Chapter 247 – Shopping! Shopping!
"Holy water! And high-vintage holy water at that!"
The vendor stared in shock.
"Judging from the fluctuation of the Holy power… this is at least ten-year grade."
Gideon put on a mildly surprised expression.
"Fluctuation? You're Church."
The vendor froze—realizing he had said too much.
"Hmph. Clergy setting up stalls is technically prohibited by the Church, but here in the Exorcists' Guild? It's an open secret."
He resealed the bottle.
"If you're thinking of reporting me, don't bother."
Gideon smiled faintly.
"Relax. That would gain me nothing."
"Is this enough to cover the cost?"
"More than enough."
The black-robed vendor gently stroked the glass vial… but then hesitated.
After a moment, he asked quietly:
"Where did you get this?"
Gideon's gaze cooled.
"That question seems irrelevant to our transaction."
The vendor raised both hands quickly.
"Don't misunderstand. High-vintage holy water is restricted within the Church. Ordinary people can't obtain it."
"If I accept this, it won't bring trouble, will it?"
Gideon replied calmly:
"It belonged to a clergyman who died during a commission. I recovered it afterward."
"I see."
The vendor nodded—whether he believed it or not was unclear.
A few moments later—
"You may take the material."
He reached to pocket the holy water—
—but Gideon pressed his hand down first.
"What is this?" the vendor frowned.
Gideon smiled.
"You think I'm not Church, so you're testing me?"
"One spirit relic for an entire bottle of ten-year holy water?"
The vendor paused.
"Then what do you propose?"
---
A Few Minutes Later
Gideon walked out of the booth expressionless.
Behind him, the vendor watched with deeply resentful eyes.
"Ten-year holy water for four evil spirit materials. That's practically free money."
Apparently, the vendor was unusually obsessed with high-quality holy water—and had thrown in an extra relic.
Given Gideon's current supply, he could probably clear out half the materials section today.
Of course… he only thought about it.
If a flood of high-grade holy artifacts suddenly appeared inside the Guild, that kind of publicity would be impossible to ignore.
The purchased materials had already been deposited via the Guild's internal conveyor system—a convenient storage transfer network installed throughout the building. Not every exorcist enjoyed carrying sacks of dangerous relics around.
After buying from a few more stalls, Gideon headed toward the Intelligence Sector.
---
Intelligence Sector
Here, information from across North America gathered:
Commission reports
Holy historical texts
Major faction news
Exorcist gossip
Counter-evil strategies
If it could exist in writing, it could be sold here.
Gideon came seeking clues regarding the materials listed in the Holy Chapter.
The artifact rumored to summon angels had been sitting in his possession for some time.
He still didn't know where the third Holy Chapter was.
But he could begin gathering the ritual materials already described.
From all outward signs, the invasion of evil into the human world was no longer speculation—it was inevitability.
He needed more contingencies.
Even if the Holy Chapter failed to deliver as promised, he would lose nothing.
But if the ritual truly worked…
Then he would hold terrifying power.
---
The intelligence zone was divided into sub-sections.
The knowledge Gideon sought was ancient—unlikely to appear among real-time rumor brokers.
So he entered a stall specializing in historical tomes.
The moment he stepped inside, he smelled ink and aged paper.
A dim yellow chandelier illuminated the cluttered space.
Several wooden shelves stood crookedly, books stacked haphazardly—some fallen to the floor.
Near the entrance sat an old man in white robes, nodding off.
"Knock, knock."
Gideon tapped lightly on the door.
The old man jerked awake.
"Is it dinner already…?"
He rubbed his eyes.
"Hello. I'd like to purchase some books."
Terrence blinked, surprised to see an actual customer.
"What's wrong? Are the books not for sale?" Gideon asked mildly.
"No, no! Please, browse freely."
Terrence forced a smile and stood up.
"Truth be told, few people bother buying ancient texts anymore."
Gideon replied:
"Evil spirits and demons change methods constantly, but history repeats itself. Reading enough records may save your life when it matters."
Terrence clapped his hands excitedly.
"Young man, beautifully said!"
He sighed heavily.
"Very few exorcists strive like you nowadays."
"Everyone chases older spirits, higher-value materials. No one wants to sit quietly and study."
"But in this world? If you want to live long, you must keep learning."
He sighed again.
"If only I had phrased it that well earlier—perhaps more customers would come buy books."
Gideon blinked.
He hadn't expected an offhand remark to trigger such emotional reflection.
Still… judging by the chaos of the shop—
"This probably has less to do with youth culture and more with housekeeping," he thought dryly.
Before the old man could spiral into another lament, Gideon cut in:
"Do you have texts related to witches and the Church?"
The angelic summoning ritual required:
Ancient olive branch
Saint's relic
Purified salt
Holy apostolic silver emblem
High-vintage holy artifact
Most were Church-related.
As for witch-related materials—
Gideon didn't want to expose his true purpose too directly.
And the clue about the saint's relic involved witches.
Better to research their origins beforehand.
"Let me think…"
Terrence scratched his graying hair.
"Church… witches… Church… witches…"
He shuffled between shelves, tossing books aside.
"Not this one… not that one…"
Books thudded to the floor one after another.
Finally—
"Ah-ha! Found it!"
He lifted two heavy volumes.
"This one—True Chronicle of Church History. It records events from the Garden of Eden to the establishment of the modern Protestant branches."
He blew off dust.
"Compared to that Bible nonsense full of praise, this book should be the Church's true Holy text."
Gideon coughed lightly and touched his nose.
"And this—A Thousand Years of Witch Suffering. From the birth of witches two thousand years ago to the origins of several North American covens."
He held them out proudly.
Terrence blinked exaggeratedly.
"And it even includes the romantic scandals of beautiful witch ladies~"
Gideon covered his face.
It was hard to believe this was the same man who had just delivered a speech worthy of a philosopher.
"…How much for these two books?" Gideon steered the conversation back on track.
Terrence smiled mysteriously.
"If it were anyone else, they would have to purchase them outright. But your earlier remarks truly resonated with me, so…"
He raised three fingers.
"Three hundred Resentment Points. Three hours of reading."
Gideon froze.
"How is that any different from robbery?!"
"Only an idiot would pay that!"
---
A Few Moments Later
Gideon sat in a corner, opening A Thousand Years of Witch Suffering.
According to the book, the earliest witches originated more than two thousand years ago along the Mediterranean coast.
At the time, they possessed the ability to communicate with supernatural forces—similar to prophets—and were highly respected by common folk.
But in the Middle Ages, when the Church began promoting the doctrine that "The Lord is the one and only God," witches naturally became targets.
Persecution. Heresy trials. Burnings at the stake.
These gifted individuals were driven from Europe and eventually settled in North America.
Modern organizations such as the Witch Association and the Rosicrucian Order were largely descendants of those early migrants.
Among them, certain witches possessed bloodline inheritances—innate abilities such as elemental control and healing arts.
If Gideon remembered correctly, the Rosicrucian Order only recruited female witches.
He also noticed another organization: Voodoo.
Originating in North Africa but established in North America, it arose in a very different context.
Because the witch lineage had migrated to the continent earlier, some had participated in the oppression of enslaved Black populations.
Voodoo emerged from individuals born with natural spiritual resonance who banded together to resist witch oppression.
The conflict between the two factions had lasted for generations—and continued even today.
"Another case of dragon-slayers becoming dragons," Gideon muttered with a shake of his head.
Still, he had found what he wanted.
According to the clue on the note, the saint's relic was located in a manor in New Orleans—the heartland of Voodoo.
"Come to think of it… the father and daughter I met during the 'Wrong Turn' commission were heading there."
He made a mental note.
After reading further about Voodoo's abilities, he turned to the second book.
---
"…Mount Sinai lies south of Jerusalem. At its summit grows an olive grove over a thousand years old…"
He quickly located the relevant section.
But there was bad news.
Mount Sinai had long since become a restricted Holy site.
Aside from maintenance personnel, only Cardinals or the Pope could enter—and even then, only briefly.
Not even regional clergy had permission.
Let alone someone like Gideon.
Every year during High Holy Day, a branch from Sinai's olive grove was transported to the Vatican for blessing.
The ten-year holy water used by the old priest at the exhibition had been created that way.
The olive branch was effectively a Holy relic.
"At least I have a lead…" Gideon sighed.
How to obtain such an item? No idea.
He skipped the saint's relic section—he already had that clue—and searched for information on the Holy Apostle Silver Emblem.
But no such entry existed.
Instead, he found mention of something similar: the Apostle Emblem.
Two thousand years ago, the Son of God performed miracles around Jerusalem.
Twelve Jewish believers of the Old Testament witnessed His descent.
They became His apostles, spreading His story along the Mediterranean coast.
Years later, when evil descended upon the world, the Son prayed for divine aid and was granted a means to empower them—the Apostle Emblem.
Whoever held it would possess godlike power.
Armed with divine revelation, the twelve apostles traveled to regions thick with corruption.
Eventually, evil was expelled from the human realm.
The apostles left the emblems behind at those sites to seal the breaches between worlds.
Throughout Church history, the Apostle Emblem had resurfaced several times.
Most recently—decades ago.
A priest named Father Merrin, who was also an archaeologist, discovered a ruin dedicated to an ancient evil god in the Middle East.
Excavation unearthed a statue of the dark deity—and a silver emblem engraved with angel wings.
Father Merrin brought both items back to North America.
But he later died during a commission.
Both relics vanished.
Gideon narrowed his eyes.
If memory served, Father Merrin came from the classic film The Exorcist.
An iconic American horror story.
He hadn't expected to see it referenced here.
At the description of the silver emblem, Gideon was nearly certain—
This was one of the summoning materials.
Even if not the exact artifact, it was clearly related.
"This trip was worth it."
Tracking the Apostle Emblem would be difficult.
But Church archives might still contain records on Father Merrin.
"I'll investigate when I return."
He closed the book.
The remaining materials weren't mentioned.
Even the Holy Chapter itself yielded no further clues.
After bidding farewell to the shamelessly overpriced bookseller, Gideon headed to his final stop—
Stall Rental.
He planned to sell off all his low-vintage holy artifacts in exchange for Resentment Points.
Under Guild rules, the exchange rate was:
1 Resentment Point = 10 USD
But conversion was one-way only—to prevent wealthy individuals from flooding the market and monopolizing resources.
Thanks to the gold coin given by Manager Farlin, Gideon paid no stall fees or commission.
He was even assigned a relatively central location—though only for one day.
The Guild provided all basic stall equipment.
And so, Gideon's little shop opened for business.
---
Meanwhile – Market Entrance
Two figures entered.
One wore a dark crimson robe.
Though her hood concealed her face, faint lipstick and ornate accessories revealed her identity—a witch.
Beside her walked a shorter woman, clearly also female.
"Witch Catherine, I already came earlier today. The highest-grade holy artifacts here are only five-year quality. Nothing higher."
Doria sounded tired.
She clung to Catherine's arm, nearly leaning her entire weight on her.
"But the negative effects of that ritual will relapse soon. The holy water we stored last time won't be enough," Catherine replied.
"Didn't Mr. Beron say he could provide plenty of high-quality holy water?"
Catherine lightly smacked Doria's head.
"Why do you think he keeps pestering us?"
"I'm sorry…" Doria pouted. "It's just that you're too charming."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing!"
Catherine sighed.
"We only bought from him last time because we were pressed for time."
"We cannot rely on him completely. Remember that."
Doria sighed inwardly.
But every time you come here, you browse forever!
Still, she followed obediently.
Just then, an unwelcome voice called from behind.
"Lady Catherine, Lady Doria—what a delightful coincidence!"
A lavishly dressed man approached with a wide smile.
"Would Beron have the honor of accompanying you today?"