BXBX NOVEL Chapter 499: The Guest from Vatican
Rajendra held a ring close, its jewel designed for communication magic, a rare find even among mages. In this modern era, the existence of mobile phones have completely replaced the need for such artifacts.
Only mages too proud to use mobile phones, or those with closely guarded secrets, still utilized these rings for communication.
Rajendra slipped the ring on and patiently awaited contact from the other side. He found a seat in the basement to sit and wait for the call.
After about 15 minutes, the jewel on the ring shone, the call was received, and Rajendra felt his consciousness sink into darkness.
In this dark space, Rajendra saw his benefactor, the man in the owl mask, seated on a throne in a hall resembling a palace with Arabic or Turkish decor. Elaborate Arabian rugs adorned the floor, creating an atmosphere of sophistication, as if he were standing in a real palace.
The man in the owl mask sat on the throne as if it were his rightful place, nothing seeming out of place.
"Report. How\'s the progress?" The man in the owl mask asked.
"Lord Owl... er..." Rajendra stuttered, trying to find a way to phrase his report without triggering his benefactor\'s anger.
"Speak! Before I lose my patience," the man in the owl mask urged.
"Yes... er... Lord Owl... er... it\'s... it\'s not working.
The stone you gave me, it worked on the woman, but not on the brat," Rajendra said.
The man in the owl mask looked Rajendra in the eyes. "I see," he uttered, seemingly pondering what went wrong.
"What should I do, Lord Owl?" Rajendra asked.
The man in the owl mask remained silent, uninterested in communicating with Rajendra more than necessary.
"If it\'s not working, then it\'s not working. No need to panic. You do your part, and I\'ll do mine. Continue to infiltrate and contact me only when there\'s something urgent to report. When I need to know something, I\'ll contact you myself. After this, you just need to infiltrate and gather information from the inside for me...
that\'s all," the man in the owl mask said, then immediately cut off the contact.
Rajendra\'s consciousness returned, and he took off the ring, keeping it close. This was his only means of reporting to his lord.
Yes, Rajendra Sharma was a nobleman from the old House of Sharma. However, due to his lack of business acumen, he had lost nearly all of his inheritance in various failed business ventures.
The only thing keeping House Sharma afloat was the money his son, born from a peasant lover, sent back to keep Rajendra away and protect his mother. But that arrangement had been broken a few weeks ago when Rajendra learned of the other world.
His benefactor, whom he called "Lord Owl," was a mage who offered him wealth, power, and longevity far beyond that of normal humans if he would infiltrate Daniel\'s inner circle and relay critical information about Astral Corp\'s development back to him.
Rajendra, of course, accepted! He hated not being able to stand up to his son because of money. It took nearly all of the Sharma family wealth for him to realize he had no talent for business.
But even so, he refused to live as a useless man, dependent on his son\'s money. He wanted just enough to start a new business, believing that one success would wash away all his shame.
He knew he wasn\'t bright when it came to business, but he still believed in his luck. There were many cases of people succeeding based on luck alone. If he tried enough, he would succeed too! He had Sharma blood in him! He could have succeeded if he had tried hard enough!
With his benefactor\'s help, he could have everything he wanted: money, status, women, even immortality!
He had pride and dignity, and he couldn\'t bear the monthly humiliation of receiving money from his son.
Rajendra slowly calmed himself down, recognizing that he was becoming too heated when thinking about this sore spot. He then walked out of the basement, acting the part of a loving husband and responsible father. Eventually... one day... he would get what he wanted.
All he needs to do is only to endure…. yes… endure… for now.
— Meanwhile, at the Whispering Hall —
— Astral Corp CounterIntelligence Department —
In a room filled with dedicated spirit employees, artifacts constantly monitored magical communications. Every mage family residing in Sector Alpha City was under surveillance, their magical communications tracked whether within or outside the city.
Suddenly, one of the monitoring spirits called out to their superior.
"Sir! There\'s an unrecognized magical signal entering the city."
The butler-like spirit quickly materialized beside them and examined the monitoring equipment.
"Can you trace it?" the butler-like spirit asked.
"Tracing it now," the spirit replied, operating the artifact in front of them—a bronze console with a large orb.
"I can\'t, sir… the magical signal suddenly vanished," the spirit employee reported.
"Record this in the daily report and send it to Mr. Worseley. Categorize it as Tier E urgency, according to protocol. This may be a misdial or a mage experiment gone wrong," instructed the butler-like spirit.
"Yes, sir," the spirit employee responded, proceeding with their task.
— Morning - Daniel Private Office —
Within Daniel\'s office, behind a large desk cluttered with prototype drawings, sketches, and small artifact models, Daniel\'s face was a complex mix of surprise, happiness, and a hint of trouble. Yes... trouble.
The reason for his apprehension was the presence of two out of the three people standing before him.
One was the infamous Grand Paladin of the Vatican Secret Extermination Unit, Christopher Ward. The other was Brother Matthew Smithson, the genius weaponsmith specializing in creating holy armaments.
Looking at their seemingly friendly smiles, Daniel had a strong suspicion about their intentions. The third person, Richard, surprised him. He hadn\'t seen Richard in a long time. After struggling to find a suitable position for him, Richard had spoken with Penthesilea and ended up working as a diplomat and advisor for the Vatican.
Perhaps Richard\'s contribution is the reason I\'ve had so little trouble from the Vatican, Daniel mused.
"It seems you\'ve been quietly contributing to us for some time, Richard," Daniel said with a smile.
"It\'s been an honor, My lord," Richard replied humbly.
Daniel nodded, then turned his attention to Christopher.
"Okay... spit it out, what do you want this time? Want me to authorize selling power armor to you?" Daniel asked, looking at Christopher\'s barely concealed ulterior motive.
"Power armor would be nice; it would give our trainees a higher chance of survival in the field," Christopher said.
"Don\'t you guys use holy protection spells? Why do you need power armor?" Daniel inquired.
"I said for the trainees. Besides, even senior paladins could use some added protection. Can you make the armor slimmer so we can wear it under our clothes?" Christopher asked.
"We already made that, but slim armor suits are expensive. You guys can\'t afford it."
"Didn\'t you just plunder Mammon\'s entire hell realm? The one with the most wealth and magical materials!" Christopher retorted.
"That\'s a different matter. What about energy costs? What about wages? I don\'t run a charity, you idiot," Daniel bit back.
"C\'mon, don\'t be stingy. Aren\'t we friends? Give us a discount."
"Who\'s your friend?" Daniel quipped.
The two went back and forth like a pair of bickering friends, earning small smiles from Richard and Matthew, who were watching the scene. They hadn\'t realized Christopher Ward had this side to him.
After some bickering, Christopher finally revealed their true purpose to Daniel.
Upon learning that Matthew wanted to learn the art of creating high-quality holy armaments from him, and that Christopher was merely acting as Matthew\'s bodyguard, Daniel looked at Matthew strangely.
"You do realize that it\'s impossible for me to authorize that, right? It\'s like walking into Coca-Cola headquarters and asking for their recipe, including a license... for free. That\'s not how the world works," Daniel said, still looking at Matthew as if looking at a weirdo.
"It\'s okay, Mr. Emberweave. His Holiness didn\'t give me a time limit to convince you. Even if it takes my entire life, I can stay here and keep trying," Brother Matthew replied.
Hearing this, Daniel could only roll his eyes. [This guy is definitely here to mooch off my company\'s guest reception budget.] he thought.
"Ugh... let me think about it for a few weeks. By the way, besides the Vatican\'s gratitude, what do I get if I were to authorize this?" Daniel asked, testing the waters.
"Oh! Does that mean you will authorize this, thank..." Christopher quickly latched onto the possibility, but Daniel\'s sharp voice cut him off.
"Were! You muscle-for-brains, I said WERE! Did you even listen?" Daniel retorted in annoyance. This guy\'s shamelessness is off the charts. Is he really a priest?!