Volume 7, Chapter 25 – An Exchange of Items

“Hmm, hmm,” Yisi tapped her chin with her forefinger and nodded slightly. “Didn’t you say that all treasures guarded by a labyrinth guardian belong to the Marquis of Taris? Why can you give the angel to me?”

Dominic rubbed his hands together sheepishly.

“Only when our people deliver the treasure to my father will he know what the guardian produced. So, in this matter, we can substitute a lower-quality item for a higher-quality one, handing over an Orichalcum-grade magic weapon as a replacement. While an Orichalcum weapon is precious to us, it’s not like we can’t produce one. But for something truly priceless, we have no leads. Out of desperation, we thought of using the angel as a trade, to exchange for a treasure from you—the Church—that is difficult to buy even with money.”

Then why not just send the angel directly?

From what the adventurers below were saying, the angel was considered a priceless treasure.

However, rather than questioning him, Yisi chose to first understand what exactly an angel was.

“It’s a bit shameful for me, a representative of the Church, to say this, but what exactly is this angel you’re talking about?”

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“Huh? You don’t know, Lady Yisi? Angels are the messengers left on this continent by the gods before they departed. All angels are puppets created by the gods. Their duty is to obey commands, and they will complete their master’s instructions even at the cost of their own lives. Depending on the region, they are called by different names. Some places call them Dolls of the Gods, others call them God-Forged Angels. They are a group of very powerful and self-aware beings.”

After patiently explaining, as if to hide his own guilt, Dominic tidied his blond hair.

“Although we could transport the angel to my father’s side, and with her rarity and power on the continent, she would absolutely be considered a priceless treasure, and my father would not hold me to the agreement about using his power… I just find it very difficult to send such a beautiful angel to my father as an object. With my father’s personality, he might take the angel as a concubine… This would undoubtedly defile such a noble existence.”

“Thank you.”

The angel, who had at some point snapped out of her daze, nodded her thanks to Dominic.

Dominic responded with a smile before looking back at Yisi.

“After discussing it with Guild Master Marc, we thought of you, who has just arrived in Gota and is on a mission from the Pope. If it’s the Church, you would surely find a way to take in the angel. As long as you, on behalf of the Church, can provide an item that is enough to move my father, we will hand the angel over to you.”

“Hmm… and what is the angel’s own opinion? If I remember correctly, her name is Laxyphinia Trino, right?”

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“My nominal master at present is Lord Dominic. I will abide by his decision.”

She had just rushed to Pepe and called her master, but now she was calling Dominic master? This angel must be the type who would execute her master’s orders but also had her own thoughts.

She had already had the idea of buying the angel. To let a creation of the gods be bought and sold like a slave was just too cruel. Although she didn’t have many gem coins, she could easily forge a priceless item with a simple iron sword. If worse came to worst, she could just go look for treasure chests in the labyrinth. Besides the chests behind the guardians, there were still many unopened chests scattered throughout the labyrinth.

Of course, it wasn’t just out of kindness that she decided to agree. Since it was a puppet created by the gods, it should know what the gods were like. Investigating that would surely be an interesting endeavor.

Yisi sat up straight and replied with a smile.

“I agree to this trade. But the ‘priceless’ value that you mentioned, Dominic, how high does it need to be? What if you can’t use the weapon I give you? Hmm… you know, some high-level magic weapons require the user to have a certain talent. For example, the Staff of Divine Retribution in the hands of the current Pope, Her Holiness Evelyn. Besides Her Holiness, there has been no other human in history who could use it. Of course, I won’t be providing a weapon with such strict usage conditions, but I imagine it would require someone of at least level 30 to use.”

The iron sword inscribed with [Weak Electricity] consumed 400 magic points per use. By her own standards, a level 40 person could use it. But her own level-to-magic-power ratio was 1:10, while most people in this world had a ratio of only 1:4. At 400 magic points, among the people she had seen with her own eyes, only Julius could use it; his level-to-magic-power ratio was seven.

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Although she only planned to give Dominic a lightweight version of the iron sword, meaning she wouldn’t use overly exceptional materials like a [Giant Thunder Dragon’s Horn] to create it, if the monster materials used as raw ingredients were too low-level, the [Weak Electricity] might truly be just ‘weak electricity’ and have nothing to do with being priceless. Therefore, she had to grasp the standard first.

“A magic weapon with user requirements!?”

Dominic’s eyes widened, and he shot up from the sofa. His astonished voice made the surrounding adventurers turn their gazes towards them.

“Dominic.” Perhaps because he was older and had a calmer personality, the guild master, although also showing a look of joy, did not lose his composure like Dominic. He pulled Dominic back down to the sofa. “Quiet down. Do you want everyone to know?”

“Ah, sorry, sorry, I lost my composure,” Dominic rubbed his hands together, both embarrassed and full of anticipation. “Cardinal Yisi, were you serious just now? A Crimson Gold-grade weapon doesn’t necessarily have talent requirements for its user. But any that do are all among the top tier. It’s been decades since a man-made Crimson Gold-grade weapon was created on this continent, let alone one that is a leader among its class.”

“So, it can be used for the exchange.”

“Of course. When I left home to come to Gota, there wasn’t a single Crimson Gold-grade weapon in my father’s collection. With my father’s collecting habits, if I can send back such an item, as long as it’s appraised as Crimson Gold-grade, my father will definitely not make things difficult for me. It’s just…”

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At this point, a look of both trouble and embarrassment appeared on Dominic’s righteous face, even giving Yisi a sense of coyness.

“It’s just?”

“It’s just that for such a precious magic weapon, for us to only offer the angel in exchange is… is truly an injustice to you, Cardinal Yisi.”

I see.

He feels embarrassed because the two items being exchanged are not of equal value? But value is subjective. Just as some people think that vast wealth is more important than health, while others think health is more important than money. To Dominic, the angel might just be ordinarily priceless, but to her, it was an existence that couldn’t be found for sale even with money. Even in the quasi-utopian society she came from, there wasn’t a single robot with true, independent personality, not to mention the angel might know things about the gods.

Yisi smiled and waved her hand, signaling for Dominic not to worry.

“You may not be aware of the significance of an angel to our Church, Dominic. To us followers of the Goddess, any trace left by her in this world is worthy of being revered as a holy relic. Not to mention, the angel once belonged to the Goddess and was her representative left in this world. To exchange her for just a magic weapon is, in fact, a great bargain for us.”