10. Old Bastard

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Cen Jiu’s attention was soon drawn away from the old butler’s behavior, because the knight inside began to speak.

“Come in.”

He sounded like someone who would not be easily fooled. Remembering the portrait hanging in the hall, Cen Jiu braced herself.

Bandelas opened the parlor door for her. “Please enter.”

She could sense the resentment of someone finally freed from his duties. It reminded her of herself at the end of a workday during her internship.

Once Cen Jiu entered, Bandelas closed the door behind her and returned to stand behind his master.

This was a side parlor for receiving guests. Seated on the sofa directly opposite the entrance was a lean, elderly man, with several sturdy male servants standing behind him. He looked about seventy percent like the figure in the hall’s portrait. The greatest difference was not his withered, emaciated body, but his receding hairline.

The sparse hair around his head had been painstakingly combed toward the center, an attempt to conceal the truth that only drew attention to the scalp showing through beneath his graying hair.

No. She could not laugh. She was a serious role-playing gamer.

Still, just what had the employees of Seven-Colored Strings been thinking when they deliberately modeled him with a bald crown...?

Old Ortega frowned. He did not sense the respect a knight deserved from this young person at all, and his face immediately fell.

“I don’t believe I have any impression of you. This is our first meeting, is it not?”

“Yes, I believe this is our first meeting, Sir Ortega.”

The moment he opened his mouth, Cen Jiu knew that this sort of old man valued etiquette above all else. She immediately performed the same bow she had seen the butler make earlier, one hand held to her chest.

She imitated it perfectly. When it came to role-playing in games, she was unquestionably a first-rate actress.

Seeing her bow naturally, neither servile nor overbearing, Old Ortega’s anger eased somewhat. He gave a cold snort.

“There are not many polite young people like you.”

Cen Jiu pretended not to understand the sarcasm in his words and accepted the compliment with a smile.

“It is my honor to have earned your approval.”

“Tell me, young man. What brings you here to see an old fellow like me at a time like this?” Old Ortega came straight to the point. He wanted to see what business this young person had that was important enough to make him come out personally.

Cen Jiu had no desire to trade words with him either. She took the land deed, which she had kept close in her waist pouch, and handed it over.

The butler reached out to take the scroll. After weighing it and confirming that it held nothing but paper, he respectfully presented it to Old Ortega with both hands.

Old Ortega opened the scroll. At first glance, his eyes narrowed, and he sat a little straighter.

After all, it was only a single sheet of paper, and there was not much written on it. He soon finished reading, then looked up at Cen Jiu.

“You bought the land I entrusted to my nephew to sell. Have you brought the remaining balance?”

【Remaining Land Payment (Optional): The land you purchased from Ortega still has an outstanding balance. Speak with Old Ortega and pay the remainder as soon as possible.】

A highly ominous side-quest notification popped up before Cen Jiu’s eyes. Yet the very next moment, the sound effect for completing an objective rang out.

【Coins: 300/300 (Completed)】

“...?”

Cen Jiu immediately opened the game menu and paused the game. She checked the source of the coins and found that they had come from the money pouch dropped by the One-Eyed Bandit. Everywhere else, she had found only scattered silver and copper coins, including the change belonging to the player character that she had searched out in the starting room.

Cen Jiu was utterly bewildered. She could not read the deed and had no idea there was still a balance to pay. Luckily, she had somehow stumbled into completing the objective. Otherwise, after wasting half a day, she would have cried herself to death. What a terrible quest guide!

Well, strictly speaking, that also had something to do with the fact that she was illiterate.

Old Ortega looked displeased when he saw her quickly pull out a notebook right in front of him.

“If you—”

Before he could finish, Cen Jiu produced a pouch of gold coins and set it on the table.

“It’s all ready!”

After being organized by the system, the pouch contained exactly three hundred gold coins, no more and no fewer.

She was ready to receive her very own piece of land!

The heavy coins struck the tabletop with a crisp clatter. Old Ortega’s unfinished words were choked back, and the skin on his face twitched.

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The male servants took turns stepping forward to count the coins. They quickly confirmed the amount and verified that the money was genuine.

At last, Bandelas carefully put away the valuable pouch of gold.

Once they had finished, Old Ortega impatiently raised a hand and summoned the steward. Bandelas bent down and leaned closer, ready to hear his master’s order.

“Take the things and go with her to the church for notarization.”

Then he dismissed Cen Jiu with a wave of his hand.

“Bandelas will act as my representative. Go with him to the church and complete the transaction between us.”

A male servant stepped forward and opened the parlor door, his manners impeccable.

“Miss Cen, please come with me first. You may wait in the carriage. Sir Bandelas will join you shortly.”

“Thank you for the trouble.”

Cen Jiu smiled. Her own land was almost in her hands, so her smile was entirely genuine.

The servant led her outside at an unhurried pace. A carriage was already waiting at the garden entrance.

Cen Jiu had barely taken her seat when the butler hurried out and climbed in as well. The servant who had escorted her took the driver’s seat.

So that painfully slow walk earlier had been because he was rushing to arrange all this? Good grief. The etiquette of hospitality.

Cen Jiu gazed out the window, letting her thoughts wander while praying that nothing would happen to this means of transportation.

The carriage began to move slowly. The meticulously tended gardens, the people laboring in the fields, and the patrolling guards unfolded before her like scenes in a painting.

Before long, the view outside reached the fork in the road she had passed before entering the estate. The carriage turned onto the other road she had not taken and picked up speed.

The road ran close to the river. The rapid pounding of the horse’s hooves mingled with the rushing water, and hints of greenish-blue could be glimpsed among the scenery outside.

The journey was not a long one. Soon, Cen Jiu caught sight of a church in the distance, perched on a hillside. The stone structure was symmetrical, and from afar its spire seemed to reach toward the sun above the sky. Stained-glass windows shimmered brilliantly, while countless symbols and patterns had been carved into the stone pillars of the portico.

“Miss Jiu, we have arrived.”

The carriage stopped before the church’s open portico. Bandelas thoughtfully opened the carriage door for her, but there was no need to help her down. Cen Jiu ignored his offered assistance and nimbly jumped out, leaving him awkwardly stranded for a moment.

“Thank you.”

Her belated and utterly insincere thanks slightly restored his dignity as a gentleman.

Very well, perhaps this young lady simply had a spirited personality. Bandelas endured it once more and walked into the church beside her. In a low voice, he reminded her, his neatly groomed, luxuriant beard trembling as he spoke.

“Miss Jiu, please be mindful of your words and actions while in the church.”

This priest of the Church of the Sky Observers was new to the area and did not have a close relationship with Ortega. If Cen Jiu’s behavior damaged Ortega’s reputation within the church, it would be rather unfortunate.

“Oh? Thank you for the reminder!”

Even if it had been a veiled warning, it still contained useful information. Cen Jiu now knew that the knight’s household could not afford to offend this church too badly either.

Before the altar deep within the church, a lone figure knelt in prayer beneath the seven-colored holy light pouring through the dome.

Not trusting Cen Jiu’s frivolous manner, the butler raised a hand to stop her, indicating that he would speak with the clergyman himself.

He stepped forward, bent down, and softly addressed the praying priest.

“Reverend Silva, forgive the interruption. We have come to ask you to witness a transaction between our master and another party.”

After speaking, he returned to Cen Jiu’s side and waited for the priest’s reply.

The silver-haired priest rose. His voice was cool and clear as spring water.

“It is my duty.”

The priest turned around, and the moment he recognized who had arrived, his normally impassive expression cracked for an instant.

“Good to see you again, Silva.”

Cen Jiu waved at him. She had known that a character with such an unusual appearance would surely appear again.

“...It has been a long time.”

Silva lowered his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and tightened his grip on the pendant in his hand.

“Please follow me.”

Cen Jiu followed him with a sweet smile. Behind them, the old butler could not help rubbing his forehead.

What was this supposed to be?

The priest led them to a room in the church. Three of its walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves packed with books.

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Silva took his seat at a long table covered with writing implements and stacks of documents awaiting processing. Cen Jiu and the butler sat opposite him.

He examined both parties’ documents and quickly drafted the notarization papers.

At the end, Cen Jiu scrawled her name wherever required, while the butler, acting as the representative, stamped the documents.

【A World of Your Own: You now possess land of your own.】

The achievement notification appeared. Cen Jiu screamed inwardly, while outwardly remaining calm as she put the land deed and related documents back into her waist pouch.

“Then I shall return to my master. This has been a pleasant transaction. Farewell, Miss Jiu.”

The butler was eager to leave as quickly as possible. After exchanging those polite words, he immediately boarded the carriage and began the journey back.

Now only Cen Jiu and Silva remained in the church.

She turned to look at him, unable to conceal the happiness on her face.

“That’s wonderful. I never thought we would meet again.”

“Yes...”

Silva stared directly at her smile, and his expression softened all at once.

“I never thought you were still alive...”

“Of course I’m still alive. Didn’t we agree to leave together?”

Was he about to burst into tears over their emotional reunion? Seeing that things were taking a dangerous turn, Cen Jiu quickly changed the subject.

“It’s quite large here. Is there no one else besides you?”

Silva silently shook his head, both hands clutching the pendant at his neck.

“Do you really work here all by yourself? That must be hard.”

Cen Jiu tried to smooth over the awkwardness.

Silva shook his head again. This time, however, he had something to say.

“The departed remain with us.”

She truly had no idea how to respond to that. Silva seemed to possess a remarkable talent for killing a conversation. Was he not a priest? Was this cryptic style popular among priests?

“...Then I won’t disturb you any further. I’m going to my land to prepare for move-in.”

There was no way to continue this conversation. Cen Jiu prepared to make her escape.

A trace of confusion appeared on Silva’s impassive face.

“Move in?”

Cen Jiu’s smile began to fade. She suddenly had a bad feeling.

“Isn’t it an undeveloped, empty plot of land?”

【Build a Residence (Optional): Establish a safe point exclusively for you on your land.】

The system notification confirmed that the priest was telling the truth. Cen Jiu felt herself crack apart. All her expectations had been for nothing. Her ready-to-move-in safe point...

What a scam! It was all part of Seven-Colored Strings’ merciless grind-inducing schemes!

Seeing Cen Jiu’s devastated reaction, Silva once again felt guilty.

“...You haven’t found anywhere to spend the night?”

The question filled him with shame. He should not have pried so deeply into A Jiu’s difficulties. Besides, for someone as nimble and capable as her, this should not have been a serious problem.

But what if something had happened to her along the way again?

Cen Jiu stared blankly and shook her head. She did not want to talk right now. She just wanted to be left alone.

Silva saw her overwhelming sorrow clearly. He clenched the pendant in his hand and forced the words out in an almost twisted voice.

“Would you like to spend the night at the church?”

“Eh?”

Like a spell, Silva’s question instantly broke Cen Jiu out of her petrified state.

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