in.
“Yes! Of course, Lady Valerie is right!”
Juan was stunned.
The unyielding Elder Gerach—being pushed back?
It felt unreal.
For a moment, he even felt like Rosetta was glowing.
Gerach frowned.
“I—I am too old for such things!”
Rosetta picked up a cookie.
“That’s unfortunate. Then maybe you’re not as devoted as you claim?”
“W-what did you say?!”
“Just saying.”
She smiled lightly.
“And when doing rituals, please remove your jewelry.”
“Why?”
“Gold reacts to temperature changes.”
Rosetta’s eyes curved.
“If you get frostbite, you might need amputation.”
“Am—amputation?!”
Gerach’s face turned pale.
He shot up immediately.
“I suddenly remembered something important. I must take my leave!”
And he hurried out.
Just then, Sol Rike arrived and watched the fleeing figure.
“What happened here?”
“Nothing much. We just had a pleasant chat,” Rosetta replied, eating another cookie.
Juan Machi looked at her with admiration.
* * *
Now alone, Rosetta turned to Sol.
“So. Why did you call me here?”
“Hm?”
“I was told you summoned me.”
Sol tilted his head.
“I did?”
Rosetta’s expression darkened.
Was that another servant’s prank?
Sol chuckled at her reaction.
“Oh, right. A letter arrived from your family.”
“A letter?”
It hadn’t even been a week since she left Pavinu.
Who sent it?
Her father? Julieta? Nothing good could come from either.
Sol continued casually.
“And there’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”
“Discuss?”
Juan Machi, sensing the atmosphere, stood up.
“I’ll return to my duties. Please enjoy your time.”
After he left, Sol looked at Rosetta.
“So… what kind of magic did you use?”
