"..."
What is this? Am I so exhausted that I'm seeing things?
"Sir Victoria, have I been overworking myself lately? I think I'm seeing illusions. Maybe I need to take a break and recover."
"You too, Saintess? Same here. I think I need to apply for vacation."
"That's a great idea. I'll stay in and rest in my room, so don't worry about me—go take your break too."
We stood side by side, casually chatting.
It was 7 a.m.—just the right time to enjoy a sweet break after finishing our morning workout.
As usual, I was dragging my tired body like a limp squid toward the bench.
The bench where Monica should have been waiting with cool water and a clean towel to wipe away my sweat…
Surprisingly, someone else was there with her.
Lute Sheari.
…What on earth was he doing here?
"Why? Is it so unreal to see someone this handsome in person?"
Lute snatched the glass of water from Monica and approached with a smirk.
Seeing Monica glaring daggers at him from behind confirmed it—he was no illusion.
"Judging by the nonsense you're spouting, you're definitely real. Why are you here at this hour, Your Grace?"
"Because you wrote to me saying you desperately wanted to see me. I dropped everything and rushed over. And I must say, I didn't expect you to be so diligent—working out this early."
"Oh, I did miss you. Just not you personally—your money."
I snorted and took the water he offered, downing it in one gulp.
For some reason, Monica, who normally enjoyed handing me water after a workout, looked disappointed.
"I want to live lazily too, but diligence has been forcibly ingrained in me. I just can't help it."
Ordell's body may have been optimized for laziness, but my detective's spirit couldn't allow it.
My goal is to live leisurely once all of this is over…
Will that ever happen, though? Maybe I'll still be running around.
"You're here about the potion business, right? I honestly didn't expect you to come all the way in person, Your Grace."
"The once-great High Temple of the Sun God is reviving itself with a potion business—I had to come. Besides, I really don't like the High Temple of the Sea God."
Lute smirked.
With his glasses worn askew and his hair loosely tied, he looked relaxed—until that smirk made him instantly obnoxious.
"Hearing that you're getting ready to screw those bastards over, how could I not show up?"
His hostility was practically radiating off him.
He clearly had some beef with the Sea God Temple.
"Judging by their reputation, it's very likely they were the ones at fault."
"Exactly! I knew you'd understand, Saintess."
As I casually criticized the Sea God Temple, Lute's face lit up.
Whatever happened, it must have been pretty serious.
"I plan to support this business wholeheartedly—if only to see the looks on the Saint and Saintess of that temple when their pride is crushed."
The Saint and Saintess of the Sea God Temple.
A brother and sister, both born into one of the Empire's high noble houses.
Born with silver spoons in their mouths, and then chosen by the gods? They strutted around like they owned the world.
Even in the original novel, their behavior made my blood boil.
Just imagining seeing them in person made me nauseous.
"On that note, I've found an alchemist who's just your type, Saintess."
Lute's next words snapped me out of my thoughts about those two.
"Already?"
"You're welcome."
"Thank you very much."
Since Lute runs a merchant group, his intelligence network is top-notch. If he found someone, they had to be skilled.
"But it's only one person—will that be enough?"
"That's fine. Since we're short on priests anyway, I was planning to hire only two. I think we can handle the other one on our side."
I glanced at Monica standing behind Lute.
Just like how the heroine's best friend isn't just anyone in the original story—Monica was no ordinary person either.
She was the daughter of a prestigious central noble house in the Carnus Empire.
The only problem? She ran away from home.
She had said that even now, she still hadn't informed her family of her whereabouts.
But when I told her I needed an alchemist, she willingly used her family's influence.
"Didn't you run away from home? Are you sure about this? Your parents will find out you're here soon, you know?"
"It's fine! This is for the sake of the High Temple! I was planning to contact them soon anyway!"
The way Monica declared that with such confidence was incredibly reassuring.
If she hadn't been by my side, I would've been in real trouble.
I'm going to make a ton of money and feed her all the delicious food she could ever want. Never let her go hungry.
"Shall we head off to draft the distribution contract, then?"
Lute waved a thick stack of papers, saying he'd brought a sample contract.
"Very prepared, I see. But let's put that off for now."
As he tilted his head in confusion—
Grrrrrgle.
A very loud sound rumbled from my stomach. I'd been working out on an empty stomach since early morning—of course it was demanding food now.
"I haven't eaten yet. Let's wash up, eat, and then reconvene after I'm full."
"..."
"Don't look at me like that. You're the one who showed up unannounced at the crack of dawn."
If he even thought about making me work hungry, I would never forgive him.
Sensing the iron will in my clenched fist, Lute said nothing and quietly followed behind me.
Still, he was a guest, so I couldn't just leave him standing around—I served breakfast to both Lute and Yuri.
They were wealthier than us, so I briefly considered charging them for the meal, but decided against it.
I'll just squeeze more out of them during the business negotiations later.
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
As soon as we were alone in the drawing room after the meal, Lute asked.
"It's a look of affection for my future business partner."
"You should call it what it is—a capitalistic smile."
Sharp one, isn't he?
I ignored him and started looking over the contract he brought.
Technically, it should be High Priest Eirik handling this sort of business deal.
But there was one problem.
'High Priest, have you ever reviewed a contract before?'
'...'
'Negotiated terms, maybe?'
'...'
He entered the temple as a child and had lived there for sixteen years. Of course he hadn't.
Besides, unlike the Sea God Temple, the Sun God Temple hadn't done much in terms of business.
So I decided to take over this part.
I used to hunt down con artists, after all. If I couldn't handle a simple contract, my career as a former detective would be a joke.
"This is just a sample. Once the terms are settled, a formal contract will be drawn up."
At a glance, there were no poison pills or convoluted legal tricks.
Clean, clear wording. I nodded in approval.
"And what about the alchemist's salary? Honestly, given the current state of the temple, we probably can't afford it."
He must have picked up on the temple's condition right away.
The overgrown garden, the crumbling marble columns, the worn-out priest robes…
We couldn't even pay our current staff. Hiring an alchemist? That was a valid concern.
"So I had an idea—what if I hired the alchemist myself? In exchange, I'd like a higher distribution share."
A higher share? No way. I shook my head immediately.
"It's fine. I plan to take them in as followers of our faith."
If we provide room and board, we can reduce their salary a bit. Plus, we can add incentive bonuses based on sales performance.
More importantly, I desperately needed more followers right now. I couldn't let this go.
"Can you afford to pay them?"
"Of course. We have your donation, don't we, Your Grace?"
Business investments and Lute's donation are separate matters.
When I pointed that out with a smile, he let out a dry laugh.
Even if the money comes from Lute, anything allocated to the merchant group or the purchase of sacred items was considered a separate donation and accounted for accordingly.
"Instead, I'll need your help procuring ingredients and materials for potion-making. We don't know any quality suppliers."
Once we wrapped up the terms of the deal—
All that remained was to decide the profit split.
"Let's go with 80-20. Naturally, we get 80."
"What are you talking about? It should be 60-40. We're handling all the distribution and supply."
Sparks flew between us.
This potion business was bound to be a hit—just a 1% difference in share could mean massive profit.
But I had a cheat card up my sleeve.
"Eighty percent. But I'll throw in one more condition—one you'll find very tempting."
I rested my chin on my interlaced fingers and smiled.
Lute let out a low groan.
"Ugh, this feels dangerous. It's only our second meeting, but one thing's crystal clear—Saintess, you never make a deal that doesn't benefit you."
"Exactly. You read me well. But don't worry—this one will benefit you."
Sure, I'd squeezed him a lot—but I always gave back just as much.
Lute seemed to catch my meaning and laughed in exasperation.
"...Fine. Let's hear it."
He finally gave in, and I leaned in and whispered smoothly:
"I'll find a way to permanently cure your illness."
Not just ease the pain—completely cure it.
At those words, Lute's dark pupils narrowed sharply.