“M-master…” Carmine said, a worried expression on her face, “Y-you have a lot of money, don’t you?”
“You…” I turned away from Mary to shoot Carmine a glare.
“M-master! Don’t look at me that way. I’m just curious how rich Master is… just for personal knowledge!”
“If we’re being honest.” I respond, “I don’t really know. Most of my money right now comes from Dungeon Diving. Even things like my stipend as a Lord are pitiful compared to that. Right now, it’s all tied to Chalm, so if we’re talking expendable money, I don’t have any right now.”
That wasn’t completely true, but I definitely didn’t want Carmine to start begging me for money. It was best if she didn’t know I had given any to Faeyna at all.
“That reminds me…” Mary suddenly spoke up. “Why have you returned to the Capital? I was under the impression you were in Alerith on the prince’s orders?”
“I’m dealing with that,” I admitted. “But I found myself held up in the dungeon. It turns out I need a ship.”
I went ahead and explained to her about the lower dungeon we had entered. She gave a shake, a pitying expression on her face.
“Dungeon curses truly are a terrifying thing. To think you put yourself through that every day. As expected of the Hero of Aberis.” She gave me a considering look before continuing. “I do know of a skilled shipwright. How about I give you their information? If you use my name, they will definitely give you a discount.”
“Uh, is this going to cost me?”
She smiled. “This can be in the house. The King has always been generous to the church. I’m also good friends with the princess. Recovering the King should be of utmost importance.”
“Ah!” I let out a noise of surprise and she put her hand over her face to cover her giggle.
“What? You didn’t think the church knew? We also have a vested interest in maintaining order in the country. Believe it or not, the church believes in peace above all else. We don’t easily promote war if an alternative is available.”
“Alright then, thank you!’ I said as she wrote down and handed me the shipwright’s information. “If that will be all…”
“One more thing…” She stopped me, reaching into her chest again.
This time, she pulled out a coin and pressed it into my hand. I looked at it to realize it was a token. Going by the etching on it, it was familiar.
“This is a Gladiatorial Right?”
I had heard of these mentioned before. Tokens seemed to be a major thing in this world. I had two Knight tokens which would bestow upon someone the Knight job. It stood to reason that there were other job-infused tokens out there. High-level Adventurer’s also had a token to record their jobs and performance, but I wouldn’t get one until I was a C rank. The Gladiatorial Right was a token that allowed you to submit someone into the colosseum to fight.
“Lord Reign sent this to me. He was really hoping to buddy up to the church. Frankly, I think he was hoping I’d send a female big-breasted acolyte that he could fondle. I would never get involved in such a blood sport anyway.
“Then, why give it to me?”
“I heard of an award this year, a young dwarf. You could say that she is the reason my opinion changed about the flat sect. Since I owe her, I would like to save her from slavery. However, I can’t act directly, as it would look bad in front of the church, you understand…”
Rubee was as flat as a board. If she openly helped her, it would definitely cause the Archbishop to lose a lot of her support.
“Well, I planned to buy her from whoever wins her, but that person might not be amiable, so I thought that if you were to participate, then you could give her a better life. She is like Carmine in a lot of ways, a lost soul that needs a strong hand to tame her.”
“Unfortunately, the competition has already started a few days ago, so…”
“Hmm?” You didn’t see?” She pointed down at my token. “Since I’m considered a VIP, my Gladiatorial Right is already a qualifier. In other words, you need not enter the preliminaries. They take the first week, so as long as you can be there in four days, you should be able to enter the main tournament. Well, I assume you have confidence in being able to travel quickly, although I won’t even ask how.”
I took the coin. Rubee again. It seemed like I was tied to that loli by fate.