After all, paladins were the bane of fiends, but also their favorite targets for vengeance and destruction...
Damn, the more he thought about it, the more anxious he felt!
"Wait a moment, Lady Anno, I have something to give you." With these words, he quickly turned and rushed into the scriptorium.
Anno was puzzled, but after waiting a moment, saw Charles walk out of the room again, holding two books in his hands. "Take these. Both are magical artifacts that can automatically recover a one-shot charge each day. Using them, you can cast Burning Hands once a day, and also Thunderwave once a day."
"Of course, you can also infuse your own Divine Power into them to use the spells again. The specific usage—you should know well enough."
Saying this, he pushed the two books into her hands. "Take them, and come back safe."
By now, Charles no longer needed these two basic entry-level spellbooks, nor did he require the spells contained within. Every witch possessed far more powerful AOE abilities than Burning Hands, and now that he had the Pact of the Blade, he no longer needed Thunderwave for self-defense.
Still, these two spells remained extremely useful—so giving them to a paladin who lacked strong AOE was entirely fitting.
Hearing this, Anno's face changed. Knowing how much such magical items cost, she immediately tried to push them back. "No, Priest, these books are far too valuable. I couldn't possibly accept—"
"Who said I'm giving them to you!" Charles replied with a light laugh. "I'm just lending them to you. I'm not going to Rubble District to fight, so there's no use keeping these books by my side. In your hands, they can have far greater value!"
"Take good care of them, they're worth a fortune. If you return and I find they're damaged, I'll demand double compensation!"
He smiled as he said this, and firmly handed the two books to her.
At this, Anno had no way to refuse. Knowing this was his good will, she no longer declined. "Well... alright. I'll keep them safe, and when this mission is done, I'll return them to you personally."
"Mhm." Charles nodded gently. "I'll be waiting for your return!"
Anno raised her head slightly, gazing at his fair and delicate face, and at the pure, sincere look in his eyes. Her heart started to pound, and suddenly, making up her mind, she spread her arms and gave him a hug.
Charles was somewhat surprised, instantly feeling a pair of full, elastic softness press against his chest, and a captivating, intoxicating fragrance brush past his nose. Reflexively, he wanted to embrace the girl in return, but the hug lasted only a second. In the next instant, Anno spun around and rushed out of the monastery as if escaping: "Goodbye!"
Watching her awkwardly retreating figure, Charles was stunned for a few seconds before breaking into a heartfelt smile.
From the direction of the slums came a graceful figure, swaying her slender waist like a willow in the wind. This was Sephera, just returning from handling land acquisitions.
She also saw Anno's departing form, and when she noticed her master was still gazing after the other woman, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. She walked up and asked with a somewhat sour tone, "Does Master prefer the larger type, then?"
Charles came back to himself, brought her back into the monastery, closed the gates, and hugged her small waist, then tapped her delicate nose. "Not at all. Petite and exquisite is also incredibly cute!"
Sephera sniffed, apparently unconvinced of such comfort. "Anno, Porter, and even recently Malena—they're all the bigger type..."
Three black lines appeared on Charles's forehead. "Uh... Let's not talk about Anno, but about Malena... our aim is to raise Lisa well. Malena is her mother—how could I ever target her that way?"
He shook his head decisively. "Really, she's struggled so hard to raise Lisa on her own. I only have respect for her, absolutely nothing inappropriate."
Sephera pouted. "Then what about Porter?"
Charles was immediately embarrassed. "Porter... to be honest, I have no thoughts at all, in fact I'm kind of put off by her. You know how she's always so flippant, treating teasing me as amusement, so I honestly find it really annoying..."
He spoke with even more sincerity. "So, even though she's attractive, with a fit, hot body, and that distinctive and sexy bronze skin, I have zero interest in her, understand?"
Sephera's expression finally relaxed a little, but she grew worried again. "But she always asks for you by name, and we still need her money..."
Charles's expression stiffened, and then he sighed. "Business is business, nothing can be done. I'll just deal with it as it comes..."
"But by the way, how are things going with the land purchase?"
Charles asked in hopes of hearing some good news, but Sephera only shook her head. "Not very optimistic. The panic is basically over, the residents have regained their senses, and land prices are gradually recovering to normal."
"Master, at this speed, we still have a gap of 80,000 gold if we want to buy the full one hundred thousand square meters..."
Hearing this, Charles's expression grew troubled. "Eighty thousand gold..."
In truth, not all land needed to be purchased; there were plenty of deserted plots in the slums. Still, the gap was huge, and not something that could be covered offhand.
And as for the blue dragon's side, he had not achieved any results yet, so it was inconvenient to ask for a second round of investment right now...
"We'll have to adjust our plans and try to get the Amazons to buy some first." He sighed and made the necessary adjustment. "It's not a big problem, I'm sure things will go smoothly..."
Charles still had much confidence in his constructions. Through Malena and her daughter, he had confirmed that outsiders moving into the system-built dormitories also enjoyed the rapid recovery of stamina and energy, so he was sure that the Amazon women would not hesitate to purchase—as long as they truly experienced those gains.
With this thought, he turned to glance toward the bath chamber. "Forget it, let's put this aside for the moment. I'll go penalize Nidalee and clear my head."
Ever since bringing the druid to climax for the first time, Charles returned daily to visit her, interrogating her in different postures, trying to make her divulge her true purpose.
Judging from his observations, things were progressing well; at the very least, Nidalee seemed to be enjoying herself more and more each time.
He could feel that every time he entered the Dungeon, all the gloom, loneliness, and sorrow that enveloped this woman's heart was quickly swept away.
At this rate, it should only take a few more times until Nidalee was thoroughly subdued.
...
A few days later.
"This house looks pretty solid."
Gale Porter, the female executive from the Amazon company, nodded in satisfaction at the approximately eighty-square-meter bungalow divided into two bedrooms and a living room, now simply yet neatly decorated.
It was already autumn, so even the cold-resistant Amazons were wearing blue leather jackets and black trousers.
Perhaps to make up for the charisma lost with so little bare skin to show, Porter had taken special care with her appearance today. Her dark reddish-black hair flowed in large waves down her back, and with vivid red lipstick, she looked wild, sexy, and full of power.
She strode over and rapped a fist against the wall. Feeling how utterly solid the house was, she couldn't help but praise, "This place is really well-built, and the lighting is great... Honestly, I don't know how you managed to build this; I never even noticed before."
At this moment, all her conversation was focused on the house itself, as if she had come specifically for it, not for the rather handsome priest who stood nearby.
"As long as you are satisfied, it's an honor for us."
Charles wore a businesslike smile and did not respond at all to her unspoken curiosity.
After all, how could he possibly tell her about the system?
It was exactly because South Harbor District was such a chaotic mix, and the Amazons had their own intelligence networks, that Charles hadn't dared to be so brazen as to simply build high-rises outright.
Indeed, all these dormitories could have been stacked vertically as small skyscrapers, to be sold to all the Amazon women with living needs.
But had a twenty-story tower abruptly risen in the slum district of the South Harbor, it would have been too audacious, even attracting the scrutiny of Blackstaff Tower. In the end, Charles gave up on that idea.
No rush. Sell off these small bungalows in batches first, then slowly introduce mid-rise buildings, step by step—no need to try to eat the whole banquet in one bite...
He kept his smile, continuing to deal with the female warrior before him.
"Very good, then I'll buy this house!"
So said Porter, who then took out a small pouch from her hip and drew forth ten white gold coins. "Here's the deposit, Priest; keep it well. The balance I'll bring tomorrow when we officially sign the contract."
One white gold coin was worth ten gold, meaning he presently held a hundred gold in deposit.
Seeing this, Charles let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Alright, then I'll see you tomorrow."
Thank the gods, this matter was finally settled.
He secretly sighed—it's not that he didn't like money, but he still wanted to study, so he wished he could push matters like this off on Hattie and the others.
But Porter always asked for him by name, refusing to deal with anyone else.
There was no helping it; in order to get her money, Charles had to interrupt his study schedule and come show her around the house.
Fortunately, now that this was all settled, he could get back to his studies at last.
Charles thought with relief... but would things really go so smoothly?
"By the way, Priest," Porter suddenly said, "this must be your first house sale, right?"
Charles nodded, and the Amazon woman continued, "See, I'm your very first customer. So, what do you say—should we celebrate my new home together tonight?"
Upon hearing this, Charles's expression froze; he had a bad feeling. "Uh... maybe not, I still have other things to do..."
"Oh, come on—!" Porter suddenly pulled his arm, dragging him into her embrace and hooking an arm around his shoulders. "What's there to be shy about? And I'll tell you, it's not just you and me tonight—my company subordinates are coming too."
"Think about it—it's the perfect opportunity. You can take this chance to show off how great your houses are: wonderful value for money. I'll help as well, and if my sisters are in a good mood, you might sell a dozen or more right there!"
"Wouldn't you agree?"
With money as the bait, Charles felt his will beginning to waver. He did want to get closer to his clients, but he still felt something was off—like this Amazon woman was out to get him alone...
Of course, there would be lots of others there tonight; as long as he left early, surely nothing would happen?
After all, she wouldn't dare do anything indecent in front of so many people... would she?
He hesitated—then suddenly, Porter bent down, bringing her lips to his ear. She was much taller than Charles, so at this moment, appeared just like a hot, muscular big-sister intimidating an innocent junior: "If you don't come, I'll be very upset; who knows, in a fit of emotion I might just back out from buying this house…"
That was the last straw.
Charles bit his lip, making up his mind. "Alright, I'll come tonight!"
Upon hearing this, Porter's lips curved into a satisfied, triumphant smile. "It's a deal."
Unable to restrain herself, she swallowed, saliva flooding as she knew that tonight, she would have a wonderful evening indeed.
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